December 1999 saw the release
of Al Rose's third album, Pigeon's Throat,
following his critically- acclaimed second album, Naked
In A Trailer, and his debut, Information Overload.
The musicians include the Transcendos and guests such as violinist Steve
Gibons, mandolinist Stuart Rosenberg, cellist Diana Parmeter and occasional
Transcendo, organist Carter Luke.
Critics have always had
a difficult time adequately describing Al Rose's music, ranging from "soulful-country-
dada-gospel" to the less musical but accurate description, "caffeinated
madness." Texture and time signatures change in new ways and the lyrics
are meant to wash over the listener and be absorbed. Great musicianship
and ideas abound within the framework of a tightly-constructed song. This
new album, as with the previous one, really captures the interplay, the
mesmerizing qualities that are found in any of his live performances. In
concert, Al Rose sometimes presents his music as an acoustic solo, sometimes
with just a bassist, as a trio, as a rockin' quartet and sometimes with
the large band he calls The Transcendos.
His father was a local
bassist and violinist in the 40's but his parents selected the flute as
Al's first instrument. Although he had learned to read and play in various
school ensembles he lost interest during high school. "One rainy day
I picked up an old Sears Silvertone with only three strings left that was
around the house. I became obsessed, not as a guitarist but as a singer.
I started writing songs right away." With cowboy-chord proficiency,
the early Dylan songbook and the Washburn guitar he still plays, "I was
trying to be the ‘profound social-singer guy'. I no longer play any of those
songs." After playing coffeehouses while in high school, he developed
major musical partnerships when he arrived at college in Champaign, Illinois.
He formed a band with Dave Kay and Maury Smith called Three
Story Brownstone. Changing personnel, and a relocation to Chicago, resulted
in a name change to Buffalo Trout. By now Al was regularly using
a Strat and had also taken up the alto sax. After ten years and several
bands, Dave and Al had an amicable split.
"I was looking for musicians
who could take my music and ‘transcend' what I had written." The Transcendos
were envisioned as a large, versatile band. Early line-ups included pedal
steel and keyboard players. The current musicians are all active throughout
the Chicago music community. There is a stable core the to Transcendos:
Drummer Heath Chappell, bassist Steve Hashimoto, guitarist
Victor Sanders and vocalist Laura Blye. Former Three Story
Brownstone guitarist Maury Smith (now residing in Madison) is considered
a full member of the Transcendos.
At first Al performed exclusively
with the full entourage but he also wanted to explore the acoustic aspects
of his music. The revivification of the coffeehouse as forum for intriguing
music has served him well. Fittingly, there's a song, "Cuptigo," on the
Uncommon Ground Coffeehouse Sampler disc plus a spoken word performance.
"It's a real organic process. The songs are the same but the players dictate
what sound you get that night, but it's always me and my songs." All of
the Transcendos appear on his three discs.
Touring for his first album
brought him outside of his Midwestern base from New York to Nashville to
Atlanta to Boulder. The second album had him being invited to industry showcases
in Boston, New Orleans, Cleveland, St. Louis and return engagements in New
York and elsewhere. He has played in Bali and in Paris, but is as likely
to take his brush and watercolors with him as take a guitar. His artwork
has been shown in galleries, including some solo exhibitions. It's another
creative outlet but is definitely is secondary to his music. The cover to
Naked
is graced by a detail from one of Al's travel paintings.
Describing Al Rose's music
may always be a difficult task but now there are three brilliant compact
discs for reference and enjoyment.