* En anglais uniquement
Melding the clever jazz-rock sophistication of
Steely Dan with a smart-pop melodicism,
Monkey House is a project led by Canadian singer, songwriter, and pianist
Don Breithaupt. After releasing a pair of well-received independent albums in the 1990s,
Breithaupt and his crew remained largely inactive in the following decade, returning to the studio again for 2012's more elaborate
Headquarters. It began a relationship with the Universal-affiliated
Alma Records label, which also released their next two albums, 2016's
Left and 2019's
Friday, both of which helped grow the band's audience internationally.
Breithaupt was already active as a songwriter for other artists when he formed
Monkey House in 1992, taking the name from Kurt Vonnegut's novel Welcome to the Monkey House. Influenced by artists like
Steely Dan, Pat Metheny Group, and
Weather Report,
Breithaupt also sought to inject his strong melodic sense into the band's material, and this meeting of elegant musicianship, jazz fusion, and pop smarts could be heard on both their debut, Welcome to the Club, and 1998 follow-up
True Winter. The project fell mostly dormant during the 2000s, with a 2005 compilation, Big Money: Singles Remasters Rarities 1992-2005, serving as their lone release of the decade. In the meantime,
Breithaupt continued to work as a songwriter, session man, and with his brother, fellow songwriter
Jeff Breithaupt.
When
Don Breithaupt revived
Monkey House in 2012, it was with plenty of vigor and energy as he and bandmates
Pat Kilbride (bass) and
Mark Kelso (drums) enlisted a full horn section and a colorful cast of guests including
Rik Emmett (
Triumph),
Drew Zingg (
Steely Dan,
Boz Scaggs), and
Michael Leonhart (
Steely Dan) to help out on their third album. Titled
Headquarters, it was their first outing for Universal Music Group's
Alma Records imprint.
Monkey House began to work more steadily, earning a more widespread international following with subsequent releases like 2016's
Left -- which saw the addition of guitarist
Justin Abedin -- and 2019's
Friday. ~ Timothy Monger