The Kruger Brothers “The Suite”

Maybe I wasn’t paying that much attention to the PR material that had come my way or had been posted on the Internet. I was under the mistaken impression that “The Suite,” the new Kruger Brothers release, would be based on the group’s recent ventures with symphony orchestras.

Suite. Symphonies. Orchestras. Get where I may have been coming from?

Well, “The Suite,” recently released on the brothers’ own label, Double Time Music, is just the Kruger Brothers — Jens on banjo, Uwe on banjo and their longtime music collaborator, Joel Landsberg on bass. Saying “just the Kruger Brothers,” however, is a terrible injustice.

The Krugers are nothing short of magnificent, the classiest of acts as can be found on today’s bluegrass and acoustic scene. Their music defies description. Especially when one considers it’s made by a trio. The Krugers’ sound is both intense and tranquil, it’s classic, classy and classical, and it’s jazzy and grassy — all at the same time and packed into one CD or one of the brothers’ mesmerizing concerts.

“The Suite,” according to the sparse liner notes, came about in three consecutive nights of recording.

“We feel certain songs that we’ve written over the years compliment each other when connected seamlessly, even though some of them were written or recorded as individual pieces,” the trio states on the CD cover, adding an explanation that “The Suite” has been part of their concert program since December 2005. That may explain why such an awesome and virtually flawless project was tracked in three evenings in the studio.

Several of the songs on “The Suite” are no strangers to Kruger fans. Uwe revisits “Choices,” the brothers’ subtle and thought-provoking gospel message. Jens does a new take on “Shower,” a classical-like banjo tune that makes me want to jump up from my desk and look out the window for the approaching thunderstorm.

“Winterport” and “Roll Away,” two other vocals on the CD, are sea-themed melodies.

Jens Kruger very evidentally sees no limits to what can be produced on the native American five-string banjo. He’s as much of a pioneer to today’s banjo fans as Earl Scruggs was 60-some years ago.

“Premonitions I-IV” is nearly six-minutes of mostly unaccompanied banjo, written by Jens, that could have easily come from the pen of some 18th Century composer as a work for solo piano. The lovely piece is a testament that Jens Kruger very evidentally sees no limits to what can be produced on the native American five-string banjo. He’s as much of a pioneer to today’s banjo fans as Earl Scruggs was 60-some years ago.

And just when you think this CD is all about gently rolling seas, autumn leaves, all things of ethereal beauty, near the end is this rockin’ little tune called “Theme From Pacific Morning.” It starts out with some Chuck Berry-esque guitar and banjo, takes a hard right turn into a banjo breakdown, swings back to the old bluesy rock mode and finishes up with a syncopated, jazzy sound.

The CD’s finale puts a real stamp on what the Kruger Brothers really are. Like everything on this CD, the last song is one of their own tunes, “I Know Some Day,” a sweet melancholy song of parting that could have been written — and performed just as it’s performed on the CD — 100 years ago. It, perhaps, is the Krugers’ own “Happy Trails.”

The Krugers are from Switzerland, but now live in North Carolina. They have a real feel and love for American music of the past, as evidenced by many of the songs they’ve recorded through the years. “I Know Some Day” captures that feel.

“The Suite” joins the stack of Kruger recordings that strongly proves a point: Switzerland, America, North Carolina, it makes no difference where they reside. The Krugers’ music comes from deep inside places that few musicians ever reach.

A FOOTNOTE: At the outset, I mentioned the venture the Krugers are promoting with symphony orchestras across the country. The score, penned by the Krugers and entitled “Music From the Spring,” has been performed with the Bangor, Maine, Symphony. A DVD of the performance is in the mix-down process and will be available later this year.

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