Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Noah Haidu: Doctone

11

Noah Haidu: Doctone

By

View read count
Noah Haidu: Doctone
Pianist Kenny Kirkland never seemed particularly interested in attaining the high level of fame enjoyed by two of his early employers, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and saxophonist Branford Marsalis. He worked first for Wynton, playing on four of the trumpeter's albums between 1981 and 1985, before moving into Branford's orbit, for eight albums between 1983 to 1998. These were breakout times for the famous brothers, burst-out-onto-the-scene times that were critical to their ultimate successes. And Kenny Kirkland was there, contributing his intricate tunes, and playing his sparklingly complex piano.

Checking out Kirland's personal discography, we find only one recording under his own name, Kenny Kirkland (GRP, 1991). Maybe there would have been more, but he died young, in 1998, at forty-three years of age of congestive heart failure, a loss that might have made more of a public impact had he found motivation in fame.

But if his relatively low profile rendered Kirland's passing somewhat less than headline news, the artistic impact of his loss—his invaluable contributions to stratospheric jazz stars via his pianism and compositional acumen—was profound. So pianist Noah Haidu decided it was up to him to shine a light Kirland's way, via Doctone, an immersion in the late piano man's music.

After an improvisational intro of "Doctor Of Tone," just Naidu's piano and drummer Billy Hart's whispery flutterings, the examination of ten of Kenny Kirkland's finest tunes ensues, with a seamless transition to lovely "Midnight Silence," from the Kenny Kirkland album, a gradual gathering of piano trio energy, bassist Todd Coolman laying down a rubbery pulse, and Steve Wilson's tangy soprano sax entering the mix six minutes in.

And that is the plan of the day, an ardent and first-rate piano trio augmented by a rotation of top-notch saxophonists—Wilson, Gary Thomas, Jon Irabagon—tackling a batch of Kirkland's meticulously-constructed compositions with a crisp, jazzy élan. Haidu's touch is elegant, his articulation crisp. He brings percussionist Daniel Sadownick in for "Blasphemy," and also adds the subtle orchestrations of his electronic keyboard, creating an atmosphere which serves as one of the disc's highlights, along with "Dienda I" and "Dienda II." The original "Dienda" appeared on Branford Marsalis' Royal Garden Blues (Columbia, 1986), and also on Sting's All This Time (A&M,1990), making it one of Kirkland's most famous compositions. Haidu presents it here (another album highlight) as a two-part, thirteen-minute piano trio rendition, of the highest inspiration and caliber.

A stellar outing, with excellent saxophone sounds woven into a killer piano trio, perfectly arranged with reverence and verve.

Track Listing

Doctor Of Tone; Midnight Silence; Blasphemy; Steepian Faith; Dienda I; Dienda II; Mr. J.C.; The Tonality Of Atonement; Chambers Of Tain; Fushia; Chance.

Personnel

Additional Instrumentation

Steve Wilson: alto saxophone (9), soprano saxophone (2, 4, 9); Gary Thomas: tenor saxophone (7, 10); Jon Irabagon: tenor saxophone (3), soprano saxophone (10); Dan Sadownicki: percussion (3).

Album information

Title: Doctone | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.