Hard To Cook, by Michael Valeanu

Hard To Cook

by Michael Valeanu

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of move your feet, I'll Be Seeing You, Live At Mister Rogers, Hard To Cook, and Tea Time. , and , .

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1.	Intro 00:39	info	buy track
2.	Floating Island 05:20	info	buy track
3.	Hard To Cook 04:50		buy track
4.	20 Years 03:16	info	buy track
5.	Norwegian Omelette 04:02	info	buy track
6.	Blood Count 05:50	info	buy track
7.	Thousand Leaves 03:52	info	buy track
8.	How Deep Is The Ocean 04:44	info	buy track
9.	Firm Roots 04:27	info	buy track
10.	Palermo Seaport 01:37	info	buy track

about

Hard to Cook is my second album as a leader.

Hard to Cook is the direct translation of French expression "Dure à Cuire" which means "Tough guy" ( which I am not !! ). But since I love cooking and music a lot the joke stuck and it became the title of the record and the theme for a lot of titles of the songs which are also literal translation of french desserts.

For this record I was driven by several desires. First of all I wanted to do an organ trio record since it is to me one of the best possible orchestration not only for a Jazz guitarist, but also for a composer. In fact the organ offers so much possibilities ! Secondly I wanted to do this record with two players that I loved and who were already used to play in that very setting.

I had met drummer Jake Goldbas very soon after having moved to NYC in a band led by saxophonist Joshua Kwassman. I loved his playing right away and his ability to swing very hard but also to groove and to play percussion.

Jake Sherman, was my peer at the New School for Jazz. He was already an incredible pianist, but was I believe the only one at the school to use the Hammond organ. So every so often we would get together and play duets at school.

On this album I wanted to feature more originals. In fact I had always loved writing music but I had been too shy to present it before. On this album the originals are influenced by what I was listening to at the time. I was listening to a lot of liturgical music. I was particularly obsessed with Gabriel Faure's Requiem as well as Maurice Durufle's Requiem. Tunes like "Floating Island" and "Thousand Leaves" reflect these influences the best.

At the time I was also working extensively with Cyrille Aimee and her "guitar" band. In this band I was in charge of finding ways to arrange several guitar parts for the acoustic and electric guitar. That is why you can hear several guitar overdubs on track like "20 Years", "Floating Island" and even "Hard To Cook". That is also why I decided to play acoustic guitar on Strayhorn's masterpiece "Blood Count".

Cyrille Aimee joins us on two tracks. On "20 Years" she wrote lyrics to this folkish groove in 7/4 that I had in my head for a while. "How Deep Is The Ocean" is an arrangement of the tune in 5/4 that we improvised one night while jamming at a house party with friends. I liked it so much that I wanted to record it !

credits

released April 28, 2015

Michael Valeanu : Guitar

Jake Sherman : Organ

Jake Goldbas : Drums

Cyrille Aimee : Vocals ( tracks 4 and 9 )

Recorded by Michael Brorby in June 2014 at Acoustic Recording Studios in Brooklyn, NY.

Mixed and Mastered by Fabrice Dupont at Flux Studios in NY, NY.

Produced by Michael Valeanu

Photo : Philippe Cap

Cover Design : Caro&Jules

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about

Michael Valeanu New York, New York

Born in Paris, France in 1985, New York based guitarist and composer Michael Valeanu is one of the most exciting players of his generation. His passion for Jazz and for all the other genres of music he came across while growing up as a musician in France and in the United States has allowed him to create a unique voice on his instrument. ... more