Jazz pianist's roll of the dice was worth recording
Friday, January 18, 2002
WHO: Jon Regen.
WHAT: Jazz.
WHEN: 8 and 10 p.m. Monday.
WHERE: The Blue Note 131 W. Third St., Manhattan; |(212) 475-8592.
HOW MUCH: $10, with one-drink minimum
By TOM DUNPHY
Special to The Record
Jon Regen recalls the trepidation he felt as the plane neared Tel Aviv.
“I like to present my music well," says the jazz pianist. “I wasn't sure about it."
His manager had booked Regen for a weeklong engagement at the Tel Aviv
Museum of Art in Israel last February. The catch was, the promoter was flying only
Regen over, not his entire band. Regen was to play with a group of
local musicians assembled for the gig.
Regen's reservations melted after the first rehearsal. “They knew my stuff cold," he
recalls. “They were asking me questions about chord changes that I
didn't even remember myself."
It's obvious they did their homework. “Tel Aviv," a live recording of one of those
performances,showcases the talents of this young pianist and composer. Pieces
like the ambitious “Tel Aviv Suite" trilogy (written in bits on napkins on
the plane and worked out in rehearsals) and “Requiem" reveal a deft and silken keyboard touch, framed by a band that swings, soars, and nudges
Regen to explore new ideas. Regen even sings for the first time on record,
doing justice to Cole Porter's “Get Out of Town."
Regen didn't set out to make a live album -- he simply asked the sound engineer to
record the final night for his own reference. But when he listened to the
tape at home in New York, Regen decided to release it, as-is.
“Many different places had been reached musically," Regen says. “It was a
document of a really special night."
Born in Maplewood, Regen, 31, didn't start playing piano until he was 17. After an
unfulfilling stint at the University of Miami, he came home to New Jersey,
studying at Rutgers under the formidable pianist-composer
Kenny Barron.
“Here's a guy who just may be the most recorded pianist in jazz, yet would sit down
with you and tell you what was good about your playing," says
Regen. “Kenny taught me about grace and humility. He's a gentle giant."
Both a bandleader and an occasional sideman -- Regen now tours with legendary
vocalist Jimmy Scott. He yearns for more of the musical adventure
he experienced during the making of “Tel Aviv."
“As a musician, you're not always in control," Regen says. “But giving up that
control can sometimes lead to great things."
Copyright
For more information contact All About Jazz.
