Gideon Freudmann is Arts Not your grandmother's cello player
BY MARLI GUZZETTA INDEPENDENT ARTS EDITOR
To see Gideon Freudmann's electric cello is to want to play it, or at the very least, touch it. The streamlined, futuristic and beautiful reincarnation of the acoustic cello makes one wonder if purveyors of classical music have been hiding something from us. How could any kid who's ever seen this instrument think it might be uncool to play chamber music?

Electric cellist Gideon Freudmann brings his unorthodox playing style to island schools and the Atheneum this week for a free Family Night Performance.

"That's because the electric cello is a rarity," Freudmann said. "I'm not the only person in the world playing it, but there are probably more people in any town in the country playing electric guitar than there are in the world playing electric cello."

The electric cello is a symbol of Freudmann's willingness to experiment with his music, which channels everything from classical, rock, blue and folk into a sonic wind that resonates with loops and reverb, and you can experience it during his performance at the Atheneum's "Family Night" on Friday night.

His sound is ethereal, haunted, romantic. And sometimes catchy. He's coined the word "cellobop" to describe it.

"I always get stuck trying to explain what I do, because I draw from a lot of styles, and I'm always changing what I do. I listen to a lot of different music, and it all creeps in there. I also like to mix in a healthy dose of improvisation. Every show is more of a unique experience," Freudmann said. (But you can get a sample for yourself on his Web site, www.cellobop. com.)

His tastes do run the gamut. In putting together his hypothetical dream band for a jam session, Freudmann put Leo Kotke and Marc Ribot on guitar, Victor Wooten (of Bela Fleck's Flecktones) on bass and Stewart Copland on drums.

Freudmann said people often need to see him demonstrate the cello's versatility before they can conceive of it. "I think the cello got classified as a purely classical instrument at the turn of the last century when music was making big changes, when blues and jazz were making their marks and other instruments made an easy transition," Freudmann said. "When you talk to other people about the violin, their first association will be classical, but then they'll mention styles like country, blue grass and klezmer. But with the cello, a lot of people haven't imagined it and if they haven't seen it, it doesn't cross their mind."

Since he first picked up the cello, Freudmann said, he's been interested in the atypical sounds a cello can make.

"Kids pick up the cello when they don't know how to play yet and make squeaking, honking sounds, and they're knocked down, but I used to wonder what would happen if I could make those sounds and process them," he said. "Now, that's what I do, and I can further process them with a loop or a digital delay that fascinates me."

The electric cello allows for greater experiment with sound, Freudmann said.

"If I want a pure distorted sound with an electric cello, which is not an oxymoron, I can make it. I can plug it in and turn up the bass, or I can control the sound and create more distinct voices. Or I can make this sound like four cellos or four distinctly different instruments."

Courtesy of the Friends of Nantucket Public Schools, Freudmann will also hold several concerts at the public schools, where he will cap things off with a discussion of the history of the instrument.

Though he may be hard to categorize, Freudmann said he prefers experimentation to easily accessible perfection.

"My heroes are the people who pushed the boundaries," said Freudmann, offering The Beatles as an example. "Over the course of their eight year span, they pushed the music forward decades. It's like they started in the '50s and pushed music into the '90s. And that's inspiring to me. They didn't do it by trying to be virtuosos, they did it

through originality and creativity." I

GIIDEEON

FRREUDMANN

When: Friday, April 13, 7 p.m. Where: Nantucket Atheneum,

1 India Street Cost: Free For more information,

call 228-1110.