Caelan Cardello is breaking out. As part of vocalist Tyreek McDole’s backing quartet at this summer’s Newport Jazz Festival, the pianist-composer impressed the audience with his comfort with hard swinging numbers and his duetting with McDole on the standard “Lush Life.” Few in attendance knew Cardello’s forthcoming debut, Chapter One (Jazz Bird, 2025), would arrive later the same month. Looking closely at the album’s credits and jacket, one finds that the co-producer is fellow pianist, Isaiah J. Thompson, a name worth noticing. Not only that, but as Bill Charlap says of the music, “Caelan Cardello’s ‘got it.’… all of it: heart, brains, dimension, drama, imagination, taste, time, spirit, blues, nuance, virtuosity, variety, and personality.”
Even the most talented musicians need a first break. After one performance in New York, Geoffrey Hoefer, head of Jazz Bird Records, was so moved by Cardello’s skills that he knew the pianist needed to be recorded and made him a record deal. Cardello subsequently began compiling pieces – eight originals and three arrangements – that best positioned him while paying homage to his major influences. Cardello is an ‘in’ player, leaning into swing and melody. His harmonic structuring is mature and historically rich, drawing on iconic bebop formations from Thelonious Monk and modern stylings from Brad Mehldau. As Cardello describes his own sound, it is “…swing; well, trying to preserve swing, with newer melodies – modern melodies – and thinking of different ways to present swing with [his] own touch.” It is this preservation and expansion of swing that dominates Chapter One, a trio effort with Jonathon Muir-Cotton on bass and Domo Branch on drums. Guest Chris Lewis also provides tenor saxophone for three tracks.
Opener “Gone Fishin’” swings mightily, influenced partly by both Cardello’s mentor, Harold Mabern, and his dad’s love of fishing. “Steppin’ Up” rollicks to a blistering tempo with its share of tricky changes, steered nicely by Branch. “Motherhood” reveals the leader’s tender, sensitive side, similar to what audiences heard at Newport for “Lush Life.” Cardello’s nimble touch speaks volumes in his judicious choice of notes and chords. “Don’t Look Back” is another swinger with an ‘old school’ flavor attributable mostly to Lewis’s low register tenor.
Rather surprisingly, the trio piece, “A Night in New York,” swings more gently than hard, a fine example of Cardello’s melodic sense. Lewis returns for the ebullient swinger “Solidarity.” Listen carefully for the subtle Latin strains. “Where Do We Go Now” is Cardello’s reflective musical response to a common question, whether vocalized or internalized. He wrote the melody at the end of a deeply emotional day. Bassist Muir-Cotton shines in his support. Cardello closes the album with an upbeat, rambunctious blues, “Music for the People.”
The covers include an inventive, fast-tempo take on Cole Porter’s “All of You,” Harold Mabern’s swinging “John Neely” – the first of Lewis’s appearances- and the standout, Cedar Walton’s “Groundwork,” long a staple in the trio’s live shows and as emblematic of the trio’s sound as any track.
While it’s tempting to compare Cardello to the burgeoning list of young pianists, let’s just say he’s arrived. To suggest that this is an auspicious debut is an understatement. As Charlap pointed out, the ‘it’ factor is here in spades. We have several more chapters to look forward to.
‘Chapter One’ is out now on Bird Jazz
Photo credit: Charles Sammann
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