Michel Petrucciani’s decision to utilize Adam Holzman on atmospheric electric keyboards behind his piano playing was an excellent idea. Not only did it give him an “orchestral” setting in which to improvise, but it enabled Petrucciani to completely escape the Bill Evans influence that has made so many other pianists sound a bit derivative. For this…
In an interview, Michel Petrucciani said “…my biggest inspiration is Duke Ellington, because in my very early age he gave the inspiration to play the piano.” For Promenade with Duke Petrucciani not only honors music Ellington composed, but music with which he was associated. There are some Billy Strayhorn…
Pianist Michel Petrucciani, who during the early part of his career was heavily influenced by Bill Evans, gradually developed his own sound. By 1991 he was using Adam Holzman on synthesizer with his quintet (which on this date also includes bassist Anthony Jackson, drummer Omar Hakim and percussionist Steve…
Music was a slight departure from pianist Michel Petrucciani’s usual Bill Evans-influenced recordings of the period. Petrucciani uses synthesizers (his and Adam Holzman’s) on all but two selections, but these are very much in the background, making the ensembles sound a little larger than they actually are.Petrucciani’s ten originals range from romantic (“Memories of Paris”) and manic…
Tackling his own material, with nary a vintage standard within earshot, Petrucciani combines his assertive, driving, mainstream piano with two different trios on two separate occasions. The first half of the program features the hard-swinging combination of bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Roy Haynes, augmented on “One For Us”…
This is an all-star summit that works quite well. Pianist Michel Petrucciani, a major jazz musician who had already led 11 record dates by this time (despite still being only 23), teams up with guitarist Jim Hall at the 1986 Montreux Jazz Festival for two lyrical duets: the altered…
After five years during which he emerged from France to become an important figure in the international jazz world, pianist Michel Petrucciani (still a few days shy of his 23rd birthday) debuted on Blue Note with this superior trio outing. Assisted by bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Eliot Zigmund,…
Creative vocalist Bobby McFerrin’s return to Blue Note after a nearly ten-year absence indicates a possible desire for a return to improvised jazz, and in a way distancing himself from the classical works he had become increasingly associated with. Working again with pianist Chick Corea and producer Linda Goldstein,…
Bobby McFerrin has made relatively few recordings since his hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Potentially one of the truly great creative vocalists, McFerrin has flashes of brilliance on this Blue Note CD, including a haunting rendition of Miles Davis’ “Selim” (taken from the trumpeter’s underrated Live-Evil set), but the…
