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STRATEGY FOR THE DAY: listen closely

Gilbert Isbin was performing here in Los Angeles last Thursday night. He was absolutely wonderful, creating mesmerizing rhythms, climbing through chords as if they were ladders. (For those of you reading this who don't know Gilbert, he is a guitarist who lives in Belgium where he records his own solo albums and is a much-in-demand sideman.) Gilbert came to LA at the request of Jeffrey Gauthier, a superb jazz violinist and owner of a jazz label. He and Gilbert played three or four numbers together which they had worked up just the previous day. It sounded as if they had been playing together for years! Gorgeous stuff! They did a version of Nick Drake's 'Three Hours" which was stunning, but even better was a piece Gilbert had just written for the two of them called (I think) "Invitation." The Club Tropical was the perfect venue - a large dance floor was strewn with the music equipment needed by the band following Gilbert. There were couches around the walls and tables & chairs right at the edge of the dance floor. The house lights were kept on, though dimmed, so you got the feeling of sitting around someone's home studio listening to a great jam session.

I love Gilbert's album of Nick Drake covers and have written about it before. His guitar interpretations are both integral and expansive. At the show on Thursday night, he played an excellent cover of the Beatles "Norwegian Wood" that also displayed the same respect for the material while going deeper and wider.

Copyright 2004 Robin Frederick. All rights reserved.