“‘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). “She’d sometimes jam my hand into the keys and say, ‘Put some salsa into those fingers!’” he continues, laughing. ![]() ![]() She could say more with two or three notes than many can with two choruses. She often played sparsely, but with great attitude and power. “She was a fierce older woman who played beautifully,” he recalls, “and she was more Monk than Oscar Peterson. 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. 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. 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. 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. The CD also showcases his chops as a composer, arranger, and producer of uncharacteristic breadth and guts. 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. Live Plus One is the Michael Gallant Trio’s follow-up to the widely acclaimed 2013 debut Completely (Gallant Music). 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.
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