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Pianist and composer Ben Waltzer is one of the New York-New Jersey area's more resourceful jazz artists, a fellow who works to keep his music fresh by pushing it in different directions, swinging here, letting things fly there. - Zan Stewart, NJ Star Ledger Pianist Ben Waltzer is a multimedia force to be reckoned with. In addition to recording and gigging with his trio, Waltzer also finds the time to pen articles for the New York Times and has appeared as the musical director for fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi’s show on the Oxygen television network. Impressively, with all of these extracurricular pursuits, his new album, One Hundred Dreams Ago, recorded with Gerald Cleaver on drums and Matt Penman on bass, is a highly satisfying affair that features both uptempo swinging and reflective balladry... One Hundred Dreams Ago is a tasteful and sophisticated recording by a trio with a refined sense of interaction. Waltzer’s own compositions hold up well even when placed alongside works by the likes of Ellington and Strayhorn. I'm curious to hear more from this trio.- Stephen Latessa, All About Jazz Waltzer is a good, sensible pianist, and this trio recording is solid and inventive and impressive from stem to stern. The original "Our Rhythm" kicks off quickly; he slows down quite a bit for "Hymn and the Blues Up High," which gets by on lyricism. I noticed that Waltzer wrote a long and very fine piece on Ahmad Jamal, evidently for the N.Y. Times, and that seems to slot Waltzer reasonably well. This is his fourth album in Fresh Sound's New Talent series. B+ - Tom Hull, Village Voice
It's
not too hard to pinpoint the classic pianists that Ben
Waltzer respects -- Ellington, Herbie Nichols, Monk, Wynton Kelly,
among them -- which is just to note that he has great taste.
Waltzer
has assimilated his influences and comes out with a sure
identity of his own on "One Hundred Dreams Ago." The opening
punch of the first four tunes -- all Waltzer originals -- also
announces
his knack for crafting melodies that warrant repeated listens: "Time
and I" sounds like a lost Herbie Nichols gem, while
the waltz ballad "Smeenus Smiles" has a lilt that brings
to mind Randy Weston's triple-time masterpieces. That Strayhorn's "U.M.M.G." and
Ellington's title track sit so well alongside Waltzer's
own compositions is testament to the album's consistency
of tone
as well as Waltzer's
artistic worth. The limber contributions of bassist Matt
Penman and drummer Gerald Cleaver aren't to be overlooked
either. “Brilliantly performed…very
impressive.” "The
session's tone, the trio's cohesive articulation, and each individual
solo
stretch
add up to a great fourth album for this pianist whose talent
deserves wider recognition." "One Hundred Dreams
Ago shows a focused bandleader." "Intelligence and originality
leap from the young pianist's recent One Hundred Dreams Ago,
from the well-chosen standards no less than the inventive originals." "In the era of
concept records, this startling young pianist has flipped the
script: the message behind
'One Hundred Dreams Ago is ‘let's just play.’ Accordingly
the trio gets its bustle on. Ellington's small groups are in
the air here, and the pleasure Waltzer generates is bountiful.” “Mr. Waltzer is
an imaginative pianist and composer, and he's part of a valid
new underground in the jazz of this city,
building
on a foundation of straight-ahead jazz and adding foreign concepts
and fresh sensibilities to it…He has a fistful of smart
compositional ideas, and his regular quartet is spangled with
some of the best
young jazz players in New York." |
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| © 2004 Ben Waltzer | |||
