A Return to a Focus on Acoustic Music: 1978+

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By the time “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was complete, I was experiencing a mounting hunger for a return to the purity of acoustic music. Even before beginning to work on the film, I had accepted Tom Buckner’s suggestion and recorded a solo acoustic piano album for 1750 Arch Records, released in 1978. This represented a return to my earliest musical roots, where as a young child I would sit at the family Steinway and improvise music from moment to moment, without any preconceived structure. “Soundings” consists entirely of “free improvisations” recorded in concert and in my studio at home. These pieces cover a wide range of harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic territory, but throughout, I hope the listener is taken on a journey that has a sense of compositional integrity.

Critical Acclaim:

HIGH FIDELITY, Don Heckman: " San Francisco pianist/psychiatrist/composer Denny Zeitlin challenges Keith Jarrett's solo-piano primacy with this fascinating new collection of improvisations. His playing is every bit as interesting as Jarrett’s and yet totally different—more compositional in nature, and more varied in tone and texture. An invaluable album for piano fans."

DOWNBEAT, Jon Balleras: "...followers of Zeitlin's early acoustic playing will be pleased to learn that his roller coaster runs, bouncy polychords, and crashing, strategically placed climaxes resurface here, held together, as always, by Zeitlin's keen intuitive logic...Throughout, Zeitlin's technique is formidable. But most importantly, listening to Denny Zeitlin is listening to a mind at work, listening to a stylistically rich, complete musician."

In 1981, Todd Barkan, owner of the world-renowned jazz club “Keystone Korner” in San Francisco, suggested that Charlie Haden and I re-unite in a duo engagement at his club. Charlie and I got together for an afternoon rehearsal at my studio—the first time we had played together in about 15 years. The music came together so naturally and easily that we decided we had to document it. I brought my 8 track tape recorder in for the week, and some very special music emerged. The album includes our originals, and some songbook and jazz standards, including Coleman’s “Birdfood” which draws on Charlie’s years of playing with Ornette, and my great attraction to the music made by that quartet. Charlie sent the tape to Manfred Eicher at ECM, who loved it. Shortly thereafter, we went to Stuttgart to mix the album eventually released in 1983 as “Denny Zeitlin & Charlie Haden: Time Remembers One Time Once.”

Critical Acclaim:

DOWNBEAT: "[4 1/2 out of 5 stars] Here's a happy meeting of kindred musical minds. Recorded in performance at San Francisco's Keystone Korner, 'Time Remembers One Time Once' explores the potential of the piano/bass duo, delves into the musically arcane, touches on the familiar, and mixes the musically pensive with pure musical exuberance...an intricate, satisfying record."

JAZZ TIMES: "No cover, no minimum (after you get this set home) for this original and exciting performance by two of the greatest free associationists in jazz. Zeitlin's playing here is ever articulate and sensitive, revealing no loss of the startling keyboard proficiency he displayed in his Columbia albums of the '60s. As consistently rewarding a listening experience as you're likely to get!"

STEREO REVIEW: "Zeitlin's playing still has the flash that so impressed me almost twenty years ago, but now there is also more substance, and the one-time George Russell student has found the perfect partner in Haden, whose playing has always been profound. Their nine musical conversations here are eminently accessible, yet thought-provoking and rife with intriguing nuances that are so subtle they may be overlooked until the second or third hearing. This is soft, gentle music, but it has a strong spine. I hope this is only the first of many such collaborations."

LOS ANGELES TIMES, Leonard Feather: "Zeitlin, still living a double life as psychiatrist and pianist, clearly is a connoisseur of every genre from bebop to free jazz. A splendidly conceived program by two longtime perfectionists."

Critical Acclaim:

DOWNBEAT: "Five Stars [highest rating]...surrounding himself with a stellar group of associates and turning in five of his own compositions, Zeitlin demonstrates his total command and unique personality on Tidal Wave."

STEREO REVIEW: "Performance: riveting; Recording: very good...Here there is substance...Zeitlin himself has always combined an extraordinary technique with more than fleeting musical thoughts, and in this release he delivers that blend in a context that is in good part acoustical."

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: "One of the few truly original jazz pianists and an extraordinary composer."

MUSIC CONNECTION: "An embarrassment of riches from a multileveled talent."

OAKLAND TRIBUNE: "It all works beautifully...Zeitlin and crew are, within a somewhat mainstream context, nothing less than brilliant in their interactions."

In 1985, I was approached by Paul Winter to do a solo piano album for his label, Living Music Records. Paul’s musical journey had taken him from the mainstream jazz of his first Columbia LPs, to bossa nova, and on to a visionary approach to musical cultural exchange and concern for our planet. Along the way he was hailed as the “Father of New Age Music.” Paul never liked that description, and prefers to think of his work and that of the Paul Winter Consort as “World Music.” Whatever the label, I think he is at the top of that genre. His album, “Icarus”, which included Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless and Collin Wolcott ( who would go on to found the group “Oregon”) remains an all-time favorite of mine, and I’ve always thought that Paul’s sound on saxophone is gorgeous and heartfelt. Paul was interested in showcasing the simpler, non-dissonant, more lyrical side of my playing, and I became intrigued at the challenge. We agreed to co-produce, and go back and forth with pieces I created until we found a program we both felt was appropriate. The compositions on “Homecoming” are all original, and some of them come as close to “New Age” or “World Music” as anything I have done before or since. I toured quite frequently with the Paul Winter Consort in the year following the release, playing solo, duo with the incredible cellist Eugene Friesen, and enjoying hanging out with the band. Times at Paul’s farm in Litchfield, CT were very special.

Critical Acclaim:

DOWNBEAT: “Denny Zeitlin, as we’ve come to expect, gives us an ongoing, fluid dialog between mind and instrument, done with more than a usual helping of wistful, reflective moods, held in a delicate balance of thought and feeling. It’s a measure of Zeitlin’s subtle skill as an improviser that repeated listenings are required to delineate where Zeitlin’s thematic material ends and his improvisations begin, so organic is his conception.”

BOSTON PHOENIX: “In Denny Zeitlin, Living Music has someone truly special…‘Homecoming’ is Zeitlin’s first solo acoustic album in a while, and it apparently was done at the urging of Winter, a longtime friend. We should thank both of them, because it’s great. In terms of musical sophistication, it’s light years ahead of what you’d expect from a ‘New Age’ label, and yet it’s an album that even those who aren’t jazz fans can appreciate.”

CHATTANOOGA TIMES: “Solo piano outing by the jazz pianist/composer is propelled by intensity of feeling, incorporation of significant jazz idioms and an exuberant sense of adventure and discovery.”

EVERETT HERALD: “He blends classical techniques with all sorts of jazz angles and before you know it you’ve got an unusual, far-reaching album of monumental proportions. ‘Homecoming’, his debut on the Living Music label, is one of those. It is a worthy addition to his growing (and engrossing) body of work.”

Windham Hill was the distributor for “Homecoming”, and I gravitated into a relationship with their newly formed straight ahead jazz division, “Windham Hill Jazz.” I had been playing for a while in a trio with Peter Donald on drums, and Joel DiBartolo on bass. I first heard Peter with the John Abercrombie Quartet, and loved his time feel and fiery edge. Joel DiBartolo had been playing with the Tonight Show band for years, and had a good harmonic ear and rock solid time. The trio music was developing nicely, and was documented on “Trio”, a studio date released in 1988, and a year later, on half of “In the Moment.”

Critical Acclaim:

DOWNBEAT: "Thoughtful and probing are adjectives frequently used in reference to Denny Zeitlin, and they remain applicable in regards to 'Trio.' Throughout this varied program, Zeitlin steadfastly refutes pat formulae, endowing each piece with unexpected pleasures. The work of drummer Peter Donald and bassist Joel DiBartolo are important assets to this end. Also, Zeitlin can turn on the afterburners, as he does on 'Brazilian Street Dance' and Ornette's 'Turnaround.' "

JAZZIZ: "...interpretations of the highest merit... 'Trio' offers skillful, sensitive, and consummately inventive versions of 'All The Things You Are,' 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,' and J.J. Johnson's 'Lament,' in addition to a sampling of Zeitlin's strongest original compositions in years."

KEYBOARD: "Indeed it is a trio, and a good one. Rather than lay down driving rhythms, bassist Joel DiBartolo and drummer Peter Donald wrap Zeitlin's piano in exactly the kind of frame it needs. Few players are as fluid, complex, and listenable as Zeitlin; fewer still can wear all of these hats at once. All three musicians must therefore listen constantly, interact instantly, and create along distinct yet parallel lines. So successfully do Zeitlin and company accomplish this goal that Windham Hill could just as well have called the album 'Solo.' "

BILLBOARD: "Beautiful, straight-ahead date on Windham's jazz line is Zeitlin's strongest keyboard showing in years...the psychiatrist/jazzman has not lost his very subtle touch. Outstanding."

VICTORY MUSIC REVIEW: “This is a major release of supreme piano improvisations. A consistently rewarding experience...Zeitlin shows his usual high sensitivity and knowledge. Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Illinois and M.D. Johns Hopkins, this practicing psychiatrist, pianist, composer and improviser has what it takes. No lack of confidence here. A gentleman of brilliant tenderness, succulent skill and soaring style."

Half of this CD features the trio with Peter Donald and Joel DiBartolo. The other half of “In the Moment” (1989) contains live duo performances with David Friesen, a strikingly original and intense bassist with whom I collaborated on and off for almost 15 years. I was featured on his “Other Times, Other Places” and “ Two for the Show” CDs, and we co-lead the three duo CDs described below.The transparency of piano-bass duets with its absence of drums poses both challenges and opportunities. I believe we made the most of these, and developed a concentrated, collaborative, and adventurous approach that brought out the best in both of us.

Critical Acclaim:

BUFFALO NEWS: “One of the great jazz records of the year, by almost any standard…tremendous playing all around.”

WASHINGTON POST: “[Zeitlin]…has been on the brink of jazz stardom since the mid-‘60s. Like the best jazz pianists—from Jarrett to McCoy Tyner and Don Pullen—Zeitlin is willing to push his music to the brink of collapse because he has the wherewithal to pull order out of chaos. Zeitlin encourages conflicting elements within his music and then finds a way to resolve that conflict within boldly inventive harmonies. Though he tends more to Jarrett’s lyricism than Tyner’s percussion, Zeitlin is a physical, assertive player.”

BALTIMORE SUN: “They don’t make jazz albums like Denny Zeitlin’s ‘In the Moment’ very often these days, and that’s a shame. A thoughtfully swinging pianist, Zeitlin has always been adept at unlocking the harmonic and melodic possibilities hidden within a jazz tune, but as ‘In the Moment’ makes plain, he’s also a superb ensemble player…’In the Moment’ comes off sounding like a classic.”

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: “[Denny Zeitlin is] not only a technician of considerable prowess, but someone who is able to effectively articulate the intricate, turbulent personae of the artists who have touched him most…he separates himself via his improvisational adroitness. Like a red-hot novelist, he’s able to build and juggle several themes at the same time and make them relevant to each other…if Zeitlin’s couch is anything like this record, save a space for me.”

PACIFIC SUN: “a dazzling display of Zeitlin’s fluid, complex keyboard style…”

“Denny Zeitlin/David Friesen: In Concert” was released by ITM in 1992, and later licensed by Summit Records in the US in 2000. The pieces were recorded live at various venues on my Panasonic DAT recorder, using just 2 Neumann KM-84 microphones. This minimalist approach produced a very natural, clear sound. As with all of our CDs, there are originals, along with jazz and songbook standards. Several of the pieces were recorded at a small club in Tacoma on a night when the whole town was riveted to their TV screens watching a Tacoma expose. There were only about 5 people in the club, but we played some of our best music. That’s part of the delicious mystery of playing jazz; you never know when the magic is going to happen. (Many years later, I heard Matt Wilson wryly assert his group’s integrity with the quip “Yeah, we play the same for 5 people as we do for 9.”)

Critical Acclaim:

ALLABOUTJAZZ.COM: “Two creative artists working as a duo serve as a clear example of what the modern mainstream is all about. Bassist David Friesen, always in tune and favoring a lyrical style, adds double stops and slapped percussive sounds to enhance the pair’s creative output. Pianist Denny Zeitlin, fluid and seamless, swings with a tinge of the blues while improvising in highly creative bursts…Zeitlin and Friesen romp through familiar melodies and gradually work their way through improvised changes. Both remain lyrical throughout. However, the pianist enjoys stretching limits by adding avant-garde explorations from time to time…the duo pushes the envelope with dramatic intensity that can only come through a deep involvement…the excellent sound systems have captured Zeitlin and Friesen alone and yet together, as they complement each other with full counterpoint.”

52ND STREET.COM: “It’s a cliché, but it’s true: when these two guys get together, magic happens…the eight tracks presented here, two originals by each, two show tunes and jazz standards by Shorter and Rollins, were recorded in concerts at Tacoma, Portland, Berkeley, and Phoenix. For me, they provide an excellent window into the creative process of these two inquisitive, probing, adventurous minds. I have admired Zeitlin’s ability and willingness to push the envelope, to explore outside the usual boundaries of pattern, form, and time, without losing me in the process. Friesen’s presence seems immeasurably to enhance and enrich the endeavor, and I am left in awe of them, and of the depth of their interaction."

For some years I had been performing at the Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkelely, California. This tiny hall (sadly, no longer in operation) was created by architect Bernard Maybeck for a piano teacher who had struggled with a lifetime phobia of performing. She vowed her students would not be so afflicted, and had her house built with an acoustically perfect church-like living room, complete with balcony where she would sit and desensitize her students to “command” performance. Dick Whittington, the presenter, spoke with Carl Jefferson at Concord Records, and recommended that he include me in their Maybeck Solo Piano series. I was very pleased when he agreed to proceed. Here was an opportunity to make another return to my earliest roots, in a setting I knew and loved, along with a very fine piano. The only possible negative was the pressure to harvest a complete album in two sets, and the ambiguity regarding whether this was primarily a recording session with an audience, or a concert that happened to be recorded. For instance, would “false starts” and “intercuts” be permitted , where I could repeat a section as one might do in a studio ? Some pianists earlier in the series had done this. I clarified with Carl, a wonderful, exuberant jazz fan, that this was to be primarily a concert. Fortunately, everything came together, and buoyed by a rapt and enthusiastic audience, I played some of my best music.

"Denny Zeitlin at Maybeck” was released by Concord in 1993.

Critical Acclaim:

HARMONIA MUNDI JAZZ (France): An extraordinary pianist, of exceptional dimension…an absolute discovery. Denny Zeitlin is a veritable genius…”

BILLBOARD: “[Critic’s Choice: Highly Recommended]…the ravenous rhythms of ‘Blues On The Side’…the infectious changes of ‘Just Passing By’…a thunderous ‘Fifth House’…”

JAZZ AND BLUES REPORT: “Zeitlin, a gifted player with a well-integrated range of heartfelt jazz expressions and strong left-hand foundation, expertly and confidently executes four well-crafted originals among the 12 tunes, ‘Blues On the Side,’ ‘And Then I Wondered If You Knew,’ ‘Country Fair,’ and ‘Just Passing By,’ with the same vibrancy devoted to standards by Gershwin, Coltrane, Ellington, and Porter. An impassioned, delightful offering from a pianist conversant in the jazz tradition.”

BLACK & WHITE: “Denny Zeitlin’s ‘day job’ is teaching and practicing psychiatry, but from the first chord of At Maybeck, you know you’re in the presence of a master musician. Zeitlin likes to rearrange tunes to fit his personality (Gershwin’s ‘My Man’s Gone Now’ becomes a mini-concerto), but his phrasing has so much clarity and rhythmic energy that the listener is borne aloft on his novel variations.”

JAZZ (France): “Each time a new album of the Maybeck collection is released, we say to ourselves that it surpasses all that preceeded it. This one could well in fact surpass all that will follow it.”

In summer, 1994, as plans for a West Coast duo tour with David Friesen shaped up, I arranged with Carl to be included in his Maybeck Duo Series. Phil Edwards did the remote recording, and got a wonderful sound, and with Maybeck our final date on the tour, the music was really happening. “Denny Zeitlin/David Friesen: Concord Duo Series, Vol. 8” was released by Concord in 1995.

Critical Acclaim for the Concord Duo CD and Live Performances:

LOS ANGELES TIMES: “Both artists are gifted, cutting-edge soloists whose interaction with each other seems to occur on an almost symbiotic plane of connectedness.”

SANTA BARBERA INDEPENDENT: “Zeitlin and Friesen are bona fide masters of modern jazz, and, having performed as a duet some 15 years, their product can only be described as magic…”

LOS ANGELES READER: “The type of hand-in-glove musical exchange of which pianist Denny Zeitlin and bassist David Friesen are capable is a rare commodity in any genre. Egos must be put aside for the greater glory of the music, and both players are known for their empathetic approaches to improvisational work.”

TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG, Innsbruck, Austria: “A duo is the smallest, but the most risky entity of interactive music-playing. This duo is amazingly delicate, and also entertaining, challenging, and stimulating with every single note.”

DOWNBEAT: “Their 10 year relationship enables them to follow one another into vast harmonic labyrinths without losing contact, and Zeitlin’s pianistic intelligence brings out the best in Friesen.”

David Friesen and I always enjoyed playing at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles. Ruth Price, a fine jazz singer, runs her venue as a concert hall, and the musicians are always treated with great respect. It seemed a fine place for another live album, and in August, 1998 I brought my ADAT down from San Francisco, along with a bevy of Neumann Microphones. Despite the gymnastics involved in simultaneously being recording engineer and pianist, things went without a hitch. We took the best of a week-end’s harvest, and mixed the 8-track recording together. We were very excited about the music, and Intuition, a German label, released it in 1999 as “Denny Zeitlin/David Friesen: Live at the Jazz Bakery.”

Critical Acclaim:

JAZZREVIEW: "The outstanding bassist David Friesen teams up with longtime friend and partner, pianist-psychiatrist Denny Zeitlin, for a live set of exquisite one-on-one music making...a nuanced joy."

TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG, Martin Volgger (Austria): Tageszeitung/Austria: "Denny Zeitlin and David Friesen's deep private friendship has donated a few exciting duo recordings to Jazz. Their latest CD—recorded live at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, CA fits in that row. Two extraordinary musical personalities have an intimidate dialogue that goes very deep into the musical realm. Whether with standards or originals, and because of Zeitlin and Friesen's free concept of playing plus the extreme contrapuntal exchanges between the two, the music is filled with enthusiasm and creates a captivating atmosphere. Lastly, because the music doesn't follow well known clichés, it becomes a very lively (vivid) and completely timeless musical document."

JAZZ TIMES (Germany): "Two virtuosos on their instruments took the Jazz Bakery by storm."

JAZZTHETIC (Germany): "The whole range of musical dialogue is shown by Zeitlin and Friesen in their live recording 'Live at The Jazz Bakery.' Intense musical interaction."

CABINET NIGHTFLIGHT (Germany): "What the two master-bakers produced at the Jazz Bakery is not just a common breakfast, it's also brunch and dinner with dessert simultaneously."

In 1996, Todd Barkan, doing a lot of independent production in New York, contacted me about doing a project for Japan’s Venus Records. It would be a trio recording, and I would have wide latitude of choice of musicians. For some years, I had been wanting to record with Buster Williams. I’d loved his sound, time, and approach since first hearing him on Herbie Hancock’s “The Prisioner” LP. The way he played on Herbie’s tune “ I Have a Dream” knocked me out. And someone I had admired on drums for years was Al Foster—incredible taste and swing. They were available for the date, and I came to NYC, had an afternoon rehearsal, and went into Clinton Studio A and did the CD in two days. The chemistry among the three of us was wonderful, Todd’s vibe was very helpful, the engineer was tuned in, and the magnificent 9 foot refurbished Steinway was originally from Columbia’s 30th Street studio and had been used for “Kind of Blue.” Talk about history!

“Denny Zeitlin: As Long as There’s Music” was released in 1997 on Venus Records,and in 2000 on 32 Jazz in the US, briefly before that label went out of business. It remains available as an import.

Critical Acclaim:

JAZZTIMES, Doug Ramsey: Zeitlin’s first trio record in years recalls the excitement the pianist generated in his debut on Jeremy Steig’s Flute Fever in 1963, and on the subsequent series of his own Columbia LPs. His technique was dazzling from the beginning. At 24, he could swing hard, as his work on “Oleo” on Steig’s album made thrillingly clear, and he had a rich harmonic imagination. This CD fulfills all the promise of those early efforts…his harmonic depth, command of time and finely honed sense of proportion and drama in building a solo…his brilliance and the interaction he achieves with bassist Buster Williams and drummer Al Foster make it a fully realized trio recording…the new CD abounds with examples of Zeitlin’s mastery.”

DOWNBEAT, pianist Brad Mehldau, Blindfold Test: “That got me off most of anything you’ve played. [pianist Brad Mehldau is responding to Zeitlin’s “Cousin Mary” after hearing a number of selections from other artists’ albums.] The bass and drums feel like Buster Williams and Ben Riley. The drummer has that great tipping feel. I love the pianist. I never hear any vocabulary. The arrangement is great. At a certain point he gets away from what the roots should be, and is making up different forms of the blues. You can hear a lot of the history of piano styles in his playing… 5 stars [highest rating]”

LOS ANGELES TIMES, Don Heckman: “A solid collection of classy, straight-ahead jazz improvisation. Performing in this context, Zeitlin delivers with a far brawnier, more hard-swinging approach than was generally the case in his more pensive performances with bassist David Friesen. Williams seems especially compatible with Zeitlin, sometimes moving in tandem with him, sometimes ranging off into contrapuntal interaction. The results are always rewarding, sometimes much more than that.”

JAZZIZ, Neil Tesser: “Zeitlin’s a tall man with long fingers, and he has a sparkling, effervescent technique…Zeitlin’s flights of virtuosity wait in reserve…and so are all the more startling when they emerge to underscore the emotions under investigation. On such tracks as the title tune or “I’m All Smiles”, familiar melodies and relaxed rhythms launch solos of discursive logic and dream imagery. But even on an up-tempo workout like Coltrane’s “Cousin Mary”, Zeitlin refuses to settle for easy riffing. He digs as deeply into a tune as any pianist now working, and more so than most. He really sounds like no one else.”

KEYBOARD, Anthony Commiso:“A great set of standards and pungent originals…fascinating collages of sounds. The title track is a true gem that displays Zeitlin’s eclectic style.”

Mandolinist David Grisman and I had enjoyed each other’s music for many years. We had played one duet concert at the San Francisco Jazz Festival in the seventies, but hadn’t crossed paths again until the late nineties when we began to just get together at my studio and play. We had a lot of fun inhabiting each other’s tunes, and sharing genres. David comes primarily from a bluegrass and folk tradition, but loves integrating diverse forms of music as do I. We did a duet tune for his “Dawg Duos” compilation CD, and went on to record an album of duets “David Grisman/Denny Zeitlin: New River” for his label, Acoustic Disk in June, 2001. At first consideration, a mandolin-piano duo might seem unwieldy; its hard to imagine a greater disparity of sounding board size. But somehow, it really works, and the music on this CD seems very fresh, and certainly pulled me into some new musical spaces. Subsequently, David and I have enjoyed doing some more duo concerts.

Critical Acclaim:

JAZZTIMES: “ Take two exceptional San Francisco Bay-area based musicians with exceptional backgrounds—Denny Zeitlin is both a practicing psychiatrist and a world-class jazz pianist; mandolinist David Grisman came out of bluegrass to play with a number of jazz luminaries—and this series of vibrant duets is what you get…spontaneous and unpredictable.”

DOWNBEAT: “On the duet album New River , Grisman and Zeitlin display their considerable chops as well as a strong empathy for one another’s musicianship…[Zeitlin] is particularly adept in the duo format. His playing is both straightforward and adventuresome, providing a solid counterpoint for Grisman’s masterful mandolin work.”

LA WEEKLY: “Mixing bluegrass with strains of swing, modal and Latin jazz, the record serves as a fine showcase of exactly what Zeitlin can bring to the table: not just his open and thoughtful imagination, his encyclopedic knowledge of styles, his rigorous attention to structure and his lovely Bill Evans-like lyricism, but the distinct ability to spontaneously connect with his fellow musicians on the deepest of levels.”

RHYTHM AND NEWS: “…each maestro brings his best, blending their influences—jazz, blues, Dixieland, bluegrass, and Latin swing—into a sparkling and truly invigorating whole. A wonderful disc to live to. “

MUSICBOX-ONLINE.COM: “New River is not only intriguingly adventurous in spirit, but also breathtakingly beautiful as the musicians traverse a wide-sweeping sonic terrain…the chemistry between these two wizards is truly remarkable…surely , it’s not a simple task to find two artists who so easily seem to grasp what the other is doing, and it’s even harder for two artists to get together and relinquish enough of their egos to allow the real magic to happen. But that’s exactly what Grisman and Zeitlin do time and again throughout New River , making this a true collaboration with groundbreaking results.”

In April, 2001, I performed at New York’s Jazz Standard with Buster Williams and Al Foster, which really whet my appetite for more trio playing. Subsequently I did a couple of West Coast tours with Buster and Matt Wilson on drums and the music felt like a hand in glove. I've already mentioned my admiration for Buster; Matt Wilson is an amazingly original and flexible drummer who always seems to do what is needed. Richard McDonnell of MaxJazz heard us live at the International Association of Jazz Educators convention in Toronto in January, 2003, and that led to my signing with the label. On a week-end in August, 2003, we met at Systems II Studios in Brooklyn, and recorded “Slickrock”. The vibes from the studio staff, Richard and Clayton McDonnell of MaxJazz,and Katsu Naito, the engineer, were great, and we had a ball. As a Steinway artist, I was able to choose my favorite piano from their stock, and I was delighted with the sound and feel. The recording date felt like a celebration. The title piece, an extended composition of mine that moves through totally free avant-garde to road maps to written sections, evokes a long day’s mountain biking ride in the canyonlands of Moab, Utah. The piece lasts over 15 minutes and was recorded in one take. The CD was released in the summer of 2004, and I continue to be very excited about how this trio keeps developing.

Critical Acclaim:

DOWNBEAT: "Zeitlin remains an extraordinarily sensitive and brilliantly virtuosic pianist and composer, as attested to on his recent 'Slickrock'."

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: “Slickrock shows Zeitlin to be in unrelentingly powerful form, his approach as varied as ever, alternately thundering, funky and sensitive, and full of delightfully surprising twists and turns.”

HARTFORD COURANT: “A top-seeded modern pianist and composer…his searching, brilliant analytical music is energized…expect the unexpected as he moves in and out of styles from free jazz to straight-ahead, from prelude to tone poem…all Zeitlin’s pieces are like journeys. Instead of taking the path more traveled, he blazes his own mountain trails, revealing musical landscapes never before experienced.”

NEW JERSEY STAR LEDGER: “Zeitlin established himself as a highly original composer and brilliant jazz pianist with an exuberant technique in the mid-1960s…he is still boiling over with passionate, lyrical and harmonically adventurous music that stimulates the imagination.”

SF WEEKLY, San Francisco: “Slickrock has nary an excessive note to be heard among its 13 tracks. It’s all killer, no filler, as yesteryear’s hepcats would say.”

In May, 2005, MaxJazz released my second project for them. “Solo Voyage” consists of solo acoustic piano for half the album, with explorations of Monk’s “Bemsha Swing”, Shorter’s “Miyako,” my compositions “Cascade,” and “Quiet Now,” and a free improvisation, “Walking, Prancing, Marching, Dancing.” Monk and Shorter are, of course, incredible composers, and I hope my interpretations bring something new while remaining faithful to the spirit of the originals. Although “Cascade” has been in my solo repertoire for 15 years, this is the first release. I have recorded “Quiet Now” twice since my original release in 1965. I was extremely flattered that Bill Evans took such a liking to this piece that he recorded it at least nine times over his career and kept it in his nightly repertoire for 15 years. It was a pleasure for me to extend and re-work “Quiet Now” for this project. “Walking, Prancing, Marching, Dancing” is a free improvisation, with no preconceived structure. As with any improvisation, I try to consciously stay out of the way of what is emerging. Unconsciously, part of what guides me is my wish for compositional integrity. I hope listeners feel they are taken on a journey that unfolds in a natural way.

“Solo Voyage” comprises the other half of the CD—a suite of jazz and songbook standards, originals, and free improvisation interludes that I created for one of my oldest and closest friends, Bill Young. Bill was a good drummer and an even better entrepreneur who presided over Chicago’s top commercial music production company for many decades, providing countless hours of work to Chicago musicians. He was also a fine father and husband, and a great friend of mine for over 50 years. Bill’s life was drawing to a close after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was home on hospice care, and above all, wanted a peaceful, contemplative ending.

I hoped this music would ease his final journey; to quietly inspire him; to perhaps offer something transcendent. The acoustic piano is at the core of the suite, with some synthesizer orchestration. On a Wednesday night, in the process of recording, I learned from Bill’s wife, Denise, that he had taken a turn for the worse. It was quite possible that he might not survive until my arrival in Chicago on Friday. I stayed up all night, finished the suite, and got the CD to FedEx on Thursday. It arrived Friday morning, and I learned that Bill had heard it and been touched by it before he slipped into the final coma in which I found him when I arrived that night. Although this music was an intensely personal good-by gift to a dear friend, I believe Bill would have felt good about sharing it.

“Solo Voyage,” Denny's 4th solo album, was released in June, 2005.

Critical Acclaim:

JAZZTIMES: “Mention Denny Zeitlin and two associations most frequently come to mind.  One, that he’s a working psychiatrist; the other, that he wrote the enduring modern jazz ballad ‘Quiet Now,’ a longtime favorite of Bill Evans.  Zeitlin, a superb, perennially evolving keyboard improviser and composer…returns in an epic interpretation on Solo Voyage.  A peak performance, ‘Quiet Now’ is surrounded by other examples of Zeitlin’s creative power as a self-sufficient interpreter, including mesmerizing transformations of two compositions quite distinct in expressive sensibility and tempo:  Thelonious Monk’s ‘Bemsha Swing’ and Wayne Shorter’s haunting ballad ‘Miyako.’ The album’s most ambitious moment ultimately belongs to ‘Solo Voyage,’ a stirring multipart memoriam that draws upon Zeitlin’s synthesizer to add tonal color to his poetic acoustic piano work.”

ALLABOUTJAZZ.COM: “While managing to generate a world-class reputation as a pianist, he’s also maintained a second life as a practicing psychiatrist…his life choices clearly haven’t impeded his ability to maintain the kind of artistic growth and reputation of better-known pianists like Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau, and Keith Jarrett.  ‘Solo Voyage’ is another fine example of just how fully-formed and well-conceived Zeitlin’s music is…Zeitlin embraces a complete view of the jazz tradition…‘Solo Voyage’ is an engaging journey from start to finish.”

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: “Here are my favorite 2005 CDs…Denny Zeitlin ‘Solo Voyage’ (MaxJazz)—A solo piano session that unfolds like a series of disquieting dreams, this gorgeous album features some of Zeitlin's first forays into electronic music since his chilling score for Philip Kaufman's ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ The St. Louis label MaxJazz deserves kudos for continuing to document Zeitlin and [Jessica] Williams, great Bay Area artists at the peak of their powers.”

JAZZREVIEW.COM:  “…a beautiful reading of ‘Bemsha Swing’…a fine example of Zeitlin’s phenomenal exterity at the keyboard…at times the listener will feel that the pianist is endowed with an extra hand or two.  Zeitlin’s best known composition is, no doubt, ‘Quiet Now.’ Denny Zeitlin offers a wonderful thirteen-minute rendition on this CD.  The centerpiece of the album is a half-hour suite in eight movements…and goes a long way to make ‘Solo Voyage’ enjoyable to a wide audience.”

ALL MUSIC GUIDE—JAZZ: “A brilliant pianist…long having his own approach to modern mainstream jazz, Denny Zeitlin performs solo on this disc, sometimes augmenting his piano with an atmospheric synthesizer…Zeitlin sounds creative throughout this fine project…This is an intriguing array of songs played by one of America’s finest pianists in a solo setting.”