Customer Reviews

Memory Is an Elephant

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After hearing a feature on Tin Hat Trio on N.P.R. and then reading the on-line reviews of their CD "Memory Is An Elephant," I bought the album and cannot remember ever hearing anything quite like it.

I guess it's the combination of instruments: accordian, pump organ, toy piano, several strings, mandolin, etc. that give their music such an unusual feel. I was at once reminded of klezmer, of Stephane Grappelli & Django Reinhardt, of Italian film scores, of Eastern European contemporary chamber music...and yet this music is totally individual: mysterious and playful, charming and engrossing.

I recommend it to anyone who wants a totally accessible musical adventure---even with that vocal during the final moments which, had it gone on any longer, would have spoiled my good time.

the tin hat trio is an extremely talented group. the compositions that are very odd from a conventional standpoint beautifully complement the instrumentation. carla kihlstedt's playing style on the violin is wild at times but retains the clean precision that defines a good musician. mark orton, the guitarist, impresses me a great deal, and his performance on this album is as good as it is unconventional. what i often find when i listen to music produced by good musicians is that i admire thier techniques, but do not like their styles. this album however, consists of well written, complex, and musical pieces performed by very competent and obviously inspired musicians. i recommmend it.

Memory Is an Elephant is the most uplifting CD I have ever listened to. It is jazz at its most musical, evocative and uplifting. Its melodies are transporting, its rhythmns delightfully complex, and the dynamic range reveals a most mature musiciality. Accordion, guitar and violin--the latter particularly rich and subtle. "Foreign Legion" evokes desert mirages; "Waltz of the Skyscraper" makes me want to draw it in animation; "The Would-Be Czarina" makes my heart yearn for a mythical lost love; "Orbly Resting" and "Somniloquy" take chamber jazz into a new dimension. I can't stop listening to it!

The recent Billboard spotlights "memory is an elephant" for good reason. This disc really does deliver "Old World depth with New World brio." It is alive, spontaneous, vibrant and sophisticated. The more I listen, the more it grows on me. Its interesting sounds and complex rhythms mix with haunting tunes to catch my attention and compel me to listen again. The music has an energy and immediacy that make me feel alive. I hope we hear more from tin hat trio.

"Memory is an Elephant" is filled with challenging compostions, haunting melodies and virtuoso playing. Tin Hat Trio has combined musical styles, rhythms and nuances from all over the world (Brazil, West Africa, Eastern Europe) to create a body of music that is nothing short of awe-inspiring. This new jazz power trio is comprised of Mark Orton on guitar, Karla Kilhstead on violin and Rob Berger on accordion - each player brings his/her own unique musical history and vocabulary to the record - offering the listener a veritable cornucopia of flavors and stylings throughout the many stunning improvisational sections on the record. If you only purchase one CD this year, make it "Memory is an Elephant" by Tin Hat Trio.

I recently saw the Trio at the Monterey Music Festival and they were great! You can hear the classical as well as the street sound in their music. It gives one a sense of being in a foreign circus, as well as on the streets of San Francisco listening to street players. I recomend this to everyone.

3 1/2

A little too experimentally playful, on top of a sometimes similar acoustic backbone, will sometimes play at the expense of their already fully-realized fused sound to be THT's one must own album, but MIAE nonetheless provides sturdy study into the unique, oblique western sound.

I purchased this CD based largely upon the previous listeners' reviews, which were unanimously positive. My reaction was consistently negative. I found the tracks to be repetitive, sounding like a disoriented Klezmer band in a futile and random search for its ethnic roots. Discordant, disconnected and distracting.