Switzerland Meets New York @ The Canal Room - 1.14.09

Visit the Canal Room on January 14th, 2009 for an incredible night of new music from three of the hottest performers from Switzerland. With support from the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York, the night will also include gift bags filled with tasty Swiss treats.

8pm:
BEAT KAESTLI:  "Beat Kaestli's emergence as a vocalist bespeaks a life full of experience. Like jazz itself, his willingness to adapt and improvise has given rise to a unique young man and artist." —David Donnenfeld, Esquire Magazine

Beat Kaestli moved to New York from his native Switzerland, where he was awarded a scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music and he received his Master Degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music. While honing his craft alongside luminaries such as Jane Monheit, Jason Moran and Stefon Harris, he immersed himself in Manhattan's fiercely competitive music scene, and now appears in clubs such as The Blue Note, Birdland, The Bitter End, The Jazz Standard, The Stone and Sweet Rhythm, performing with jazz greats, like Esperanza Spalding, Clarence Penn, Joel Frahm and Victor Prieto.

In 2005, Beat was the chosen vocalist for the Glenn Miller Orchestra, thrilling audiences in concert halls across the USA. Since the release of his acclaimed CD "Happy, Sad and Satisfied" in 2006, he has toured the world extensively with his own projects, around the US, Europe, Mexico and Canada. Tonight, the internationally acclaimed vocalist previews his upcoming release
Far From Home – A Tribute to European Song.

9 pm
SERENA JOST:  "Serena Jost writes gently eccentric songs and sings them in an elegant alto, often accompanying herself on cello, but it isn't quite right to call her a singer-songwriter. The term art song—normally tied to 19th-century concert music—usefully characterizes Jost's carefully arranged pieces and succinct lyrics, neither quite rock nor folk..." —Bob Bannister, Time Out New York

Singer-songwriter and cellist Serena Jost was born to Swiss parents and raised in the Midwest. Her debut CD, Closer Than Far, was produced by Brad Albetta (Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson) and released in spring 2008 to a sold-out house at Joe's Pub.  Time Out NY lauded Serena's "rollicking take" on Iris DeMent's bittersweet Our Town and "catch(y) vocal hooks" and noted: "Jost writes gently eccentric songs and sings them in an elegant alto, often accompanying herself on cello, but it isn't quite right to call her a singer-songwriter. The term art song—normally tied to 19th-century concert music—usefully characterizes Jost's carefully arranged pieces and succinct lyrics, neither quite rock nor folk..." (Bob Bannister). Serena's music has been compared to 70s English folk artists like Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention—and also to the Canadian artist Jane Siberry—but is still entirely her own, "seamlessly merging classical and pop melodies" (Lucidculture).

10 pm
GRAND PIANORAMAX FEAT. MIKE LADD & CELENA GLENN:

"Funky, flipped-out, beat-heavy tracks that pop, swagger, and strut across everything from post-bop jazz to hip-hop to electronic music, all the while staying in the pocket enough to be accessible as well as innovative…
The Biggest Piano in Town actually is—and then some." —All Music Guide

Winner of the first Montreux Jazz Festival International Piano Solo Competition, Leo Tardin conceived Grand Pianoramax as a live keyboard/drum group, blending powerful analog-synth bass, syncopated keys, organic drumming and freestyle spoken word.

Tailored to explore hybrid stylistic directions in their most essential renditions, Tardin developed the ambitious Grand Pianoramax project by joining forces with first-class NYC drummers Deantoni Parks (Kudu, The Mars Volta), Jojo Mayer, and Adam Deitch (Talib Kweli, John Scofield). To add to the unique sound, Tardin invited in some of the most creative poets/MCs on the scene today, including Americans Mike Ladd, Celena Glenn and Invincible (Platinum Pied Pipers), and French hip-hop/folk artist Spleen.

Grand Pianoramax's latest album on the ObliqSound label, The Biggest Piano In Town and its hit single "The Hook," remixed by DJ Spinna (which hit #18 on CMJ's RPM charts and was DanceTracksDigital's #1 download), continues to generate rave reviews in publications such as Downbeat, BPM, XLR8R, Jazzthing, Jazzthetik, Time Out New York and Vibrations.  Grand Pianoramax is joined onstage by emcees Celena Glenn (Coco Rosie) and underground spoken word hero Mike Ladd (Big Dada recording artist known for his trilogy of albums Nostalgiator, Father Divine and Negrophilia: The Album).

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Beat Kaestli's Upcoming Performances:
Jan 26th - Blues Alley, DC
Feb 8th  - Smoke Jazz, NYC
Marz 19th - Francophonie, Mexico City
Maerz 28th - Festival de Cuidade de Mexico
April/May - European Tour
May 20th - The Kitano Hotel, NYC (Reservations advised 212 885 7119)
June 4th - Ottawa Swiss Residence (tbc)