Mirrors - Reflections Of Today
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Album Summary
Dick Hyman, one of the most versatile and deeply swinging keyboard cats to ever lay fingers on ivory, stepped into the studio in 1968 with The Group to cut this sharp, forward-leaning record for Command Records — a label that was never shy about pushing the sonic envelope. Produced with that sleek, hi-fi, electronically adventurous spirit that Command was known for, 'Mirrors - Reflections Of Today' found Hyman doing what he did best: taking the pulse of the moment and running it through his own brilliant musical mind. The album was conceived as a showcase of contemporary sounds filtered through jazz sensibility, blending pop hits of the day with timeless blues and jazz standards, all wrapped in a cool, almost cinematic atmosphere that felt both urgent and elegantly composed.
Reception
- The album was positioned as a sophisticated easy listening and jazz-pop crossover release, aimed at the adult contemporary audience that Command Records cultivated throughout the late 1960s.
- Critics of the era recognized Hyman's uncanny ability to bridge the gap between pop accessibility and jazz musicianship, and this album was received as a polished, tasteful entry in his prolific body of work.
- While it did not produce major charting singles, the record was well regarded in the context of the instrumental pop-jazz market that thrived on radio and in home hi-fi listening rooms during the late 1960s.
Significance
- The album stands as a vivid time capsule of 1968 — pulling together smash hits like 'Respect,' 'Ode To Billy Joe,' and 'Up, Up And Away' alongside jazz and blues touchstones like Duke Ellington's 'Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me' and Ray Charles' 'Hit The Road Jack,' reflecting the remarkable musical diversity of that era through a jazz-inflected lens.
- Dick Hyman's arrangement philosophy on this record demonstrated that jazz musicians could engage seriously and soulfully with pop and soul material without compromising their artistic integrity, helping to define the sophisticated instrumental pop genre of the late 1960s.
- The inclusion of tracks like 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy' and 'Week End Blues' alongside contemporary pop hits gave the album a rare depth, bridging the worlds of hard bop, blues, and mainstream pop in a way that few instrumental records of the period attempted so boldly.
Tracklist
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A1 House Of Mirrors —
3:21
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A2 In The Heat Of The Night —
3:20
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A3 Groovin' —
4:10
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A4 In The Wee Small Hours (Of The Morning) —
2:34
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A5 Mercy, Mercy, Mercy —
3:01
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A6 The Flower Road —
2:42
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B1 Ode To Billy Joe —
3:33
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B2 Up, Up And Away —
2:27
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B3 Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me —
3:25
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B4 Hit The Road Jack —
3:04
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B5 Week End Blues —
3:26
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B6 Respect —
3:10
Artist Details
Dick Hyman was a supremely gifted New York pianist and arranger whose deep roots in both classical training and bebop gave him a musical range that could make your heart sing and your mind race all at once. Together with his ensemble known as The Group, Hyman crafted recordings that walked that silky line between swinging jazz sophistication and accessible pop sensibility, drawing listeners in like a warm breeze on a summer night. Their work in the 1960s stood as a testament to Hyman's uncanny ability to honor the tradition while keeping things fresh, alive, and absolutely irresistible to the ears.
