Organist Landsberger Makes North American Debut

By I Mar. 23, 2009

German organist Jermaine Landsberger will release his North American debut, Gettin Blazed (Resonance) on April 14.

The CD, produced by George Klabin and Joe Donofrio, features guitarists Pat Martino and Andreas Öberg, saxophonist/flautist Gary Meek, keyboardist Kuno Schmid, bassist James Genus and drummer Harvey Mason.

“Jermaine is totally unknown here,” said Klabin, who recorded the album in Los Angeles. “I had told Andreas that one day I would love to record a good organ player, and he recommended Jermaine, whom I had never heard of. I went to his MySpace page and what I heard was wonderful. So we invited him here—it was his first time in the U.S.—and put together a stellar band that would challenge him. The album turned out to be everything that I thought it could be.”

Landsberger’s style is distinctive in that he doesn’t play many left-hand bass lines.

“George wanted James Genus to handle the bass so that I was free to play my two-handed style at all times,” Landsberger said. “I can be more flexible, and you will hear different approaches on various tunes. George’s open attitude inspired me to be creative, to use my pianistic abilities to interpret each song in whatever way I wanted. Playing with these great musicians also challenged me to be my best.”

Details: resonancerecords.org