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- Verified Buyer
Some people hate the banjo. I grew up listening to bluegrass, so I love the banjo. Some people hate the accordion. No accordion, though, means no zydeco. I love zydeco. I hate the clarinet. It is a wimpy, limited instrument. Ben Goldberg plays clarinet. But I like this album.I stumbled across the album looking around for recent Charlie Hunter projects. Charlie Hunter is one of my favorite guitarists. He is a freak of nature who has a custom-made guitar combining (currently) four guitar strings with three bass strings, allowing him to play guitar and bass lines at the same time. If you could, wouldn't you? On Go Home, Ben Goldberg is backed by Charlie Hunter, frequent Hunter collaborator Scott Amendola on percussion, and trumpet/cornet master Ron Miles. When I saw the line-up, I decided to give the album a try for the same reason that I try liver about once a year. My tastes change over time. Maybe I'll like it this time. Besides, with Charlie Hunter, Scott Amendola and Ron Miles, this album couldn't possibly be wimpy. Hunter's bread and butter is the blurry line between jazz and funk, and Ron Miles is the kind of adventurous player equally likely to show up playing with Bill Frisell as with Otis Taylor. Amendola, well, he's got serious rhythm. With that line-up, I was inclined to give Goldberg a listen, and I'm glad I did. Yes, Hunter, Amendola and Miles did what they always do-- play adventurously and with great virtuosity. The pleasant surprise, though, was how interesting Goldberg's playing was. As I said, I don't like the clarinet. Or rather, I didn't. I have now come to the conclusion that there is nothing wrong with the clarinet. There is something wrong with clarinet players. With Hunter, Amendola and Miles backing him up, Goldberg wanders through some serious jazz-funk, as well as the kind of folk-jazz that Frisell has been playing for years. Maybe it is Goldberg's willingness to embrace the kinds of soulful subgenres that most clarinet players avoid, and maybe it is that his backing band pushes him, but Goldberg's tone, melodic and stylistic explorations put him in good company with this roster of all-stars. I may have to start taking the clarinet more seriously.Further listening: Erik Friedlander, Doug Wamble.
