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BOB SZAJNER
Live At the International Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival 1981
Bob Szajner - piano
Ed Pickens- bass
Frank Isola- drums
Live At the Detroit Montreux Jazz Fest
Review by Bill Donaldson
There’s no harm in admitting that I had never heard Bob Szajner, perhaps because I’m not from Detroit where
Szajner spent his life or perhaps because I hadn’t heard any of the hard-to-find albums from his sparse recorded
output. I suspect that many other Jazz listeners have not heard Szajner either, as most of his life was spent in
pursuits other than music.
At the age of eleven, he shared the bill with Billie Holiday, in high school he played piano in a band with Louis
Hayes, and as an eager young musician he jammed with Alice Coltrane, Kirk Lightsey and Charles McPherson.
Szajner took the initiative to schedule one recording session for his group, and three albums resulted from it. In
2006 he reviewed the tapes of his infrequent recordings and listened approvingly to one of his trio, Triad II.
Cadence Historical Series of Cadence Jazz Records has released a recording of the group’s high point when it
performed before his largest audience at the 1981 Montreux-Detroit International Jazz Festival. Admittedly, the
recording technology for that event was of less than professional quality, and Szajner was supplied with a miked
spinet piano which enclosed and muffled the strings. Nonetheless, the CD documents Szajner as an engaging and swinging musician who through the force of musical personality captured the enthusiasm of his audience despite the limitations of technology and instrument. In addition, the recording of the live performance—unaltered but for the shortening of “Just a Touch Up” because the tape recording reached the end of the reel—shows Szajner as a concise and imaginative composer with wittydedications to his influences such as “Pause for Hawes.”
Szajner opened the concert with a spirited tribute to Bill Evans, “For Evans Sake.” Although the references to Evans may have escaped the audience’s attention, the piece remained accessible and melodic enough for broad-based entertainment in the festive outdoor atmosphere. In addition, the tune provides Szajner with the opportunity to introduce the strengths of his sidemen, particularly with bassist Ed Pickens’ forceful solo. Szajner’s program was varied. “Prayer Meetin’” incorporates gospel progressions and infectious joyousness to draw in the hand-clapping crowd. “Three Four Montreux,” performed just this one time, provides the insouciant lilt of a Jazz waltz, succinct but effective in capturing the audience’s attention. “Shadows” provides evidence of Szajner’s compositional versatility as he deals with complex textures and subtler moods, still spirited, though constrained by the sonically dulling boxiness of the piano.
Fortunately, Szajner reassessed the value of his recordings and now has made them available to allow for
re-appreciation of his group, insufficiently documented, while he still had the opportunity to do so. Drummer Frank Isola has already passed and Szajner lost track of Pickens many years ago. Rather than remaining a memory of the Detroiters who heard him, Szajner can be reappreciated by those, like me, who didn’t attend any of his performances and who never heard any of his previous hard-to-find recordings.
About: Live At The Detroit Montreux Jazz Fest 1981
Bob Szajner is a bopster and prolific composer. He's been in and out of the Detroit Jazz scene since the 1950's.
This release documents one of his last concerts and gives ample evidence of his talents and abilities.
Complementing this package are extensive notes by the pianist along with perspectives by Michael Nastos and Bob Rusch. This nicely fills in a gap in Detroit's Jazz history and is the complete package.
Live At the International Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival 1981
TRACK NAME
#1) FOR EVANS SAKE 6:51
#2) PAUSE FOR HAWES 4:46
#3) THREE FOUR MONTREUX 6:23
#4) JUST A TOUCH UP 5:34
#5) PRAYER MEETIN' 7:12
#6) TRAVESTY 8:31
#7) ISOLATION 7:38
#8) SHADOWS 7:15
#9) CLASS CONSCIOUS 7:12
#10) SIMPLE AS THAT 6:44
#11) UNREAL McCOY 6:04
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Live At the International Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival 1981
TRACK NAME
#1) FOR EVANS SAKE 6:51
#2) PAUSE FOR HAWES 4:46
#3) THREE FOUR MONTREUX 6:23
#4) JUST A TOUCH UP 5:34
#5) PRAYER MEETIN' 7:12
#6) TRAVESTY 8:31
#7) ISOLATION 7:38
#8) SHADOWS 7:15
#9) CLASS CONSCIOUS 7:12
#10) SIMPLE AS THAT 6:44
#11) UNREAL McCOY 6:04
CONTACT INFORMATION:
RMS TRIAD PRODUCTIONS
POTOMAC TOWNE II
6267 POTOMAC CIRCLE
WEST BLOOMFIELD, MICHIGAN 48322
(248) 661-5167
rmstriad@sbcglobal.net
http://www.rmstriad.blogspot.com
POTOMAC TOWNE II
6267 POTOMAC CIRCLE
WEST BLOOMFIELD, MICHIGAN 48322
(248) 661-5167
rmstriad@sbcglobal.net
http://www.rmstriad.blogspot.com
