Monthly Archives: November 2008

The Deadstring Brothers hail from Detroit and bring a mix of crunchy rock and roll and rootsy country – think Rolling Stones. Cuts like “Ain’t No Hidin’ Love,” and “Queen of the Scene” are stompers in the best sense of the word. Their command of rock, country, as well as R&B mixes wonderfully on cuts [...]

The fact that this folk-blues trio existed at all is noteworthy. By the time KR&G hit the national scene, first at the 1963 Philadelphia Folk Festival and then Newport a year later, you could count the number of white blues performers on one hand (a very young John Hammond and, at times, Dave Van Ronk [...]

In the years before Bob Marley became the star of reggae and eclipsed most others, a galaxy of lesser luminaries shone bright. The Gladiators were one such band, and a luminescent one at that. Formed by the trio of Albert Griffiths, Clinton Fearon, and Gallimore Sutherland, the Gladiators were also one of the few reggae [...]

It’s never good to expect anything from John Scofield because he likes to throw a curve. With his latest release, he mixes great originals with surprising covers on a trio record… sort of. Steve Swallow handles the bass, Bill Stewart drums, and their rapport with Scofield is immediately evident. But there’s also a horn section [...]

Charlie Sizemore’s career began at age 17, when he was hired by Ralph Stanley to replace legendary lead singer Keith Whitley. After leaving Stanley’s band, Sizemore went back to school and graduated from the University of Kentucky with a law degree. He has since run a successful law practice in Nashville, while continuing to play [...]

Cover art matters. Take the image on Little Grey Sheep, displaying an artfully moody image of a black sheep and a white sheep “doing it.” If that doesn’t make you stop and think, nothing will. Schmidt’s music has similarly graphic yet poetic quality that puts things together in ways that lead in unexpected directions. The [...]

Long Island’s Pat Conte is a rarity among record and instrument collectors in that he can really play. Actually, that’s an understatement. One of the foremost experts on “world music,” Conte compiled and annotated Yazoo Records’ Secret Museum Of Mankind volumes – all manner of music, from all over the world, remastered from 78s recorded [...]

This live set features an especially outstanding back-up band. Festival curator and virtuoso jazz guitarist Bill Frisell joins Greg Leisz on steel guitar and mandolin, David Piltch on bass, and Kenny Wollesen on drums to form the core band. Cameo appearances by Katie Jackson and Denise Brown on background vocals and Buddy Miller on electric [...]

John Sebastian and David Grisman first ran into each other in the early ’60s, when Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park was the epicenter of the national Folk Boom. They were both recruited by guitarist Stefan Grossman for a recording project to be dubbed The Even Dozen Jug Band – in hindsight, somewhat of a supergroup, [...]

“It’s been a long time co-min’” is applicable to Patterson Barrett, who for decades has played in Austin. Born in Washington, D.C., his family resided in a Maryland suburb of the District until he was in high school, when they moved to Manhattan. The first instrument he learned to play was cornet, followed by an [...]