I know this is a rather obscure disc, but I think anyone that would be into the idea of Elton John's music being set to Jazz should check it out.

Here's an excerpt from my review:

"As an Elton scholar but jazz novice, I’ll mostly review Mr. Howe’s disc for its likely audience, Elton John fans. The first thing I noticed was the eclectic cuts, which to a true Elton fan, is another good sign. Sure, there are recognizable hits like ‘Your Song’, ‘Bennie And The Jets’, and ‘Philadelphia Freedom’, but there are also obscure cuts like the jump the shark single ‘Ego’, the killer L-word rock anthem All The Young Girls Love Alice, and the painfully obscure but lovely instrumental piece Carla/Etude. This set list is far bolder than what Sir Elton himself has been playing for years now.

The danger of any album like this is that the artist might simply do instrumental versions of these classic pop songs. Sure, ‘Your Song’ and ‘Bennie And The Jets’ are instantly recognizable from the first notes, but if the entire disc were so predictable, it would be a cocktail lounge muzak massacre. In yet another good sign, this turns out not to be the case. Most of this music is interpreted, giving the fan the lick to the song but also the novice an understanding of Howe the pianist. Ted Howe even successfully infuses some salsa into the likely suspect ‘Circle Of Life’ and the completely unlikely ‘All The Young Girls Love Alice’."


And here's the full review:

http://www.macliberals.com/heapblog/?p=30

(if you have iTunes installed, links in the article go directly to iTunes samples!)