Outre Mer

Garage a Trois | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 26, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B000A0GOHS
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,298 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Outremer

2. Bear No Hair

3. The Machine

4. Etienne

5. Merpati

6. The Dream

7. Antoine

8. Circus

9. Needles

10. The Dwarf

11. Amanjiwo

Editorial Reviews

It's no secret that Franco-American relations have been strained in recent years, but French filmmaker Klaus Tontine and New Orleans-based progressives Garage a Trois have little interest in wasting time on the perceived diplomatic stature of one nation compared to another. In that transcendent space where jazz and the cinematic arts come together, size is nothing more than a state of mind. Garage a Trois--vibraphonist/percussionist Mike Dillon, guitarist Charlie Hunter, drummer Stanton Moore, and saxophonist Skerik--have crafted a brilliant soundtrack to Tontine's Outre Mer, an understated cinematic masterpiece that spans the lifetime of a brave but solitary figure and subtly illuminates the alternating joys and sorrows of isolation, parental devotion, romantic love and other universal themes that reach out to every shore.

Producer/director Klaus Tontine, a longtime fan of GAT's eclectic, cosmopolitan approach to jazz, funk and other styles, first approached the quartet in the summer of 2004, when the film--still just an idea in his head--had yet to be lensed. GAT completely embraced the concept, and crafted a compelling musical backdrop to the poignant story of Etienne de Nerval, a young man coming of age in rural France who is ostracized from society due to his diminutive stature. Reaching a maximum of only four feet, he commits every ounce of creative, intellectual and emotional energy to finding the one place in the world where he can be accepted and loved for who he is. Garage a Trois' soundtrack weaves a brilliant tapestry on a par with Tontine's stirring cinematic imagery. Like the film's resourceful protagonist, the four players aim every ounce of their own individual and collective energies at creative excellence. The resulting recording--which synthesizes a variety of world music sensibilities--never falls short.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars soundtrack that grooves, August 11, 2005

By 

Benissimo "benissimo" (Rome, Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outre Mer (Audio CD)

This is more groove-based, less dissonant off-the-wall than Emphasizer. The songs have more unity, the elements blend together more. It's a mix between dreamy, atmospheric melody and steady solid groove. It's a very smooth balance between the two, so it doesn't sound like some frankenstein assemblage but rather like something natural and focused. In short, it works.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Un-Flipping-Believable, October 1, 2005

By 

David Quincy McElroy (NY NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outre Mer (Audio CD)

I gotta be honest, when I first listened to this album I was dissapointed. But like any truly amazing album, it just took some decoding, listening to the songs multiple times reaaaallly helps to appreciate what these guys are doing. Essentially, GaT are four people who are amazing at what they do, and we should feel lucky that they have found a way to mesh together perfectly. Their first album, emphasizer, blew me away, but I felt it lost steam around halfway through. This album does no such thing, and what is more impressive is that this is an all acoustic album, which means skerik is using the natural sound of his sax as opposed to the various effects that he is known for. This gives the album a much more natural feel and it shows that these four are able to make amazing music without any wizardry in the production department. But dont get me wrong, this cd SOUNDS amazing. Anyway, I saw them live last night in NYC, and they blew my mind... I recommend this CD to ANYONE, and see them live if you get the RARE opportunity!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another good GaT album, October 5, 2005

By 

Justin (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Outre Mer (Audio CD)

Garage a Trois is a great band, and this is a great album.

This album is as good as Emphasizer, though not in the same way. Compared to Emphasizer, this album is more uniform in feel. Emphasizer has a wide variety of sounds and reflects their live show. This album is more like a unified concept.

Mike Dillon definitely has more of a voice in this album, whereas before it was more like Charlie Hunter, Skerik, Stanton Moore, and "that other guy". Skerik is not quite as over-the-top intense in this album--this is more like the kind of Skerik you hear in Cinemathique. Charlie Hunter sounds great; with this and his other recent work he really has the whole simultaneous-bassline-and-guitar thing down. Stanton Moore is as solid as ever.