In Bob We Trust
Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 07/19/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"All Bob all the time. That's Lumiere but it's not just Blues Reflex (a great album) on steroids.
An album made up largely of guitars and all sizes of other plucked instruments (along with some bass played by a friend, and percussion mainly by Bob but some by longtime friend/producer, Daniel Thomas) and overdubs could have been a disaster in the hands of most guitarists but this comes together beautifully and naturally. This isn't a bunch of dueling guitar solos coming out of every speaker in the room. There is some masterful arranging here, where leads and textures work for the good of the whole.
Playing with Rene Lacaille, Debashish Bhattacharya, Djeli Moussa Diawara, etc... and first and foremost wanting to serve the music has caused Bob to find meaningful expression where lesser musicians would just chunka-chunka strum until it's their turn to be in the spotlight.
This isn't thin, linear music. It's open and spacious, with feelings of movement working both side to side and top to bottom. The "band" is called an "orchestra" but he isn't playing all the cover-photo instruments all the time, or on every track (and no sax at all). Lumiere has the feeling of a really happening small group that may be from some sort of tropical, hot-swinging little Italian villa in northern India where the locals fancy Iranians playing Greek ukeleles. Or something like that. It all flows together beautifully. Each tune has its own distinct personality, like sonic photographs from 1 issue of National Geographic. For me, it really peaks from tracks 4 - 9.
Bob doesn't play a National the way he plays a Weissenborn or a uke the way he plays a charango. You'll hear him explore things in ways you've not heard him play before, as well as hear him enter into familiar strains from previous albums but presented here in new ways. I'm particularly a fan of the little instruments here. This is his best album so far for presenting his artistry on the little guys!
We get something special when all these instruments come together in his hands within this context. I don't think he could have made this album with other people. It's also totally unlike a true solo Brozman performance such as Live in Germany.
"
Acoustic Nivana
Mark StJohn | Harkers Island | 08/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have had the extreme good fortune to listen to two extraordinary works of art in just that many days. Yesterday I listened to the 25th anniversary release of "Big Science" which pushed the musical experience to the edge. Today the musical deluge was more front and center (but in no way ordinary)..."Lumiere" by the Bob Brozman Orchestra. The Bob Brozman Orchestra is Bob Brozman playing by my count 31 instruments mostly acoustic guitar like instruments from all over the world layered (edited) to create twelve very exceptional musical works. I can not see how anyone with any musical interest would not be both moved and captivated by this CD. And anyone with a deep interest in music will find the accompanying descriptions and notes all the more fascinating. The quality of the performances and the sound is really amazing. I did not want it to end. Like Bradley Walker's debut album "Highway of Dreams" and Michael Brecker's "Pilgrimage," this may be one of the best musical creations this decade. Although none of these albums are of a popular genre, the quality of these pieces runs so deep."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1