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04/22/19
ESOEBO/VI: Granted a recording studio will take anybody's money, do you think it's a co-incidence this off center duo recorded at John Prine's studio? All the right vibes are accordingly in the right places. With a wild mash up of sounds and attitudes that are disguised as nice folkie stuff, this is what your musical sweet tooth has been craving when it's on the prowl for something that colors so far outside the lines that it doesn't even acknowledge the lines---but it never rolls off the rails. It doesn't hurt they brought a real A team on board to flesh out the sound. The spirit of young Leon Redbone live on! Fun stuff throughout.
(Knot Reel)
BARBIERO & BOCCI/Wooden Mirrors: There's been a lot of interesting bass only records lately and this one joins the list of good ones. It seems kind of like a set real eggheads will appreciate as the bass interplay between the duo goes to some really deep places. With a lite classical edge, this recital type recording hit's the bulls eye it's aiming for and really reaches the Jaco in anyone.
(Plus Timbre 86)
TOM McDERMOTT/Meets Scott Joplin: Falling under the spell of whorehouse piano at 14, McDermott takes his love of Joplin and the Josh Rifkin interpretations and builds on it all. Keeping the spirit of Scott Joplin pure even when he adds his own embellishments, anyone that's ever been bitten by this bug will put away the ointment and enjoy the itch. So deep in the pocket that it's almost hard to believe you can hear something this new and fresh on an old riff in this day and age. Well done.
(Arbors 19469)
LONGINEU PARSONS/Work Song: It's new if it's new to you and this 25th anniversary edition of the trumpeter produced by Nat Adderley while hanging out with Sam Rivers still sounds forward thinking today when many will get their first exposure to it. A sure lipped player that knows how to use his creative freedom wisely, this high octane, high energy set will be welcomed by all who missed it the first time around. Hot stuff.
(Tribal Disorder 21)
REV. SHAWN AMOS/Kitchen Table Blues V. 2: The Rev.'s latest ep of Sunday brunch blues finds him hitting a bunch of chestnuts (with a tip to modern times) and really letting it get organic and raw. Not trying to be in lock step with the original source material, he finds a way not to offend purists crafting a back porch version of blues that can compete with any back porch folk record for back porchism. Off in it's own time zone and a real gasser for devotees of the off beat.
(Put Together)
AIRMEN OF NBOTE/Jazz Heritage Series 2019 Radio Broadcasts: If the government knew they were subsidizing one of the only touring jazz big bands, they would find a way to screw it up. Enjoy this without telling them. The Airmen are a first rate big band and they have invited some top shelf guests to hang with them on these three shows that you normally would only know about if you caught it live. A delightful hidden treasure that will get all proper jazzbos to rise up and sing---this bunch is hip and happening and not afraid of tackling work by cutting edge players. There's nothing the cynic would expect going on here, open your ears and dig it. Well done
(United States Air Force Band)
MAX VON ESSEN/Call Me Old Fashioned-The Broadway Standard: There's a few nods to the ‘new' kids, but basically, this is a love letter to old Broadway by a current mainstay that knows how to work the special sauce. He knows how to deliver on the classics without being a slave to them but not doing anything to put off old or new fans. Everything about this says classic Broadway with a jazz rave up edge but it does nothing but hit all the right spots the right way. Vocal fan? This is what the doctor ordered. Killer stuff throughout.
(LML 299
MARK DRESSER SEVEN/Ain't Nothing but a Cyber Coup & You: Cutting edge improv jazz crew plays with a telepathy that lets them intermingle and mash up everything they feel like and not make it all sound gray. Certainly wild and wooly no matter which way you turn, progressive fans will put this at the top of their list.
(Clean Feed 510)
MARTY BROWN/American Highway: A hard core good old boy that hit several out of the park in Nashville in the 90s dropped out for a few decades and now returns in partnership with Jon Tiven with neither of them giving in to Sippy cup bro country totally keeping it real. A disc too big to be held back, this is what we mean when we tell them to stay country. Totally on the money throughout.
(Plowboy)
TIERNEY SUTTON BAND/Screen play: There are only two kinds of Sutton fans---those who love her and those who haven't heard her yet. Keeping it fresh 25 years in the game, Sutton and her pals tackle the film world now that they got their feet wet courtesy of Clint Eastwood. Coming at it form a different perspective from the loose tracks she's tackled in the past, this is a definitive collection that puts the essential spin on this load of classics. A total jazz and vocal delight, Sutton has hit the high spot yet again.
(BFM Jazz 34674)
LISA MAXWELL'S JAZZ ORCHESTRA/Shiny: A different kind of tribute album. This is dedicated to Lew Soloff because he kept pushing Maxwell to record a set of her own compositions and arrangements. Then he dropped dead before they could do it. As a result, every triple scale New York jazzbo showed up to leave fingerprints on this set that are anything but smudges. Delivering hits to all fields, Maxwell sheds any doubt about whether she's ready for the big time on her own. Hands down, this is the big band set of the year.
(Uncle Marvin 1)
SHEALEE/Head to the Stone: I wasn't sure what to expect from this bluegrass award winner as she decamped to Muscle Shoals to record country, but kicking things off with a heartfelt tribute to Susanna Clark, there was nothing left to do but sit back and see where it all went next. Left field in a Bobbie Gentry kind of way, Shealee has it going on at every level. A wondrous ‘debut', this is the kind of stuff that brings alt.country to the mainstream and does it with class. Well done.
Volume 43/Number 183
April 22, 2019
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
Copyright 2019 Midwest Record
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