Michael Wolff: Memoir

SUNNYSIDE RECORDS (RELEASED AUGUST 2, 2024)

It seems fitting that pianist Michael Wolff concludes Memoir with a heartfelt and evocative take on the classic ballad “You’ve Changed.” After all, his life has changed dramatically since growing up in the segregated South where he suffered from Tourette Syndrome, living through the 1960s in Berkeley, California, making a name for himself as a jazz artist and most recently surviving a four-year battle over a rare and deadly form of misdiagnosed cancer. Rather than a celebration of a life reclaimed, Memoir is Wolff’s reflection on the experiences that have shaped his life and career. Except for “You’ve Changed,” the other ten selections on Memoir are a combination of new Wolff compositions and older tunes that he decided to reinvestigate. Accompanied by bassist Ben Allison and drummer Allan Mednard, the trio infuses the set of melancholic and contemplative ballads with just the right amount of grace, elegance and charm. Allison’s strong bass lines intertwine with Wolff’s ascending lines and percussive chord clusters while Mednard punctuates the stories (the essence of great ballads) to keep things interesting and moving. The interplay between the trio is uncanny as they shift from the slow deep blues groove of “Left Out” to the dreamy waltz “Could Be” to the Latin-infused “Zawinul” to the hymn-like “Leland.” Wolff turns to the vibrato of Fender Rhodes to add texture to the dirge-like feel of “On My Mind” and “Sad Clown.” Now you have two ways to experience the tribulations and successes of pianist’s Michael Wolff’s life and career. You can read all about them in his new autobiography, On That Note, A Memoir of Jazz, Tics and Survival (available at Amazon) or you can listen to him meditate on those experiences on Memoir, the evocative, beautiful and peaceful recording that welcomes him back into the recording studio after his battle with cancer. Welcome back, Michael Wolff!

BOTTOM LINE: Memoir welcomes pianist Michael Wolff back into the recording studio since his recent health scare and it welcomes him back to doing what he enjoys best — finding melodies in melodies. Along with bassist Ben Allison and drummer Alan Mednard, Wolff ruminates on ten originals plus a moving performance of a more than appropriate “You’ve Changed.”