Brooklyn Is Sinking

Josh Weinstein

RandomLogo, 2006

http://joshweinstein.com

REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/03/2006

If you subscribe to the mindset that Sting, Rod Stewart and to a lesser extent Elvis Costello’s adult-contemporary, jazzy albums are the musical equivalent of processed corn catered to the Starbucks crowd, Josh Weinstein may be a hard sell. His funky experimentations bring to mind Jamiroquai and his more somber piano-heavy ballads bring to mind Billy Joel – two very uncool comparisons.

However, listen to Brooklyn is Sinking and it becomes quickly apparent that Weinstein isn’t interested in courting the “cool” sound of today. Though the album has a contemporary feel, thanks to a sardonic writing style and occasional excursions into funk, the album is the sound of an artist who has absorbed his influences not simply by listening to a bunch of recordings by jazz standards, but by paying his dues the old-fashioned way. my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

During graduate school, Weinstein worked as a bartender, absorbing the stories of bar patrons and also worked as a cocktail jazz pianist. For the most part, Brooklyn is Sinking is a soundtrack fit for lonely nights spent in hotel bars with a liberal helping of wine and clove cigarettes.

Weinstein’s piano goes well with Marco Oppedisano’s guitar, creating a clean, uncluttered sound. Weinstein wisely mixes the musical orientation up by bringing in strings and organ along with creating catchy choruses, such as “Sonny” and the opening track “Stones.” Only when Weinstein tries experimenting with less conventional sounds, such as the background noise of bar patrons on “A Minor Cool (Palimpsest),” does he overextend his reach.

His lyrics prevent Brooklyn is Sinking from sinking into background music. “They turned off the telephone, they television and the news / They turned off my TV and the news / And now I think you’ve turned off on me too,” Weinstein sings in “Trouble.” In “Scared White Men,” Weinstein addresses the high-profile racial tensions in the northeast during the late ‘80s (specifically Boston, but it’s hard not to bring up images of Bensonhurst) before touching on the dragging death of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas.

Brooklyn is Sinking will no doubt land on several “Recommended if you like Norah Jones” lists on Amazon and Pandora radio. Weinstein’s voice may not be as distinctive as some of his jazz contemporary peers, but the unpolished style of his voice works well with the cool, disciplined style of his bandmates. Polished, but unpretentious, Brookyn is Sinking is an album that’s fun enough to win over more than a few non-jazz fans while winning the approval of most jazz purists.

Rating: B

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