Bolivian Blues Bar

Alex De Grassi | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 19, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Narada
• ASIN: B00001ZSU4
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,860 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #16 in Music > World Music > South & Central America > Bolivia
  • #79 in Music > World Music > South & Central America > Andes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alex de Pass?, February 4, 2000

By 

renato oliveros "musguit" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bolivian Blues Bar (Audio CD)

This fingerstyle guitar album moves into the territory of jazz guitar masters Joe Pass and Martin Taylor. What makes Alex de Grassi unique is the pure tone he gets from the acoustic-steel guitar he plays to interpret Thelonious Monk's Round Midnight and Little Rootie Tootie, Charlie Mingus' Goodpie Pork Hat, Gershwin's The Man I Love and Bess You Is My Woman, and classic tunes from Ellington and Carmichael. This is a gold mine for those who have been searching for acoustic guitar music in a jazz context. De Grassi does not need a back-up band for he also swings and handles those running-bass lines convincingly. Just listen to Mingus' Goodpie Pork Pie Hat, and Monk's Little Rootie Tootie. Improvisations are kept to the minimum as he works to bring the melodies of these jazz classics up-front. His move into jazz may disappoint some of his new age fans but this project wins the respect of jazz listeners and musicians alike.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Walk On The Bluesy Side, June 9, 2000

By 

Bill Binkelman, Wind and Wire (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bolivian Blues Bar (Audio CD)

This is a great late-night CD if you're an urbanite like me. While this CD may not play well out in the country with the sounds of crickets, if your window opens up on a street corner, maybe even graced by some neon lights, this will put you in the mood. Soulful, passionate blues played on an acoustic guitar with equal parts fire and ice, Bolivian Blues Bar will fit perfectly with the tinkle of ice in a tumbler of scotch and low lights.

If you're looking for romantic music that is never sappy or maudlin, or if you need some blues that are "quiet" and not in your face, this is your ticket to hep-ville! Alex deGrassi is, of course, a consummate guitarist. But what may surprise you with this CD is his soulfulness. Frankly, I didn't know he had it in him!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Smooth Solo Effort!, November 5, 2001

By 

deepbluereview "deepbluereview" (SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bolivian Blues Bar (Audio CD)

Sometimes a certain genre does not fit a particular artist for all releases. Unfortunately, because De Grassi is normally classified as a "New Age" artist, this little gem of a release went virtually unnoticed by jazz and blues fans alike. Some artists profess to be solo only in the sense that they are not with their regular band members. However, on this CD, De Grassi is truly solo, no drums, no bass, no percussion, just De Grassi and his acoustic nylon string guitar.

On the CD, De Grassi takes music from the 1930's through the 1950's and adds a touch of folk and blues to a jazz rendition of these old tunes. Some of the tunes are well known and easily recognizable, such as Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", Thelonious Monk's "Little Rootie Tootie" and Hoagy Carmicheal's "Georgia On My Mind". But even these tunes sound fresh and updated by De Grassi. Overall, the performance is first class and smooth all the way.