The Magic of Richard Rodgers in the Hands of Denny Zeitlin on "With A Song in My Heart"

Denny Zeitlin- Exploring the Music of Richard Rodgers- With a Song in My Heart- Sunnyside

It's hard for me to get my head around how long it has been since I first heard  pianist Denny Zeitlin play live. It was November of 2001 when I had the privilege of catching him and his trio at the wonderful, but sadly now defunct, Kitano jazz club in the Kitano hotel off of Park Avenue in NYC. His playing was simply sublime, and his bandmates - the stalwart bassist Buster Williams and the effervescent drummer Matt Wilson- rose to the occasion with empathetic energy and joy.  Zeitlin's sensitivity and inventiveness made a lasting impression on me, and I continued to follow, look forward, and at times write about his subsequent releases.

Denny Zeitlin, Buster Williams and Matt Wilson at The Kitano November  2001

Earlier in the year of this performance, Zeitlin had released his spectacular solo album Labyrinth on Sunnyside Records, in the month of June. Solo piano albums have a special meaning to Zeitlin. He once said “Solo piano performance takes me back to my earliest roots, and allows for perhaps the most intensely personal musical statement.” While this was certainly his sentiment then, these days, at the age of eighty-seven, it is probably even more intensely true  today. His playing and creativity has certainly continued to wow, inspire and entertain over the passing years. This musical artist has always maintained a dual vocation as both a musician and as a clinical professor of psychiatry at University of California at San Francisco and in his private practice. This never kept him from still performing and recording. It started with his first release Cathexis, when he was first signed to Columbia Records by producing legend John Hammond in 1963. 

Zeitlin was born in Chicago, Illinois and relocated to the west coast in 1964 where he has resided in the San Francisco and the Marin county area ever since. Maintaining these two successful professions concurrently for close to sixty years reveal an enormous amount of the vitality, creativity and dedication that this man has maintained throughout his life. Some might call him a Renaissance Man of sorts, and just looking at his prolific recording history that might not be far from the truth.

Zeitlin's latest solo album Exploring The Music of Richard Rodgers-With a Song In My Heart , was released on June 6th of this year. It is his thirty-eighth recording and his sixteenth with Sunnyside Records. 

Listening to a Zeitlin album, especially his solo offerings, is always a challenge to write about. Words alone do not do  justice to the experience of being submerged while listening to the musical cornucopia that comes out of this artist's fertile mind. Perhaps the closest  metaphor I can come up with is to compare Zeitlin to a gourmet chef. He prepares each performance like a feast. He sets the table of the listener carefully, exploring musical themes-in this case the music of Richard Rodgers-one of the most important and successful composers of the twentieth century. He deconstructs familiar or sometimes not so familiar compositions. He extracts the essence and finds meaningful motifs that he can emphasis and embellish. He layers ideas, modulates the tonal possibilities, and exploits rhythmic changes to great effect. Like a skilled chef with his battery of seasonings, Zeitlin reinvents the mundane, magically reharmonizing the familiar into something that emerges as new and fresh.

Denny Zeitlin (photo credit unknown)

Zeitlin has travelled this path many times before. Previously he has done deep dives into the music of Wayne Shorter on his Early Wayne from 2014. In 2015, Zeitlin did a video of his Piedmont Piano concert Exploring Thelonious Monk. He followed that with his exploration of the music of Miles Davis on his Remembering Miles from 2016, not to mention his studies of the music of Gershwin and Strayhorn.

In each case, Zeitlin explore the composer's canon of music and rethinks it in his own mystical way. His artistry comes from his thorough familiarity with the material he presents and finding ways to see them and preform them in his own unique way. Zeitlin, was first exposed as a youth to Richard Rodgers music from hearing the music from the 1943 Broadway show Oklahoma!  

On The Music of Richard Rodgers-With a Song In My Heart, Zeitlin has mined twelve compositions from the Rodgers treasure chest, many unfamiliar. Half of this music was recorded in front an audience at the Piedmont Piano concert on December 13, 2019, with the remainder of the selections being recorded in a studio in November and December of the same year. 

The earliest composition on this album is the title track "With a Song in My Heart" that was first heard in the musical Spring Is Here 1929. Zeitlin takes this song, with it's noted feel of a love at first sight romance, and once delivered by Ella Fitzgerald in 1956, and plays it with conviction and sensitivity. 

The opener, "Falling in Love With You," another show song from The Boys from Syracuse from 1938, has been covered by artists as disparate as Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews and The Supremes! Zeitlin explores the lost love theme by opening the music with his own exploratory intro. His touch can be light or majestic and his subtle change of tone and attack explores all the emotions from chagrin to soaring hope. He explores multiple rhythmic changes that raise the temperature and accelerate the heart beat. Just a wonderful capture of this man in the "flow" and the audience responds accordingly.

"I Don't Know What Time It Was"  from the musical Too Many Girls of 1938 vintage has been covered by Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Betty Carter and Cassandra Wilson, not to mention instrumentally by Charlie Parker and Brad Mehldau. Because the composition doesn't have a tonal center, but modulates between keys, it makes the song feel more mysterious. Zeitlin raises the bar by playing in a 7/4 time signature that adds yet another element to his interpretation of this classic. He alternates the pace and adds interest in his interesting harmonizing with his left hand. You can't help but marvel at the man's unpredictable ideas that he often comes up with on he fly. If you thought you knew this song, then you will find yourself surprised at how far out he can expand the paths that can be traveled within a composition.

"He Was Too Good To Me" is a Rodgers composition that was written  for a Broadway show in 1930, Simple Simon, and was somehow never used in the show. No worries, the moving ballad attracted it's own astute followers that took it as their own. Vocalists Natalie Cole and Chris Connor, as well as jazz artists from Chet Baker, Thad Jones and Shirley Horn all found this composition fertile ground. Zeitlin gets his turn exploring the themes of loss, grief and sorrow in his own inimitable way. His notes sometimes feel like they suspend themselves in the air on command. His tender touch is moving and draws you into the pathos of a lover's loss with empathy and warmth.

The album continues with the obscure "Johnny One Note"  from Babes in Arms, a 1937 show that depicts tale of an opera singer who could only sing one note. Despite his limitation, he would sing with such overpowering fervor that he was always upstaging his fellow cast members. Zeitlin plays a somewhat boisterous samba here. He simulates the opera singers audacious gusto. His left hand maintains the frantic buzz as his right hand explores the keyboard to its limits.

Zeitlin includes two compositions "Wait Till You See Her" and "Ev' rything I've Got" from the 1942 show By Jupiter, that featured Ray Bolger, who later became famous as the Scarecrow in movie The Wizard of Oz. 

"Wait Till You See Her" finds Zeitlin in his delicate ballad mode and in "Ev'rything I've Got," Zeitlin's rhythmic acuity and creativity is on display. He lights up the room with ascending and descending flights that pulls all the possibilities out of this song. He also delves into the piano body including string plucking and manipulating that adds a whole new dimension. 

In the studio portion of the album, Zeitlin draws on two compositions from South Pacific, the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein 1949 Broadway show and later the equally famous 1958 film that brought this music to another generation. The musical was based on the Tales of the South Pacific, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by James Michener. The emotionally filled ballad "This Nearly Was Mine" was once made famous by Frank Sinatra. Zeitlin choses to use a 5/4 time signature on this version and his deft touch and gorgeous harmonic choices make this lament of love and loss pure magic. 

The comedy show I'd Rather Be Right from 1937 gave us the jazz standard "Have You Met Miss Jones." This gem has been a vehicle of expression since it's origin and been interpreted by such impressive artists as Art Tatum, Stan Getz, and Ahmad Jamal, as well as vocalists Anita O' Day, Tony Bennett and Mel Tormé. The chord modulations are said to have been precursors to what is known as Coltrane changes as used in his Giant Steps. With this imprimatur from a legion of jazz greats, its is no wonder why Zeitlin has chosen to take his turn at reimagining this classic. He doesn't disappoint. The pianist uses motifs that he expands upon and his facility across the keyboard continues to demonstrate a command that is only limited by his seemingly bottomless well of imagination.

Exploring the Music of Richard Rodgers- With a Song in My Heart- is a pure delight. Zeitlin continues to prove that the American songbook can still be a plentiful treasure trove of beauty and inspiration, and he defies the claim that it has become a worn out resource. When the canon is examined and played by a true piano master like Zeitlin, one who has never shied away from challenge, the sky can be the limit.

Multi-Reed Artist Ted Nash and his Quintet at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola

Ted Nash Qunitet live at Dizzy's Coca Cola  Plastic Sax Records

Often musicians come from musical families and so is the case with the saxophonist/composer/arranger Ted Nash. Both his father and uncle were accomplished jazz and west coast studio musicians. Father Richard “Dick” Nash’s work can be heard on albums by discriminating arranger/composers like Lalo Schifrin, John Williams and Pete Rugulo. Perhaps his most important association was as Henry Mancini’s favorite trombonist, playing with the maestro for over forty years from 1959 through 2000.  Ted’s uncle and namesake, Theodore Malcolm “Ted” Nash, was also a studio musician who played with Les Brown and was also favored sideman in Mancini’s band. Here is a recording the brothers did together.

With this pedigree, it is no wonder that our now modern-day Ted, a seasoned fifty-eight year old professional musician, should follow in these imposing footsteps. Not only has Nash made his own mark as a first call multi-reed artist - for the last nineteen years he has been a key member of Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra- He has established himself as a top rate composer and arranger. In 2010 Nash's Portraits in Seven Shades, a creative work of seven movements, each depicting the modern painters Chagall, Dali, Matisse, Monet, Picasso, Pollock and Van Gogh, was nominated for a Grammy. In 2017 his ambitious Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom won two Grammy awards, one for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album and one for "Spoken At Midnight" for Best Instrumental Composition. 

Nash is the consummate musical explorer, he has never let his love for big band music get in the way of his playing creative improvised music in a myriad of settings. He has been an integral part of projects like his work with bassist Ben Allison on The Herbie Nichols Project or the trio with Allison and guitarist Steve Cardenas that celebrates the music of Jim Hall and Jimmy Giuffre on Quiet Revolution.  Not to be pigeonholed as a pure traditionalist he made his own free jazz explorations of the music of Ornette Coleman on his Quartet album The Creep.

With such an unquenchable thirst for ever expanding his musical horizons its nice to hear Nash play “live” on his latest album Ted Nash Quintet live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. The line up is superb with trailblazers like Warren Wolf on vibes, Gary Versace on piano, Matt Wilson on drums and the glue that holds it all together the veteran bassist Rufus Reid.

Nash and company offers up seven delightful compositions two of which, the opener “Organized Crime” and the next to last song “Sisters” are Nash originals. The remaining fare is a thoughtful assembly of songs by Chick Corea, Herbie Nichols, Thelonious Monk, Johnny Mandel and Henry Mancini.

The pace quickens right from the opening lines of Nash’s “Organized Crime.” Reid’s bulbous bass notes accentuating the rhythm under Wilson’s polyphony of bombs and crashes. Wolf offers a distinctive solo before Nash plays a searing, Coleman-esque alto solo.  Wilson’s playful antics are fill the air with electricity. The energy is palpable.

The band moves on to Corea’s masterpiece “Windows,” this time with Nash on flute reminiscent of the work on this by the great Hubert Laws. Wolf’s vibes and Versace’s piano lend an airy feel to this as Reid’s steady hand is probing with authority. Nash has wonderful intonation on the instrument. Versace, a pianist who deserves greater recognition, dances with superb sensitivity along with Reid in a gorgeous display of intuitive grace that is a highlight of the album.

Herbie Nichols, a cult figure on the piano known for his unique style, composed the next tune “Spinning Song.” Nash on alto and Wolf on vibes play the main theme in step. As the song changes to a slow swing Wolf again shows why he is a master of invention. The song has interesting breaks which the group navigates with effortless polish. Nash’s alto tone is rich and luscious as he trades notes with a lone Reid holding the line. Nash finds a delicate balance between a classic and modern tone. His playing brings you to the precipice at times but you never feel like you re in danger of falling off. 

What would a set list be without at least one Monk tune. The one Nash chooses is “Epistrophy,” brilliantly lead off by Wilson and Reid and played in unison by Versace, Wolf and Nash on alto. Monk would be shaking his leg in approval. Nash wails on his alto expressing a deep affection for the changes here and showing how well he has absorbed the tradition. Wolf loosens up the tune with his own excursion, a fountainhead of ideas, while Reid relentlessly lays down the powerful bass line. Versace’s piano solo is a marvelously twisted piece of invention as Wilson lands bombs and crashes behind him. This one is just a delight.

Nash takes to the microphone to explain how the next piece, Johnny Mandel’s beautiful ballad “Emily” is a dedication to his transgender daughter once Emily now Elias. This is a special moment for Nash, a man publicly acknowledging his unconditional love for his child. Played gorgeously by Gary Versace in duo with Nash’s transcendent clarinet, this one is special. Nash and Versace make beautiful music together and from Nash’s reaction that is caught on mic, Versace surprises him at times with his spontaneous and nuanced inventiveness. 
I recently praised a duo album by Fred Hersch and Anat Cohen using the same isntrumentation where I thought the two showed remarkable afinity for each other. Nash and Versace reach that same unfathomable simpatico here and it is just a treat to behold. You can tell by the complete and utter silence that the two command the room. The audience is spell bound. Bravo gentlemen!

Another Nash original, "Sisters," finds the saxophonist returning to his alto with relish and gusto on this quick paced swinger. Reid's bass line is in double time and flawless. Nash, Wolf and Versace all take turns burning down the house with their fleet, adreniline-paced inventions. 

The Nash-Mancini connection is inescapable and so it was appropriate to end the set with Mancini's playful "Baby Elephant's Walk." Nash plays the piccolo, an instrument rarely heard in jazz. Like the legendary Pied Piper, Nash leads the group on this rousing blues with joyful abandon, ending the show and the album on the perfect high note.

Live albums can at times be spoty or unisnpired, but Ted Nash Quintet live at Dizzy's Coca Cola is one of those rare recordings that has captiured a special moment in time, a moment when all things were working at the highest level and the only regret is that you weren't there to witness this for yourself.

The Many Facets of Bassist Martin Wind on his latest: " Light Blue"

Martin Wind Light Blue  Laika Records

Martin Wind is a classically trained bassist with impeccable tone and a polished arco technique. Consequently he has become an  in-demand sideman and sought after musical collaborator. His credits include his duo work with  guitar great Philip Catherine and current collaborations with fellow German and long time friend, guitarist Ulf Meyer. He is a member of the trios of vocalists Dena DeRosa and Anne Hampton Callaway; a member of the trios of pianists Bill Cunliffe, Ted Rosenthal, and Bill Mays  and a member of drummer Matt Wilson’s Arts and  Crafts Group. Wind has been a first-call session musician whose work can be heard on several films and if that wasn't enough he is educator on the faculty of both NYU and Hofstra Universities.

With all that work as a sideman, educator and collaborator, its hard to imagine him finding the time to both compose and lead his own group, but that’s exactly what this industrious bassist has done. His last album was an ambitious undertaking that re-imagined the work of Bill Evans. Titled Bring Out the Stars, the album featured Wind’s own quartet in concert with the Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana and was a joyous feast of sound.

On Wind’s latest release LightBlue, the bassist is joined by a stellar cast musicians including the clarinetist Anat Cohen, the multi-reed artist Scott Robinson, the trumpeter Ingrid Jensen,  the pianists Bill Cunliffe and Gary Versace, the vocalist Maucha Adnet and the drummers Matt Wilson and Duduka Fonseca. 

LightBlue is a revealing look into the versatility of this accomplished bassist and in the compositional inventiveness department it is anything but light. We are treated to ten original Wind compositions that show just how far he has come since his days of  studying composition and performance with such luminaries as Mike Richmond, Jim McNeely, Kenny Werner and Mike Holober.

The record is divided into two groups, the first half of the album, the more adventurous and daring of the two, utilizes keyboard artist Gary Versace, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, Scott Robinson on tenor, alto, taragota (A Hungarian instrument similar to a soprano saxophone but made of wood)  and bass saxophones, and drummer Matt Wilson, with clarinetist Cohen playing on just one cut. The second half of the album features Wind's more  Brazilian influenced, lyrical side. This lineup included clarinetist Cohen, Robinson on tenor, alto, bass saxophone and clarinet, pianist Bill Cunliffe, drummer Duduka Fonseca and the vocalist Maucha Adnet. Each side has its own distinct merits. 

The range of diversity in these compositions is quite impressive. Whether it be the opening bars of “While I’m Still Here,” with Versace’s wonderful cinematic sounding organ, or the raucous but jubilant “Power Chords,” with Wind’s rumbling bowing and Robinson’s bellowing bass saxophone solo creating a driving, almost metal-inspired sound, there is something here for almost anyone.

On his composition  “Rose,” the delightfully evocative taragota work of Scott Robinson is otherworldly and when played together with Jensen’s clarion trumpet, the group attains an admirable symbiosis.  Wind’s booming bass keeps the metronomic time whilevVersace dances intuitively between piano and organ. The music just cries out to be listened to, absorbed and enjoyed.

“Ten Minute Song” is a jaunty swinger that features the versatile Robinson’s wonderful bass saxophone work over Wilson’s shuffling brush strokes and Wind’s walking bass lines. A jabbing piano solo by Versace leads to a wispy Jensen trumpet solo and a reply by Cohen’s buoyant clarinet. Wilson offers his own playful solo before the group returns to a unified conclusion.

The often cold and dreary month “February” is represented here by a brooding ballad. Trumpeter Ingrid Jensen makes the most of the mood with a moving solo. Wind’s pizzicato intonation is remarkably precise and projects beautifully on his emotional solo. Versace’s tinkling piano musings  at the coda adds to the perfect ending.

Side two transitions into a more lyrical theme with the folk-inspired, “Genius and A Saint." Here the music features some of the best woodwind interplay I’ve heard in ages. The ubiquitous Cohen is a marvel on her instrument, but Robinson is an underappreciated master of the clarinet and he finds his harmonic groove in a graceful exchange with Cohen that can only be described as pure magic.

Brazilian vocalist Maucha Adnet lends her bossa authenticity to sing Wind’s breezy “Seven Steps to Rio.” Robinson creates a marvelous Getz-ian tenor sound clearly in the spirit of the master’s work with Jobim before putting his own spin on his solo. Cohen’s clarinet rises to new heights as Fonseca’s animated drums add some percussive accents to this catchy tune.

“A Sad Story” finds Wind’s emotive arco-playing merging with Cohens’s soulful clarinet opening this aching lament. Adnet’s voice is charged with the sorrow and regret that the lyrics portray.

“De Norte A Sul” (From North to South) finds Wind and Fonseca laying down a samba inspired beat and features darting solos by Cohen, a soulful vocal by Adnet and an inspired solo by pianist Bill Cunliffe.

Wind rediscovered this closing melody, “Longing,” while researching material for this album. Cohen’s signature woody sound floats over the changes in graceful communion with the backing rhythm. Wind’s bass is again featured on a pizzicato solo that is accompanied by Fonseca’s ever so light touch on his cymbal and by Cunliffe’s thoughtful chording. Adnet’s vocal stylings are splendid.

Turn Out the Stars : The Bassist Martin Wind Plays the Music of Bill Evans: Part Two of my Interview with Martin Wind

Martin Wind Turn Out the Stars 2014

Turn Out the Stars  is a collection of songs inspired or written by the great pianist Bill Evans. The music is written and arranged for orchestra by the German born and New York based bassist Martin Wind. The album features  Wind’s quartet  which includes the multi-reedist Scott Robinson, the pianist Bill Cunliffe and the former Evans drummer Joe LaBarbera, along with the Italian Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana under the direction of Massimo Morganti. The lyrical Wind has a soft spot in his heart for Evan's music, as he relates to Evan's classical training and the sensitivity of the maestro's touch.Wind was also classically trained, can sight read quickly and has superb intonation; all attributes that make him an in-demand sessions player as well as a first call studio musician.

The album  Turn Out the Stars  is an ambitious undertaking and Wind has created a sumptuous treat, a seamless combination of swinging ensemble and lush orchestration work. Three of the songs’ “Turn Out the Stars,” “Twelve Tone Tune Two” and the cinematically sweeping treatment of  “Blue and Green” are all Evan’s originals. The Henry Mancini song “Days of Wine and Roses” and the Victor Young composition “My Foolish Heart” were both made famous by Evan’s timeless treatments.  Scott Robinson ‘s” Jeremy” Don Friedman’s “Memory of Scottie,”   Phil Woods “Goodbye Mr. Evans” and Joe LaBarbera’s dedication to his former associate“Kind of Bill” round out the music. The players are all in top form and the music glistens with love, respect  and a deep sense of connection.

I spoke to Wind at some length over the telephone on April 1, 2014 from his home in New Jersey: He is a fascinating and articulate artist. He spoke of his history, his instrument, his influences, other musicians and his making of this fine album.

This is Part Two of this Two Part of the wide ranging Interview. For Part I of this interview click here.

NOJ:  When the great Ellington bassist Jimmie Blanton bowed his famous bass solo on “Body and Soul” it changed the way people thought about how the bass could be used in jazz.  You have an exquisite arco technique. How do you see yourself using it to expand the possibilities in jazz?

MW: I see it as a possibility to extend my voice as a bassist. People actually do come up to me and say “Wow , I have never heard the bass talk to me before.” I like that.  It just happens to be the instrument that I chose.  I want to reach people. I want to communicate. I want to tell my story, as much of a cliché as that may sound,. I want to be a melodic player. I want to play in a way that ...  draws people in.

With the bow it allows me to do things that I can’t really do when I play pizzicato. I can hold long notes and I can do something with those notes while I am sustaining them, which is something every horn player can do. When you pick the note (play pizzicato),  depending on your set up and your string choice,  the note (duration) is between short and very short. ( Laughing)

With the bow I can play sort of like a bebop solo, like Paul Chambers did. Or I can be lyrical-state the ballad, play the melody-like I did on “My Foolish Heart” on this recording or like I did on “Remember October 13^th”... with Greg (Hutchinson) and Scott (Robinson). I can tap into a whole different array of sound. I think that is really important for us to engage our listeners so that it is not just that one sound.
I (can) get bored and if I am getting bored by my limited use of sounds, than I am sure the listeners are not very engaged.

NOJ: A bow can also be very poignant. People who really know how to play arco can expand what they are communicating.

MW: Yes. I am amazed that of all the hundreds of jazz bass players that live in and around New York City,.  I think you can count on two hands the people that play jazz bass and get a really good sound with the bow. Boris Kosovo, it’s Christian ( McBride), it’s John Pattitucci, George Mraz is fantastic with a bow,  Robert Hurst, John Clayton of course, but after a while you run out of names.
.

NOJ:  What are three essential songs that feature the bass and that you have found are important milestones in jazz or that you have found of particular meaning to you as a jazz bassist?

This One's for Blanton : Ray Brown & Duke Ellington 1972

MW: There is the recording with Ray Brown and Duke Ellington, the tribute to Jimmie Blanton ( This One's for Blanton : Ray Brown and Duke Ellington, 1972) that historically is a pretty important one.  “Trichotism,” the Oscar Pettiford recording with Lucky Thompson ( Lucky Thompson Meets Oscar Pettiford, 1956)  is always something that bass players like to shed and learn and play.

Lucky Thompson Meets Oscar Pettiford 1956

 Everybody needs to know how to play  “Donna Lee” ever since Jaco (Pastorious) did that recording even though it’s (on) electric bass. 

The one’s that really impacted me, I have to say there is one track from Ron Carter, playing in Miles' band. It is the Town Hall recording released as My Funny Valentine. It was with George Coleman on tenor. The way he (Carter) orchestrates, and I really mean that Orchestrates. The kind of impact that his lines and his playing and his orchestration had on where the music was going on that group, it was just amazing and it was such a lesson.  I really don’t think that bass players before him  took on that kind of responsibility and shaped the music the way he did in that group. Of course Scott La Faro said, " I just don’t want to play with the piano and I don’t want to just play groove, I want to be the other voice and I think more in terms of counterpoint." But what Ron did (on this recording), I think was beyond that in a way, so that it one of the tracks that influenced me a lot

Miles Davis in Concert My Funny Valentine 1964

NOJ: You have been involved on several motion picture sound tracks. How did you get started in film scores.

MW: I think it was a recommendation, and that is always the way it is. Somebody has to trust you and believe in you and put you in these spots. That person is Bill Mays,somebody who has helped me a lot during my career.  He is on my first two trio albums. Obviously he is an incredible pianist and composer and arranger in his own right. I played with him in Europe before I came over here to the United States. When I moved here and  was a student, even while I was in the program at NYU, he started to recommend me to singers and to people like Sandy Parks. Sandy is a contractor in the movie business. I got my first part on camera in a movie called “Mona Lisa Smiles.”  I was playing in the big band in the wedding scene. While I was there, I had all those hours (waiting around on set) until you have those ten minutes when you are actually on screen in front of the camera. Sandy and I  spoke. I told her that I had a symphony background and that I used to play in a symphony orchestra all the time. From there she started inviting me to the recording sessions for  movies like ( the Coen Brothers)  True Grit and other movies.

I always like to sneak into the recording booth after a take and see how the music matches with the image. To be there and listen, a fly on the wall when one of the directors are having discussions with the composer. I mean that is just priceless for somebody who want to be a writer himself.


NOJ: How did you break into the active New York Jazz Scene?

MW: I don’t know what that really means. It is not like I am appearing at the Village Vanguard and I am on the cover of all the magazine’s all the time. To me it means I feels  like I have the respect of my peers. I can make a living teaching and playing. Nobody in our business is going to be wealthy or rich by any means. Just the fact that I can live here comfortably. I can support myself and my family... that means I succeeded. There were several elements that helped. Bill Mays was very instrumental  by recommending me  to people who have never heard my name before. That is what it takes, somebody to say this guy, why don’t you use him for this rehearsal or that little gig and then that little gig turns into a bigger gig or the next recording. That is how things work. Another element was NYU. When I started there, it was not really a big program, so right away I was the best bass player in the program. They had a really great master class series. They would invite the most amazing jazz musicians to the school that would end up playing with us students. I was twenty-six, twenty-seven years old so I wasn't a beginner anymore.  I was in New York two weeks and I found myself playing with Joe Lovano and it was just fantastic! I was like, " Yeah that is what I came here for!"  Michael Brecker came, Bob Mintzer came, Joey Baron and Dave Douglas came and the list just goes on and on and on. Not that everybody would hire me on the spot. People have to hear you , they have to meet you, they have to see you again and again, until they finally remember your name. You know it is a long process.

NOJ: In an interview you once said that playing with drummer Matt Wilson was an inspiration, what is it about the irascible Wilson that is so inspiring?

MW: Where do I start, the list is so long. There are many things that make him such an influence. The way he embraces everything that happens around him . He embraces it without any judgment and he loves everything that comes his way and turns it into gold. For me that was incredibly important because I started to trust my instincts when I was with him. He would let me know” Martin, what your feeling, what your doing is wonderful so keep doing it.” So it was really a confirmation, he was so instrumental in the search of my voice in that sense.

Then the way he leads bands. It’s really simple, and what is so mind boggling is why more people aren't leading bands like that. He says I’ll pick the musicians that I love playing with and I pick the songs I want to play. Then I just get a gig and put everybody up on stage and I see what happens. (Laughing)
It really is that simple. I mean really you picked these musicians for a reason, hopefully not because they would play for fifty bucks less than better musicians.  You picked the musicians for the way they interact, for the way they sound. So then why go up on stage and tell them how to play?  You already gave them a vote of confidence by hiring them so then let them get up there and let them go with the material and embrace it. I have been trying to do that more and more whenever I am leading my own groups.

NOJ: He (Wilson) does have a very special childlike joy that is very infectious.

MW; Yeah, absolutely. I don’t know how many workshops or master classes where I have been with him. It seems like you just can’t tour together anymore just by playing concerts. You go out there and play at colleges, or you play at the performing arts centers and you then you always play a workshop the next day or the day of the performances. You play with the students. I have been with him many times and I have heard what he says to the students. He says, "Don’t go to the instrument with the attitude that you know what it is, what it means to play the drums or any other instrument." He comes to the instrument every day or every time he plays and he says " Wow, that is a drum set, let me see what I can do. Let me see if I can figure out how to play it." That is his childlike sense of discovery that he has been able to maintain, that sense of curiosity. That too has been a really great lesson for me.

Matt Wilson photo by Michael Jackson

NOJ: You have been teaching at NYU since 1995?

MW: No, I started as a student in 1996. Then while I was a student they asked me to teach non-majors and that was the first thing I did and that was the beginning of 1997. I’m still doing it, in the meantime I have moved onto mainly teaching jazz majors and ensembles.

NOJ: And you’re also teaching at Hofstra University?

MW: Yes. I have been doing that for two and half to three years.

NOJ: So how do you balance being such an active musician, a composer/arranger a band leader, film work and a family man. How do you balance all this?

MW: I don’t know you just hope for the best. Sometimes it is a huge challenge. I can tell you that it doesn't always work out. Here is a typical example; I was recently asked by Bill Mays if I wanted to go to China with him for almost five weeks. I did  the right thing and I brought it up to the head of the jazz department and he said, well you can go ahead and do that but you’ll have to take the semester off. Well if I did that I would  lose my health insurance. So if I lose my health insurance and I have to pay for health insurance for the whole year for myself than I am actually losing money going to China for five weeks.  As much as I would love to be there with Bill. That is an example where it just sometimes doesn't work out. I’m still here in both places and it is because I don’t just say, screw it I want to do this tour and I will worry about the consequences lat. I also feel a kind of  responsibility to my students, to see that they should get their money’s worth. When my children were younger all of this was so much more difficult. Now they are both teenagers.The last two, three or four years I felt that I could really travel more again, take on more things. because they are both more independent here at home.

NOJ: I assume you have a favorite instrument that you like to use. What is it, where was it made? How old is it? And how difficult is it to transport such a large instrument when you travel both internationally and locally?

MW:  The instrument I am playing is a two hundred year old Tyrolean instrument. The Tyrolean area is the south of Austria and the North of Italy. It is really old and I have been playing it since I was nineteen years old. It was my first real instrument and it happened to be my high school band's instrument. I  don’t want to say they gave it to me, but I paid very little, and I had no idea what kind of instrument it was. It has been my sound and been my instrument for so long. I played classical solo concertos,all those orchestras I played with that instrument and I traveled with it all over Europe. Right now, I think the last time I took it on a flight was probably ten years ago. I am not flying with that instrument anymore. I’m just bringing it to any gig that I can reach by car. That’s pretty much the reality of most travelling bass players. Unless they work with somebody like Diana Krall or so, we just have to play basses that are being provided to us. I am actually in the process of finding a different solution, you can actually take the neck off  some basses and a lot of colleagues are doing that now.

NOJ: I have seen George Mraz use a Charton bass which has a removable neck. I think there is a link to it on his website. I don’t think it is a full size bass.

MW: I’ll check that out for sure.

NOJ:  How does electric bass fit into your repertoire and do you feel it is a separate instrument that requires its own separate set of techniques?

MW: Well there are some techniques that are very unique to the electric bass, like the whole slap/funk technique, that everybody was doing it when I started playing. I don’t know if you ever heard of  Mark King? He was playing with a British pop band called Level 42 in the eighties, and he was like the European slap master. I am not really playing it all too often, I just play electric with Janis Sieigel at the Blue Note when she had her cd release. On the album, Christian McBride plays the electric bass on the track. I had a great, great time, I wish I could play more electric bass, but that’s just New York for you. Again you have so many players that everybody has to be so specialized. You know if you need an electric bass player you can get so many great guys. I think if you are a good upright player it shouldn't be a problem for you to play electric bass decently. The other way around that is a whole different story. Being an electric player and trying to play upright is certainly challenging.

NOJ: Certainly guys like  Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten have taken it to another level.

MW:  Stanley (Clarke) , John Patitucci , Christian (McBride) these are some examples of people. Really it’s amazing how good they are on both axes.

NOJ: Are there any contemporary bass players that you would care to mention that you admire or are they too many to mention?

MW: There is always Ray Brown and Ron Carter. To me they just define what we are all trying to do. To me Marc Johnson is just incredibly underrated. I think he is one of the most melodic players out there, unfortunately he doesn't play that much in town anymore. I am sad that I missed Gary Peacock when he was in town because I also grew up listening to him in Keith Jarrett’s trio. He is a very melodic and a very emotional player. I love Charlie Haden and what he has done in Pat Metheny’s trio and on so many other things. Right now I really enjoy listening to Scott Colley, he is a wonderful musician. Larry Grenadier is amazing. Your right there  are so many out there.  John Clayton is still an influence and  he plays so beautifully.  Really young guys, I love Christian McBride, Ben Wolfe, Ben Street  all  wonderful players. Richard Davis, who just won the NEA jazz masters award,  the hippest big band player ever cause he never played bass like he was a playing with a big band. My colleague and neighbor Rufus Reid is a good friend and he doesn't stop improving and learning. Now he is becoming this great writer and composer. So the inspiration that you have here in  front of your doorstop its  just such a unique environment here in New York.

NOJ: Let’s talk about your latest project Turn Out the Stars music written or inspired by Bill Evans. What is it about Evans music that inspired you to work on this project?

Bill Evans Trio Waltz for Debbie 1961

MW: For me the most important, the initial exposure to him was the live from the Village Vanguard album Waltz for Debby from 1961  and that first track “My Foolish Heart” just really struck a chord with me, because how lyrical it was. I found that all my experiences playing European, romantic, classical music was captured in his touch and his approach. I just loved it. I don’t know how you explain it, I felt a connection. I felt wow, we might have the same background. Later on I found out that his family was half Russian and I’m sure he did play Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich and all that music.  That was what really drew me in and then I found out about all the great bass players that he worked with Scott (LaFaro) , Eddie Gomez, Marc Johnson and Chuck Israels and there was just so much to discover. Another thing was his work as a composer. I think “Turn Out The Stars” is just an amazing tune. It is one of the greatest songs ever written.

Someone commented on how could I leave out “Time Remembered.” I just saw a review of Turn Out The Stars in  Jazz Inside, the reviewer said  some listeners  might be upset about the tunes that I didn't arrange ( from the Evan's repertoire). I mean how many cd’s am I supposed to do. I can only do one cd at one outing. He (Evans) was such a prolific writer and I cannot do it all on one outing.

So (Bill) touched me with his sound anyway and that‘s the most important  thing that we relate to. It comes before we analyze what it is we are listening to. Does that sound good? Does that hit a chord?  Is that something that I can relate to? Is that something that makes me feel good? His piano touch had that impact on me and I was hooked, it was that simple.

Bill Evans photo credit unknown

"His piano touch had that impact on me and I was hooked, it was that simple."

NOJ: And the bass players that he played with  LaFaro, Gomez, Johnson these guys were all fantastic bass players.

MW: Classically trained.

NOJ: All classically trained?

MW: I don’t know if Scott was, but certainly Eddie and Marc studied with classical teachers with the bow and the whole nine yards.

NOJ: I was taken by the sort of bossa treatment that you gave to your arrangement of "Blue and Green" on Turn Out the Stars . What is it about songs like "Blue and Green," like "Round Midnight" or even Mingus’s “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” that seem to ring such a lasting bell in our collective memories and consciousness?

MW: I think part of it they have a certain melancholy or sadness to them that give them a certain depth. Some of my favorite composers like Mahler for example, he wrote some of his best works because his daughter passed away. So out of this grief he wrote these heart wrenching songs, compositions that people will still feel two hundred years from now. That is such an amazing thing that through music people can relive what the composer went through. That is really powerful stuff. The compositions that you mentioned, I don’t really know the background of "Blue and Green" but it’s not a happy song for sure.

NOJ: Yes your right I guess there is a certain pathos to these songs.

MW: Yeah. “Round Midnight” it’s a minor song of course and “Good bye Pork Pie Hat” was written for Lester Young. It was a farewell and I am very receptive to that kind of suffering or mourning put into musical notes. I remember playing once, one of the greatest concerts I ever played in my life was a year after Leonard Bernstein passed away, and it was in dedication to him. We played the second symphony by Mahler which is a killer with the choir at the end. The first ever program was a Berg’s Violin Concerto which was dedicated to Mahler’s daughter, played by Gidon Kremer ( click here) He played it with such intensity that was just scary. He was making faces like he was going through that same sense of loss again and I was scared. I was never exposed to that kind of emotion before on an artistic level.

NOJ: What was it like playing with Joe L:aBarbera who was in Bill’s last trio? How did it affect your interpretation of Bill’s music?

MW:  We met through Bill Mays. I think we had some concerts in Naples, Florida. So that was the first time I met Joe and we really liked playing together, but we really didn't get too many opportunities to do so. We stayed in touch and would see each other at a festival or on the jazz cruise. When I had this opportunity come up to write for this orchestra and I was able to convince them to go with that theme. It was such an easy choice to ask Joe. He is an amazingly complete musician. I never had to tell him to play softer or louder or anything. He knew exactly where his place was in that musical landscape that we tried to create together. He wouldn't really make any suggestions like “Oh Bill would  there like to have had it played like this or that way." He respected us enough as musicians to not give us any guidelines. What he did say after we played those concerts ( in Italy) was "Bill would have really loved this."I thought that was a great compliment and a wonderful thing for him to say. The composition that he contributed is just a beautiful gem.

NOJ: How did you Bill Cunliffe and Scott Robinson meet each other and get together for this project?

MW: Well the quartet has been in existence for several years. We recorded  the album Salt 'N Pepper. 

Martin Wind Quartet Salt N' Pepper  2008

For that recording I had Greg Hutchinson, who I had played together with the singer Dena DeRose. Then Tim Horner became the regular drummer of the quartet. He is the drummer on the Get It  album, the cut I sent you “Rainy River” is from that album.  That quartet, Bill Cunliffe, Scott,Tim and myself toured in Europe a couple of times too.

 I try to get Joe as the drummer whenever we are presenting this particular Evan's project with the quartet.  Scott I used to hear every Monday night in Maria’s (Schneider) band, which had their residency at the club Visiones, which was right around the corner from NYU. Then I also heard him play with pianist Frank Kimbrough. He always struck me as so different, so unique and always himself. No matter which style or whose music he would play, he always would sound one hundred per cent like Scott Robinson. I thought that was such an incredible talent  to bring to any project. Such an incredible accomplishment. I mean I can try to play traditionally and I can try to play free, but I am not sure if my personality will always come through when I am playing in those different styles, but Scott does it effortlessly.  I just thought  I want to play with him more and he became the voice of my music. When I write music I am trying to imagine what he is going to do with it. Just like Duke wrote for his guys like Ben Webster and Paul Gonsalves and those guys.

NOJ: Trying to imagine what Scott would play is a little difficult. ( Laughing)

MW: Well yeah, you are right. In a way it is absolutely pointless. When we are playing on tours, to play a one-nighter even a weekend is one thing, but then a really incredible experience was to play with him night after night. He would do one thing one night and it would work amazingly. A lot of other people would go right back to that (the next night) because they know it worked so well. He would never step into that trap. He would surprise you by doing the total opposite and try to make that work. I think that’s ..his secret, but I think it’s been a great lesson to me. Try to do something, stand in front of the blackboard like it’s all new. 

Bill Mays, Martin Wind, Scott Robinson and Matt Wilson photo by Rolf Kissling 2010

Bill Cunliffe I met through John and Jeff Clayton when Jeff used to live in New York before he went to the West Coast. He said Bill is a wonderful pianist who is on the West Coast and has tried to move to New York. So we started playing. He has that same love for classical music, he is a wonderful classical musician. He has that beautiful touch . He knows so much music, between Ellington and  Monk and all the Great American Songbook writers, but yet he wants nothing more than to take a left turn, play free and then swing again. We all share that sense in that we like to do all of those things.

NOJ: The release of your new album will also be the launch of your new record label “What If Music”. Why did you start  your own label and do you hope to expand it to include other artists?

MW:  You know about expanding it to other musicians, maybe we should talk again in six months or so when I can assess how much money I lost on this one (Laughing). But seriously,the trend has been going that way. You know Dave Douglas didn't really need to start his own label and Dave Holland didn't need to start his own label. They would always be able to find a label to release their projects. In my case it was just that, nobody really want to go for it. Maybe because they thought, you are never going to bring this back to the  States with an orchestra. They might be right. I hope they will all be wrong, because I have some leads and hopefully there will be some performances here with orchestras in the United States. The bottom line for me is that I really believe in the project and I wanted  to document it. It is not like it’s so great the world has to hear this. Only I know how much work I put into this, into writing the material, organizing the tour and all of of the other things that go with such a production. Now I feel like, alright, I have documented it and there will be some people who will  like it and now I can move on. If I have a chance, I might write more for orchestra, but I wanted it to be out there. So far the reactions have been very, very positive because it is different than so many other things that are being released.

NOJ: You are having your release at the Kitano on May 30th?

MW: The official release is May 20th, that is when it is supposed to hit the stores, all those thousands of stores out there. The release weekend  is May 30th and the 31^st of May that weekend at the Kitano  Actually we  be in CT in Ridgefield  on June  1^st at  Sarah's Wine Bar at Bernard’s  Restaurant.  I’m sure it will be fun.

NOJ: Will the entire quartet be performing this music at the live gigs?

MW: Bill Cunliffe will be touring in New Zealand so I asked Bill Mays to play with Scott and myself and I will be flying Joe LaBarbera out for the east coast performances.

NOJ: Will you be performing  this program with an orchestra at some point in the States?

MW: Well it’s not really official yet,  but I have a couple of dates in the beginning of November at a fantastic high school outside of Chicago called New Trier . They have a high school musical program that is really on a college type level with incredible support by parents. Really amazing, they invite a professional big band there every year, I was there with the Banger Jazz orchestra once. It’s really a fantastic program so they want to present this project there in November and very much hope that this will be happening. I’ll let you know when it is confirmed.

NOJ: So what other projects do you have in the works, this is your main project right now?

MW:  This is the main focus right now, but I’am very much engaged in the duo that I am doing with Philip (Catherine). We are going to be doing a second recording soon and I want to write some new music for that.

Something else that might be of interest to you, I just became part of a new group  Matt Wilson and Anat Cohen and myself  called NY3.  We just recorded and will be at the Village Vanguard in June for a whole week.  There is some other things like I have been working with Dena DeRose and Matt Wilson . She is working on a new album that is a tribute to Shirley Horn and we will be playing some concerts in support of that album. The pianist Ted Rosenthal just released a new album of Gershwin material that I played on and will probably support with some live gigs with him at Dizzy’s and the Kitano. A lot of doing my own project, but playing with all these musicians as a sideman is very, very fulfilling too.

NOJ: Well thank you for being so generous with your time and good luck with your new album..

Drummer Matt Wilson Summoning All Parties to His "Gathering Call"

Matt Wilson Quartet with John Medeski Gathering Call:PM2169

In music and especially contemporary improvised music, the role of the drummer has greatly expanded beyond the traditional role of a simple keeper of time. Witness the current crop of albums that have recently been released by drummers who have taken on the role of leader and oftentimes composer; albums that demonstrate just how diverse and I might add exciting the art of contemporary drumming has become.

Matt Wilson is a case in point. Wilson is a celebrated drummer whose resume speaks for itself. Wilson made his bones with saxophonist Dewey Redman and in Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra. Along the way he has lent his sideman talent as the first call drummer for piano trios led by luminaries like Denny Zeitlin, Bill Mays and Paul Bley.  In the various iterations of his own groups, usually quartets, Wilson has consistently shown the ability to create a steady stream of creative music that spans the gamut from hard-bop to the avant-guarde, with his music always retaining an inherent sense of joy, a Wilson trademark.

On Wilson’s latest, Gathering Call, the prolific drummer has enlisted the cornetist Kirk Knuffke, the reed player Jeff Lederer, bassist Chris Lightcap and guest pianist John Medseki. The music can be traditional  big band with a contemporary twist as in the opener Duke Ellington’s “Main Stem” where Knuffke can sound like Lee Morgan and Lederer takes on a sound not unlike Gene Ammons big boss tenor to great effect.

The music can be playfully raucous like on Wilson’s three compositions “Some Assembly Required,”, “Gathering Call” or “How Ya Going?” Wilson is a practitioner of the art of rhythmic chicanery where he uses various sounds and stick techniques to create a cacophony of clicks, bangs and splashes all brilliantly timed and masterfully in tune to the music. The iconic saxophonist Lee Konitz, who has played with Wilson, was quoted saying  " I don't think I've ever heard him play an unmusical hit on the drums and cymbals." All the while Wilson deftly interjects just the right amount of humor into his music.

Matt Wilson Quartet
Lto R Wilson, Lederer, Knuffke,
 Lightcap photo by Tom Foley

The music can embrace old style swing like on Duke Ellington’s rarely played “You Dirty Dog” where Knuffke plays with polished style in contrast to Lederer’s salty tenor solo, played with an exceptionally gut bucket brashness, taking the music to another level. Or as on Charlie Rouse’s wonderful “Pumkin Delight”, the music is evocative of the Blue Note hard bop hey days.

The music can also be beautiful, like on Wilson’s shimmering “Dancing Waters,” where bassist Lightcap is featured on some impressionistic playing or on Butch Warren’s hopeful “Barack Obama,” where John Medeski’s piano layers a cascading shower of notes and Lederer warm clarinet tones mesh synchronously with Knuffke’s moving cornet.

The music can be delicate and uplifting like on Wilson’s “Hope (For the Cause)” which features some subtle piano work by Medeski, showing the sensitive side to this player, often associated with his hard driving organ trio Medeski, Martin and Wood.. 

The music can be heartfelt and contemporary like on the beautifully rendered version of the Beyonce tune “If I Were a Boy,” a highlight of the album. The album ends with a piece of Americana, the quietly rendered duet between Wilson and Medeski on the traditional song “Juanita.” The song transports you to an age of simplicity and honesty that has its own special appeal.  With so much diversity in music all expertly played, Gathering Call is another addition to Mr. Wilson’s growing joyful and creative repertoire that should be listened to and relished.

Denny Zeitlin with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson at The Kitano: November 19, 2011

 

Denny Zeitlin’s Trio with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson 

 the Kitano, NYC November19, 2011

Perched on the mezzanine level just above the lobby of the posh Kitano hotel on Park at 38th Street is a music room of extraordinary intimacy. Affectionately known as Gino’s living room, promoter Gino Moratti has been bringing top-notch jazz to the Kitano since 2006. On Friday November 18th the venue featured two sets of solo piano by the superlative pianist Denny Zeiltin, featuring songs from his recent cd "Labyrinth"
 

 and on Saturday November 19, 2011, the Kitano featured Mr. Zeitlin in a trio format with the iconic
Buster Williams on bass and the effervescent
Matt Wilson on drums. I was fortunate enough to be able to catch most of the first set and all of the second set Saturday. It is rare to get to see Mr.Zeitlin in New York as he resides in California where this Renaissance man practices psychiatry and teaches at the University of California in San Franciso. The superlative rhythm section of Williams and Wilson is no stranger to Zeitlin. The three have been playing on and off for ten years and Zeitlin’s 2009 Sunnyside release “Trio in Concert” is a testament to their obvious chemistry. If the way a working trio functions is in some respects analogous to the way we function in life,then Zeitlin is the cerebral mind, Wilson is the joyful spirit and Williams is the pulsing heartbeat and soul of this entity. Each is a virtuoso in his own right and they all have characteristics that blur such simplistic boundaries.

The first set included a tender ballad “Wishing on the Moon”, a Zeitlin composition, that featured the pianist’s deeply probing technique. Zeitlin can take you from sensitive passages that he renders with a gossamer touch to daring explorations that bring you to the brink of precipice, without ever letting you fall over the edge.  A rousing rendition of John Coltrane’s homage to bassist Paul Chambers “Mr.P.C.” had Zeitlin’s playing arpeggios at dazzling speed. The song featured the bass of Buster Williams who produced a simply gorgeous tone that resonated through the entire room tantamount to the peaceful solemnity of a Tibetian gong. Mr.Williams is a master of his instrument who can add great poignancy by simply bending or sliding down to his notes and sustaining them as they decay to silence. Drummer Wilson is astutely attune to the needs of the music as he seamlessly changes from brushes to sticks, from clashing hi hat, to shimmering cymbal.

Another Zeitlin composition “The We of Us” was written for the pianist’s wife. Here Zeitlin demonstrates an extraordinary ability to play on the highest register with crystal clarity of sound and precise intonation. The trio does an amazingly dynamic version of Julie Styne’s “As Long as There is Music”. The intuitive interplay is a marvel to behold as the group collectively create a swell of intensity that has the crowd mesmerized, eventually yielding to a fading coda that is accentuated by Buster’s lingering bass line.

As if being a world class jazz pianist and working psychiatrist and educator weren't enough, Zeitlin is also an avid mountain biker. He spoke of Moab, Utah as the inspiration of his next composition titled “Slick Rock”. This composition is by far the most unorthodox of the repertoire. Here the pianist and his cohorts create an array of atmospheric sounds as Zeitlin reaches into the cavity of the piano using mallets to play the strings. Mr. Williams rubs the side of his thumb against his bass strings adding tension to the eerie sound as Mr. Wilson adds further agitation by using apiece of chain to rub against his cymbal. The audience is lulled into the peaceful solitude of the surroundings when suddenly Zeitlin hurls them into a spiraling musical journey filled with frantic twists and turns. You can feel the imaginary bike careening down jagged hills, precariously avoiding boulders and divots in a pianistic free fall. The pace subsides as Zeitlin becomes more ruminative; Wilson employs a weirdly eerie wooden flute that he somehow uses against his the face of his drumhead and Williams bows in decidedly ominous way. Watching Wilson here I am reminded of an excitable young boy with a chest full of  wonderful toys. The drummer has an effervescent joyfulness that is palpable and he finds percussive magic in a variety of unorthodox devices which he skillfully weaves into patterns of dynamic tension and surprise. I was watching Zeitlin and Williams looking at Wilson at various times during his solo on this piece and I was reminded of a You Tube that I saw of a beaming Charlie Parker watching an equally playful young Buddy Rich, as the drummer displayed his rhythmic prowess (click here for that video). Wilson is that good!

The second set started off with the “The Night Has 1000/10000 Eyes”. Bassist Williams creates a funky vamp that has the whole audience bobbing their heads.Buster can create a mood that few bassists can summon so successfully. Zeitlin inspired by the heartbeat-like rhythm lets loose with some of his most free flowing playing of the night.

The trio played a charming version of what sounded like the “Child's Play”, a double time version of Sonny Rollins "Oleo"  based loosely on the changes of Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm”, Cole Porter’s “I Love You” and Jimmy Van Heusen's “I Could Have Told You”. The set ended with bassist Dave Freisen’s composition “Signs and Wonders” and after a rousing ovation the encore was Zeitlin's own “Just Passing By”.

For lovers of piano jazz trios it was one of those very special evenings. Zeitlin is an innovator par excel lance with few peers. His trio with the great Buster Williams and the exciting Matt Wilson is one of the finest trios working in jazz today.