PETE OXLEY & NICOLAS MEIER - Chasing Tales
MGP Records: MGPCD016
Personnel: Pete Oxley: jazz guitar, nylon string guitar, nylon and electric 12 string guitar, slide guitar, synthesizer; Nicolas Meier: nylon string guitar, steel guitar, acoustic 12 string guitar, glissentar, fretless steel string guitar, fretless nylon string guitar, baglama
Recorded at MGP in November 2014
You should never judge a book by its cover or so they say. However sometimes a cover is just too impressive to ignore which is very much the case with Chasing Tales the latest release from Pete Oxley and Nicolas Meier. The gorgeous cover art for this album filled me with excitement and perhaps a small amount of apprehension. Could this release match its stunning artwork? Luckily in this case the answer is a resounding yes!
I am still a relative jazz novice so when told this was an album was the work of two guitarists I had no idea what to expect. I lived in a world of preconceived stereotypes. Jazz could only be middle aged men from the olden days blowing on trumpets. Luckily for me I’ve been expertly guided on a path that has opened my eyes to the complex and layered world of jazz. Chasing Tales is the kind of album that blows my misconceptions out of the water.
I am not a musician so I can’t sit here and give technical specifications of why I loved this record but I can tell you it spoke to me in a way few recent musical releases have. To me this album tells the perfect story with each track offering up a fresh new chapter. There is an almost serene quality to it. Often when I play this album I like to sit back, close my eyes and let it wash over me. The album’s run time is just over an hour but it is so easy to get lost in the melody that it never feels like its outstaying its welcome.
The sheer depth of the album is outstanding. Looking at the listed personnel for this album blew my mind. Not only do Oxley and Meier have writing credits for eleven of the twelve tracks but they also play all the instruments that bring them to life. The fact that it only takes two men to achieve the beauty and warmth of Chasing Tales is a true testament to their level of ability and talent.
Personally speaking this is by far my favourite jazz album so far. I don’t speak as a well versed aficionado but I know what I like and this album touched something inside me and puts a smile on my face every time I play it. The music here paints a picture that is as equally beautiful as the painting by Nicolas Meier’s fantastically talented wife Songul Yilmaz-Meier. This album captures the lightning in a bottle effect created by the union of two perfectly matched artists and is already the front runner for my album of the year. I really can’t wait to see what Pete and Nicolas do next!
MGP Records: MGPCD016
Personnel: Pete Oxley: jazz guitar, nylon string guitar, nylon and electric 12 string guitar, slide guitar, synthesizer; Nicolas Meier: nylon string guitar, steel guitar, acoustic 12 string guitar, glissentar, fretless steel string guitar, fretless nylon string guitar, baglama
Recorded at MGP in November 2014
You should never judge a book by its cover or so they say. However sometimes a cover is just too impressive to ignore which is very much the case with Chasing Tales the latest release from Pete Oxley and Nicolas Meier. The gorgeous cover art for this album filled me with excitement and perhaps a small amount of apprehension. Could this release match its stunning artwork? Luckily in this case the answer is a resounding yes!
I am still a relative jazz novice so when told this was an album was the work of two guitarists I had no idea what to expect. I lived in a world of preconceived stereotypes. Jazz could only be middle aged men from the olden days blowing on trumpets. Luckily for me I’ve been expertly guided on a path that has opened my eyes to the complex and layered world of jazz. Chasing Tales is the kind of album that blows my misconceptions out of the water.
I am not a musician so I can’t sit here and give technical specifications of why I loved this record but I can tell you it spoke to me in a way few recent musical releases have. To me this album tells the perfect story with each track offering up a fresh new chapter. There is an almost serene quality to it. Often when I play this album I like to sit back, close my eyes and let it wash over me. The album’s run time is just over an hour but it is so easy to get lost in the melody that it never feels like its outstaying its welcome.
The sheer depth of the album is outstanding. Looking at the listed personnel for this album blew my mind. Not only do Oxley and Meier have writing credits for eleven of the twelve tracks but they also play all the instruments that bring them to life. The fact that it only takes two men to achieve the beauty and warmth of Chasing Tales is a true testament to their level of ability and talent.
Personally speaking this is by far my favourite jazz album so far. I don’t speak as a well versed aficionado but I know what I like and this album touched something inside me and puts a smile on my face every time I play it. The music here paints a picture that is as equally beautiful as the painting by Nicolas Meier’s fantastically talented wife Songul Yilmaz-Meier. This album captures the lightning in a bottle effect created by the union of two perfectly matched artists and is already the front runner for my album of the year. I really can’t wait to see what Pete and Nicolas do next!
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Reviewed by Ben Calverley
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