Customer Reviews

Supergenerous

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Cyro Baptista, percussionist extrordinaire and brain behind one of the three greatest jazz beat albums ever--Vira Loucas--here teams with stringman-without-peer Kevin Breit to produce a disc that defies catagorization and, almost, description. Undaunted, I'll give it a go.

A photo on the back of the jewel-case insert kinda gives the game away: seemingly randomly placed are 50 or more musical instruments, about half guitar-family, half drum-family. Many are obscure or unrecognizable (at least to a non-specialist like me). That two players would even have vague familiarity with--let alone mastery of--such a wide assortment of instruments boggles the mind. But they do.

Strangely, given the surface esotericism, this music is eminently listenable. Yeah, it gets weird, yeah, it's beyond category--sorta folk-jazz-world-bluegrass-Brazilian-old-timey-blues-cowboy--but it's never not accessible, if you've got big ears. And there are moments of sheer beauty, such as about the last minute and a half of Dreaming of a Train/Take the A Train, and Cassandra Wilson's strangely artless and moving singing on Home on the Range.

In the hands of lesser musicians, an endeavor of this sort would degenerate into mere oddness; with their rare combination of savvy, acuity, and largesse, Baptista and Breit have created a cultural artifact that is, indeed, supergenerous.

Virtuoso Kevin Breit (Holly Cole, Cassandra Wilson, many more) finds even more space to fill with his off-beat, sometimes intricate, sometimes dissonant, jazzy style. He is truly a brigh spot among the often stagnant guitar world.

Excellent guitar work and percussion. Both musicians are stretching for something different. I like examples of improvisation like this. Hope ya'll like it , too.

Nice discovery for me, this duo makes music from odd instruments, strings and things. Check their vids on U-Tube, and you will see how weird and capturing their music is.