Grand Pianoramax is an experimental keyboard and drums bands conceived by Leo Tardin. The band consists of Tardin and Dominik Burkhalter and features guests, often including

Mike Ladd Mike Ladd is an American hip hop musician from Boston, Massachusetts. He is based in Paris, France. ''The Guardian'' described him as "the king of the hip-hop concept." Early life Mike Ladd was born in Boston, Massachusetts. As a child, he live ...

and Black Cracker.

Biography

The 2005 self-titled debut album features Tardin with drummer

Jojo Mayer Sergé "Jojo" Mayer (born 18 January 1963) is a Swiss virtuoso drummer born in Zürich and currently residing in New York City. Mayer is the son of touring musician and bass player Vali Mayer and the brother of actress Delia Mayer. He began his ...

(and two tracks with Ferenc Nemeth on drums). Grand Pianoramax's second album ''The Biggest Piano in Town'' employs the likes of drummers

Deantoni Parks Deantoni Parks (born November 2, 1977) is an American new wave/avant-garde/experimental musician. He is the co-founder, co-producer and drummer of the New York band KUDU along with artist Sylvia Black, and one half of the writing duo We Are Dar ...

and

Adam Deitch Adam David Deitch (born April 26, 1976) is a Grammy-nominated American record producer and drummer based in Denver, Colorado. He is the drummer for the bands Lettuce, Break Science, and The Adam Deitch Quartet, and has worked in the hip hop, fu ...

and expanded personnel to include guest vocals, raps and spoken word from

, Black Cracker,

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...

, and Spleen. At the same time as the album ''The Biggest Piano in Town'' was commercially released in the U.S. and Canada, Grand Pianoramax went on a ten-city tour in the U.S. opening for

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many o ...

and then performed at festivals in Europe (most notably at a showcase night featuring the Andy Milne & Gregoire Maret duo, and Grand Pianoramax with Spleen &

Bleubird Jacques Bruna better known by his stage name Bleubird is an American rapper originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is known for his rapid-fire delivery, comic relief, lyrical wit and freestyle ability. Basing most of his career out of ...

at the 2008

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

). Zurich-based Dominik Burkhalter had become the official drummer for the band. Grand Pianoramax's third album, ''Smooth Danger'', was recorded and mixed between Mumbai, Berlin, Paris and Bristol (and mastered by Shawn Joseph, collaborator of Portishead). It was released in Europe and the U.S. in October 2010, and featured long-time collaborators

, Black Cracker, and for the first time

Karsh Kale Karsh Kale (pronounced ''Kursh Kah-lay'', ''कर्ष काळे'' in Marathi; born 1 November 1974) is an Indian-American musician born in England. Known primarily for his experimental tabla playing within electronic music contexts, Kale ...

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

Leo Tardin

Leo Tardin, a native of

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Switzerland, won the first Montreux Jazz Festival International Solo Piano Competition in 1999. He graduated from

New School University The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

in 2000 and spent ten in New York City. He moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in 2009 for the production of his third album. He has performed with musicians like

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...

, Charles Tolliver,

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received ...

Enrico Rava Enrico Rava (born 20 August 1939), is an Italian jazz trumpeter. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. Career He was born in Trieste, Italy. His first commercial work was as a member of Gato Barbieri' ...

, Maria João,

Erik Truffaz Erik Truffaz (born 3 April 1960 in Chêne-Bougeries, Switzerland) is a French jazz trumpeter, infusing elements of hip hop, rock and roll and dance music into his compositions. Early life Truffaz was introduced to music by his father, a saxop ...

, Gregoire Maret and Paula Oliveira.

Discography

* ''Grand Pianoramax'', (

ObliqSound ObliqSound is a record label in New York City. It was founded by Tobias Tanner, Michele Locatelli, and Ralf Schmid. They studied music together at the New School in Manhattan. Their intent with Obliqsound is to produce musicians with a background ...

, 2005) * "Starlite 12" Single", (ObliqSound 2005) * ''The Biggest Piano in Town'', (ObliqSound, 2008) * "The Hook (Remixes)" digital single, (ObliqSound, 2008) * "The Hook (Remixes)" 12" vinyl single, (ObliqSound, 2009) * ''Smooth Danger'', (ObliqSound, 2010) * ''Till There's Nothing Left'', (ObliqSound, 2013)

References

External links

Official WebsiteGrand Pianoramax
at

Bandcamp
{{Authority control Experimental musical groups Musical groups established in 2005