For many
years, a special part of David Hazeltine’s
Christmas Eve ritual was to go to the Village Vanguard and listen to Cedar
Walton play. The pianist has been listening to and trying to incorporate aspects
of Cedar’s style since 1974. He first met Walton in 1982 and saw him play many
times after that but didn’t really get to know him until 1994 when Hazeltine
moved back to New York City. Walton passed away in August of 2013. Hazeltine’s
new trio CD, “I Remember Cedar,” is a testament to his deep love and admiration
for the musical genius that was Cedar Walton.
Legendary
Russian pianist, composer and arranger Nick
Levinovsky is supported by his friend, saxophonist Igor Butman and his
Moscow Jazz Orchestra on “Special Opinion,” a non-traditional session of music
presenting funk, fusion, jazz-rock, a tinge of psychedelic, and straight-ahead
jazz. The fourth disc in the Orchestra’s discography features special guests Dave Weckl on drums, Mike Stern
and Mitch Stein on guitars, Bill Evans on reeds, Randy Brecker on trumpet and
Tom Kennedy on bass. As allaboutjazz.com sums it up, “Levinovsky does a bang up
job in melding influences of funk and fusion into traditional jazz orchestrations
to produce a swinging sound that packs a punch.”
Also this
week, drummer Louis Hayes leads his
Cannonball Adderly Legacy Band “Live at Cory Weeds’ Cellar Jazz Club”; organist
Tony Monaco introduces guitarist
Fareed Haque to his trio on “Furry Slippers”; and veteran saxophonist Greg Abate is joined by bassist John
Lockwood and drummer Mark Walker on “Motif.”
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