David Hazeltine Inspiration Suite CD

David Hazeltine, the consummate composer, arranger and improviser, didn't get to be the artist he is without learning from the masters who came before him. For his 8th Sharp Nine release he pays tribute to his two greatest piano influences, Cedar Walton

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. The suite begins as a neo-bop cadence buoys a splattering of several Cedar-flavored motifs, two-note accents, and piano-bass unison lines for "Motivation." "Reverence" has Locke's vibes shimmering on a low and slow Latin-shaded piece, followed by another bright neo-bop melody, "Insight," and the finale is a 6/8 composition, "Gratitude," that could have easily fit into the repertoire of Walton and Bobby Hutcherson's Timeless All Stars book. Of the five stand-alone tracks, two are covers left until the end of the CD -- Walton's much lesser-known "Shoulders" is as straight-ahead as jazz gets, while Buddy Montgomery's "Personage of Wes" is a kinetic, uppity sizzler. A newly arranged complex and arresting intro is tacked onto the standard "I Should Care," and Hazeltine's original "Don't Walk Away" is treated in a Latin fashion, occasional percussionist Daniel Sadownick adding the spice, but again settles in the modern mainstream. Hazeltine has not put out the full-force blockbuster breakthrough recording his clear talent indicates, but this one ranks with his many best efforts. ~ Michael G. Nastos

Personnel: David Hazeltine (piano); Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone); John Webber (bass instrument); Joe Farnsworth (drums); Daniel Sadownick (percussion); Joe Locke (unknown instrument).

JazzTimes (p.89) - "[I]ncisive...alive....Hazeltine reveals how the distinctive traits of his mentors have filtered into his own language and aesthetic."