The Claudettes

Infernal Piano Plot . . . Hatched!
Yellow Dog Records

The idea of a piano-drums duet may bring up visions of Otis Spann and SP Leary working together, but in the case of The Claudettes you may be surprised by the diversity of their musical direction. More so in the likes of the late New Orleans piano-man James Booker, they can wander off to approaches that may begin with a blues theme, but can instantly cut into a classical or jazzy instrumentation that offers something entirely different than first expected. Something that has been referred to as “a fanatical fusion of blues and soul-jazz, like Ray Charles on a punk kick.” Whatever you may want to label it as, the thirteen instrumental selections on this debut album keep a steady pulse flowing that is both improvisational and enjoyable with a very distinct original feel all its own.

The Claudettes were born when piano man Johnny Iguana and drummer Michael Caskey were booked into the club Claudette’s in Oglesby, Illinois. The owner of the venue liked them so much, she made them the house band and signed them to a contract. Little did they know that the club would lose its lease a year later, but the owner still insisted on that they were still under contract and proceeded to book them at various venues around the Midwest. Of course, the band took on her name as its own.

Iguana and Caskey were already well-established musicians in the Chicago area. Iguana had worked and recorded with the likes of Junior Wells, Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Carey Bell and a slew of other top Chicago blues performers, while Caskey, also known as Bunny Patootie, leads his own gypsy jazz band, Eastern Blok, while working with a diverse range of artists like Koko Taylor, Marvin Hamlisch and Chuck Mangione. Together, along with bassist Billy O’Neill, they had performed as trio called Oh My God, an alternative rock band, before starting up with this duet.

Song selections on this debut disc, titled Infernal Piano Plot . . . Hatched!, are all originals save for Little Brother Montgomery’s “Tremblin’ Blues.” And like the music itself, the titles are creative and fun, such as pieces called “Deep Soul For High Society,” “Land Of Precisely Three Dances,” “New Orleans Yard Sale” and “Serenading The Clean-up Crew.”  These numbers take on a variety of stylings as mentioned earlier, including some very nice boogie piano, but they are definitely nothing remotely blues-rock. There is a timeless feeling meshing the great pianists of the past with a modern flair that resembles nobody else. And it’s going to get your toes tappin’ and fingers snappin’.

Total Time: 39:32

Stumblin’ Home Satisfied / Big Sucker Punch / Hammer And Tickle / Tide Pool / Deep Soul For High Society / New Orleans Yard Sale (New 11-Bar Blues) / Infernal Piano Plot . . . Hatched! / Serenading The Clean-Up Crew / Tremblin’ Blues / Motorhome / Land Of Precisely Three Dances / Chin-Up Tango / Do You See It Too?