"…his playing…is at times introspective, at times explosive, but at all times dynamic and challenging…” (Cadence Magazine)

Israeli pianist Eyran Katsenelenbogen has achieved a rare feat among jazz instrumentalists—8 solo recordings. Yet he is a virtual unknown in his adopted country, a fact that should change dramatically with the release of Solotude, to be celebrated this weekend at Manhattan’s 5C Cultural Center (Sunday, March 19, 5 pm) and later at the New England Conservatory in Boston (Friday, March 24^th, 8:30 pm). The recipient of the ASCAP Plus Award for the years 2002-06 and faculty member at the New England Conservatory for ten years, Eyran has pioneered methods of teaching contemporary music performance to children with special needs. His solo improvisations have earned high praise from artists such as Paul Bley to international jazz journals including Jazz Hot (Paris), Cadence (New York), and Jazz Journal International (London).

Eyran Katsenelenbogen was born and raised in Israel, a distant relative of Felix Mendelssohn and Martin Buber. He began classical piano studies with Aida Barenboim (mother of Daniel Barenboim) at age five, and then spent eight years under the tuteledge of Israeli master Menachem Wizenberg. In his mid-twenties, Eyran signed on to Jazziz Records, releasing Jazzonettes (1989) and One Time (1992) which prompted Jazz Journal International to describe him as “an emerging talent to watch.” The success of these recordings lead to a full scholarship to attend the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with pianists Ran Blake, Paul Bley, and Fred Hersch, and collaborated with Danilo Perez, George Russell, Jimmy Heath, Gunther Schuller and more. Following his graduation, he joined the NEC faculty’s extension division. There, Eyran has developed innovative techniques for working with children with autism and other special needs. In particular, his work with student Matthew Savage has been featured on ABC’s 20/20, NBC’s Today Show, and the Discovery Channel, and endorsed by the Autism Society of America. Eyran has toured nationally and internationally, appearing in concert, at festivals and on radio.

Reviewers have often compared Eyran’s amazing virtuosity to that of Art Tatum, “not only stylistically but technically as well. He has the same complete command of the keyboard, unerring sense of rhythm and improvisational inventiveness…” (Dave Nathan, All Music Guide). Yet his performances and recordings have revealed influences as diverse as Gershwin, Monk, Jarrett, Debussy, Bartok, and stride.

Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Photo by Vincere Sylph

Solotude is Eyran’s 12^th recording, of which 8 are solo efforts. The title is a pun on Ellington’s “Solitude” as well as a combination of “solo” and “etude,” reflecting Eyran’s long-standing commitment to the study of solo piano. For this set, 17 standards are given wholly non-standard arrangements that cover much of the history of jazz, from stride and swing to bop and Monkish excursions, from breathless Tatumesque technique to Brubeckian time experiments, all infused with elements of blues, whiffs of Jarrett (without the rumination), and the majestic lyricism of classical Romantics. This “long-playing” recording (74 minutes) was taped over three years in six sessions including studio and live settings. Despite the multiple sessions, however, Solotude flows like a single suite with common bookends, studio and live renditions of “Do You Love Me?” from Fiddler on the Roof.

In lesser hands (and fingers), the task of maintaining listener interest over 74 minutes of soloing in such familiar territory as Goodman, Gershwin, Ellington, Kern, Legrand, and Monk would be intimidating, if not entirely foolish. There are certainly a few modern pianists who have proven that solo recordings and live performances can be as exciting, and complex, as a big band—notably Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau, Joey Calderazzo, and Fred Hersch come to mind, and it is hardly a coincidence that Hersch was one of Eyran’s mentors. Less openly cerebral than Jarrett, Mehldau or Calderazzo, Eyran shares with Hersch a giant imagination when it comes to time and melodic reconstruction; yet, where Hersch has aptly been dubbed “poetic” in the vein of a modern-day Bill Evans, Eyran seems more informed by the power and velocity of Tatum and Oscar Peterson.

One of the elements that makes Solotude work so well is the diversity that is created, in part, by relying on relatively short tracks. Rarely does a piece extend beyond six minutes, and within this time frame, Eyran covers myriad ideas without overworking any one thought. “Do You Love Me?,” the opening and closing tracks, first in the studio and then in live concert, are among the shortest tracks at 2 and 3 minutes respectively, and the first is the more abstract, a jagged Monkish line hinting at the bittersweet humor of the stage musical. With only a couple minutes to develop, Eyran’s dissonant note combinations combine with a swinging thrust that presages the music to follow. The live reprise that closes the recording seems much more traditional in meter and harmony, with more of a bittersweet tone. These two versions highlight the yin and yang of Solotude--romantic grandeur versus Monkish playground.

“Stompin’ at the Savoy” seems fine fodder for diverse improvisation these days. Geoffrey Keezer recorded a masterfully obtuse trio version last year (on Wildcrafted), and here Eyran offers his own quirky take on the Benny Goodman standard. The masterful flourishes and cascades of notes recall Tatum but the rhythmic gymnastics are worthy of Brubeck; a few bars sound the blues only to shift back to a more abstract meter. The title track (sort of), Ellington’s “Solitude” is an off-kilter rhapsody fusing elegance and playfulness. The arpeggios and chord combinations are dense, creating a sense of stride with a heavy bop overlay. “Lady Be Good” nods to Tatum and even back to Jelly Roll Morton, a strideful, swinging masterpiece that conjures an Oscar Peterson of the past and a Cyrus Chestnut of the present. There’s a joyful zing that would work well as the soundtrack to a classic cartoon, and at the conclusion you almost expect a voice to proclaim, “And that’s all, folks!”

The spirit of Monk is recalled again in the popular Benny Goodman vehicle, “Jersey Bounce” – and it does bounce although not from an even surface. Monk himself gets deconstructed and dissected in Eyran’s wild ride through “Rhythm-a-ning.” Never tired of Monk, Eyran’s “Blue Monk” reallocates the rhythm from the first bar while leaving the melody intact; it drips blues from the first note. With great harmonics between hands, angular lines interrupt stride phrases creating a propulsive tension. Eyran’s version here offers an interesting contrast with mentor Fred Hersch’s solo version (on Let Yourself Go, 1999), which is a relatively massive reconstruction with heavier chord structure; the head really isn’t evident until the last minute. Hersch takes a more abstract approach to melody, while Eyran takes greater liberties with time and space.

Photo by Vincere Sylph

Only a very confident musician would reinvent “Take Five,” which Eyran somehow turns into a darkly impressionistic interlude that dissolves into a bluesy arrangement, his left hand creating a Delta-tinged vamp while his right hand spins a more romantic line. The melody returns in a more lyrical if rhythmically unpredictable vein, setting up some beautifully classical runs, and Eyran slips in a riff from “My Favorite Things” before moving into some appropriately Coltranish swirls. Eyran’s romp through Chick Corea’s “Armando’s Rhumba” has the sweeping quality of a 19^th century concerto while maintaining the rhythmic drive of rhumba and the lyrical line of a great storyteller. With less than 4 minutes to spin his tale, Eyran creates an epic poem.

The Kern/Hammerstein warhorse, “All The Things You Are,” reflects all the things that are Eyran-- angular and humorous, in this rendition it seems as if he comps as much with the right hand as the left, covering the keyboard from top to bottom, alternating chord structures between hands slightly out of register, as if each hand keeps its own counsel regarding meter. While the melody seems to vanish after the first chorus, its thread is deeply embedded and resurfaces with considerable ornamentation. The bilateral chord combinations return on the out chorus, ending in unison. Attacking another chestnut, this time “The Christmas Song,” Eyran is already twisting it into a new shape by the third measure. While the basic melody remains, a harp-like fillagree intensifies as new layers are added, creating an orchestral tapestry of sound and harmony.

Michel Legrand’s “You Must Believe in Spring” also receives majestic treatment. At ten minutes, the longest track exudes a classical elegance with softly sweeping phrases, clearly articulated with a gentle touch. After about 4 minutes, Eyran moves into a more harmonically complex arrangement, the longer track giving him more room for invention and experimentation. With a series of countermelodic vamps in the left hand, he thickens the voicings while the right hand circles around the melodic elements. The piece builds to a swell of elongated notes and trilling phrases, as if infusing the romantic elements of Mendelssohn (Eyran’s distant relative). After reaching a climax at 8 ½ minutes, the wild tide recedes into a soft pool of simple lyric, like the resolution of a grand sonata. Shifting to a lighter track, “Bouncing with Bud,” Eyran’s left hand echoes the melody a few paces behind the right hand, then progresses to a more complex exercise. When he returns to the head, it’s at a faster pace with the same interplay between hands.

As noted above, the final track is the live concert version of the first, “Do You Love Me?,” and fittingly, applause is the last sound we hear on the recording.

<The Solotude CD Release Concert in New York takes place on Sunday, March 19^th at 5 pm, at the 5C Cultural Center (68 Avenue C at 5th Street) in Manhattan. Free admisstion; come early or stay after the show and enjoy the 5C Café’s fine vegetarian menu. Information at (212) 477-5993; or visit www.5ccc.com. In Boston, another CD Release Party will be held on Friday, March 24^th, at 8:30 PM in Williams Hall at the New England Conservatory (290 Huntington Avenue); free admission. For more information call NEC's concert line (617) 585-1122. Eyran will be touring Europe and Israel later this spring. Solotude is available from CD Baby ( www.cdbaby.com)