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With the rising forceof globalism, many talented musicians have felt the pull of eclecticism, buthad no feel for pulling it off. Their musical fusions were cold, theirjuxtapositions mismatched.
Veteran jazz andklezmer bassist Jim Guttman and his excellent band bring a more evolvedsensibility to the eclectic on BessarabianBreakdown. The album is rooted in part but never anchored in klezmer, agenre Guttman explores with great feeling and understanding. It opens withstraight-ahead klezmer and segues into straight-ahead jazz before uncoveringthe ancestral links between Cuban and Jewish melancholy and blistering bluesguitar.
Meaningful surprisesabound. The swirling fiddles of “Doyne, Hora, Sirba” play out against a dreamyChagal backdrop, its solemn rhythm suddenly kicking into a lively tempo.Bessarabian Breakdown doesn’t just circle around a lot of great music, butnails every note.
