[TR24][SM][OF] Theo Bleckmann - Hello Earth! - The Music of Kate Bush - 2011 [FLAC] (Vocal Jazz, Contemporary)

After tackling American maverick composer Charles Ives and being rewarded with a Grammy nomination for it, vocalist Theo Bleckmann now takes on the mysterious songbook of British pop recluse Kate Bush. This project goes beyond merely re-creating Bush’s music, taking it to even further realms of sound and interpretation. Joining him in this venture will be long-time collaborator percussionist John Hollenbeck, bassist Skuli Sverrisson and keyboardist Henry Hey, and a special guest, multi-instrumentalist Caleb Burhans on viola, guitar, and laptop.
Bleckmann and his band approach the songs like aliens examining a new life form, as if they landed in Bush's back garden and said, 'Take me to your Lieder!'. Always precise and technically meticulous, the singer pulls off that most difficult of balancing acts: being both adventurous and faithful to the material, probing each lyric for its meaning. The talented group, picked from New York's fertile downtown scene, create a spacey, ethereal backdrop, investing already extraordinary songs with a wide-eyed sense of wonder and discovery.