Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » James Beaudreau: Java Street Bagatelles

James Beaudreau: Java Street Bagatelles

By John Eyles
July 29, 2006
Sign in to view read count

This album contains a series of 24 brief, home-produced solo guitar pieces, garnered from many more that were recorded over a two year period. The pieces are mostly improvised with a few compositions thrown in. Mainly, they run into each other, giving a unified, seamless flow to the music. As the album title suggests, there is a light playful mood throughout; it sounds as if Beaudreau is mainly playing to amuse and entertain himself—plus anyone else who may be listening.

Replete with rhythm, melody and harmony, the playing is conventional enough not to scare off those for whom "improvised guitar may sound alarm bells; but it also has enough pithy quirks to keep guitar and improv freaks coming back for more. By and large, it is the kind of music that you might put on as a soothing balm between bouts with other more complex musics—the musical equivalent of a sorbet between courses—light, subtle, cleansing, enjoyable.

Only when Beaudreau switches to electric guitar for "The Robot Prince does the sound acquire a greater cutting edge and the mood darken a little; but that merely acts as an interlude in the overall mood of laid-backness, heightening it by contrast. It is very appropriate that many of the track titles on this limited edition release suggest some sort of rural idyll.

Track Listing

Welcome; Pressed Grass; Meadow March; Hare; Plum; Nebula; The Unexpected Guest; Tea and Scone; Piano Roll; Tangerine; Blimp; Northward Vale; Maple Moon; Overhedge; Daffodil; Wheelhouse; August; Walnut Star; The Robot Prince; Spanish Moss; Under the Tree on the Hill; Twilight Time; Wafer Bridge; Fort Tryon.

Personnel

James Beaudreau

guitar

James Beaudreau: electric and acoustic guitars.

Album information

Title: Java Street Bagatelles | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Workbench

< Previous
It Takes Two!

Next >
Bounce

Comments

About James Beaudreau

Instrument: Guitar

Tags

For the Love of Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create 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.

You Can Help

To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve 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.