KYLE BRONSDON: Kitchen Swing

Kyle Bronsdon

Kitchen Swing

© 2003 Kyle Bronsdon (823469030322)

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The CD that eats like a meal. 14 original tunes ranging from ragtime and swing to the avante garde, all with deep blues roots. Just drums, bass and piano, with a sprig of horn garnish.

tracks

1 The St. Louis Vipers Club
2 Baby, You're Swingin' Now
3 Go Around Back
4 Rag
5 The 'Possum
6 Satchmo Say
7 FMC Stomp
8 Jivin' Man
9 Holy Smoke!
10 The Little People
11 Pop It
12 Corky
13 I'm A Player (But I Ain't Playin' You)
14 There Are No Words

notes

About half way through writing this album, I realized that I'm not what you'd call a "jazz purist". In fact, I've got a constantly nagging arsty, singer-songwriter side. I've known that for years, really, but I figured I'd better acknowledge it before I had a vocation built soley on novelty numbers.

All the tracks pretty much still go "ding-dinga-ding-dinga-ding" and, to quote Mahler, "It is well known that I cannot do without trivialities." But towards the end of the CD, things start to get a little different - stylistically and especially content-wise. I think this is my new direction.

Stacey, my twelve-year-old niece, likes "The 'Possum" the best. And preteen girls know music, man. Okay, maybe they don't really KNOW music, but they sure as hell dictate what the music industry does. And even if you don't agree with Stacey on "The 'Possum", I'll bet there's a couple tracks here right up your alley. The record really is that eclectic.

"Kitchen Swing" features my old bandmates Brenden Kearney and Steve Grams (KGB Trio, Kings of Pleasure) as well as other seasoned swingers like Harvey Newmark (Anita O'Day, Harry "Sweets" Edison) and Carl Sonny Leyland (Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys). Despite the fact that I mixed it myself, it sounds pretty good thanks to mastering by Mike Cogan (Lavay Smith, Indigo Swing).

I like playing music you can take a bite out of, that you can drink in. Written music is just like a cookbook. Some people can follow the recipe and some people can't, and even if you put in all the right ingredients in the right order it doesn't guarantee it'll be delicious. And, of course, like Zappa said, "unless you're really weird you don't eat the recipe."

I think I got a handful of cats that know how to cook.

What do you think?

reviews

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  • True swing blues with lots of fun and talent.
    author: Stacey Gebler

    A good balance of old and new styles of swing blues; those with vocals have great lyrics, easy to join in and sing hearty. Those without vocals let the style come through. A good choice for party background, particularly if the age groups and style preferences are mixed. Even a safe bet for playing while the in-laws are over. Pure music enjoyment and fun listening.

  • Original songs that feel timeless
    author: Chuck Graham, Tucson Citizen

    Who can rhyme corpus callosum and cherry blossom? Who can rhyme famish and sandwich? None other than that hep (don't say "hip") cat, singer, songwriter and drummer Kyle Bronsdon. His sound springs directly from lounge acts of the post-war 1940s and goes straight for your head. Now that people are beginning to accept the musical limitations of rock 'n' roll, guys like Bronsdon are getting more attention. His beat swings, his attitude is wary and his lyrics express a world view that's got more nighttime than daylight in it. Bronsdon is coming here to promote his new album, "Kitchen Swing," which is filled with jazz licks and dance sensibilities as well as late night ruminations on the meaning of life and a reluctance to leave the security of that air-conditioned bar. What gives this CD its personality are Bronsdon's vocals, a combination of good-natured cynicism and sidewalk awareness. Rhyming words that never suspected they would fit together, he creates original songs that feel timeless. The inspiration, he says, came from learning about swing music while drumming for the Kings of Pleasure right here in the Baked Apple. But in the saloon world, that jitter-buggin', Lindy-hopping phase of swing dancing is over. Bronsdon blames the economy. "Swing dancers don't drink, dammit," the entertainer explained on the phone from LA. So his songs on the "Kitchen Swing" CD are already beginning to stretch out some from their musical roots. The result is Bronsdon has more cabaret cool than earlier pace-setting groups such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the Royal Crown Review and the Brian Setzer Orchestra. "Response to the album has been terrific," Bronsdon said. "I'm getting compliments from people that I know have no personal agenda."

  • Call it lounge jazz that swings
    author: Stephen Seigel, Tucson Weekly

    Local jazz fans will surely remember the name Kyle Bronsdon from his days in local swing-jazz combo the Kings of Pleasure, as well as his post-KoP threesome, Kearney, Grams & Bronsdon (aka the KGB Trio), which also included Kings vets Brenden Kearney and Steve Grams, and won the 2002 TAMMIES award for Best Traditional Jazz Artist. About a year ago, the trio disbanded when Bronsdon packed up his drums and relocated to Los Angeles; before he left, the trio--along with a healthy roster of guests--headed into WaveLab to record an album. Released under Bronsdon's name, the just-out Kitchen Swing (Vitalegacy) will see Bronsdon returning to his former hometown to support it this week. The album is slightly less jump-swing-oriented than Bronsdon's aforementioned former bands, preferring a cool, lounge vibe instead--call it lounge jazz that swings--that includes traces of ragtime and blues. His singing style is mostly half-sung, half-spoken, with his phrasing reminiscent of that of blues-jazz legend Mose Allison. And happily, Bronsdon's trademark clever, humorous lyrics remain intact. Highlights on the 14-song disc include opener "The St. Louis Vipers Club," one of two homages to Louis Armstrong--"Satchmo Say" is the other--that benefits from the tenor sax of Billy Kerr and the trumpet of Cass Preston, resulting in one of the jumpiest tracks on the album; "Go Around Back" is an infectiously swingin' musician's in-joke about poor treatment from a bandleader at a crappy gig: "Go around back/to the alley/by the Dumpster/on the loading dock/to the back door/through the kitchen/past the men's room/around the bar/That's where you're gonna play/and that's where you gotta stay"; and "FMC Stomp," an ode to the Future of Music Coalition (a Washington, D.C.-based organization that seeks to empower musicians in the face of the bottom-line-centric consolidation of the music industry) that addresses a topic pulled from today's headlines while sounding rather old-timey in its execution, with vocals treated to sound like something from an old 78 and a smoking piano contribution from Carl Sonny Leland (Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys).

  • A must have!!!
    author: M. POTTER

    First heard cuts from this CD on the radio and couldn't get the tunes out of my head. It has such an upbeat tempo and his voice is soooooo inviting. Can't wait to listen again and again.

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