Some Other Time

Album Review

Young Los Angeles based jazz pianist Greg Reitan is clearly influenced by modern contemporary icons like Keith Jarrett and especially Chick Corea, but his thanks to Denny Zeitlin on the booklet may indicate a disciple's role from a very talented up and comer. This debut effort shows much promise in a similar path as Taylor Eigsti or Eldar Djangirov in Reitan's virtuosic, multiple-notes flash and brilliance. Where he shows a certain restraint on standards, his solos ripple with the constant multi-wave flourishes and bunched notes of a talent brimming with anticipation to prove himself. Bassist Jack Daro and drummer Dean Koba are supportive, relatively unspectacular, but complement the pianist well, especially bringing this music to full flower. Of the carefully considered covers, "Dear Prudence" starts with an inventive waltz that should have settled, but goes into a pop rhythm, "Time Remembered" is a good tribute to Bill Evans, "Some Other Time" reflects Evans and Miles Davis, but also echoes Zeitlin's "Quiet Now," while Vince Guaraldi's "Starsong" is given a light bossa contemporary treatment that really parallels Corea's bright, mischievous bounce. The most intriguing pick, Pat Metheny's "Unquity Road" was done by the guitarist as a steely, hard-edged piece with Jaco Pastorius on the ECM album Bright Size Life, but here it is faster, cleaner, and meticulous beyond the original. "All of Me" most accurately indicates the reserved, sensitive, and delicate Reitan on the melody, but he turns it up aggressive and animated on his solo. Pretty originals like the slow, patient, and introspective "The Wayfarer," and "Northern Windows" and "Bordeaux" are the tunes where Reitan is consciously under amping. It's likely that his modal spirit songs, including a version of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" turning quirky and faster in bop style, and the advanced melodic development on "Autumn" lie somewhere in the middle of his interests and talent realized, while suggesting similarities with another rising star of his peer group: Robert Glasper. So much potential is realized here, and there's much to enjoy, even if you think the jazz piano/bass-drums format has been exhausted. Reitan and his young friends prove there is plenty left in the creative tank. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi