Musicians: Denny Zeitlin, piano; Buster Williams, bass; Matt Wilson, drums
Review: The rediscovery, or re-appreciation, or continuing re-emergence, or re-packaging of Denny Zeitlin—or all of the preceding—is upon us, and we are the better for it. Zeitlin is one of those omnivorously curious individuals whose interests are varied and deep, and he pursues them with alacrity. Fortunately, music happens to be one of his pursuits. But so is wine. Fly fishing. Cycling. Mountain biking. Still at the age of 70. Zeitlin’s professional interests reside in practicing and professing psychiatry in the Bay Area. Indeed, Zeitlin first recorded in the early sixties not because he sought a musical career, but instead in response to an opportunity to meet producer John Hammond while he was in New York studying psychiatry briefly at Columbia University there. As a result, Zeitlin recorded as he was able, and those occasional recordings were valued by enthusiasts who valued his technical dexterity and imaginative approach on the piano. Fortunately, Mosaic has re-released Zeitlin’s recordings on Columbia before he left the label in the seventies when Zeitlin decided to investigate move into electronics too. Concomitant with the availability of the Mosaic box set, for compare-and-contrast effect, Zeitlin has produced an album of his current trio during live performances over the past seven years at The Jazz Bakery in Culver City, California and The Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Well, in terms of comparing, Zeitlin’s technical dexterity certainly is intact, still awesomely impressive, if not better than ever, as he veritably attacked John Coltrane’s “Mr. P.C.” from the start with vivacity, speed and fearlessness at The Jazz Bakery in 2006. He personalizes the minor blues, making it his own throughout both version on In Concert with percolating rivulets of notes, crisp staggering of the beat in the upper register and rubato improvisations that depart entirely from the original melody with sweeping arpeggios and deceleration into light swing amid the encircling furiousness. The fancy and restlessness of Zeitlin’s work remains fresh, keeping listeners alert to the next idea he may reveal as it occurs to him during his playing. In terms of contrasting, Zeitlin’s trio, formed in 2001, contains a cohesiveness afforded by two other remarkable musicians, who discern and communicate the joy of playing jazz, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt Wilson. Despite Zeitlin’s force and overflow of thought into music, he allows much space for them, especially Williams. On the second track of “Mr. P.C.,” now entirely interpreted as a bright, flowing blues, Williams deliver a broadly conceived, melodic solo as Zeitlin fills in sprinkles of notes here and there for effect. Wilson moves into the forefront with his own solo, individualistic as well, supported in turn with accompaniment by the other two. “Bass Prelude,” performed entirely by Williams at The Outpost in 2004, provides four minutes of mesmerizing bass work, consisting of suspenseful rubato melodic fragments and upper harmonics, sometimes barely perceptible, offsetting the atmospheric main theme.
But the excitement and sense of experimentation generated by the trio comes across throughout the remaining tracks, from Zeitlin’s strumming of the piano’s strings and coruscating arpeggios over Williams’ vamp at the beginning of “Signs & Wonders” to the solid swing of “All of You,” brimming with broadly chorded melodic movement. “The Night Has 1000 [and then '10,000'] Eyes” demonstrates two of Zeitlin’s approaches to the standard, the first emerging quietly from tintinnabulations at the very top of the keyboard and then from some desultory free improvisation before, after four minutes, the familiar theme is revealed, delicately, softly over a snared pattern and relaxed clip-clopping. The second interpretation is looser with a repetitive call-and-response playfulness over a defined bass vamp, and for the most part it recalls the song in brief references before the chiming upper-register melody appears, re-harmonized and beautifully played through key changes and intriguing minimalism.
Not only has Denny Zeitlin returned through a re-appraisal of his artistry with the Mosaic re-release of his early albums, but he has made the musical point that his fascination with the possibilities afford by music remains, and delightfully so.
Don Williamson
Tracks: Mr. P.C., The Night Has 1000 Eyes/10,000 Eyes, The We Of Us, All Of You, Prime Times, Bass Prelude, Signs & Wonders
JazzReview.com
