| JEREMY STEIG: FLUTE FEVER |
|
Email Webmaster for Foreign Purchase Columbia #CL-2136 |
|
|
 |
Credits:
| Jeremy Steig – Flute Denny Zeitlin – Piano Ben Tucker – Bass Ben Riley - Drums |
|
|
Track Listing:
1. Oleo [Rollins] (5:15) 2. Lover Man [Ramirez] (4:54) 3. What Is This Thing Called Love? [Porter] (3:50) 4. So What [Davis] (10:23) 5. Well, You Needn’t [Monk] (4:10) 6. Willow Weep for Me [Ronell] (5:10) 7. Blue Seven [Rollins] (11:08) |
|
Reviews:
"Jeremy Steig's astonishing, trailblazing debut finally gets its compact disk due, 50 years after Columbia released it on vinyl. It was also the debut of Denny Zeitlin, a Bay Area psychiatrist whose singularly imaginative jazz moonlighting has resulted in numerous fearless disks over the past five decades. Backed by veterans Ben Riley on drums and Ben Tucker on bass, the fervent Steig and the marginally less impulsive, if no less creative, Zeitlin alternate standards with classics… No need to parse each track. All the listener need know is that this is a required disk, an object lesson in freshness, daring and improvisation…"
_Carlo Wolff, allaboutjazz.com
"On Sonny Rollins’s “Oleo,” each of them [Zeitlin & Steig] solos with ferocious thrust, chutzpah, swing and—one of the most challenging accomplishments in jazz—a feeling of delirious freedom within the discipline of a harmonic structure. Fifty years after it appeared, Flute Fever remains one of the finest albums of the second half of the twentieth century, regardless of genre. At last, it is a CD…The reproduction of sound, packaging and artwork is flawless. This is a basic repertoire item."
_Doug Ramsey, artsjournal.com/rifftides
"Fifty years old and as timeless as a speech by Winston Churchill… This thing is just unbelievable…And, if you want to know what Zeitlin sounded like before becoming a psychiatrist, get a load of his work on a cooking and feisty reading of “So What” that has him bring in hints of Coltrane’s “Impressions” without missing a step. His solo on a sweeping “Blue Seven” is delightfully fervent as well…"
_George W. Harris, jazzweekly.com
"…On tunes including "So What" (introduced by Davis on "Kind of Blue"), the pianist's playing is a model of structure and fluency, intelligence and intuition. He responds and shapes in dialogue with his musical environment."
_Richard Scheinin, mercurynews.com
" …this magnificent set is journeying to become a classic for all time… it predates many other flute and piano recordings that came long after it… Mr. Zeitlin plays soli that are chromatically astounding. He absolutely commands the grand keyboard to bow to his commands as his lithe fingers tear up and down the ebony and ivory. The pianist’s masterful playing was the shape of things to come as Mr. Zeitlin developed into one of the most ingenious pianists of today."
_Raul da Gama, rauldagama.com
" …[On Sonny Rollins' 'Oleo'] After a brief period of restraint on the tune's opening, Steig ratchets the energy level up to the clouds. Zeitlin, in the accompaniment mode, stays right with him, stabbing sharp statements into what amounts to a fire and brimstone flute rant. If Steig sounds as if he's trying to fly off the face of the Earth, Zeitlin—on a masterful solo—sounds like an architect designing an ornate edifice meant to last forever down here on the ground…[On 'Lover Man'] Steig's tone, as he blew the sad, sweet syllables—had a beautiful, rich purity. Zeitlin laid things down with a seasoned patience, soloing with an assured and impeccable grace… an exceptional album, is now an exceptional CD."
_Dan McClenaghan, allaboutjazz.com
"…Accompanying Jeremy is the brilliant Denny Zeitlin on piano, spontaneously interacting with the other musicians while laying out perfectly structured, linear solos that enhance this magical recording date."
jazz.livingambience.com
"Flute Fever is an inspired blowing session with a repertoire of standards and 1950s jazz classics…. Zeitlin does ear-catching things on every selection, but his most forward-looking solo is on "So What." The highlight of this track is a piano/drums duet perhaps inspired by John Coltrane and Elvin Jones. Coltrane was already one of Zeitlins varied influences."
_Bill Kirchner, jazz.com
"When this ferocious album came out, it introduced not one but two great jazz players, Jeremy Steig on flute and Denny Zeitlin on piano… they made a high-energy album that remains a landmark of both their careers… Zeitlin is a strong two-handed pianist with an original harmonic sense and superb "ears" as an accompanist…What sets the album apart is the level of co-improvising, especially between Steig and Zeitlin, and the emphasis on emotion. Much of it feels very "free" in a manner that is familiar to fans of today's jazz but was quite new in 1963, especially when applied to standards…"
_Glenn Brooks, jellyroll.com
"The Holy Grail for jazz flute, from lost classic to reissued masterpiece! Joining premier flutist Jeremy Steig we have all star pianist Denny Zeitlin along with the great Ben Riley on drums and Ben Tucker on bass… The trio that completes the ensemble are far more than after thoughts but one of the finest examples of harmonious synergy brought to a studio and transferred to tape… A stunning recording and a pristine reissue!"
_Brent Black, criticaljazz.com
|
Critical Acclaim for Denny Zeitlin’s “Columbia Years” Recordings and Performances BILL EVANS: [Downbeat Blindfold Test, listening to Jeremy Steig’s LP “Flute Fever,” featuring Denny Zeitlin] “…the piano player is also great.” THELONIOUS MONK: [Downbeat Blindfold Test, listening to Denny Zeitlin’s LP “Carnival”] “Hey play that again…(later.) Yeah! He sounds like a piano player! (hums theme) …and he can play it; you know what’s happening with this one. Yeah, he was on a Bobby Timmons kick. He knows what’s happening.” DOWNBEAT: “The Zeitlin trio…a stunning display of instrumental virtuosity, emotional depth, and musicality…Zeitlin’s piano is impeccable…introspective, filled with joy, bitingly mocking, always intelligent and emotional.” NEW YORK TIMES, John S. Wilson: “…among the few contemporary jazz pianists who have the imagination, discipline, and technique to rise above the competent but routine level that most of them appear willing to settle for.” NEWSWEEK: “What marks all of Zeitlin’s work and playing…is a sense of journey, but one complete with arrival as well as departure.” LEONARD FEATHER, Editor of Encyclopedia of Jazz and syndicated newspaper columnist: “(at the Monterey Jazz Festival) Denny Zeitlin topped his Newport triumph…pianist of the year…the most versatile young pianist to come to prominence in the early 1960’s.” CUE: “The most inventive jazz pianist in at least two decades.” |
