Cello is my new favorite instrument
Oh, my god. If you haven’t already heard of her, you need to check out Kristin Miller!
On Tom’s recommendation, Kristin came in to the studio for a full day to lay down some string parts on James Houlahan’s album.
Now, not to knock classical musicians, I myself grew up classically trained… but when I’ve dealt with many trained string players in the past, there is generally a lack of flexibility. It’s not their fault, they are bred from a young age to be reading machines and are often not required to do anything but. So, if you ask them to improvise, or to change the way they play something, or to just play something “out” or weird, they give you a blank stare that reads “can not compute”.
Kristin is more than your average classical player. Not only does she have the technique and intonation of a first chair cellist, she also has the intuition and the ear of a jazz musician. She’s the kind of player you can let loose on a track. With little direction, she played some of the most beautifully articulated lines on par with any professional recording. In addition, she was able to turn right around and play noise. She created sounds that sounded like she was channeling Jimi Hendrix himself and it was all done with utmost taste and sensitivity to the song.
I highly recommend her. She can arrange her own parts, it was clear that she spent time on the tunes prior to coming in, and she was also completely willing to experiment on a moment’s notice.
Check out her web page, Cellobrew.com to hear sound clips, check out where she’s playing, and for all things cello!
