Club Seen!
Landon Knoblock, Kurt Schweitz & friends

Photos by Brad Walseth
Chicago was visited by talented young pianist/composer Landon Knoblock, who appeared Pops for Champagne last weekend. The Florida-born, Brooklyn-based Knoblock was joined by his trio drummer, the exceptional Austin McMahon, along with two young Chicago stars, bassist Kurt Schweitz and his Drexel Project partner, saxophonist Phil Doyle.

The audience was treated to a fantastic evening of music as this quartet played music written by all members. Knoblock, whose new album "The Heartbeat, The Breath" is getting rave reviews, proved that he is a pianist and composer who is one to keep an eye on. Compositions like the lovely "New Beauty" showed a maturity beyond the artist's youthful years. Drummer McMahon showed an uncanny ability to sensitively play drums in counterpoint to Knoblock's piano, and contributed some excellent compositions of his own. Saxophonist Phil Doyle was on fire, entertaining the crowd with his energetic lines and Kurt Schweitz kept the music swinging hard with his active and intelligent bass work. The music veered from introspective and sweet to incendiary and at times edgy the smart writing and sharp interplay between the players elevated the sets far above your usual nightclub fare.

Kudos to Pop's for showcasing this young talent and thanks to Landon, Kurt, Austin and Phil for providing an engaging display of new music.