For those unaware, Louis Durra grew up near San Francisco. As a toddler he was fascinated with records and the radio. They got a piano, but it was a few years before he made the connection between playing it and the pop music that he loved. He started lessons and was given a good basis in harmony and theory and even had an aptitude for sight reading. He heard John Coltrane’s Quartet on the radio, which was a life-changing experience.

As a teenager he was able to freelance in bands and for theater. He went to Berklee College of Music a couple of years, later moving to Los Angeles, supporting himself with playing and recording, theater music-directing. He played with Moris Tepper (Captain Beefheart / Tom Waits) and accompanying songwriters, theater and comedy influenced his music; as did a few years’ work as a film sound-effects editor.

He began leading a piano-bass-drums trio and recorded Dreaming, an album mostly of standards, and What We Have, an album of his own music. In 2010 he began a residency, performing three-four nights a week with his trio. They developed a collective voice playing recent pop and indie music. While covering other people’s music they developed a sound as a group.

They recorded The Best of All Possible Worlds and Rocket Science, trio albums with well-known or obscure covers and some original music. Both albums had some success on American and Canadian radio stations. He also then traveled to Scotland to perform in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

In 2013 he moved to Germany. Life in California had become more difficult after the 2007 economic crisis and he was looking for a better quality of life. he enjoyed learning the language, but it took a while to re-establish himself as a performer. I recorded Chromakey Dreamcoat in California and produced Songs, a collaboration with Sophie Bancroft (UK).

During the Corona lockdown he started “remixing”, over-dubbing to music or video available through Creative Commons. Response from the artists involved was positive and led to collaborations. A new artistic direction developed: ambient piano music with electronic elements. He filmed or edited video to go with the recordings, released them on YouTube. Re:dbs was a collaboration with UK ambient artist sevenism. Then (and after) included further collaboration with Sevenism, vocalist Iokokanoa (DE) plus California colleagues Jerry Kalaf and Barry Coates.

During lockdown, he tried to go deeper with some of the eternal challenges of musicians — working on things like playing in every key, reading classical music, memorizing songs, learning music by ear. He has said that he really enjoys practicing and studying new things.

Heartfelt was a duo album project with vocalist Sharon Anegg (AT), and he has performed in and around Vienna with bassist Gina Schwarz. With his son now married and with a daughter toboot, Louis now brings us his latest recording entitle Mood Music. Recorded in Los Angeles, inspired by music his mother enjoyed, sure the album may seem like a 180-turn from earlier musical interests, but as he himself has said, “… so be it!”

1. About the Same
2. Mood Music
3. Hold Fast to Dreams
4. Strangers in The Night
5. You-Know-What
6. The Tide
7. Tidal River, Mendocino
8. Gewitter
9. Ned
10. Can’t Decide
11. Still Awake

For an artist where there are no boundaries between genres: classical and jazz, seriousness and lightness, night and day all flowing into each other, Louis opens on the sheer elegance of About the Same and the dulcetly gleaming title cut Mood Music and then we are gifted the simply serene Hold Fast to Dreams, an absolutely cinematic Strangers in The Night and a most perfectly rhythmic You-Know-What.

Along next is the sweepingly decadent The Tide and the demurely enriched Tidal River, Mendocino and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the silky smooth gossamer of Gewitter, the shimmeringly engaging Ned and the emotively impassioned Can’t Decide, the new set coming to an all-too-son close on the quietly melodious, yet affectingly all-embracing Still Awake.

Musicians:
Louis Durra – piano
Jerry Kalaf – drums
Domenic Genova – bass 1-6, 8-10
Barry Coates – guitar 07, 11
Sam Riney – flute 07

Official Spotify Purchase Link

www.louisdurra.com

Louis Durra @ Facebook