from The Aquarian, Spring 2000
Natural Selection . . . a sampler
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Zebra Acoustic
reviewed by Syd Baumel
The one thing these 14 tracks from 7 different albums by about as many different artists all have in common is that they're acoustic and they're good. A few are even better.
With the London Symphony Orchestra and a stellar corps of jazz soloists (Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, John Abercrombie. . .) to help realize his Epiphany, composer Vince Mendoza segues from the most tender neo-impressionism in "Impromptu" (think Ravel's Mother Goose Suite) to six minutes of deliciously reflective jazz in "Sanctus."
In two tracks from Unassigned Territory, former Gary Burton Quartet guitarist David Pritchard conjures up a kind of oasis of finger-picking delight via multiple patterned overlays of steel string guitars.
From Live in Paris, guitarist Pierre Bensusan and Didier Malherbe (flute) take a pleasant, light-jazz picnic in their improvisational "Fetish." More interesting is "Bamboule," with its exuberant Brazilian stylings and scat-singalongs with flute and guitar.
In a class of its own are two selections from the remarkable Mountain Tale. In the haunting "Midnight Tale" (mislabelled on the sampler as "Mountain Tale") Sergey Starostin (Moscow Art Trio) soulfully croons a Russian folk song while the Bulgarian Voices (aka Angelite) chant a savoury-sweet folk song of their own heritage, complementing each other like black bread and goulash. The album's inspired multicultural counterpoint hits a heady peak in the jaunty "Early Morning with My Horse," wherein Tuvan throat singers (Huun-Huur-Tu), lively syncopated strumming, a feisty Mongolian Jew's harp, and a perfectly out-of-time chorus by the Voices make for an almost psychedelic pony ride.
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