Search - Denny Zeitlin :: Mosaic Select: Denny Zeitlin

Does Your Kid Need a Role Model?

Gary L Connely | Hercules, CA | 12/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So your kid needs a role model? Well, you could suggest some spoiled, self absorbed boob whose only claim to fame is the ability to hit, kick, throw, etc. a ball, (with or without steroids), or..., how about Denny Zeitlin?



Denny Zeitlin began playing the piano at the age of two and was playing jazz professionaly in and around Chicago by the time he was in high school. He continued playing while he attended the University of Illinois. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa, he went on - oh yeah, I forgot to mention that in the third grade he began practicing psychiatry without a license - to attend John Hopkins Medical School. By the time he obtained his MD in 1964, he had already cut his first album as a leader - "Cathexis" - for Columbia. Fast forward to today: Mr Zeitlin is a practicing psychiatrist, (with a license), teaches at the University of California, has recorded more than 30 albums as a leader, and for all I know, is lookin' around for something to do in his spare time.



The 3 disc "Mosaic Select: Denny Zeitlin" box set includes all three of the studio albums Mr Zeitlin cut for Columbia:



* "Cathexis" - A set of Mr Zeitlin's originals, (I also forgot to mention that he is an outstanding composer), plus a stunning version of Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight." Mr Zeitlin is joined by bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Freddie Watts.



* "Carnival" - Recorded just a couple of months after "Cathexis," this is a set of standards - including "All the Things You Are," "We'll Be Together Again," and "The Boy Next Door," plus a couple of originals. Mr Zeitlin is joined by Bassist Charlie Haden and Jerry Granelli on drums.



* "Zeitgist" - Mr Zeitlin's last studio session for Columbia, "Zeitgist" was recorded two years later in two sessions: The first with Mssrs Haden and Granelli; the second with Joe Halpin on bass and drummer Oliver Johnson. "Z..." is more originals, plus "Here's That Rainy Day," "I Got Rhythm" and the world's best version of "Put Your Right Foot Out."



BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE: As the guys at Mosaic so often do, they have also dug up a dozen or more previously unreleased songs from these recording sessions.



Denny Zeitlin is an exceptional hard bop, post-bop piano player. Not only is he technically just about perfect but he has a quirky inventivenes that will both surprise and delight you. Speaking of these albums, Ted Giola said, "... Zeitlin had assimilated the break throughs of the previous decade, from the impressionism of Bill Evans to the free-fall explorations of Ornette Coleman, and blended them into a personal style that anticipated the next 15 years of keyboard advances."



As for the sonics, etc? The remastered sound is absolutely first class. And to top it off, the enclosed booklets include not only the original liner notes and Mosaic's usual exhaustive discographic information, but Mr Zeitlin's retrospective comments on both the released and previously unreleased material."