MTO, Vol. 1

Steven Bernstein | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 1, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sunny Side Records
• ASIN: B000GEU6N6
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,121 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST ALBUM EVER!!!!!, August 4, 2006

By 

Krista LaNue (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MTO, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

A must-have for jazz lovers! Slide trumpeter and jazz bandleader Steven Bernstein's music is characterized by energy, exuberance, and passion. In "Darling Nikki," the melody starts quietly, with captivating plucks of the violin, then builds into a jazz explosion of horn harmonies and pounding drums. "Pennies from Heaven," "Cry Baby Cry," and "Happy Hour Blues" stretches music in new directions, taking the listener to new heights of pleasure.

This is one album I can listen to over and over again!!!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Steve Bernstein- Surprising but always satisfying, January 27, 2007

By 

James Lamperetta (Upstate, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MTO, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

Steve Bernstein's inspiration for the MTO came about in 1995, when he was hired as a consultant for Robert Altman's film 'Kansas City.' In order to assure the authenticity of the music in the jazz-based film, the trumpeter immersed himself in hour-after-hour of listening to old 78 RPM recordings from the late '20s and early '30s and it was this process that inspired him to, as he puts it, 'bring this music back to life.'

Formed in 1999, the MTO has never had a formal rehearsal. Instead, as the nine-piece outfit has gigged regularly, they learn tunes and hone their modern-retro-vibe onstage in front of audiences that run the gamut from 20-something hipsters to grandmas who have a different appreciation for what was once the popular music of its day.

Featuring bass, drums, violin, trombone, trumpet, guitar/banjo, and a trio of reeds that encompasses clarinet, tenor, soprano and baritone saxophones, the group's recording debut, 'MTO Volume 1' on Sunnyside was recorded live in the studio.

Juxtaposing tunes from yesteryear with decidedly more modern fare, it becomes clear from the opening swing of the old-time tune 'Boy in the Boat' that this is a debut that is long overdue.

'Toby' is another blast from the past that also swings mightily while contemporary tunes like Prince's 'Darling Nikki' and Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' (which features an outstanding guest appearance by Doug Wamble on guitar and vocals), both benefit greatly from being filtered through Bernstein's backward looking glass.

Elsewhere the gentle, rollicking swing of 'Pennies From Heaven' provides an ideal backdrop for guitarist Matt Munisteri's vocals; 'Ripple' evokes a Tin-Pan Alley blues feel; and 'Soul Serenade' struts along imbued with subtle strains of Dixieland.

Mixing a palpable exuberance with virtuosic playing and a true ensemble aesthetic, 'MTO Vol. 1' is a toe-tapping delight whose multi-generational charm will find favor with a wide swath of jazz fanciers.

10 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hard to regard this as anything more than a novelty disc . . ., September 2, 2006

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MTO, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

. . . and an often rather annoying one, at that.

A little perspective. In the 20's and 30's, there were jazz bands limited to various parts of the country called "territory bands." Often quite good, though not generally rivaling the best of the big bands, they played around Kansas City and other parts of the Midwest. I'm sure they served an important cultural/musical function during the early years of jazz, helping to spread the jazz message to the hinterlands, developing local talent that later made places like KC (hometown of Charlie Parker) among the most influential jazz centers in America, and providing homegrown, cheap entertainment for depression-era persons starved for distractions from their severe economic hardships.

When Steven Bernstein, leader and trumpet/slide trumpet player, got a call from Robert Altman to listen to music for an upcoming film, Hal Wilner sent him old 78 recordings of these territory bands copied onto cassettes. Bernstein became fascinated not only by the sounds of these early bands, but also by the implied cultural landscape within which they operated.

He decided he would like to try his hand at recreating it. Thus he assembled a group of topnotch downtown NY players--people like Ben Allison (bass), Ben Perowsky (drums), Clark Gayton (trombone), and Doug Wieselman (clarinet, tenor sax), among others--and landed a regular gig first at Tonic and then at the Jazz Standard. Apparently, people responded well to the live shows--crying teen-age girls, smiling grandmothers (according to the liner notes)--and, voila!--this recording was born.

I'm sure this music makes wonderful live listening. It contains, after all, some fine playing, probably a lot of faithfulness to the music of this period without just slavishly reproducing it (I don't know this for sure, having never heard a territory band), and a kind of irreducible jauntiness.

But what's the point? Is this a kind of reverse osmosis moldy fig move (moldy figs being persons who protested at the advent of bebop that swing was the only authentic jazz)? I mean, is the idea to play music so unhip that it gains hipness by its very unhip obtuseness?

I don't mean to be unkind, but I just don't get it.

For me, Steven Bernstein is one of those hit-and-miss artists: some of his projects are wildly successful (e.g., Diaspora Hollywood), and some clunkers (Sex Mob). I'd put this one in the latter category.

One final observation. I venture to say that few people will regard this as their favorite project featuring Ben Allison, Ben Perowsky, Clark Gayton, and Doug Wieselman. In fact, it strikes me as almost a colossal waste of talent. Couldn't musicians of this caliber have been given the opportunity to play music conceptually more daring and congenial? One would think so.

Now THAT would be a band I would like to hear.