Just this past January, I was reminded of a huge loss the jazz world suffered with the twentieth anniversary of the tragically early passing of Michel Petrucciani. The diminutive French pianist had an outsized personality only surpassed by his vast accomplishment on piano. Both of these things overshadowed a debilitating disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, that cursed him with brittle bones and a fragile hold on life.
Before his death, Petrucciani left behind a decent amount of studio albums stretching back to the early 80s but since he often performed more than a hundred shows a year, a substantial amount of live recordings greatly expanded his catalog of recorded works. Posthumous ‘new’ live releases continue to spring up to this day.
To coincide with Michel Petrucciani’s passing from pulmonary infection just days after his 36th birthday two decades ago, Naxos has distributed one such concert event released by the German label Jazz Haus. One Night In Karlsruhe chronicles a concert on July 7th, 1988 at a (West) German town located just a few miles from the French border. This was during an especially good time in the pianist’s life: having achieved fame a few years earlier from touring with Charles Lloyd, he became the first European signed to Blue Note Records and was able to perform with virtually any of the biggest living names in jazz. For this particular tour the twenty-five year old led a trio — his preferred format — that boasted Gary Peacock on bass and Roy Haynes on drums.
The program is evenly divided between five jazz standards and five Petrucciani originals that all came from the Michel Plays Petrucciani studio LP released just a couple of months prior. That record featured the same Peacock/Haynes rhythm section for these songs save for “La Champagne,” which ‘settled’ for Eddie Gomez and Al Foster. More so than on that fresh new Blue Note release, Michel Petrucciani generously offers space for his veteran cohorts to shine, making this a Bill Evans-styled democratic trio. So perhaps it was appropriate that the original “13th” begins the program, a song that echoes Evans’ advanced modalism and like Evans, places the bassist in a role on par with the pianist. Very lyrical and visiting the upper reaches of his bass, Peacock is at his most Scott LaFaro-ish.
The other Petrucciani-composed tunes have memorable melodies that strike the perfect balance between accessibility and complexity. A rapid volley of notes make up the catchy circular riff on “She Did It Again” and the rhythm section adds more hot sauce over the studio take. Petrucciani responds by upping his fervor, and the audience is heard voicing their approval. “One For Us” feels a tad slight on the chorus without guitarist John Abercrombie harmonizing along as he does on the studio version, but all is forgiven once Petrucciani launches into the solo run that’s spry, confident but not showy. The old master Haynes steals the show, though, with his own feature. And an initially muted presentation of the blues-based “Mr. K.J.” picks up momentum as the group gains its footing.
Contorting other people’s songs until they were unrecognizable was never Michel Petrucciani’s thing; he thrived on making the original melodies pop and entice listeners to love them as much as he did. His unaccompanied opening for “In A Sentimental Mood” points up to his flair for caressing a melody with elegance and reverence for the composer. He sails right through dense bop lines on “There Will Never Be Another You” as Haynes swings with fire. And with Haynes on brushes, the trio on “Embraceable You” is exceptionally tight and the pianist is bursting with fresh takes on the theme. “Giant Steps” is the only cover not from the Great American Songbook and just as the song was a great showcase for Coltrane’s sax chops, Michel Petrucciani takes this occasion to show off his own massive piano chops.
With decent but not overly great audio quality and originals confined to those found on one album, One Night In Karlsruhe isn’t destined to become a definitive live Petrucciani album. On the hand, the covers showcase Petrucciani’s interpretive skills well and it’s always a treat to hear him play with in the company of jazz giants like Gary Peacock and Roy Haynes. Standing at only three feet tall, Michel Petrucciani showed during that summer evening in Karlsruhe that he himself was a giant.
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