Eric Brace & Thomm Jutz (from the album Simple Motion

Eric Brace & Thomm Jutz (from the album Simple Motion

Eric Brace & Thomm Jutz (from the album Simple Motion on Red Beet Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
As difficult as it must have been to deal with, the tragic loss of friend and collaborator Peter Cooper didn’t not deter his bandmates, first with Eric Brace, then as a trio that included Thomm Jutz from maintaining the musical mission that the three had carried on so successfully. Eric Brace, whose day job includes running his own Red Beet Records and helming the acclaimed Americana band Last Train Home, and Thomm Jutz, a much in-demand producer and solo singer/songwriter, clearly excelled on their own, but it was their combined partnership with Cooper that gave them added musical intuition, and the ability to enhance their individual efforts.
 
The pair carry on here with exuberance and enthusiasm, but even so, Cooper’s memory still looms large, not only in the dedication inscribed in the inner sleeve, but also through “Can’t Change the Weather”, a track co-written by Cooper and Jutz. Not surprisingly, Peter Cooper gets a mention in the lyrics, which serves to illuminate the contemplation and contentment that serves the song’s theme in general.
 
The rest of the material is similarly easy and assuring, each an original composition written by the two men in tandem, solo or in collaboration with others. That soothing sound is sustained throughout, whether found in the gentle sway of “Frost on the South Side” and the title track, the calming caress of “Burn” and “Just A Moment”, the mellow musings shared in “Sea Fever” and “Nashville in the Morning”, or simply the Folk-like finesse given “Ramble” and “Adam & Eve.” Each selection maintains an inherent appeal, and even when Brace and Jutz add a jauntier drive to “When London Was the World” or wax philosophical for the future on “What You Can Get for Getting Older” (a Jutz cowrite with frequent performing partner, Tammi Rogers), the sweetness and sentiment remain intrinsically intact.
 
Its name aside, Simple Motion is an exceptional achievement, especially due to the fact that Jutz and Brace found the ability to pick up the pieces after their partner had passed. While it’s doubtful that the task was in any way as easy as the title implies, it’s certainly an impressive testament to the power of perseverance.  (by Lee Zimmerman)
 
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