Bill Snyder’s initial engagement at the Starlight Room of the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas lasted for over two months and proved a huge success. As a result, the pianist par excellence was asked to make a return appearance. Here, Bill and His Trio recreate the Riviera atmosphere, presenting the kind of full, lush sounds of durable melodies and standard popular favorites that delighted his listeners and captivated his audiences. In essence, ‘Bill Snyder At the Riviera’ is also the musical story of Las Vegas, its fabulous Strip and one of the world’s largest entertainment centers. Nocturne In E Flat is an updated Chopin tune, a frilly keyboard entry with a definite classical feeling and a sense of anticipation in its softly-tender measures – anticipation, perhaps, for a lucky evening ahead. Then again, if you’re not lucky at cards, as the saying goes, you might be lucky in love. Bill and His Trio provide the proper romantic mood in the next selection, a shuffling tango appropriately called Moonlight And Love. For a man without money, Las Vegas may be a lonely place. In the mood piece, Lonely Night, Bill traces the course of one such melancholy person wandering through the city, absorbing its sights, as the melody hints of a brighter future ahead. The renowned favorite, Because, which follows, takes on a new meaning via Bill’s impressive piano figurations. Riviera, the title tune, up next, is a hearty rumba, replete with castanets, that emphasizes the hotel’s aura of “food, fun and entertaiment, twenty-four hours a day.” The exciting Latin mood then continues with the flashy, sparkling piano chords of party-time as Bill leads the trio through the colorful samba called Las Vegas Fiesta. Side two proves that love is a gamble that sometimes pays off, as Bill plays a ballad of rapt desire and a longing-to-be-with-you feeling entitled Love You Have Won My Heart. Then, the patter of bongos sets the scene for an evening of dining and dancing as Bill Snyder’s talented fingers traverse the keyboard with the provocative beguine melody, Valpre. Mademoiselle enters as a chic melody about a chic gal. The ballad’s descriptive phrases, emanating from the piano rendition, are about the lovely face you see but once and never forget. A change of pace is offered by the modern interpretation of Victor Herbert’s Toyland, where a piano-guitar interplay examines the more fascinating toylands of today. Then, it’s back into the Latin idiom as the trio looks into the different aspects of a Sultry Night, Vegas style, to the beat of a refreshing bolero. And as sure as the morning follows the night, the last track in the album ponders the rueful-toned, yet reflective mood of a Misty Morning. It is the crowning touch to a musical visit at the Riviera you will long remember. Bill Snyder And His Trio: Bill Snyder, piano; Al Chernet, guitar; Jack Messing, bass; Nat Foodman, percussion.