Curwin, Julian - The Mango Balloon, Volume 3
SKU
Romero 007
"The Mango Balloon is essentially a stripped-back chamber version of Curwin’s other band The Tango Saloon, with a lighter sound bringing lounge, exotica and continental jazz to the larger band’s tango/western blend.
Aside from six members from The Tango Saloon, the recordings also feature special guests bringing their own distinct flavour to the music. Volume 1 (2010) features Eddie Bronson on clarinets, adding a touch of klezmer to the mix, and Volume 2 (2012) features folk/rock/pop vocalist and guitarist Brian Campeau.
The special guest for Volume 3 is Shenzo Gregorio (aka Shenton Gregory), violin/viola master well-versed in many exotic musical endeavors including gypsy, flamenco and Indian improvisation.
He is perhaps best known for playing 'stunt violin' in his own project Shenzo's Electric Stunt Orchestra - he and his bandmates soar through the air as they play their unique hybrid of classical and hard rock styles.
With The Mango Balloon, Shenzo plays viola throughout, and keeps his feet firmly on the ground, though still manages to bring plenty of fireworks to the occasion."
"Comedies are shorter than dramas because they find our boredom threshold faster. Music is the same: jollity palls sooner than ripping out our hearts. Few operate in both camps, and fewer still effect a balance. Guitarist Julian Curwin is one.
When he first started releasing his Tango Saloon and Mango Balloon albums Curwin seemed an extremely talented dilettante. It’s now clear he’s much more than that. The compositional ideas here are extraordinarily wide and wildly imaginative. The range they ride has jazzy, classical, cowboy, Gypsy and Latin elements, and more that have no name. The balance between what we might call the whacky and the moving is not only more astute, but, best of all, the line between them has blurred.
This has happened despite the arrangements for his exceptional collaborators – Marcello Maio (accordion, piano), Sam Golding (brass), Mark Harris (bass), Danny Heifetz (drums), Jess Ciampa (percussion) and Shenzo Gregorio (viola) – being pared back with Beckett-like ruthlessness. The result is a gripping clarity of ideas and delightful haze of emotional impact."-Spectrum Australia
- LabelRomero
- UPC9317102333525