Music and food have always co-existed in Jeff Torbert’s
life.He busked for several years at the Farmers’ Market. “I had long
hair and a beard,” he recalls. “I was in the corridor near the fish
guy.”
A childhood friend took over his family’s farm near Windsor. Torbert
has visited to hang and to help out. He’s seen firsthand the effort,
pressure, responsibilities and rewards of a life lived working the
land.
Two bucks from each copy of his new album, This Weather
Honest, goes to the Ecology Action Centre’s Musicians for Farmers
fund. Torbert’s been principally performing and recording with a trio,
TFC, whose Adam Fine (bass) and Doug Cameron (drums) both play on the
album, which Torbert hesitates to call a solo project.
“I found my people,” he says, including David Christensen (alto
sax/bass clarinet), who co-produced, Glenn Austin (drums/percussion),
Matt Myer (trumpet/organ), Gina Burgess (Gypsophilia’s violinist) and
Lukas Pearse (sharing bass duties with Fine).
The album’s eight tracks bring together jazz, funk and folk. “It
isn’t limited to one genre, but it still comes from the one intention,”
says Torbert, who describes himself as “definitely an improviser.”
On the album Torbert plays guitar, piano, melodica and sings. He’s
always sung, going back to the busking and including “vocalizations” as
part of TFC’s music. But there are two vocal tunes on This Weather
Honest that seem immediately personal, sweet and simple offerings:
“Esbörjn,” a tribute to a fallen musical hero, and “Mountain
Valley,” about the place he got married. The album was recorded at
Common Ground, a stroll away from the Common, where Mat Dunlap shot the
cover photos: a tree from the public space, under two kinds of sky.
This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2009.
Excellent compositions-truly a genius…..the overall package of all compositions paints quite the sombre mood though. So many talented musicians should do more than make you sleepy
Jeff torbert is a genius and authentically creative…though I was underwhelmed by this show. Each individual piece was good, but the overall package left something to be desired…I give Jeff credit for choosing uniqueness and obscerurity over something commercial, his talent as a singer/lyricist and the true talent of his band(did I see someone from Johnny Favorite onstage?) were not showcased here-so much talent on stage…I was expecting to be blown away, but I guess its unfair to expect more from the performance based on the resumes of the performers. The compositions were performed well, so kudos Jeff-you created a body of work that focuses on the compositions themselves and not the performers-which is the point.