Doug Wieselman - Dimly Lit: Collected Soundtracks 1996-2002 (2003)

In addition to playing on albums by folks ranging from Lou Reed and Shudder to Think to Victoria Williams, Doug Wieselman has also been an important contributor to the downtown new music scene for many years. However, it is probably his experience as musical director for the Flying Karamazov Brothers and leading the very theatrical Kamikaze Ground Crew that most informs the music collected on Dimly Lit, a collection of soundtrack material and the first album released under Wieselman's name. Although most of his recorded output has him playing woodwinds, he is a more than able guitarist (he doubled on reeds and guitar with the Lounge Lizards), but the fact is that Wieselman can play damn near anything, and much of Dimly Lit features him overdubbing himself on many instruments. As might be expected from soundtrack music, many of these cues are fairly brief, and elicit a wide range of moods, from the playful dulcimer dance of "B.P. 2" to the drone of "The Vision," but the overall sense is fairly upbeat. Middle Eastern and Eastern European flavors pop up throughout, while "Opening" has a dash of Americana that wouldn't be out of place on a Bill Frisell album. The pieces were conceived for several different projects but are not grouped by project -- they're programmed to make for a coherent listening experience on this album. Wieselman notes that much of this music did not end up being used in the films they were written for, so it's nice that Tzadik came to the rescue so this music gets heard by someone. Lovely stuff.