House of Return, Violinist Jeff Gauthier's 5th recording as a leader, moves effortlessly from moody acoustic jazz to creative new music, skronk fusion and electronic space jam. Voted a Rising Star as violinist and producer in the 2007 Downbeat Critics Poll, Gauthier continues his subversive plot to destroy all musical boundaries. House of Return features Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, drummer Alex Cline, pianist David Witham, and bassist Joel Hamilton.
BBCi says "Gauthier and his group show how it should be done, rooting themselves solidly in the jazz tradition while at the same time extending and revitalizing it."
Members
Reviews
Los Angeles based violinist Jeff Gauthier's fifth recording as a leader, House of Return is the third album to feature the capable talents of his self-coined Goatette. A veteran quintet of stellar West Coast improvisers, Gauthier and company work from a
Troy Collins, All About Jazz, June 7, 2008
These guys have some good tunes, but they sound best when they’re just tuning in and taking off. Anyone who understands improvisational music would never, ever underestimate the value of a long musical association, and look at these mothers: As three-qu
Greg Burk, Metaljazz.com, June 2008
Jeff Gauthier is the man behind the sterling record label Cryptogramophone, an LA-area enterprise that has been releasing some of the most glorious independent jazz of the last several years. Crypto has given voice to several major talents—including
Will Layman, Pop Matters, 8/1/08
House of Return is violinist Jeff Gauthier's fifth release as the leader of this group. The band includes Gauthier (also producer), Nels Cline on guitar, David Witham on keyboards, Joel Hamilton on bass, and Alex Cline on percussion. As any unconventio
Gette, Blog Critics Magazine, August 2008
Jeff Gauthier is in a distinct minority, having made eclecticism a virtue as a musician, label founder and producer. Spanning wispy ballads and thumping fusion lines, House of Return, the violinist’s fifth as a leader, is as resolutely all over the lot as
Bill Shoemaker, Downbeat, September 2008
House of Return is violinist Jeff Gauthier’s latest release for Cryptogramophone Records, on which he presents an understated and beautiful collection of tracks ranging from lyrical modern jazz to collectively improvised texture pieces... Gauthier is the
Jacob Teichroew, About.com, August 2008
"... Jeff Gauthier is also dealing with a more usual setting for House of Return but he and his associates - guitarist Nels Cline, pianist David Witham, bassist Joel Hamilton and drummer Alex Cline - throw enough curves to make this outing anything b
Donald Elfman, All About Jazz, August 2008
Jeff Gauthier is the head of Cryptogramophone, a Los Angeles label that makes a point of high-quality presentation--handsome packaging and spiffy studio sound--without laying the dead hand of a house style or boutique aesthetic on the music itself. He's a
Nate Dorward, Signal to Noise, Fall 2008
From the swinging lilt of the noir-ish 3/4 ballad “Biko’s Blues” to the freeform exchanges on “House of Return” to the Zen-like calm and hellacious tumult of “Dizang” and the caustic skronking on “Friends of the Animals,” violinist Jeff Gauthier covers
Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times, October 2008
When attempting to get an indie avant-jazz band recorded, it helps if you own the label. But Jeff Gauthier's Goatette could stand on its own even if Cryptogramophone weren't his imprint. The violinist's group features pleasingly omnipresent guitarist Nels
Phil Freeman, Jazziz, September 2008
