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Todd Sickafoose: Bear Proof
ByOn the CD sleeve, Sickafoose calls the album "a surreal meditation on Boom and Bust," which explains the music's shift in mood, from energetic and charged in the first half to thoughtful and contemplative in the second. Among the early tracks, highlights include "Flush"'s comical pop-klezmer melody that leads to Ben Goldberg's clarinet and Jenny Scheinman's violin dancing above a loping rock rhythm and Kirk Knuffke's squawking cornet mixed with a seamless blend of guitar, piano, and accordion on "Switched On," The darker tones of the album's second half feature the rippling, foggy mood of "Turns Luck" led by Goldberg, Knuffke, and guitarist Adam Levy, an Aaron Copland-like view of Old West landscapes on "Prospects" and the bluesy cowboy lope of "Magnetic North" carried by the dreamy sway of Levy, Sickafoose, and drummer Alison Miller. "Boom Bust Startup Ruin" is a microcosm of the album's theme, with grimly hard-charging rhythm underlining solos that have overtones of apprehension, fear, and hysteria. The rhythm work here weaves in bits of minimalist repetition and even a rock and roll shuffle as the lead instruments clash with creeping dread.
There are lovely solo passages throughout by all the players, but the real beauty of the music is the way Sickafoose arranges the instruments into a rich melodic tapestry out of which soloists emerge briefly and recede. This quietly intense work is the kind of music that reveals its power the more one listens to it. It takes the listener on a journey from optimism to dashed dreams over 62 minutes in an engrossing and entertaining fashion.
Track Listing
The Gold Gate; Bent Into Shape; Switched On; Flush; Magnetic North; Boom Bust Startup Ruin; Turns Luck; Prospects; Reverse Fortune.
Personnel
Todd Sickafoose
bass, acousticJenny Scheinman
violinAllison Miller
drumsKirk Knuffke
trumpetBen Goldberg
clarinetAdam Levy
guitarErik Deutsch
pianoRob Reich - Accordion
accordionAlbum information
Title: Bear Proof | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Secret Hatch Records
Comments
About Todd Sickafoose
Instrument: Bass, acoustic
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