If you want to see what the guitar is doing in the 21st Century, give an ear to these two releases.
The international String Trio, consisting of Ben Powell/violin, Slava Tolstoy/g and Ippei Ichimaru/b takes a peak at some intriguing movie themes from years long ago and fairly recently. The trio give hints of the Hot Club of France with a gently joyous “Minor Swing” (from Chocolat) as well as “Tchavolo Swing” (from Latcho Drom). Some old world romanticism fills the air on the charming “Once Upon a December” (From Anastasia) and “Somewhere My Love” (from Dr. Zhivago), while a bit of Americana and even bluegrass join into the sonic fray on “Singin’ In The Rain” and “Ashokan Farewell” (from The Civil War). A nice mix of old world charm and new era inquisitiveness.
www.internationalstringtrio.com
Meanwhile, Freddie Bryant leads a power trio of his own with Patrice Blanchard/b and Willard Dyson/dr, but also augments it with appearances by Donny McCaslin/ts, Yosvany Terry/as, Juan Galiardo/p and Steve Wilson/fl on various mix and match tracks. He can produce some exciting sparks as on the rapid fire “Drum On, Drum On” and displays some formidable electric chops on ”Blues Koan.” Some cheerful Brazilian material has Bryant going both acoustic and electric (“La La, Ohh!” and “Beginner’s Mind”), spotlighting some clean fingerwork. On the other hand, hard core riffing with the sax team on “Bo Diddley” and serious hard bopping on “Boop Bop Bing Bash” has the band thumping its collective chest. Extroverted and enthusiastic.