Mike Kanan is a great accompanist. But he’s pretty humble about his achievements in this regard. I personally find accompanying a vocalist extremely challenging and was definitely primed to get some first-rate advice from a pianist gigging with some of the major vocalists out there. But surprisingly his whole approach is very down to earth and his philosophy about it is very practical and has been arrived at by working things out over time, as well as through discussions and experiments with fellow musicians (to be referred to in follow-up parts). As some of his comments might suggest, one of his most important assets may be his grounded personality. Even…