Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » David Zoffer and Adam Larrabee: Courage in Closeness

84

David Zoffer and Adam Larrabee: Courage in Closeness

By

View read count
David Zoffer and Adam Larrabee: Courage in Closeness
Courage in Closeness is something of a beguilement, an understated piano/guitar outing that, rather than jumping out and grabbing you by the throat, coaxes and caresses, seranades.

On the opener, "Talk to Me", David Zoffer's piano work is lush, with a delicate, classical tinge, while Adam Larrabee picks pungent Metheny-esque lines... a song to play for a lady friend over glasses of wine...

Things get a little dirty on "Here Comes Spider," with the piano going percussive and a bit gutbucket, guitar finding a wah-wah voice. And I used the word 'beguilement' because an initial blind listen through of the CD left me with the impression of classical stuff; but another spin shows pianist Zoffer can be quite bluesy ("Here Comes Spider" and "Need You So"); while Larrabee, who can play sweet ("For JMZ"), also has some fine, gritty, get down, rockish rough edges in his quiver ("Phillipe's Vibe"; "Never Even").

Nine of the eleven tunes are Zoffer or Larrabee originals. You'll hear hints of the tango with "Seasonal Beards", influenced by bandoneon maestro Astor Piazzolla; some Chopin ("Chopin Noc-turned"); and an ethereal take on some Scott Joplin ragtime ("Solace").

Contrasting styles: Sweetness and pungency. Clean and then a wee bit grimy. That's the secret to the CD's success. And, remarkably, the musicians take turns with each roll, sometimes in the same song. Great interplay, and lots of surprises revealed with multiple listenings.

For Info visit: www.davidzoffer.com

Track Listing

Talk to Me; Here Comes Spider; For JMZ; Need You So; Chopin Noc-turned; Seasonal Beards; Escape Artist; Courage in Closeness; Phillipe

Personnel

David Zoffer- piano; Adam Larrabee- guitar.

Album information

Title: Courage In Closeness | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Zofco Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.