Live Reviews

By Marc Pietrzykowski

Cooper Tisdale Trio at the Brandyhouse
April 19, 2000

Cooper Tisdale has been a part of the local Atlanta music scene for about a decade now, and this talented group represents an attempt at paring down his compositions; the size of this group and the skill of the players are appropriate and complimentary to Tisdale's Music. This intimate, comfortable quality was in evidence during the Trio's recent gig at The Brandyhouse. When the opening band canceled, the enthusiastic crowd was treated to a double helping of Tisdale's blend of jazz, pop, and adult contemporary riffage.

The way Tisdale straddles the boundary between these different genres is curious and singular, in a self-defeating sorta way - self-defeating, that is, if his goal is commercial success or mainstream critical acclaim. Tisdale writes laid-back, sweeping adult pop songs with just enough structural quirkiness and odd tonic shifts to make them a bit too difficult for audiences tuned to the bland obviousness of Kenny G. or late-period Clapton. He also makes some moderately complex, often bluesy instrumentals that stay too close to the middle of the road to excite the jazz establishment. Yet it seems that Tisdale is quite conscious of the choices he has made in constructing these songs. It's not that he's missing the mark - he's just aiming at a different target.

The other members of the group, bassist Kenny Walker and drummer Joe Lee - both deserve mention: Walker's playing supplies the sympathetic, in-the-pocket bottom that allows Tisdale to wander from style to style quickly and cleanly, and his occasional vocal forays provide a vital contrast. Lee is the propulsive heart of the combo, infusing the project with excitement and vitality. Together, these three make a sort of inner-fringe pop that is its own niche, albeit a strange one, here in the Age of Celebrity..