Jazz Articles about David Hazeltine

David Hazeltine Trio: Senor Blues

by David A. Orthmann
March 1, 2001

Although they appear infrequently in a club or on a concert stage, the trio consisting of pianist and leader David Hazeltine, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Louis Hayes is one of the most exciting recording units in the jazz mainstream. The connection between Hazeltine and Hayes dates back to the mid-90s, when the pianist joined the drummer’s hard-driving quintet, contributing arrangements and compositions for the band. He plays a similar role in One For All, a cooperative sextet that has ...

David Hazeltine: The Classic Trio, Volume II

by David A. Orthmann
February 1, 2001

Recording for independent labels such as Sharp Nine, Criss Cross, Venus, and Go Jazz, in less than a decade David Hazeltine has amassed an impressive body of work as a leader. Viewed as a whole, the music on these discs amply documents his strengths as a player, musical thinker, and director of small ensembles. First and foremost, Hazeltine is an excellent jazz pianist. Having assimilated influences ranging from Art Tatum to Barry Harris to Cedar Walton, his improvisations abound with ...

David Hazeltine: Blues Quarters Vol. 1

by C. Andrew Hovan
February 1, 2001

Things have been hopping lately for pianist extraordinaire David Hazeltine. Aside from numerous gigs as a sideman (check him out with Louis Hayes, if you can) and time spent with the sextet One For All, Hazeltine has picked up the pace of his own efforts as a leader. Currently, he has available a tribute to Horace Silver on the Japanese Venus label, a second edition of performances from the “Classic Trio” as heard on Sharp Nine, and the quicksilver set ...

Jim Rotondi: Excursions

by C. Andrew Hovan
October 1, 2000

One of the next major talents yet to be discovered by the jazz public at large, trumpeter Jim Rotondi is a dynamo full of the kind of bristling trumpet fire that distinguished such predecessors as Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw. Over the course of his first two Criss Cross dates, Introducing Jim Rotondi and Jim’s Bop Rotondi proved that he was a capable mainstream player with great promise in terms of developing his own voice. Now with Excursions he goes ...

Joris Teepe: For Adults Only

by David Adler
September 1, 2000

With For Adults Only, Dutch bassist Joris Teepe adds to the steady flow of strong live albums being recorded at Smalls in New York. Enlisting David Hazeltine on piano, Bruce Cox on drums, and a killer frontline in Don Braden and Chris Potter, Teepe offers a batch of originals and standards with some provocative twists. The band sets Strayhorn’s “Chelsea Bridge" to a mid-tempo, “Killer Joe"-type groove with tight ensemble hits on the melody. Hazeltine and Teepe share the spotlight ...

Joris Teepe Quintet: For Adults Only

by Jim Santella
September 1, 2000

The album’s title comes from Joris Teepe’s title track. “For Adults Only," a serious hard bop anthem, drives the listener through a strenuous tenor battle by the quintet’s two-saxophone front line. It’s a unique sound, and the propulsion from this rhythm section makes it work. Don Braden and Chris Potter have distinct saxophone voices, making it easier for the listener to identify each. Their conversation closes out “For Adults Only," as the duel turns into a riot. Similarly, Freddie Hubbard’s ...

Joris Teepe: For Adults Only

by Joel Roberts
August 1, 2000

Dutch-born bassist Joris Teepe lined up some of the most impressive young talent in New York for his debut release on the newly revived Postcards label. Recorded live at Small's, the late-night musicians' hangout in Greenwich Village, the album captures Teepe and a formidable front line of saxophonists Don Braden and Chris Potter, along with in-demand pianist David Hazeltine and drummer Bruce Cox, in a spirited set of up-to-the-minute New York jazz.

Teepe - a former student of Ron Carter ...