Oh - The Grandeur
Violinist Andrew Bird earned well-deserved acclaim for his 1998 debut CD,Thrills, and its cabaret-meets-hot-jazz energy.Oh! The Grandeuris the much-anticipated follow-up and is every bit as quirky and darkly perfect. It's got Bird's astringent fiddle cutting a wide swath through Colin Bunn's riff-strummed and breezy cool guitar and the clomping rhythms of Josh Hirsch's bass and Kevin O'Donnell's drums. And it's got Bird's round-edged voice rolling over lyrics that are alternately moody and slaphappy. The music is clearly indebted to the hot club jazz that's been built on the duo ofStephane GrappelliandDjango Reinhardt, but it also owes props toKurt Weilland evenBob Wills. Bird might not ever make the morning talk show circuit in the U.S. (unlike his former band,Squirrel Nut Zippers), but he's got a lock on taking a wealth of American traditions and rolling them into an odd, endearing whole.--Andrew Bartlett