The plan was to get together and play some music every week. Ptah Williams, the jazz piano virtuoso, brought over some sheet music to Rob Silverman’s studio, Autumn Hill Records. Silverman, who plays drums and produces jazz festivals, ran up to the copier, punched in the number two, and distributed the music to Williams and bassist Larry Kornfeld. The three had chemistry, as witnessed during a few all-star performances as part of fest finales. Still, it was a pinch-me moment—he considers Williams a living legend. But “when we got together the first time—bam!” Williams remembers. “There it goes. Because we were listening to each other. We’d discuss certain tunes we were going to do, and if we didn’t like that, we’d pick something else. It was really easy, like eating a piece of pie.”
Adds Kornfeld: “And we just happened to be recording.”
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Silverman chimes in: “To be honest, on a couple of them, I didn’t even know that we were. But it didn’t matter. When we listened back, we thought, That’s great. It’s a keeper. We liked every note.”
The result of that collaboration is the recent album Rhythm City, eight tracks including standards, unexpected songs, and one original. With Rhythm City, the trio wants to embrace the St. Louis jazz sound. To Williams, that means a certain measure of funk and a hard-driving rhythm. “We can play real cool one minute and then the next, we’re like a ball of fire,” he says.
Although the trio was able to record before COVID-19 hit, they brought in some other artists—Eric Marienthal on sax, Randy Brecker on trumpet, and Rob’s brother Michael Silverman to add more piano—whose music was captured remotely after that initial recording. The group has months of recordings—at least two albums’ worth, one not far from completion—and they plan to release more. But Silverman is excited about the festivals returning. Coming in September will be the Clayton Jazz Festival at the intersection of Brentwood and Maryland. They plan to feature this particular lineup in future events around town.
For Williams, the collaboration was about widening his circle. “You can play with the same cats all the time, but it’s good to play with other guys—play with different guys, and you get a whole different concept,” he says. “That’s the joy of music.”
For Silverman and Kornfeld, the motivation was different. “Ptah Williams is a tremendously talented piano player who’s deserving of recognition far beyond what he’s been able to garner here in St. Louis,” Kornfeld says.
Silverman adds: “The idea was to document Ptah playing, and we think we did it pretty well.”
TRACK STAR
All eight of Rhythm City’s songs, with some annotations
1. “CHAMELEON” A Herbie Hancock jazz standard, Rhythm City’s version includes Michael Silverman on synth.
2. “JUST LIKE US”The original track includes Randy Brecker on trumpet, Eric Marienthal on sax, and Michael Silverman on synth, as well as Ptah Williams on piano, Rob Silverman on drums, and Larry Kornfeld on bass.
3. “LITTLE SUNFLOWER” This song was originally written by jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.
4. “NATURE BOY” For another version, check out Nat King Cole’s recording.
5. “PUSHERMAN” The Curtis Mayfield song isn’t a jazz standard, but recording it was prompted by reminiscing about old movies. “We just started playing it, the beat, and the rest was history,” Silverman says.
6. “SPAIN” Jazz pianist Chick Corea dreamed up this instrumental composition.
7. “VIRGO RISING” “[Williams] holds Wayne Shorter and his compositions in reverence,” Kornfeld says. “Many, many of us in jazz do, but it’s not one of Shorter’s more commonly known songs. It’s a fantastic piece of music, and I think we did it justice.”
8. “WELL, YOU NEEDN’T” Rounding out the album is some Thelonious Monk.
