Denny Zeitlin Columbia "Select" -- specifically and especially the bonus material

[Rooster_Ties]

I've been occasionally singing the praises of this set for a while -- which was actually my very first exposure to Denny Zeitlin (I'd never heard any by him before buying the set about 12 years ago).

And for my money, it's the BONUS MATERIAL that really elevates this set for me.  Not that I don't love all of it, but many of the bonus tracks seem to have an energy and vibrancy (and sometimes a freedom), notably more so that the core album tracks.  So just noticing that the entire set seems to be up on YouTube, I thought I'd post just the bonus tracks to get this topic going.  We can talk about the whole thing, but years ago I burned a CD of just the bonus tracks -- and (some of) it's a bit more of a wild ride than the original albums, IMHO.

There are twelve bonus tracks total, so I'll post them in groups of three...

1-12 -- "Nica's Dream" (6:30)

 

1-13 -- "Requiem For Lili" (2:32)

 

1-14 -- "I Got Rhythm" (2:51)

 

Edited 26 January by Rooster_Ties

[T.D.]

I love this Select. I knew nothing about Zeitlin when I purchased it from Mosaic long ago, but it's one of my very favorite Selects.

I've bought several other Zeitlin recordings since then, and they're not bad but didn't turn me on the way the Select did.

I've never thought about the bonus vs. regular tracks, but I'm most impressed by the selections with more percussive and free/outside style. Dormammu in particular was a real surprise.

[Rooster_Ties]

3 hours ago, T.D. said:

I love this Select. I knew nothing about Zeitlin when I purchased it from Mosaic long ago, but it's one of my very favorite Selects.

I knew nothing beyond his bio too, though my uncle had spoke favorably of Zeitlin to me a few times back when I was in college (and mentioned his psychiatry background too).

Here's the next 3 bonus tracks... ...and btw, I'm posting all the Bonus Material here now, specifically because several people around these parts mentioned having never gotten the Select (because they had all or most of the regular albums, or have had them at one point).

2-10 -- "The Decision" (7:58)

 

2-11 -- "The Journey Home" (7:27)

 

2-12 -- "Later" (6:41)

 

Edited 26 January by Rooster_Ties

[jazzbo]

13 minutes ago, T.D. said:

Dormammu in particular was a real surprise.

Dormammu freaked me out as a kid reading Doctor Strange in the mid-sixties.

[felser]

Great set, and by far my favorite Zeitlin.  I saw him at Penn's Landing in the late 80's.  Technically superb, but didn't have the fire some of this material does.   I have picked up several other items by him on the cheap through the years, and emotionally find it very hit or miss, though it's always masterfully played.

[Rooster_Ties]

Here's the next set of bonus tracks...

2-13 -- "Labyrinth" (8:15)

 

3-1 -- "Living Alone" (3:20)

 

3-12 -- "Slipstream" (3:57)

 

Edited 26 January by Rooster_Ties

[T.D.]

Listening to the set now, inspired by the thread.

Starting with disc 3...Western Thing (to appear on the next installment) is a cool bonus track!

[Rooster_Ties]

And here's the last set of bonus tracks...

3-13 -- "The Bells of Solitude" (6:22)

 

3-14 -- "Western Thing" (6:19)

 

3-15 -- "Spring is Here" (4:30)

 

Edited 26 January by Rooster_Ties

[Ken Dryden]

I jumped on the Mosaic Select Denny Zeitlin when it was first released.

Denny told me that there was at least another disc of bonus material available recorded during the making of the Columbia LP Live at the Trident, though it has never been reissued anywhere. 

I've sent him a few broadcasts that I either recorded or acquired over the years of concerts, including a Berlin date with bassist David Friesen that contains one of the earliest performances of the "Slick Rock" suite.

 

[dougcrates]

In the booklet for this Select, Richard Seidel mentioned that Mosaic hoped to reissue an expanded edition of Live at the Trident.  Shame it never came to fruition.  

[Ken Dryden]

I don't think there was enough usable material for the normal three CD Mosaic Selects. I think at this point, Mosaic had all but halted its Mosaic Singles program. Too bad, this music deserves to be heard.

It would also be nice to have all three Denny Zeitlin 1750 Arch LPs reissued in a set.

 

[HutchFan]

27 minutes ago, Ken Dryden said:

It would also be nice to have all three Denny Zeitlin 1750 Arch LPs reissued in a set.

Ooh. THAT would be cool.   

 

[Rooster_Ties]

I know Zeitlin gets compared to Bill Evans a lot, but I find there's a bit more percussiveness in Denny's playing than Evans.  Even the slower, more melancholy stuff seems to have a (slight) 'angularity' to his rhythmic approach.  Maybe that's not a very descriptive term.  Evans seems more snappy (even the slow stuff, in terms of his entrances after pauses or cadences) -- where Zeitlin seems a little colder and more cerebral (both things I rather like, mind you -- at least in some players) -- and I think(?) I do mean "colder" but NOT more "cool".  Colder, as in more detached -- figuratively more detached, and perhaps literally too.

Anyways, they don't hit me quite the same way -- even if there are a lot of similarities too (I'll admit).

I wish Zeitlin had recorded more in the 60's, in these studio sessions -- they're all really great.  This Select is a real gem.

Edited 26 January by Rooster_Ties

[T.D.]

1 hour ago, Rooster_Ties said:

I know Zeitlin gets compared to Bill Evans a lot, but I find there's a bit more percussiveness in Denny's playing than Evans.  Even the slower, more melancholy stuff seems to have a (slight) 'angularity' to his rhythmic approach.  Maybe that's not a very descriptive term.  Evans seems more snappy (even the slow stuff, in terms of his entrances after pauses or cadences) -- where Zeitlin seems a little colder and more cerebral (both things I rather like, mind you -- at least in some players) -- and I think(?) I do mean "colder" but NOT more "cool".  Colder, as in more detached -- figuratively more detached, and perhaps literally too.

Anyways, they don't hit me quite the same way -- even if there are a lot of similarities too (I'll admit).

I wish Zeitlin had recorded more in the 60's, in these studio sessions -- they're all really great.  This Select is a real gem.

Agreed, I really like Zeitlin's style of the 1960s.

While recognizing the Evans similarities, I never found them excessive. But I recently picked up a duo recording with David Friesen (Live at the Jazz Bakery, 1996) that's much more Evans-like than other Zeitlin sessions I've heard, though still "his own voice".

[felser]

I find that Zeitlin sounds much more Evans-like on some later albums than others.  But in the 60's he sounded like himself.  

[OliverM]

That Select is really great, I'm happy I found a copy about a year ago. I like the fact that the original covers of the albums can also be seen in the notes, if I remember well. Right now listening to Zeitlin's 2010 solo concert record, Precipice.

Interesting comment on the bonus tracks, will listen to the set with that in mind.

[dougcrates]

https://www.rappcats.com/zeitlin/

[colinmce]

On 1/26/2022 at 1:12 PM, felser said:

I find that Zeitlin sounds much more Evans-like on some later albums than others.  But in the 60's he sounded like himself.  

I listened to My Shining Hour for the first time in quite awhile the other day and it was sounding very much like Evans to me. I remember liking it, but I found it a bit of a bore this time around, very much of its time in a not-necessarily-positive way.

I wonder how Charlie Haden felt about this group, he doesn't do much there, mostly just goes through the motions. I think the studio albums hold up quite a bit better.

[JSngry]

but you stayed awake, correct?

[Rooster_Ties]

1 hour ago, colinmce said:

I listened to My Shining Hour for the first time in quite awhile the other day and it was sounding very much like Evans to me. I remember liking it, but I found it a bit of a bore this time around, very much of its time in a not-necessarily-positive way.

I wonder how Charlie Haden felt about this group, he doesn't do much there, mostly just goes through the motions. I think the studio albums hold up quite a bit better.

Yeah. I’m the same way about My Shining Hour — it either seems a bit more Evans-ish to me, or at least less Zeitlin-esque. Nothing entirely wrong with it, but (to my way of thinking), it doesn’t sparkle the way all the Zeitlin Columbia studio dates do.

I’ve got an LP copy I found cheap, until I could get it on CD (hopefully expanded) — but when I finally heard it, it wasn’t all that motivated to bother to find it on CD.

Edited 28 January by Rooster_Ties

[felser]

I'm glad to have "My Shining Hour", but agree it doesn't have the magic of the studio recordings.