February 7, 2008

Nat Baldwin

Nat Baldwin
Jeremy Leclair (alto sax), Brett Deschenes (trumpet), Nat Baldwin (double bass)

New Hampshire native Nat Baldwin has been a favorite since early December, when I saw him open for Dirty Projectors at the Middle East. A former member of that band, Baldwin's solo work is a unique brand of contrabass-centric chamber jazz, with vocals in the manner of a reined-in, gentler Dave Longstreth. Last week I made a trip south to Wesleyan University to catch him playing a free show (w/ Angel Deradoorian, Deertick, and Belly Boat), and afterward picked up his new album, Most Valuable Player (due on Broken Sparrow either later this month or in April, sources vary). On his past albums, the lively sound of his performances (augmented by saxophone, trumpet, guitar, and drums) was often lost in the recording process, but MVP, recorded and produced by Grizzly Bear member Christopher Taylor, fares somewhat better. Lead track "Lake Erie" has just begun to make the blog rounds, written up (poorly, imo) yesterday in the Forkcast, and posted today on My Old Kentucky Blog (which also brings word that he studied under legendary free-jazzist Anthony Braxton). Having grown up on the shores of our most disgusting great lake, I'm partial to this track, and I also think it has the best horn sound of any of his studio recordings thus far. Much of the album features Dave Longstreth on 12-string guitar; other standout tracks include "Dome Branches", "One Two Three", a new arrangement of "Enter The Light Out", and closer "Look She Said", in which he shows Braxton's influence on a very free bass solo.

A search for Nat Baldwin still only yields 3 hits on the hype machine, but I have a feeling that will change as his tour continues and MVP's release date approaches. I don't mean this to be a self-serving "I was in before the buzz" kind of post, but the indie-blog hype factory can be a cruel mistress, and I hope he's able to emerge unscathed.

Baldwin has already gained some recognition in the U.K., where "Only In My Dreams", from debut album Lights Out (2005), was featured in a commercial for Orange Telecom. Check out the clip:



Nat Baldwin's Myspace
Elsewhere: Elliott covered Nat Baldwin yesterday.

1 comment:

colleen said...

all buzz starts with you, al. buzz god.