Date: February 27, 2014
Venue: Shapeshifter Lab (NY)
Review by Dawoud Kringle
On a late February night where the intense cold puts one’s endurance to the test and increases the longing for spring, the soon to he legendary Shapeshifter Lab presented Renato Diz‘ Trio. With Diz on piano, Zulfugar Baghirov on soprano sax, and John Doing on drums & percussion, the stage was set for some great music.
A note pantomimes an echo, while fractal harmonies dash in and out of hiding. Percussion makes comments and observations. Then the soprano sax steps up with a melody that coalesced and condensed the primordia into a sensible concept. The pulse on the middle range of the piano continued as improvised musical hieroglyphics manifested around it.
As the trio continued, the music took unpredictable twists and turns, unfolding through labyrinthine changes in mood and texture. Sometimes it would swing, sometimes it would weep like a ballad, and sometimes it would twist and turn in on itself like an Escher drawing. Every moment was utterly fascinating. There was never a moment where brilliant improvisational ideas, flawless execution, textural variety, and poetic sublimity were lacking.
At one point, Diz eased into “Footprints”, playing it in a liquid manner; which the band picked up on, and immediately reorganized into new configurations that were waiting within the composition like a lost treasure from an ancient civilization. It swam in its own possibilities, then erupted in a final orgasm of musical fire before drawing to a close.
Diz is one of the best pianists on the NYC scene. He seems to have assimilated every style and technique that has ever been done on piano and reassembled it to manifest his own vision. .
Baghirov has a wealth of knowledge and technique. But it’s his Coltrane-like sensibility and lyricism in his playing that sets him apart. No matter what was happening with the music, there was nothing he played that wasn’t beautiful.
Doing on the drums, cajon, and assorted percussion (including glockenspiel), was more than equal to the demands of the music. His highly imaginative and skilled work was a perfect contribution to music that demanded the highest possible performance standards.
The Renato Diz Trio is another jewel in the crown of New York City’s rich (yet under appreciated) music scene.
