GRAZZTRIO, THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND

GRAZZTRIO
THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND

Red Pigs Records
436039061873

   I love the title of the Barcelona, Spain band’s debut CD, which is taken from the lead cut. Unlike the drunken escapades that might be expected from the song’s usual meaning, this three-piece experimental string band takes us on a serious frolic, covering a wide range of music landscapes.

With Lluis Gomez on five-string banjo, Oriol Gonzalez handling mandolin, and Maribel Rivero tackling the double bass, this threesome composed 12 original instrumental tracks that blend traditional bluegrass instruments with a jazz feel. Playing a lot of gigs and rehearsing quite a bit before entering the studio on December 11, 2013, the band recorded all songs live in one day with no separate tracks. Perhaps there are a couple of mistakes, but I didn’t hear them. And even if there were, the brilliance of their innovative playing far overshadows any minor flaws.

Multi-instrumentalist Matt Flinner compared the trio to “Tony Trischka’s Skyline group at its best.” Look for Grazztrio to ignite a new spark of creativity in contemporary bluegrass in the future. (Diagonal Orient 26, Castelldefels Platja, 08860 Spain, www.grazztrio.com.)BC