steel guitar Archive

Bill Brovold and Jamie Saft – Serenity Knolls – RareNoise 

by Audiophile Audition | Sep 3, 2017 | Jazz CD Reviews

Bill Brovold and Jamie Saft – Serenity Knolls [TrackList follows] – RareNoise RNR076, 76:28 [3/31/17] ****: Guitarists Bill Brovold and Jamie Saft expand their horizons. (Bill Brovold – electric guitar; Jamie Saft – Dobro, lap steel guitar) This instrumental duo project by guitarist Bill Brovold and multi-instrumentalist Jamie Saft is an unexpected venture. Anyone familiar with Brovold or Saft’s previous musical output may suppose the 76-minute, 12-track Serenity Knolls to have powerful, aggressive material. Saft is known for his keyboard contributions to hard-hitting artists such as Plymouth, Bobby Previte, Merzbow and others who are notable for brash music. Brovold was part of the NYC no-wave movement of the early ‘80s, collaborating with Rhys Chatham; Brovold also led the Detroit band Larval; and has many more credits. Both Saft and Brovold reside in the Hudson Valley area in upstate New York, became friends, and eventually decided to record together. The end result is this RareNoise release, which is an unanticipated excursion into Americana. Brovold is heard on electric guitar while Saft is on Dobro and lap steel guitar, and the most immediate impression is understatement: a nearly introspective, minimalist and folk-flecked flair. There’s more rural and pastoral, more acoustic blues and […]