Monkey House

Monkey House
Origin Toronto, Canada
Genres Jazz, rock
Years active 1992-present
Labels Aquarius/EMI, Marigold/Koch Records, GDM, Alma/Universal
Associated acts Steely Dan
Website www.almarecords.com/artists/monkey-house/

Monkey House is the name of a musical group founded by Don Breithaupt, a Canadian-born pianist, singer/songwriter, composer, arranger, producer and author. The group got its name from a 1970 book by Kurt Vonnegut.[1] The band formed in 1992, which Breithaupt said started as the songs he had written seemed too jazzy or different for other bands to cover.[2] A number of guest artists have contributed songs and have performed on their most recent two albums, including Drew Zingg, Elliott Randall, Michael Leonhart, and Jay Graydon. Breithaupt has revealed that Steely Dan is one of his biggest influences.[3] The band makes melodic pop with a sophisticated, jazzy twist,[4] with some horn arrangements. The latest release sports a five-piece horn section.

Their debut album Welcome to the Club was released in 1992, on the Aquarius label, based in Canada. It included a cover of a song written by Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan) called "Lazy Nina", which was covered by Greg Phillinganes in 1984, but never recorded by Fagen himself.

Their second album True Winter, on the Marigold label, released in 1998, found Breithaupt collaborating with Little Feat’s Richie Hayward and David Blamires of the Pat Metheny Group.

Then, in 2005 the compilation album entitled Big Money: Singles Remasters Rarities 1992-2005 was released. It contained thirteen tracks from the first two Monkey House albums, plus four fresh tracks including the single "Tough Love". Guests included Kevin Breit (Norah Jones), Mark Kelso (Gino Vannelli), as well as Hayward and Blamires.[5]

Their fourth album entitled Headquarters was released in 2012, on the Alma record label, which is affiliated with the Universal Music Group.[6] This album reached a much wider audience, receiving positive reviews and airplay on jazz, pop, Adult Album Alternative, Adult Contemporary, and Smooth Jazz radio and on the internet. Guest artists included Canadian guitarists Kim Mitchell and Rik Emmett, as well as Drew Zingg and Michael Leonhart.

An album anthology entitled Retrospective was released in 2013, which includes almost everything Monkey House released over their first two decades, and more. In addition to tunes from their first three albums, the 44-song anthology includes previously unreleased material like "I'm Not That Guy" from the Headquarters sessions, five instrumental tracks and some interviews.[7]

A sixth album was released in June 2016, entitled Left, on the Alma/Universal label. The title is derived from the fact that Breithaupt packed up and moved from Toronto to the west coast, or "left coast",[2] arriving in the Los Angeles area by February 2013.[8] The core group of musicians on the album are drummer Mark Kelso, bassist Pat Kilbride, and guitarist Justin Abedin, with Breithaupt contributing on keyboards, and bassist Peter Cardinali guesting on one track. Their previous album, 2012's Headquarters, was an album that attracted other musicians, who wanted to then participate on the new album. Besides Elliott Randall and Jay Graydon, other guests include backing vocalists David Blamires (Pat Metheny Group) Lucy Woodward (Snarky Puppy) on backing vocals, William Sperandei on trumpet, and saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who played on David Bowie’s final album. Drew Zingg and Michael Leonhart also return to contribute solos.[9] The album debuted at number 9 on the iTunes U.S. Jazz chart, number 2 on the iTunes Canada jazz chart,[10] and peaked at Number 24 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart [11]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "Alma Records".
  2. 1 2 "Don Breithaupt, of Monkey House: Something Else! Interview". 12 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "MONKEY HOUSE RELEASE NEW ALBUM HEADQUARTERS AT THE ORBIT ROOM MAY 15, 9PM - Cashbox Magazine Canada". 14 May 2015.
  4. ↑ https://www.socan.ca/jsp/en/pub/interactive/DonBreithaupt.jsp
  5. ↑ "Monkey House Discography at CD Universe".
  6. ↑ http://www.umusic.ca/labels/
  7. ↑ "♫ Retrospective - Monkey House. Listen @cdbaby". cdbaby.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "A Conversation With ... Don Breithaupt - FYIMusicNews". fyimusicnews.ca. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Monkey House - Alma Records".
  10. ↑ "New CD From Monkey House Nabs Impressive Chart Debuts: #9 on iTunes U.S. Jazz Chart, #2 on Canada iTunes Jazz Chart ; The Brainchild of Don Breithaupt, Popular Groove/Jazz/Pop/AC Band Celebrates Release of 'Left' via ALMA Records - JazzCorner.com News". jazzcorner.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Monkey House - Chart history - Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
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