Michel Petrucciani / Dave Holland / Eliot Zigmund: Kuumbwa

Michel Petrucciani was not blessed with a long life. What the French-born jazz pianist was blessed with was an enormous talent, one most people could not amass in several lifetimes.

Petrucciani was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that led to brittle bones, stunted his growth and left him in almost constant pain—the sort of ailment that would cause many lesser men to simply throw in the towel and retreat. Petrucianni never even gave that a passing thought. Playing through pain became second nature to him, and Petrucciani never let his audience know he was less than able, even though the effects of his ailment were quite plain to see. "I am very ambitious," he once said. "I always try to be the best, to go further and higher. I do want to be the best." Regardless of whether Petrucciani was the best (a matter of personal opinion and taste that could be debated endlessly), there surely weren't many who rose above him, either technically or emotionally.

Kuumbwa, a 2026 installment in the series of splendid archival performances released by Elemental Music, was recorded on May 11, 1987 at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California, with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Eliot Zigmund rounding out Petrucciani's splendid trio, which shared top billing with a quartet led by the legendary tenor saxophonist Stan Getz.

At Kuumbwa, Petrucciani opens the two-CD performance with Wayne Shorter's frisky "Jimbo" and a pair of his own compositions, "Eugenia" and "Mike P. Blues," before breathing fresh life into the well-traveled standards "Stella by Starlight" and "Autumn Leaves," which are sandwiched around another of his themes, "The Prayer." Any uncertainty about Petrucciani's ingenuity and brilliance are quickly erased on "Stella" and "Leaves," which shine anew in his capable hands.

A third standard, Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine," opens the second half of the concert, and is followed by one of the more enchanting love songs ever written, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's "All the Things You Are." Needless to say, Petrucciani approaches them with his usual acuity and assurance, making them seem almost newly minted. Petrucciani's pensive "Morning Blues" is next, followed by Miles Davis' assertive "Nardis" and Charles Lloyd's buoyant "Sweet Georgia Bright." Petrucciani wraps the concert with another persuasive yet relatively lesser-known standard, Frank Churchill and Larry Morey's lyrical "Someday My Prince Will Come."

Even though Petrucciani is the focal point, he gives Holland and Zigmund ample room to blow, and their solos are invariably sharp and well-drawn. Petrucciani was 24 years old when the concert at Kuumbwa was recorded. He died a dozen years later, at age 36. To note that Petrucciani lived an impressive and productive life—brief as it was—would be an understatement. He left a legacy of virtuosity and excellence that will endure as long as lovely and tasteful music is discerned and appreciated. Kuumbwa is very much a part of that bounty, and a delectable treat for Petrucciani fans—as well as for others who haven't yet had the pleasure of hearing and ejoying his consummate artistry.