Rockin' The Spirit: Piano Blues, Boogie And Spirituals CD - Import

After attending an annual boogie-woogie concert organized by Mark Braun (Mr. B.), Monty Alexander headed a recording project that paid tribute to both boogie-woogie and spirituals. Five pianists participated, performing two numbers apiece, with four of the players (all but Alexander) playing a pair of duets. Alexander, Eric Reed, and Johnny O'Neal are better known nationally than Bob Seeley and Mark Braun, but all five pianists fare well, stretching beyond boogie-woogie and spirituals to include a few swing standards and even a bluish duet on Benny Golson's "Whisper Not." Recommended to boogie-woogie fans and the curious. ~ Scott Yanow

\"We all have our stories and our lives – I am a writer, singer and piano player, but if I have to define my profession, I am a storyteller.\"When you talk with Nathan Lee about his music, it\'s immediately apparent that his life\'s story is intimately connected with his craft – and it\'s this connection that his fans and critics alike are drawn to.Since committing himself full time to writing and performing, Nathan and his band have enjoyed successful tenures at some of downtown Nashville\'s best known venues, including a 2007 season at The Rutledge, where he recorded the live LP, Down at The Rutledge. This was followed in 2008 by a series of sold-out shows at 12th & Porter, which led to an appearance on the PBS TV documentary Legends & Lyrics, airing nationally Spring 2009, where he shared the stage with Kenny Loggins, Richard Marx and 3 Doors Down. \"My faith is what drives me – it informs every lyric and every show - somehow, in all the chaos of the music industry, I\'ve carved a niche out of being in-definable.\"\"Despite my deep faith, I\'m too much of a sinner for the conservatives, and ironically, not enough of a rebel for the heathens – so I straddle both worlds.\"This has proven to be a blessing and a curse. Nathan has courted and been pursued by several record labels and management companies, and he knows that when the right offer comes, he\'s ready.\"Nashville is a city of contradictions – but then again, so is New York. Whether it\'s a small town playing host to diverse talent, or a big city that will eat you alive, you have to be a fighter to survive,\" says Nathan.\"When I look over my piano at the people who come to my shows, I can\'t see a type – I see people like me – broken people with enough hope to get through the next day. We can all be contradictory - destructive and kind, struggling and generous, or afraid but present. Music gives us a chance to be together and love each other right where we\'re at.\"Nathan has been playing and recording music since his childhood in the New York/New Jersey region, where his father owned a studio, and where Nathan spent years observing musicians writing and recording.\"By fifteen I knew I wanted to be a performer – I turned my back on anything that I didn\'t connect with emotionally, which got me into a bit of trouble - I was chasing moments, so I could write and sing about them - I still am!\"At seventeen, Nathan was playing in bars, cutting his teeth around the gritty NorthEast bar scene. A few years later he started co-writing in Nashville.Since then, Nathan has worked with some of the music industry\'s best known writers and artists, winning a Dove award in 2000 for his contribution to Hero (The Rock Opera) celebrating his 150th Nashville performance and adding dozens of new songs to his discography.\"My music has led me around the world and introduced me to the beautiful and bizarre, and I\'ve enjoyed every moment of it,\" he says. \"But, I have found a home of sorts in Nashville, because it\'s here that I\'ve found a crew of like-minded individuals that I connect with artistically and who have supported me through the good and the bad.\"So what\'s next for Nathan Lee?\"I wake up everyday and continue my journey. I believe in working hard and becoming a better songwriter. I belJazzTimes (p.132) - "[O]ld school and proud of it....It's all evidence that, when executed with flair, the retirement age for style is indefinite."