Do This: Gabriel Kahane at St. Paul's Cultural Center

By Lizz Kannenberg in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 28, 2009 8:20PM

Show of hands: Who's heard of Gabriel Kahane? Right, us neither...until we received an interesting email from the 27-year-old Brooklynite songwriter about his show tomorrow night at St. Paul's Cultural Center in Wicker Park. Despite a substantial profile in the New York Times and a Daytrotter.com session this week, Kahane had yet to sell a single ticket to his Chicago date.

We're glad he wrote to us so that we can try to clue you in to this musical dynamo in the making. Not only does Kahane craft a diverse take on the singer-songwriter tradition, but he incorporates everything from musical theater (which he often scores) to classical performance and chamber music. The latter two are no real surprise, as he's the son of famed pianist and conductor Jeffrey Kahane, late of the New York Philharmonic.

But what could easily be an exercise in overindulgent narcissism is instead a refreshing take on a genre that needs an injection of raw talent and a tangible connection to the past beyond pop music. Kahane's diversity is just part of what holds the listener's attention. There's a difference between being "diverse" and being "unpredictable," and the younger Kahane incorporates both states of being equally into his compositions. Add to the angular songwriting a distinct kitschy aesthetic and you've got the makings of a crossover success - a musician who makes good music because he was born to.

Gabriel Kahane plays tomorrow April 29 at St. Paul's Cultural Center, 2215 W North, 8:00 p.m., $12. Tickets here