Still going strong some fifty-six years after his first records, the polymath jazz pianist Denny Zeitlin continues his torrid pace of recording with yet another album that delves into one of his many fascinating sides. Live At Mezzrow is a live document he periodically releases to highlight his long-running acoustic trio that boasts heavyweights bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt Wilson. Since first convening in 2001, Denny Zeitlin’s trio might not get together too frequently but when they do, it’s magic.
Magic was made at Spike Wilner’s Mezzrow NYC jazz club in May, 2019. Live At Mezzrow might even be considered a companion piece to 2018’s Wishing On The Moon, also a club date by the Williams/Wilson trio, and the script is largely the same with a mixture of standards and originals Zeitlin has composed over the years that all serve as vehicles for this mass of talent and experience.
The trio wastes no time getting down to business with an epic, twelve-minute reading of a classic Gershwin song. Zeitlin begins “The Man I Love” on his own but the rhythm section kicks in and before long, they construct a homegrown groove that Zeitlin mines before the leader pulls them back to the vicinity of the melody (the pattern is later repeated using a different bridge). Wilson changes rhythm patterns before the band gets too comfortable on one spot and Williams’ inspirited bass asides leaves the mark of the highly respected veteran that he is.
“Paraphernalia” is the other extended performance saved for the end. Zeitlin sneaks in snippets of Wayne Shorter’s melody in his low-end trills then lets it slowly unfold. As he does, Williams and Wilson get more involved, adding more dynamism and stretching out the song into a platform for stimulating group interplay. Williams, who understands that sometimes less is more, sits on the root note for minutes at a time to set up the tension and release aspect of the song.
“Intimacy of the Blues” is not one of the first songs people think about when Billy Strayhorn’s name is brought up, but it’s a blues shuffle that also swings and the trio takes full advantage of those features. “Isfahan” is a better known Strayhorn tune, and its graceful melody is served up as a gentle bossa nova. And finally, Zeitlin basks Strayhorn’s “The Star-Crossed Lovers” with all the tenderness it deserves.
Zeitlin-penned tunes like “Echo Of A Kiss” have all the melodic fluency of the mid-century classics and the supple support coming from the rhythm section only enhances the appeal. His “10 Bar Tune” becomes a fine feature for Williams, who swings with preciseness and solos with fluency.
From serene moments to uninhibited flashes, Denny Zeitlin’s trio found themselves in particularly good form that spring night at the Mezzrow Jazz Club. Live At Mezzrow is now on sale, from Sunnyside Records.
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