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Garrison Fewell/Eric Hofbauer Duo
"It seemed to both Garrison and Eric that the music of several cultures, reshaped over several tempestuous centuries, pulses through jazz of the 21st century," writes journalist Ed Hazell in the liner notes to the duo's debut, The Lady of Khartoum (CNM 010). "Following the logic of improvisation's eternal present, [they] have synthesized the music of centuries into something organic to the moment...an album of music that stepped out of a deeper understanding of history into a deeper knowledge of our common humanity."
Fewell and Hofbauer augment their guitars with preparations, unusual tunings and percussion ranging from African ribbed drum sticks to antique Afghan and Moroccan jewelry to bells from India and the African Yoruba tribe. Their music, most of which is improvised, references such diverse elements as Congolese mythology, Delta blues, Sun Ra, a muezzin's call to prayer and the sonorities of traditional instruments such as the kora and African thumb piano. The duo also adds original compositions to the mix, as well reinterpretations of music by Thelonious Monk and John Tchicai.
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Garrison Fewell/ Eric Hofbauer: The Lady of Khartoum
by Mark F. Turner
It's best to throw out any preconceived notions of the guitar duo" before listening to The Lady Of Khartoum CD by composers/guitarists Garrison Fewell and Eric Hofbauer. These fifteen, mostly short snippets, are aural conversations that transcend the common conventions of typical fret-board picking melodies. Both performers have works that have spanned genres from mainstream to experimental. But this is something altogether different. Like conversations between two distant friends, the dialogs of these skilled improvisers speak of ...
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by John Sharpe
I wouldn't normally go for an album of guitar improvisation, but from the first notes the abstracted beauty of this duet session from Boston-area guitarists Garrison Fewell and Eric Hofbauer both dazzles and beguiles, sufficient to eliminate any prejudice.
Hofbauer is part of the Blueprint Project, whose 2007 recording People I Like made several best of year lists, and is also the founder of Creative Nation Music Records, while Fewell has gigged and recorded with John Tchicai, George ...
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by Nic Jones
Here's music from two guitars that covers far more ground than that description may imply. Fewell and Hofbauer are both players acutely aware of the sonic potential their instrument has to offer, and that awareness is one of the many qualities that combine lift the music on The Lady Of Khartoum well above the run-of-the-mill.
Comfort For An Affliction" starts quite literally from nothing other than silence, and such is its simultaneously reflective yet agitated air ...
read moreFewell/Hofbauer's "The Lady of Khartoum" Released Today on Creative Nation Music
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Improvised Communications
Creative Nation Music kicks off its 2008 release schedule on March 18th with The Lady of Khartoum (CNM 010), an eclectic series of duets by Boston-based guitarist/composers Garrison Fewell and Eric Hofbauer. Inspired by the deeper roots of jazz in the music of West Africa, Persia and the Arabic-Islamic world, this intergenerational duo's music juxtaposes ancient traditions with the language and techniques of contemporary improvisation.
Over the course of 15 tracks, Fewell and Hofbauer augment their guitars with preparations, unusual ...
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--The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, Ninth Edition
This freewheeling pan-cultural duo helps show that jazz’s family tree has
some pretty deep roots.
--Nathan Turk, Signal to Noise
Tracks like “Dogon Delta Blues” and “Devil at the Salang Pass” are
adventurous and quirky, exploring the boundaries of the guitar’s sonic
possibilities. “Farsighted Friendship”, a John Tchicai composition (Fewell is a
long-time collaborator), is a fitting closing tune, beautiful and
contemplative.
--Karen Hogg, AllAboutJazz-New York
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