At its heart, Urban Mandolin is a straight ahead jazz trio album. It’s just mandolin, bass and drums, all acoustic and comparable to a classic piano trio or guitar trio but with mandolin readily filling the roll of the piano or guitar. Many of the tunes you might expect to find on a classic jazz album and are played deftly by this trio. These include Dizzy Gillespie’s “Bebop”, Charlie Parker’s “Quasimodo” (a tricky melody over changes of “Embraceable You”), Jimmy Smith’s classic blues “Back At The Chicken Shack” as well as his rhythm changes burner “Ready And Able.” There are a couple of funkier tunes as well. Eddie Harris’s “Freedom Jazz Dance” is often played as a funk tune though not with this instrumentation while “Bye-Ya” gets played with a New Orleans funk feel in 7/4.The instrumentation isn’t the only thing about this album that is different. There is an eclectic mix of tunes that are thoughtfully arranged. These include pop tunes “I Can’t Make You Love Me” made famous by Bonnie Raitt as well as the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”, a Brazilian chore tune (Pixinguinha’s “Segura Ele”), Bach’s “G Minor Presto” originally for solo violin but arranged here for a jazz trio, and Wayne Shorter’s “Witch
Hunt” but done with a 6/8 feel.
A few tunes that when originally recorded were thought of as fusion music though you might not think that when you hear them played with this acoustic trio. Chick Corea’s “Armando’s Rhumba” and Pat Metheny’s “Bright Size Life” aren’t that much different than the originals but sound fresh with this instrumentation. “Teen Town” made famous by Weather Report is played like the original but with a train beat which creates an interesting juxtaposition of a country feel with modern harmony and lines. Frank Zappa’s “Rollo Interior” was originally a section of “Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast.” Here it’s used as a head chart before a group improvisation over the form. “Some Skunk Funk” by Randy Brecker was originally recorded by the Brecker Brothers. It is quite remarkable to hear all the essential parts are seamlessly covered in this mandolin trio recording.
Chris Biesterfeldt’s new CD Urban Mandolin is amazing. I’ve known Chris as a great guitarist since he first came to New York and had never heard him play Mandolin. (Actually I’ve never heard anybody play Jazz on the mandolin like this before). What he has done here takes not only great skill, taste and creativity, but a lot of guts! Along with the great Eric Halvorson and Adam Armstrong, Chris’s trio creates some fresh and
exciting new sounds. Check them out! — Dave Stryker
Your CD is burning! If you can play that much mandolin, I can’t wait to hear you on guitar. “Some Skunk Funk”, “Teen Town”, “Bebop”, etc….incredible… —
Donald Brown
Artist: Chris Biesterfeldt
Title: Urban Mandolin
Label: Self Produced
UPC Code: 884501946773
Release Date: November 5, 2013
Track listing and composer:
1. Bebop (Dizzy Gillespie)
2. Quasimodo (Charlie Parker)
3. Freedom Jazz Dance (Eddie Harris)
4. Bach G-Minor Presto (Johann Sebastian Bach)
5. I Can’t Make You Love Me (Mike Reid / James Allen II Shamblin)
6. Teen Town (Jaco Pastorius)
7. Bright Size Life (Pat Metheny)
8. Ready and Able (Jimmy Smith)
9. Armando’s Rhumba (Chick Corea)
10. Bye-Ya (Thelonious Monk)
11. Witch Hunt (Wayne Shorter)
12. Segura Ele (Benedicto Lacerda / “Pixinguinha” Alfredo Vianna)
13. God Only Knows (Brian Wilson / Tony Asher)
14. Back at the Chicken Shack (Jimmy Smith)
15. Some Skunk Funk (Randy Brecker)
16. Rollo Interior (Frank Zappa)
Recorded By: Michael Croiter at Yellow Sound Lab in NYC
Musicians: Chris Biesterfeldt-mandolin, Adam Armstrong-bass, Eric Halvorson-drums Produced By: Chris Biesterfeldt |
