Gaucho, feat. Tamar Korn - Pearl (2010)

First impressions can be deceiving. On Gaucho’s fourth album (and second release for Porto Franco Records), the San Francisco sextet sounds like it’s unearthed a treasure trove of forgotten songs from Jazz Age and Swing Era. But a closer look reveals that only two of the dozen deliriously swinging tunes are standards. The other ten are the result of an inspired collaboration between Gaucho’s lead guitarist and founder Dave Ricketts and vocalist Tamar Korn, one of the freshest and most exciting new voices on the New York scene. While still in her 20s, she possesses a playfully pure tone that evokes speakeasies and bootleg gin without hinting at nostalgia, a sound tailor made for Gaucho’s singular synthesis of New Orleans polyphony and ebullient Gypsy jazz. More than the album’s muse, Korn wrote the lyrics to a set of new tunes that Ricketts started composing after she sat in with the band. “We were taking the sound we developed in San Francisco and trying to build Gaucho the same way in New York,” Ricketts says. “Meeting Tamar and hitting it off so beautifully was totally unexpected. What’s great is that we’ve made such an impression on her that she was interested in writing songs with me. The new music really captures how much the band has changed and grown since we started. She’s my favorite singer in New York, and the music on Pearl is like a trophy for all of those efforts.” Gaucho made its imposing reputation, and won an avid following that led to being voted “Best Jazz Group” in the SF Weekly Music Awards, by honing an approach that’s both utterly contemporary and steeped in jazz string band tradition. While every player contributes to Gaucho’s irresistibly syncopated sound, the band is driven by the dynamic rhythm section tandem of guitarist Michael Groh and stand-up bassist Ari Munkres. Conservatory trained accordion ace Rob Reich is a powerfully melodic player with a supple rhythmic sensibility, while drummer/percussionist Pete Devine (who gained a national following with the ragtime trio Bo Grumpus) coaxes an amazing array of beats and textures out of his stripped down kit. And reed expert Ralph Carney, a wildly inventive player whose horn work can be heard on numerous Tom Waits recordings, balances antic humor and deadly serious chops. Korn isn’t the only special guest adding a jolt of energy to the Pearl proceedings. Guitarist Vic Wong, a Gypsy jazz specialist, contributes some beautifully calibrated fretwork. But the key ringer is the great trad cornetist Leon Oakley, a supremely expressive, criminally underexploited jazz master who cut his teeth as a Turk Murphy sideman from 1968-79. Nimbly conjuring the spirit of Satchmo, Oakley contributes solos and fills that are models of lyrical concision. It’s the Gaucho aesthetic, which prizes elegance of expression and savvy ensemble interplay over displays of technical prowess. 1 Sing On (Odessa Sing On) (5:07) 2 Little Sweetie (3:19) 3 Doublebarrel (4:31) 4 Waiting (3:25) 5 Pazzo (3:10) 6 Maripoza Waltz (3:33) 7 Pearl (6:30) 8 Sergei Stomp (2:50) 10 Angel (5:00) 11 Amnesia (4:13) 12 Lover, Come Back to Me (6:08) Compositions by Dave Ricketts, except: ‘Avalon’ written by Al Jolson, Vincent Rose and Buddy DeSilva, ‘Lover, Come Back to Me’ by Oscar Hammerstein II and Sigmund Romberg, Lyrics for ‘Sing On’ and ‘Pearl’ written by Tamar Korn, and lyrics for ‘Little Sweetie’ written by Pete Devine and Tamar Korn. Pearl was in the afternoons of January 23 and 24, 2010, at Amnesia before a small audience of friends and family. Dave Ricketts - bandleader, lead guitar Rob Reich - accordion Ari Munkres - bass Michael Groh - rhythm guitar Pete Devine - drums Ralph Carney - saxophone, clarinet, clarinet stick Tamar Korn - vocal Vic Wong - lead guitar on ‘Pazzo’ the honorable Leon Oakley - Cornet