Gilbert Isbin Group

"Gilbert Isbin, the phenomenal Belgian fingerstyle guitarist, has formed a new band. Immaculate vocals from Lea Van Loo, cooking bass provided by Vincent De Laat, solid grooves from percussionist, Peter Van Gheluwe and of course guitar from the man himself. The Gilbert Isbin Group combines modes and rhythms from various cultures into refreshing songs."

- Steve Elliott

Belgian acoustic guitarist Gilbert Isbin’s intricate finger picking and seamless blend of folksy themes, combined with a reconstruction of Hendrix’ “Little Wing,” is enhanced by his jazz-based sensibilities. His articulations might spur notions of the late, great American guitarist John Fahey.

- Glenn Astarita

With almost a dozen albums under his belt, Belgian guitarist Gilbert Isbin is an acclaimed fingerstylist whose music walks the line between classical and jazz styles. On this unique concept album, Isbin has chosen 11 songs spanning Nick Drake’s short career as the basis for rich guitar instrumentals. It is startling to hear songs like "River Man" and "Three Hours" in this new context. The absence of Drake’s plaintive voice allows the enchantment of his music to take center stage, and Isbin gives Drake’s airy and magical melodies a new sense of nobility.

- Gary Joyner

The album as a whole is deeply satisfying- an ardent tribute by one of the guitar's great masters.

- Joel Mclver

'PICKING A FLOWER'

LYRICS: The lyrics on this jazz number are superb. Excellent word usage, styling, tempo, and complexity. Great job. MUSIC: The vocals are awesome! The guitar, baseline, and percussion are wonderful on their own and blend wonderfully! MELODIES: The melodies were absolutely wonderful! Pure jazz riffs with a perfect flow! STRUCTURE: I cannot say anything about the structure of this song. The chord progressions are great. The musical elements come together and blend well, harmonizing fluidly. Tempo, flow, levels, breaks, changeups…everything is as it should. Excellent! MARKETABILITY: This is a jazz work of art that in said genre should be a dominating song. I thoroughly hope to see this song on the market and on the airwaves soon. EMOTIONAL RESPONSE : : Coming from a virgin jazz enthusiast, I must say that this song grabs me in every way, making me want to dance, sing along, tap my toes, and just feel the music!





- January Winner

(translation)
Water With A Smile could be described as an excursion into vocal jazz with influences of latin and bossa nova. Not that Isbin wants to walk into the footsteps of Jobim, therefore he has too much personality. The songs have a light exotic tinge, but are rooted very strongly into the jazztradition. Besides, as we could expect, the rhythms vary from subtle quiet melodies to more complex structures (Simple Pleasure, Virago). The voice of Lea Van Loo fits perfectly into the groupsound, of which each member gets the opportunity to focuss on their own musicality. A perfect example is ‘Stories’. A fascinating CD.
The opening track Picking A Flower has been chosen as January winner in the American Songwriting contest 'Song Of The Year'

- Georges Tonla Briqet

Wonderful songs full of craftmanship with here and there a
snuff of latin and bossa nova.
The leading part is taken by singer Lea Van Loo who, with her warm funky voice, lift up the already amazing contributions from the other members to an even higher level
- Patrick Bruneel

Anything bearing Gilbert Isbin's name is always welcome. Gilbert is one of the best guitarists worldwide. Don't look for the guy playing scales at 300 miles per hour, Gilbert plays with his heart and does things that most of us can only dream of.

Add to his music, the beautiful voice of beautiful singer Lea Van Loo, the percussion talents of Peter Vangheluwe and the bass talents of Vincent De Laat and you have a magnificent recipe.

Water With A Smile is a beautifully rendered jazz album that one doesn't tire of listening to. And when I say “jazz,” I don't mean the kind where all the musicians attempt to outdo each other without paying much attention to the overall result. Here the musicians never put in too much, only what's needed, but with all their hearts. Which is not to say that the musicians don't play at full force, they do. But all together.


- A-J Charron

Vocal jazz, folk and latin jazz beautifully merged in a surprisingly strong Belgian product.

Insiders know guitar player Gilbert Isbin since long. Influences from classical music, jazz, folk, blues and all sorts of traditional ethnic music transpire in his refined acoustic style. Rhythmically, melodically and harmonically Isbin strives for a perfect balance between virtuosity and a warm sound. All of the music on this album was composed by Isbin and the English lyrics by Emile Clemens. On this very versatile album Lea Van Loo showcases her talent as a singer and her feel for improvisation and timing. She feels at home on jazzy tunes (Snake Talks), folkinfluenced ones (The Ladybird Song), or a flamencosong like 'Suite For Dark Shades', but also in Indian rhythms (the title song) and even in the very groovy 'Simple Pleasure'. The percussion player on this CD is Peter Vangheluwe and the electric bass is played by Vincent De Laat
- Jempi Samyn