Jazz Articles about David Hazeltine

David Hazeltine: Modern Standards

by John Dworkin
October 3, 2005

David Hazeltine is now, and has been for over a decade, an omni-present force in the New York City straight-ahead jazz scene. Through the years, he's played piano and recorded with masters like Curtis Fuller, Jon Hendricks, Slide Hampton. Now with many recordings as a leader to his credit, he still plays many, many dates throughout the year and is as energetic and enthusiastic about the music as most players half his age (not to say that he's old, by ...

David Hazeltine: Modern Standards

by David A. Orthmann
August 24, 2005

Modern Standards consists of a diverse collection of songs that were written in the second half of the twentieth century. David Hazeltine's arrangements of material by the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Burt Bacharach, Leonard Bernstein, and others for piano, bass, and drums are as important as the improvisations that follow. Although Hazeltine's holistic treatments evince a genuine respect for the melodies--indeed, the pianist frequently weaves snatches of the themes into his solos--there's something almost subversive about the liberties he takes ...

Marlena Shaw: Lookin' for Love

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
October 2, 2004

In today's garden of vocalists, there are many pretty flowers. Sweet and delicate, they line up in perfumed rows, but many are unlikely to make it past the first frost. Then there's the flowering tree, standing apart, with its roots deeply anchored in the ground--this one endures every weather, delivering the soulful beauty and reassurance of the survivor. That's Marlena Shaw.Shaw sings with the ease of absolute mastery, and each feeling she expresses rings true: she's been there, ...

Mike DiRubbo: Human Spirit

by Russ Musto
January 20, 2004

Alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo's most recent outing for Criss Cross features the Jackie McLean protege in the fast company of trumpeter Jim Rotondi, pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Joe Farnsworth (two thirds of the sextet One For All) in a set that showcases his growing talent and expansive command of the jazz idiom.

Like his mentor, DiRubbo is no run-of-the-mill neo-bopper. He has his own unique sound on the saxophone, which while clearly primarily McLean-influenced, ...

David Hazeltine: Manhattan Autumn

by Russ Musto
October 21, 2003

While too many critics continue to carp about the “reactionary ideology of neoconservative hardboppers” I take great pleasure in witnessing the constant development of the demanding art form and the astounding personal growth of the best of idiom’s progressive young players. Pianist David Hazeltine and the members of his excellent quartet, saxophonist Eric Alexander, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Joe Farnsworth, are unquestionably four of the finest purveyors of the genre, highly respected members of the jazz community whose dues ...

David Hazeltine: Making it Mean Something

by Bruce Crowther
October 16, 2003

'When I was about ten or eleven years old, my mother bought me my first jazz record. It was Jimmy Smith Plays The Standards, and I fell in love with jazz at that point'

Beginnings ...

'At first playing with these people it was just plain scary and intimidating.'

One of the outstanding jazz piano players in the world today, David Hazeltine grew up in ...

Mike DiRubbo: Human Spirit

by David A. Orthmann
May 17, 2003

On his second Criss Cross release, alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo thrives on the challenges posed by a great rhythm section. Pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Joe Farnsworth, most notably of the cooperative sextet One For All, have lit a fire under dozens of significant jazz recordings over the past decade. Full of inspired interplay and subtle shifts in emphasis, their concentrated swing supports and provokes the soloist.

Regardless of the material or the tempo, the ...