Groovebox

Doors (Composer), Michael Nyman (Composer), Maurice Jarre (Composer), Astor Piazzolla (Composer), Kenji Bunch (Composer), Ronn Yedidia (Composer), Ahn Trio (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Ahn Trio
• Composer: Doors, Michael Nyman, Maurice Jarre, Astor Piazzolla, Kenji Bunch, et al.
• Audio CD (October 22, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00006JSCQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,707 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to Catagorize, In a Class by Themselves, December 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Groovebox (Audio CD)

This is the finest work the Ahn Trio has done. With this recording the trio has set themselves far beyond the fray of other groups in many ways. The collection of music they have assembled on Groovebox is amazing. It is intense and intelligent. Even 'Riders on the Storm' is done with class and verve. It is far beyond the creative reach of any other classical chamber group. Their technical mastery and profound musicality surpass most pop offerings. The entire CD holds the listener's attention. Most of the composers from their 'Ahn-Plugged' CD are back for return engagements on Groovebox. The new piece by Kenji Bunch is magical and driving all at the same time. The Ahn trio should be getting mainstream airplay with this piece. Nyman's 'Yellowbeach' somehow manages to be even better than his 'Piano' arrangement. What separates the Ahn Trio from all the smoke-and-mirrors crossover groups is their ability to achieve a thoroughly modern sound without resorting to electronic tricks or musical cheese. This recording is wonderful.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blossoms In The Evolution Of Piano-String Music, April 19, 2003

By 

Bernie Waugh (Hanover, NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Groovebox (Audio CD)

I can't stand seeing a couple of malcontents bring this tremendous disc's average down to just three stars. Maybe the sexy photo created an expectation other than for top-notch piano-string trio music. This is Ahns' second recording of modern trios, some composed just for them, and it pegs them right at the creative core of the evolution of this classical genre. It takes courage to showcase the new and unfamous, but the Ahns have done so while avoiding the pitfalls of other champions of contemporanaity: (a) The tired assumption that you can't be 'modern' without atonality [I've tried hard for years to be truly inspired by anything 12-tone, but at age 50 I've about decided it can't be done, and the New Viennese School was an 80-year dead end -- though I'm still open to argument]; (b) The snobbery that holds that a composition with pop/folk elements can't be 'serious' [Hey, Bach & Mozart did it!]; and (c) The academic prejudice against film composers [There's an excellent number here from Maurice Jarre of "Laurence of Arabia" fame]. But the rising star of this disc is plainly Kenji Bunch, whose "Swing Shift, flawlessly executed by the Ahn sisters, is a creative delight for both intellect and emotions. A worthy [and groovey] heir to the line of Ravel, Korngold, Shostakovich & a.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outst-Ahn-ding, January 23, 2004

By 

Karl Becker (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Groovebox (Audio CD)

I just got to see this wonderful trio perform here in Fargo, ND. Their musicianship was great, and to see them play some of the pieces of this album and their other album, Ahn-plugged, (plus a live version of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust!), was absolutely marvelous. It was double the pleasure to have never heard of these girls before, discovering them completely live for the first time!

I picked up this CD after the concert. Even the concert's price of $20 was worth it for this album (not to mention autographs from the girls!). For a Doors fan like myself, hearing Riders on the Storm interpreted with strings and acoustic piano is simply stunning. Hearing a solo originally played by a single organ player distributed over 3 different players and instruments, all in *one* performance, is quite pleasantly unexpected. Reproducing a solo, especially the feeling of that same solo, is probably more difficult than creating your own!

Elsewhere on the album they nail Piazzolla's composition, playing with a beautiful, expressive tone that characterizes good Piazzolla.

The most ambitious, interesting, and possibly breakaway new sound on "Groovebox" is the "Swing Shift" suite, written by Kenji Bunch. Bunch obviously knows these girls well, especially their dynamics as musicians. The CD states it was specially composed for the Ahn Trio, and it really shows.

As Angella, the youngest sister, explained to us at the concert, the "Grooveboxes" portion of Swing Shift is an attempt to duplicate a beat box (groovebox) of a DJ. I daresay - even if you hate techno, you'll love this. It's especially a stomping good time live! This song will either attract techno fans to string music or make classical lovers scowl a little less at techno music - more likely the latter.

The Ahn Trio seems to fundamentally understand what makes music work for styles as diverse as The Doors, David Bowie, Astor Piazzolla, and even techno. The Ahn Trio is an exciting direction in classical music - I will follow them, waiting to see what's next from these three delightful performers.

Extra note: talking with them after the show briefly indicated that they're perfectly charming young women, too. They talked of how amazingly cold it was here, but how they were glad to get some new winter clothes. Fargo in January is quite... chilly. They were good sports about it, though!