Back in the day before Covid-19, I used to do at my church what is done in many denominations: played hymns for prelude to the service, and among my favorite hymns is "To God Be the Glory" by Fanny Crosby in 1875.
I settled my prelude style on this hymn at about the time I integrated the jazz I was studying with the classical and church music I was raised in ... I played a lot of stride piano, and also used to roll big-octave pieces in classical music (the middle portion of Chopin's "Funeral March" was the start of that) ... so you will hear the influences of big piano bass from Beethoven, Chopin, and Thelonius Monk, and also some chording from one of Louis Armstrong's famous late hits overlaid on the chords of the hymn ... I pulled it all back together, 20 years after it first occurred to me to do this arrangement! Enjoy the Sunday vibes!
