ProStudioMasters.com

German vocalist Erik Leuthäuser has been described as a unicorn in the jazz scene. Based in Berlin, Erik has gained a strong reputation for his interpretations of repertoire from the Great American Songbook and in particular his series of Albums’ that focus in on the works of specific composers. With his new release In the Land of Ronny Whyte, Leuthäuser continues his concept series that began with In the land of Kent Carlson and In the Land of Irene Kral and Alan Broadbent. American Pianist/Composer Ronny Whyte is a stalwart on the New York scene, and while his name may not be on the tip of everyone’s tongue, Whyte is an ASCAP Award-winning songwriter. His lyric “Forget the Woman” was recorded by Tony Bennett and his music for “The Party Upstairs” won the MAC Award for Best Song of 2006. In addition he has recorded eleven albums for Audiophile label and it’s through these recordings that Erik first learned about Ronny and conceived the idea to record this album as a tribute. “His songwriting,” says Erik, “has humor, beauty; it’s timeless. Some of his songs could be jazz standards.” With this in mind Erik and his long time pianist Wolfgang Köhler began work on selecting the repertoire. In 2021, Erik and Wolfgang spent two weeks with Whyte at his Pennsylvania and New Jersey homes and it was during that time, the album was recorded. in fact the album also includes an appearance by Ronny himself. The music on the album is rooted firmly in the jazz-cabaret tradition and unlike his previous albums, this album is a studio recording providing a more intimate atmosphere than the previous live recordings. Having worked together now for many years both Köhler and Leuthäuser are able to fully anticipate where each each player is going and on this recording the two have taken this sense of simpatico to a new level. It’s simply not a vocal album with piano accompaniment but rather two players in conversation with each other.