Jean-Pierre Bertrand & Frank Muschalle - Piano Brotherhood (2015)

Jean-Pierre Bertrand:
Born 22 August 1955, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France

Among the European school of boogie woogie pianists, which started in the 1970s, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Bertrand certainly ranks among the Top 5 of most important players. Bertrand was born into a family of music lovers, involved in classical music and opera. So it was only natural that he would start taking classical piano lessons at the age of seven. He received a first prize in classical piano in 1968, but already then he was fascinated by the discovery of a Memphis Slim record in a music shop. From classical piano he moved to studying boogie woogie and blues piano. However, he also had to make a living. Between 1971 and 1976 he studied at the "École hotelière" (Hotel School) in Toulouse. After working in several restaurants in Paris, he was able to open his own place, "La Table d'Harmonie" in 1984, which became both a restaurant and a jazz club, where many prominent European pianists were invited and also the great Memphis Slim, who had taken up residence in Paris as early as 1962. Apart from Memphis Slim and Albert Ammons, Bertrand was musically influenced by Jean-Paul Amouroux (a real fundamentalist of the boogie woogie genre) and German pianist Axel Zwingenberger, the man most responsible for the European revival of boogie woogie.

Frank Muschalle:
Frank was born in 1969. After 11 years studying classical piano he discovered the joys of boogie woogie at the age of 19. Since then he has devoted himself entirely to this music. The boogie woogie trio Ammons, Johnson and Lewis as well as pianists like Axel Zwingenberger, Little Brother Montgomery or Cow Cow Davenport have deeply influenced his development. Within a short period of time Frank has acquired a fine reputation not only among insiders. Appearances on TV and radio have contributed to Frank´s remarkable success. As early as October 1995 his debut-CD,"Great Boogie Woogie News", was published by the Vienna label Document Records. Afterwards Frank gave performances in jazz clubs and festivals, on a tour of Austria with the Mojo Bluesband and Red Holloway, at concerts in the Jazzland and the Starclub (Vienna), and at concerts with Axel Zwingenberger, Vince Weber and Martin Pyrker. Quite soon Frank Muschalle outgrew his role as a local talent; invitations to concerts such as the "Stars of Boogie Woogie" - Festival in the Vienna Concert Hall speak for themselves. In March 1997 the second CD, "Battin´ The Boogie", came out, also published by Document Records. The production caused a sensation among international experts. In September 1998 Frank was invited on a two - week tour of South Carolina (USA) with the Mojo Bluesband. In the course of this tour, recordings with Jimmy McCracklin and Nappy Brown were made for Ripete Records (USA). In 2002 the "40 - Years American - Folk - Blues - Festival Jubilee" took place in Germany and Frank played on this Tour with Blues-Stars Hubert Sumlin, Carey Bell, Bob Stroger and Lousiana Red. Two Month later, Frank was invited to the "Jumpin´at the Flagships" - Tour through all parts of Switzerland. He played there with Red Holloway, Jimmy Coe, Carrie Smith and Rusty Zinn. The Swiss TV recorded a one hour TV - Show of this performance. At this point of time, Frank has recorded 7 different cds and his musical style is well-known for its superb technical fireworks and subtle nuances. Time and again he creates an expectant atmosphere in his audience which is constantly heightened by the skilful changes of musical mood. For all that, Frank Muschalle´s convincing and unaffected performances make dramatic stage effects superfluous - the music speaks for itself.