Guess Who's in Town, from the CD
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Brock Mumford
Matt Munisteri
Birthday: April 28
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Height:
6'2"
Shoe
size: 10 1/2
Favorite
color: Burgundy
Favorite
dessert: "A big, fresh, ripe peach."
How did you get involved in
music? "I heard 'dueling banjos' on the radio."
How would you
describe your music? "Post-alt Musette"
Nickname: "Matty."
Little-known
fact: "My earlobes are perfectly shaped, but a little stiff
when you pull on them."
Do you get stage
fright? "YES"
Will Holshouser
Birthday: July 31, 1968
Hometown: Cambridge, Mass.
Height:
6'1"
Shoe
size: 12
Favorite
color: Blue
Favorite
dessert: Bananas flambee
How did you get involved in
music? "My dad sang to me when I was little, then I took piano
lessons then a friend gave me an accordion."
How would you
describe your music? "Accordion music, mostly jazz, but many
other styles too (Cajun, French and klezmer)."
Nickname: "Will"
Little-known
fact: "I look like I'm eight years old."
Do you get stage
fright? "Only when I don't know the music."
Jon-Erik Kellso
Birthday: May 8, 1964
Hometown: Allen Park, Mich.
Height:
5'10"
Shoe
size: 73
Favorite
color: Crimson
Favorite
dessert: Flabee Montal Banaise
How did you get involved in
music? "I discovered my parents' old 78 rpm swing records at
age 10."
How would you
describe your music? "I enjoy playing a wide variety of styles
- mostly swinging old style jazz, swing, dixieland, mainstream, with
emphasis on melody, interplay and strong pulse."
Nickname: "Jonny Gig"
Little-known
fact: "I am the best chili chef in the history of the world."
Do you get stage
fright? "Not usually, but sometimes if I am unsure of the
repertoire or abilities of the other musicians I'm with, or if I feel
unprepared."
Jim Whitney
Birthday: April 5, 1964
Hometown: Franconia, NH
Height:
6'1"
Shoe
size: 12
Favorite
color: Purple
Favorite
dessert: Peanut butter pie
How did you get involved in
music? "I couldn't help it. I have five older brothers and
sisters and ended up with lots of records. I was drawn to the bass like a
pig to ..."
How would you
describe your music? "Jazz, bluegrass, klezmer, avant-garde,
country, rock, R&B, Brazilian and any combination thereof."
Nickname: "Sinner."
Little-known
fact: "I'm really a rural person living in the city. I'm just
as likely to me mountain climbing or skiing as playing bass."
Do you get stage
fright? "Rarely,but i kind of dig it because it brings out
aspects of my playing I might not otherwise experience. I also like the
challenge of relaxing as quickly as possible."
By ALYSA
PHILLIPS,
GazetteNET Staff
Brock Mumford, live.
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Brock Mumford
Iron Horse Music Hall
September 25, 2001
By ALYSA
PHILLIPS, GazetteNET Staff
From the sound of Brock Mumford, one might expect to see old, black men
from the late nineteenth century, playing smooth jazz with sparks of
Dixieland and swing on a Sunday afternoon. But not at the Iron Horse, and
not from this group of 30-something musicians from New York City.
They got the sound right, but that's because they know their history.
Jefferson "Brock" Mumford was the guitarist in Buddy Bolden's band, which
is considered to be the first jazz band, and played in the late 1800's.
Since Bolden left no physical evidence of his music, the new Brock Mumford
took the opportunity to make its own, while dodging the criticism of
traditional jazz fans. "No one knows what the music sounded like,"
trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso said after the show, "so we made up our own."
And band leader and guitarist Matt Munisteri added, "We were going in an
undefinible direction, and Brock Mumford sounded like a good
reference."
Brock Mumford is four soloists between the ages of 34 and 37, playing
songs reminiscent of the simpler, almost sleepy romantic era of the early
twentieth century. Adding to the talent of Kellso and Munisteri is Jim
Whitney on bass and Will Holshouser on accordion.
Munisteri started the night off by narrating, "Get Aquainted With
Yourself," during which each member of the band did a solo piece on his
instrument, adequately introducing the talent of Brock Mumford, which has
been playing together for only a year and a half, although each of its
members has a lifetime of experience performing and writing songs. When
not performing together, Brock Mumford is four solo musicians, performing
in a variety of venues with other bands.
But when Brock Mumford is together, it produces a show of nostalgia,
sounds from a forgotten time, with such ambience of the simpler musical
era the air seems almost musty.
Perhaps the highlight of the evening was watching Holshouser do his
accordion solo, "Flambee Montal Banaise," a song by French composer Gus
Viseur. Munisteri prefaced the impressive song with a warning, "Don't let
your hair catch fire." Holshouser was amazing; his fingers slid up and
down the keyboard with incredible accuracy, to the elation of the
audience.
Holshouser had one problem, though: he couldn't bow after his solo
because he had an accordion strapped to his chest. "Accordion players are
dorks," Holshouser said after the show. But he is used to it, he said.
Since a friend gave him an accordion in the late 1980's, Holshouser has
been hooked, paying more attention to discovering the art of jazz
accordion and less to the stigma attached. "We couldn't get through a show
without someone throwing spitballs at Will," Munisteri joked after the
show.
Brock Mumford's mix of blues, modern and traditional jazz, bluegrass,
gypsy swing, Dixieland and musette demands a very strict audience, one
that is heavy on older, white males, Whitney said, so the only reaction
they want from their audience is that they will try it out, and it would
be nice if they enjoyed it.
As far as musical influence goes, the band members agree: their role
models include the singing frogs from "Bugs Bunny," the trumpet solo from
"The Jetsons" and Randy Newman.
