Member:
ffroyd
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by ffroyd)
Date:
4/22/2005
Format:
CD (Album)
Trey Gunn is no longer the only Warr guitar player in town. Bill Burke from Maryland has also proven himself quite adept on this monstrous instrument as well.
For those not familiar with the Warr guitar, it’s basically an 8 string bass guitar that’s played by tapping the strings to the fret board. A close relative would be the Chapman stick, first made popular by Tony Levin in the 80s. These instruments are very versatile in the fact that the wide range makes them capable of producing bass guitar sounds as well as higher notes normally associated with a regular guitar.
When I had first heard about Bill Burke, I thought he would play in a more world music style similar to what Trey Gunn was doing. His CD Where’d Our Ball Go? is quite different and has a very pastoral, almost classical feel to it. A cellist, flautist and violinist accompany him on the disc and that may be why it sounds this way to me. It’s a very beautiful disc and I highly recommend it. Bill’s latest offering, Comma is a much more solitary affair; all but three of the tracks are unaccompanied.
The basic strategy behind most of the music is rather simple: loop a track with a digital delay system and layer parts and solos on top of it. Although it does sound simple the tracks can become very complex quickly and his playing is always captivating.
The first three pieces make up a suite called “The Subway” and the first part “On The Platform – Brooklyn” sounds vaguely psychedelic with a slow hypnotic pattern that sounds like an organ backing some very soothing guitar textures. The second piece “On The Train” literally picks up the pace with a steady driving bass groove very consistent to the song’s title. The third part “The Bronx” glides us right back to the beginning.
“The Minimalist” is piece where Bill doesn’t do any multi-tracking I believe. Everything is played straight through and it sounds awesome. The track is over much too soon. “Nunu” is somewhat strange and utilizes quite a few effects. There are parts here that have a genuine Frippian atmosphere. Also appearing on the track is John Emrich, who plays a new fangled midi-drum machine controller called the “zen drum”.
The next track “Views of an Icy Horizon” aside from having a very cool title, is a nice duet with Bruno Nasta on violin and viola. “If A Is B” is a speedy and complex little piece where Bill gets to show off a bit. This brings us to the title track, which is a very smooth ambient piece that reminds me of Brian Eno with lots of spacey guitar treatments. The last tune “Nami” is a short bonus track that brings back John Emrich and the “zen drum” for some last-minute nonsense before the end of the disc.
Bill Burke’s music is more than just for fans of the stick and Warr guitar. He has a flair for melody and composition as well as improvisation. The only problem with this CD is that I wish it were much longer. My CD player set to repeat and usually this plays through 3 or 4 times before I realize it.
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