Over the course of many years as a tasteful bassist of choice and general musical collaborator, for the likes of k.d. lang, Holly Cole, and others, David Piltch has skillfully walked the line between various musical genres and approaches. He gets the job done, with poetic rightness and a feel for atmosphere and musicality that can’t be beat. On Piltch’s first release as a solo artist, Minister of the Interior, he brings stitches together seemingly diverse elements and interests, into an enticing cohesive creative whole. Jazz? Americana? Art Pop, friendly experimentalism? You bet. And why not?
Recorded in studios and hotel rooms far and wide, Minister of the Interior is a fine showcase for Piltch’s incisive ear and sonic palette, as he blends his work on basses, guitar, mandolin, cornet, pennywhistle and other implements of musical construction. The album also finds him engaging in empathetic collaborations with old friends. Among the stellar guests on the project are lang (as singer and co-writer on the fetching waltz “26 Letters”), Cole (also singer and co-writer, on “Take Yourself Home”), and low-key guitar revolutionary Bill Frisell (on the dreamy sign-off track, “Attenuate Yourself”). Piltch has played with Frisell in different contexts, and the pair speaks a common, complementary language. Category-busting singer Petra Haden joins the moody party on two tracks, “You Wake Me Up” and the quirky jewel “Wonder Why,” Mark Anthony Thompson graces “Heart and Mind” with his soulful voice, and Perla Batalla sings on the sweetly melodic “And You Are There.”
Toronto-born, Piltch landed in a highly musical family, which includes his woodwind and reed-playing father Bernie—who played on a Duke Ellington album—and his brother, noted guitarist Rob Piltch (who also appears on David’s album). Piltch quickly became an in-demand bass player, doing work with Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chuck Mangione as a teenager. He also co led, Strangeness Beauty, in 1983.
Globally-acclaimed Canadian chanteuses came calling, and he worked with Cole in her career-launching early stages, and with Lang—on record and onstage- for many years now. Based in Southern California with his family since the early ‘90s, Piltch’s recent workload has included studio work with Madeleine Peyroux, Loudon Wainwright III, Joe Henry, and the list is going on…
All in all, Minister of the Interior is a super-fine how d’ya do from an artist taking a natural step from the sidelights into the spotlight. True to his team player’s instincts, though, Piltch stops short of hogging said spotlight. Instead, he conspires in fruitful musical partnerships, towards the end of making music at once accessible and adventurous flecked with rewards and surprises.
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