Ben Waltzer - The Point (2024)

"This no-nonsense jazz pianist in the Ellington and Monk vein gets a big, ringing sound out of the extreme registers of the instrument...He manages a thoughtful modernism that coexists more than peaceably with a buoyant, unselfconscious sense of swing." – New York Times "The pleasure Waltzer generates is bountiful." - Jim Macnie, Village Voice

Pianist Ben Waltzer cut his teeth on the expansive New York jazz scene of the 1990s playing with the likes of Gerald Cleaver, Reid Anderson, and Bill McHenry and developing his personal voice alongside peers Brad Mehldau, Kevin Hays, and Ethan Iverson. As a result of his time in that crucible, “Waltzer is rooted in postbop but fluent in a wide range of styles, resulting in a driving sound that’s historically minded and deeply gratifying.” (Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader). His early work is well-documented by several critically acclaimed releases on the Barcelona-based Fresh Sounds record label, and Waltzer maintains a busy schedule in New York leading his own bands at Smalls and Mezzrow and serving as musical director for celebrity designer Isaac Mizrahi. In 2014, Waltzer relocated to Chicago with his family and rapidly integrated into the thriving jazz community there. The Point, Waltzer’s first record as a leader since that move, captures his top-flight Chicago quartet with saxophonist Geof Bradfield, bassist Clark Sommers, and drummer Dana Hall in a vibrant live performance at Chicago’s Pro Musica Audio
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The quartet initially coalesced under the leadership of Dana Hall as Black Fire, exploring the iconoclastic music of Andrew Hill weekly at Andy’s Jazz Club. “Ben came by and sat in one night, and it was immediately apparent that he was the right fit, his flow and aesthetic meshed with ours effortlessly,” comments Bradfield. Perhaps their easy connection is less surprising given that Bradfield, Hall and Sommers all did their own stints in New York before settling in Chicago. The band honed its sound and repertoire there for the next two years, developing the trust and intuition evident here on their debut recording. “The Point, named for the Chicago promontory that juts into Lake Michigan, is a document of a collective sound in time and place,” says Waltzer. “I hope the album, supported by an audience who generously took part in the recording process, reflects its nature: A meeting ground for meditative repose as well as a junction of social life, where celebrations, weddings, and memorials accompany the nearby tides and waves that give and take and suggest flow and change.”....