Chris Brokaw - End Of The Night LP

Chris Brokaw’s fingerprint has made its mark on a lot of music over the last four decades. I’m not across even a smidgeon of his 252 discogs performance credits (which include Codene, Come, Thalia Zedek, Steve Wynn, Evan Dando) but a little birdy told me that this album is a highlight of both his recording career and of the instrumental guitar focused Vin Du Select Qualitite record label. 

Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word, and I agree that this is a special and singular record. ‘End of the Night’ is an album formulated around the question, “What music could answer that existential quandary of the perfect last record of the night at home?” To me late-night music has negative connotations of yucky lifestyle accessory music, but this record fulfills the brief, flushing anxiety and cynicism out of the system any hour of the day. 

Besides one solo piece, Brokaw’s electric guitar is accompanied by one to four other instruments/performers (trumpet, violin, cello, bass,drums) across the 10 tracks. Together they create a luscious jazz-tinged atmosphere, where the central instrument doesn’t play in a style I’d typically associated with jazz guitar (which I also generally feel negative about unless it’s on the Sharrock end of the spectrum). 

I can’t put my finger on what exactly it’s comparable to but I’d place it near the beautiful and serene mood of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Albatross’ and Miles Davis’ ‘In A Silent Way’. – Nic