Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jeff Gauthier: Mask

262

Jeff Gauthier: Mask

By

View read count
Jeff Gauthier: Mask
The "Goat" in violinist Jeff Gauthier's Goatette is the nickname he was tagged with as a child. His band Goatette, together since 1991, adds guitarist Nels Cline for this recording. Gauthier has been a regular collaborator with Nels and his drummer brother Alex Cline since the late-1970s in the ensemble Quartet Music, with deceased legendary bassist Eric von Essen. Gauthier produced Nels Cline's recent barn-burning Instrumentals (Cryptogramophone 2002). Gauthier has also been a regular contributor to projects by creative artists Vinny Golia and Gregg Bendian.

Mask is Gauthier's third release as a leader, and his best yet.

Gauthier and the Cline brothers are joined by bassist Joel Hamilton (Gregg Bendian Trio) and pianist David Witham, a Jaki Byard protege. Mask is an update on the melodic music of 1970s Pat Metheny, Bill Evans, and the explorations of Keith Jarrett. Goatette is benefited by the rare treat of Nels Cline's acoustic work on several tracks. Known for his ever-shredding guitar, Nels eschews the noise for these smart compositions.

The album kicks off with the 5/4 rhythmic "Clea's Bounce," a catchy connect-the-dots piece. Their "Waltz For K.P." is a nifty vehicle for subtle changes as Gauthier and Nels Cline exchange bebop licks. They remake Ornette Coleman's "Enfant" into a fusion (in the good sense) piece. There is a quietly beautiful moment here. Bassist Joel Hamilton plays the sweetest arco solo on "The Fools" and Alex Cline's composition "Forgiveness," is a simple poem of peace.

The record revolves around the nearly 18-minute title piece in four-movements. Written while Gauthier was in Guanajuato Mexico on Christmas Eve, his tequila-enhanced experience with the traditional masks of local residents yielded this fine composition. The spooky circumstance of Gauthier's evening with Billie Holiday singing Cole Porter is woven into his writing. The rocked-out beginning yields a creepy gong and percussion passage before Nels Cline tears through the closing. A very strong effort.

Track Listing

Clea's Bounce; Waltz For K.P.; Enfant; The Fools; Ephemera - For Eric; Mask; Forgiveness.

Personnel

Jeff Gauthier: electric violin, violin; Nels Cline: electric guitar, 12-Sstring acoustic guitar; David Witham: piano, electric piano; Joel Hamilton: bass; Alex Cline: drums, percussion.

Album information

Title: Mask | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Cryptogramophone

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.