Grand Pianoramax

Always open for exploration and mixing different musical genres, Tardin has performed with Orient Expressions in Istanbul, a Turkish ensemble blending traditional Anatolian music with electronica.

He also regularly performs with Portuguese singer Paula Oliveira, with whom he recorded three highly successful albums of Portuguese traditional and revolution-era songs.

Leo Tardin, a native of Geneva, Switzerland and Winner of the first Montreux Jazz Festival International Piano Solo Competition spent 10 years in New York, before recently moving to Berlin. He performed and recorded as pianist with legendary jazz musicians Roy Ayers, Frank Morgan, Toots Thielemans, Charles Tolliver, Enrico Rava, Maria Joâo, Erik Truffaz, and co-led a quartet with harmonica phenomenon Grégoire Maret.

Once again, music promoters are sure to point out that the music is unclassifiable, that the drums sound more like a rhythm box than the beating of a drum skin, that the keys (K- Station, harmonium, Philichorda) are as distorted as if they were born in a test tube. But this is the triumph of Pianoramax. The band rejoices in the rejection of labels and categorisations, knowing that the live stage and an incredible urban energy are on their side.  For the moment, we are happy to ignore the fact that no name can be given to the music. Yet within this libertine, organic robot chassis, there is something masterful that captures perfectly the essence of our epoch.

Leo Tardin hat sich weiterentwickelt, seinen musikalischen Radius neu gesteckt. Besonders "jazzy" ist das neue Album “Smooth Danger” mit dem ambivalenten Titel und Cover nicht mehr, eher "funky" und ein wenig "dirty", und, wie er selber sagt: "The beauty of Pianoramax is never clean."

Mittlerweile lebt der "Elektro Jazz" Pianisten Leo Tardin in Berlin. Das Album “Smooth Danger” wurde dort (im geschichtsträchtigen Berliner Funkhaus), sowie Mumbai und Bristol aufgenommen.

Album: Smooth Danger
Release: 15.10.2010
ObliqSound / Vertrieb: Soulfood

Offizielle Site / myspace / youtube with more music and videos!




GRAND PIANORAMAX are:

Leo Tardin: grand piano, Fender Rhodes, K-Station, harmonium, Phillichorda
Dominik Burkhalter: drums
Black Cracker: spoken words
Mike Ladd: spoken words
Karsh Kale: tabla
Keanan Evers, Michele Locatelli, Johannes Saal, Leo Tardin: sound desig

LIVE: 24. Nov    BERLIN Festsaal Kreuzberg mit BLACK CRACKER tbc