|
Pulse of the Twin Cities Login |
|
If you do not have an account yet
Create One.
|
|
|
Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
|
|
|
|
Daniel Ellsworth: Purposeful Piantist
Wednesday 14 March @ 15:06:50 |
 BY NATHAN DEAN
Technical proficiency isn't always a blessing when it comes to performing pop music. All too often those musicians who approach pop-craft with a background in millions of hours of memorizing scales and performing dexterity-enhancing exercises end up overstuffing their tunes with masturbatory showboating. There's a reason fret-burning guitar wizards like Joe Satriani have a limited following consisting largely of guitar nerds--and that's because the music, however technically "stunning," is devoid of soul.
 Twenty-two-year-old Nashville musician Daniel Ellsworth studied classical piano for 15 years, and intimately knows the perils of being "too good" at an instrument. Throw in Ellsworth's recently earned degree in jazz piano composition and performance and there would be plenty of reason to anticipate that his debut album would be long on technical prowess, but lacking in grit.
Thankfully, Ellsworth's opening shot at pop stardom, Between the Sea & the Sun, shows what can happen when technical skills are brandished in service of pop without getting in the way. Throughout the album's twelve ambitious cuts, Ellsworth doesn't try to hide the fact that he could play circles around 99 percent of the pianists out there, but his soloing prowess is just one part of his arsenal. There are also some shamelessly fun and relatively simple string arrangements, Ellsworth's lovely soulful tenor and the occasional unadorned ballad consisting solely of simple chord progressions and voice.
"For me, especially being around really serious musicians for so many years, I'm just so burned out on that virtuoso type of thing," admits Ellsworth, who was born and raised in the Minneapolis area before leaving to pursue music in college, first in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and later in Nashville. "I don't want to buy someone's CD and listen to them solo for a half hour on a song and then the song totally sucks. When I made this record the most important thing to me was that the songs come across. Obviously there is some stuff on the record, that's pretty technical, but I didn't want any of that to be the focal point of the record."
Mission accomplished. For all Ellsworth's moments of ivory tinkling splendor--and trust me there are plenty on the disc--what one ultimately takes away from repeated listens to Between the Sea & the Sun are the songs. Displaying a musical precociousness often found on intriguing debut albums, Ellsworth tries his hand at damn near every style under the sun. There's the Philly soul-sounding title track, the bluesy stomp of stuck-up girl kiss-off "Self-Centered, Selfish and Vain," and the angelic balladry of album closer "Song for Love." In his more theatrical moments, I pegged Ellsworth as an early Ben Folds Five devotee. When getting down with his bad self as one of the few ardent Jamiroquai fans kicking out the jams from behind a piano in Music City, my girlfriend thought he reminded her of Jason Mraz.
"It's definitely been a little difficult for me in terms of filling a specific niche," says Ellsworth. "I grew up listening to anything and everything. That was a big fear with making this record. Would people be OK with me jumping styles from song to song? In the end I felt like it came together pretty well and coalesced into a cohesive thing."
Ellsworth's lyrics are as equally varied as his musical arrangements, finding him alternately elated, angered, reflective and (in his weaker moments) a bit treacly. As a lyricist and vocalist, Ellsworth's most effective when sticking to matters of the heart, but it's still nice to hear young singer/songwriters throw in their two cents on the state of the union ("American Ammunition"), even if it doesn't always come off quite as gracefully.
Though he's called Nashville home for more than four years, Ellsworth's more than willing to recognize the pitfalls of being a musician in a town filled to the brim with aspiring pop stars of all stripes. "Living in a city like Nashville I get to see so much of the music business up close," he says, "and I'm realizing I hate it. Even people out here who go to see shows aren't usually going to watch the band, they're going to meet so-and-so who's in the crowd and can help them further their career. I understand that, but when it's not about the music it gets really frustrating."
Making his way through the ever-thickening indie music wilderness armed with a piano and a slick, adult-leaning sound more likely to appeal to Bruce Hornsby fans than collegiate rock staples like Yo La Tengo, Ellsworth frequently finds himself the odd man out while on tour. "I'm at an interesting space right now in terms of touring because I'm playing everything from universities to coffee shops to the more traditional indie rock club," admits Ellsworth, who's already started to win fans in the NPR crowd, thanks to a feature on the "Open Mic" segment of their "All Songs Considered" program. "The indie-rock crowd can be pretty tough to win over because they usually don't want to see a piano-rock guy unless it's Ben Folds. Generally, I think a broad range of people in an audience is when I do best. I often get a lot of, 'Your CD is so great--my mom loves it.' That's cool with me." ||
Daniel Ellsworth plays the Acadia Café on Wed., Mar. 14 with Beight, Andy Scisco, Steve Lee. 7 p.m. $7. All Ages. 1931 Nicollet Ave. S., Mpls. 612-874-8702.
|
|
 |
|
|
Comments -
Post Comment |
|
The comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for its content.
NO comments yet! Be the first!
|
|
|
