David Hazeltine George Mraz Trio Manhattan [chesky Sacd 310] {studio Master 2496}

NEA Jazz Master Louis Hayes certainly personifies the term "living history." Born in Detroit, Hayes packed up his drum set and caught a train east, arriving in New York City in 1956 to join the Horace Silver Quintet. In 1959 he joined the Cannonball Adderley band, finding himself, in his early 20s, at the nerve center of the jazz world. He would visit John Coltrane in his apartment and was to make several justly famous recordings with him. Over the next 60 years Hayes amassed a impressively great body of work, playing and recording with Oscar Peterson, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Cedar Walton, Sonny Rollins, Woody Shaw and many more of the giants of modern music.

This delightful project features altoist Paquito D'Rivera mostly playing clarinet in a trio with cellist Mark Summer and pianist Alon Yavnai. Although their set includes originals by all three musicians, the music overall is as strongly influenced by Cuban folk music and classical themes as by jazz. D'Rivera clearly enjoys mixing together the different idioms to create new and fresh music that is filled with the spirit and joy of his brand of jazz. The versatility of the three musicians is even more impressive than their inventive repertoire, making this a unique and highly recommended item in Paquito D'Rivera's extensive discography.

Let's face it: so many, perhaps too many, piano trio jazz CDs are released every month, and it's not every day when you find something special. But this CD - originally released in the Czech Republic and became a huge hit in Japan - has that special quality, the one that lets you know that it's a good record within the first 10 seconds. Pianist Jan Knop (b. 1972), who began to spell his name backwards as Najponk, is one of the greatest stars of his generation. He was connected to George Mraz (b. 1944), the most famous Czech bassist in the world, through drummer and jazz impressario Martin Sulc (b. 1961). The representatives of three different generations are connected by the strong unifying force of the post-bop mainstream…

Jazz pianist David Hazeltine, like many baby-boomer musicians, is influenced by Wes, Buddy, and Monk Montgomery and Cedar Walton. For what he calls his most personally driven recording date, he pays tribute to them by composing a four-part suite inspired by their sounds. Hazeltine and his quintet which includes the formidable vibraphonist Joe Locke and longtime collaborator tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander give alms with some well-conceived and executed modern mainstream jazz.

When it comes to New York’s top-shelf gigs, few pianists get the job done like David Hazeltine. Much sought for his sensitivity as an accompanist, Hazeltine is also an inventive composer and arranger who is able to bring a fresh approach to the mainstream.