Michel Plays Petrucciani

BMG and The Montreux Jazz Festival have today announced the release of “Michel Petrucciani: The Montreux Years” on Friday 07 April 2023 and available to pre-order now. The brand-new release in The Montreux Years series is a collection of Michel Petrucciani’s most memorable performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival from 1990 – 1998.

Showing the influence of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, as well as an expansive understanding of jazz in general, pianist Michel Petrucciani weaves myriad textures, rhythms, and styles at the keyboard, producing work that sounds both complex and seamless. His brevity comes from both incredible technique and an ease with a wide range of musical settings: quintets, quartets, trios, and an assortment of duo settings. Petrucciani further expands the field here with a solo program of two originals and two standards. He kicks things off with the self-penned "The Round Boys Dance," an abstract boogie-woogie number full of mercurial improvisation

Michel Petrucciani's last European recording before hooking up with Blue Note, this set of duets matches the tiny but powerful pianist with bassist Ron McClure. They perform post-bop explorations of four originals (including an ad-lib "Cold Blues"), "Autumn Leaves" and "There Will Never Be Another You." The interplay between the two musicians is impressive, but although McClure plays a prominent role, Petrucciani is clearly the dominant force.

Lee Konitz & Michel Petrucciani - Toot Sweet (1982) {OWL 0134322 rel 2001}
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© 1982, 2001 Owl Records / Universal | 013 432 2
Jazz / Post Bop / Alto Saxophone / Piano

This 1982 meeting between the veteran alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and the young pianist (19 at the time of the session) Michel Petrucciani is a success on all counts. Konitz's fragile alto is complemented by Petrucciani's lush backing in "I Hear a Rhapsody," while their abstract approach to "'Round Midnight" and "Lover Man" are both very refreshing. Konitz is unaccompanied for his wandering "Ode," while the pianist is featured alone on his complex portrait "To Erlinda," which is dedicated to his first wife. Petrucciani and Konitz wrote the brief closer, the lively blues "Lovelee," during which they initially play apart from one another before joining forces to close with a flourish. This was only Petrucciani's third recording, yet he plays far beyond his years; this recommended CD will be difficult to find due to the demise of the Owl label.

The two instruments (Piano and Hammon organ) - though unusual, go very well together. The artists play together and make room for each others performances as if they have known each other forever. Louiss' organ creates at smooth and warm athmosphere and Petrucciani plays with a sparkling enthuiasm seldom heard. His energy, drive and variations of the themes makes it impossible not to stamp your foot, nod your head and smile.

The Gypsy swing music of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli of the 1930s has been kept alive by various European jazz musicians in the decades since Reinhardt's death in 1953 and Grappelli's in 1996. For the most part, the young guitarist Rocky Gresset continues Reinhardt's approach in his debut effort as a leader, utilizing a quartet with violinist Costel Nitescu and rhythm guitarist Matheu Chatelain, with bassist Jeremie Arranger taking over on two tracks. Gresset doesn't really break new ground in his treatments of standards like “Time on My Hands," “Just One of Those Things," and “Blue Skies." One of Reinhardt's songs, “Webster," is an obscurity dating from the guitarist's post-World War II years; Gresset and Nitescu offer impressive solos.