Debbie Poryes - Jazz Pianist: Press/Reviews

It is sometimes startling to hear a great talent that for whatever reasons, seems to have labored in obscurity. I'm sure that in Debbie Poryes' case, her private students and students at the Berkeley Jazzschool can attest to her abilities, but for the rest of us, hearing a wonderful release like "A Song in Jazz" is a welcome introduction indeed.

Opening up with a great version of Richard Roger's "A Wonderful Guy," Poryes immediately brings out visions of Bill Evans' trio work. Poryes' playing is confident, yet playful, thoughtful, but full of life. Her in-tune backing musicians, Bill Douglas on bass and David Rokeach on drums, help with their strong and sensitive support and solos.

Two tunes by the under-appreciated Ray Noble follow, along with a version of "Sweet and Lovely" and Monk's "Pannonica." Poryes adds a deft original, "So It Seemed" and ends the album with a surprising cover of Jules Styne's "People" that transcends the original. Throughout, Poryes exhibits exceptional command and luminous creativity and originality in her approach to this material.

Perhaps worth buying alone for the delicious, feathery take on "The Very Thought of You," or the incredible 10:50-long "People" reconstruction, all of the cuts have copious strengths and I would highly recommend this release, especially to fans of piano trio jazz.

It may have taken the San Francisco-based Poryes a few years to record an album for U.S. release (there is apparently a Dutch one from several years ago), but it is certainly well worth the wait. Mature and engaging arrangements of somewhat unusual standard choices, combined with stellar playing lead to a highly satisfying release. One can hope we hear more from this pianist and her trio, as she certainly seems more than ready for the spotlight.

A major problem for a Jazz disc-jockey is programming a show of consistently "high-quality" music. Music that swings, is creative, and played by musicians who know and interpret the chord changes accurately, is rare. New recordings are received daily at a radio station, so auditioning all of the material, thoroughly, is sometimes an impossibility. However, there are the few recordings and recording artists that make the task of choosing music to program an effortless act of joy. Debbie Poryes is one such painist and artist. Her new recording "A song in Jazz" on Jazz School Records, is one such recording. It is a flawless interpretation of Jazz standards combined with songs from the 'Great American Songbook'. Songs by Richard Rodgers, Ray Noble, Jules Styne and Thelonious Monk highlight the session. There is also an excellent interpretation of "Sweet and Lovely" ( a song that Thelonious Monk thought enough of to record and include in his repertoire)... Debbie Poryes has influences in her playing, but she doesn't mimic them. Her affinity with Bill Evans is obvious yet subtle. She also listens to Tommy Flanagan and Sonny Clark. However, Debbie Poryes is Debbie Poryes! On "A song in Jazz" , she is accompanied by Bassist Bill Douglass and drummer Dave Rokeach. The trio observes the dynamics of swinging without excessive volume. This recording is a rarity because ALL of the cuts are excellent. With CD's (which require much more material to assemble) this is unheard of. Most instrumental 'vinyl' recordings have just two or three cuts that are air-worthy. But, with 80 minutes to fill on a CD, it's almost impossible to have every cut a gem. Poryes has done so. "A Song in Jazz" is a 'must have' for those who love improvisational music interpreted with harmonic and melodic beauty using subtle dynamics.

West Coast Jazz Trio Plays It Right on New CD
Debbie Poryes Trio Local jazz hero Debbie Poryes' new release, A Song in Jazz, doesn't break new ground as much as remind us why we keep treading here in the first place. She's a remarkable example of how far a piano trio can go: her impressionistic introductions on jazz standards like "Alone Together" and "The Sweet and Lovely" conjure Debussy, and when she swings she can sound like Bill Evans with a bit more muscle. On the CD she's helped by bassist Bill Douglass, a regular with no less a piano trio authority than Marian McPartland, and former Ray Charles drummer David Rokeach, both of whom will join her for this special afternoon show. It isn't often we get to hear the real thing in action at such a high level, so mark your calendars for Sunday, Feb. 10, when Poryes performs at Berkeley Jazzschool at 4:30 p.m. Admission is $15; call 510-845-5373 or visit www.jazzschool.com for more info. — Ezra Gale

The notes ring out, and then they're gone, vibrations waning away to silence. Pianist Debbie Poryes—who has taught at the Berkeley Jazzschool in Northern California since 2000; who taught in The Netherlands for the better part of the 1980s; who worked her first regular gig playing five nights a week, from five until midnight, for a year at Martino's restaurant in Berkeley—has surely played a million notes; very few of them recorded for posterity, sadly.

A Song in Jazz isn't Poryes' debut—there was a set recorded for Timeless Records during her “Dutch” years—but it is her first recording in a long while, and it is a stellar outing that introduces a piano trio that plays with an interactive verve and elegance, bringing Bill Evans and Tommy Flanagan to mind for comparison's sake. A mostly standards set, A Song in Jazz opens with Richard Rodgers' “A Wonderful Guy.” Poryes treats the pretty melody with a lilting grace, with bassist Bill Douglas and drummer David Rokeach adding light buoyancy—a gorgeous tune in these hands. The pianist picks a couple of Ray Noble's compositions next: “I Hadn't Anyone Till You” and “The Very Thought of You,” bright and extroverted on the former, pensive and inward on the latter, with Poryes getting deep inside these classic melodies, then stretching it a bit outside them on her creative soloing.

The Dietz/Schwartz gem, “Alone Together” opens in a dark, churning mode, a propulsive tumult, the trio cooking with an edgy reverence.

Poryes and company also cover a couple of Monk's favorite tunes, “Sweet and Lovely” and “Pannonica,” with Poryes going solo here to explore the Thelonious-onian quirks and angles in fine fashion.

Poryes includes a tune of her own, “So It Seemed,” a strong melody that fits well with the rest of the set; and she surprises with the closer, Jules Styne's “People,” Barbra Streisand's signature piece. “People” is, of course, a familiar tune, one that no singer (but Streisand) should try to tackle—the same hands off approach that applies to Sinatra and “New York, New York” or Dione Warwick and “Alfie.” But it's that familiarity fitting into an elastic treatment by a first rate and interactive piano trio, with a highly vibrant keyboardist—same thing with “Alfie” on Brad Mehldau's Day is Done (Nonesuch Records, 2005)—that makes the tune such a knockout listening experience: a beautiful introspective closer to an excellent set.

Debbie is a phenomenal teacher of jazz piano, with a rare combination of talents and skills: (1) She's an awesome player! (2) She knows her harmonic theory---a bit of a rarity among jazz musicians, in my experience---and she can clearly explain the applications to jazz. (3) She's fun, supportive, incredibly patient, and with an enormous repertoire of things for a student of any level to work on to make steady progress. As a big bonus, she's concerned about helping her students avoid or recover from common pianist injuries.

Finally, she's just genuinely nice and a pleasure to work with---a real gem!

DEBBIE PORYES
The exceptionally expressive pianist/composer, prominent on the Bay Area scene, offers several beautifully sophisticated numbers on her Web site. Poryes' soft, sweet, subtly swinging trio rendition of "The Very Thought of You" is the perfect accompaniment to cocktails and candlelight. Her album "A Song in Jazz" achieved critics' praise, as well as chart success. A faculty member at Berkeley Jazzschool, Poryes will present a concert at the venue on Feb. 10 at 4:30 p.m

The release of Debbie Poryes' A Song In Jazz is quite an impressive one for the California pianist. In listening to these tunes mostly from the Great American Songbook, namely the opening showtune, “A Wonderful Guy” from the Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific and the last track, the vastly popular hit “People” from Jule Styne's Funny Girl , one can't help wonder just how the Bill Evans Trio might have handled these compositions. Notice that I said the Evans trio, not just the legendary pianist himself inasmuch as both of these tracks are performed by a totally intuitive, interactive trio in the same manner as Evans/LaFaro/Motian.

Debbie Poryes' partners in music are the veteran bassist, Bill Douglass, whose playing dates back to Marian McPartland and Mose Allison and drummer David Rokeach, who hails from the Ray Charles organization as well as the Broadway production of Jersey Boys. While Poryes herself shows a lot of lyricism evident in her playing, her influences could easily have been other modal players like the early period Herbie Hancock or Fred Hersch. When she begins “A Wonderful Guy” with a tentative melody, Douglass enters into a empathetic duet with her before the full trio brings the composition into a bright and midtempo presentation. On “People,” a lengthy (almost eleven minutes) examination of the tune takes it from pure ballad to a driven and optimistic ending. Listen to Rokeach's coloration and use of brushes towards the end of this number.

The album offers up some sturdy examples of the classic age of popular songs with the exception of Monk's “Pannonica” which is a piano solo that allows Poryes to embellish the music of the Jazz Master without detracting from it. There is also an original tune, “So It Seems” that fits nicely between “Pannonica” and the Gus Arnheim standard “Sweet and Lovely” with an attractive melody line.

Poryes has been a faculty member of the Berkeley Jazzschool since 2000 and preceding that had a lot of playing time in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Poryes spent most of the 1980s in The Netherlands working as a jazz educator for two Dutch Institutions as well as playing in such clubs as The Bimhaus and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam so it is a bit disappointing that she only has a singular release from the Dutch Timeless label for her efforts. This stunning album should rectify all of that!

Debbie Poryes was classically trained but would soon find a love of jazz that would take over her life. She would not only work in numerous bands and projects, but would end up teaching students on how to play the piano. Her love of jazz and admiration of classical composition would become very helpful, just as it would for thousands of other jazz musicians throughout history. Her knowledge and love of the instrument would eventually lead her into a studio to record an album with her trio, called A Song In Jazz (JazzSchool).

There's a lot of piano jazz out there, and sometimes one might get lost in either all of the other great musicians that are out there, or all of the bad ones. Poryes is very much the former, and one can sense some of the influences which made her into the player she is today. She has a great love for space, which allows the members of her trio Dave Rokeach on drums and Bill Douglass on bass) to be heard in between her playing. When she picks it up, she commands the song and steers it her way as the trio make sure the ride isn't bumpy. Her music is pleasant and powerful at the same time, one can almost imagine what people such as Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, or Thelonious Monk would say. There's something carefree playing, or maybe it's confidence, and it's quite nice to hear, especially in songs such as "Sweet And Lovely", "Pannonica", and "I Hadn't Anyone Tell You". You could almost allow this CD to to into automatic, but one wants to catch every move she makes throughout each song. She's really good and I can picture a time when musicians will claim her as a major influence.

Debbie is a great player, performer, teacher, supporter, and friend. I leave every lesson feeling inspired and changed, having walked through musical doors I hadn’t even known were there. Debbie is unfailingly generous with her knowledge, enthusiasm, playing suggestions, and teaching tips. She’s got the knack for making things readily understandable, whether it’s fingering drop-2 voicings, using everything from harmonic analysis to simple 5-finger positions to start improvising on a tune, or explaining why jazz piano players should transcribe solos by Miles.

Debbie is both flexible and professional in “meeting me” right where I am, whether I need to loosen up my eighth notes, prep for a gig, beef up my repertoire, or indulge in a “theory geek” lesson. Her suggestions are always focused, supportive, and practical; I’ve filled several binders with the notes I’ve taken from my lesson CDs. I’m a better educated and more well-rounded musician, a physically healthier player, and a better teacher because of Debbie. As a fellow female long-time performer and piano/keyboards instructor, I’m also grateful for the opportunity to “talk shop” with Debbie about the local music scene, teaching and performing experiences, what it’s like to be a woman in a predominantly male field, etc. We’re all lucky to have her immense teaching and performing talents here in the Bay Area.

A jazz educator by profession, Debbie Poryes is also a musician active in the San Francisco Bay Area who performs with her trio at various area venues. Playing with bassist Bill Douglass and drummer David Rokeach, this piano trio offers modern arrangements of a selection of classic standards making for one very warm session of jazz. “A Song in Jazz” is an album that is designed to appeal to ones softer side.

The repertoire includes a beautiful rendition of the Richard Rodgers standard “A Wonderful Guy,” that serves as the opening track. Poryes plays like a virtuoso on a couple of Ray Nobel charts (“I Hadn’t Anyone Till You,” and “The Very Thought of You”). She does however contribute one original composition with the very lovely “So It Seemed.”

The album rounds out with a stylish arrangement of Thelonius Monk’s “Pannonica,” and the ten-minute plus version of Jules Styne’s immortal classic “People” which would I’m sure, garnish praise from Barbra Streisand herself.

Pop the cork on that bottle of wine and settle down for some beautiful music that’s perfect for the mood. A terrific set of light and gentle jazzy music from a phenomenal pianist and trio. “A Song in Jazz’ is highly recommended for those special occasions that touch us all.

This CD has stellar musicianship and imaginative styling of great standards and original compositions. First rate!

Debbie Poryes Trio, A Song In Jazz (2007)
Poryes is a longtime jazz teacher and pianist who hasn't recorded much, but certainly could have: her warm tone, confident touch and unhurried West Coast sensibility put me in mind of Vince Guaraldi. Most of the songs are from the 50s and earlier (Rogers and Hammerstein's "A Wonderful Guy")... her interpretations are light and fresh ("Alone Together"). Poryes's solo reworking of Monk's "Pannonica" is an inventive treat: it's usually hard to put yourself into one of his tunes because there's already so much Monk in there. The one original ("So It Seemed")... fits the genial mood perfectly. Bassist Bill Douglass and drummer David Rokeach get on board, adding intriguing accents ("I Hadn't Anyone Till You") without ever overwhelming the easygoing vibe. (DBW)

Debbie Poryes has an uncanny ability to zero in on your particular level of playing, and at a pace both comfortable and challenging take you to a higher and more satisfying level. She generously shares her many insights learned from decades of playing and teaching piano and emphasizes, among other things, the intellectual process inherent in jazz. Her teaching has changed my entire piano experience.


My lessons with Debbie explore harmony, voice leading, rhythm, improvisation, physical technique and composition -- all while building a repertoire that includes wonderful jazz tunes such as “Solar” by Miles Davis, “Melody for C” by Sonny Clark and “Peace” by Horace Silver. Prior to my jazz piano lessons with Debbie, my playing was straight off the sheet music and my ability to interpret a song was limited. With Debbie's teaching, I can now bring a greater “musical vocabulary” to each song and play more creatively and expressively. Even more important, I have a deeper understanding and enjoy myself more at the piano.

On subjects ranging from sports to music it is often said, ”Great performers, lousy teachers; Great teachers, lousy performers.” No one who has both studied with Debbie and heard her in live performance subscribes to that view.

Members of her class at the Berkeley Jazzschool and private students are inspired with patient, energetic and extraordinarily well organized instruction. One sometimes finds her at the drums providing a rhythm section or gracing the piano with her take on the music. Teaching for her is a passion.

Her audiences are treated to elegant musicianship -- tasteful, lush and swinging performances -- never excessive, showy displays.

For those of us who have been privileged to experience her gifts in both idioms she is a virtual treasure.

I have been studying piano with Debbie Poryes for the past 17 years. Prior to that, I had taken lessons as a child from an old fashioned teacher who had me holding my hands and moving my fingers in all of the incorrect ways possible. Debbie has guided me towards perfecting my touch and using my hands and arms correctly. My lessons are always exciting and fun, no matter how unprepared or tired I am. Debbie also taught my son for several years. He had prior piano experience and a good deal of knowledge, but Debbie refined his playing so much, it is a joy to hear and watch him play.

Speaking of playing, whenever I get the chance to hear Debbie, I do. I really enjoy listening to her, watching her hands move up and down the keys in such a smooth motion. I think I share with her many of the same preferences for past and present pianists. Some I had known of and had been listening to, others Debbie introduced me to over all the years. She has a vast wealth of information for all things musical.