Customer Reviews

Love Story

5 star:		(5)
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I saw them perform live, and bought the cd on the spot. They were so amazing in performance; their banter, their songs, everything. And it does not lose anything on the cd (though the cd is not recorded live). Their songs are wonderful. The combination of instruments is one that you will not find in many bands: a guitar, a trumpet, a bass, percussion, and an accordion! They are absolutely fabulous, and I recommend this cd to absolutely everyone.

I love this band. Very hard to categorize (one of the reasons I love them), leader/guitarist/singer/songwriter Matt combines delicious, sly, fun originals with other terrific songs that they make their own. I've seen this band, and they play an interesting mix of French musette waltzes, Gypsy jazz, western swing, off-the-beaten-path standards, western swing...in fact it all swings hard....the players are all top-shelf: accordionist Will Holshauser, trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso, drummer Quincy Davis and bassist Jim Whitney are all in-demand musicians in NYC and beyond who can be found on all kinds of recordings, and have played alongside the greats in jazz and every other kind of music. Matt himself is a mighty guitar player who has done his homework, has obviously dug deep into Eddie Lang, for instance. No, I'm not the band's manager--just want to see them receive wider recognition. In fact, I'll include some of their reviews from their cool website for good measure:

"A present day ironist with a pre-war heart (First World War that is)...Matt Munisteri leads the delightful, lightly swinging chamber jazz quintet Brock Mumford. Munisteri's own time-warped tunes sit perfectly alongside vintage works by Willard Robison, Hoagy Carmichael, and even...Bob Dylan."
- The New Yorker

"The type of tunes that only Randy Newman is supposed to be able to get away with these days."
- Time Out New York

"When Hollywood finally gets around to making that pitch-perfect romantic comedy - you know, something classy yet silly, ironic yet earnest, urbane yet folksy - they won't have to worry about the pitch-perfect soundtrack." --The Valley Advocate

"Bands like this are why you move to New York."
--The Village Voice

So, we had the honour to organize and host Matt Munisteri in concert for two dates, 10/11 july 2004, here in central Italy (Ovindoli and Pescasseroli). Matt brought along with him: Joe Barbato (accordion), Jon Erik Kellso (trumpet) and Danton Boller (upright). No drums in this europe-export-combo version!
Nevertheless, they executed all the music contained in "Love story" (along with two or three more unreleased songs from the next CD) in a very gratifying way, for us all: swing, groove, melodies and tricks, jokes and stuff with the public. In addition, we could enjoy every note in an environmental frame that was... to die for.

What I do want to point out is that I had well heard the CD already, so I could enjoy the concert as if I was "swimming in a hot water pool", but the people around was so happy about this "new" (!!!) music that, after the concert, they just run to buy "Love story"!!! Even the most "unpredictable" subjects: now go figure the typical middle aged italian, male and female, that can't be farther from the 20'/30' jazz music and from New York City, queuing patiently to buy and to get their copy autographed!!!!

This CD is exceptional and it will be of a great help for your soul when in any blue moment. My hat off to Matt and his courage for retrieving and feeding with new songs this old and new, beautiful, rich music style.

A little icing on the cake. After the saturday 10th concert we had the pleasure to attend to the jam held at the local pub, so we could appreciate the guys' astounding, incredible instrumental tecnique: while Joe Barbato, too happy about his brand new "italian fashion" jacket, was sipping some beer with us, we could drop our jaws watching all the "contemporary" numbers done by Matt, Jon and Danton on "All the things you are" and other tunes. Chorus after chorus, with always fresh ideas and lightning speed phrases.

Danton Boller: as much stellar on (my!) electric bass as humble and down to earth to... excuse himself about the "poor performance" (about which I was still bent on my knees, actually!!!)

Beautiful music from open hearted and very talented guys.

Matt & crew: you definitely deserve the best.

"Love Story" is a kaleidoscope of music from a Brooklyn visionary. Matt Munisteri's brilliance as an arranger and guitarist shine through clearly on every song here. His idiosyncratic songwriting mirrors several styles but I can't say I'd call him a "jazz" or "folk" performer at all. He's different! This album is very rewarding and comes highly recommended.

[OK, here's the disclaimer: Matt Munisteri was my roommate in college, so maybe I'm biased.]

Matt Munisteri isn't just a witty, talented musician and a creative artist. He's an open-minded one whose influences and tastes are incredibly wide-ranging. I remember vividly spending endless nights up listening with Matt to his collection of jazz, country, folk, rock, funk - you name it. Dave Grisman, P-Funk, Defunkt, Django, Wes Montgomery...an endless array of contributions to Matt's own knowledge of the art and science of guitar.

But don't worry - you don't need to know a darn thing about music history or stylistic tendencies or anything to enjoy the sound of Matt's voice, his guitar style and the clever lyrics of this album.

Also recommended: "It's Been Swell..." CD by the same group.