HOWE GELB - Gathered

With "Gathered", Gelb returns to more familiar territory, absorbing jazz nuances within a folk style steeped in chansonnier tradition, poised between Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits. Without giving up the contribution of his faithful double bassist Thøger T. Lund and drummer Andrew Collberg, the musician draws on a more varied cast of players, crafting a stimulating and diverse album.

The atmosphere is still that of nocturnal jazz clubs, but the songs enjoy greater freedom. The musician also makes good use of his recent collaboration with Irish band Lost Brothers: he entrusts them with no fewer than three tracks, on which he once again duets pleasantly with the sound of acoustic guitar.

Despite the usual ups and downs, "Gathered" offers more than one reason for interest, starting with the fine version of a Cohen song ("A Thousand Kisses Deep"), which, with the help of two Spanish guitarists and M. Ward, the musician transforms into a poignant, sensual ballad.

With the complicity of French singer and actress Anna Karina, Gelb pulls off another small masterstroke, thanks to the jazz ballad “Not The End Of The World”, which brings back the already-mentioned Cohen but also Chet Baker.

With the same crooner spirit he tackles the more conventional “My Little World” and a wrenching, anguished piano ballad, “Storyteller”, which at 6 minutes and 12 seconds outlasts every other track.

It's hard to say whether Howe Gelb is more elusive than cunning as an artist; what's certain is that with “Gathered” he manages to skillfully muddy the waters, singing a classic like “Moon River” so he can duet with his daughter Talula, embroidering a pleasant but fairly predictable ballad with the sound of a pump organ (“Flyin' Off The Rails”), and delivering a memorable folk-blues in “All You Need To Know” that seems to have stepped straight out of “Nighthawks At The Diner”.

It's a strongly iconographic America that Howe Gelb puts to music on his latest album, the one we've all fallen a little in love with watching a Jim Jarmusch film or listening to a Tom Waits record. A nocturnal, solitary America, where the bar is the meeting place for wandering, slightly freakish souls. Unlike his recent albums, though, the whole thing works, perhaps because a bit of dust has crept into the smoky atmosphere of the jazz club, making everything feel more authentic.