Nikolai Kapustin built his reputation as a jazz pianist during the 1950s and 1960s. Staking a claim as a classical composer who happens to work in a jazz idiom, he cites Oscar Peterson as his single biggest influence. The Eight Concert Etudes balance stylistic allusions to long established pianistic tradition with an exuberance which has made them favourite encores. Using the same key-sequence as Chopin and Shostakovich, the extraordinary 24 Preludes in Jazz Style exude nonchalant wit and pulsating energy.