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The Tin Hat Trio, three classically-educated New York musicians
(Rob Burger on accordion, Carla Kihlstedt on violin and
Mark Orton on guitar), moved to San Francisco in 1995.
Their debut album, Memory Is An Elephant (Angel, 1999),
mixes jazz, folk, avantgarde and world-music.
Their art inhabits a world where
tango master Astor Piazzolla plays with the comically old-fashioned
Penguin Cafè Orchestra
(Fire Of Ada).
and the jazzy Lounge Lizards improvise
with folk musicians
(Foreign Legion, The Quick Marble Tremble),
and music-hall entertainers duet with with Stephane Grappelly (Big Top),
and classical composer Bela Bartok writes sonatas for drunk gypsies (Lambrackroar),
and bossanova king Antonio Jobim joins a new-wave combo (The Quick Marble Tremble),
and modernist composer Charles Ives toys with Balkan folk songs
(UC Irvine UC Davis).
The fusion of populist and austere attitudes is best represented by
Waltz Of The Skyscraper and Thinuette, two stately dances with
countless subtle variations that explore a broad range of textures and
tactics.
Where Memory was playful and tuneful,
Helium (Angel, 2000) is artful and cerebral.
Gone is the mad tango influence, replaced by convoluted
jazzy gestures (Helium, also offered in a vocal and orchestral version, Helium Reprise),
quasi-dissonant jamming (Beverly's March),
pseudo-Balkan frenzy (Fountain Of Youth),
atonal lounge melodies (Seamstress Extraordinaire).
Even their takes on sleepy blues (Sand Dog Blues, Width Of The World) and exotic easy-listening muzak (Esperanto, Brennero), that superficially look innocent divertissments, hide sophisticated harmonic games.
The music of these pieces is more abstract and artificial than the one on the
first album, abruptly alienated from their folk roots and instead steeped
in the progressive-rock tradition of
Henry Cow and
Frank Zappa.
Carla KihlStedt also plays in
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and
released the solo 2 Foot Yard (Tzadik, 2003),
a trio with cellist Marika Hughes and percussionist Shahzad Ismaily
playing sophisticated chamber vignettes.
In 2011 Carla Kihlstedt premiered Necessary Monsters, a song cycle based on Jorge Luis Borges' "Book of Imaginary Beings".
Rodeo Eroded (Ropeadope, 2002) is far less exciting than the previous
Tin Hat Trio albums. Despite a few distinguished guests,
very few numbers (Holiday Joel) stand out.
The Tin Hat Trio returned to form with Book Of Silk (Ropeadope, 2004).
Rob Burger (accordion, piano), Carla Kihlstedt (violin) and Mark Orton (guitar)
organize the otherworldly polyphony of acoustic instruments (notably Zeena Parkins' harp and Bryan Smith's tuba) into
intimations of metaphysical languor (Lauren's Lullaby, Empire of Light, Pablo Looks Back, The Longest Night, Things That Might Have Been),
interrupted by childish and festive acts (The Clandestine Adventures of Ms Merz, Same Shirt Different Day, Hotel Aurora)
and obscured by momentary turbulence (Elliott Carter Family, Light Black from Pole to Pole).
Straddling the border between classical and folk music like the
Penguin Cafè Orchestra used to,
the Trio rediscovers the universal magic and beauty that unites the elite and the people.
Kihlstedt also played her violin on the only album credited to the Redressers,
To Each According (2004),
with drummer Ches Smith (Xiu Xiu), bassist
Devin Hoff and celloist Marika Hughes.
Rob Burger the Tin Hat Trio quit before the release of
The Sad Machinery Of Spring (Ryko, 2007), which is credited only to Tin
Hat (no "Trio") given that the founding duo of
Carla Kihlstedt (violin) and Mark Orton (guitar) had expanded the line-up to a
quintet with harpist Zeena Parkins, multi-instrumentalist Ara Anderson and clarinetist Ben Goldberg.
15 expressionistic vignettes were closer in spirit to the neoclassical jazzy
instrumental music of
Art Zoyd and
Univers Zero, except that the Tin Hat ensemble
did not quite have the guts to attempt more ambitious structures.
Janissary Band, a sort of march for celeste and trumpet, and
Dionysius, a sort of bolero a` la Ravel, actually give expressionism
a childish face.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Giuseppe Bonafede)
I Tin Hat Trio sono un ensemble
newyorchese di educazione classica
(Rob Burger alla fisarmonica, Carla
KihlStedt al violino e Mark Orton alla chitarra) trasferitasi a San Francisco
nel 1995. Il loro album di debutto Memory Is An Elephant (Angel, 1999)
mischia jazz, folk,avanguardia e world music. La loro arte popola un mondo in
cui il maestro del tango Astor Piazola
suona con la comicità d'altri tempi dei Penguin Cafè Orchestra (Fire
Of Ada) , e i chiassosi Lounge Lizard improvvisano con musicisti
folk (Foreign Legion, The Quick Marble Tremble),dove
intrattenitori da music-hall duettano con Stephane Grappelly(Big Top)e il compositore classico Bela Bartok scrive
sonate per zingari ubriachi (Lambrackroar) ,dove il re del bossanova
Antonio Jobim crea una combinazione new wave (The Quick Marble Tremble)
e il musicista modernista Charles Ives gioca con canzoni Balcaniche (UC
Irvine UC Davis).La fusione di attitudini austere e popolari è
rappresentata al meglio in Waltz Of The Skyscraper e Thinuette, due maestosi balli con innumerevoli
sottili variazioni che esplorano un’ampia gamma di intrecci e strategie.
Dove Memory Is An Elephant è giocoso e melodioso Helium (Angel, 2000) è
artificioso e cerebrale. Le matte influenze
tango sono sparite, rimpiazzate da contorti cenni jazz (Helium,
che offre anche una versione orchestrale e vocale, Helium Reprise), jam
quasi dissonanti (Beverly's March), frenesie pseudo-Balcaniche (Fountain
Of Youth), atonali melodie lounge (Seamstress Extraordinaire). I
loro blues assonnati (Sand Dog Blues, Width Of The World) e il
loro sottofondo esotico easy-listening (Esperanto, Brennero), che
superficialmente guardano a innocenti svaghi , nascondono invece sofisticati
giochi armonici. La musica di questi brani è più astratta e artificiale del
primo album, alienati improvvisamente dalle loro origini folk e immersi nella
tradizione progressive-rock di Henry Cow e Frank Zappa.
Carla KihlStedt ha anche suonato nei Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
e ha pubblicato l’album solista 2 Foot Yard (Tzadik, 2003), in trio con
la violoncellista Marika Hughes e il percussionista Shahzad Ismaily suonano
sofisticate vignette di musica da camera.
Rodeo Eroded
(Ropeadope, 2002) è molto meno entusiasmante degli album precedenti. Malgrado
spicchino poche eccezioni (Holiday Joel).
I Tin Hat Trio ritornano in forma con Book
Of Silk (Ropeadope, 2004). Rob Burger (fisarmonica, piano), Carla Kihlstedt
(violino) e Mark Orton (chitarra) organizzano una polifonia trascendentale di
strumenti acustici (in particolare l’arpa di Zeena Parkins'e la tuba di Bryan
Smith) in un annuncio di metafisico languore (Lauren's Lullaby, Empire
of Light, Pablo Looks Back, The Longest Night, Things That
Might Have Been), interrotto da infantili e festivi atti (The
Clandestine Adventures of Ms Merz, Same Shirt Different Day, Hotel
Aurora) e oscurato da momentanee turbolenze (Elliott Carter Family, Light Black from Pole to Pole).
A cavallo tra musica classica e folk come i Penguin Cafè Orchestra
sono abituati a fare, il Trio riscopre la magia universale e la bellezza che
unisce l’élite e il popolo.
Rob Burger lascia I Tin Hat Trio prima della
pubblicazione di The Sad Machinery
Of Spring (Ryko, 2007), accreditato come Tin Hat (senza "Trio")
il duo formato da Carla Kihlstedt
(violino) e Mark Orton (chitarra) si amplia in un quintetto con l’arpista Zeena
Parkins, il multi strumentista Ara
Anderson e il clarinettista Ben Goldberg. 15 vignette espressioniste vicine allo spirito del neoclassico jazz
strumentale degli Art Zoyd e Univers Zero, se non fosse
che l’ensemble Tin Hat non ha abbastanza fegato per tentare strutture più
ambiziose. Janissary Banduna una sorta di marcia per celeste e tromba, e
Dionysius, una sorta di bolero alla
Ravel, danno di fatto espressione a una volto infantile.
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