CD Reviews

Three new Stick CDs crossed my desk recently, each available through Stick Enterprises or directly from the individual artist's Web site. While new Stick music is always exciting, the best part of this particular listening experience is that these three discs are about as different as they can be from each other.

Solo Stick, vocals, fresh interpretations of classic jazz tunes, progressive instrumentals with layers upon layers of Stick tracks-it's all there on these discs. A wonderful showcase of the huge variety of music one can create with The Stick. Emmett always said that he designed The Stick to be a blank slate for musicians to create and explore their own unique sounds. Jim Kam's Jimmy Nobody, Vintage Flight by Leo Gosselin and Uno by Mauricio Manchon prove just how different, wonderful and equally engaging Stick music and the musicians who play Stick can be.

Jim Kam: Jimmy Nobody

Let's start with Jim Kam's five song EP, Jimmy Nobody. The disc opens and closes with Kam's original compositions "Daydream" and "Remembering Allison." In between are interpretations on three classic tunes, two featuring Jim's singing. The overall sound is pastoral and unhurried with well thought out arrangements ranging from folk to Celtic to classical. When he sings, Jim reminds me of Bruce Cockburn. In fact the whole disc has the same feel as the 'Fergus Marsh on Stick era' Cockburn tunes.

By far my favourite tunes are the two originals. "Daydream" sounds exactly as it should - like a daydream. When I'm listening my mind can't help but wonder off to some distant thought, before I even realize it I'm gone.

"'Remembering Allison' was written to honor the memory of Allison Krause," read the liner notes. "On May 4th, 1970, on the campus of Kent State University, Allison and three fellow students were tragically killed by National Guardsmen," the notes continue. Kam goes on to write that this song is a lament and a metaphor for all children taken before their time and while I can hear the sadness and grief in the music I also hear optimism and beauty and a sense that all is not beyond hope.

This is a simple, straightforward honest recording, I only whish there were more than just five tunes.

Leo Gosselin: Vintage Flight

Fourteen classic jazz tunes interpreted by a classic Stick player or "jazz classic performed in a style reminiscent of an era when the biplane was master of the skies," according to the disc's back cover. Take your pick, either description works just fine.

Leo has been playing Stick for almost as long as one has been able to play Stick. In fact, if you pick up your copy of Free Hands, you'll find right near the beginning a picture of a young Leo Gosselin tapping away. Leo's mastery of the instrument and his musicality are obvious from the first notes of Vintage Flight. The recording is clean and crisp and a showcase for what is possible for a solo Stick player.

Once again, I'm most impressed by the ease with which Leo combines all his variations and his different approaches to two-handed Stick tapping. The classic left hand chord and right hand melody of "Lullaby of Birdland," the walking bass lines and thematic melody lines of "Bluesette" and Mingus's "Reincarnation of a Lovebird" and the rich, intricate counterpoint of "Mona Lisa," are all pulled off with style and grace.

There is a bit of a dichotomy going on though. These are 'vintage' tunes, classics, performed as if it was a different era, yet Gosselin is playing one of the most modern and futuristic of instruments. That could be a problem, but not here. Leo pulls it off magnificently. Old meets new and both are richer for it.

Mauricio Manchon: Uno

Jimmy Nobody is timeless, Vintage Flight leans towards Jimmy Nobody is timeless, Vintage Flight leans towards yesterday, Mauricio Manchon's Uno tears full speed ahead into tomorrow. This disc is electric and eclectic-Bach meets the League of Crafty Guitarists through clean and processed Stick sounds, EBow, loops and sonic treatments. Manchon crafts thick arrangements with multiple layers of sounds and loops yet each layer is transparent enough so that nothing gets lost in the mix.

There are plenty of gems on this 10 song CD. My favourites? "Laberinto," a showcase of interlocking melodies, counterpoint, EBow pads and an arrangement full of all sorts of unexpected twists and turns. I also liked the only non-original song on the disc, a version almost as haunting as REM's original version of "Everybody Hurts." Featuring Hilda Lizarazu on vocals, this tune manages to capture all the emotion of the original and add another layer of feeling and sensitivity.

Originally from Argentina, now living in Spain, Manchon has been involved with Robert Fripp's Guitar Craft and Guillermo Cides's various projects. He wears those influences proudly yet still manages to find an original voice that stands very strongly on its own.

Thanks to all three of the above artists for adding their unique voices to the repertoire of Stick recordings.

Jim Reilly
Kamloops, BC, Canada
Feb. 25, 05