Everyone I tell about this album digs it
Last week, I had an easy hook to get people interested in Benjamin Sigerson’s Frankie's show
Going into last week, I had an easy hook to get people interested in a show at Frankie's that I was headed to. It's five keyboard players, I said. This one young pianist wrote an album of music for himself and four of his keyboard heroes. Also, he wrote lyrics for Steve Maddock to sing. It makes you wonder how so many albums get made without even a cursory attempt at finding some sort of hook. Wouldn't the records and gigs practically sell themselves to some extent with that in place?
That pianist is Ben Sigerson, and he did fill the house for his album release night featuring hundreds of piano keys. On stage, he brought the dry humour of a musician's son, sitting at the piano stage right of his father Chris, who played one of two Nord keyboards. Rounding out the keyboard madness were Chris Gestrin on a real-life organ and Tilden Webb on a bunch of different sounds.
Wait: four, not five? Unfortunately, Sharon Minemoto ended up not being available for the gig. But thankfully the music is on the Cellar label as an album (note that I work for Cellar), so you can check it out that way with all five of them.
Ben was confident from the piano and kept his volume up to match his amplified friends. His solos were no less solid than the more experienced players'. His dad was the most low-key, having the fewest features. Gestrin functioned as the band's bassist, but one who has the frequency range to take solos that don't encourage the house to talk. Webb, finally, was the featured soloist of sorts, darting in on most tunes with synth-like sounds dialed up.
I have no idea how the players decided who would solo next or who would accompany each other behind their solos. Not many groups of keyboardists could pull this off; in arrangement as in vibes, this night (and album) relied on the chemistry between them as friends in the scene who showed up for a good hang – and an exploration of the only material that's ever brought them to all play at the same time.
Maddock on vocals on this particular stage – well, he was nearly off the stage due to the space the keyboards commanded – was interesting. He is perhaps best enjoyed with either a big band or a vigorous ensemble, especially a strong drummer, who can match his dynamism and personality. (His own ensemble, the Blues Project, is sold out at Frankie's tonight.) The band of keyboardists might be the most subdued ensemble he's ever fronted. Nevertheless, he showed great vocal control and went up, down, and around all of Sigerson's melodies and lyrics with charisma.
Ben's music is sensitive with serious, worldly themes, yet also straight-ahead and appealing to roll with. It has a bit of the Ghibli soundtrack flavour.
I don't know about those string pads, though. Webb is a consummate pro and known as a lover of all things 80s — indeed, he played superbly at Frankie’s last night in international bassist Kristin Korb’s project featuring the music of the Eurythmics. But that sound didn't do it for me despite being a creative use of the ensemble. I’m sure everyone else loved it!
For more on Ben's music, I did a in-depth interview with Ben and published it as text on Cellar's website, to kick off a series I'm calling Canadian Originals:
Will Chernoff
