Erik Deutsch: Taking Audiences To When This Was Then

This Was Then is the ninth full-length album by pianist-composer Erik Deutsch.  Its contents take audiences through picturesque dreamscapes filled with psychedelic effects, funky grooves, and quixotic imagery personified in Deutsch's ruminating piano keys. 

Audiences are given a glance into Deutsch's imagination, idyllic and multi-dimensional with his nimble keys layered by a pumping bass line played by Jeff HIll, simmering horns performed by reed player Mike McGinnis and trombonist Brian Drye, a soothing and rootsy slide guitar supplied by Avi Bortnick, and bolstered by the pounding drumbeats of Tony Mason.  Adding more layers to the music is percussionist Mauro Refosco and Deutsch's wife Victoria Reed on vocals, giving Deutsch's music greater definition nestled beside a rhythmic stride.

Deutsch cheers, "These fine musicians are all friends from my years in Brooklyn!"

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Deutsch's journey into becoming a solo artist and leader began in 2005.  He deems, "I always had my mind set on living in NYC; and finally, after 9 years in Boulder, [Colorado], it was time to make the jump. I already had so many musical friends in NYC and was lucky to fit right in and have my music supported almost immediately. There’s nothing quite like living there as a jazz musician, and I wouldn’t trade those years for anything - 14 total!"

Today, Deutsch calls the town of Colonia Roma Norte in Mexico City, Mexico  home.  Residing over the border with his wife Victoria Reed and working with musicians he met while living in both New York City and Boulder, Colorado remain staples in his life.

He submits, "I’m usually ready to make a new album every 2 or 3 years; that’s the point when I get tired of my old music and decide it’s time to write some new, hopefully better stuff! So I just build each record song by song and then come up with a plan to record."

The track "Pretty Pigeon" from This Was Then features Avi Bortnick on slide guitar, whom Deutsch chose to recruit.  He retraces the evolution of the tune, pondering, "Ahh, well the arrangement for this song took many twists and turns before it finally settled into what you hear on the record. One of the final decisions was to create a solo section that was spacious and moody-- it seemed like a slide guitar would bring out the dreaminess of this half-time cruise à la Pink Floyd if you will!"

His wife, Victoria Reed, contributed her song "Memory" to the album.  He cites, "Victoria and I met at her first recording session for her first album Chariot in Brooklyn in the summer of 2013. We spent the next 11 years together busy with music and life. During that time, 'memory'  became a staple of my band’s live set, especially here in Mexico. It was an easy decision to include this beautiful song on the record."

Having enjoyed performing live on stage with numerous artists over the years as a support musician, he maintains, "I’m always performing and have been doing so with these songs since I began writing them 2 years ago. There will be album release concerts all over the world this year, including in Mexico, NYC, Brazil, Paris, and Frankfurt.  Audiences of all shapes and sizes continue to inspire me and I don’t see that changing!"

He underscores, "I started writing the songs for This Was Then in the 1st year after the release of La Nuit Blanche, and after another year or so it was ready to go!"

La Nuit Blanche is Deutsch's 2022 release and his eighth full-length recording, which followed his stint touring with The Black Crows that same year.  His previous records include:  Live at Lunatico (2020), Falling Flowers (2018), Creatures (2016), Outlaw Jazz (2015) Demonio Teclado (2012), Hush Money (2009), and Fingerprint (2007). 

Fingerprint, which started his expedition into being a solo artist, is a pivotal recording for Deutsch.  He establishes, "Fingerprint was the music from my first years in Brooklyn; it was an exciting time and the beginning of my solo career. I was so enamored with my new friends in NYC, and what an amazing opportunity to team up with my Colorado cronies.  Allison Miller on drums, Todd Sickafoose on bass, and Jenny Scheinman on violin were my NYC ’new’ friends; Ron Miles on trumpet, and Ross Martin and Janet Feder on guitars were my Colorado peeps; and of course engineer Colin Bricker was someone with whom I had worked with very often in Denver."

Before moving to Brooklyn in 2005, Deutsch was born in the Washington, DC area and lived in Boulder, Colorado where he attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, studying music.   He reminisces about that time. "The University of Colorado at Boulder was a magical place to be in 1995, so different from Washington D.C. and immediately inspiring musically."

He accentuates, "I worked tirelessly on piano, keyboards, and composing during my time in college—both in my private studies of jazz and classical music but also with my band Fat Mama. The 9 years I spent in Boulder created a very strong base from which my career could grow."

College enabled Deutsch to sharpen his skills as a pianist and songwriter but he tapped into these skills much earlier, having been introduced to music by his grandfather, a professional musician, and his father, a barroom pianist.  He recollects about his youth, "My dad played when I was young (casually) and had a connection with blues and old time rock 'n' roll. He also likes to play Gershwin, so all of those things were early influences in my musical mind."

Deutsch professes, "I like so many things about the piano-- we’ve had a relationship for more than 44 years and after all that time it just seems like an extension of my body and personality."

Writing original material also came to Deutsch early on, illustrating, "I started writing and recording when I was in middle school… I guess around 13 years old? Maybe before though, I’m not sure… These days I usually start a song with a riff that I think is something cool or catchy and then try to build a good song around it."

Looking back, Erik Deutsch examines, "In life, my goal is to evolve musically, emotionally, and spiritually as a person and musician… the idea is that my music will follow alongside my being as I hopefully continue to create things that I enjoy and make people happy!"

"I enjoy the entire process," he chimes, "from the composing to the workshopping to the performing to the recording to the release… It’s hard work but it’s a gift and I am enormously grateful to have the opportunity to live this life!"

Erik Deutsch captures the audience's imagination by creating picturesque dreamscapes filled with psychedelic effects, funky grooves, and quixotic imagery.  Idyllic and multi-layered, his music fuses numerous breeds from jazz to psychedelic funk and from soul to Midwest roots, all twined together to form music that makes people happy.  Sometimes the noblest mission in life is the simplest one, completely natural to its creator. 


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