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JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND" The San Francisco Chronicle - David Wiegand - 5 STAR REVIEW "Jazz; RATING: (WILD APPLAUSE); It says something about the quality of a CD when a rendition of "My Funny Valentine" is only "just" great. That would be opposed to the other nine tracks on Julian Waterfall Pollack's "Infinite Playground," which provide ample evidence that the 21-year-old Bay Area native is a ferociously assured and creatively dazzling pianist, composer and arranger..." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "JULIAN POLLACK IN MENDOCINO FOR FAMILY BIZ" The San Francisco Chronicle - David Wiegand - FRONT PAGE FEATURE OF ARTS SECTION, OVATION "t's no wonder that baby grew up to be a gifted musician himself, the composer and jazz pianist Julian Waterfall Pollack, who, on the heels of the release of his stunning new album, "Infinite Playground," is back on the West Coast from his home in Manhattan to take part in the family business - the Mendocino Music Festival..." >> Read Article JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND" All About Jazz - Bruce Lindsay "It seems at times as if the world is filled to the brim with technically adept young jazz players—musicians whose speed and dexterity earn immediate respect. But technique is not all there is. Indeed, it's not even half. Heart and soul need to be in the music as well. At only 22 years of age Julian Waterfall Pollack is already extremely technically adept—but he also invests his playing on Infinite Playground, his third album, with masses of heart and soul, adding an emotional intensity that lifts this music to uncommon heights..." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND" JazzReview.com - Ron Bierman "Julian Waterfall Pollack is a keeper. Though in his early 20s, he already has enough technique and imagination to hold attention, and he swings with the best. The opening, "Summertime," demonstrates all of the above. After a slow bluesy statement of the melody, there's a repeat in double-time with insistent single-note harmony in the left hand. Double-time prevails. Runs flash by. The left hand challenges the right in a fugal pattern with cross rhythms. Your foot needs to tap, but may not be able to keep up..." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND" AccuJazz.com - Staff Picks - Lucas Gillan "...Clearly influenced by predecessors Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau, Pollack manages to avoid sounding like an impostor or an overly technical child prodigy. He's a fully-developed jazz pianist with a distinct voice...." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND" EJAZZNEWS.com - Edward Blanco "A very gifted pianist, musically mature beyond his years, Julian Waterfall Pollack delivers an impressive performance on Infinite Playground, a thoroughly enjoyable trio outing worth discovering and playing often. Highly recommended..." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND" All About Jazz - New York - *September 2010* - Ken Dryden "...Opening with 'Summertime' displays his confidence, reharmonizing the introduction with a pastoral flavor before gradually turing it into an inventive bop vehicle. The pianist's very deliberate setting of 'Time After Time' is unusual for a young artist, as they often overlook the importance of utilizing space to emphasize the lyricism of a piece..." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND" There Stands The Glass - Bill Brownlee "I'd already engraved Brad Mehldau's Highway Rider into the top spot on my Best Albums of 2010 list when I heard Pollack's new Infinite Playground. The excellent project challenges my assumptions. Either Pollack shares Mehldau's gift of pointing toward new directions in jazz, or Mehldau isn't as significant as I'd previously believed..." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND" All About Jazz - Karl Ackermann "Musicians are often looked at in terms of their influences, mentors and roots, as if those things constitute some homeopathic magic. Though they don't, they provide convenient markers to use in weighing a frequently intangible level of talent. Twenty-two year-old jazz pianist Julian Waterfall Pollack arrives on the scene as if completely formed, full of innovative insights, technical skills and lyrical nuance..." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND" Jazzblog.ca - Peter Hum "At 22, the Berkeley, California-raised, New York-based pianist Julian Waterfall Pollack is already making some potent and well-crafted music that reflects a deep admiration for Brad Mehldau's jazz-piano innovations..." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "INFINITE PLAYGROUND' East Bay Express - Rachel Swan "...[Infinite Playground] helps cement his position in an increasingly cutthroat milieu....it shows in his covers of "Cherokee" -- which has an exacting, metronymic rhythm -- and the Beatles's tune "And I Love Her"..." >> Read Review JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "THE BEST MUSIC OF 2010" (INFINITE PLAYGROUND) East Bay Express - Ellen Cushing "...The pianist — a product of Berkeley High School's venerable jazz program but now living in New York — plays with a preternatural self-assuredness, whether it's on standards like "My Funny Valentine" or new compositions like the gorgeous "Lily." While Pollack's technical and compositional skills are obviously formidable, what really sets him apart from his peers is tenderness..." >> Read Article JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK, "CD RELEASE AT YOSHI'S" Berkeley Daily Planet - Ken Bullock "...Pollack, son of Berkeley musicians Allan Pollack and Susan Waterfall, co-founders of the Mendocino Music Festival, former student at Crowden School, has been hailed as an unusually talented—and swinging—young pianist since playing in the Berkeley High Jazz Ensembles and at local venues like the Jazzschool, where he returned with his trio this winter. He's been praised by the likes of Marian McPartland, of NPR's Piano Jazz..." >> Read Article TAKE 5 WITH JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK All About Jazz "AAJ: What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically? JWP: I'm attempting to contribute beauty. Also, I'm attempting to further blur the lines between what "jazz" "classical" and "pop" music is. I'm just at the beginning of my journey. But it starts with the piano trio. Then it will branch out..." >> Read Article JULIAN WATERFALL POLLACK ON NPR'S PIANO JAZZ, HOSTED BY MARIAN MCPARTLAND "...Piano Jazz introduces yet another amazing young jazz pianist who's bursting onto the scene..." >> Read Article |
