Ben Carr celebrates release of new CD, 'Oakleaf' with concert

BRATTLEBORO -- On Saturday, local musician Benjamin Carr celebrates the release of his latest album "Oakleaf" at the Vermont Jazz Center in the Cotton Mill.

This event will feature a lineup of homegrown talent, including Julian Gerstin on percussion, Shamus Martin on drums, Josh Maiocco and Joel Eisenkramer on guitars, Pat Stevens on bass, Dan Rosow on trumpet and Dylan Richardson on tenor sax.

"Oakleaf," Carr’s third solo album, pairs his love of the ukulele with the heart of his various drumming styles and continues his characteristically eclectic brand of music. Songs range from ukulele duets with the acoustic guitar, double bass and mohan veena to full band arrangements that swing bluegrass and funky odd meters, plus a drum ensemble centered around the doumbek.

The opening track, "Apple Dance," features the talents of local acoustic groovegrassers, Jatoba. The title track inspired by the birth of Carr’s son, Elliott, is a bass and ukulele duet which begins and ends as a lullaby but takes the listener on a sonic adventure through tension and release.

Compared to the experimental and progressive edge of his 2009 album "Sums," "Oakleaf" has a focus on compositional song writing and the acoustic simplicity of instruments.

The album was recorded in Horowitz Performing Arts Center at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, creating a natural reverb sound.

Martin Employee Tenor: Ukulele Window Shopping

Stevensuke

Never heard any Eddie Vedder music other than in a couple of uke videos. And they were perfectly OK by me. Nothing special though, and certainly nothing meriting fawning over the guy like he’s some sort of ukulele savior who’s appearance on the uke scene finally will tilt the serious/novelty debate once and for all time to the serious side.

The album wil come, the album will go. People will enjoy it or not. People will cover the songs. And then that will be that. Chances are that will be that for Eddie and the ukulele, too. Too bad…

Unless you’re Jake or James, at such a high level of musicianship you’re going to find more musical meat with the guitar than you are with the uke. Sorry, but it’s true. You’ll have more fun with the ukulele, however, which is why I lean heavily toward the fun/novelty side of the debate these days. Go easy on the kazoos, though.

Heh heh…

There’s not much else to say about the cost of those instruments. :)

From time to time I meet a fellow who’s dropped $10k+ on a fancy archtop guitar and a little bit of pain shoots down my spine.

From the point of view of a seller of vintage instruments… there comes a point when you realize that you have to put a premium on instruments that are extremely rare and desirable, especially since they don’t walk through one’s door 24/7.

Still, I find a $16k uke pretty harsh!

“Unless you’re Jake or James, at such a high level of musicianship you’re going to find more musical meat with the guitar than you are with the uke. Sorry, but it’s true.”

‘Musical meat?’ So more notes = better than? Man, those guitarists had better drop their guitars for pianos, what were they thinking! Nobody sane disagrees that a guitar has more range, objectively, but if you seriously think that you need a virtuoso-level amount of talent to be creative and expressive on the ukulele you are going about this the wrong way.

Jake: You’re definitely right about rare and desirable instruments. And they can be a good investment. Anyone who built a Martin ukulele collection 10/20 years ago is going to be happy about now.

Tony: It’s a nice uke though.

Peter: While you don’t need technical wizardry to be creative and expressive, I think you do need skills to get the most out of a top-end ukulele.

The Martin book, a complete history of Martin guitars

C.F. Martin & Co., est. 1833, a history

Ukulele Heaven - Songs from the Golden Age of the Ukulele

Gruhn's guide to vintage guitars, an identification guide for American fretted instruments

Left-Brain Lutherie, Using Physics and Enineering Concepts for Building Guitar Family Instruments : an Introductory Guide to Their Practical Application