Customer Reviews

Haiku

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To see Joey live is to experience joy. On the upbeat numbers he is literally dancing out of his seat, his legs flying back and forth like a kid on a swing. On the slow ballades, he hunches over the keyboard ala Bill Evans and pulls out lines that seem fashioned in heaven. His own compositions, especially the title tune on this album, will break your heart and make you feel great while it is breaking. He took this piece more up tempo in a trio setting (with the great Jeff 'Tain Watts on drums) in an earlier album, and it was great then. Now, it is a masterpiece. Play it even for your friends who don't like jazz - it will open their eyes. Chopin, which sounds very much like the romantic composer reborn in the 21st century, is equally haunting and beautiful. The faster numbers - done in a variety of styles(its good to hear stride piano again) - can swing slowly and deeply or race past in a blur of extraordinary virtuosity. This is really good stuff from one of our best mainstream/postbop pianists. His exploration of rich and often unusual harmonies in particular is worth attention, especially in his own compositions. This guy can play.

Soft jazz has its criticisms. Some people call it `dinner music'; as to say it only deserves a listen at dinnertime. Some people shun it because it doesn't have a hard swing tempo or feel to it. But, for those who can fully appreciate soft jazz (not smooth jazz, but acoustic/traditional jazz played slowly and softly), Joey makes his contribution to this expressive form.

This is Joey as rarely heard before. If you are accustomed to hearing him swinging hard melodic lines against the revelations of Branford Marsalis' saxophone then this is quite the revelation. Now, Joey is showing his reflective side. Joey's playing can be described as gentle, atmospheric, and expansive. It makes me think of the 2-volume set "The Solo Sessions" from Milestone of Bill Evans.

In Haiku, Joey Calderazzo shows his meditative side. Within this solo piano package, his playing is fashioned in a `thema con variazoni' form. With each `variazoni', he expands the theme further and further within the structure. It's a dynamic contrast to the solo piano work of McCoy Tyner, where McCoy solos with the intention of building a new musical environment from a simplistic (by relation) theme, Joey is thinking on the piano with the harmonic inventiveness of Herbie Hancock (live, circa 1964) and with tempo momentum of Bill Evans.

Haiku is a music album for musicians. This time, Joey has taken time to play with the essence of music in mind. This is music for music lovers. There are no avant-garde licks or double-time solos. What you get here is the study, the science of the melody and the harmony; the two basic elements of music.

So, sit back and enjoy this conversation between Joey and the piano we are so lucky to witness.

My previous experience listening to Joey Calderazzo was the CD/DVD combination package of Branford Marsalis' interpretation of A Love Supreme live in Amsterdam. Joey Calderazzo's role in that performance was melodically restricted - the music called for the pianist to play a more harmonic and rhythmic role. Playing solo on the disc Haiku, his playing is beautifully melodic. He has wonderful facility for a balance of melody, harmony, and rhythm. The most pleasant surprise with Haiku is his fine touch and sense of pace on the quiet, slow pieces. This is refined and beautiful solo piano music, well-measured and played with a wonderful touch. I haven't spent time discussing specific pieces on the disc because every piece is strong - there isn't a weak spot to be found anywhere, and there is also a generous amount of music here. Enjoy every moment of it.