This article originally appeared in Acoustic Guitar magazine. © String Letter Publishing, all rights reserved.
Acoustic Avant-Garde - The Tin Hat Trio refines its sound on the newly released Helium
By combining elements of Argentine tango, vintage Parisian café music, eastern European sounds, American folk, and jazz, San Francisco's Tin Hat Trio has created a unique sound that is instantly recognizable. The band's original voice was first captured in 1999 on its debut recording, Memory Is an Elephant, and it has been further refined on their recently released sophomore effort, Helium. The Trio's members--Mark Orton on guitar, Dobro, and tenor banjo; Carla Kihlstedt on violin and viola; and Rob Burger on accordion, piano, pump organ, harmonica, and marxophone--began their individual careers studying classical music at the Juilliard School in New York and Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory. Elements of classical music have made their way into the Tin Hat Trio's sound (particularly via Kihlstedt's violin), but for these three maverick musicians it was mostly a case of learning the rules so they would know how best to break them.
The Tin Hat Trio's collective musical horizons are vast. Orton's musical experiences include a stint as house engineer at New York's famed downtown rock and jazz venue the Knitting Factory, Burger has been a member of jazz guitarist Bill Frisell's band, and Kihlstedt has explored the avant-garde with composer and saxophonist John Zorn. Each of them has also been involved in a colorful sampling of San Francisco Bay Area projects.
Helium opens with the dark and eerie "A Life in East Poultney," which features a repetitive fingerpicked tenor banjo line hovering over a foundation of violin, viola, and prepared piano. It's followed by the title track, on which the Trio's trademark sound comes to life. Orton creates the tune's rhythmic backbone on guitar, mixing choppy chords with a solid bass line played on the detuned lower strings of his instrument. On other tunes, including "Sand Dog Blues," he plays some fine solos, but it's his rock-solid yet quirky rhythm guitar style that makes Orton's playing stand out. Melodic, dramatic violin and accordion lines complete the picture.
Orton gets a chance to carry the melody via lap-style Dobro on such tunes as "Scrap," "Width of the World," and "Seamstress Extraordinaire." His fluid and lyrical slide work supplies bass lines, interacts nicely with Burger and Kihlstedt's parts, and always serves the song.
Tom Waits and a larger band that includes drums, acoustic bass, cello, trombone, and musical saw joins the Trio on the album's final cut, "Helium Reprise." The band's texture provides the perfect backdrop for Waits' gravelly vocals--this is one of the coolest Waits cuts this side of the classic 1985 Rain Dogs album.
On this CD, the Tin Hat Trio successfully merges a wide variety of musical styles. The band pulls it off with virtuosic technique and tunes that walk the line between careful composition and joyous improvisation. The Trio has also managed to bring acoustic music to younger audiences and atypical venues, including jazz and "new music" festivals. Helium is fun to listen to, and it's likely to suggest fresh ideas to the open-minded guitarist. I hope there are more recordings where this one came from.
--Teja Gerken