Matthew Brubeck, cello; David Widelock, guitars
This duo has been performing together for quite a while, well over ten years. This is their third CD. The lay out of the jewel case insert is quite remarkable. After the liner notes by guitarist Widelock, there are graphics pages for each tune, how clever, a major improvement over their Giraffes in a Hurry CD, you could hardly read anything on that one.
Matthew's treatment of the cello is dual, sometimes it sounds like a cello and sometimes a bass. The Monk portion of the CD consists of three Monk's tunes: "In Walked Bud," "Bye-Ya," and "Crepuscule with Nelli." On "Crepuscule with Nelli" the cello even took on the Ron Carter Piccolo bass sound. Two of the tunes are Widelock originals, "Virtual Particles," and "Babaria." "Virtual..." is a complex tune that allows both musicians to show their virtuoso and they do. Matthew uses the bow to create a very haunting sound while David provides the rhythm accompaniment. I enjoyed the whole CD and it makes me want to get out to hear them live more often, especially since they are based in my area.
by Haybert K. Houston