Search - Tete Montoliu :: Music I Like to Play 2

An (almost) undiscovered genius

02/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tete Montoliu is a giant, and this, my favorite of the "Music I like to Play" series, all six of which are great and most of which are difficult to find outside Spain, is an album that could be canonized.We hear Tete from almost every angle on this album. Oleo, Cherokee, and Parker's Mood are as close as you can find to perfection in bebop piano, but there is more to them, and certainly this can be seen in light of some of the non-bebop tunes on the album, especially the balads, like Softly as a Morning Sunrise and A child is born. Here we see Tete's proficiency in achiving an unsentimental, tastefully nuanced lyricism, and his ability to fuse old and new, combining bebop voiceleading with quartal harmony and pentatonics. At best, on songs like All of You and You go to my head, Tete is Red Garland, Oscar Peterson, and Chick Corea fused into one.Another element of this album that begs recognition is the use of the instrument. Tete is playing solo here, and like Art Tatum, whom he claimed as a major influence, he is at his best in this setting. For one, his casually impeccable rhythmic sense and convincing harmonization drive melodic ideas forward and, at times, give us that unmistakeably Tatum-esque sense that we are hearing more than one pianist. More importantly, though, he is easily Tatum's equal, if not his superior (hard to know because recording technology was so much better for Tete) in terms of technique and tone. Brad Mehldau has been grossly overconnected stylistically to countless artists over the past few years, but I still can't help sensing the connection here. In terms of musical language Tete and Brad are on different planets, but they share a similarly precise pianism and beautiful tone. This typically comes from years of classical training and a near-psychotic obsession with playing Bach, which both of these artists apparently share. Clean, pedal-free legato with full tone and sonorous marcato are the two greatest indicators of this, and it comes through clearly in Tete's playing. In his balad playing he is able to achieve a more tasteful, unsentimental sound by skipping the pedal in favor of legato achieved purely through the technical control of tone, and in his bebop runs one hears the tone being pulled out of the instrument, creating a reverberant, controlled articulation- a measured attack and rich decay.Tete Montoliu is a pianist's jazz pianist, and this is some of the best solo playing of his I have heard. Anyone with an interest in the nuances of great piano playing should hear this guy, and this album is a great place to start."