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8-panel Digipak Album
“David Hazeltine calls this album one of his dream projects. And it’s no wonder…It’s a master class in the art of the trio taught by three expert practitioners with nothing to prove but plenty to share.”
— Joel Roberts, The New York City Jazz Record
“David Hazeltine’s thirty-fourth date as a leader juxtaposes his strengths as a composer, interpreter of standard material, improviser, as well as the capacity to converse and interact with his peers. There’s something magical about the ways in which the pianist employs these skills, avoiding emphasizing one at the expense of the others, and in doing so fashioning tracks that are balanced, agreeable, incisive, and substantive…THE TIME IS NOW reaffirms Hazeltine’s stature as a wise, articulate and energetic piano stylist. Highly recommended.”
— David A. Orthmann, All About Jazz
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David Hazeltine’s THE TIME IS NOW finds one of the top pianists of his generation forging an impeccably swinging partnership with two other masters: bassist Ron Carter and drummer Al Foster.
These men all come directly from the straight-ahead jazz tradition; though Hazeltine is half a generation younger than his two bandmates, he spent many years working with such giants of the music as Sonny Stitt, Chet Baker, Eddie Harris, and Buddy Montgomery. He’s since become one of the leading torchbearers for that estimable standard, both on his own and through his work with the swinging super-group One For All. His efforts have made him one of the most-streamed straight-ahead jazz artists alive today, and he’s passing his knowledge onto new generations through his teaching, clinics, and online workshops.
“I wanted to do something new and push myself out of my comfort zone when composing and arranging for this recording,” he says. “I’d never recorded trio with Ron and Al and I knew that I wanted the music to be above all beautiful, swinging, and harmonically interesting, yet not overly arranged. That would allow the three of us to do what we do best: creating and improvising on a framework.”
Hearing these three masterful musicians conversing together, one may regret that it hasn’t happened sooner, or more often. But in the hands of such visionary and skilled artists, THE TIME IS NOW is a notion that’s always true – no matter the time.
released October 26, 2018
David Hazeltine – piano
Ron Carter – bass
Al Foster – drums
Recorded Live on May 23, 2018
at Sear Sound Studio C, New York City
Produced by Paul Stache and Damon Smith
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Christopher Allen
Studio Assistant: Owen Mullhoand
Photography by Jimmy and Dena Katz
Studio photo by Paul Stache
Design by Damon Smith and Paul Stache
Executive Producers: Frank Christopher & Paul Stache
