Jeffrey Bützer: piano, toy piano, electric piano, accordion, toy accordion, melodica, glockenspiel, chord organ, banjo, guitars, bass, tongue drum, drums & percussion ------- Pw Shelton: banjo, guitar, bass - Anna McBath: glockenspiel, accordion, vocals - Mark Carbone: drums - Claire Lodge: guitar - Leah Helfen: cello
Influences
Music:Tom Waits, Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Edith Piaf, Captain Beefheart, John Zorn, Harry Partch, Yann Tiersen, Michael Nyman, Kurt Weill, Nick Cave, Erik Satie Other: Luis Bunuel, David Lynch, Ingmar Bergman, Peter Greenaway, Eugene Ionesco, William Blake, Flannery O'Connor
Sounds Like
He may live and work in Atlanta, but Jeffrey Butzer’s soul is in another, earlier time and place. The one-man band, who plays every instrument on his sophomore release except for bass and banjo, is stuck in a ’40s movie with scenes in pre-War Germany cabarets (with singer Sanni Baumgartner taking the place of Marlene Dietrich), and sometimes a ’60s Western.
This predominantly instrumental disc (currently available at shows and online) is the soundtrack to a screenplay Butzer wrote for the as-yet unmade titular movie. The 26 songs are divided into three acts, and while some pieces are missing without the visuals and story, the music holds up surprisingly well on its own.
Toy pianos, accordions and glockenspiel dictate Act 1’s keyboard-driven sound. The effect is distinctive, playful and often frisky, with some ominous moments interspersed, especially when Ms. Baumgartner sings in German on “Valse 2” and “A Popular French Hairstyle.” Elements of Tom Waits at his most theatrical, as well as Kurt Weil and Calexico, abound.
Song titles are appropriately vague, with “Blue Ink Tears,” “Bicycle Eater” and “Lucy 5’s Egg” signifying Butzer’s experimental bent and creating a lighthearted, stylized noir mood that’s both hypnotic and alluring.
Act 2 shifts into more portentous Spaghetti Western territory, with lonely, reverbed guitars replacing Act 1’s keyboards. Most cuts are short, setting the aural scene and then moving on.
“The Garden of Scissors” showcases Butzer as a unique Atlanta musician with an idiosyncratic, cinematic style, one who possesses the vision and talent to color outside pop’s boundaries and structures without losing its soul. 3 STARS—Hal Horowitz
..
.. $14 (with shipping) and at Amazon.com WORLDWIDE... and other fine CD stores
*******************************************************
Although raised by a piano teacher/church organist, Jeffrey is a self-taught musician/composer. He began playing drums at age nine, then picked up guitar and piano in his teen years and began writing instrumentals. Over the years, accordion, toy piano, electric piano, chord organs, glockenspiel, melodica, banjo and other noise makers have worked their way into his repertoire. His debut full-length album She Traded Her Leg (Lona Records, 2006) was received to great acclaim and supported by an international tour, including dates in Hong Kong, Paris, and across the United States. His follow up release, The Garden of Scissors (2009) continues in the imaginitive musical collagework of his prior release while expanding on new ground, including collaborations with Sanni Baumgaertner of Dancer vs. Politician.
Jeffrey's penchant for tribute performances, in which he reinvents the legacies of some of his favorite influences in the manner of John Zorn, have to date included sets of material by Tom Waits, Vince Guaraldi, and an index of the music for the films of David Lynch. Other recent work includes Jeffrey's creative extension into film, including a score for C. Hefner's film Birdcatcher, which curried favor from legendary experimental filmmaker Guy Maddin, as well as a short film written by Jeffrey for his song Lucy 5's Egg, as interpreted by Italian video artist Marco Missano. Such wide ranging habits and capabilities remain continued demonstrations of not only Jeffrey Butzer's eclectic and explorative taste, but also his virtuosic capability and confidence in the creation of new sound.
Jeffrey Butzer: "She Traded Her Leg" is now available on iTunes and CD Baby:
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
"the garden of scissors"
NEW ALBUM AVAILABLE ONLINE www.lona-records.com
everywhere 15 may
http://cdbaby.com/cd/butzerjeffrey2
Video documentation of a performance piece by my friend Nate Kassel who rode around on his bike slapping high-fives to people who were trying to hail taxi cabs in NYC. Enjoy!
Oh, I love the new song, I do! It projected great visuals in my head! Such as, a gunslinger in his dirty raw hide drab chasing a sly 1920's gentleman in a circus tent which has an assortmen of freak show obstacles! Alas, they meet on two separate ends of a staircase!
So fun. That's what I love about your music. It's lyricless (or languages I can't understand) songs allow more freedom for creative listening!
