It's Reigning Kats & Dogs & Bogen

Distantly related to Felix Mendelssohn, this is Eyran Katsenelenbogen's 11th recording and is a jazz recital of solo piano with a title that is a witty play on his rather long name. After the first few notes, one is tempted to pick up the CD to see if an Art Tatum CD got put in the case by mistake. Katsenelenbogen's approach to the piano is neither spare nor sparse. Katsenelenbogen recalls Tatum not only stylistically but technically as well. He has the same complete command of the keyboard, unerring sense of rhythm, and improvisional inventiveness the master jazz pianist possessed. These traits, combined with the leftovers of Katsenelenbogen's classical piano education, make for as interesting an excursion in the realm of pianism as has been released. "Bluesette" is masterful with cleverly placed snippets of melody interspersed within Katsenelenbogen's arpeggios and runs. But it's not all razzle dazzle. On tunes such as "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "The River Is Wide," Katsenelenbogen can be as poignant and tender as any keyboard artist. Yet, even on these ballads, one feels the creative tension that is poured into the music. The classical training comes to the fore as he combines singing chords with jagged rhythms on Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now." "Dream a Little Dream of Me" gets virtuoso pianist massage with scintillating runs and extemporizations galore. Here, like everywhere else, he holds nothing back as he gives this oft-played standard a thorough from-the-inside-out reworking. When everyone is about to run out of breath, along comes a delicate offering of "Try to Remember," worthy of a piece by Claude Debussy. The work of a fully equipped pianist, this album is recommended.