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Possibly due to the sensibilities of synthesized accompaniment, Ben Burdick brings almost an ambient sound to his jazz, which is nice. I have more than grown accustomed to electronic music, almost to the point of craving it. But I haven't heard many jazz musicians pick up yet on the technomusic trend. (But I don't get around in jazz circles, so consider the source.) With this accompaniment he is able to add an enjoyable layer of syncopation quite beyond what would be possible with jazz guitar alone.

These stupendous effects are meant to augment and highlight Burdick's guitar play (which is at its heart classic jazz riffing), not overshadow it. And they don't overshadow it, not really. But they are noticeable, especially on Joy To The World, which was my favorite track on the CD. The production is quite as classy as the instrumental musicianship, likely due to Burdick's jazz vocabulary. He plays traditional jazz, in a style reminiscent of jazz music's last hurrah: the fifties and on into the early sixities. In any case, he has obviously spent a lot of energy on these synthesized arrangements, because they blend with and extend the more conventional sound of his "real" music.

As a jazz listener, I love the rock and roll. Which is to say, I'm not much of a jazz listener. Jazzwise, I'm a tough crowd. But I use that. If I like a jazz piece, it must be unusually accessible. And Ben Burdick's jazz is both accessible and likable. And because of his eclectic approach, An Eclectic Acoustic/Electric Christmas will be liked not only by Jazz fans, who won't be disappointed, but also by garden variety music listeners, like myself.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2003)

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From the liner notes:

Sam Strother plays bass on tracks 2, 3, 6, and 8. Ben Burdick plays acoustic, electric and acoustic/electric guitars, synthesized bass, drums and all other sounds on An Eclectic Acoustic/Electric Christmas.

Ben Burdick

An Eclectic Acoustic/Electric Christmas

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Track List