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Dave Meder: Passage

By Mike Jurkovic
February 2, 2019
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"Philosophically, what I'm after is the lofty goal of being able to play everything," says 28-year-old pianist

David Meder

" data-original-title="" title="">David Meder of his ambitions and crowd-sourced debut, Passage. Like he says, that's pretty lofty, if not downright cocky. But what is jazz, let alone any artistic endeavor, if not an equal mix of both, and the chops to pull it off? Upon repeated listenings of Passage, Meder is well on his way.

A semifinalist in the 2018 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, and the American Pianists Award, Meder was recently assigned as Assistant Professor of Jazz Piano at the prestigious University of North Texas. That's all nice and fine and a definite career fallback position, but Meder's distinctly Americana approach to his music is what's going to turn heads.

A case in point is the pleasingly laconic pace of

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk's "Work" which serves to open Passage on a delightfully high note. Drummer

Kush Abadey

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Kush Abadey—who, although only in his twenties, has already played alongside

Ravi Coltrane

saxophone, tenor
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Ravi Coltrane,

Nicholas Payton

trumpet
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Nicholas Payton, Terrance Blanchard and the late

Tomasz Sta��ko

trumpet
1942 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Tomasz Sta��ko, to name just a few—skip-hops along as playfully as Meder. Meder's ingenious R'n'B romp through the gospel chestnut "The Rugged Old Cross" is simply worth the price of admission alone. Original compositions—"This Road," a knotty give-and-take duet with alto saxophonist

Miguel Zenon

saxophone, alto
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Miguel Zenon, and "Elegy," a reflective trio effort with bassist

Marty Jaffe

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Marty Jaffe and the anthemic tenor of

Chris Potter

saxophone, tenor
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Potter—bring all of Meder's still-evolving strengths as a writer and arranger to the fore.

Other cohesive tunes like "Break Points" and the meditative title track, find Meder, like his spiritual touchstone

Jaki Byard

piano
1922 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Jaki Byard, inventing his music freely, bringing honky-tonk, swing, blues, rock-and-roll—in other words a vibrant hybrid of the whole American spectrum—to bear, making for a sparkling debut full of exciting promise.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Work; For Wayne; The Old Rugged Cross; This Road; Break Points; Golden Hour; Passage; Healing Heart; Elegy; For You, For Me, For Evermore.

Personnel

David Meder

David Meder: piano; Kush Abadey: drums; Tamir Shmerling: bass (#1-8, 10); Marty Jaffe: bass (#9); Miguel Zenon: alto saxophone (#4); Chris Potter: tenor saxophone (#9).

Album information

Title: Passage | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Outside In Music

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