The Rebecca Shrimpton/Eric Hofbauer duo unites voice and guitar
in an intimate partnership that both celebrates and defies the traditional
roles of its instruments.
Inspired by the full spectrum of American music, this pairing of
two noted Boston-based musicians brings freshness to jazz standards
and stretches out to explore such diverse musical sources as Ray
Charles, Duke Ellington, Ned Rorem and various practitioners from
the folk tradition.
They have played venues in New York City and Boston, and earned
accolades for their 2005 debut recording, Madman's Moon (Creative
Nation Music), which also featured saxophonist Allan Chase and bassist
Scott Barnum.
All Music Guide reviewer François Couture called
it "a commanding debut," adding, "Shrimpton proves that it is possible
to inhabit the standard torch songs without oversexualizing them
and to present them in arrangements that don't dumb things down to
easy-to-follow chord changes."
"The American songbook is given a new facelift on Madman's Moon," declared
AllAboutJazz.com's Mark F. Turner. "The duo gives new spins
on familiar and unfamiliar songs, taking the freedom to try different
approaches to the standard jazz vocal songbook. Shrimpton's
crystal vocalizations are perfectly matched with Hofbauer's detailed
string work...they are thoroughly enjoyable and give new life to time-weathered
favorites like 'Pure Imagination.'" |
