Winter 2023 Short Takes Brief Reviews
Andy Jurik "Satie 3, 2, 1" 2023
Andy Jurik's Satie 3, 2, 1 is an EP of six piano works by French composer Erik Satie arranged for solo guitar. Jurik offers 'Three Gnossiennes,' each composed in free time and first published in 1893 alternating with
three contrasting works: a 'Valse-Ballet' and 'Fantaise-Valse' (both from 1885), and the first of the 'Danses de Travers' (Crooked Dances), one of the two sets of three pieces comprising 'Pièces froides' (Cold Pieces),
composed in 1897. On this recording, Jurik succeeds in accomplishing the seemingly insuperable triple-task of perfect programming, gorgeous interpretation throughout, and, with a keen sense of how to walk the fine line
between transcription and arrangement, making a convincing case for the prospect that these six pieces could ostensibly have been composed for solo guitar.
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David Pedrick
Luke LeBlanc "Places" 2023
Places, Luke LeBlanc's fifth album and first to be released by Real Phonic Records,
will no doubt populate the Americana and Alt Country charts and do much to bring this genuine, articulate, homespun, singer songwriter to the forefront of the music industry. LeBlanc's raspy
vocals and roots laden songs leap from the speakers with a clean, straight forward, no-nonsense sincerity and clarity that lands somewhere between John Prine and Loudon Wainwright III, with a
good dash of Dylan, which seems fitting for this Minneapolis native. This is not to say that LeBlanc does not cut his own path, he most certainly does. The power, depth and sheer
beauty of the sparse and intimate "Defeated" and the slow burning "No Good" are delivered with a sincerity and heart wrenching gravitas that carries uncommon emotional weight and power that make
it clear LeBlanc is forging an identity. On "Defeated" both Eric Heywood's honeyed and mournful pedal steel and
Casey Frensz's simmering saxophone fit with LeBlanc's vocals and lyrics in a manner that results in a sort of country-folk symbiosis. Heywood -- think Son Volt, The Jayhawks, John Doe, and Joe Henry --
shines on every track as does LeBlanc's fret work. There is an easy flow on this album,
from one tune to the next, whether it be the catchy, toe-tappers like "Own It" and Honey Rebel," or the down-home country ramble of "Never Met You At All, " which features LeBlanc's harmonica skill.
The production of fellow Minnesotan Erik Koskinen is spot-on with a classic vibe. Critical praise has already started to come LeBlanc's way, and Places is going to make a lot of "Best Of" lists.
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James Filkins
Patricia Dennison "Sky Watching" 2023
Dennison writes that her music derives from "a spiritual inquiry" in which she came to "question the suffering that lay beneath her favorite 'sad chords'… and into a musical exploration of the very nature of
existence." This existential quest is much in evidence on her latest CD of eleven original compositions. Even when more upbeat, as in the delicate "Earthly," jaunty "Walking Home," and "Easy --where her somber
bass chordal underpinnings are tempered by delightful melodies--the reflective sensibility and ruminative, elegiac tone permeates. Stunning examples are "Reverie," with crystalline single-note melody lines and
diamond-sharp harmonics, and "Who Owns the Dark," with its even darker, hypnotic melody line set against a repetitive alternating two-note motif. Throughout, Dennison's playing is assured, lush in tone, and
impressive in control and color. The intensity is amped up on "Bleeding Heart," with its prickly aggressive strumming, and most especially on "Pandemic," where frenetic quick-paced fingerstyle melody lines
contrast with rumbling bass to convey a sense of fear and foreboding. On the superb title track, a personal favorite, Dennison is more impressionist, veering in unexpected directions, using harsh clanging
chords set against a delicate melody line and rapid tremolo. With a focus on interweaving textures, Dennison often sounds like at least two guitarists at once. Sky Watching is a rich collection that rewards
repeated listening and would be a welcome addition to the music library of any lover of acoustic guitar.
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Céline Keating