Rie Lee Kanehira - Lee's Boogie (2017)

Tracklist

01. Lee’s Boogie
02. Let’s Try It Again
03. Longing for My Sugar
04. Walkin’ with Murphy
05. Keep Jumping
06. How About Me
07. I Wanna Be Loved
08. Spaghetti
09. The Way I Feel
10. Pumpkin’s Boogie
11. 4 O’clock Blues
12. Iza Mae


My second album “Lee’s Boogie” is finally complete! My first album in 2014 “THE UNION MEETIN’” was the colorful session with Chicago’s finest musicians, in the varied forms of the band, trio and duo. On the contrary, I recorded my second album basically alone, accompanying myself on piano. I’d like to tell you a little how it came about.

It’s been around 4 years since I started my monthly solo live at Bright Brown, Nakano, Tokyo. I gradually got used to performing on my own, came to feel the unique appeal of the solo piano, and got lost deeply into the world of Piano Blues. During that time, I started to feel it would be nice to challenge myself to record alone someday.

In December 2016, we lost the pianist I loved and respected, Barrelhouse Chuck to a disease. He was one of the few pianists who kept the old school tradition in Chicago Blues today. As most of the Blues Piano masters are gone, he was the one that greatly influenced me in the Chicago Blues Piano tradition.

Grief-stricken, I found out that Chuck’s tribute concert was going to be held with his musician friends, so I flew to Chicago and had the luck to take part in the show. It was followed by the recording of the album “Royal Mint” with The Cash Box Kings, where I had an honor of playing in his place. I realized Chuck’s music and life is ever shining in the history of blues that has been passed down from the old days to present, and to the future. From that experience I realized the importance of recording my current music.

In June 2017, I flew back to Chicago and went to the same studio where I made my 1st album, and recorded my solo album. For this occasion, I penned my first original tune “Pumpkin’s Boogie” (10). It’s about the very cute and friendly cat in the apartment where I always stay in Chicago. This is my favorite, the fun Boogie Woogie that makes everybody happy. (4) is the walking blues about Murphy, my dog in Japan and the CEO of my record label. You can see them both in the artwork...

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