Tāmaki Makaurau’s Psycho Gab, the neo-jazz 5 piece that got together during the depths of the pandemic, returns with Pianomen. Very much in the fey, acid jazz vein, this is a Rattlesnake. One of those catchy yet not sugary numbers that gets you due to being just the right tone of menacing. Great.

Starting with an aggressive, mid-tempo bass run rich with effect, vocalist Rosetta Stone (who I so, SO hope is using her real name!) comes in with some sass. What a great vocalist she is – crystal clear soprano with that nocturnal tinge to the vibe of her delivery synonymous with those almost blacked out clubs of a century ago when the proto-jazz movement arose. Embraced from Chicago to Shanghai, people got into it, and the spellbinding divas that rose with it.

The song has a full version on their up-coming EP Crazy Talk (released 12th July) plus a shortened radio edit. On either version you jazz aficionados will enjoy the tart sound of the edgy piano beneath Rosetta’s prime vocal delivery. This isn’t “jazzy” – this is JAZZ. It’s synonymity with the genre is captured in every instrument. If you’re into the genre you will be in your own little nirvana with this song, and this band. They are obviously purists, and happily they are good enough to deliver.

From the EPK: Pianomen began its life as a ‘joke song’ about Caleb (keyboards) discovering a free piano and roping Orlando (bass player) in to help him pick it up, squeeze it into an elevator, lift it onto a trailer and lug it through the night back to their flat. As time went on, the band say that they started to like the driving feeling of the track and decided to run with that imagery. “It’s now ended up combining parts of the piano story with this thrilling love story of being on the run, like Bonnie and Clyde,” says Rosetta.

The guys mixed it at their home studio, plus the Lab Studio with Olly Harmer as knob twiddler extraordinaire.

As I say above, this band can deliver their tools of trade to a high level indeed. If jazz is your bag, you will get a serious dose of goodness from listening to this band, and going to see them. This stuff lends itself to performance, as jazz was born in live performance and organic freestyling. As Tom Cruise’s assassin said to Jamie Foxx’s cabbie, it’s edgy. The notes behind the notes. What you don’t hear is the best part. You have to love it to understand that. I’m not going to pop four rounds into your forehead though.

Definitely one of the most prolific up-and-comers in New Zealand jazz. Remember the name Psycho Gab.