SONGS TO NO ONE

Description

When this record is released, it has been five years since Jeff Buckley tragically passed away in 1997 due to an accidental drowning. Five years during which unreleased recordings, public performances, or demos have continued to emerge. This one, particularly moving, dates back to the arrival in New York of the son of American folk prodigy Tim Buckley, specifically the period from 1991 to 1992, when the rock elite discovered him, astonished, at a reportedly memorable concert held in a church in Brooklyn. This arrival was also marked by his meeting with the guitarist of the latest version of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, the virtuoso Gary Lucas, as well as his encounters with a certain fringe of the downtown avant-garde scene (he would appear in the choruses of a John Zorn album with the large ensemble Cobra), Rebecca Moore (his partner who would record for the Knitting Factory club's label), jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, and Sex Mob, the band of trumpeter Steve Bernstein - the latter two are present here. Listening to Songs To One 1991-1992, one can only resonate with the raw, early versions of the standards that have since become "Grace" and "Mojo Pin." One will also relish the long and vibrant reinterpretation of "L'Hymne à l'amour," which he cherished so much. At that time, Jeff Buckley was still just an associate of Gods & Monsters, Gary Lucas's band. It wouldn't be long before Live At Sin-é was discovered. As for what followed, no further comment: it is historic.