Helmet Room Rec.
Bela Karoli : Furnished Rooms (US,2007)***°
This freshly new woman trio from Denver makes tastefully arranged songs that hold the middle between jazz, songwriting and subtle modern grooves. Also, there is some literary interest involved, where text inspirations are sung and are softly pushed to life and swing, in a manner as if spoken word comes to song, following and flooding on the musical groove, with a certain jazz-like emotionality, in a way they’re pushed into the swing in sections of words with pauses, while the musical background carries them further. The bass holds the middle between the modern groove (by repetition) and jazz, while soft electronica and just once and a while keyboards and hand percussive elements replace any drums with more subtle but very present grooves (there are no drums). Cello and violin, sometimes harmonica, work in between the voice and the bass and rhythms, are a more free, more improvised, partly arranged part that is a bit more chamber-music like. Also listed is a very original version of Gershwin’s “Summertime” which sounds so new as if it is mixed with some kind of bluesy or gospel song idea, it is also arranged with the more typical grooves and chamber arrangements from the group than they felt obliged to deal with each detail of the original. Tasty affected music this is, sure.
Julie Davis plays upright bass, vocals, soft instruments, Brigid McAuliffe plays accordion and sings (also with vocal arrangements), and Carrie Beeder plays violin and cello. All musicians added several multi-tracking ideas.
