Pianist Vince Guaraldi had a huge hit single in 1962 on Fantasy Records with Cast Your Fate to the Wind and went on to compose some much-loved music in a collaboration with the Peanuts comic strip franchise. Mose Allison, pianist and songwriter, had his “hit” when The Who blasted his Young Man Blues on their Live At Leeds album. One other thing they have in common is having led trios with Jerry Granelli on drums. Granelli, who played with Earl Hines (!) in 1961, was with Guaraldi on most of his Fantasy recordings, and played with Allison starting in the mid-Seventies. Other recorded associations along the way include Denny Zeitlin in the Sixties, Ralph Towner, Gary Peacock, and Jay Clayton in the Eighties, and Jane Ira Bloom and Charlie Mariano in the Nineties. Starting in 1988, he’s also recorded frequently as a leader. Pianist Jamie Saft was a member of his Badlands ensemble that made a couple of CD’s for the Songlines label in the late Nineties, and he joins him in the Jerry Granelli Trio for the admirable new release, Plays Vince Guaraldi & Mose Allison. On bass is Bradley Christopher Jones, a stalwart of the New York scene. Together, the trio tackles a batch of some of the better-known tunes by Guaraldi and Allison and has a ball with them. Kicking off the proceedings is a fairly straight-forward reading of Cast Your Fate to the Wind, and it’s apparent from the start that this is a formidable trio that’s having a grand time with this material. Allison’s Parchman Farm rolls right along, featuring an extended break by Saft. At 8:04, it’s the longest piece of the date. A pair of bass and drum improvisations (Mind Preludes 1 & 2), fit nicely into this program of songs from the Guaraldi and Allison songbooks. Guaraldi’s Star Song is the most obscure number, taken from an album the pianist made with guitarist Bola Sete in 1963. Tunes like Allison’s Everybody’s Cryin’ Mercy or Guaraldi’s Christmas Time is Here are so pretty that they hardly need any embellishment, and Granelli’s crew is happy to play them just that way. The Jerry Granelli Trio Plays Vince Guaraldi & Mose Allison is an unexpected release, to be sure, and one of the better surprises in a year that’s had way too many unhappy ones. Listening to this music will absolutely improve your day, so don’t miss it.
RareNoise RNR120 (CD)/RNR120LP (violet vinyl); Jamie Saft (p) Bradley Christopher Jones (b) Jerry Granelli (d); Brooklyn, NY, no dates indicated; Cast Your Fate to the Wind/ Parchman Farm/ Baby Please Don’t Go/ Mind Prelude 1/ Everybody’s Cryin’ Mercy/ Star Song/ Young Man Blues/ Mind Prelude 2/ Your Mind is on Vacation/ Christmas Time is Here; 50:08.
www.rarenoiserecords.com 
Pianist Denny Zeitlin made his first recordings in 1964 in a trio format. While he has performed in a variety of contexts since that debut, he always comes back to the standard acoustic piano, bass, and drums lineup. His latest is Live At Mezzrow, an intimate New York club, in the company of bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt Wilson. Zeitlin delights in stretching familiar themes every which way, and he needs musical co-conspirators that are on the same wavelength. After 18 years of playing with Zeitlin, the absolutely reliable Williams and the exuberant Wilson are right there with him at all times, and the music just flows and flows. Selections include the Monk-Hawkins composition I Mean You (great trades between Wilson and Zeitlin), Gershwin’s The Man I Love, a fresh look at Arthur Schwartz’ 1931 Dancing in the Dark, Wayne Shorter’s Paraphernalia, and a pair of Zeitlin’s original compositions, Echo of a Kiss, a waltz first played as a duet with bassist David Friesen 1994, and the challenging 10 Bar Tune with what the composer describes as its “circular structure.” Zeitlin has a special affinity for the music of Billy Strayhorn, and the thoughtfully sequenced program includes three pieces from the pen of one of the masters of jazz writing. The Star-Crossed Lovers is played with cool restraint. The inimitable Isfahan, as Zeitlin notes, “lends itself to many approaches.” The trio styles it as a slow bossa nova, with a gentle piano introduction and graceful drumming from Wilson as Zeitlin explores the melody in typically incisive fashion. Strayhorn’s The Intimacy of the Blues was originally a vehicle for an Ellington octet in 1967. Here it becomes the occasion for some upbeat and tasty swinging. The finale is the Shorter tune, introduced on Miles Davis’ 1968 album Miles In The Sky, and a Zeitlin favorite for decades. The trio gives it a free interpretation, with the pianist’s brooding introduction setting the tone for the group’s exploration. Matt Wilson’s drive and forceful but understated playing is especially impressive on this number. Indeed, his playing is a total joy throughout. His playing, in conjunction with Williams’ sensitive bass work and Zeitlin’s deeply probing piano, will keep me coming back to this date again and again. Happily recommended.
Sunnyside SSC 1582; Denny Zeitlin (p) Buster Williams (b) Matt Wilson (d); NYC, May 3-4, 2019; The Man I Love/ Echo of a Kiss/ I Mean You/ The Star-Crossed Lovers/ 10 Bar Tune/ Dancing in the Dark/ Isfahan/ Intimacy of the Blues/ Paraphernalia; 71:56.
sunnysiderecords.com 
Pianist Micah Thomas is out with his first trio album, after appearances on discs by Immanuel Wilkins and Walter Smith III. There are eight original compositions on the self-produced Tide, recorded in performance at the Kitano Hotel in New York. He proves in the first two minutes of Tornado, the opening track, that he’s more than ready for the spotlight. With bassist Dean Torrey and drummer Kyle Benford contributing spirited accompaniment, Thomas takes flight and soars. The piece is aptly titled, a whirlwind of intriguing chord progressions and a quick pace that at some points threatens to overwhelm pianist and the audience alike. Torrey’s bass solo slows things down somewhat, and we get to hear some lovely comping from Thomas before he comes roaring back in. The title track is calm at first, then picks up steam after a Torrey bass solo, with an energetic Thomas exploring every nook and cranny of his song. Benford, another newcomer, sounds great here, with a strong sense of pacing and dynamics. From their tightness and empathetic playing, it sounds to me like this trio has been playing together quite a bit. Across My Path is a pretty ballad that’s carefully caressed by the band in a crafty arrangement that has Thomas alone at the beginning and the end. Grounds is a happy cooker, the kind of tune that you might be humming on the way home from a gig. It’s the kind of piece that gives you the feeling that they could keep it up for hours in an endless series of variations. At just under 9 minutes, this is one of the disc’s highlights. The fun continues with the multi-sectioned The Game, with plenty of tempo shifts and fresh motifs along the way. The Day After is hushed, with bowed bass and gentle chords from the piano in a rather precious and unconvincing performance. The music is back on track with the mellow Vänta, a solo excursion for Thomas in an exploratory vein. It almost feels like he’s having a conversation with himself. Closing the session is Wanderer, which picks up where Vänta leaves off. The trio moves into a light-hearted melody that leads to some delicate interplay and features some fine deep bass playing and convincingly understated drumming. I expect that jazz fans will be hearing a lot more music from Micah Thomas in the future. Don’t miss this one.
self-produced; Micah Thomas (p) Dean Torrey (b) Kyle Benford (d); NYC, March 2019; Tornado/ Tide/ Across My Path/ Grounds/ The Game/ The Day After/ Vänta/ Wanderer; 64:09.
micah.io
