Jeff Denson, Lee Konitz - Jeff Denson Trio + Lee Konitz

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:50
Size: 127,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:38) 1. Baby
(5:00) 2. Dust
(4:51) 3. Blue Skies
(4:30) 4. East Thirty-Second
(6:07) 5. Subconscious Lee
(5:46) 6. Body and Soul
(6:34) 7. Background Music
(5:25) 8. Kary's Trance
(4:48) 9. Skylark
(5:13) 10. 317 East 32nd Street
(2:52) 11. Subconscious Lee (Solo)

After more than a decade as a co-leader of the internationally acclaimed trio Minsarah, bassist Jeff Denson is forging into new territory with his trio that features Dan Zemelman on piano and Jon Arkin on drums. Each season, Jeff will select an outstanding featured guest featuring the project as, The Jeff Denson Trio +1. For the 2015/2016 season the special featured guest will be legendary alto saxophonist Lee Konitz. Jeff has performed with Lee since 2007 and was a member of the Lee Konitz New Quartet, the only permanent group that the eminent saxophonist has ever led.

There are a couple of elements that largely set this album apart from other projects that Jeff and Lee have worked on together: Improvisation between the alto saxophone, bowed double bass and their voices. After largely focusing on standards for the last decade, they take a fresh look at some of the Music of the "Lennie Tristano School" (compositions by Tristano, Konitz, Marsh and Bauer). Jeff takes an unusual approach doubling the complex themes of the Tristano School and interweaving the solo lines like the historic duo of Konitz and Marsh. "Jeff is an exceptional musician who is a creative force on the double bass and has an original approach and voice on the instrument." ~ Lee Konitz https://www.jeffdenson.com/jdtkonitz

Personnel: Jeff Denson: bass, vocals; Lee Konitz: alto saxophone, vocals; Dan Zemelman: piano; Jon Arkin: drums

Jeff Denson Trio And Lee Konitz

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Jeff Denson & Joshua White - I'll Fly Away

Styles: Hymns and Spirituals
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:11
Size: 115,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:34) 1. I'll Fly Away (Version One)
(5:19) 2. Lord, I Want to be a Christian
(5:22) 3. Down at the Cross
(5:47) 4. Amazing Grace
(3:52) 5. I'll Fly Away (Version Two)
(6:10) 6. What a Friend We Have in Jesus
(4:11) 7. When the Saints Go Marching In
(3:57) 8. Just As I Am
(3:09) 9. Crying in the Chapel
(5:03) 10. In the Garden
(2:41) 11. I'll Fly Away (Version Three)

Jeff Denson has been alto saxophone legend Lee Konitz's bassist of choice for the past several years, and it's easy to see why on this superlative duet album of gospel music with the explosive pianist Joshua White, who, at age 28 appears ready to take the world by storm. White has almost twenty years of experience playing gospel music obvious by the great liberties he uses to transform this music while retaining a visceral authenticity. There are three radically different versions of the title track here, but the opening take on I'll Fly Away, is a stunner. Over the dark and wood-grain pulse of Denson, White expounds like a player-piano infused with the holy spirit, as well as a liberal dash of Cecil Taylor to keep it real.

Indeed, much of what makes this disc so satisfying is the open embrace of dissonant textures and audacious harmonic choices which add depth to a program imbued with joyous consonance. Denson's pizzicato intro to "Down at the Cross," is deep, dark and soulful and White's sparkling lyricism compares very favorably to similar work by Keith Jarrett. The bassist begins his solo tour-de-force on "Amazing Grace," with throaty bowed harmonics that cut into the ether and it only gets deeper from there.

The tender exchange on "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," might have lapsed into the maudlin, but the pensive dialog sails clear with White's melodic cascades and Denson's resonant, Charlie Haden like tone. "When the Saints Go Marching In," emerges drastically retooled, and the two improvisers exploit the altered form as a vehicle to dart in and around oncoming traffic with spontaneous ideas. White's unbridled virtuosity is loosed on "Just As I Am," as waves of impressions pile atop each other in dense, violent layers.

Beautifully recorded by Adam Munoz at the iconic Fantasy Studios, in Berkeley, California, this recording captures Denson's huge sound in great detail, especially in the solo bass reading of "Crying in the Chapel," where it moans like a wounded leviathan. The delicate waltz of the penultimate tune, "In the Garden," begins with almost classical gestures, but by the time the body of the tune emerges—a more modern exchange of singing voices dominates. One of the finest bass and piano discs to surface in a long time, I'll Fly Away, is worth seeking out.~ Robert Bush https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ill-fly-away-jeff-densen-and-joshua-white-pfmentum-review-by-robert-bush.php

Personnel: Jeff Denson: double-bass; Joshua White: piano

I'll Fly Away

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