Search - Joey Calderazzo :: Haiku

Even better than expected

M. S Thaler | villanova, pa, usa | 09/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To see Joey live is to experience joy. On the upbeat numbers he is literally dancing out of his seat, his legs flying back and forth like a kid on a swing. On the slow ballades, he hunches over the keyboard ala Bill Evans and pulls out lines that seem fashioned in heaven. His own compositions, especially the title tune on this album, will break your heart and make you feel great while it is breaking. He took this piece more up tempo in a trio setting (with the great Jeff 'Tain Watts on drums) in an earlier album, and it was great then. Now, it is a masterpiece. Play it even for your friends who don't like jazz - it will open their eyes. Chopin, which sounds very much like the romantic composer reborn in the 21st century, is equally haunting and beautiful. The faster numbers - done in a variety of styles(its good to hear stride piano again) - can swing slowly and deeply or race past in a blur of extraordinary virtuosity. This is really good stuff from one of our best mainstream/postbop pianists. His exploration of rich and often unusual harmonies in particular is worth attention, especially in his own compositions. This guy can play."

Melody und Harmony

Marty Nickison II | Austintown, OH | 03/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Soft jazz has its criticisms. Some people call it `dinner music'; as to say it only deserves a listen at dinnertime. Some people shun it because it doesn't have a hard swing tempo or feel to it. But, for those who can fully appreciate soft jazz (not smooth jazz, but acoustic/traditional jazz played slowly and softly), Joey makes his contribution to this expressive form.



This is Joey as rarely heard before. If you are accustomed to hearing him swinging hard melodic lines against the revelations of Branford Marsalis' saxophone then this is quite the revelation. Now, Joey is showing his reflective side. Joey's playing can be described as gentle, atmospheric, and expansive. It makes me think of the 2-volume set "The Solo Sessions" from Milestone of Bill Evans.



In Haiku, Joey Calderazzo shows his meditative side. Within this solo piano package, his playing is fashioned in a `thema con variazoni' form. With each `variazoni', he expands the theme further and further within the structure. It's a dynamic contrast to the solo piano work of McCoy Tyner, where McCoy solos with the intention of building a new musical environment from a simplistic (by relation) theme, Joey is thinking on the piano with the harmonic inventiveness of Herbie Hancock (live, circa 1964) and with tempo momentum of Bill Evans.



Haiku is a music album for musicians. This time, Joey has taken time to play with the essence of music in mind. This is music for music lovers. There are no avant-garde licks or double-time solos. What you get here is the study, the science of the melody and the harmony; the two basic elements of music.



So, sit back and enjoy this conversation between Joey and the piano we are so lucky to witness.

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