CREATURES

"Pianist Erik Deutsch has proven himself in both the jazz and pop realms, thanks to his time in the groove collective Fat Mama, his work with Norah Jones, Citizen Cope, Shooter Jennings, Teddy Thompson and four albums under his own name. YetCreatures is his first true “solo” release, a sweeping, supple and skillful set that brings clear comparisons to piano works by George Winston, Keith Jarrett, and, to a lesser extent, McCoy Tyner. Still, Deutsch’s compositions employ a more melodic tone, from the fluid fills of “Firefly” and “Incandescence” to the more emphatic designs of “Fishmonger” and “Black Flies.” Deutsch can be plucky at times, but his nimble approach makes each of these offerings graceful and engaging, an autumnal approach that doesn’t leave any distance between the music and the listener. Even in its more sobering moments—“Prayer for Zimewanga” being the best example—there’s still a feeling of guarded jubilation, a free-flowing pastiche that reflects a lack of constraint. While the melodies tend to make a more emphatic impression when Deutsch doesn’t delve into more fragmented meandering, as evidenced in “Doctor’s Demon,” there’s not a track on the entire album that isn’t instantly engaging. That defies the notion of most instrumental outings,which often only add to the ambience. Fortunately, these Creatures are far more persuasive." RELIX MAGAZINE, MARCH 7, 2017

OUtlaw jazz

RELIX MAGAZINE - Best Albums of 2015 So Far

USA TODAY - 'Listen to These Albums Before February Ends'

"Country music and jazz can make for strange bedfellows, but musicians who love both sometimes create fascinating hybrids, like vibraphonist Gary Burton's ahead-of-its-time 1966 album Tennessee Firebird and guitarist Bill Frisell's bluegrass-infused Nashville. Add New York-based pianist Erik Deutsch's Outlaw Jazz to that list. Deutsch, who spent part of his childhood in Nashville but now tours with the likes of Shooter Jennings and Phillip Phillips, leads a band that includes a three-piece horn section and a steel guitarist through a set that includes a jumping blues, a shuffling Bo Diddley cover, a forlorn instrumental version of the Rolling Stones' Wild Horses and a version of Shel Silverstein's Whistlers and Jugglers with Jennings adding vocals." - Outlaw Jazz Review - USA Today

The Outlaw Movement — it's not just for country anymore. On February 24th, pianist and composer Erik Deutsch will release Outlaw Jazz, an eight-song collection of country-influenced psychedelic jazz. Deutsch, who has collaborated frequently with Shooter Jennings, notably on Jennings' 2012 Family Man album, recruited the son of Waylon Jennings for the track "Whistlers and Jugglers" — Rolling Stone

"It's actually not much of a stretch between the harmony and rhythms of the two," he explains. "But it might sound that way because we're long separated from the time where a swing beat defined jazz music." Reintroducing country swing to jazz, Deutsch says, actually came quite naturally. "I specifically studied some records," he continues, "like Waylon Jennings, and borrowed beats from them." The lead-off single, a cover of the Shel Silverstein-penned "Whistlers and Jugglers," features the younger Jennings singing lead on a tune his father cut on 1978's I've Always Been Crazy. Fittingly, Deutsch and Jennings slowed the tune down and aimed for a decidedly more brooding kind of vibe.

Mostly, though, Deutsch and company keep a spring in their step, like on the Dixieland-infused "Pickle" and the rollicking "Dearest Darling" — an up-tempo, horn-driven number bound to get audiences on their feet and twirling in the aisles. The song also features the sparkling lead vocals of Victoria Reed, who graces the band's Nashville appearances this week with her sultry pipes and charismatic presence. As a longtime sideman, Deutsch understands the value of letting his lieutenants shine." - Nashville Scene

Interview with Huffington Post

Hush MOney

When musical cultures collide
Pianist Deutsch draws freely from circle of collaborators on ‘Hush Money’
The Boston Globe, November 29, 2009

"There's so much music here, so many styles, yet nothing sounds forced, facile or phony."
- Hush Money Review - AllAboutJazz.com

"Mostly, though, Deutsch’s music sounds like itself. Hush Money is among the most absorbing instrumental discs of this year."
- Hush Money Review - JamBands.com

"Overall, this is a composer's album, rather than a player's, and Deutsch is a talent to watch."
- Hust Money Review - Fort Worth Weekly

"Deutsch's music is likely to be satisfying for those coming to jazz from the jam band or rock community, rather than jazz fans looking for something outside of the traditional norm."
- Hush Money Review - Audiophile Audition

"This is an intriguing disc that implies a certain artistic mindset (Deutsch seems strongly influenced by the '70s work of both Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock), then subverts it in a half-dozen entertaining and inspired ways. "
- Hush Money Review - AllMusic.com

CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO
“Mistico"

THE NEW YORK TIMES, July 30, 2007

Ruggedness suits Charlie Hunter, a groove-minded guitarist known for his distinctly ambidextrous technique. On “Mistico,” his first album for the Fantasy label, he rarely reaches for a dazzling run where a juicy riff will do the trick. His main pursuit seems to be the unpretentious logic of a working band and the freedom to do with it what he pleases.

His current partners are Erik Deutsch, on acoustic and Fender Rhodes pianos as well as Casiotone keyboard, and Simon Lott, on drums. Mr. Deutsch is an especially valuable resource here, as a solo commentator and, much more important, an accompanist. On “Special Shirt” he alternates between modish camp and a species of saloon piano, subtly shaping the mood; on “Speakers Built In” he finds real use for some usually ill-advised synthesizer sounds.

As usual Mr. Hunter is a homespun marvel, soloing pithily over his own bass lines and chordal midrange. But his proficiency isn’t intended as the focus. “Mistico” often seems purposeful in its evocation of jam bands like the Benevento-Russo Duo and Medeski, Martin & Wood. So while chin stroking would be one welcome answer to the music, dancing — no matter how gracefully — might be even better. NATE CHINEN 

Ten fingers and a seven string guitar: CD Review, Charlie Hunter Trio's Mistico
The Audiophiliac - Steve Guttenberg, August 6, 2007

It seems like Charlie Hunter has always played a Novax eight string guitar, but for the new CD he slimmed the neck down and nixed a string.

Even so, those remaining seven strings never sounded better than they do on Mistico (Fantasy Records). Hunter's a major genre jumper, he teamed up with DJ Logic in 2005 to make his Longitude CD, his all-instrumental Bob Marley homage Natty Dread was a career highpoint; his funk outfit TJ Kirk exclusively played reworkings of James Brown, Thelonious Monk, and Roland Kirk tunes; and early on he covered Kurt Cobain's "Come As You Are' on his first Blue Note CD, Bing Bing Bing! He's recorded something like 19 jazz CDs, but I have to admit there's more than a few clunkers in my collection. Even the better ones are a little uneven, but Mistico may be the best of all. And it's easily the most consistent, loaded with great Hunter penned tunes from start to finish. 

FINGERPRINT

DOWNLOAD.COM MUSIC PICK OF THE DAY "Erik Deutsch's first project as Erik Deutsch actually includes a bunch of other folks--and their names are some of the best-known among NY scene insiders. The distinction matters: "Fingerprint" is a masterwork of arrangement, weaving avant-garde threads into a sweet, even moving, mutual reliance."

Best Music of 2007 - CultureCatch

"Erik Deutsch fingerprint (Sterling Circle): A Boulder transplant and gifted keyboard whiz who graced Charlie Hunter’s latest long player, this Williamsburg-based whiz delivers on his latest CD. More than just jazz, and certainly more than another rootsy jamband dude looking for props from his peers, this effort sits alone atop a genre where music needs chops and players to converge in harmony. Natch.

CHARLIE HUNTER - BABOON STRENGTH

On this trio outing, 7- string guitar phenom Charlie Hunter employs keyboardist Erik Deutsch to contribute atmospheric melodies, pads, and solos that take Charlie’s innate sense of groove, irony, and humor to a whole new level. Erik’s secret? Liberal use of Casiotone and organ to evoke not just bygone eras, but the moments within those eras that we all thought we wanted to forget. Charlie’s deceptively simple song forms take on sinister undertones when rendered with the digital cheesiness of Erik’s keyboards. Drummer Tony Mason’s beats are fantastic, and the variation in drum sounds throughout the disc are the perfect foundation for the keyboard mayhem. Been looking for a way to make the unhip hip? With skillful sound selection, melodies simplified to perfection, and first-rate musicianship, Erik and Charlie have already done it. Ernie Rideout, Keyboard Magazine

Triangle: 3 Sides of a Question
Review by Alex Henderson (AllMusic.com)
 

"Deutsch obviously shares [Art] Lande's enthusiasm for clean-sounding pianists like Evans, Corea, Jarrett, and Jamal, and he brings that graceful sort of lyricism to material..." more
 

County Road X: County Road X
Review by Farrell Lowe (AllAboutJazz.com)
 

"I'm reminded of George Winston or Vince Guaraldi in the piano playing of Erik Deutsch, but I'm equally reminded of the landscapes, knives and glue of the group Radiohead in other keyboard forays. This young man should get more attention from the jazz community. He has the chops, the ears, and the heart to create music...well evidenced on this recording... that embraces the nexus of seemingly disparate cultural realms." more

The Miles File 
by David Kirby (Boulder Weekly)
 

"Pianist Erik Deutsch and a handful of co-conspirators, notably trumpet majordomo Ron Miles and fellow County Road X-er, reedman Jonathan Stewart, take the leap off Tribute Bridge tonight and Saturday with the staging of Petite Machine, a tribute to Miles Davis' hallmark mid-'60s quintet." more