Denny Zeitlin (born April 10, 1938) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, composer, and clinical professor of psychiatry at

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

. Since 1963, he has recorded more than 100 compositions and was a first-place winner in the ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' International Jazz Critics' Poll in 1965 and 1974. He composed the soundtrack for the 1978 science-fiction horror film '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers''.

Early life

Zeitlin was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and grew up in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. He began improvising on the piano at the age of two. His father was a radiologist who played piano by ear. His mother was a speech pathologist and his first piano teacher. His parents allowed him to improvise on the piano for several years as a toddler, which he stated was crucial to his development and desire to begin formal study in

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

at the age of six. He started studying jazz in the eighth grade and cited

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing (13 August 191914 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 so ...

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, Billy Taylor,

Lennie Tristano Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation. Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. A pioneer in the development of bebop and its associated contributions to jazz theory,Grove Powell's application of complex phrasing to ...

, and

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

as his primary early influences, and saw them perform in Chicago clubs as a teenager, able to pass for older due to being very tall. In high school, Zeitlin played professionally in and around Chicago, and by college at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

, was playing with

Ira Sullivan Ira Sullivan (May 1, 1931 – September 21, 2020) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, flautist, saxophonist, and composer born in Washington, D.C., United States. An active musician since the 1950s, he often worked with Red Rodney ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...

Joe Farrell Joseph Carl Firrantello (December 16, 1937 – January 10, 1986), known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who primarily performed as a saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name o ...

, Wilbur Ware, and

Bob Cranshaw Melbourne Robert Cranshaw (December 3, 1932 – November 2, 2016) was an American jazz bassist. His career spanned the heyday of Blue Note Records as a house bassist to his later involvement with the Musicians Union. He is perhaps best known f ...

, among others. Mentors included Billy Taylor and George Russell. Pianist

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

, an early supporter, frequently recorded Zeitlin's composition "Quiet Now" and made it the title track of a 1970 album.

Later life and career

Signed by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

's John Hammond, Zeitlin began his recording career in 1963 while studying medicine at

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a Private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Ho ...

, debuting as the featured pianist on the

Jeremy Steig Jeremy Steig (September 23, 1942 – April 13, 2016)Peter Keepnews, "Jeremy ...

album '' Flute Fever'', which also featured Ben Riley and Ben Tucker. Zeitlin's recording debut as a leader was the album ''Cathexis'', with bassist

Cecil McBee Cecil McBee (born May 19, 1935) is an American jazz bassist. He has recorded as a leader only a handful of times since the 1970s, but has contributed as a sideman to a number of classic jazz albums. Biography Early life and career McBee was b ...

and drummer

Freddie Waits Frederick Douglas Waits (April 27, 1943 – November 18, 1989) was an American hard bop and post-bop drummer. Waits never officially recorded as leader, but was a prominent member and composer in Max Roach's M'Boom percussion ensemble. He work ...

. Zeitlin then moved to San Francisco in 1964 to intern at the

, followed by a residency. His next album was ''Carnival'', with bassist

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than fifty years. Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playin ...

and drummer Jerry Granelli. That trio had a regular gig at The Trident in

Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

, and recorded Zeitlin's next album, ''Shining Hour'', there. Jazz critic

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

called Zeitlin "the most versatile young pianist to come to prominence in the early 1960s". Reflecting on Zeitlin's Columbia period, jazz historian

Ted Gioia Ted Gioia (born October 21, 1957) is an American jazz critic and music historian. He is author of 12 books, including ''Music: A Subversive History'', '' The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire'', ''The History of Jazz'' and ''Delta Blues'' ...

wrote that the pianist "had assimilated the breakthroughs of the previous decade, from the impressionism of Bill Evans to the free-fall explorations of

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

, and blended them into a personal style that anticipated the next fifteen years of keyboard advances. He stood out from the crowd for the unbridled creativity of his work, the richness of his harmonic palette, and the sheer beauty of his piano tone". Between 1968 and 1978, Zeitlin integrated electronic keyboards,

synthesizers A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, and sound-altering devices with acoustic instruments, working in multiple musical genres. The results were first heard in 1969 when Zeitlin composed and performed music for the "Jazzy Spies" sequences on the first season of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'', featuring vocal overdubs by

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American painter and retired musician whose musical career spanned four decades. She was a prominent figure in San Francisco's psychedelic music scene during the mid-1960s to the earl ...

. In 1973, he released ''Expansion'', a trio album with George Marsh and Mel Graves, which ''

'' magazine awarded its highest rating.''DownBeat'', January 31, 1974. The period culminated with Zeitlin's writing the score for the 1978 remake of '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'', which turned out to be his only film score, despite numerous subsequent offers, because of the extreme workload of many 20-plus-hour days."Denny Zeitlin: Invasion of the Body Snatchers"
YouTube video of Zeitlin describing his score. While ''

New Yorker New Yorker may refer to: * A resident of New York: ** A resident of New York City and its suburbs *** List of people from New York City ** A resident of the New York (state), State of New York *** Demographics of New York (state) * ''The New Yor ...

'' film critic Pauline Kael thought the music occasionally overpowered the action, she called the score "generally dazzling" and a large contributor to both the humor and terror of the film. Beginning in 1978, Zeitlin focused primarily on acoustic music, continuing to play concerts internationally and recording some 22 albums. His projects included the solo album ''Soundings'', the duo album '' Time Remembers One Time Once'' with Charlie Haden, and ''Denny Zeitlin Trio in Concert'' with bassist

Buster Williams Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, as well as working with guitarist Larry Coryell, the Thelonious Monk reperto ...

and drummer Matt Wilson. Zeitlin continued to draw strong reviews. Critic Doug Ramsey wrote that "Trio in Concert", released in 2009, "catches Dr. Zeitlin, at age 70, in his musical prime and his trio afire". He recorded his 2020 album, ''Live at Mezzrow'', at age 82'','' With the advent of electronic music technology improving dramatically in the 2000s, Zeitlin embarked on a major upgrade to his home studio and began to rediscover electro-acoustic music. He was soon joined by drummer George Marsh, and the two released several albums of free improvisation as a duo on Sunnyside Records.

Dual careers

Since 1968, Zeitlin has been on the teaching faculty at the

, where he is clinical professor of psychiatry. He has a private practice in San Francisco and

Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...

. He had a 30-year mentorship with psychoanalyst Joseph Weiss, founder of Control Mastery Theory. Zeitlin has combined his two disciplines in a lecture and workshop entitled "Unlocking the Creative Impulse: The Psychology of Improvisation". In comparing his two careers, Zeitlin has said it would be a mistake to think that psychiatry served merely to support his passion for music, when in fact he has a passion for both. "In each setting, communication is utterly paramount. There has to be a depth of empathy that allows you to really inhabit the other person's world. It comes out as a collaborative journey in both settings."

Personal life

Zeitlin lives in

, California, is an avid mountain biker and wine aficionado, the latter interest shared with his trio. He has been married to actress Josephine Shady since 1969.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Compilation * ''The Columbia Studio Trio Sessions'' (

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

, 2009) CD– includes over an hour of previously unreleased compositions

As sideman

David Friesen David Friesen (born May 6, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. He plays double bass and electric upright bass. Career Friesen began playing bass while serving in the United States Army in Germany. He played with John Handy and Marian McPartl ...

, ''Other Times Other Places'' (Global Pacific, 1989) * David Friesen, ''Two for the Show'' (Summit, 2000) * David Grisman, '' Dawg Duos'' (Acoustic Disc, 1999) *

Jeremy Steig Jeremy Steig (September 23, 1942 – April 13, 2016)Peter Keepnews, "Jeremy ...

, '' Flute Fever'' (Columbia, 1963)

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeitlin, Denny 1938 births Living people American film score composers American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Jazz musicians from Chicago Columbia Records artists 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists American male film score composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Sunnyside Records artists Concord Records artists Windham Hill Records artists ECM Records artists