Music you really need to hear
Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 07/03/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Beatnik jazz minimalism. Without irony. And not in the least postmodern. How do they do THAT?
It's the crazy vision of Danny Frankel, who so brilliantly lent his percussive stylings to Stephen Bernstein's remarkable release, Diaspora Hollywood. Having assembled a diverse group of musicians (unknown to me, save for the inimitable Petra Haden, who's appearing on quite a few projects these days, not the least being her duo with Bill Frisell) including Gabe Cousins (whistling, trumpet), Joseph Hammer (tape loops, optigan[?], autoharp loop), Mimi (recorder, harmonium), Doug Wieselman (electric guitar, clarinet), and Nan Vernon (unplugged electric guitar), Frankel deploys a staggering array of percussion and little instruments, including bongo, congas, claypot, tambourine, cymbal, Casio keyboard, hand drum, ashtray, cowbell, wood flute, shaker, and finger cymbals).
This is music of rare beauty, not seeking to overwhelm, let alone blow anyone out of the water. Instead, it operates between the spaces occupied by most musics--with limited intentions and sonorities, with a kind of purposely pared down aesthetic, with an attention to detail and sonic (especially percussive) space seldom encountered in the age of the massive attack.
I must admit, it takes a rare mood for me to pull out this disc. I'm looking for a precise, rarely encountered aesthetic experience--fragile, ephemeral, small-scale, but entirely satisfying. And this disc seldom fails to deliver."