Meet Garreth Broesche (pronounced BRAY-shuh), a multitalented musician from Texas who plays
Bach every day but has now independently released his first CD, The Garreth Broesche Trio.
If you walked into a Texas bar, you might mistake this recording for a live Dixie/swing band playing
in the corner.
“Blue Moose,” one of only two Broesche originals on this record, shuffles as would the patrons
in any one of the bars at which Broesche frequently plays around Austin, TX. Although he plucks a
mandolin, Broesche’s debt to the 1920s and '30s shines through this music. The breaks and solos
come in rapid succession. “My New Girlfriend” is a blast. The cheeky lyrics inspire laughter and
provide a wonderful rhythmic follow up to the album opening, comprising 120 seconds of sauciness
that we’ve enjoyed at a million weddings.
The Garreth Broesche Trio clearly demonstrates a fundamental knowledge of the
tradition.
However, the apparent live playing experience of the musicians animates the music in ways that
make this a raw recording. “I had been playing with the bass player for some time, but the other two
guys were hired for the session,” says Broesche. “We played a grand total of about a half hour
together before we started to roll the tape.”
“Lazybones” sets a nice swinging groove in a simple structure that stresses solos. One gets a
picture of musicians on their studio stools, heads bowed over their instruments, bobbing to the beat.
Garreth Broesche, himself a recording engineer, admits the biggest weakness of this recording: “I
feel the CD is a little too ‘safe’ sounding.”
Recording has always been brutally objective. It clarifies and identifies the musicians’ technical
weaknesses. In this case, Broesche picks and strums soulfully, but the technical delivery suggests
that his heart soars to places that his playing has yet to reach. Broesche can look forward to
developing a clinical approach that will manifest itself in more polished future records. This one is a
good start.
Gershwin’s “Nice Work if You Can Get It” is a nice three minute instrumental that serves as a
great jam project. In fact, the whole album might have been enhanced with more jamming. But this
collection of music gets better as it progresses. “Caravan” grooves nicely in a context that
makes Broesche’s playing a compelling backbone. It helps that this song ranges beyond five
minutes. Improvisation thrives with time. Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser” closes this 37-minute album
much as it starts: like a live appearance. At the conclusion, one almost expects Broesche to say,
“We’ll be back in 15. Come back now, y’hear?”
Music is much the better for the heartfelt efforts of independent artists like Garreth Broesche. If
the recording needs a cleaning and the playing needs some shine, Broesche will have ample
opportunity to reach those goals in subsequent projects. The victory of The Garreth Broesche
Trio is in the try.
~ Gregory J. Robb
