Sam Barsh preview

Sam Barsh
Green Mill, Chicago
Saturday, March 8, 2008

Sam Barsh seems like a fun guy. C’mon, there he is on the front cover of I Forgot What You Taught Me (Razdaz) jumping in the air with one hand clinched in a fist and the other holding a small keyboard with his name painted on the ivories. The back cover is better yet – Barsh stark naked save a newsboy cap, sunglasses, and shoes, holding the aforementioned keyboard over his backside! So why is his music so lifeless?

That’s not a knock on Barsh’s talent, after all, the pianist is good enough to record and play jazz festivals around the world with acclaimed jazz bassist (and cofounder of Razdaz Recordz) Avishai Cohen, only an observation that for as wacky as Barsh seems, his music is pretty stiff. It’s not supposed to of course. The album title is a reference to Barsh (who grew up in Chicago but now calls New York City home ) letting go of all the strict musical lessons one learns in the jazz studies program of someplace like William Patterson University and just “going with the flow.” No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks – just loosey goosey white-boy funk (“Plans Change”) and don’t-call-it-smooth-jazz (“Rainy Day Jam”). Jazz guys do this a lot, talk about how their new record breaks the rules, dismisses the guidelines, goes its own way: It’s their rock ‘n’ roll record. A trained ear might be able to recognize such nuances, but to us, it just sounds like the same ol’ jazz.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here for streaming Sam Barsh samples.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly