Even at this early date, 1996 appears to be shaping up as the Year of the Ivories, at least in the realm of jazz.
Already several pianists still in their 20s have released exceptional recordings that promise great things for the future, while more seasoned players in their 30s and 40s recently have produced some of the boldest work of their careers.
Add to that upcoming releases by 31-year-old keyboard giant Marcus Roberts, who will offer a radical, improvised version of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” on Columbia this summer, plus Chicagoan Ramsey Lewis, who at age 60 plans to release this fall his first bona fide jazz album in years on Impulse, and there seems little doubt that the keyboardists are ascendant.
Of course, jazz piano recordings have been a staple of the industry since Jelly Roll Morton first began cutting solo discs in Chicago in 1923. The Harlem stride players of the ’20s and ’30s (James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith), the bebop virtuosos of the ’40s and ’50s (Art Tatum, Bud Powell), the keyboard revolutionaries of the ’60s and ’70s (Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea) and the neo-traditionalists of the ’80s and ’90s (Marcus Roberts, Benny Green) each deepened the language of keyboard improvisation.
Judging by the efforts of the class of ’96, the activity is heating up, with several pianists making supremely self-confident statements.
Among them, the most stunning work comes from Henry Butler, a New Orleans pianist who has released several recordings on various labels over the past few years, to minimal effect. Butler’s gifts are so wide-ranging and his musical influences so diverse that apparently no record label had been able to figure out exactly how to record and promote him–until now.
His new recording, “For All Seasons” (Atlantic Jazz), already stands among the best jazz CDs of the year, pointing to an artist with technique, imagination and personality to burn. The dizzying right-hand virtuosity that Butler offers on the opening track, “Blues for All Seasons,” the unconventionally aggressive rhythms he brings to Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “How Insensitive” and the rambunctious, technically audacious solo he plays on “St. Louis Blues” place Butler among the top jazz pianists working today.
The stylistic breadth and musical depth of this recording affirm that Butler is indeed a pianist for all seasons, and this is the recording that could make him a star.
Baltimore keyboardist Cyrus Chestnut released his “Revelation” recording debut two years ago on Atlantic Jazz, and, though it represented a strong opening volley, it didn’t come close to “Another Direction” (Evidence). In fact, “Another Direction” was recorded two months before Chestnut’s solo debut, but its belated release says much more about the young man’s gifts than his Atlantic Jazz debut did.
For whatever reason, Chestnut summons far more freewheeling spirit, digital brilliance and harmonic daring on this recording than he did on its predecessor. In originals, such as “Revol” and “Jambalaya,” he offers vibrant themes and develops them in epic ways. In more familiar fare, such as a Duke Ellington medley and standards such as “Blue Skies” and “Alone Together,” he produces the kind of melting, singing lines one rarely encounters in jazz pianodom.
If Chestnut’s subsequent efforts match the exuberance of this one, he may become one of the more imitated players of his generation.
None of the young pianists’ debut discs, however, is quite so cerebral as “Introducing Brad Mehldau” (Warner Bros.), a quirky recording that achieves its most vivid moments when Mehldau is playing original compositions. The elliptical lines, volatile rhythmic figures and unexpected bursts of color and dissonance that mark such compositions as “Countdown,” “Angst” and “London Blues” prove that Mehldau writes as cleverly as he plays. The originality of these compositions is startling to behold.
Strangely enough, pianist Jacky Terrasson sounded more idiosyncratic and venturesome on his self-titled debut CD of last year (Blue Note). If his sophomore release, “Reach,” features more ordinary and predictable pianism (with routine recordings of several standards), the recording’s saving grace is its extraordinary title track. Here, Terrasson dispenses with the bebop and post-bop formulas that define his covers of chestnuts such as “I Should Care” and “Just One of Those Things.”
Instead, on “Reach” Terrasson pursues the lush colors, exotic harmonies and atmospheric sonic effects that always have marked his best work. By juxtaposing this tune with Jerome Kern’s “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” the pianist creates a rhapsodic, nine-minute tone poem that stands as his most audacious and accomplished track to date.
Clearly, the young man needs to pursue his own muse, not simply mimic the tunes and idioms of the past. Here’s hoping he’ll do so more extensively the next time around.
At age 55, pianist Herbie Hancock obviously is no young lion. Yet his stunning recording “The New Standard” (Verve) deserves a place among the new sounds of the ’90s because it marks the pianist’s return to a serious, acoustic jazz idiom after long years in electric-pop fare.
The new recording not only is one of the more appealing jazz piano discs of the season but also represents one of Hancock’s most striking records in years. Joined by guitarist John Scofield, saxophonist Michael Brecker, bassist Dave Holland and percussionists Jack DeJohnette and Don Alias, Hancock presides over exquisitely atmospheric readings of recent pop tunes and several originals. The ferocious pianism he brings to Don Henley’s “New York Minute,” the mesmerizing rhythmic undulations he conceives in Peter Gabriel’s “Mercy Street” and the exquisite lyricism he produces in Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds’ “When Can I See You” are but a few of this recording’s allures.
Surely few artists combine pop accessibility with jazz sophistication as eloquently as Hancock, whose gifts as writer, leader and soloist distinguish every bar of this recording.
Finally, a Chicagoan who goes by the stage name Tony Z makes a sumptuous recording debut on “Get Down With the Blues” (Tone-Cool Records). Tony Zamagni’s keyboard is not a piano but a Hammond B-3 organ, and he makes the most of the instrument’s sonic range. His ear for color, his flair for dramatic statements and his sensitivity to ensemble balances advance the vocabulary of the instrument. Though he builds on the work of Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff, he also pushes into uncharted musical territory.
Of course, that’s what all the best jazz keyboardists are doing these days.
NOTEWORTHY LISTENING
A few more keyboard discs worth noting:
Kevin Hays: “Go Round” (Blue Note). The young pianist’s second Blue Note CD underscores his gifts as writer, arranger and leader.
Ron Surace: “The New Cool” (Southport). Surace’s work is neither as new nor as cool as the title would suggest, but he presides over sublime contributions of Chicagoans Ryan Shultz on bass trumpet, Rusty Jones on drums and Marlene Rosenberg on bass.
Horace Tapscott: “aiee! The Phantom” (Arabesque Jazz). The imposing Los Angeles pianist leads an all-star group (trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, alto saxophonist Abraham Burton, bassist Reggie Workman, drummer Andrew Cyrille) in profound small-band improvisations.
Kenny Werner Trio: “Live at Visiones” (Concord Jazz). Keyboard virtuosity, harmonic daring and a restless musical imagination distinguish Werner’s pianism.
