Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Bart Hofnagel: Ode to Myself

381

Bart Hofnagel: Ode to Myself

By

Sign in to view read count
Bart Hofnagel: Ode to Myself
It's amazing that the brilliant Bart Hofnagel dropped a new CD so soon after his brilliant solo set, The Ages of Man: Evolution in Music. While the usual clueless critics didn't get the point of its nine brilliant blank tracks—hello, didn't they teach you that evolution is a slow process?—his many fans instantly downloaded the whole brilliant thing as soon as it came out, and they'll want to grab this one, too.

As always, it's hard to pick highlights on a brilliant Hofnagel project with its tireless oncoming originals—but to these ears, "Sneer" is nothing less than a brilliant major mega-minimalist hyper-retro-trad existential statement. As Hofnagel explains in his brilliant, self-penned liners (page 46), he was inspired by the writings of Hegel, Homer's Iliad, an empty pizza box ("gone, gone"), the sound of one hand clapping, and the personal charm of Miles Davis to "fire up the Jazz Canon, ascend past every conceivable musical zenith, and wax the eyebrows of God." Brilliant.

Note: Ode to Myself is available briefly in a special limited edition with a full-color fold- out, two drops of Hofnagel's DNA, and a coupon for 10% off on his brilliant self-help bestseller, Perfect As Is: Who Needs Practice?

Track Listing

Too Hip for My Shoes, Come Sneer Like Me, I Like Mirrors (The Pose), Masturbation in 7/4, Bronze My Diapers, Angst Sells, Gotterdammerung

Personnel

Bart Hofnagel (piano, atonal vocalizing), Grin N. Keepgoing, (bass), Chuck ("Clappy") Methedrine, drums.

Album information

Title: Ode to Myself | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Self Produced

Gotcha! April Fools!

Comments

Tags


For the Love of 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 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.

More

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

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