Concert Review: Adam Holzman: Piano

 Concert Review: Adam Holzman: Piano
Featuring: Jane Getter, Gene Pritsker - guitars, Jay Rodriguez - sax, Erik T. Johnson - poet
@ Kostabi World
Presented by Composers Concordance
November 18th, 2021

Adam Holzman needs no introduction to fans of brilliant keyboard work, from his four-year stint with Miles Davis to his standout collaborations with Steve Wilson and Grover Washington, to his own leading man role in his awe-inspiring musical ensemble Brave New World.
      I almost got my introduction back in 1985 when seeing Miles perform in Detroit, which was, to my detriment, a few months before Holzman joined Miles’s band.  So my formal foray into the musical magic of Holzman finally came at this late date in 2021 – and it was well worth the wait!
      Holzman took to the master Steinway piano Nov. 18 for a performance at the famed Kostabi World in NYC’s Chelsea district for a concert sponsored by Composer’s Concordance. While the 70-minute show exhibited Holzman wearing his influences, from prog rock to classical to experimental jazz on his sleeve, it all added up to one highly original – and highly gratifying - concert performance.
      Holzman opened with a flurry of ivory fury that would have had Keith Emerson’s mouth agape in his own composition “Zombie Apocalypse.”  But the delightful cacophony turned on a dime as settled into a series of quiet, moody and moving passages that had the large crowd of attendees leaning in for every note.
      And Holzman kept the momentum going with a tasty take on Ornette’s Coleman’s seminal “Turnaround” and his own, exquisite, self-penned composition “Bella Capri.”  And as much as Holzman is a first-rate composer in his own right, he seemed to take delight on interpretations.
      One was evening host Mark Kostabi’s “Italian Summer/Estate,” which has been a mainstay in the renowned artist/composer’s own concert performers.  But it was enthralling to hear Holzman take on the composition, making it all his own while still being clearly recognizable from Kostabi’s previous performances of it.
      Likewise, his performance of Composer Concordance’s co-director Dan Cooper’s “Two Mobiles” had the audience on a roller coaster ride of musical tempos and textures. And Holzman was also in a collaborative mood, having Composer Concordance co-director, composer/guitarist Gene Pritsker join him for a duet of Pritsker’s composition “Were You Night Imaginary,” based on a work by noted NYC poet Erik T. Johnson. Tenor saxman extraordinaire Jay Rodriguez joined Holzman on Rodriguez’s rollicking “Neven,” and master guitarist (and Holzman spouse) Jane Getter closed the evening with her composition “Masked.”
      Holzman, of course, has amazing technique that led him to being named by Keyboard magazine as one of the 10 finest purveyors of the instrument in the world.  But even more, his heartfelt playing stirs an avalanche of emotions – you feel loves gained and lost, a bigger world out there to explore, and a deeper feeling of sentiment had he not graced your ears.
       To this writer, that’s about everything you can dream of and hope for at a concert performance.

 - Roger

 pic by Peter Fokas