Vestbo Trio's Gentlemen...

Michael Vestbo, a guitarist from Denmark, contacted me a few months ago about his upcoming album called Gentlemen... He sent me a digital download of one track as a tease, and I liked what I heard--a simple trio recording that also includes Eddy Jarl on drums and Jesper Smalbro on stand-up bass. Vestbo prefers to call his gentle, deeply felt music "instrumental" as opposed to carelessly placing these compositions into a genre that doesn't quite fit--like jazz. From this initial taste I felt that the trio settled deep into that same uncluttered yet comforting region where you might find Pat Metheny or Bill Frisell. It's almost a Midwestern feeling, a simplicity that comes from those big, open skies. (Denmark, I've heard, is also pretty flat, and I bet their skies are gorgeous as well.) That's just the impression from one track, of course, heard months ago when the weather was still warm.

Vestbo initially asked me to hold up on the review until we got closer to the release date, which is in a few days (January 11, to be precise). Of course I forgot all about it--man, those months just flew by! Now I have the complete recording and I'm even more impressed, mostly because it's obvious that the Vestbo Trio has many ideas to present, many different modes of travel. The softness prevails throughout these ten tracks--this is not an album of peaks and valleys, but rather insightful views into very different neighborhoods observed through non-judgmental eyes. Vestbo mixes up his guitars, electric and acoustic, and that choice often sets the mood for the other two, but there is a serene consistency from beginning to end--even when the band turns up the volume somewhat and adds a Hammond B-3 on "Tip of the Hat," a tribute to Mark Knopfler.

Frankly, the recording quality is stunning. This trio is one of those intuitive ensembles that revels in the silences and spaces around the instruments so that each note can be embraced by the listener. And speaking of Mark Knopfler, the Vestbo Trio recorded this album in his British Grove Studio in London, and Bob Katz mastered the whole thing back in Florida. That's the pedigree. That's why everything sounds so wonderful, surprisingly so. Vestbo and his trio have been around for quite a while, and they've already recorded three LPs, two EPs and a live album. They're established and comfortable in what they are doing. So it's humbling for someone like Michael Vestbo to approach me for a review, especially when I wasn't aware of who he was and what he's done. That's one of the reasons why I was blindsided by this, a completely magnificent recording.

If I had to say just one more thing about Gentleman..., it's that it reminds me of one of the Newvelle recordings I recently talked about in my Deep End column for Part-Time Audiophile. I don't like to compare recordings to each other due to their subjective nature, but the Vestbo Trio would fit right into that label's aesthetic of intimate jazz ensembles creating beautiful, thoughtful music with sound quality that goes to the moon and back. (I downloaded this album on FLAC, by the way, which I suppose is my preferred digital file format these days--convince me I'm wrong.) Best of all, the download is available for just $10 when you pre-order it at the Vestbo Trio website. The LP is available for $30, and the CD is available for $20, by the way--I almost wish I waited for the vinyl but my digital capabilities are growing exponentially with all sorts of network players, DACs and other devices that are currently visiting me at home. Then again, you get the download codes when you buy this on LP or CD.

For a mere $10, you can experience this amazing performance, all captured in a 24-bit/96 kHz digital master. That's good news for a new year, right?