Biography
Emerging from David Bridie's Australian chamber pop outfit My Friend the Chocolate Cake, Cosmo Cosmolino took form in 1995 once violinist Hope Csutoros and cellist Helen Mountfort began writing and shaping material alongside accordionist and vocalist Judy Gunson. The trio adopted its title from a novel by Kiwi writer Helen Garner and soon began appearing in public. Later recruitment of double bass specialist Dan Witton—whom the band refers to as its "dancing bass player"—together with second violinist Andrea Keeble, another Bridie collaborator, enlarged the lineup into a string quartet supported by accordion. Its programs center on original instrumental pieces that occasionally incorporate vocals and inventive reworkings of familiar orchestral repertoire, resulting in an energetic fusion of tango, European gypsy traditions, and jazz-tinged improvisation. The ensemble issued its first recording, Streetsweeper, in 2000.
Albums
