Dúo del Sol - hello, Kaleidoscope


Let's get serious.  It ain't rock, country or pop.  It's hardly, strictly jazz.  It is a little classical, slightly latin and incredibly compelling. Dúo del Sol (violinist and vocalist Javier Orman and guitarist and vocalist Tom Farrell who, on select tracks, enlist the skills of accordionist Oscar "Luminoso" Rospide, cellists Cameron Stone and Derek Stein, and percussionist Andrew Bush) went to Grandma's Warehouse in Los Angeles and recorded a fascinating eleven track album of classical sounding latin jazz ensemble music titled hello, Kaleidoscope.   

Orman's and Farrell's fingerstyle approach to the music drops them somewhere between the acoustic jazz of Paco de Lucia and the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt.  This is engrossing stuff.  Spanish guitar, a gypsy violin, cellos and an accordion. 

Now, I realize waveriders as a rule tend to like their music like they like their coffee - dark, roasted and steaming hot.  This album is not one of those types of albums.  In fact, it is more like good cognac -  smooth and aged, and better slowly sipped while sitting in the big leather chair in the study.  This is a contemplative album.  While there are vocals on a track or two, this album is not about the vocals.  It is a debut LP that is all about music, musicianship and finding a voice for the duo.

Think of this album as something to put on after a long, hard day when you need to decompress with a cerebral, acoustic recording.  hello, Kaleidoscope is just that, a fractal sonic image of alluring melodic patterns, satisfying and innovative, that changes bare instruments into a panolopy of emotive soundscapes.

Get it at Bandcamp (https://duodelsol.bandcamp.com) .  You won't be disappointed.

- Old School



Comments