Northern New Jersey native singer/songwriter/musician Scott Chasolen began playing music at the tender age of ten. Trumpets and drums soon led way to his true love, the piano. By age 16, he was performing in NYC and studying jazz with passion, enthusiasm and ambition. While writing, recording and touring with the instrumental group ulu, Scott managed to not only study but graduate from New School University in Manhattan where he pursued his passion for composition and improvisation. ulu pumped out four albums between 1998 and 2003.
Scott has shared stages with John Scofield, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Soulive, Mickey Hart and De La Soul; to name just a few. Outside of his solo work and his work with ulu, Chasolen plays with esteemed Pink Floyd Tribute band The Machine as well as the well-known Chicago tribute band Beginnings. He is endorsed by Moog and has performed in front of thousands of music lovers across North America, Europe and Asia.
Blending rock, folk and jazz into his songwriting, Scott’s experiences touring and creating with various bands, working as a sought after session musician, and nurturing the local scene by producing up and coming artists all feed into the style and aesthetic of his forthcoming album release. Previous albums include: Solitude Speaks (2003), an acoustic collaboration with Katy Pfaffl titled Woven (2005), the highly electric Magnify (2007) (engineered and produced by Rob Harari), Fracture (2010) and Portrait (2013).
His upcoming album release is titled Living In Limbo. The first single, Limbo, is now available.
Before I touch specifically on the single, the circumstances under which this new album was created are noteworthy. Considering Scott’s history that I have shared up until now, imagine finding yourself heartbroken, in an undesirable living situation, without access to a piano… This is exactly how Scott found himself during the creation of the songs found on Living In Limbo. The album and song titles suddenly take on a much deeper meaning. Without a piano, Scott relied on his acoustic guitar for at least half the material on the forthcoming release.
Limbo begins with an engaging guitar before opening up into a wall of bright, crisp chords which fuel the passion and emotion heard in Scott’s potent vocal performance. With just Scott’s voice and a beautiful sounding acoustic, Limbo maintains a minimal aesthetic while showering us with a charming, catchy and melodically rich progression. When the piano solo comes in toward the end…well, that’s the icing on the cake for this simple yet impactful acoustic pop jam.
Listen to Limbo on Spotify. Living In Limbo is set for release in late 2018.
You can also find music on Bandcamp.
Connect with Scott on his official website, FB or Twitter.
