Origins

Origins

French-born, Brooklyn-based guitarist Stephane Wrembel is strongly influenced by Gypsy jazz, but he clearly draws on other sources too. (He wrote the theme song for Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.) 2012’s all-instrumental “Origins” opens with the psych-folk of “The Voice from the Desert,” where a rhythm section and the drone of an Indian tambura accompany 12-string guitar. (Wrembel’s bandmates are bassist Dave Speranza, rhythm guitarist Roy Williams, drummer Nick Anderson, and percussionist David Langlois.) “The Edge” moves between hard-swinging Gypsy jazz and more atmospheric passages. The melancholy “Tsunami” (referring to the destructive waves that hit Japan in 2011) is colored by tom-toms and splashing cymbals. “Prometheus” is another track that moves between Gypsy jazz sounds and other material. It’s easy to imagine “Water Is Life,” with its nuanced sense of drama, serving as a score for a movie shot in the desert. “Train d’enfer,” a slice of hot jazz, precedes the closer, “Carbon 14,” where a steady beat backs reflective 12-string stylings.

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