Looking for some laid-back piano jazz? Telarc's Relaxing Jazz Piano is a good place to start. There are soft and reflective essays by Cyrus Chestnut, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, and McCoy Tyner; improvisations by the Jacques Loussier Trio based on Beethoven and Satie; and a thoughtful 4 a.m. rendition of Gershwin's "Prelude No. 2" by Michel Camilo. Brubeck's "Lullaby" carries a whiff of a Gershwin berceuse; its habañera rhythm invokes Darius Milhaud's Saudades do Brasil. Contrast is provided by two comparatively sanguine and upbeat performances: "It's Only a Paper Moon" by George Shearing and a surprisingly funky rendering of "Captain Hook" by Benny Green. Good music for reading, steeping tea, and refusing to put on one's shoes. ~ arwulf arwulf, AMG