Joey Calderazzo

Joey Calderazzo | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 9, 2000)
• Original Release Date: May 9, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00004T0QJ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,874 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The fact that the young piano wunderkind Joey Calderazzo worked with Branford Marsalis, who was musically joined at the hip with the late pianist Kenny Kirkland, and with Michael Brecker, and Bob Belden, speaks volumes to his prowess and promise. On his Columbia debut, Calderazzo performs in the classic piano-trio format with the volcanic drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts and bassist John Patitucci. What makes Calderazzo interesting to listen to is the way he slurs and blurs the influences of the great keyboard giants: the dexterity of Kirkland, plus the lyricism of Keith Jarrett times the improvisational surprise of Herbie Hancock. Overall, the music on this CD rings with the type of neoclassic modernism that reaches back and moves forward, from the whirlwind waltz of "The Oracle" and the abstract adventures on "Detonation" to the plaintive "Haiku" and the hypnotic bass lines on "The Charmer." Calderazzo's rhythmic resurrection of the classic Bill Evans ballad "Time Remembered" is the teasing tip of the iceberg, which hints at this musician's bright future. --Eugene Holley Jr.

From Jazziz

You can pretty much hear McCoy Tyner in the voicings and attack of "Oracle," the track that opens Joey Calderazzo's self-titled debut. But quit worrying: "Oracle" is actually a conscious (and well-turned) tribute to Tyner, rather than a case of slavish imitation. Better yet, it opens into an attractive and sometimes superb disc, in which Calderazzo sifts the influence of Tyner and a few other post-bop keyboard giants - most notably Evans, Hancock, and Jarrett - to craft as good a summation as you'd want of the modern piano trio. On this, his first album for his new label, Calderazzo may have benefited from the good counsel of producer Branford Marsalis, who until recently directed Columbia's jazz efforts (and in whose quartet Calderazzo currently works). For example, the music traces a graceful arc of tempi and emotions, the better to frame the fine brush-strokes of the pianist's improvising.

Credit goes also to Calderazzo's sidemen, the preternaturally gifted bassist John Patitucci and Jeff Watts, the prototype drummer of the "new mainstream." Watts and Calderazzo first hooked up in the mid-'90s, and the pianist speaks glowingly of the rapport they share. Based on the evidence, I'd have to agree. With others leaders, Watts has overplayed his role on dozens of recordings, but here, he applies exquisite taste and discretion on the Calderazzo ballads "Catania" and "Haiku" while streamlining his fulminations on Michael Brecker's adrenaline-laced "Slings And Arrows."

--- Neil Tesser, JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical and technically impressive, September 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Joey Calderazzo (Audio CD)

This is a very good album. The more I've listened to it the more I like it. Calderazzo has all the tools, and he plays with a great melodic sensibility. This album has a bit of everything - ballads, modal jazz, up-tempo bop. A lot of fun.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burning Spirits, June 30, 2003

By 

Ando (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joey Calderazzo (Audio CD)

Yes, they reside here - on a disc. Three years later, Joey Calderazzo is no longer a newcomer but this album remains one of my favorite since its release. The review above cites the influence of Tyner but Calderazzo's runs are reminiscent of Monk (to my ears), especialy on 'Detonation'. But Calderazzo and his trio are in fine order from start to finish. And Joey was (at the time this was recorded) simply on fire. The disc has all the intensity, flair and savagery of cosmopolitan New York, which is not easy to capture with eight cuts. An excellent investment and a very smart jazz album.

Ando

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Supreme ferocity and soulfulness, June 6, 2007

By 

Joe Robinson "Joe Robinson" (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joey Calderazzo (Audio CD)

I thought it was about time I put in my two cents on this brilliant CD, since I've played it more than any album in my collection (I've got several thousand, so that's saying something). Whenever I need a high-octane burst of energy and intensity or something to fire up contemplation or inspiration, I put this on. Calderazzo has a knack for making the muscular lyrical, the melodic percussive. He's certainly got some Tyner in him in the hammered notes, but he's got a signature sound very few can muster out of the old piano trio. The propulsion he generates with equally briiliant sidemen, especially Jeff Tain Watts, makes it feel like there's a half dozen guys here. The combination of spontaneity and surprise makes this album unique among all the CDs I have. I can play it every day and not get sick of it. As someone who works with jazz on the ear buds, I do play it a lot. This is one of the great lost gems of contemporary jazz. Joey, keep at it.