Ezrin Was Here

Ezrin Was Here

Bruce Von Stiers

For me, pianists are some of the best musicians in the jazz world. Although sax music is my favorite, I have a great respect for jazz pianists. From Oscar Peterson to Dave Brubeck to Dave Grusin and Bob James, there have been jazz pianists thrilling listeners for a long, long time.

A jazz pianist who fits right in with some of those great artists is Andy Ezrin. He has been a sideman, led combos and has composed a ton of music. Adam Gopnik, an essayist for The New Yorker, calls Ezrin “the hardest working man in jazz.”

Along with playing and recording with other jazz musicians, Ezrin composed music for the entire run of the animated show, Courage The Cowardly Dog. He performed music for other animated shows such as Space Racers and the upcoming animated film Fairy Tale Forest. And he has recorded piano jazz albums as well.

Ezrin has a new album that was released earlier this year. The title of the album is I Was Here. It has a dozen songs that range from subtle to peppy, somewhat sad to fun and exuberant.

To help him out on the album, Ezrin recruited some top-notch talent. Randy Brecker was on trumpet for a couple of songs. Donny McCaslin played tenor sax on several songs and soprano sax on a couple others. John Patitucci was on bass, although he did play electric bass on one song. Marcus Gilmore played the drums on the album, along with Ari Hoenig. And Ezrin played piano, the Rhodes and the Hammond B3.

Grapes opens the album. It is a peppy tune with great trumpet and sax accompanying the piano.

Soft and gentle with a melodic sound and some nice sax is the second song, This Is What It Is.

Greenwoman starts out with a head-bopping beat and slows down to a mild, melodic flow with some interesting sax melding with the piano. There is also some drum interaction that is good.

This album seems to have a mix of soft and gentle and peppy tunes. Luna is a song that is mostly soft and gentle with the piano being the prominent instrument.

Listening to Siren Song it made me think of it as a sort of love song.

Snowfall is the type of song that reminds me a bit of Dave Grusin's lighter piano.

Ain't That Some Shit is kind of an obnoxious title for a song. But somehow it works. The song is a bit bluesy with a touch of soul and has some super cool Hammond B3 music.

Subtle piano starts off If I Don't See You. That is followed by a bit of bass and then some soft and fluid sax blends in.

Wiggle Room is fun sounding, head-bopping, toe-tapping piece with a lot of bass.

Never Enough is almost sad sounding with trumpet and bass supplementing the piano. I was thinking this could be a good background song for a breakup scene in a film.

I'm Runnin' Outta Time is another toe-tapping tune with a lot of moving parts. There's sax, bass, drums and piano all blended for a cool sound. There is even a sliver of Hammond B3 thrown in.

Lost Days just has bass, drums and piano. It showcases the bass for a bit and then the piano with drums backing it up.

Cascades closes out the album. It is a soft and gentle solo piece by Ezrin.

I Was Here is a terrific piano jazz album. Andy Ezrin proves himself worthy with the great compositions, the great piano music and the amazing talent that plays on the album with him.

I was Here is now available at notable outlets and music streaming services.

To find out more about Andy Ezrin, visit his official website at https://www.andyezrinmusic.com

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