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Michael Gallant
Described by one critic as “an artist unafraid and bending the tradition,” keyboardist/composer Michael Gallant has never been one to play as written —and with his new augmented trio release Live Plus One, Gallant reintroduces his disruptive musical tendencies within the context of a lush and powerful live album.
Live Plus One is the Michael Gallant Trio’s follow-up to the widely acclaimed 2013 debut Completely (Gallant Music). Combining a rich orchestral sensibility with assertive grooves, flowing energy with studio-quality performances and production, Live Plus One centers around Gallant’s stylistically omnivorous, post-fusion, and often simultaneous improvisations on both acoustic piano and overdriven electric keyboard. The CD also showcases his chops as a composer, arranger, and producer of uncharacteristic breadth and guts.
Recorded live and almost exclusively at Levine Music in Washington, DC, where Gallant studied piano as a teenager, Live Plus One first came together when the school invited him to perform as part of an alumni concert series in 2014. With his trusty Nord Electro 3HP keyboard tucked underneath the keybed of a Steinway Model D, Gallant delivered a sumptuously inventive set with his working trio: electric bassist Dmitry Ishenko and drummer Rob Mitzner, a longtime friend and once-again bandmate from Gallant’s days growing up in the DC area. The ensemble performed a kinetic program of Gallant originals, joined on five tracks by veteran DC acoustic bassist Pepe Gonzalez (the “plus one”), whom Gallant has considered a mentor since his teenage years.
In many ways, the concert is a posthumous tribute to Gallant’s most consequent piano teacher, Maria Rodriguez, a fiery presence who taught at Levine and sparked his abiding love of jazz, blues, and other forms of improvised music. “She was a fierce older woman who played beautifully,” he recalls, “and she was more Monk than Oscar Peterson. She often played sparsely, but with great attitude and power. She could say more with two or three notes than many can with two choruses.
“She’d sometimes jam my hand into the keys and say, ‘Put some salsa into those fingers!’” he continues, laughing. “‘Don’t play like you’re apologizing for it!’ That's a lesson I took to heart.” Maria would be proud, as there are no apologies to be heard on Live Plus One, a project that asserts itself right from the start with a powerful and present sound mix by Grammy Award-winner Mario J McNulty (David Bowie, Angelique Kidjo) and mastering by Dave McNair (Bob Dylan, Maroon 5). Co- produced by Gallant and his wife and frequent musical collaborator Rachel Rossos, the album opens with “Returned,” a quietly captivating piece that combines the lush chords of a rock anthem with the soaring harmonies of a Romantic concerto. It’s grand but not grandiose, full of sweeping, orchestrated movement and intertwining Nord-plus-Steinway dance moves.
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Michael Gallant Trio: Completely
by Dan Bilawsky
For many an ivory-tickler, the piano trio is the perfect format for supper club-appropriate sashays through standards, but Michael Gallant doesn't think that way; he'd rather put a little power, pizzazz and punch into the piano trio, using it as a springboard to launch his oft-excitable tunes. Gallant is a talented multi-tasker who served as an editor for Keyboard magazine, contributes articles to Downbeat, scores videos for various clients like the Anti-Defamation League, and gigs regularly, so ...
read moreMichael Gallant Trio: Completely
by Dan McClenaghan
The art of the piano trio can go the conservative route. How many players are out there going over the same jazz standards, the same American Songbook tunes? Some do it very well; others sound uninspired. But things evolve. Bill Evans created a quiet revolution with his late fifties/early sixties trio with bassist Scott La Faro and drummer Paul Motian, shifting the trio-mates to more prominent positions in the creation of the sound. Keith Jarrett pushed things further in that ...
read moreKeyboardist/Composer Michael Gallant's "Live Plus One" To Be Released October 9
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Terri Hinte Publicity
With his well-received 2013 debut Completely, keyboardist/composer Michael Gallant emerged as a stylistically omnivorous musical force, “an artist unafraid and bending the tradition,” in the words of one critic. Gallant continues to explore his disruptive musical proclivities on his sophomore release, Live Plus One, due out October 9 from his Gallant Music label. Recorded live and almost exclusively at Levine Music in Washington, DC, where Gallant studied piano as a teenager, Live Plus One first came together when the school ...
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Gallant moves from acoustic to electric, elegance giving way to grunge and grit . . . A superb debut by an artist unafraid and bending the tradition. —All About Jazz
"Completely" showcases strong melodies and intense musicianship across several genres. —Jazziz
This, my friends, is the future of jazz. Fresh, invigorating, progressive – there are simply not enough positive adjectives to list here. . . ★ ★ ★ ★ ★. — Critical Jazz
So damn impressive, I had to listen again to confirm what I just heard. — Aquarian Weekly
Primary Instrument
Piano
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
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Above All Else
From: Above All ElseBy Michael Gallant
Greens
From: CompletelyBy Michael Gallant