Kyle Evans paid a visit to an exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art called People of the 20th Century, a photo-documentary project by the German artist August Sander, a few years ago. He decided to pick ten of the pictured characters and turn them into songs. It took him years to compose the tracks for the album that would become Jamboree by his project Echo Bloom. Recording went very fast over a three day period in May of 2008 at Omega Studios in the Washington DC area.
Jamboree sounds like Edward Hopper set to music: dark, sparse and compelling. File under Nick Cave, Johnny Dowd or Tom Waits. Evans writes highly literate lyrics, like these from The English Teacher:
I woke up dreaming, satiated
For TS Eliot had kissed my shoulderblade
I lied silent, alone with thoughts about what he’s dreaming
I want him lost in Milton’s paradise
Maya Angelou’s perfect rhythm, or Billy Collins
Just not some sweaty school gymnasium
The digital version of the album is served with matching wallpapers for each track, a illustrated lyrics sheet and tablature. If you are a lawyer, this comes close to full disclosure, right?
Echo Bloom:
Kyle Evans: guitar, vocals, Melodica, piano on The Murderer
Jason Mattis: bass
Dan Roberts: piano, Rhodes, B3, glockenspiel, celesta
Shareef Taher: percussion
Jamboree is licensed through Creative Commons. Buy it from iTunes, eMusic, Amazon or Groupie Tunes (Ringtones). Or cut out the middle man and visit Echo Bloom's Emporium.
Tracks:
- The President
- The English Teacher
- The Murderer
- The Businessman
- The Trucker
- The Dancer
- The Preacher
- The Performer
- The Prostitute
- The Weather Forecaster
MP3: Echo Bloom - The English Teacher
MP3: Echo Bloom - The Preacher
» echobloom.com
» myspace.com/echobloom