Denny Zeitlin - Crazy Rhythm: Exploring George Gershwin

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:41
Size: 159,2 MB
Art: Front

( 8:42) 1. Summertime
( 4:33) 2. How Long Has This Been Going On
( 2:46) 3. S’wonderful
( 7:29) 4. Bess You Is My Woman Now
( 7:44) 5. It Ain’t Necessarily So
( 4:09) 6. By Strauss
( 5:49) 7. The Man I Love
(12:46) 8. My Man’s Gone Now
( 6:32) 9. I’ve Got A Crush On You
( 4:14) 10. Fascinating Rhythm
( 3:50) 11. I Was Doing All Right

Denny Zeitlin's jazz career began when he sat in as the featured pianist on flutist Jeremy Steig's Flute Fever (Columbia Records, 1964). He followed this up with his debut as a leader on Columbia Records' 1964 album Cathexis. While maintaining another successful career as a psychiatrist and college professor, he released more than a dozen albums over the next quarter century, most of them acoustic piano sets, plus a few experimental electronic outings, along with a groundbreaking electro/orchestral soundtrack to the 1978 remake of the science fiction film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

At the turn of the century, Zeitlin had established himself as a top-level, if somewhat underrecognized, jazz talent. Then, in 2001, he found a home at Sunnyside Records, a connection that turned into a late-career profile boost that resulted in some of the pianist's finest recordings. In addition to his Sunnyside home, Zeitlin also found a home at Oakland's Piedmont Piano Company, where he presents yearly solo recitals focusing on individual composers. In 2014 it was saxophonist Wayne Shorter, resulting in the album Early Wayne (Sunnyside, 2016); in 2016 it was Miles Davis, for Remembering Miles (Sunnyside, 2019). And now, for 2023, we have Crazy Rhythm: Exploring George Gershwin.

As he did with the music of Davis and Shorter, Zeitlin reimagines the music of Gershwin. Improvisation on the themes is front and center. One of Gershwin's most famous tunes, "Summertime," is not readily recognizable in the opening minutes, as Zeitlin rambles, circling around what will soon gel into the familiar melody. Then he drifts away again, with great elegance, rolling into finessed, off-the-cuff segments steeped in the mood of the piece. It is worth noting that "Summertime" is one of three tunes chosen from Gershwin's 1935 American-language opera, Porgy And Bess. Inspired by the Miles Davis/Gil Evans 1959 Columbia Records reimagination of the work, he includes, besides "Summertime," "Bess You Is My Woman Now," "The Man I Love," and "My Man's Gone Now" here.

"How Long Has This Been Going On?" is here, too. So is "S'Wonderful, "It Ain't Necessarily So," "Fascinating Rhythm," "By Strauss, "I've Got A Crush On You" and "I Was Doing All Right." A spin through the set bolsters the opinion that nobody could write a popular tune containing a combination of deft grace and uncommon intelligence better than George Gershwin an American treasure if ever there was one. And nobody plays them with more style and celebration of their charm and their simplicity/complexity dynamic adding his own distinctive layers of complexity better than Denny Zeitlin.By Dan McClenaghan
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/crazy-rhythm-exploring-george-gershwin-denny-zeitlin-sunnyside-records

Personnel: Denny Zeitlin - Piano

Crazy Rhythm: Exploring George Gershwin

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David Grisman, Denny Zeitlin - New River

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:29
Size: 136,9 MB
Art: Front

( 7:07) 1. Brazilian Street Dance
( 5:45) 2. Dawg Funk
( 4:51) 3. Moving Parts
( 4:55) 4. Blue Midnite
( 5:42) 5. New River
( 4:25) 6. Waltz For Gigi
( 8:45) 7. Dg/dz Blues
(10:29) 8. On The March
( 7:25) 9. Fourteen Miles To Barstow

This set features two eclectic Californians, mandolinist David Grisman and pianist Denny Zeitlin, in a lively and unusual duo setting. The contrast between mandolin and piano couldn’t be greater, of course. Zeitlin’s orchestral playing, with its expansive timbral range and resonating low end, does most of the heavy lifting. Grisman’s instrument has its inherent limitations tiny neck, circumscribed harmonic capacity, somewhat tinny sound. But Grisman is a master at wringing the unexpected from those eight strings.

Not only does he display unparalleled virtuosity and melodic resourcefulness; he also responds to Zeitlin with just the right sonic touches, comping jazz-style on "Blue Midnite" and creating ethereal pick-slide effects on the mini-epic "On the March." The program is evenly split between Zeitlin’s originals and Grisman’s; the loose minor-key "DG/DZ Blues" is co-written. Following the invigorating, Gershwin-meets-bluegrass finale, "Fourteen Miles to Barstow," Grisman and Zeitlin keep the tape rolling for some brief free-improv, a hidden track. Throughout the session, Grisman brings out the new-acoustic, Americana side of Zeitlin, while Zeitlin brings out the jazz in Grisman. The result is music that is refreshingly beyond category. ~ David Adler https://www.allaboutjazz.com/new-river-david-grisman-acoustic-disc-review-by-david-adler.php

Personnel: David Grisman, mandolin; Denny Zeitlin, piano

New River

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Denny Zeitlin - Precipice

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
Time: 68:13
Size: 116,6 MB
Art: Front

( 6:06)  1. Free Prelude/What Is This Thing Called Love?/Fifth House P1
( 6:18)  2. Free Prelude/What Is This Thing Called Love?/Fifth House P2
( 4:51)  3. Out Of My Dreams
(10:06)  4. On The March
( 8:49)  5. The We Of Us
( 7:00)  6. Deluge
( 2:46)  7. Oleo
( 6:55)  8. Love Theme From Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
( 6:36)  9. Pulsar
( 8:40) 10. Precipice

The recorded live format seems to suit pianist Denny Zeitlin, who is certainly the only top tier jazz pianist who is also a practicing psychiatrist. His In Concert (Sunnyside Records, 2009), with his trio featuring bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt Wilson, was filled with beautiful moments of surrender and improvisational élan, and stunningly spontaneous displays of technical proficiency. His follow-up, Precipice, a solo piano outing, finds the pianist again live in concert, recorded at Ralston Hall in 2008, in Santa Barbara, California. The symbiotic three-way relationship with his band mates on In Concert was compelling, as good as it gets for fans of the piano trio sound brainy yet accessible, and immensely virtuosic, covering John Coltrane ("Mr. P.C.") and Cole Porter (a full of surprises "All of You"), along with Zeitlin's original tunes. Going solo for Precipice results in something even more mesmerizing. Zeitlin's original "Free Prelude" serves as a wandering improvisational foray that leads, with perfect logic, into the Cole Porter standard "What is This Thing Called Love?" Covered often and well, Zeitlin gives the melody a certain quirky reverence that eventually cranks into high gear as it evolves into a burning take on Coltrane's "Fifth House," gathering a percussive momentum to close out twelve-plus minutes of tightly focused yet highly spontaneous jazz. Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic, "Out of My Dreams" showcases Zeitlin's refined touch and gorgeously lush harmonies. 

"On the March" is the first of five Zeitlin originals on the set. It features some harp-like, inside-the-piano strumming. The mood is bright and whimsical at first, with injections of majesty. It is a composition containing complex twists and turns, with hard-driving moments interspersed with dreamy, drifting interludes. Cerebral, perhaps, but always approachable and always gorgeous. Zeitlin has a wonderful way with love songs. His "The We of Us," written for his wife Josephine, has an achingly tender, ethereal beauty, and "Love Theme from Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (Zeitlin did the soundtrack for 1978 remake of the sci-fi classic) has a luminous loveliness, a tune suffused with deep melancholy and tragic yearning. "Pulsar," a high-octane Zeitlin original, showcases Zeitlin's capacity for complexity and elegance married to percussive zest, leading into the title tune/set closer. The energy level is set even higher, with shifting sections of funk and free improvisation, and glistening, crystalline bursts of notes that make the unexpected expected, for a grand closing to an extraordinary set of solo piano music. 

~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/precipice-denny-zeitlin-sunnyside-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Denny Zeitlin: piano.

Precipice

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Denny Zeitlin - Solo Voyage

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:44
Size: 149,0 MB
Art: Front

( 4:47)  1. Bemsha Swing
( 5:38)  2. Miyako
( 8:50)  3. Cascade
(12:10)  4. Quiet Flow
( 4:11)  5. Walking, Prancing, Marching, Dancing
( 2:10)  6. Prelude
( 3:40)  7. In Your Own Sweet Way
( 6:24)  8. I Should Care
( 1:44)  9. Interlude 1
( 3:00) 10. Lament
( 3:48) 11. Interlude 2
( 4:11) 12. Moving Parts 1
( 4:06) 13. Moving Parts 2

Most jazz artists must face the harsh reality that it's almost impossible to sustain a living by making music. Many find themselves having to take alternate employment in order to allow pursuance of their art, and then face the considerable challenge of doing so without impeding their continued development. So perhaps Denny Zeitlin has had it right all along. While managing to generate a world-class reputation as a pianist, he's also maintained a second life as a practicing psychiatrist. Consequently, Zeitlin maintains a considerably sparer performance schedule, has a relatively small body of recorded work, and is less connected into the jazz community through sideman appearances. But his life choices clearly haven't impeded his ability to maintain the kind of artistic growth and reputation of better-known pianists like Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau, and Keith Jarrett. Solo Voyage is another fine example of just how fully-formed and well-conceived Zeitlin's music is, even though it isn't his sole profession. His first solo recording since Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 27 (Concord, 1992), Solo Voyage finds Zeitlin comfortably mixing well-known tunes like Dave Brubeck's "In Your Own Sweet Way, Wayne Shorter's less-recorded "Miyako, and Monk's "Bemsha Swing with his own compositions and a number of free improvisations. While not many things link Zeitlin to Keith Jarrett, one common aspect they share is the ability to pull song-like constructs out of the ether. The freely improvised prelude and interludes that are scattered throughout the eight-part "Solo Voyage suite are remarkably well-formed. But while Jarrett seems to be more about extrapolating ideas in a kind of unbridled stream of consciousness, Zeitlin is more focused, using his improvisations to act as thematic introductions or almost summary codas to composed pieces. 

Another feature distinguishing Zeitlin from Jarrett is his conception, which is equally advanced harmonically, but leans toward the tonal and round-edged, as opposed to Jarrett's predisposition to the jaggedly atonal and the lyrical. That doesn't mean that Zeitlin's music lacks emotional impact; the improvisation "Walking, Prancing, Marching, Dancing is filled with drama as he utilizes broad flourishes to build the tension. Zeitlin embraces a complete view of the jazz tradition, with an evolved sense of stride propelling "Cascade and a more abstract impressionism characterizing the gentle "Quiet Now. He's also not averse to embracing technology, utilizing synthesizers to either create subtle orchestration, as he does on "Prelude, or to provide a sequenced backdrop for his imaginative reading of "In Your Own Sweet Way. While neither overtly cathartic like Jarrett nor abstractly virtuotsic like Mehldau and Hancock, Zeitlin brings his own intrinsic compositional perspective and somewhat contained sense of adventure to Solo Voyage. He may not release records as frequently as some players, but when he does, each one is invariably a significant event, and Solo Voyage is an engaging journey from start to finish. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/solo-voyage-denny-zeitlin-maxjazz-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Denny Zeitlin (piano, synthesizer)

Solo Voyage

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Denny Zeitlin, Charlie Haden - Time Remembers One Time Once

Styles: Piano Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1983
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:45
Size: 123,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:35)  1. Chairman Mao
(9:53)  2. Bird Food
(6:53)  3. As Long As There's Music
(4:27)  4. Time Remembers One Time Once
(7:04)  5. Love For Sale
(6:37)  6. Ellen David
(8:05)  7. Satellite/How High The Moon
(4:06)  8. The Dolphin

Denny Zeitlin and Charlie Haden joined forces for this 1981 date at the Keystone Korner, covering a wide range of material in this exciting duo set. Haden's "Chairman Mao" is a complex number, as Haden opens with an intense repetitious vamp before Zeitlin enters with the delicate Oriental-flavored theme, which sets up Haden's intricate bass solo. The duo has lots of fun with Ornette Coleman's topsy-turvy blues "Bird Food" before reverting to a lovely standard ballad, "As Long as There's Music," with an added emphasis on its lyricism. Zeitlin's intriguing "Time Remembers One Time Once" starts as a waltz but its sudden turns defy prediction. Their laid-back approach to "Love for Sale" is refreshing, especially when compared to the typically uptempo arrangements heard all too often. A medley of John Coltrane's "Satellite" and the old warhorse "How High the Moon" (with Haden coyly interpolating Charlie Parker's "Ornithology," which is based upon "How High the Moon") also works beautifully. The occasional over-modulation in this recording doesn't detract from the outstanding performances. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/time-remembers-one-time-once-mw0000084907

Personnel:  Denny Zeitlin — piano;  Charlie Haden — bass

Time Remembers One Time Once

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Denny Zeitlin - Wishing On The Moon

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:24
Size: 152,9 MB
Art: Front

(11:09)  1. All Of You
(10:12)  2. Wishing On the Moon
( 5:54)  3. As Long As There's Music
( 3:47)  4. Slickrock - Dawn, Gathering
( 4:04)  5. Slickrock - On the Trail
( 5:08)  6. Slickrock - Recovery
( 3:35)  7. Slickrock - On the Trail Again
( 6:55)  8. Put Your Little Foot Right Out
( 6:46)  9. There and Back
( 1:35) 10. Bass Prelude to Signs & Wonders
( 6:12) 11. Signs & Wonders

Pianist Denny Zeitlin never fails to make us smile and on an album like this, recorded many years after he first brought a new brightness to the world of jazz piano, we're still amazed at how he can unlock so many special moments with effortless ease! Zeitlin's always completely himself, but also never overstating his identity just casually sliding into these note structures that are as appealing and optimistic as they are fresh modernism, but from the brighter side of the sun aided by the work of Buster Williams on bass and Matt Wilson on drums. Titles include the originals "There & Back", "Signs & Wonders", "Wishing On The Moon", and "Slickrock" plus "All Of You" and "Put Your Little Foot Right Out".  © 1996-2018, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/881969/Denny-Zeitlin:Wishing-On-The-Moon

Wishing On The Moon

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Denny Zeitlin - Homecoming

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1986
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:55
Size: 96,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:35)  1. First Light
(3:41)  2. Homecoming
(5:10)  3. Waltz for Josephine
(3:13)  4. Morning Touch
(5:07)  5. Hymn
(3:12)  6. Just Passing By
(3:49)  7. Brazilian Street Dance
(6:35)  8. Millpond
(3:46)  9. Mayfly
(3:43) 10. Quiet Now

Paul Winter's Living Music label mostly specialized in new age and meditation music, so this solo jazz piano set from Denny Zeitlin was a bit unusual for the company. Actually, Zeitlin mostly concentrated on quiet ballads during the date, playing ten of his originals (best-known is "Quiet Now") and showing off his lyrical rather than his swinging side. More mood variations would have uplifted the music but the results are pleasing. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/homecoming-mw0000192448  

Personnel:  Denny Zeitlin - Piano

Homecoming

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Denny Zeitlin - Tidal Wave

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1983
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:41
Size: 100,3 MB
Art: Front

(9:59)  1. Tidal Wave
(5:44)  2. Promenade
(7:03)  3. Chelsea Bridge
(8:30)  4. Country Fair
(3:28)  5. Billie's Bounce
(4:48)  6. Wherever You Are
(4:05)  7. Hotline

Because he earns his main living as a psychiatrist, pianist Denny Zeitlin has only recorded on an irregular basis since his initial emergence on the jazz scene in 1964. In fact, other than obscure efforts for the Double Helix and 1750 Arch labels in the 1970s, this LP was Zeitlin's first recording as a leader since 1967. Fortunately, the pianist had stayed in top musical form, as can be heard on a well-rounded set which consists of five Zeitlin compositions plus Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge" and Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce." The latter song, taken as a piano solo, dates from 1981, while the remainder of the program (duets, trios and quartets with guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Peter Donald) has plenty of advanced but straight-ahead swinging. Worth searching for. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/tidal-wave-mw0000615655

Personnel: Danny Zeitlin (piano); John Abercrombie (electric guitar); Charlie Haden (bass); Peter Donald (drums)     

Tidal Wave

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Jeremy Steig Quartet - Flute Fever

Styles: Flute Jazz
Year: 1963
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:55
Size: 123,6 MB
Art:

( 5:19)  1. Oleo
( 9:04)  2. Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)
( 3:53)  3. What Is Things Called Love?
(10:37)  4. So What
( 4:17)  5. Well, You Needn't
( 5:15)  6. Willow Weep For Me
(11:09)  7. Blue Seven
( 3:17)  8. What Is Things Called Love (Take 1) (bonus track)

Flute Fever, the 1963 Columbia Records debut by flutist Jeremy Steig, has somehow, until now, avoided release on CD. Thanks to reissue producer Jonathan Horwich, Steig's beautifully remastered and packaged freshman recording is now available. And it's not only Steig's premier as a recording artist, it's also a recording first for pianist for pianist Denny Zeitlin, on a quartet that's rounded out by veterans Ben Riley on drums, and Ben Tucker on bass. It's a blowing session no group rehearsal, just some brief pre-recording discussions about how to approach some familiar tunes. But man, what a blowing session. The wild men of jazz are usually saxophonists. Flute players are more apt to roll with a laid-back and gentile approach to the music; but Jeremy Steig as green as could be in terms of recording resume comes out blowing like the devil on saxophonist Sonny Rollins' "Oleo." After a brief period of restraint on the tune's opening, Steig ratchets the energy level up to the clouds. Zeitlin, in the accompaniment mode, stays right with him, stabbing sharp statements into what amounts to a fire and brimstone flute rant. If Steig sounds as if he's trying to fly off the face of the Earth, Zeitlin on a masterful solo sounds like an architect designing an ornate edifice meant to last forever down here on the ground. And its worth mentioning: these guys were young. Steig, born in 1942, was 21. Zeitlin was twenty-five. Blowing sessions feature the familiar, and Flute Fever is no exception. "Lover Man" tests the young musicians' mettle on the ballad form. It's an eleven minute exploration of the tune, declared at its close, on mic, a masterpiece by then producer John Hammond. He was right. Steig's tone, as he blew the sad, sweet syllables had a beautiful, rich purity. Zeitlin laid things down with a seasoned patience, soloing with an assured and impeccable grace. The quartet delves into "Well You Needn't," from the pen of Thelonious Monk, the standard "Willow Weep for Me," Miles Davis' "So What," the much-covered "What Is This Thing Calmcled Love?" (with an alternate take included here) and another Sonny Rollins' gem, "Blues Seven." Flute Fever, Introducing the Exciting New Sound of The Jeremy Steig Quartet, Featuring Denny Zeitlin, an exceptional album, is now an exceptional CD, one of the finest jazz flute recordings to be found. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/flute-fever-jeremy-steig-ipo-recordings-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Jeremy Steig: flute; Denny Zeitlin: piano; Ben Riley: drums; Ben Tucker: bass.

Flute Fever

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Denny Zeitlin - Slickrock

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:49
Size: 155,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:36)  1. You And The Night And The Music
(9:42)  2. Wishing on the Moon
(6:55)  3. Every Which Way
(3:41)  4. Put Your Little Foot Right Out
(5:54)  5. It Could Happen To You
(8:01)  6. Body And Soul
(4:38)  7. Sweet Georgia Brown
(4:55)  8. E.S.P.
(3:37)  9. Just Passing By
(2:35) 10. Dawn, Gathering
(5:09) 11. On the Trail
(5:17) 12. Recovery
(2:43) 13. On the Trail Again

With his straight-ahead acoustic piano trio, Denny Zeitlin improvises over familiar standards and fresh originals. As a practicing psychiatrist in the San Francisco Bay Area, he also teaches at the University of California and lectures on the psychology of improvising. A good teacher should always demonstrate when necessary, and who better for the task than one who’s devoted a lifetime to jazz performance? Zeitlin has juggled two careers to fulfillment, and he continues to demonstrate his capacity to lovers of the tried-and-true formula.

The four-part suite that closes the album introduces yet another facet of the pianist’s many interests. Zeitlin has written this suite as a token of his love for mountain biking. His dramatic piece depicts the adventure that weekend cyclists absorb while traveling over slickrock in various parts of the world. Momentum carries the suite through its phases; one must always stop to rest and enjoy the view from time to time. Piano, bass and drums thunder out recollections of the way such a scenic outing can capture your heart. Physical exertion and occasional rest areas make for a full weekend and a healthy lifestyle. Zeitlin has translated these ideas into a mesmerizing musical form. 

Standards such as “Body and Soul” ring familiar, offering proof that no two improvised performances are ever the same. As the trio slow dances comfortably through this chestnut, their spontaneous inventions flow naturally. A bass solo and a cloudy sky of wire brush swirls give the pianist the kind of support desired. Wayne Shorter’s “E.S.P.” proves more drama, with its up-tempo walk and arpeggio-laden romps. Zeitlin’s lesson in improvisation is just what the doctor ordered. ~ Jim Santella  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/slickrock-denny-zeitlin-maxjazz-review-by-jim-santella.php

Personnel: Denny Zeitlin: piano; Buster Williams: bass; Matt Wilson: drums.

Slickrock

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Denny Zeitlin - Wherever You Are: Midnight Moods for Solo Piano

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:01
Size: 156,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:01)  1. Body and Soul
(6:55)  2. Good-Bye
(7:10)  3. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars/How Insensitive
(9:16)  4. Last Night When We Were Young
(6:33)  5. I Hear a Rhapsody
(3:51)  6. Time Remembers One Time Once
(9:28)  7. The Meaning of the Blues
(4:24)  8. My Dream Is Yours
(8:49)  9. You Don't Know What Love Is
(4:31) 10. Wherever You Are

There's something magnificent about a top-level artist alone with a piano, immersed in a mood of quiet nights, under quiet stars. Denny Zeitlin, a versatile music maker who wrote the electro-acoustic symphonic soundtrack for the 1978 remake of the science fiction classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, has released a handful of excellent trio albums on the MaxJazz and Sunnyside labels, but since 2010, has concentrated on solo perforomances. Precipice (Sunnyside Records, 2010) and Labyrinth (Sunnyside Records, 2011) are both live recordings of solo piano outings. Zeitlin continues his solo run with Wherever You Are Midnight Moods for Solo Piano. On previous albums, Zeitlin has always included varied programs, with Midnight Moods though, he tries a different tangent a thematic album. Featuring a sustained mood, dealing in gentle ballads with the kind of extended ruminative atmosphere that Frank Sinatra pioneered with his In the Wee Small Hours (Columbia Records, 1955).

The tunes are familiar standards, some bossa-nova and a couple of classic Zeitlin originals. Opening with the often covered "Body and Soul," from the 1930 Broadway review Three's a Crowd, and brought irretrievably into the jazz cannon by saxophonist Coleman Hawkins' 1939 take on the tune. Zeitlin reharmonizes and injects a stately atmosphere, his exquisite touch and early classical background shining through.Gordon Jenkins' "Good-bye" was covered beautifully in the jazz piano arena by Keith Jarrett and Bobo Stenson, and here Zeiltin explores the fragility of the tune through use of rubato, sounding as if he's feeling his way into uncharted territory. Antonio Carlos Jobim's most beautiful of works, "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars" transitions into "How Insensitive," then slips back and forth between the two tunes.

Zeitlin also revisits two of his most cherished originals, "Time Remembers One Time Once," from his 1983 ECM Records album of the same name a beautiful duet recording with bassist Charlie Haden and "Wherever You Are." The former evoking the feeling of the universal search for human connection while the latter is a tender description of love's transcendence. Wherever You Are Midnight Moods for Solo Piano is Denny Zeitlin's most intimate and contemplative sets of songs, and perhaps the loveliest work from a top jazz pianist at the height of his expressive powers. ~ Dan McClenaghan  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/wherever-you-are-midnight-moods-for-solo-piano-denny-zeitlin-sunnyside-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php
 

Personnel: Denny Zeitlin: piano.

Wherever You Are: Midnight Moods for Solo Piano

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Denny Zeitlin - Cathexis

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:27
Size: 122,8 MB
Art: Front

( 3:20)  1. Repeat
( 5:58)  2. I-Thou
( 5:18)  3. Stonehenge
( 5:14)  4. Soon
( 5:58)  5. Nica's Tempo
( 2:27)  6. Cathexis
( 5:37)  7. 'Round Midnight
( 4:04)  8. Little Children, Don't Go Near That House
(15:26)  9. Blue Phoenix

This used to be one of my favorite albums. In listening to it again to write about it, I realize that I almost exclusively listened to the A-side. It’s a great side. I got this album when I was doing time in Chanute, Kansas.  I was the news director at a little radio station there. There was a bit of fun to be had; it’s what you make it after all. But I still refer to that time in my life as the dark days. I was a 23-year-old man in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere where my extremely low paying job was to come up with 15-minutes of news about the middle of nowhere every day. One of the bright moments of this existence was coming upon a big box of jazz and blues albums that the station was throwing out. At that time the station mostly played music, music that came preprogrammed on these giant reels of tape. Throughout most of the day these giant reels spun playing the mildest and most popular songs of the previous decade or two, pausing occasionally for commercials or a time check or news. I asked if anyone was interested in this box of jazz and blues records. Of course they weren’t. So back to my furnished top floor of a crappy old house they went. Of that box of albums, Denny Zeitlin was the one I liked best and listened to most. I love the opening track, Repeat, and it’s  repeated opening phrase. I’ve sung along with it dozens of times. It makes me happy, and I’m sure that it’s uplifting quality is one of the reasons it got so much play in Chanute.

The rest of side one, continues to be joyful, if not so bouncy and sing-along as that first tune. Any jazz album, I suppose, can be enjoyed in the background while you’re doing something else. (I know there are those that are less musical, and more, is there something wrong with the sound system, but for the most part I’m saying.) And Zeitlin’s record is fine for that. And most days it may be best for that. For it seems to me that Zeitlin’s music has a lot in common with classical music. Maybe this is true for most, or at least a lot of jazz, but I really noticed it here. Now bear with me. I had one required music appreciation class (and for years after I had repeated dreams about sleeping through the final of that class). But in the same way that a novice music lover might say to himself while listening to classical music, hmmm, what’s that little phrase quietly making it’s way from the background and slowing taking control of the piece, or, oh, that’s the tune from earlier, only now it’s sad and slow; you find those kinds of things going on throughout this album. This makes listening to this record, really listening to it, which I try it do before writing about a record, a bit of work. There’s a lot to miss if one is making dinner or playing words with friends while this album is on. I guess I’m saying this was an easier album to enjoy back in Chanute when I had little else to do other than sit and listen.  http://therealmattshow.com/denny-zeitlin-cathexis/

Personnel:  Denny Zeitlin- Piano; Cecil McBee - Bass;  Frederick Waits – Drums.

Cathexis

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Denny Zeitlin - Stairway To The Stars

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:40
Size: 153,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:04)  1. There Will Never Be Another You
(9:17)  2. You Don't Know What Love Is
(7:58)  3. I Could Have Told You
(3:36)  4. Oleo
(7:15)  5. Stairway To The Stars
(7:03)  6. I'll Take Romance
(2:09)  7. Bass Prelude To Deluge
(8:53)  8. Deluge
(7:14)  9. Spring Is Here
(6:10) 10. Out For A Stroll

Pianist Denny Zeitlin's Stairway to the Stars recording sparkles to life on the familiar Great American Songbook jewel, "There Will Never Be Another You." This version has everything that the best piano trio efforts offer: elegance, inspired three-way interplay, a vivacious groove thanks to drummer Matt Wilson and bassist Buster Williams and Zeitlin's always supple touch and endless inventiveness.  Zeiltin, has rolled in a creative high gear since his teaming with Sunnyside Records in 2009, beginning with In Concert with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson. Since that Sunnyside debut, he has released on the label two masterpieces of solo piano, Precipice (2010) and Labyrinth (2011), in addition to his audacious electro/acoustic symphony, Both/And (2013), three sets that represent the artist's best work in an extended and distinguished career that goes back to his sideman assignment in flutist Jeremy Steig's Flute Fever, (Columbia Records, 1963) and a quick follow-up with his first release under his own name, Cathexis (Columbia Records, 1964).  Stairway to the Stars was recorded in 2001, at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles. It's a full set at the club that finds the trio locking in with a spirit of fun, adventure and devil-may-care panache. 

The tunes, for the most part familiar fare, are given a rare buoyancy and bounce by Williams and Wilson, and a shimmering and sometimes bright shining sheen by Zeitlin. Few pianists working today have his command of harmonic depth, his "just right" and sometimes daring touch with a melody. The nine minute plus "You Don't Know What Love Is" has never sounded lovelier, with Wilson's popping percussion, Zeitlin's pinpoint delicacy and subtle flourishes. The disc's title cut, from the 1959 Billy Wilder movie, "Some Like It Hot," celebrates the tune with a subdued groove, Williams' bass pulsing like a lovelorn heart, Wilson whispering in her ear with his brushes, Zeitlin in a spare note mode, with small splashes of beautiful harmonic embellishment. Zeitlin also offers Wayne Shorter's "Deluge," a distinctively modern-leaning tune that the trio goes after with gusto, and there's Sonny Rollins' "Oleo," taken at a freewheeling, careening pace, with Zeitlin combining the rare combination of grace with runaway speed.  Rodgers and Hart's "Spring Is Here," from the 1938 musical "I Married and Angel," is given a slow bossa nova treatment, and the closer, "Out For A Stroll," the lone Zeitlin original on the set, finishes up in a bluesy groove, a relaxed spring-in-the-step rhythm to take the music off down the road. A beautiful set that will rank with the top piano trio outings of the year. ~ Dan Mcclenaghan  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/stairway-to-the-stars-denny-zeitlin-sunnyside-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php#.VC7CkxawTP8

Personnel: Denny Zeitlin: piano; Buster Wiliams: bass; Matt Wilson: drums.

Stairway To The Stars

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Denny Zeitlin - Live At Maybeck Recital Hall

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:04
Size: 144,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:37)  1. Blues On The Side
(4:08)  2. Girl Next Door
(8:50)  3. My Man's Gone Now
(2:53)  4. Lazy Bird
(8:33)  5. 'Round Midnight
(6:09)  6. Love For Sale
(4:57)  7. And Then I Wondered If You Knew
(4:58)  8. Country Fair
(4:54)  9. Sophisticated Lady
(4:38) 10. The End Of A Love Affair
(3:08) 11. Just Passing By
(6:12) 12. What Is This Thing Called Love

Although Denny Zeitlin, MD is probably a fine psychiatrist, it is the jazz world's loss that he is not a full-time musician. This live solo performance is one of his greatest triumphs, starting with his infectious opener, "Blues on the Side," which is far too complex to be compared to typical blues. He tackles John Coltrane's "Lazy Bird" at a furious tempo worthy of its composer. Zeitlin's refreshingly deliberate approach to "'Round Midnight" best captures its dark undertones. The pianist's lyrical side is also evident. "Sophisticated Lady" captures the essence of Duke Ellington's landmark work, while "Just Passing By" is a subtle original that conjures images of a brisk stroll at the beginning of autumn. Zeitlin then shifts into high gear for an intense medley of "What Is This Thing Called Love" and "Fifth House" to close with a flourish. ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-maybeck-recital-hall-vol-27-mw0000104664

Live At Maybeck Recital Hall

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