Frank Muschalle had eleven years of classical piano lessons behind him when, at 19, he was captivated by boogie-woogie. He abandoned his teacher training studies and devoted himself entirely to this music. His guiding lights are the legendary trio of Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, and Meade Lux Lewis, as well as Little Brother Montgomery and Cow Cow Davenport. From them, he learned the art of making his left hand sound like an entire rhythm section.
His debut CD, "Great Boogie Woogie News," was released in 1995 on the Viennese label Document Records, followed two years later by "Battin' the Boogie." The pianist, born in Bünde in 1969, toured Austria and South Carolina with the Mojo Blues Band and engaged in piano battles with Axel Zwingenberger and Vince Weber. A highlight was the 2002 concert series celebrating the 40th anniversary of the American Folk Blues Festival in Eisenach, where he performed with Hubert Sumlin, Carey Bell, and Louisiana Red.
Muschalle now lives in Berlin and has released around 15 albums. In 2011, he received the German Boogie Woogie Award Pinetop as Pianist of the Year, and in 2019, his trio won the Keeper of the Flame award from the Osnabrück jazz club Park Lane. That same year, the Goethe-Institut invited him to perform in Chicago, Houston, Cincinnati, and Ottawa, and a few months later, he toured Atlanta.
Muschalle performs solo, as a duo, and as a trio. The trio consists of Dirk Engelmeyer on drums and vocals and Matthias Klüter on double bass, a lineup that has been playing together for decades. Alongside classics like "Boogie Woogie Stomp" and "The Sheik of Araby," they perform their own compositions, and occasionally venture into Chicago blues and swinging ballads. He also has a separate duo with saxophonist and clarinetist Stephan Holstein.
The classical school is clearly audible: the bass lines roll smoothly, even at high tempos, and the right hand executes tremolos, triplets, and riffs with precise dynamics. Instead of mere virtuosity, Muschalle develops short narratives from brief motifs. He has performed at the Coselpalais in Dresden and several times at the Dixieland Festival, demonstrating just how well a single piano can hold its own against any brass band.
