He didn’t get enough appreciation from the mainstream, but guitarist/composer Attila Zoller finally gets a tribute from the people who cared the most, his contemporaries. This album has some of jazz’s biggest names both speaking and playing for the artist who passed away back in 1998.
The music is bookended by spoken messages by Ron Carter, Peter Bernstein, Mike Stern, Michael Formanek, John Abercrombie and Gene Bertonicini with personal insights. The music itself is as wide ranging as it is inspirational. There’s a gentle and classy duet between Jim Hall and Metheny on “The Birds and the Bees” after Mike Stern bops on “Another Xanthippe.” Ron Carter and Gene Bertonicini deliver a classical and gentle “When It’s Time” and get more intricate in a quartet setting on “A Thousand Dreams.” There’s an Old World feel with David Becker teaming with cellist Aniela Perry on ”Alicia’s Lullaby” and Abercrombie’s trio on “Waltz For Joy” is soft and tensile. This is an intimate event to treasure.
Enja Records