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Rhodes warrior >> Robert Walter has the keys to drive you straight to the dancefloor by SCOTT C
Having met the man a few times while he was touring with the Greyboy Allstars, this reserved, played-down approach to the music he makes is all too familiar. Don't get it twisted though: this 28-year-old, self-taught jazz pianist from San Diego is no joke at the keyboard. Even his comment about "legitimate" jazz players made me chuckle, because this cat can play. His performance and recording résumé is peppered with names like Fred Wesley, Melvin Sparks, Rueben Wilson and, most recently, former Miles Davis sideman Gary Bartz, who played saxophone on Walter's solo album Spirit of '70. "Where the Allstars were going for that authentic late-'60s soul jazz sound, we kind of stretch that out a bit. It's a little stranger," Walter says. Although members of the Greyboy Allstars round out the roster on Walter's album, this time out he's assembled an all-new band to work your funky bone and lure you to the dancefloor. "We're a little too danceable for the lounge set, so we always get stuck playing on Acid Jazz Night. Or whatever they need to call it." Ah yes, the old Acid Jazz kiss of death. I have to hand it to bands who continue to make music that exemplifies traditional soul jazz musicianship just so we can all get down. It's hard to stay organic in the face of an infinite assortment of electronica, and still have people really feel what you're doing. But that's exactly what Walter does. This time, Walter rolls into town to set up shop at Swimming, a much smaller venue than Cabaret, which the Allstars easily sold out last year. "I actually prefer the smaller places," says Walter. "In big places the sound gets weird, and this is definitely music for a smaller crowd." I predict that anything but a smaller crowd will be at the show this Saturday, ready to wallow in the grooves. When somebody possesses the ability to work the warm and familiar sound of the hallowed Fender Rhodes, with a rhythmic edge that I can only describe as being made with the hairs on the back of your neck in mind, that's a show you don't want to miss. Robert Walter's 20th Congress at Swimming, Saturday, October 3
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"I always get intimidated by legitimate jazz players," says a modest Robert Walter over the phone from Detroit, "compared to what I'm making up as I go along."