|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| NEW CD FROM DENNY ZEITLIN: Live at Mezzrow featuring Buster Williams and Matt Wilson (Sunnyside Records) IN MAY, 2019 AT NYC's MEZZROW JAZZ CLUB, DENNY ZEITLIN, BUSTER WILLIAMS & MATT WILSON WERE "IN THE ZONE" Sunnyside Records SSC 1582 shem.gif CRITICAL ACCLAIM for Denny Zeitlin : Live At Mezzrow "There can be no doubt that being in the audience at Mezzrow on either the 3rd or 4th of May 2019 must have been a very special treat for lovers of great music for it was on both days that the incomparable riches of Denny Zeitlin's pianism were on full display. Mr Zeitlin is one of the finest interpreters of classic American music…Together with these two musicians who are fully attuned to his vision and artistry Mr Zeitlin's music soars into the stratosphere of art and once again we have a recording that is to die for…" Raul da Gama, jazzdagama "…Now in his eighties, Zeitlin is playing with all the invention focus and daring that has always characterized his work…Zeitlin the improviser lives on the edge of the avant-garde: it is a good place to be…from that vantage point he courts the unexpected. He loves the sound of the piano almost for its own sake and the Steinway rewards him…Bill Evans has been credited with redefining the piano trio. Zeitlin, Wilson and Williams when playing like this redefine the piano trio just as radically… this is an impressive album…" Jack Kenny, jazzviews "There's few folks who approach the piano like Denny Zeitlin—and this beautiful live set is a perfect illustration of his deep talents and very unique sound on his instrument! Zeitlin is a master of balancing darkness and light—technical brilliance and down to earth energy—working here with his longtime trio with Buster Williams on bass and Matt Wilson on drums—two players who are instantly, innately responsive to the many-textured sounds that Zeitlin brings forth from the piano! And throughout it all, no matter what the mood, the whole thing manages to swing—even in subtle ways." Rick Vojcik, Dusty Groove "…this album is like a 3" steak cut at Morton's, filled with flavor, oozing with texture, with each bite a treat to the senses. Zeitlin's fingers and mind have an encyclopedic knowledge of tradition, class and style…Each tune selection, each chord and each note makes you feel like Zeitlin is acting like Geppetto, carving a living being that moves, dances and sings out of a piece of wood. Everything comes alive in his hands." George W. Harris, jazzweekly "Greatness among us: Denny Zeitlin, 82, leads his piano trio—bassist Buster Williams, drummer Matt Wilson—through compelling and, at times, rousing, mind-boggling performances of some tried-and-true jazz standards, with his unusual runaway aplomb…Live at Mezzrow (Sunnyside Records) showcases the veteran jazz pianist at his best, and most versatile… You don't always know quite where Denny Zeitlin will go, but you always want to be there with him…" Carol Banks Weber, festivalpeak "There's no surprise about the consistent brilliance of pianist Denny Zeitlin's new album Live at Mezzrow (Sunnyside). Recorded at the New York piano bar over a two-night run last year when he was 81, the session extends Zeitlin's late career creative surge into his ninth decade…" Andrew Gilbert, San Francisco Classical Voice "…Once again delivering a piano trio date that's a defining moment of a generation of jazz fans, they deconstruct standards to reassemble them like drill sergeants you wind up respecting. The originals reflect unending creativity and vision while the disc on the whole makes you wish you were there hanging on in anticipation of what's coming around the next bend. Killer stuff from the king of the realm and his loyal horsemen." Chris Spector, midwestrecord "Coming up on two decades of creative engagement and evolution, pianist Denny Zeitlin's group with bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt Wilson remains one of the most bracing, sophisticated and creatively satisfying trios on the scene…everybody appears to be in peak, pliable form…Zeitlin's command and combination(s) of numerous musical dialects, Williams' elastic resonance and grounding presence, and Wilson's character, coloring skills and impeccable sense of time and groove all come together to form a beautiful whole. This trio is both firm in its constitution and loose in its methods of operation. It's simply the best of both worlds." Dan Bilawsky, allaboutjazz "West coast pianist Denny Zeitlin creates a classic and adventurous live set with his long-standing trio featuring Buster Williams and Matt Wilson on Live at Mezzrow… Zeitlin's brand of pianism is perfect for the space—adventurous but squarely within the modern tradition, with subtleties in the harmonies, the countermelodies, the voicings, and the rhythmic interplay that benefit from an intimate sonic space…Zeitlin, over the age of 80 on the recording date, is never less than fully assured, clear in tone and touch, able to move nimbly and yet with exquisite dynamics…there is mastery of the jazz language but a sense that it should liberate rather than constrict any given piece of music…" Will Layman, popmatters "…Dr. Zeitlin is a pianist with great facility, loves melody, and creates long, flowing, solos that are poetic and powerful whereas the rhythm section is just as musical and exploratory as its leader. One just knows they never play a song the same way twice… these albums are creative music at its best… sit back, listen, and luxuriate in the splendid "Live at Mezzrow". Richard B. Kamins, steptempest "…Zeitlin delights in stretching familiar themes every which way, and he needs musical co-conspirators that are on the same wave length. After 18 years of playing with Zeitlin, the absolutely reliable Williams and the exuberant Wilson are right there with him at all times, and the music just flows and flows… Happily recommended." Stuart Kremsky, mrstusrecordroom "If improvisation is the key ingredient in Jazz, you sure get your money's worth when you listen to pianist Denny Zeitlin's music…it's as though his mind is seeing parallel melodic universes and he is trying to get them all in view at the same time…Denny has an almost instantaneous grasp of the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic possibilities of each song or tune that he improvises on such that his ability to interweave between these, three musical elements creates the "texture" or sonority of his music." Stephen Cerra, jazzprofiles "…Zeitlin's relationship with Sunnyside records, beginning in 2009, was, and continues to be a fortuitous and fruitful one…an album a year schedule at the label that continues to this day, with solo, trio and electro-acoustic offerings of the highest caliber…which brings us to Live at Mezzrow…the songs are familiar; the trio takes them into unfamiliar territory and back again with a modernistic verve…perhaps the finest of his ongoing album releases for Sunnyside Records." Dan McClenaghan, allaboutjazz "Still going strong some fifty-six years after his first records, the polymath jazz pianist Denny Zeitlin continues his torrid pace of recording with yet another album that delves into one of his many fascinating sides…Zeitlin's trio might not get together too frequently but when they do it's magic…from serene moments to uninhibited flashes, Denny Zeitlin's trio found themselves in particularly good form that spring night at the Mezzrow Jazz Club." S. Victor Aaron, somethingelsereviews write your comments about the article :: © 2020 Jazz News :: home page |