Rue de Soleil

Some things are just… good, right? You might not love everything David Benoit has released (I don’t, frankly) but “Rue de Soleil” from his 1997 CD American Landscape calls for repeated listening.

Ab major, the muted key. David sets this gentle, evocative, melody in Ab, then colors it with a snare gently kissed by brushes, and a set of beautiful finger cymbals. The nylon guitar solo wisely refrains from stepping too far from the gorgeous theme. And the upright bass…the heartbeat that keeps everything grounded.

I’ve walked this street a couple of times, at least as I remember it. Benoit’s piece doesn’t try to capture Paris, it just evokes a moment, a mood, a turn of sunlight on stone and pavement. It lingers.

2/27/2013