Cuong Vu
It’s Mostly Residual
ArtistShare
The first sounds you hear on Cuong
Vu’s new album are ethereal trumpet moans joined by equally otherworldly
clusters of notes emanating from a guitar. These sounds herald the beginning of
a musical marriage made in electronic heaven. On his latest album, It’s Mostly Residual, cutting-edge,
electronic trumpet virtuoso Vu is joined by guitar wizard Bill Frisell. The
album finds Vu at his improvisational best and Frisell in his wildest, most
abandoned spirit in years. Vu’s excellent trio, with Stomu Takeishi on bass and
former Rochesterian Ted Poor on drums, provides a constantly shifting
foundation on which Vu and Frisell build towering sonic temples.
Those opening strains on the title
tune lead to a beautiful melodic passage on trumpet. But just before listeners
are lulled into a sublime state all hell breaks loose. That’s the dichotomy
that Vu and Frisell create throughout Vu’s six original tunes. “Patchwork” and
“Blur” consist of similar flirtations with melody only to be jarred back to
reality by cacophonous wails. On “Expressions of a Neurotic Impulse,” driven by
Poor’s drums and Takeishi’s bass, Vu and Frisell stampede through an electronic
jungle of sounds at once primitive and futuristic. At times the digital delays
gel into concrete phrases; at other times they veer off into pure abstraction.
I’m not sure if Vu is dealing in metaphor, but with music organized and
chaotic, at once over-the-edge and strangely engaging, he’s created an apt tone
poem for the 21st century.
— Ron Netsky
Friends of Dean Martinez
Live at Club 2
Aero Recordings
For over 10 years, Friends of Dean Martinez haven’t made
music but have occupied themselves by creating little instrumental moments in time.
The band’s languid explorations in texture and sound have routinely blown open
the doors to where their dreamy desert noir lounges. Bill Elm’s sleepy pedal
steel is reminiscent of Johnny Farina with a broken heart, and the overall tone
is mesmerizing, easily surpassing the Southwest lost ‘n’ lonely pines and
croons of Chris Isaak.
The new album, Live at
Club 2, was recorded live in Munich, Germany, andcelebrates the band as a sonic pioneer. While the dreamy elements
create a peaceful lull, the introduction of feedback and noise alongside an
apparent live looseness and comfort with improvisation offer an element of
eerie madness. Live at Club 2 plays
out like a dream… or “Taps” in the Arizona desert.
— Frank De Blase
This article appears in Sep 14-20, 2005.
