Rufus Reid & Caelan Cardello Rufus Reid Presents Caelan Cardello 180g LP

TAS Rated 4.5/5 Music, 4.5/5 Sonics in the February 2024 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

In his long, distinguished career, veteran bassist Rufus Reid has played and recorded with Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Thad Jones and Dexter Gordon among many others. Reid and his double bass took the Klavierhaus stage at the New York Jazz Piano Festival Marathon, January 2023. Young pianist Caelan Cardello sat down at the luxurious Fazioli Grand piano.

Following show promoter Jim Luce's introduction, the duo dug into Thad Jones' "Mean What You Say," then Cedar Walton's "Bolivia." It was lockstep musical magic, Cardello heeding Reid's musical requests for solo space and then producing dazzling, fearless, lyrical runs up and down the keyboard, never showing off, but rather in service of the music.

Only then did Reid tell the audience that until this performance the two had never played together! What we were marveling at was the result of a short meeting just before the show!

"This should have been recorded," said Michael Fremer to Robin Wyatt. "It is!" Wyatt shot back. "Our friend recording engineer Duke Markos is back there!" "If it sounds good, this needs to be released on vinyl", Fremer said to Wyatt, who agreed. As did Reid and Cardello following the hour-long set.

Days later the producers learned that Cardello was an alumna of the Jazz House Kids arts program developed by Melissa Walker and husband Christian McBride and that the couple has been following Caelan since he was eleven!

When the mix had been finalized, Fremer sent the files to Bob Ludwig, who needs no introduction, so he could enjoy the music. It was sort of a giveback for all the great work Bob has done over the decades. Bob responded, "Sounds great, I'd like to master this for you because in a few years everyone will know who Caelan Cardello is." This record is one of Bob's final projects before retiring and the Ludwig magic is in the grooves cut by Matthew Lutthans on the late Doug Sax's The Mastering Labs lathe.

Yes, it's a 96/24 bit digital recording that won't disappoint you.

If you think of Bill Evans' finest trio work, you'll get a clear picture of the multi-pronged talent Cardello possesses. He's got technical chops aplenty, combined with a fluidity, lyrical touch, and innate poetic sensibility. The six tracks herein hold a kind of ethereal magic that also reveals an extraordinary level of communication between these two players. Recorded to 96/24 files by Duke Marcos, with mixing suggestions by Joe Harley, and mastering by Bob Ludwig, the sound of the vinyl has a marvelous you-are-there presence and immediacy: it's utterly natural, tonally rich, warmly balanced, creamy even, but still precisely articulated. It will be a pleasure to watch (and hear) where Cardello goes from here.