Artists:Clarence Bucaro

20/20, November 18, 2008- From the very first moments of ’Til Spring, when Clarence Bucaro wraps a voice the texture of worn corduroy around the lines, “This city’s cold/But something’s on its way/I could feel it when I woke today,” it’s apparent that we’re in the presence of a captivating new talent ready to take his place among the first rank of modern-day singer/songwriters. Produced by Tom Schick (Norah Jones, Ryan Adams, Rufus Wainwright) and Bucaro over two intensive days in New York City, the album reveals a remarkably genuine and expressive young artist who seamlessly intertwines the introspective singer/songwriter tradition of Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell and the acoustic Neil Young with the silky soul of Curtis Mayfield and pre-What’s Goin’ On Marvin Gaye. The New York Times compared Bucaro’s sound to “late-1960s Van Morrison”; that, you’ll recall, is Astral Weeks territory.

These 10 songs traverse the emotional gauntlet from despair to renewal, as the protagonist of this real-life tale is buffeted by the bitter final stages of one relationship and enflamed by the first tantalizing blush of the next in a song cycle laced through with hard-earned insight and emotional resonance. Written with poetic simplicity and sung with soulful understatement, ’Til Spring marks the arrival of a gifted artist who has found his own unique voice through a process of disappointment and self-doubt on the way to an abiding self-belief, the struggle bringing a vital – and highly relatable – dimension of psychological nuance to Bucaro’s songs and vocals.

He cites two primary inspirations for the album: Wait Until Spring, Bandini, a 1938 novel by his favorite author, Jon Fante, and You Must Believe in Spring, recorded in 1977 by the great jazz pianist Bill Evans shortly after his former girlfriend’s suicide. Both works accompanied him through some difficult times.

On the record, the artist is joined by an adept set of players and friends from far and wide: L.A.-based guitarist Kirk Fletcher, keyboardist Glenn Patscha of New Orleans’ Ollabelle, and the New York rhythm section of drummer Konrad Meisner and bassist George Rush. They’re augmented by Neal Casal, who splits his time between solo projects and Ryan Adams’ lead guitar slot, plays and sings backing vocals on two tracks, while Clarence’s longtime friend and musical cohort Anders Osborne plays guitar and sings backing vocals on another. As a unit, these tuned-in musicians manage to evoke The Band one moment and the Muscle Shoals crew the next, bringing another layer of timelessness to Bucaro’s songs, which seem to exist out of time to begin with. Read more...