Press
“Rick Trolsen's latest
recording " Gringo Do Choro" is a beautiful collage of his New Orleans roots
and his newfound "love affair" with the music of Brazil. With an exceptional
lineup of cats from Rio beside him, they take the listener on a colorful journey
that extends from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain, down through the favelas, to
the shores of Copacabana. If you're a lover of Brazilian music, this CD is a
must get! And if you don't particularly care for Brazilian music, get it anyway,
'cuz it's bad!!!”
-Nicholas Payton-
I first heard Rick Trolsen
in New Orleans (Never The Big Easy, please, unless you want to be considered a
tourist cornball unduly infuenced by bad movies; calling it The Crescent City is
okay). He was in Al Belletto’s big band. I loved his unreservedly tromboney
solos. Trolsen is not a young hot dog trombonist harboring an inner trumpeter
yearning to be free, but a mature one who loves the instrument for itself. Since
I have long been hooked on Brazilian music, it came as a double surprise and
pleasure when Trolsen’s wryly titled Gringo Do Choro showed up one day
while I was in the throes of a troublesome part of the Desmond book. I knew that
if I put it on, I’d lose the writing battle, so I set it aside. When I finally
got around to the CD, it made me even happier than I had anticipated. Trolsen
recorded it in 2003 in Rio de Janeiro with eight Brazilian musicians of whom I
have never heard, not surprising since it seems that one out of three Brazilians
is an accomplished musician. His immersion in New Orleans is plain to hear in
his samba improvisations, and he blends the north-south elements with verve,
humor, saudade and the feeling of abandon common to both musics.
The repertoire includes pieces by Trolsen, Clare Fischer and
assorted Brazilians including Anontio Carlos Jobim and Jacob do Bandolim.
Bandolim loved the mandolin so much that he took the Portuguese word for it as
his last name. Henry Lentino, who is on the album, kept his own name but plays
the Bandolim beautifully. The package has Trolsen’s fine introductory notes,
observations on the songs by Marcia M.A. de Brito and a great cover shot of the
trombonist playing with Central Rio below and, in the distance, Sugar Loaf
swathed in fog. You are unlikely to run across this in your corner one-stop.
Many albums on artists’ own labels are premature, self-indulgent and boring.
This one is generous of spirit and entertaining.
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Latin Jazz Club Magazine
John
Davis(online review)
It may be safe to say that trombonist Rick Trolsen is a stranger to Latin Jazz. Regardless, by mention in his liner notes, it appears that Mr. Trolsen took a leap of faith in venturing toward Latin Jazz in Brazil. Thus, the proof is in the putting: his CD titled "Gringo Do Choro" shows that he is an extremely intuitive musician. His agile Jazz shops on the trombone prove to be a natural fit. His deep and melodious tone adds a common vitality to the Brazilian sound accentuated by rhythms such as Choro, Bossa Nova and Samba. He is complimented by an excellent cast of Brazilian musicians making this recording a truely authentic Brazilian Jazz experience. A highly recommended CD. Very nice work!
New Orleans Lullaby
Offbeat Magazine April 2006
By Geraldine Wyckoff
|
|
In a
town where musicians move freely between styles, Rick Trolsen still stands out
for his genre jumps. Back in the mid-1990s, the trombonist’s explorations took
him to the fringes of jazz when he headed his unorthodox group Neslort that
produced the curiously wonderful Martian Circus Waltz. In 2004, Trolsen
expressed his immersion into Brazilian choro music on his fine release,
Gringo do Choro. This time, he’s all about New Orleans and tradition with a
sweet tribute to his adopted hometown on an album full of classic jazz
standards. The constant through all of these endeavors is the quality of
Trolsen’s musicianship and the sensitivity and honesty he brings to each
project.
He chooses artists to be by his side who share his talents
and values. On New Orleans Lullaby, Trolsen and the band with pianist
Tom McDermott or Frederick Sanders, bassist James Singleton or bassist/sousaphonist
Matt Perrine, drummer Ronnie Magri and banjoist Larry Scala offer excellent
versions of songs that fill this city’s air. It starts with the rich tones of
Trolsen’s trombone mournfully alone ‘singing’ “What a Wonderful World.” The band
jumps in with Tom McDermott on the piano for “Blue Turning Grey Over You” with
Trolsen chiming in on vocals. McDermott seems to be called in when Trolsen aims
for a classic sound, as on “Creole Love Song.” Here the trombone takes on the
part typically played on clarinet or soprano saxophone.
Having the ‘bone as the only horn makes this traditional jazz
gathering tonally unique and opens up new ways to approach old chestnuts. At
points, Trolsen really goes for the high end of the register, almost emulating a
trumpet on “Sleepy Time Down South.” Frederick Sanders gets onboard here and for
other swinging numbers like “Give Me a Kiss To Build a Dream On.” The sousaphone
and banjo team up for the uplifting “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” and the
always articulate James Singleton gets some slapping bass going on “Ain’t
Misbehavin’.”
New Orleans Lullaby
satisfies on many
levels because it’s damn good music played by damn good musicians. As the song
says, “You can’t ask for anything more.”
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Offbeat Magazine
May 2004
Tom McDermott
In recent times a small community of New Orleanians have
released Brazilian music on CD. Vocalist Katrina Geenen, the WWOZ DJ who's
brought us a welcome Saturday blast of Brazilian music for over 20 years,
released "High and Low," a well-received collaboration with Brazilian
songwriters. The outstanding saxophonist/flutist Ray Moore has successfully
fused Brazilian and American repertoire on CDs like "Brazilliance" and "Rio
Orleans."
Now comes Rick Trolsen with a most unusual album. A virtuoso trombonist,
he's played over the years on many projects (The New Orleans Nightcrawlers,
Bonerama, Naked on the Floor) and led his own jazz-rock group, Neslort. In 2001
he visited Rio de Janeiro with the Crawlers; totally smitten, he began immersing
himself in the Carioca musical culture.
In 2003, on his third visit to Rio, Trolsen recorded this
album of instrumentals. For listeners unfamiliar with Brazilian music outside
of Antonio Carlos Jobim, this is not a bad place to start. Choro dates back to
the 1870s, and it equates roughly to our ragtime and traditional jazz: an early
fusion of European form and harmony with African rhythm but a genre which is
still very vibrant today. A typical band in the idiom features pandeiro (like
our tambourine), seven-string guitar playing bass lines, bandolim (mandolin),
cavaquinho (like our ukelele, but played much more seriously), with a clarinet,
sax, flute and/or trombone playing lead (Trolsen adheres to this formula, adding
a bass drum and accordion).
This CD touches a lot of bases with works by Choro masters Pixinguinha and
Jacob do Bandolim, a couple sambas (a form which grew out of choro), one
Jobim bossa nova masterpiece ("Chega de Saudade"), and a couple
jazzy originals. While much of the album sounds like one of the better choro
bands you'd hear in Brazil, Trolsen adds non-traditional intros and codas that
come more from the modern jazz world than Rio circa l930. There are brilliant
snatches of string soloing here, but the lion's share of the playing and
improvising goes to Trolsen, whose bravura performance shows both his mastery of
the idiom and an original approach. Or as the Brazilian liner-note writer put
it, his "vivacity, wonder and peculiarity." A breakthrough album, "Gringo Do
Choro" may be the most satisfying collaboration ever between New Orleans and
Brazilian musicians.
Independent Review
Geraldine Wyckoff
When trombonist Rick Trolsen went to Rio de Janeiro in 2001 to perform as a member of the New Orleans Nightcrawlers brass band he fell in love. His complete infatuation with choro music and the works of composer Pixinguinha eventually led to the recording of this album in Rio with Brazilian artists. It’s easy to understand why a musician who is in tune with brass bands would be drawn to this music. It shares the celebratory, of-the-people, danceable qualities with the New Orleans style. There is something so refreshing in the combination of Trolsen’s big horn and the light fleetness of the guitar and mandolin. The accordion adds yet another tasty flavor. Trolsen wisely opens the disc with the familiar “Tico Tico Fuba,” certainly the most recognizable song to a wide audience. After a percussive intro, the trombonist clearly states the melody however its scope is soon broadened with exemplary improvisation. Obviously, Trolsen, a hugely talented trombonist in any setting, surrounded himself with excellent technicians who, like himself, are game to fly. He offers two Pixinguinha compositions including the unusually but satisfyingly staggered stepped “Cheguei” that wonderfully turns frivolous. There are quiet moments as well as on the lovely “Pensativa.” Again, the warm tone of Trolsen’s trombone makes a fine companion for the strum of strings. Though the trombone is at the forefront throughout the album, it never takes advantage of its greater power. Trolsen’s two originals are like-minded with the material on the disc with “Medicine Lodge” incorporating an interesting Native American feel. On the final cut, we stand at the edge of the rainforest with drums beating and seemingly animals and insects surrounding us before heading to the more hospitable climes of the well-known strains of “Tristeza/Aquarela do Brasil.” The wonderful feel, musicianship and spirited attitude of Gringo Do Choro opens it up to music lovers of many styles.
O Globo
Brazilian Newspaper (translated)
By Tarik de Souza
There’s a gringo on the choro scene. Not to mention samba and other
bossas (including the nova). A good sport, New Jersey-born, American
trombonist, Rick Trolsen has incorporated the gringo nickname and named his new
CD “Gringo do Choro.” But don’t expect macumba1 for the tourist. Quite
the contrary. The first contact this New Orleans-based jazzman had with
Brazilian music was with the signature tune “Aquarela do Brasil” (Ary
Barroso), which he heard on the soundtrack of “Brazil,” the intriguing film by
Terry Gilliam. This initial interest increased when Rick traveled to Brazil in
2001 to play at the Free Jazz Festival with the lavish brass band, New Orleans
Nightcrawlers. Next followed a 10-day vacation, during which he toured the
musical polyphony of the revitalized Lapa district of downtown Rio de Janeiro.
The result is this multi-faceted CD on which he gathers musicians from various
sources: Henry Lentino and Sérgio Krakowski, (Tira Poeira), Guilherme
Maravilhas (Forroçacana), Marcello Gonçalves (Trio Madeira Brasil),
João Hermeto (Abraçando Jacaré), along with Gabriel Improta and Vitor
Trope.
For those who have always considered choro to be
Brazilian jazz, this CD can provide evidence for that thesis. Musical accents
fuse together on tracks including the classic “Tico-tico no Fubá,” where
a samba flavor pops up, with a touch of “maxixe"2 in “Abraçando
Jacaré” or the dialogue between trombone and guitar in “Noites Cariocas,”
by Jacob do Bandolim.
In another Bandolim composition, “Gostosinho,” Rick
seems to have taken his trombone into the swaying moves of a gafieira3. “Medicine
Lodge” and “Goodbye My Friend”, both written by Trolsen, accentuate
the crossover, with afro-samba evident in the former and seresta4 in the
latter. Bossa nova finds its place in “Pensativa,” by Clare Fischer,
another American insider, arranger for João Gilberto, and guitar partner of
Helio Delmiro. As for the megaclassic “Chega de Saudade,” although it
has turned out to be ground zero for
Bossa
Nova, it is a hybrid of choro and bossa.
Rick Trolsen has also penetrated the melancholy of the samba
in contemplative themes such as “Folhas Secas” and “Três Apitos,”
in addition to refining an instrumental classic somewhat forgotten, even by
Brazilians, “Saxofone porque choras” by Severino Rangel, the Ratinho
from the musical/comedy duo Jararaca e Ratinho. Faithful to the Carnival spirit
that is the bridge between the two cities, New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro (where
Rick chose to record this CD to capture the ambience), “Gringo do Choro” ends up
in exuberant jubilation. A devilish medley joins together two sambas of
planetary success, “Tristeza” and “Aquarela do Brasil” itself, the
wellspring of this whole project. Filled with intense percussion and lush
strings, Trolsen's horns simultaneously inject vivacity, wonder and peculiarity
into these well known themes. Quite a major accomplishment. A testament that
this Brazilianist really got it and on top of that added his personal
virtuose touch.
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