Zeitlin Meets Monk On You Tube

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"Zeitlin, a magus in full power at solo keyboard..."

Fred Bouchard, Downbeat

In the past 3 years, pianist/composer Denny Zeitlin has featured annual solo piano concerts at the Piedmont Piano Company in Oakland, California, where he re-imagines the work of jazz artists whose compositions and performance have particularly inspired him. In 2014, he presented "Early Wayne" focusing on classic compositions of Wayne Shorter. In 2015, the concert was devoted to "Exploring Thelonious Monk." And in 2016 the theme was "Remembering Miles, " re-interpreting Davis' work over 4 decades.

Sunnyside Records released "Early Wayne" to critical acclaim. "Remembering Miles" is planned for a future release. For now, Denny has decided to post the videos of his Thelonious Monk concert on YouTube.
Zeitlin was powerfully drawn to Monk's music from his high school beginnings in jazz, back in 1952. Denny was impressed with Monk's utter originality; his use of space; the internal logic of his compositions and improvising; and his drive and passion for adventure.

Although Zeitlin had recorded Monk's music on a number of occasions, beginning with his first recording on Jeremy Steig's 1963 "Flute Fever, " December 4, 2015 marked the first time Denny had ever presented an entire evening devoted to Monk compositions.

The perfect acoustics of the Piedmont Piano Company; an outstanding concert grand; a rapt and appreciative audience; state-of-the-art audio and video recording; and an extraordinary solo piano performance by Denny Zeitlin combine to make the video postings a special experience.

THE PLAN FOR THE YOU TUBE POSTINGS:
Beginning the week of March 14, individual videos from "Exploring Thelonious Monk" will be posted each week, available by simply typing "Zeitlin meets Monk" in the YouTube Search Window. Postings will also occur on Facebook pages of Bret Primack (the Jazz Video Guy) and Denny Zeitlin; and on various Facebook Jazz Groups. These individual videos will be posted/reposted five times each week they are featured.

Jazz writers wishing to preview the whole scope of the concert can obtain a private link to a video of the entire performance by contacting: webmaster@dennyzeitlin.com, putting "Zeitlin Concert" in the subject line

POSTING SCHEDULE
March 14: An introduction to the series, with brief clips from the concert, and Denny's story of his only encounter with Mr. Monk.
March 21: Trinkle Tinkle
March 28: Brake's Sake/Let's Call This
April 4: Evidence
April 11: Ugly Beauty
April 18: Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are
April 25: Off Minor
May 2: 'Round Midnight
May 9: I Mean You
May 16: Played Twice
May 23: Ask Me Now
May 30: Rhythm-A-Ning
June 6: Jackie-ing

A FEW REVIEWS OF DENNY ZEITLIN'S SOLO CONCERT CD "EARLY WAYNE" (2016):

" One master honors another…he applies his jeweler's-gimlet eye and sure hands to mine and re-cut '60s gems for optimum clarity and brilliance…Zeitlin, a magus in full power at solo keyboard, makes us envision anew a composer we may have taken for granted." Fred Bouchard, downbeat

"One of my favorite new jazz piano albums so far this year… Denny's approach on the album is tremendously exciting and free-spirited. He covers Shorter's works with a range of interpretive attacks without losing the saxophonist's glimmering sensitivity…Bravo Denny." Marc Myers, jazzwax

"…we are taken on an excursion into Zeitlin's world of possibilities and it's a wonderful world indeed. His facility is flawless, but the joy one feels has more to do with the inventiveness of his ideas than with his execution…" Ralph A. Miriello, huffingtonpost

"…a magnificent example of an artist displaying the ability to create Jazz at the highest level of personal expression… I've been listening to Denny's music in performance and on recordings for over 50 years and I view each new opportunity to do as another episode to hear his quest for truth…" Steven Cerra, jazzprofiles

"…pianist Denny Zeitlin, who has been recording for over fifty years, is masterful to the point of completely taking over the listening space… the depth, richness and sheer improvisatory invention of Zeitlin's playing. Each piece has it own mixture of that which has the sound of preparation with that of on-the-spot creation; this makes the album an exciting experience… The sheer pianistic virtuosity and high musicianship of Zeitlin makes Early Wayne a delightful gem and many times a mesmerizing experience. " Budd Kopman, allaboutjazz

"The enduring power of Denny Zeitlin… Zeitlin has been a brilliantly creative jazz pianist since the '60s… the angular solos and the grandiloquence of so much of it – bespeaks a composer/soloist tandem of enduring power." Jeff Simon, buffalonews

OTHER COMING EVENTS:
Solo and Trio with Buster Williams & Matt Wilson: April 19-22, Mezzrow Jazz Club, NYC
www.mezzrow.com all performances will be streamed LIVE

Denny Zeitlin & George Marsh: "Expedition: Duo Electro-Acoustic Free Improvisations" (Sunnyside) July 2017 release

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