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Imagine a recording of beautiful music by a top-flight pianist accompanied by equally gifted players. Imagine a recording which captures the warmth, intimacy and easy camaraderie of a live performance in a small jazz club. Imagine a pianist who plays not-so-standard songs as though he had written them himself, with love and infinite thoughtfulness and care. Imagine all of this, and then get yourself to a music store and find a copy of pianist Bruce Dudley's "Semblance" for the real thing.

Bruce Dudley is one of those happy few, a pianist with virtuosic technique and an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz piano styles who manages to forego the tedious pyrotechnics of some such players, opting for an exceedingly warm and lyrical approach to both composition and performance. Running across such a pianist is almost like walking into a strange place and finding your best friend waiting for you with good news. Dudley is able to turn music into conversation, a fluid give-and-take between himself and his accompanists, between himself and his listeners. Bracing as it is to listen to players who turn music into a virtual challenge to their listeners to penetrate its complexities, it is with a giant sigh of relief and gratitude that one listens to Dudley's immediately accessible love for the sheer beauty of music. In his hands, music is a happy, pampered creature- - -and we lucky listeners are likely to come away feeling equally indulged.

Says Dudley, "The purpose of the 全emblance' recording project was, for me, to put down on tape some of the music that I had enjoyed playing with Houston musicians, and it gave me the opportunity to try out some new arrangements and compositions that I had been working on. From 1991 to 1995, I met an awful lot of great musicians in Houston, folks like Tim Harris, Steve Allison, Dave Nichols, Larry Slezak, Warren Sneed, Dennis Dotson, David Craig, Sebastian Whittaker and on and on, and I had the pleasure to work with most of them at one time or another. Houston has a very friendly atmosphere amongst its musicians, and I felt very fortunate to be a part of that." In recording "Semblance," Dudley has found the perfect way of expressing his gratitude for his good fortune. Recorded in the band hall at San Jacinto College in July of 1995, a mere week or two before Dudley and his wife, singer Sandra Dudley, moved to Nashville, Tennessee to take up teaching positions at Belmont University, "Semblance" features a virtual Killer's Row of Houston jazz greats.

The CD's opening number, Dudley's original composition "Semblance," features accompanists Eric Late on bass and Joe Ferreira on drums. Says Dudley of the piece, "I hope to record more tunes like 全emblance' in the near future; it is harmonically and rhythmically a bit more contemporary-sounding than the rest of the disc." Perhaps, but its buoyant spirit and lovely melody are entirely in keeping with the rest of the music which follows. "I tried to choose standards that are not over-recorded," comments Dudley, "so I chose songs like Harold Arlen's 然ight as Rain' and 閃y Shining Hour' . . . okay, maybe that one IS recorded a lot! But we changed the feel with a relaxed Latin backbeat, and 然ain' we did as a waltz instead of in four-four. I just love the melodies to Richard Rodgers' 選 Have Dreamed' from 禅he King and I' and 全moke Gets In Your Eyes,' so I paired them in a medley." Dudley also pairs Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn's "The Things We Did Last Summer" with Vincent Youmans, John Green and Otto Harbach's "The Boy Next Door," as well as Billy Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom" with Duke Ellington's "Single Petal of a Rose." The pairings work extremely well in every respect (I am particularly fond of Dudley's immaculate and inspired work on the Strayhorn/Ellington medley), and Dudley's lyrical playing is beautifully underscored by bassists Late and David Craig and drummers Ferreira and Sebastian Whittaker throughout. Thelonious Monk's "Bye-Ya," Bobby Timmons' "Dat Dere," and John Lewis and Dizzy Gillespie's "Two Bass Hit" are also played with great delight and spirit. Dudley says, "I feel strongly about representing music by the players and composers who have influenced my playing and writing over the years." Dudley is nothing if not a man of action.

One of the CD's most beautiful offerings is Dudley's composition "Song for Dave." "(Pianist) Dave Catney was a dear friend of mine and Sandra's, and we shared many laughs and ironies together," says Dudley. Catney, a luminously gifted musician who died tragically young in 1994, is lovingly remembered with this bittersweet composition, to which Bob Chadwick contributes his peerless flute playing.

"Semblance" is a great pleasure to hear, and, if we should be so lucky, Bruce Dudley will favor us with ever more of his work in years to come. Here's hoping that we won't have to wait too long!

FOUR STARS

JULIA OLIVAREZ