MUSIC REVIEW BY Ferdinand Dupuis-Panther, Jazz'halo (Belgium)
Let's read what Origin Records has to say about Martin Budde: "... Seattle guitarist Martin Budde steers his trio through a collection of mostly original compositions on his f'rst Origin recording. Thoroughly rooted in the fluid, modern jazz guitar sounds of the last 50 years, ... Drummer Xavier Lecouturier and bassist Ben Feldman are his longtime collaborators in the more densely eclectic modern jazz sextet Meridian Odyssey, and here they collaborate beautifully on the space and sonorities of Budde's trio aesthetic. Even through the moments of modern angularity, or introspective passages tinged with melancholy, there's always a sense of uplift and openness in his music. More than just a stellar album, Back Burner is a declaration of arrival, as Budde sets his gaze on f'nding his own way forward."
We listen to a guitar trio with a voice that can be regarded as dominating. The guitarist draws the melodic and harmonic lines, and this begins with the first bars of "Red", the opening track of the album. With Martin Budde, the listener walks through the wave troughs of the sound of strings, experiences soundscapes in which springs and pools exist and streams flow, such an obvious image. He is supported by bass and drums. The drummer is quite concise in his playing, while the bass player acts rather restrained.
"Back Burner" combines the sound of a deep bass with the delicate string sounds of the guitarist. This makes the melodic structure appear like a clearing fog that gradually disappears. Isn't there also a bit of a blues atmosphere involved in the piece?
The track "Companion" is followed by "Eye to the Sky": the guitar sequences seem almost transparent, as if they were used to design a musical Tiffany stained glass window, but there are also moments in the present piece in which the guitarist is silent and leaves the sound space to the bass. Don't we hear pizzicato at its finest? Sparkling along is Martin Budde's playing.
Why a song by Joni Mitchell and in this case "My Old Man" was included on the album is not necessarily clear. Already with the first bars the impression of folk and songwriter comes to mind. Both have a long tradition in the USA, whether you think of Joan Baez, Woody Guthry or the aforementioned Joni Mitchell.
By the way, in the fast-paced "Gee Bee Blues" the drummer has the opportunity and space to go out of himself and act as a soloist, i.e. not just to be the enigmatic rhythm giver. The latter is largely the case with "Consensus" as we listen to the guitarist's softly drawn string hatching. During the piece, Martin Budde lets sound stardust rain down on us, as it were. One could also say that the finest drops of strings fall. Isn't there also a little Americana involved in the play? And there is something else that differs from the other pieces: the lyrical bass, bowed and appearing in all kinds of earth colours. But the last note belongs again to guitarist Martin Budde. At the end of the album, which is well worth listening to, it is called "Parker Peak".
We listen to a guitar trio with a voice that can be regarded as dominating. The guitarist draws the melodic and harmonic lines, and this begins with the first bars of "Red", the opening track of the album. With Martin Budde, the listener walks through the wave troughs of the sound of strings, experiences soundscapes in which springs and pools exist and streams flow, such an obvious image. He is supported by bass and drums. The drummer is quite concise in his playing, while the bass player acts rather restrained.
"Back Burner" combines the sound of a deep bass with the delicate string sounds of the guitarist. This makes the melodic structure appear like a clearing fog that gradually disappears. Isn't there also a bit of a blues atmosphere involved in the piece?
The track "Companion" is followed by "Eye to the Sky": the guitar sequences seem almost transparent, as if they were used to design a musical Tiffany stained glass window, but there are also moments in the present piece in which the guitarist is silent and leaves the sound space to the bass. Don't we hear pizzicato at its finest? Sparkling along is Martin Budde's playing.
Why a song by Joni Mitchell and in this case "My Old Man" was included on the album is not necessarily clear. Already with the first bars the impression of folk and songwriter comes to mind. Both have a long tradition in the USA, whether you think of Joan Baez, Woody Guthry or the aforementioned Joni Mitchell.
By the way, in the fast-paced "Gee Bee Blues" the drummer has the opportunity and space to go out of himself and act as a soloist, i.e. not just to be the enigmatic rhythm giver. The latter is largely the case with "Consensus" as we listen to the guitarist's softly drawn string hatching. During the piece, Martin Budde lets sound stardust rain down on us, as it were. One could also say that the finest drops of strings fall. Isn't there also a little Americana involved in the play? And there is something else that differs from the other pieces: the lyrical bass, bowed and appearing in all kinds of earth colours. But the last note belongs again to guitarist Martin Budde. At the end of the album, which is well worth listening to, it is called "Parker Peak".