From placing their own self-released CD into the CMJ Top 20 in 2004 to landing a review in the Jazz Times with their latest release, New York Electric Piano has come a long way.

The first unofficial meeting of NYEP was on the job. “I was music director for a show at Joe’s Pub “, pianist Pat Daugherty explains, “and Aaron Comess and Tim Givens were on the gig on bass and drums. They asked the band to do a tune to warm up the crowd. I had just written “Democrazy”. We played it and the crowd flipped.” Later that year the 3 musicians were recording with vocalist Deanna Kirk on her Beautyway CD. In between takes they would jam and Daugherty realized he had found his trio. Their first recording was released on the BuffaloPuppy label to critical acclaim and a healthy dose of airplay, becoming the #1 add for CMJ the week of its release.

“It grooves, it moves. Its tubular man!”-Dick Crockett 88.7 FM- Sacramento. At the heart of the band’s sound is the venerable Fender Rhodes electric piano. After 9/11 the NYPD and NYFD logos were everywhere in the city and Daugherty says that’s when he started calling his Rhodes “my NYEP, and eventually that became the band’s name” After playing their new material at clubs like the Fez and the Cutting Room the band tried something different: a collaboration with the War Oracle that resulted in a more experimental sound with lyrics that mattered. They played some volcanic shows in downtown clubs like Sine-E and Pianos that broadened their palette. Givens used distortion bass and Comess, an original Spin Doctor, showed why he’s considered a monster on the jam band scene.

Midlantic Records signed the band to do their next recording. The result was Citizen Zen, and the band unveiled the music last spring to a packed house at the Crash Mansion. Bill Milkowski has said of NYEP, “From start to finish, this highly interactive trio grooves with crackling intensity and a rare degree of group think”. This January the Jazz Times reviewed the work saying that Daugherty unleashes all the possibilities of the Fender Rhodes. ListenHereRadio rhapsodized over the band on their nationally syndicated show. Midwest Record Recap said, “Smart, high octane trio that knows how to get down to business and play with tradition while keeping an eye on the future”. This September Relix magazine is featuring NYEP in its Listen Up section. The band has recently finished a new batch of material tentatively titles Blues in Full Moon. On their recent gigs Leon Gruenbaum has been joining the band on his on his Samchillian instrument and the results have been mesmerizing. “We just continue to grow” Daugherty says. “That’s seems like the way it should be”.