Any guy who takes up his mandolin and starts off the session with Dizzy Gillespie’s “Bebop” and then Charlie Parker’s “Quasimodo” is going to get my attention. Chris Biesterfeldt, along with the simpatico team of Adam Armstrong/b and Eric Halvorson/dr show what can be done with a mandolin trio, lots of chops and lots of creativity. Soulful material like “Freedom Jazz Dance” “Back at the Chicken Shack” and “Some Skunk Funk” have Biesterfeldt strumming and smoking like a Lionel train set, while dexterity and class are in abundance on Bach’s “G Minor Presto,” while tons of humor are packed into Zappa’s “Rollo Interior.” Some wonderful interplay is heard on Pat Metheny’s “Bright Size Life” and Jaco Pastorious’ “Teen Town” and remarkable lyricism can be found on the delicate “God Only Knows.” Amazing how the ideas bounce around, and you keep wondering what he’ll come up with next.
BR1001
Chris Biesterfeldt