Music on Our Radar
Upside Out by Coincidence Machine Featuring Bassist Jimi Durso
Coincidence Machine is:
Jimi “Twang” Durso
Bass, guitar, voice and harmonica
Matt Baranello
Drums, percussion, voice, keys
Stella Crispo
Chorus on “Snow Day”
The general tone of this CD is mostly rock with a combination of Jimi’s original music and covers of pieces ranging from Lennon/McCartney to J.S. Bach. A lot of these tunes lend themselves to notable bass displays and others have the bass doing the groove thing.
I would expect to hear this duo in one of the many cool neighborhood venues we have here in the great Northwest (Portland mostly). There is certain, ‘rawness’ to the music and they do quite a bit with such a small combo.
Let’s have a closer look at some of the more dominant bass pieces.
“The Price” is a good use of a loop of chords on the bass with a kind of walking rock shuffle backing up the vocals; there is a great chance to hear Jimi improvise some nice runs in the middle.
“She’s So Heavy” is that memorable last cut on side ‘A’ of the Beatle’s Abbey Road album. It was always a reminder to me that it was about time to turn the record over but by the same token it held my attention while it played. Now hear Jimi and Matt work this tune with the Bass and drums; their version runs longer that the original. Interesting choice of music here!
“Wish You Were Here” is a nice use of bass with harmonics to open a classic Pink Floyd tune; Nice guitar work from the versatile Jimi gives this tune it’s Rock edge.
“Sarabande” is the classical note from J.S. Bach that Jimi plays for us in precise detail. As I have always been a fan of Bach music, I always like to hear musicians perform these pieces on instruments other that those that he intended. (The whole Moog Synth series by Walter Carlos was ground breaking). Nicely done Jimi!
“Mantra #6” has an interesting exotic kind of feel. Like many mantras, there is a repetitiveness that is intentional but you can perceive a progression in the piece as it cycles through. Ultimately the electric guitar crescendo takes the piece to a non-spoken higher level.
If modern rock is your thing and you want to discover what just a couple of musicians can do with these tunes then you need to check this CD out!
Upside Out by Coincidence Machine Featuring Bassist Jimi Durso available at Amazon.com
Visit Jimi online at jimidurso.com