David Hazeltine Trio - Senor Blues (2000) [2018 SACD]

David Hazeltine is one of a handful of contemporary pianists who has mastered all of the major musical skills, from improvisation and technique, to accompaniment, arranging, and composition. Even more impressive, David is the rare artist able to innovate in each category. Thus it's no surprise that he's the most recorded contemporary jazz pianist of our time, having recorded 35 CDs as a leader and hundreds more as a sideman, on various major labels globally. A Milwaukee native, David was playing the clubs as a preteen, and before he'd even come of age he was already grabbing the attention and respect of jazz legends like Sonny Stitt, and Chet Baker. They urged him to make the move to New York City, which he did in 1992.

The mark of a true artist, David's style appeals to a wide range of musical tastes and levels of sophistication. His melodies and harmonies are beautifully complex and memorable. As a composer and instrumentalist, he has developed a signature style that is readily recognizable. Hazeltine is one of the most sought after pianists today. He has worked with some of the world's most respected jazz legends including James Moody, Eddie Harris, Jon Faddis, Joe Henderson, Pepper Adams, Jon Hendricks, and Marlena Shaw. David is known for taking a familiar or unexpected song and making it new, making it his own. He effortlessly transfers this skill from song to stage. Whether he's composing or interpreting, accompanying or leading, you are certain to end the set remembering the sounds of David Hazeltine.

"Unlike many young musicians, pianist David Hazeltine paid extensive dues working and recording as a sideman before a productive flurry of dates of his own during the late '90s, as he neared his 40th birthday. This studio session for the Japanese label Venus, with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Louis Hayes, focuses exclusively on the works of Horace Silver. While most of these songs were originally recorded by Silver with brass, the trio's solid interaction carries the day on its own, through a pulsing take of 'Nica's Dream,' the infectious 'Senor Blues,' and a driving interpretation of Silver's best-known composition, 'Song for My Father.' One would think that Silver himself would be impressed with Hazeltine's excellent tribute to him, if he's had an opportunity to hear it. Highly recommended." — AllMusic

Tracks:

01. The Back Beat 《 H. Silver 》
02. Nica's Dream 《 H. Silver 》
03. Peace 《 H. Silver 》
04. Senor Blues 《 H. Silver 》
05. Horace-Scope 《 H. Silver 》
06. Silver’s Serenade 《 H. Silver 》
07. Song For My Father 《 H. Silver 》
08. Lonely Woman 《 H. Silver 》
09. Sayonara Blues 《 H. Silver 》

Personnel:

David Hazeltine - piano
Peter Washington - bass
Louis Hayes - drums