Ice Cream Man Dreams
- Saint Dirt Elementary School
- Barnyard Records
This disc of instrumental tunes by composer and guitarist Myk Freedman describes a world of charmed invention and serious fun. The nine players (including Freedman on soulful lap steel, and several stars from Toronto's blooming improvised music scene) amble skillfully from the suave and silly title track, to outtakes from a dream of Weimar cabaret life, to episodes of genial beboppery and casually eloquent improvisation. The playground and the clown's red nose are never far off, but there's also a strain of sweet melancholy running through this music, typified by the ambiguously titled My Future's in the Air . This brainy, highly entertaining disc is made for people who like their crackerjack pleasures to contain surprises, and is a good reminder that the verb "play" is jointly owned by children and musicians.
Saint Dirt Elementary School play Toronto's Tranzac Club every Tuesday.