Don Stiernberg
Home Cookin' .

Don Stiernberg has made a career of breaking tradition, ironically by... paying homage to tradition. Several albums already under his belt, he's brought almost single-handedly the genre-stymied mandolin to prominence as a legitimate and justifiable voice in "Standards" jazz in the late 90s and recently, with such great projects as "About Time," "Unseasonably Cool," "The Swing Sessions" (with rhythm guitar guru John Parrot), "Bye Bye Blues" and "Swing Low Sweet Mandolin" (with legendary Jethro Burns), as well as partnered with East Coast guitarist/conductor extraordinaire John Carlini in recent collaborations, "Angel Eyes" and "By George." Protege of Jethro Burns, Don has taken the master's training and work to a whole new and distinctive level the last two decades, creating a signature voice all his own since the passing of the great mentor.

Dare we say, "Home Cookin'" is going to nudge his fan base a bit. Not in a negative way; he's chosen to introduce some "homegrown" music and some pop favorites into the mix, and though they are done with much expected professionalism and the usual Stiernberg polish and panache, these are not out of what many would consider part of the "Great American Songbook." That said, one needn't look farther than the great pianist Bill Evans for an example of another great artist making a withdrawal from the bank of some of the great literature of American pop music, including his brilliant renditions of many timeless Broadway showtunes, arguably before stamped "timeless" by subsequent generations.

Particularly, James Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves," introduces a unique string band shuffle feel, as well as Don's saccharine vocals. It's a challenge for recording and studio mixing pop tunes in a jazz setting, especially an acoustic string band where the overtly compressed lead (and backup) tracks are what the untrained ear expects of today's recording standards. Producer Steve Rashid errs on the safe side and keeps it more acoustically "pure." What remains to be seen is how this approach is accepted in larger markets; Don's fans will love it, as much as they love him.

If any bone were to be picked, it would be we don't get to hear the "edginess" in the vocal tracks we know Stiernberg is capable of delivering, particularly in a live concert. His growls and emotional twists come across subdued, less "Southside" and more "Suburban" Chicago. His crowd-pleasing "Brain Cloudy Blues" and "I Don't Want Love" are a bit more clinical than we've heard belt from him on stage.

Nits aside, Stiernberg's jazz chops on the mandolin are as brilliant as ever. His "Standards" selections including the Young and Washington "Stella by Starlight," Brown & Kahn "You Stepped Out of a Dream," and the CD's showstopper track Loesser & McHugh's "Let's Get Lost" are as good as it gets for jazz mandolinning. Any aspiring 8-stringer would do well to study these, and study them over and over for insight into jazz phrasing and interpretation. It's hard to find anyone who can do it better.

On the local faire, the folksy track, "Home" was written by Don's friend Fred Simon, Chicago keyboardist-composer and Windham Hill recording artist. A unique cosmopolitan addition to the recipe, the beautiful samba "High Clouds" is by Ettore Straata, an Italian classical musician/conductor/film scorer, lesser known to mass market audience. However, one would never know this isn't a Latin "Realbook" tune, it's so convincingly constructed, and of course, here it's played with all the integrity and conviction of any catchy "genuine" standard.

Back to the pop tunes, Stevie Wonder's brilliant album "Fulfillingness First Finale" released July of 1974, harbored some of the most amazing songs of the Motown artist's career, most of the material never really discovered in the mainstream market despite the singer/songwriter's notoriety. An ear for a great tune, Don has managed to unearth one of these, "Creepin';" the haunting tonalities and lilting melody lends itself well to the mandolin and Don's lyrical style. A lead-in #9 chord never sounded so good. Best use this side of Jimi Hendrix...

On the issue of daring to be different, one of the CD's most talked about songs will most definitely be the Choro-like rendition of "Jethro's Tune." Joined by Brazilian (and fellow Chicagoan) rhythm guitarist Paulinho Garcia, Stiernberg bends our mind with classic Jethro by innovating on the great innovator. Not the quadruple pull-off pyrotechnical fret gymnastics dare we say perceptively "obligated" by the performer, Don does his "own thang," slowing things down and introducing subtle but striking harmonic shadings that flaunt a whole new and interesting level of sophistication to this classic song. Why do Jethro like Jethro, when you can do something different but equal (and in this case disputably better)?

The CD is aptly named. "Home Cookin'" is what you get, culinary choices made by the chef, nothing inauthentic or prefabricated and presented to the diner in an impersonal wrapper; instead, served to any compelled to be a special guest of the artist.

And we do recommend the cook...

Selections:

1. Brain Cloudy Blues
2. Home
3. Stella by Starlight
4. Something in the Way She Moves
5. Creepin'
6. West Coast Blues
7. I Don't Want Love
8. High Clouds
9. You Stepped Out of a Dream
10. I Hadn't Anyone `Til You
11. Jethro's Tune
12. Let's Get Lost

Artist Website: Don Stiernberg

Purchase Information: Home Cookin'