Does the world really need another solo virtuoso bass stylist? If it’s Aram Bedrosian, absolutely. The Burlington, Vermont native clears the purely technical bar and then some with a combination of slapping, tapping and chordal strumming of the Hamm/Wooten/Manring varieties (“Thumpty Dumpty” and “Terracotta” are head-shakingly intense), and he’s pulling it all off live, as in “Look, Ma, no Pro Tools trickery.” But Bedrosian’s hidden treasures are twofold: first, he summons a rich, deep, almost instantly signature tone on everything he plays, enhancing difficult material with a clarity and warmth that goes easy on the ears; second, great care and patience is taken to develop melodies and classically influenced chord progressions, and after the third listen to “Space Opera” and “Sand Castle,” you discover that beneath the virtuosic surface of Aram Bedrosian lurks the heart of a budding composer.
- Bryan Beller