David Hazeltine - The Inspiration Suite

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:39
Size: 137,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:12)  1. I Should Care
(7:23)  2. Don't Walk Away
(5:21)  3. The Inspiration Suite 1: Motivation
(7:59)  4. The Inspiration Suite 2: Reverence
(6:45)  5. The Inspiration Suite 3: Insight
(7:19)  6. The Inspiration Suite 4: Gratitude
(6:33)  7. My Ideal
(5:49)  8. Shoulders
(6:14)  9. Personage Of Wes

Jazz pianist David Hazeltine, like many baby-boomer musicians, is influenced by Wes, Buddy, and Monk Montgomery and Cedar Walton. For what he calls his most personally driven recording date, he pays tribute to them by composing a four-part suite inspired by their sounds. Hazeltine and his quintet which includes the formidable vibraphonist Joe Locke and longtime collaborator tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander give alms with some well-conceived and executed modern mainstream jazz. The suite begins as a neo-bop cadence buoys a splattering of several Cedar-flavored motifs, two-note accents, and piano-bass unison lines for "Motivation." "Reverence" has Locke's vibes shimmering on a low and slow Latin-shaded piece, followed by another bright neo-bop melody, "Insight," and the finale is a 6/8 composition, "Gratitude," that could have easily fit into the repertoire of Walton and Bobby Hutcherson's Timeless All Stars book. 

Of the five stand-alone tracks, two are covers left until the end of the CD Walton's much lesser-known "Shoulders" is as straight-ahead as jazz gets, while Buddy Montgomery's "Personage of Wes" is a kinetic, uppity sizzler. A newly arranged complex and arresting intro is tacked onto the standard "I Should Care," and Hazeltine's original "Don't Walk Away" is treated in a Latin fashion, occasional percussionist Daniel Sadownick adding the spice, but again settles in the modern mainstream. Hazeltine has not put out the full-force blockbuster breakthrough recording his clear talent indicates, but this one ranks with his many best efforts. ~ Michael G.Nastos   http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-inspiration-suite-mw0000491879

Personnel: David Hazeltine (piano); Joe Locke (vibraphone, unknown instrument); John Webber (bass instrument); Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone); Joe Farnsworth (drums); Daniel Sadownick (percussion).

The Inspiration Suite

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