TRACKS AND TIMINGS

1) The Man I Love 11:43 (George Gershwin)

2) Echo Of A Kiss 7:22 (Denny Zeitlin) (Double Helix Music, Inc. /BMI)

3) I Mean You 7:39 ( Thelonious Monk & Coleman Hawkins)

4) The Star-Crossed Lovers 7:40 (Billy Strayhorn)

5) 10 Bar Tune 6:09 (Denny Zeitlin) (Double Helix Music, Inc./BMI)

6) Dancing In The Dark 8:20 (Arthur Schwartz)

7) Isfahan 6:17 (Billy Strayhorn)

8) Intimacy Of The Blues 4:31 (Billy Strayhorn)

9) Paraphernalia 12:12 (Wayne Shorter) (Miyako Music/BMI)

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

"There can be no doubt that being in the audience at Mezzrow on either the 3rd or 4th of May 2019 must have been a very special treat for lovers of great music for it was on both days that the incomparable riches of Denny Zeitlin’s pianism were on full display. Mr Zeitlin is one of the finest interpreters of classic American music… Together with these two musicians who are fully attuned to his vision and artistry Mr Zeitlin’s music soars into the stratosphere of art and once again we have a recording that is to die for…"

      Raul da Gama, jazzdagama

"Still going strong some fifty-six years after his first records, the polymath jazz pianist Denny Zeitlin continues his torrid pace of recording with yet another album that delves into one of his many fascinating sides…Zeitlin’s trio might not get together too frequently but when they do it’s magic…from serene moments to uninhibited flashes, Denny Zeitlin’s trio found themselves in particularly good form that spring night at the Mezzrow Jazz Club…."

      S. Victor Aaron, somethingelsereviews

"There's few folks who approach the piano like Denny Zeitlin – and this beautiful live set is a perfect illustration of his deep talents and very unique sound on his instrument! Zeitlin is a master of balancing darkness and light – technical brilliance and down to earth energy – working here with his longtime trio with Buster Williams on bass and Matt Wilson on drums – two players who are instantly, innately responsive to the many-textured sounds that Zeitlin brings forth from the piano! And throughout it all, no matter what the mood, the whole thing manages to swing – even in subtle ways."

      Rick Vojcik, Dusty Groove

"…this album is like a 3” steak cut at Morton’s, filled with flavor, oozing with texture with each bite a treat to the senses. Zeitlin’s fingers and mind have an encyclopedic knowledge of tradition, class and style… Each tune selection, each chord and each note makes you feel like Zeitlin is acting like Geppetto, carving a living being that moves, dances and sings out of a piece of wood. Everything comes alive in his hands."

      George W. Harris, jazzweekly

"There’s no surprise about the consistent brilliance of pianist Denny Zeitlin’s new album Live at Mezzrow (Sunnyside). Recorded at the New York piano bar over a two-night run last year when he was 81, the session extends Zeitlin’s late-career creative surge into his ninth decade…"

      Andrew Gilbert, San Francisco Classical Voice

"…Now in his eighties, Zeitlin is playing with all the invention focus and daring that has always characterized his work… Zeitlin the improviser lives on the edge of the avant-garde: it is a good place to be…from that vantage point he courts the unexpected.  He loves the sound of the piano almost for its own sake and the Steinway rewards him… Bill Evans has been credited with redefining the piano trio.  Zeitlin, Wilson and Williams when playing like this redefine the piano trio just as radically…. this is an impressive album…"

      Jack Kenny, jazzviews

"Greatness among us: Denny Zeitlin, 82, leads his piano trio — bassist Buster Williams, drummer Matt Wilson — through compelling and, at times, rousing, mind-boggling performances of some tried-and-true jazz standards, with his unusual runaway aplomb… Live at Mezzrow (Sunnyside Records) showcases the veteran jazz pianist at his best, and most versatile…You don’t always know quite where Denny Zeitlin will go, but you always want to be there with him. That’s never been more true than on this June 12, 2020 release."

      Carol Banks Weber, festivalpeak

"Coming up on two decades of creative engagement and evolution, pianist Denny Zeitlin's group with bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt Wilson remains one of the most bracing, sophisticated and creatively satisfying trios on the scene…. Captured during two nights of Zeitlin's residency at the titular club in May of 2019, everybody appears to be in peak, pliable form… Zeitlin's command and combination(s) of numerous musical dialects, Williams' elastic resonance and grounding presence, and Wilson's character, coloring skills and impeccable sense of time and groove all come together to form a beautiful whole. This trio is both firm in its constitution and loose in its methods of operation. It's simply the best of both worlds."

      Dan Bilawsky allabout jazz

"… Once again delivering a piano trio date that’s a defining moment of a generation of jazz fans, they deconstruct standards to reassemble them like drill sergeants you wind up respecting.  The originals reflect unending creativity and vision while the disc on the whole makes you wish you were there hanging on in anticipation of what’s coming around the next bend.  Killer stuff from the king of the realm and his loyal horsemen."

      Chris Spector, midwestrecord

"West Coast pianist Denny Zeitlin creates a classic and adventurous live set with his long-standing trio featuring Buster Williams and Matt Wilson on Live at Mezzrow… Zeitlin's brand of pianism is perfect for the space—adventurous but squarely within the modern tradition, with subtleties in the harmonies, the countermelodies, the voicings, and the rhythmic interplay that benefit from an intimate sonic space… Zeitlin, over the age of 80 on the recording date, is never less than fully assured, clear in tone and touch, able to move nimbly and yet with exquisite dynamics… Musicians like Zeitlin and Williams can go every which way, back toward the swing era, lushly progressive in post- bop complexity, or freely into improvising not restricted by chord patterns… Zeitlin… was an early experimenter with synthesizers, film music work, and other elements that were ahead of their time when he tackled them. And his sound is also reassuring: there is mastery of the jazz language but a sense that it should liberate rather than constrict any given piece of music… And although Live at Mezzrow masquerades as an old-fashioned piano trio date, all of this versatility can be found here. Matt Wilson, a generation younger, never sounds like the firebrand. Indeed, the idea of generational conflict in creative music seems today like a quaint idea. This trio suggests so."

      Will Layman, popmatters

"…Zeitlin delights in stretching familiar themes every which way, and he needs musical co-conspirators that are on the same wavelength. After 18 years of playing with Zeitlin, the absolutely reliable Williams and the exuberant Wilson are right there with him at all times, and the music just flows and flows… Matt Wilson’s drive and forceful but understated playing is a total joy throughout. His playing, in conjunction with Williams’ sensitive bass work and Zeitlin’s deeply probing piano, will keep me coming back to this date again and again. Happily recommended."

      Stuart Kremsky, mrstusrecordroom

"…Zeitlin's relationship with Sunnyside Records, beginning in 2009, was and continues to be a fortuitous and fruitful one… an album a year schedule at the label that continues to this day, with solo, trio and electro-acoustic offerings of the highest caliber… Which brings us to Live At Mezzrow… The songs are familiar; the trio takes them into unfamiliar territory and back again with a modernistic verve… perhaps the finest of his ongoing album releases for Sunnyside Records. "

      Dan McClenaghan, allaboutjazz

"…Dr. Zeitlin is a pianist with great facility, loves melody, and creates long, flowing, solos that are poetic and powerful whereas the rhythm section is just as musical and exploratory as its leader. One just knows they never play a song the same way twice…. these albums are creative music at its best… sit back, listen, and luxuriate in the splendid "Live at Mezzrow"."

      Richard B. Kamins, steptempest

"If improvisation is the key ingredient in Jazz, you sure get your money’s worth when you listen to pianist Denny Zeitlin’s music. Improvisation is the heart and soul [and mind] of everything Denny’s plays… It’s as though his mind is seeing parallel melodic universes and he is trying to get them all in view at the same time. I suppose when you have a technique as dazzling as Denny’s and it’s been well-honed over 60 years of performing, technical limitations are no longer an obstacle and you can pretty much put out onto the instrument whatever you are conceptualizing… Denny has an almost instantaneous grasp of the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic possibilities of each song or tune that he improvises on such that his ability to interweave between these, three musical elements creates the “texture” or sonority of his music."

      Stephen Cerra, jazzprofiles

"One of the best trios…with Buster Williams on bass and Matt Wilson on drums, the three top-notch musicians have recorded five wonderful albums for the Sunnyside label. Living on opposite coasts of the US, the trio interacts sporadically, making the wonder of their live performances all the more delightful…Live at Mezzrow is their latest release, and it is a topnotch collection of standards and Zeitlin originals… whether it's reharmonizing or rethinking a melody, Zeitlin continues to show why he is a top interpreter."

      Jeffrey Siegel, straightnochaserjazz--podcast