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James Beaudreau

"Picking like this is always welcome," says guitar great Eugene Chadbourne, writing about James Beaudreau for All Music Guide. Beaudreau's playing reveals, he says, "a mind that can be provoked by intervals and melodies seemingly off-kilter with reality." Paris Transatlantic praised the guitarist's "Nick Drake-meets-Derek Bailey improvisations." All About Jazz lauded his "impressive inventiveness" and the "delicious ephemeral quality" of the music on his debut CD, Java Street Bagatelles. And Berlin-based website Tokafi.com called that CD "one of the most astounding between-the-genre[s] albums of 2006."

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229
Album Review

James Beaudreau: Fresh Twigs

Read "Fresh Twigs" reviewed by Florence Wetzel


James Beaudreau's 2006 Java St. Bagatelles (Workbench) made a nice splash in the music press, with glowing reviews in The Wire, All Music Guide, and Tokafi.com. Fresh Twigs is an equally compelling follow-up, featuring the delicious picking and melodic strengths of Java St. combined with mixing room agility and intriguing compositional elements. Inspired by pioneering producers Holger Czukay and Teo Macero, Beaudreau has created a CD of rewarding music that only strengthens upon repeated listening.

One of the most compelling ...

218
Album Review

James Beaudreau: Java St. Bagatelles

Read "Java St. Bagatelles" reviewed by Florence Wetzel


There's something refreshingly honest and personal about Java St. Bagatelles. This solo guitar recording is the first release by James Beaudreau, who has appeared as a sideman with The Billy Nayer Show and Grand Mal. The CD was recorded in the kitchen of Beaudreau's former apartment on Java Street in Brooklyn, and the music has a warm, homey feel that's rarely found in early 21st Century music. Most of the 24 tracks were improvised and throughout Beaudreau ...

214
Album Review

James Beaudreau: Java Street Bagatelles

Read "Java Street Bagatelles" reviewed by John Eyles


This album contains a series of 24 brief, home-produced solo guitar pieces, garnered from many more that were recorded over a two year period. The pieces are mostly improvised with a few compositions thrown in. Mainly, they run into each other, giving a unified, seamless flow to the music. As the album title suggests, there is a light playful mood throughout; it sounds as if Beaudreau is mainly playing to amuse and entertain himself--plus anyone else who may be listening. ...

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159

Recording

Inner City Presents the Condon Gang

Inner City Presents the Condon Gang

Source: All About Jazz

Inner City/Classic Jazz presents a tribute to the great bandleader Eddie Condon and the Chicago & New York jazz scenes in which he was a prime mover. This album features Hal Smith's Rhythmakers and Evan Christopher's Chosen Eight, two groups of remarkably talented players. A great way to explore a seminal style of jazz.

“It is hoped that this CD will give those who listen a sense of the swing, excitement and musicality that Eddie Condon and his friends brought ...

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Music

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