Search - Tim Lyddon :: I've Traveled So Far

Jazz Promo Services Tim Lyddon: I?ve Traveled So Far Pianist/composer Tim Lyddon describes his approach to music as ?...uncompromised, what I feel from the heart, drawn from my life?s experiences.? His extraordinary trio CD, I?ve Traveled So Far on Essence Records proves his point. With longtime associates Tom Hubbard and Scott Latzky on bass and drums respectively, I?ve Traveled So Far offers eight originals and two standards that brilliantly display Tim?s highly personal approach to improvisation ? a style that one of his former teachers, the legendary Jaki Byard said ?shows the depth of an exceptionally mature musician.? The Byard influence is quite apparent on the album?s closer, a delightful solo piano excursion on the Burke-Van Heusen classic I Thought About You that incorporates many elements of the jazz piano tradition. The other standard, Sammy Cahn?s I Should Care, is given a medium-swing treatment that also nicely features Hubbard?s woody and resonant solo stylings. But it?s Lyddon?s original compositions that display the full breadth of his exceptional talent. ?I draw on a combination of elements from many styles of music, but always holding onto the art of swing.? Driven by dense, linear harmonic shapes, Tim?s compositions constantly seek resolution, going in exhilarating and surprising directions underneath a very singing lyrical melody. Although the music is complex in harmony and form, the trio keeps things simple and understated with a subtle sense of nuance. Even on pieces like the percussively grooving title cut and the adventurously conceived, driving blues, What Time Is It?, the sensitive interplay between piano, bass and drums is always the prime directive. As in the work of two of Tim?s inspirational influences ? Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett ? impressionism and introspection are key elements in his approach. Dense and spacious chords, reminiscent of Ravel and Debussy, are especially notable on pieces like Dreamland, the lovely ballad Beautiful Feeling, and the straight groove of Theme for a Lost Real. Freedom Piece, a work of controlled intensity opens with free-form solo piano and eases into a nice Latinish groove; and two other pieces, the gently swinging Angela, and the harder kicking Just Passin? By round out the album. Tim couldn?t ask for better or more sensitive support from bass and drums than he receives here. Hubbard?s subtly shaded but rock solid bass work and Latzky?s deft, light touch (often just using brushes) never overplay, and in Tim?s words ?provide a solid foundation from which the piano can lay its impressionistic colors like a floating blanket.? Tim began studying piano at ten years old, but took a serious interest in jazz three years later after his family moved to California. Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson and Bud Powell were his first influences in developing his own natural swing feel. Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Jarrett and Evans soon followed. A serious and dedicated student, he studied with Charlie Shoemake and Terry Trotter, and after a two year stint in Las Vegas, he returned to Los Angeles and immersed himself in the jazz scene with such names as Dick Berk, Chuck Flores, Sam Most, Bob Summers and Kim Richmond; also leading his own trio. He also recorded two albums with Stan Kenton trombonist Ray Weigand, as well as various television and movie scores. After studying classical piano on scholarship with Milton Stern, Tim studied composition and arranging with Spud Murphy, who also taught such luminaries as Oscar Peterson, Gerald Wiggins and Bennie Maupin. Receiving a scholarship from Manhattan School of Music, Tim moved to New York to continue his studies with Byard and Harold Danko, and teaching as well. He?s performed regularly with his own trio in New York and around the East coast. In addition to Hubbard and Latzky, his trio has also included bass