Wherever You Are

Chronique

Denny Zeitlin has balanced careers as a psychiatrist, medical school professor, and jazz pianist/composer since earning his MD at Johns Hopkins in 1964. Equally at home performing with his working trio and as a solo pianist, Zeitlin focuses on the latter in this striking session which he recorded himself in his home studio. His imaginative arrangements of the familiar standards that make up much of this collection put them into a new light, perfect for late-night listening with someone special. "Body and Soul" has been recorded so frequently in the decades since Coleman Hawkins' landmark 1939 record that it would seem that there is little left to explore within it, but Zeitlin's lush reharmonization reveals new glistening facets in this timeless gem. "Good-Bye," long associated with Benny Goodman as his sign-off theme, packs an even greater emotional punch with Zeitlin's deliberate, thoughtful setting. Jazz musicians have often turned the '40s ballad "I Hear a Rhapsody" into an uptempo swinger, though Zeitlin's introspective rubato treatment returns it to its romantic roots, seducing the listener with his lyrical playing. The pianist's fresh rendition of the poignant ballad "You Don't Know What Love Is" begins with him improvising on its bridge and slowly working his way into it, adding a subtle Latin undercurrent as he reharmonizes its familiar theme. Zeitlin also revisits two of his originals, the mysterious "Time Remembers One Time Once" and the richly textured "Wherever You Are." This compelling solo piano CD is destined to become one of Denny Zeitlin's landmark recordings.
© Ken Dryden /TiVo