aaamusic | On 18, Apr 2014

 

Rolling Stone magazine was right giving four stars to this singer, pianist, songwriter, performer…in a word: artist. He is brilliant and simply amazing. Hans Chew is a self-taught pianist from Tennessee who released his debut album in 2010, Tennessee & Other Stories, and is now returning with his second one Life & Love.

Helped by his supporting band (Dave Cavallo guitar, Ricardo Ortiz bass, Jesse Wallace drums) Hans Chew’s music keeps your body and your emotions alive with the rhythm of old-fashioned blues and rock’n’roll, and your imagination travels with the notes song by song. From the beautiful ‘Chango’, which opens the album, until the closing ‘Junker’s Blues’, we are surrounded by rock’n’roll, Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones style, country rock similar to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, and 1940s blues such as Champion Jack Dupree, who gave the basis for several blues love songs with his original version of ‘Junker’s blues’.

Life & Love was released on the 31^st March and it showcases a marvelous use of piano for rock music. Hans said: “While my mother turned me on to Hendrix and the Stones, my father only listened to classical music.” Perhaps it’s this combo that gives this artist the characteristic of being unique but traditional at the same time.

★★★★★

Camilla Pascucci