Dick caught me completely off-guard. Suddenly, he called and asked if I had a Yamaha Disklavier™ piano he could use. I said, “Of course,” and inquired as to why. He asked if he could come by from time to time and record some material. Sure. As it turns out, his desire was to assemble a collection of performances and present them to a television producer who had employed Dick countless times as a composer and arranger. Dick was aware the gentleman owned a Disklavier™ grand piano and thought it would be novel to present the fellow with these performances as a birthday gift. I thought it was a wild idea. Though I’d known Dick for years as a composer I’d had never actually heard him play the piano. As it turns out, Dick began his musical career as a dance-music arranger and rehearsal pianist on Broadway for such musicals as "Do I Hear a Waltz?" (with Steven Sondheim and Richard Rogers,) "Bajour", and the revivals of "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Showboat." He later served as music director and arranger for such stars including Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Bing Crosby, Diana Ross and Carol Burnett. Over the years since moving to the West Coast to work in television and motion pictures he has garnered nearly a dozen Emmy nominations for his scores and themes to TV shows and movies such as "Perry Mason," "Matlock," "Columbo," "Hawaii Five-O" and "Quincy." So, while I was editing the material he recorded for the "birthday present" I found myself so entertained I reasoned most folks would also enjoy listening to this. Ultimately, with the substitution of a song here and the addition of a song there Dick provided me with an unforgettable collection of familiar material. As you might have guessed, his approach to playing is highly theatrical. He's a very physical pianist pulling in quotes and stylisms from all different corners: Chopin, Gershwin, Bach and Erroll Garner. He loves utilizing long, developed introductions before breaking into the main body of the song. He uses modulations to carry forth the musical momentum. It's not unusual to find him jumping in and out of several distinct pianistic styles within the same piece then winding it back down and ending with the same material he used for the beginning. This is very creative arranging. He's not just playing the music for you. Instead, he's taking you on a short, compact musical journey then bringing you back home. It's great fun.