As renowned jazz pianist Denny Zeitlin enters his seventh decade as a recording artist, this restless artist continues to explore new avenues to advance his boundless craft. But for his latest release, he’s going back to provide extra helpings of the musical places he’s been lately.
Panoply (June 14, 2024, Sunnyside Records) is Zeitlin’s odd ‘n’ ends collection assembling recordings that were left off of uniformly great albums he has made for Sunnyside over the last fifteen years. The program is split between three solo piano performances, five duets with drummer George Marsh and four live tracks with the Zeitlin/Buster Williams/Matt Wilson trio.
Notably, the sequencing doesn’t group together each of these three configurations as the track order seems to follow a random pattern. This mishmash is often a recipe for a listen marred by the disruption of the flow because any one of three different approaches are presented from track to track. That’s not the case here. Zeitlin has his own advanced, personal style that he brings to any performance and it’s the thread that holds this record together.
The Zeitlin/Williams/Wilson tracks are left over from the same May 2019 club performances from which the 2020 Sunnyside release Live At Mezzrow is extracted. Though they were left off of Mezzrow, these four selections clear that album’s high bar. Whereas that 2020 release mixed standards and covers with Zeitlin originals, these are all non-originals, showcases for Zeitlin’s interpretive flair.
It starts with the Gershwin song “I Was Doing Alright,” exuding that cool, 50’s swing but this doesn’t keep Zeitlin from breaking from the usual and expected and using some alternative voicings for his solo. The early Miles Davis standard “Weirdo,” aka “Walkin’,” is well represented here with Zeitlin playing a relaxed but sophisticated style that calls to mind Ahmad Jamal. “I Should Care” gets the sensitive treatment befitting a ballad and Billy Strayhorn’s “Johnny Come Lately” is given an engaging, modern jazz treatment.
The collaborations with Marsh reside in a different world but put in close proximity to the trio recordings, it’s perhaps not as far removed from the acoustic ensemble as one might think. Zeitlin plays bass parts on a synthesizer, effectively expanding the duo to a trio. Further, he plays various keyboards — including piano — with a strong jazz sensibility.
Indeed, “Excursion” swings pretty hard even as there are ethereal keyboards coiling about and a melody that seems to go where the cosmos takes it. “Ambush” was made up on the spot but the close connection between these two long-time collaborators enabled them to keep the instant composition moving forward and above the ground. The same goes for the spare “Music Box,” which puts piano at the front and center and the tech applied judiciously to set the backdrop. Zeitlin leverages the modern equipment effectively in a number of ways for “Regret,” from the real-sounding orchestral backing to the acoustic guitar tones played on his keyboard.
The solo piano numbers showcase Zeitlins uniquely imaginative interpretive skills for two of the numbers and his composing acumen for one more. Perhaps nowhere on Panoply does Zeitlin discloses the great extent of his prowess than on the ultimate bop cover “Cherokee,” where he initially plays it ‘straight’ on his right hand while his left hand wanders off the main motif but remains in the neighborhood, creating an illusion of there being two pianists, not one. From there he darts from one adaptation approach to another, keeping his playing crisp through all the pivoting. “Only One” by Bill Lee exhibits Zeitlin’s delicate side, taking on a ballad sympathetically and emotionally. The Zeitlin original “Limburger Pie and Beeswax Crust” is both exploratory and composed.
At times lovely, other times imaginative and still other instances highly lyrical, Panoply is often all three at once. It’s a quality sampler of Denny Zeitlin’s fertile (and still ongoing) Sunnyside era, with the added benefit of adding to his canon. There’s plenty worthwhile here for both old fans and newcomers to his works.
Panoply goes on sale June 14, 2024, from Sunnyside Records and can be pre-ordered/ordered from Bandcamp.
*** Denny Zeitlin CD’s on Amazon ***
- Ron Miles – ‘Old Main Chapel’ (2024) - June 19, 2024
- Chick Corea Elektric Band II – ‘Paint the World’ (1993, 2024 reissue) - June 14, 2024
- Devin Gray – ‘To the Point’ [EP] (2024) - June 13, 2024
