Caelan Cardello, Chapter One Review

Crafting the Modern Swing Language: Caelan Cardello’s Chapter One

By Nolan DeBuke

Emerging from New York’s post-bop crucible with a résumé already stamped by Harold Mabern, Bill Charlap, Fred Hersch, and Dave Kikoski, pianist Caelan Cardello has released Chapter One. While many young pianists enter the scene demonstrating fluency in modern vocabulary, Cardello’s debut stands apart for its primacy of swing, the sovereignty of melody, and a clarity in his writing.

Where some debuts chase harmonic extremity or production concept, this one chases feel. More specifically, the kind of elastic, breathing swing that has animated New York piano rooms from Bradley’s to Dizzy’s. If the question facing your listening choices today is how to find contemporary without abandoning time, Cardello’s answer is simple: you don’t fight the tradition, you embrace it.

Cardello’s language balances the lyric directness of Oscar Peterson and Cedar Walton with angular intervallic commentary drawn from hardbop, while incorporating shape-driven motivic development reminiscent of modern jazz narrative arcs. What keeps it cohesive is his persistent commitment to melodic logic. Lines sing. Harmony follows phrasing rather than dictating it. It is jazz informed by decades of piano lineage and unmistakably his own.

“Gone Fishin’” functions as the album’s thesis. A folk-tinted melody floats over a circular left-hand engine, establishing Cardello’s instinct for motion and songfulness. Bassist Jonathon Muir Cotton provides the supporting line, functioning as co-melodist and accompanist. Domo Branch’s drums provide the feel for the shared forward motion.

“All of You” features Cardello’s melodic arrangement that has interesting band hits and figures. His solo rides a clean medium swing by Muir and Branch. The trio phrases as one, hinting at landing spots together to focus clarity. Muir’s bass solo reveals his time feel rather than obscuring it.

An exciting up-tempo “Steppin’ Up” shows Cardello’s precision and rhythmic drive of his single lines. The deeply pocketed pulse supports his fiery solo. Branch’s ride cymbal pulses with finesse, and Cotton’s walking lines never lose clarity. This is where jazz fans will hear the integrity of Cardello’s understanding of hard-bop and forward style. Branch’s solo is a fury of activity, pushing the energy higher.

“John Neely” has Chris Lewis’ tenor tone bringing in a new voice into the trio frame; this Harold Mabern homage sits squarely in hard-bop DNA. Cardello comps with crisp shell-voicing authority, spacing responses to carve time. The track offers a subtle example of horn-piano voice leading with interaction, not competition.

“Motherhood” has a modern jazz ballad lyric sensitivity. The trio focuses on pacing. Cardello’s touch leans into resonance, not density. Branch’s coloristic mallets articulate emotion, and Cotton’s warm harmonic movement clearly grounds the harmonic motion.

“Don’t Look Back” is a hard-bop, forward-leaning swing propulsion. The saxophone again joins the trio to form a blueprint in an agile modern time feel. “A Night in New York” is a trio of storytelling in form. Smoke-lit harmony and a relaxed mood contrast add to the album’s structural cohesion.

“Groundwork” is Cedar Walton refracted through contemporary swing alignment. Cardello honors the mood with modern harmonic pivots and retains the balance of the chordal and single note axis as the gravitational center through this up-tempo swing.

The blues appear in “Solidarity” to bring a historical grounding motif built with community across phrases. The musical solidarity expressed in architectural clarity keeps the album alive. Lewis’ tenor blends with the trio’s, framing Cardello’s compositional economy.

Written after an emotional day, “Where Do We Go Now” flows according to melodic gravity rather than harmonic map. Phrased as a flowing jazz ballad, this track shows the trio can burn and express subtleties. “Music for the People” is a joyous closer, intentional in its modern stylings; it uplifts the album’s flow without losing grounding. Swing buzzes, smiles implied.

Chapter One centers on swing, melody, and ensemble conversation. It is a record jazz fans can appreciate. Cardello is revisiting the tradition and building atop it. If this is chapter one, Cardello promises depth, clarity, and groove for years to come.