1) 1960s: RADIO: Sunday, April 23, 11PM-12 MN, Eastern Daylight Time, WBGO-FM (88.3): Bill Kirchner, highly respected musician, jazz educator, and musicologist features Denny Zeitlin's Columbia trio recordings from the sixties in his “Jazz From the Archives" Series. For those outside the NYC Metropolitan area the program is simultaneously broadcast on the internet on a one-time basis at < http://www.wbgo.com/>, e.g., West Coast listeners would access at 8- 9 PM. (Tip: clicking on the “Listen Now" symbol at the upper right corner of WBGO's screen gets you nothing. You must click on the appropriate box in the middle of the screen.) Kirchner writes:
In his book “The History of Jazz", Ted Gioia wrote of pianist/ composer Denny Zeitlin (b. 1938): “...Denny Zeitlin's stunning 1960s trio recordings for Columbia, produced by John Hammond,...served as especially powerful examples of how [Bill] Evans's probing style and concept of trio interaction could serve as the basis for the next generation of jazz pianists. Zeitlin's music displayed a rare skill in mixing quasi-avant-garde techniques with sublime lyricism.... Zeitlin's work from this period, as well as Steve Kuhn's and some of Paul Bley's, can be rightly described as the 'missing links'--rarely noted and insufficiently appreciated--between Evans's pioneering efforts and the classically tinged ECM sound...that came to fore in the 1970s."
Zeitlin has continued to be active as a performer to this day, but his four Columbia trio albums are among the milestones of contemporary jazz piano, and we'll be focusing exclusively on them. They feature him with three bass/drums pairings: Cecil McBee/Freddie Waits, Charlie Haden/Jerry Granelli, and Joe Halpin/Oliver Johnson.
2) 1983: VIDEO: Just posted at
This download is available in Windows, Mac, and iPod formats. A new piece from this concert will be posted every month or two.
3) 2006: LIVE PERFORMANCE:
DENNY ZEITLIN TRIO
Featuring Buster Williams, bass & Matt Wilson, drums
Appearing
Tuesday through Sunday, May 9-14
At The Jazz Showcase:
59 W. Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60610
312 670 2473
http://jazzshowcase.com
Showtimes:
Tues, Wed, Thurs: 8 and 10
Fri and Sat: 9 and 11
Sun 4 [matinee, children allowed] 8 and 10
Denny Zeitlin brings his world-class trio to Chicago's Jazz Showcase May 9-14, featuring award winners Buster Williams on bass, and Matt Wilson, drums.
A Chicago native, Zeitlin was active on the local jazz scene in the 50s and 60s, and has since recorded over thirty albums; twice won first place in the Down Beat International Jazz Critics Poll; written original music for Sesame Street; appeared on Network TV, including CBS Sunday Morning and repeats on the Tonight Show; and composed the critically acclaimed electronic-acoustic-symphonic score for “Invasion of the Body Snatchers." He has concertized throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Europe, and has appeared with jazz greats such as Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bobby Hutcherson, Charlie Haden, Marian PcPartland, David Friesen, and many others.
Buster Williams and Matt Wilson are on the “short list" of most highly sought out jazz musicians in the world. In the many years of their contributions to the jazz scene, they have appeared on hundreds of albums and performed around the globe with players that constitute a “who's who" of jazz. Buster Williams is particularly well known for his work with Sonny Stitt, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, Miles Davis, and Herbie Hancock. His awards include a Grammy and a NEA grant. Matt Wilson has made contributions to a wide stylistic array of artists, including Dewey Redman, Janis Siegal, Michael Brecker, Fred Hersch, and Lee Konitz. In the late 90s, he was named “Best New Artist" by the New York Jazz Critics Circle, chosen by Downbeat Magazine as one of “The 25 for the Future," and won first place in their critics' poll in 2003. In addition to their collaborations with other musicians, both Buster and Matt lead and record with their own groups.
Denny Zeitlin has led a series of groundbreaking trios since his first recordings for Columbia in the 60s. He has been performing with Buster and Matt since 2001, and the trio released their critically acclaimed “Slickrock" on MaxJazz in 2004. They come to Chicago's Jazz Showcase reverberating with a summer and fall of performances at the Litchfield, Chicago, Monterey, San Francisco, and Hollywood Florida Jazz Festivals, where they played to packed venues and standing ovations.
4) 2006: VIDEO: “Denny Zeitlin: Quiet Now available for free download at
For more information contact All About Jazz.
