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Denny Zeitlin
Denny Zeitlin has recorded over thirty critically acclaimed albums; twice won first place in the Down Beat International Jazz Critics Poll; written original music for Sesame Street; and appeared on network TV, including repeats on the Tonight Show, and CBS Sunday Morning. Zeitlin’s lecture- demonstration “Unlocking the Creative Impulse: The Psychology of Improvisation” has been presented across the U.S. and in Europe.
He has concertized throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Europe, at colleges, jazz clubs, and major festivals; appearing with jazz greats such as Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Tony Williams, Bobby Hutcherson, John Patitucci, John Abercrombie, Marian McPartland, Charlie Haden, David Grisman, Kronos Quartet, Paul Winter, David Friesen, Matt Wilson, Buster Williams and many others.
Zeitlin was born in Chicago in 1938. His parents were both involved in medicine and music. He began playing the piano at age two, studied classical music throughout his elementary school years, and fell in love with jazz in high school a made-to-order medium for his primary interest in improvisation and composition. He played professionally in and around Chicago while still in high school. in college and medical school, he combined jazz with formal study of music theory and composition with Alexander Tcherepnin, Robert Muczynski, and George Russell. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Illinois in 1960 and received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1964.
He is currently a psychiatrist in private practice in San Francisco and Marin County and on the teaching faculty of the University of California, San Francisco. His first series of records appeared on Columbia in the mid and late 60’s, and were received with critical acclaim and international exposure. Zeitlin then withdrew from public appearance for several years in order to develop a pioneering integration of jazz, electronics, classical, and rock. This music emerged in the early 70’s with multiple recordings, culminating in the 1978 electronic-acoustic symphonic score for “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Subsequently he returned to a primary focus on acoustic music in a multitude of settings, with continued composing, recording, and international touring.
CDs of the last decade include live solo and duo (with David Friesen) recordings at Maybeck Recital Hall for Concord Records; “Denny Zeitlin & David Friesen— Live at the Jazz Bakery” on Intuition Records; Summit Records’ “In Concert”, a duo album originally recorded for ITM in Europe; “Denny Zeitlin Trio: As Long as There’s Music” featuring Buster Williams and Al Foster (Venus & 32 Jazz); Denny Zeitlin & David Grisman—“New River” (Acoustic Disc); and CD release of the 1978 Film Soundtrack: “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (Perseverance Records). A series of albums for MaxJazz began with “Slickrock”—a critically acclaimed trio recording with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson, released in May, 2004. Denny’s most recent recording, “Solo Voyage,” utilizing piano and synthesizer, was released in June, 2005.
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Denny Zeitlin: Crazy Rhythm: Exploring George Gershwin
by Dan McClenaghan
Denny Zeitlin's jazz career began when he sat in as the featured pianist on flutist Jeremy Steig's Flute Fever (Columbia Records, 1964). He followed this up with his debut as a leader on Columbia Records' 1964 album Cathexis. While maintaining another successful career as a psychiatrist and college professor, he released more than a dozen albums over the next quarter century, most of them acoustic piano sets, plus a few experimental electronic outings, along with a groundbreaking electro/orchestral soundtrack to ...
read moreDenny Zeitlin & George Marsh: Telepathy: Duo Electro-Acoustic Improvisations
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Denny Zeitlin's recording career began with his contribution to flutist Jeremy Steig's 1963 album Flute Fever (Columbia Records). Then Zeitlin struck out on his own, creating over five-plus decades worth of record releases on Columbia Records, Decca/ECM, Windham Hill, MaxJazz (and more) before shifting into overdrive when he connected with Sunnyside Records in 2009, on In Concert with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson. Since that 2009 debut with the label, the Sunnyside relationship has resulted in thirteen releases comprising ...
read moreDenny Zeitlin: Live at Mezzrow
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Denny Zeitlin appeared on his first recording in 1963, flautist Jeremy Steigs' Flute Fever (Columbia Records). He was in his third year at Johns Hopkins Medical School at the time, on a path to dual careers in psychiatry and eventually the teaching of that profession—vocations he continues with to this day. Add a third career, jazz pianist. And Denny Zeitlin doesn't dabble. His music is a third career, equal in personal importance to his more conventional occupations. ...
read moreDenny Zeitlin: Live at Mezzrow
by Dan Bilawsky
Coming up on two decades of creative engagement and evolution, pianist Denny Zeitlin's group with bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt Wilson remains one of the most bracing, sophisticated and creatively satisfying trios on the scene. In the best of times, a set like this, recorded live at Spike Wilner's New York piano room Mezzrow, can serve as a reminder of the virtues of camaraderie, depth of feeling, design strength and the art of living in the moment. Arriving at ...
read moreDenny Zeitlin: Remembering Miles
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Denny Zeitlin, pushing hard ahead in an extraordinary recording career that began in 1963 with a sideman job on Jeremy Steig's Flute Fever (Columbia Records), has settled artistically, fifty years on, into a pair welcoming homes: Sunnyside Records, for whom he has recorded ten superb albums, beginning with 2009's In Concert Featuring Buster Williams and Matt Wilson, and Oakland, California's Piedmont Piano Company, where he has taken up residence in recent years to present solo piano recitals focusing on ...
read moreDenny Zeitlin: Balancing Act
by Ken Dryden
Denny Zeitlin is a true Renaissance man with many interests, in addition to balancing his careers in medicine and music. Although his medical practice and teaching have limited his abilities to tour beyond brief trips east or playing near his home in California, he has recorded regularly in recent years, releasing a variety of projects for Sunnyside. Well known for his composition “Quiet Now," which was recorded numerous times by Bill Evans, Denny remains a dedicated composer in his quest ...
read moreDenny Zeitlin: Wishing On The Moon
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Denny Zeitlin claimed a spot as a top-tier jazz pianist at the very beginning of his recording career with a sideman slot on flutist Jeremy Steig's Flute Fever (Columbia, 1963), followed by his debut as a leader, Cathexis (Columbia, 1964). After three more excellent sets for Columbia, Zeitlin's career shifted into a smaller label mode, resulting in several high quality but under-recognized albums. Additionally, in 1978 he seized the opportunity to score the orchestral electro-acoustic avant-garde soundtrack to the ...
read moreThe Story Behind 'Quiet Now'
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
I have known and admired pianist-composer Denny Zeitlin for many years. My admiration dates back to the early 2000s, after I heard for the first time his four albums for Columbia recorded in the mid-1960s. I was blown away. Our friendship dates back to 2009, when I did a multipart JazzWax interview with him. We've been email penpals ever since. Last week, Denny sent along an email urging me to give a listen to vocalist Suzi Stern sing his composition ...
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Recent Listening: Zeitlin Remembers Davis
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Denny Zeitlin Solo Piano: Remembering Miles For the most recent of his annual solo concerts at the Piedmont Piano Company in jny: Oakland, California, pianist Denny Zeitlin’s subject was Miles Davis. The recital before the Piedmont’s customary audience of close listeners covered several eras of the trumpeter’s career. Davis composed few major jazz standards, and he had collaborators for some of those. In the recording, Zeitlin’s repertoire begins with one of the most famous pieces attributed to Davis. “Solar” was ...
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Electrifying Track: Cathexis
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In February 1964, pianist Denny Zeitlin recorded Cathexis, his first leadership album for Columbia. Denny was joined by Ben Tucker on bass and Ben Riley on drums. The title track is a word found in psychoanalysis to mean an acute amount of psychic energy directed toward a person or thing. At the time of the album's recording, Denny was studying medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, en route to becoming a psychiatrist. The song's spirit bears some resemblance ...
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Interview: Denny Zeitlin
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
This week, San Francisco pianist Denny Zeitlin will make one of his rare appearances in New York. Starting Wednesday, April 19, and running through Saturday, April 22, Denny will be at the Mezzrow Jazz Club at 163 W. 10th St. On the first two nights, he'll play solo. On the second two nights he'll be accompanied by Buster Williams (b) and Matt Wilson (d). Sets on all four nights start at 8 and 9:30 p.m. If you're out of town, ...
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Denny Zeitlin: Early Wayne
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of my favorite jazz piano albums of the year so far is Denny Zeitlin's new album, Early Wayne—featuring Denny's solo impressions of Wayne Shorter's compositions. Denny's approach is tremendously exciting and free-spirited. He covers the keyboard with a range of churning attacks and with glimmering sensitivity. In Denny's hands, Shorter's music comes rushing in at you like the surf. It hits you, surges over you and the rhythmic energy keeps churning on the back end. The album was recorded ...
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Interview: Denny Zeitlin on Both/And
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Pianist Denny Zeitlin's earliest recordings date back to the early and mid-1960s, when he recorded with Jeremy Steig (Flute Fever in 1963) and led his own trio (Cathexis, Carnival, Shining Hour and Zeitgeist). Denny's approach has always been a masterful synthesis of technique and “brain freedom"—the suspension of pragmatism so that his spirit and hands can run the creative show. In most cases, his recorded adventures have been staged on an acoustic grand piano. So imagine my surprise when I ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Denny Zeitlin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Denny Zeitlin's birthday today!
Denny Zeitlin has recorded over thirty critically acclaimed albums; twice won first place in the Down Beat International Jazz Critics Poll; written original music for Sesame Street; and appeared on network TV, including repeats on the Tonight Show, and CBS Sunday Morning. Zeitlin’s lecture- demonstration “Unlocking the Creative Impulse: The Psychology of Improvisation” has been presented across the U.S. and in Europe... Read more.
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Denny Zeitlin
Source:
All About Jazz is celebrating Denny Zeitlin's birthday today!
Denny Zeitlin has recorded over thirty critically acclaimed albums; twice won first place in the Down Beat International Jazz Critics Poll; written original music for Sesame Street; and appeared on network TV, including repeats on the Tonight Show, and CBS Sunday Morning. Zeitlin’s lecture-demonstration “Unlocking the Creative Impulse: The Psychology of Improvisation” has been presented across the U.S. and in Europe...Denny Zeitlin has recorded over thirty critically acclaimed albums; twice won ...
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Denny Zeitlin: Labyrinth
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
With pianist Denny Zeitlin, you sense that he isn't quite sure where he wants to end up on any given song. The truth is he isn't. Which is part of what makes him so special and engaging as an artist. Denny courageously rushes out on limbs. But instead of inching back to safety when he hears creaking, he simply hurls himself into space, confident that somewhere along the way he will find another limb and grab hold. And invariably he ...
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David Janeway
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Cascade
From: Solo VoyageBy Denny Zeitlin
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Denny Zeitlin
Location: San Francisco
Instrument: Piano
Born: April 10, 1938
