Jazz Country Beyond the Double Boss Barrio" Is Lyical Untabile Embodied

RECORD REVIEWS TAZZ and plucks or bows with uncompro- mised accurary and strength. He must have fingers of horn. He /ook like a lean, sinewy bull somehow capable of the finest dressage, and his music S*rria"il"* nE sounds it. The overall impression !1!!!':t!..!iti!i..!f:_! of :,.-'- .:rl. -it-:: :l:--r:,.. great power matched by pointillist poise and inerrant rhythmic grace can be almost overwhelming. Throughout, the bass is not only a rhythm instrument but the voice that sings the melody. And such a sing- AMY CERVINI RENAUD GARCiA-FONS ing toie, and such melodies-"En mi Jazz Country Beyond the Double Boss barrio" is lyical untabile embodied. "Entremundo" soars in a silvery arch Amy Cervini, voice, saxophone (2); Jesse Lewis, Renaud Garcia-Fons, five-string double bass; guitar, voice (6); Matt Aronoff, bass. With: Anat Claire Antonini, lute, theorbo; Kiko Ruiz, flamenco linking the musics of India and South Cohen, clarinet (4,10); Marty Ehrlich, saxophone guitar; Jean-Louis Matinier, accordion; many others America. The strongly B razllran "La (5); Nad.ie Noordhuis, trumpet (12); Nellie McKay, Enja ENJ-9508 (CO/DVO). 1993-2013/2014. 2 Linea del Sur" is as fresh and clean as voice, ukulele (2); Oded Lev-Ari, piano (7,8); Gary Antoine Demantke, mastering. DDD. TTs: Versace, accordion (8) {<RB: the numbers in parens 68:35/79:34 the first cloudless dawn after days of seem to indicate the number of tracks each musician PERFoRMANcE ***** rain. "Bari," a duet for bass and accor- appears on, but I think we can cut them] dion from an entire album of same, is Anzic ANZ-0044 (CD).2014. Matt Wilson, prod.; soNrcs *r(**.c Brian Montgomery, eng. DDD. balleric in its perperual morion. TT;55;50 Renaud Garcia-Fons is a French bassist Musical roro he may bet in concert or PERFORMANCE ***** and composer ofSpanish descent and in conversation, Garcia-Fons seems al- soNtcs ***** astonishing musicianship. This retro- most to disappear, as evinced through- spective of his 20 years and 10 CDs' out disc 2, a DVD of a 79-minute film It's perfect that drummer Matt'Wilson worth of work for Enja Records is so direaed by Nicolas Dattilesi. Sumptu- would produce notjust an album with- rich in creativiry-of playing, technique, ously photographed in HD, beauti- out drums, but one with as much wit composition, arrangement-that I won- fully edited and paced, the film reveals and spark as Amy Cerwru'sJazz Coun- der why I'd never heard of him before. someone entirely devoted to his art, try. Cewini, a New York-based singer- He seems to have reinvented what's with a mien so clear and artless as to songwriter steeped irt juz,has a strong, considered playable on the double bass. almost efface the man fiom his music. pliant voice and a clear-as-day sense Much of this music is improvised, Rather than his instrument seeming a ofartistic selfas she covers every/thing but Garcia-Fons is not really ajazz part of him, Garcia-Fons seems an out- fiom "Frim Fram Sauce" and "Blue musician; only one track hints at the growth of his bass: as if it had grown Moon" to Neil Young, Anne Murray, blues. He plays flamenco bass. In a1l tlvo arms to play itself. Carrie Underwood, and Celine Dion. the flavors ofits roots in northern India For $17 from Amazon, this set is What makes it work is her stripped- to its branchings into the Middle East, a deal. So is Solo:The Marceuol Concert down and enormousiy talented trio, Eastern Xurope, and Spain, flamenco is Q,012), apedormance in a medieval withJesse Lewis on acoustic guitar and audible everywhere here, in rhythms, sanctuary in southern France accom- Matt Aronoffon bass. harmonies, technique, duende. B:ut o{- panied by a DVD of the enrire event, Though six guests appear in the ten this album sounds like early music, aiso filmed by Darilesi. It shows how course of 14 songs, the trio sound is or South American folk. While "world much music one man, one bass, and a key, and Lewis's acoustic playing is a music" is now ubiquitous, Garcia- few samples can make in one evening. revelation throughout. Known for his Fons's music is so fresh it sounds as The sound of both albums is seduc- fairly raw intense electric sound in ifhe's the first to have tried to bridge tively clear, full, spacious-and, in the other settings, Lewis emerges here as a cultural divides with sound. The com- case o{ Beyond the Double Bass, remark- poet of the steel-string, sending many positions are all his own, arranged by ably consistent for 74 rracks recorded a track heavenward withjust a simple him for ensembles of from one to 16 over 20 years. accompaniment. His wordless vocal players. "Oriental Bass" is arranged for The album answers the question its improvisation in "Calling You" is emo- double bass, flutes, clarinets, trombone, title implies: Beyond the double bass is tionally rich. He brings white-hot swing lute, theorbo, accordion, derbouka, tar, sol{.-Richad Lehnert chops to Cervini's Gypsy-jazz original bendir. The list reads like sonic mud. 'Je Danse avec la Neige," and solos like The music is clear as springwater. an ace bebopper on the counfry-rock Garcia-Fons's pizzrcatt are so fast and novelty "Before He Cheats." clean that my ears often refuse to be- Cervini's way with repertoire is con- lieve he's pl"yrng a bass. His flamenco- sistently fresh, plotting a pathway from precise stnrmmings of broken chords Dave Frishberg's "'Wallflower Lonely, sound more like an oud or cittern. But Cornflower Blue" to songs byJohnny mostly he plays arco, and then I could Cash, Har*. Williams, Dominique swear I'm hearing a deep-voiced cello Eade, and herself, among others. It's bowed high and well. Garcia-Fons jazz and country and quite a few per- presses strings to fingerboard with ab- mutations in befween.-oavid R. Adlet solute assurance ofpressure and pitch, stereophile.com . )uly 2014.

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