Live at Orfeo (Zinnia) is a trio outing led by pianist Larry Bluth, a musician in the Lennie Tristano/Sal Mosca tradition. His trio of Don Messina on bass and Bill Chattin on drums was recorded live in 1991 and 1992 at Orfeo, a music venue in Manhattan East Village. The oldie "I'll See You In My Dreams" and Bird's "Dewey Square" are here, along with ten by the members of the group, and, in the best Tristano tradition, based on the changes of some first-rate standards. 

Len Dobbin 

This trio have worked together in relative obscurity since 1982, but their dedication pays off handsomely in this intimate debut, a live set of heady music played from the heart. Students of Lennie Tristano's music with its emphasis on uncluttered swing, attention to linear coherence, and harmonic sophistication, they play with relaxed assurance, warmth, and total involvement. Pianist Bluth, probes and pushes his lines, sometimes chopping them into interlinking snippets of melody, at others rolling out lines in breathtaking length. His left hand is just as tricky as his right. injecting harmonically dense accents that aternately buoy his lines, goad them forward, or add weight or color to notes. Bassist Don Messina is also a marvel of offhand vituosity. Throughout the album, he maintains continuity in his walking-bass lines, keeping their contours varied and interesting melodically without sacrificing swinging momentum. Drummer Bill Chattin shows admirable attention to dynamics, never upsetting the natural balance of sound within the group. He also displays a telepathic rapport with soloists, shadowing the accents of Bluth's lines with eerie accuracy. This is music made for the love of it. 

 Ed Hazell 

Many live recordings strive to recapture the frisson of the original club setting; however, the closest most come is the sound of glassware and audience chatter. Recorded at a small Manhattan club on two afternoons in the winter of 1991/92, . . . this trio steeped in the music of Lennie Tristano and Bud Powell puts you in the room, in the moment. Much of the energy is supplied by pianist Larry Bluth, who communicates the joy he takes in prodding the components of songs like Charlie Parker's "Dewey Square," or in discovering that Chattin's pretty ballad "Francine," resolves well into "What's New?"  He might have made that connection a thousand times before, but he makes it sound fresh, and that's what this trio is all about. 

James Hale 

Live at Orfeo -- Selected as "Critic's Choice Jazz CD" 

This brilliant three-piece is exciting, beautiful, and stirring: simultaneously loose and tight. All three instruments—Bluth's piano, Messina's bass, and Chattin's drums—are played with such tenderness that the disc has an intimacy bordering on the erotic. Though all three men are obviously seasoned players—as illustrated by the intricacies of their improvisations—the spirit is fresh and alive.  

Paul Semel 

Live at Orfeo -- Selected as "Jazz Pick, 1994" 

Easily the most involving and passion-filled jazz album released in a long time... Their playing has such a supple tenderness that the music has an intimacy best likened to the Cookin'/Steamin' albums recorded by the Miles Davis Quartet in the mid-'50s. 

 Greg Edwards 

This sounds like that kind of music [Tristano, Marsh, Mosca], bebop piano with an admixture of things like Schoenberg's twelve-tone scale... modern classical influences against a steady rhythmic framework... many interesting things going on... references to Monk . . . far-out block chords. The bass has a warmer sound than it does on most recordings . . . Be warned... buy this for serious listening. 

 Robert Tate 

With the ambience of a live to tape recording, this trio is warm and complement each other well. Bill Chattin on drums and Don Messina on bass hold down the rhythm as Larry Bluth weaves a melodic thread on grand piano. Light and refreshing and never predictable. Fans of piano jazz will enjoy this CD, the background noise is almost a plus as you become a member of the audience.  

Allen Morales 

You can tell the school the trio in [Live at Orfeo] comes from fairly quickly. A constant pulsing rhythm, long-lined piano improvisations, new melodies built on the chords of standards, this is definitely Lennie Tristano country and these men do it right. Larry Bluth is a fluid and lively improviser and Don Messina and Bill Chattin keep a good beat flowing as well as contributing attractive, easy-riding solos. Tristano isn't the only touchstone here. The insistent deconstruction of "I'll See You In My Dreams" owes as much to Bud Powell and the slow "A Song For Lauren" sounds like a variation on "Monk's Reflections". The main course though is rippling, slippery music wrapped around familiar chords. Bluth . . . is excellent, the linchpin of a fine piano trio. 

 Jerome Wilson