Denny Zeitlin: Stonehenge

Track

Stonehenge

Artist

Denny Zeitlin (piano)

CD

The Columbia Studio Trio Sessions (Mosaic Select 34)

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Musicians:

Denny Zeitlin (piano), Cecil McBee (bass), Freddie Waits (drums).

Composed by Denny Zeitlin

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Recorded: New York, March 6, 1964

Albumcoverdennyzeitlinmosaicselectag200

Rating: 95/100 (learn more)

This modal burner deserves to be more widely performed. One reason it isn’t probably has to do with a complex polyrhythmic interlude that requires an authoritative lead sheet to be executed properly. Since Denny Zeitlin’s own lead sheet isn’t commercially available (I have a copy, and trust me, it’s not music you’d want to transcribe), that leaves the piece in limbo.

From a listener’s standpoint, though, this is a compelling performance, and one of Zeitlin’s earliest indications of his gifts as a composer. It has McCoy Tyner-esque sturm und drang, but Zeitlin’s vocabulary is quite different and gives his improvisation a character of its own. The climax is Freddie Waits’ solo over a roaring vamp by Zeitlin and Cecil McBee.

The title refers to the well-known Bronze Age burial ground in Wiltshire, England. As Zeitlin was quoted in Nat Hentoff’s liner notes: I had seen pictures of these tremendous rocks elevated by some unknown means, and the impression led to a certain ritual quality in the piece—including the rise and fall of frenzy.

Reviewer: Bill Kirchner

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