Being this good on a "secondary" instrument is actually criminal in some states...

Well maybe not technically illegal, but every time east coast jazz violinist virtuoso Aaron Weinstein shares with us another one of his amazing video performances on mandolin, we either want to woodshed scales another 1,000 hours, or just close the case and put the instrument away for good. We've shared other videos from the young talented one with you before, and here's yet another stunning bit of fretboard gymnastics and master solo jazz arranging.

See video and link below.

Aaron tells us his next big gig is with his trio at the Litchfield Jazz Festival on August 8th, and teases, "The mando may make a cameo appearance." Asked about the thought process behind the Sondheim classic' It Can't Be True' he explains, "in brief, I wanted to get away from playing the melody strictly in block chords and see if I could get a little more motion happening. As for the Van Eps piece 'Tango El Bongo', it's essentially an adaptation of a piece he wrote for solo 7-string guitar, and it was just a matter of deciding which notes I could leave out to make this work with only 4 strings while still maintaining the general sound of the piece."

What's most impressive is how his phrasing seamlessly works the melody, something we would expect out of a world class violinist, and supports with rather complex moving chord clusters, which we would expect out of a premier comp musician.

But not out of the same body, at the same time.

Enjoy video: Aaron Weinstein plays songs not meant for the mandolin

Just doesn't get much better than this!

Artist website: Aaron Weinstein

Posted by Ted at July 27, 2010 5:35 AM