a Room of Ones Own

Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri, Mick Karn (JBK) - Playing In A Room With People (2001) {Medium Productions MPCD13}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 279 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 116 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 2001 Medium Productions | MPCD13
Experimental / Ambient / Atmospheric

I'm biased by the fact that I feel JBK can do no wrong musically, though their work does not always strike a chord with my personal moods, this album is an exception. The idea is a novel one, and the result, superb. Jansen-Barbieri-Karn performing live some of their best material. One can almost say it is like a live Japan album minus Sylvian on vocals, as they cover material from each of their own repertoires, including a Rain Tree Crow piece. From the pulsating electro-atmospheric opener "Walkabout" by Barbieri, ending with the downbeat track "Types of Ambiguity" by Jansen, every number is a gem and performed with the utmost of professionality and originality. Expect no less from this trio.

Not many true guitar gods have walked this earth. In the hands of these rare beings, the guitar is more than a six stringed musical instrument; it is a source of immense power, a weapon of mass destruction, a light saber, the most magical of wands, capable of removing a groupy’s panties with a single note…

Pianist Frank Dupree, whose name looks American, is actually a German pianist who was initially trained as a jazz percussionist. That is more important than you might realize because this CD features the music of Nikolai Kapustin, the late Russian composer whose compositions are fully saturated with jazz feeling and swing. Interestingly, Dupree has also made a recording of music by avant-garde composer Peter Eötvös for the Genuin label, so his interest in modern classical music seems to be fairly wide.