Jazz pianist Dick Hyman in concert

This article is from 2009.

Woody Allen's soundtrack man takes us all back into a golden era

You may not know it, but you’re probably already familiar with the music of pianist Dick Hyman. A composer, arranger, conductor and music director as well as a consummate player, Hyman’s long and diverse career includes scoring the soundtracks for a dozen Woody Allen films, among them Hannah and Her Sisters, Radio Days and Sweet and Lowdown. Allen chose Hyman to stamp those films with their trademark trad jazz and ragtime tunes, no doubt because of Hyman’s lifelong love of the ivory tinkling sounds of the 1920s and 30s. And born in New York City in 1927, the venerable 82-year-old Hyman probably has first-hand recollection of the stomps, stride and swing popularised by early jazz piano.

All of which makes the prospect of seeing and hearing the debonair grey-haired gentleman – who has performed with big band-era star Benny Goodman and played to a host of US presidents in the White House – about as sweet and lowdown as it gets. Hyman will be performing three concerts inspired by the music of jazz age legends such as Fats Waller, Earl Hines and James P Johnson. The joint will be jumping.

The Hub, Castlehill, 0131 473 2067, 2, 4 Aug, 8.30pm, £20; Signet Library, Parliament Square, 0131 473 2000, 5 Aug, 8pm, £20.