Bruce Katz Solo Ride

Bruce Katz
Solo Ride
American Showplace Music

An album of solo blues piano without vocals might be as challenging for a listener as the pianist. Bruce Katz has met the challenge with "Solo Ride." I knew that Katz had played and recorded with such artists as Duke Robillard and Ronnie Earl, but unaware of his association with Greg Allman and John Hammond. I also was not aware that not only did he attend Berklee College of music, but was also a Professor of Piano there for 14 years.

This resume is only background for Katz's career of course, but Katz indeed produced a dozen solo piano performances that standup to continuous listening, not merely taken a few tracks at a time. One, of course, can hear influences such as the Chicago boogie-woogie masters Meade Lux Lewis and Ammons on the terrific original boogie-woogie, "Down at the Barrelhouse." Several selections indicate his love of New Orleans music, but his superb "Crescent City Crawl," sounds almost like an outtake from James Booker's magnificent "Classified" album. His touch and phrasing evoke the magic the Black Chopin usually produced. Another selection in this vein is "Red Sneakers." Other highlights include a straight instrumental take of Tampa Red's "It Hurts Me Too" out of the Big Maceo-Little Johnnie Jones-Otis Spann school, and the gospel-tinged "Praise House." "Dreams of Yesterday" has a classic country feel, while "Easy Living" is a nicely played solo in the manner of the late Charles Brown.

Katz displays his full command of the piano and blues related styles with a varied, and nuanced attack. The result is this first-rate terrific album of solo piano blues instrumentals.

I received a download to review from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the November-December 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 387). Here is Bruce with a band performing a  boogie-woogie.