Customer Reviews

Uncommon Ritual

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One could call this "classical-bluegrass fusion," but that wouldn't be quite accurate, since both the string bass and mandolin have a large repertoire in classical music, however the banjo doesn't. While the bluegrass influence is felt on many of the original pieces by Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck, with Meyer at the helm of this project the classical influence is predominant.

One could also call some of these selections classical music voiced for bluegrass instruments, which would be particularly true of "Contrapunctus XIII, from "The Art of the Fugue," by J. S. Bach. Since I grew up on Bach--who is still my favorite composer--I loved this selection. The banjo and mandolin blend into this Baroque piece very nicely.

As a guitarist, I really enjoy Fleck's piece, "Travis," on which he tastefully fingerpicks on a National Guitar. This is a nice departure from his usual superb banjo work!

Another beautiful folksy melody--one that I find myself humming often--is "Big Country," also by Fleck. (He also does this tune with the Flecktones on "Left of Cool.") With Mike Marshall playing guitar on this cut, it reminds me of Marshall's exquisite album with Darol Anger called "Chiaroscuro."

Edgar Meyer is a masterful composer and bassist. This album is a great vehicle to feature his melodic playing on the string bass--an instrument usually relegated to a supportive role--often in the low register of the instrument, but it's amazing how he can make the instrument soar into the ranges of both the cello and violin. Just as a violinist can be called a "fiddler" depending on the kind of music being played, Meyer could be called a "bass fiddler," and that would be a compliment to his versatility, especially on pieces that are influenced by bluegrass, Celtic music, jazz or blues.

While Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck often appear with the stunning mandolinist, Sam Bush, here Mike Marshall is a more fitting mandolinist, because of his previous ventures into classical music with the Modern Mandolin Quartet. (One recording by this quartet is their delightful rendition of "The Nutcracker Suite," which is one of my favorite Christmas albums. This album also contains a beautiful piece by Meyer.) However, it should be noted that Marshall can turn his mandolin into a driving rhythm instrument, as he does on "Chromium Picolinate."

In my opinion, there's not a bad cut on this album. Much of it is reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite recordings, "The Telluride Sessions," by Strength in Numbers, which includes Meyer and Fleck, as well as the above mentioned Sam Bush. But this one moves in a more classical direction. Enjoy!

"Uncommon Ritual" was my first purchase after discovering the absolutely wonderful "Skip, Hop, and Wobble" (Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, and Edgar Meyer), and I have to admit that I didn't get it at first. I loved Meyer's "Sliding Down" and Fleck's "Travis" and "Big Country," which are truly timeless Americana. But the experimental stuff, like "Contramonkey," "Chance Meeting," and "The Big Cheese" left me scratching my head. Huh? Now, after listening to the CD at least once a week for a couple of years (I guess that says all you need to know about how good it is), I have to admit that even the more obscure tunes are brilliant. Consider this CD a crash course in music appreciation. Example: One morning I found myself focusing on the incredibly expressive violin in "Zigeunerweisen" (instead of working- the coffee hadn't kicked in yet) but couldn't find one in the liner notes. Surely that wasn't Meyer on the bass? I had no idea that a contrabass had so much range! I consider Edgar Meyer's collaborations to be the most consistently rewarding CDs in my collection, which spans the gamut from Bach to Marley. Check out the more classically influenced "Appalachian Spring" and "Appalachian Journey," the wild jazzgrass/spacegrass of "Telluride Sessions," the acoustic adventure "Skip, Hop, and Wobble," and the fusion masterpiece "Short Trip Home." Or, for a great start, the new compilation "Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology."

After listening to Appalachian Waltz and Journey, I found it hard at first to get into this album, particularly some of the less-structured tracks. After some time though, it grew on me, and now I can see just how amazing this is.

Edgar Meyer is probably the greatest bassist ever, and nowhere does he showcase it better than on this album. What makes his playing so wonderful, aside from jaw-dropping technique, is his pure naturalness. He plays bass the same way that Itzhak Perlman plays violin, or Emmanuel Ax plays piano. What is positively frightening is that not only does he join a handful of people in history who are bass immortals, but he achieves this in a full menagerie of styles, as well as having bountiful talent and sensitivity as a composer and even a pianist.

If this was just a Meyer album, it would be wonderful, but on top of that, we have the amazing contributions of Bela Fleck and Mike Marshall, both of whom are virtuosos themselves in every sense of the term. As a result this is a CD with as much music shoehorned into it as any the Kronos Quartet ever released. I cannot praise this album enough.

Highlights for me would be the title track, Chromium Picolinate, Zigeunerweisen, the down-home groove of Old Tyme, Contrapunctus XIII, and the positively staggering Third Movement from "Amalgamation for Solo Bass" (which taught me very quickly that even when I could play the most demanding sections of Beethoven's Ninth that I had only begun to learn how to bow).

Something for everyone here; a wonderfully eclectic ride! I have found that anything associated with Edgar Meyer and his cohorts: Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Yoyo Ma, Russ Berenberg, Bela Fleck, seems to be wonderfully unique and always exquisitely executed. This is certainly no exception! Three world class musicians take us on a journey through classical to bluegrassy to somewhat jazzy, and yes, it all seems to work superbly (who'd a thunk it?)! This is a sit down and listen to album. It's just too involved and too good for mood, or background music. Get yourself a glass of white wine and turn up the volume. Listen and enjoy! Check out some of the other albums the above musicians are involved in!

Meyer and Fleck continue to create art out of bluegrass on this truly unique project (unique even among other dawg music/spacegrass/apalachain fill-in-the-blank efforts that have been made lately). Mr. Meyer takes the lead here, much to the delight of double bass fans everywhere. He assumes the role of front man with confidence, asserting melodies on his unwieldy instrument with clarity, grace, and beauty.

Of particular interest to the double bassist are `Zigeunerweisen' and the third movement from `Amalgamations for Solo Double Bass'. On these cuts, Meyer astounds not only with his supreme technical mastery, but his musicality and expressiveness. Though his playing throughout is exemplary, these two pieces truly showcase his extraordinary talent.

Meyer's extraordinary control of tone and phrasing on his instrument occasionally highlights the weaknesses of the banjo and mandolin. This is particularly noticeable on Bach's Contrapunctus XIII, where Meyer spares no detail of phrasing and articulation with his bow, while Fleck and Marshall plink and plunk diligently, unable to match his level of nuance. Not to belittle Fleck and Marshall-on the contrary, their playing here is excellent and Fleck in particular has stretched the boundaries of Banjo music beyond anyone's expectations. But to one who is familiar with the full orchestral version of Zigeunerweisen, the Meyer/Marshall arrangement lacks a certain amount of drama which is achieved more easily with bowed string instruments. A clear case is made here for the advantages of playing with the bow.

Original compositions are worthy efforts. There is a mix of more traditional bluegrass leaning tunes and classical leaning tunes. These pieces are inventive and captivating. This is sit-down-and-listen-to music, definitely not background music. Meyer and Fleck seem to be heading down a road which may lead to them bringing Bluegrass to the classical music world in the same way that Gershwin did Jazz.

Creative, interesting, and truly unique. This album is definitely worth a listen.

Funny that Amazon should put this in the classical section. The trio does do a part from Bach's Art of the Fugue (chilly & formal, especially next to the other pieces), but the rest reminded me more of the Tony Rice Unit or David Grisman's dawg music, only more eclectic. The compositions here are as strong as the technical musicianship, and for these three, that's very high praise. The three instrumental voices sound warm and full-throated, even the banjo. The recording quality is exceptional. But they're also tight during some wonderfully difficult fast sections. A few wrong-footed meters ratchet up the fun (Chromium Picolinate & others). The level of musicianship is extraordinary and a joy to listen to. For my money, this is the best and most enjoyable work any of the three has done.

There is a real joy in discovering the work of contemporary composers who lighten the music world with abundant creativity. Such is the case for Edgar Meyer, B?la Fleck and Mike Marshall. These three not only compose but also perform their own compositions on this completely delightful CD sampler.

The works marry American folk tune semblances with folk music sounds from stray parts of the world. But they also know their classical training and the roundelays on old themes and styles prove to be some of the most exciting. Edgar Meyer plays Bass, Contrabass , Mandocello, and Piano; B?la Fleck plays Banjo, Electric Guitar, Gut String Guitar, Mandolin, national steel guitar, and Track Performer; and Mike Marshall plays Guitar, Mandocello, Mandola, Mandolin, and Track Performer. Just listing the instruments involve in this m?lange of works suggests that the music is unlike any you may have heard before, especially in the chamber music atmosphere it is played.

All three artists are gifted with fertile minds and technical demands for the instruments used. The result is a recital of endlessly interesting music, as fresh as morning sun and equally as welcome! Grady Harp, April 06

i found this CD to be very exciting to listen to--the sound is so unique and varying from song to song yet the skill and style of the performers hold it together for me. Marshall, Fleck and Meyer cover all sorts of musical genre yet each song is strongly connected to the next--this is music that transcends genre. i want to examine every track and become familiar with the nuances of every note, and every instrument played. i'm hooked on string instruments and their flexibility and range of sound. if you're in love with string instruments, listen to this. and, Patty Larkin, Perishable Fruit (an all-string instrument album). :-)

This is a superb record in the surrealistic urban folk-jazz etc. tradition created in the 1970s by Breakfast Special -- a group of super-talented NY then-juvenile geniuses including Tony Trishka on banjo, Kenny Kosek on fiddle, and Andy Statman on mandolin. Bluegrass Light by basically the same group of players was an amazing record from those years, as was Statman's mandolin debut on Flatbush Waltz. Bela Fleck and the next generation of virtuoso eclectic string players took this experiment to some new uncharted territories of their own. However, they are building on earlier foundations -- just for the record!

If you like classical, instrumental, old-time, bluegrass, or jazz music, you will love this CD! This chamber music setup privides the perfect springboard to display the technical, lyical, and compositional skills of these three masters. Their creative way of combining the priviously mentioned styles with grace makes this recording a refreshing taste of what might be lurking in the future of "modern" composition. Any musician will be in awe of Edgar Meyers astounding techincal ability, as he tackles Sarasate's Zegeunerwiesen, a does it with enough musicality to make any violinist jealous. There is not a dull track on this CD-- Definitely a must have for any musician or music fan.