Edgar Meyer

Edgar Meyer

There is no doubt about Edgar Meyer's musicianship, creativity or talent. This CD features 14 new works, all by Meyer and all played by him (through the magic of multi-track recording and overdubbing). In addition to his usual double-bass, Meyer plays piano, mandolin, dobro, guitar, and gamba (sometimes bowed, sometimes plucked, at points overdubbed nine times), all in various combinations. Each piece, it seems, is in a different style or genre. The first, a duet for piano and bass, is a long pop ballad without words. Another is (almost) pure bluegrass. There are some artsy pieces that experiment with sounds a la new-age music. The result is never boring but, at the same time, it gives the CD a feel of being neither fish nor fowl. As a means of showing off Meyer's considerable abilities it is splendid, but after the listener finishes oohing-and-aahing over the cleverness, it all seems like hors d'oeuvres with no main course. Different people will absolutely love different parts of this CD; as a unified listening experience, it's somewhat of a puzzle. <i>--Robert Levine</i>