By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Originals for Originals
Instrumentalist/composer
Michael Zilber is better known by fellow musicians than by jazz fans. Born in
Vancouver, B.C., he moved to Boston in his late teens, then to New York City
about five years later. It didn’t take long for his talents to be recognized by
artists who frequented that area. Zilber performed or recorded with giants such
as Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, the Brecker brothers and Dave Liebman.
Zilber’s
second album as a leader, Stranger in
Brooklyn, was included in a 1992 Jazz
Fusion list of “The Best 30 Recordings of All Time.” He now works out of
the San Francisco area.
He
wrote all the tracks on this new album, his 11th, and these compositions are
done to acknowledge the reed artists he considered to be masters of their
instruments, and whose music strongly influenced his own development. They
include Michael Brecker, Sonny Rollins, Dave Liebman, Wayne Shorter, Joe
Henderson, John Coltrane and Paul Desmond.
The
track titles are plays on the names: “Breckerfast Club” and “Leaves” are
dedicated to Brecker; “Party Sonny” acknowledges Rollins; “Autumn Lieb” and “Lieb
Dich” honor Liebman; Shorter gets the nod with “Weather Wayne” and “Pastel
Blues”; “Hen House” is a nod toward Henderson; “Late Night Trane” and “Coltraning
Days” credit Coltrane; and “St. Paul” is a shout-out toward Desmond.
Zilber
alternates between tenor and soprano sax. His supporting rhythm section
features pianists David Kikoski
and Matt Clark; bassists James Genus and Peter Barshay; and drummers Clarence Penn and Akira Tana. Zilber
has played with all of them at some point in his career;
as a result, each combo configuration “thinks as one.”
This album superbly
exemplifies the style used by today’s artists. It’s beyond bop, often using
altered chord structures; the mid- and up-tempo charts swing nicely, and the ballads
are thoughtful and poignant. This is a smooth, richly enjoyable group.
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