Jeffrey Butzer, Live in Fringe Club Hong Kong, 8 June 2007

bio:

Behind the largely self-taught American musician/composer, JEFFREY BUTZER’S command of an impressive array of instruments (piano, glockenspiel, guitar, drums, xylophone, bass, banjo, autoharp, ocarina, melodica, accordion, harmonica…and the list goes on) lies an even greater penchant for experimentation and a deep appreciation of a wide range of musical styles. Seeming at first like a jolly dose of gypsy or circus music, his debut album with Lona Records, She Traded Her Leg quickly strikes a chord with its particular brand of percussive lo-fi minimalism tinged with cinematic overtones. And while such ‘baroque’ leanings may seem, to the uninitiated, as the unfocused wanderings of a musician with his finger in too many pies, it is only necessary to hear the play of melodic lines in tracks like “Wooden Giraffe” and “Broken Blunderbuss” to appreciate the uniqueness of Butzer’s musical voice. In the second half of the album (named “One Hundred and Sixty Three Black Bubbles”), things gradually start to take a more introspective turn, with the insertion of gamelan inspired rhythmic elements, violin and autoharp noises; culminating in the longest track of the album “Her Body is a Swamp”. From the circus to the heart of darkness—Butzer’s genre-defying album is hard to beat for its playfulness and sophistication.

FOR FANS OF YANN TIERSEN, PASCAL COMELADE, KLIMPEREI

Influences: Jeffrey’s love of European cinema led him to the composers: Michael Nyman, Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone. Other artists that have influenced his work include: Tom Waits, Harry Partch, Captain Beefheart, Nick Cave, Kurt Weill, John Zorn, Moondog and Edith Piaf. Gypsy, musette, jazz and surf music have also contributed to his unique sound.

Listen to his music: http://www.myspace.com/butzermusic
Video: http://www.lona-records.com/media/jeffreybutzer_vdo.html info@lona-records.com

quite a good performance for jeffrey and his cool guitarist friend (name??? he's more like a front man than jeffrey honestly!!).....also thanks for lona records brought us such show and hope more in future....but no offence to anyone, as audience, i don't think it's proper to have such long support acts for the show til 12:15...almost two hours later than the orignal show time......a bit unfair (yes, unfair) to those who largely come to see him play!!.....all passion was just gone with such long wait!!! time control is important sometimes!!!
(Archive 11 June 2007)