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Steve Cardenas: West of Middle

By Sean Patrick Fitzell
June 12, 2010
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Guitarist Steve Cardenas sports an unassuming style, devoid of histrionics. He favors clean tones, solid rhythms and cagey harmonies for a subtle, supportive approach. It's a combination he's used to help shape the music of drummers

Paul Motian

drums
1931 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Motian and

Joey Baron

drums
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Joey Baron, bassists

Alexis Cuadrado

bass
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Alexis Cuadrado and

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden and vocalists

Kate McGarry

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Kate McGarry and

Rebecca Martin

guitar
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">Rebecca Martin, among others. On West of Middle, only his third record as a leader, Cardenas enlists drummer Rudy Royston and bassist

Ben Allison

bass, acoustic
b.1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Ben Allison, with whom he's developed a strong rapport in the latter's group. Their interaction propels the mostly mid-tempo, blues-rock-influenced material, which doesn't shatter any boundaries but reflects the leader's tastefully crafted aesthetic.

"Burt" opens with a clean, rhythmic line and rockish groove that Royston colors with quick accents and fills. Allison takes a throbbing turn featuring his percussive string attack, eliciting a fluttered retort from Cardenas and tight snare cracks from the drummer. A tumbling movement permeates "Roundup," with the guitarist and bassist parrying notes without a firmly established beat, until Royston's ride pattern entices Allison to join as Cardenas continues to riff. A stiff mid-tempo backbeat supports the title track, its song-like theme ripe for Cardenas' fluid improvisations.

The sole cover, pianist

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett's "Blue Streak," finds a grittier tone from Cardenas in the opening section before the knotty movement and clipped rhythmic support of the main theme asserts itself. "The Horse You Rode in On" boasts a woozy melodic line that Royston plays off of nicely, punching up the slippery guitar. The leader's shimmering guitar smolders, eventually reaching a climactic crescendo on "Drifting." "Backroad" closes the set and as the trio starts to stretch out, they draw to an abrupt finish, with a tantalizing hint of a less-restrained sound.

Clocking in at about 40 minutes, with only one song reaching the 5:30 mark, West of Middle is a taut collection, Cardenas' concise songs provoking lively dialogue without becoming garrulous.

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Track Listing

Burt; Roundup; West Of Middle; Blue Streak; Spindle; The Horse You Rode In On; Drifter; RR; Backroad.

Personnel

Steve Cardenas

guitar

Steve Cardenas: guitar; Ben Allison: bass; Rudy Royston: drums.

Album information

Title: West of Middle | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

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