ERICA VON KLEIST

PICC POCKET

Independent Label

Erica von Kleist, piccolo; Yago Vazquez, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Anton Kot, drums; John Ellis, tenor saxophone; Jennifer Krupa, trombone.

“I always tell my students to lean into the thing that sets them apart.  In taking my own advice, I decided to make an album featuring an instrument that has never really gotten its due. Both feared and beloved, the piccolo is a rare but powerful voice on the bandstand and it’s an honor to give her the spotlight she finally deserves,” Erica von Kleist asserts in her liner notes.

This female woodwind player and composer is pulling the piccolo flute off the sidelines of jazz. She offers this sweet whistle sound on six compositions the piccolo player has written.  The first reminds me a little bit of “Comin’ Home Baby” a song made hugely popular by Herbie Mann in the 1960s.  Erica’s tune is called “We Know How to Picc ‘Em.”

Jazz history offers few examples of the piccolo flute as a starring and leading character of jazz ensembles.  Back in the 1950’s, pianist Buddy Collette surprised jazz aficionados with his “Swinging Shepherds” recording.  But few others have spotlighted the piccolo as a lead voice in jazz.

On a tune von Kleist calls “Let Me Picc Your Brain” she adds Latin flavor to her arrangement.  Mid-way through, with just Noriko Ueda on bass and Erica on piccolo they make a stunning duo.

Erica von Kleist is a multi-instrumentalist, an educator and composer who began her career as a saxophonist and flautist on the New York City jazz scene. She was born and raised in Connecticut and arrived in NYC to study at the famed Julliard School in 2004. There, she earned her bachelor’s degree in jazz. After graduating, Erica spent the next decade touring, recording with various artists and as part of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and many other notable jazz ensembles.

She’s been a teacher for over twenty years. von Kleist even wrote a jazz theory workbook geared towards middle school and high school students for music programs worldwide.  It’s called “A Cool Approach to Jazz Theory.” Erica is a faculty member for Carnegie Hall’s NYO Jazz Program.

This talented woman has quite a sense of humor.  In 2020 she co-produced an award-winning musical comedy film titled, “Your Musical is Cancelled: the Musical!”  Now she’s back in the Big Apple, taking a big bite out of it by developing her work as a one-woman jazz comedy writer and performer.  This year, she intends to bring her New York based band to Montana for a performance and a jazz comedy workshop. You get a taste of her tongue in cheek comedic character when you read the titles of her six songs on this album.

The whipped cream on top of this musical sundae is her latest release, this album “Picc Pocket.” It’s an album of strength and beauty, featuring an instrument we usually think of as delicate and rarely think of as a featured jazz solo instrument.  Erica von Kleist will probably change your mind with after you hear this splendid album.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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