Month: December 2010

On its third album, this Brooklynbased country/roots band pushes further into the darker side of Americana.

Guitarist/lead vocalist Blake Christiana guides the band, with Trevor MacArthur on guitar and vocals, Andrew Hendryx on mandolin and harmonica, Rick Bugel on bass, and Jay Frederick on drums and percussion. Cameos by Jeremy Garrett on fiddle and Skip Krevens on pedal-steel add a dash of spice to the proceedings. Stylistically, the music on Come On In is similar to the band’s previous work, though the lyrical content isn’t quite as dark. Alcohol still features prominently as subject matter on “These Bars Don’t Look Too Friendly,” which lends a more ambivalent view of booze, while “Schenectaday” is a bittersweet ditty about the upstate New York town.

The most pitiful song is “I Wanted to Get High,” which focuses on that existential moment when only one thing matters.

If you like your country roots music unvarnished and raw, give a listen to Yarn.

This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’09 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar

You might say Austin’s Freddie Krc wears a lot of hats. He has drummed with Jerry Jeff Walker, B.W. Stevenson, Carole King, and Ronnie Lane – not to mention anchoring that chair in the power-pop pioneering Explosives, who were Roky Erickson’s backup band for years. He also plays guitar and sings county in Freddie Steady’s Wild Country, folk-rock with the Shakin’ Apostles, and ’60s-style garage rock with the Freddie Steady 5. He’s also an in-demand producer and head of his own SteadyBoy label.

Houston’s SugarHill Studios is where the Big Bopper cut “Chantilly Lace,” where the Sir Douglas Quintet recorded “She’s About A Mover,” and boasts a list of clients encompassing Freddy Fender, Johnny Winter, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Roy Head, George Jones, Willie Nelson, the Rolling Stones, B.J. Thomas, Todd Rundgren, Selena, Janis Joplin, 13^th Floor Elevators, Asleep At The Wheel, and even Beyonce.

Band and studio came together when Krc was asked to participate in SugarHill’s live-in-the-studio series, which was so successful they came back for a second session – the results of which are presented here as they went down.

Other than well-chosen covers of P.J. Proby’s “Niki Hoeky,” Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love,” and the Beatles’ “No Reply,” the rest of the 17 songs were penned by Krc, often in tandem with Cam King, lead guitarist with the 5, the Explosives,

and other Freddie associations. Whether writing alone, with King, or with teen rocker Jenny Wolfe (the Farfisa-laden “I Will Wait For You”), Krc has a knack for paying homage to bands, periods, and styles without lapsing into caricature – his remake of the Explosives’ “A Girl Like You” being a perfect example.

Throughout, King is both an on-the-money parts player and snarling soloist, as on “Austin, Texas Blues” and the Doug Sahm-inspired “What’s So Hard About Love.”

This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’09 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

There’s not a lot of precedent for albums featuring nothing but a female voice and a jazz guitar, but those that come to mind set a high bar. There was Al Viola with Julie London, Joe Pass with Ella Fitzgerald, and more recently, Martin Taylor with Alison Burns. Fast company, to say the least.

Brown and van Nuis met at the Cincinnati School for the Creative and Performing Arts. It was there that Brown, initially a blues buff, apprenticed under jazz guitarists Cal Collins and Denny Poole. He later studied with the legendary Ted Greene. Not surprisingly, van Nuis, possessor of a soft, “little girl” voice, was influenced by pianist/singer Blossom Dearie. Like Dearie, she has a respect for melody over gymnastics (refreshing these days), citing Chet Baker and Peggy Lee as two more beacons.

Her light, thin voice is counterbalanced by the dark, thick tone Brown gets from his single-pickup ’57 Gibson ES-175, which he plays through a ’66 Fender Vibrolux. When called on, he provides comping chords and walking bass simultaneously (check out their uptempo arrangement of Cole Porter’s “From This Moment On”) or surging rhythm (as on Duke Ellington’s “Caravan”). On the ballad “Far Away Places,” Brown keeps his solo simple – as in simply beautiful – and he goes it alone on a compact rendition of “Bim Bom,” strutting his stuff over Jobim’s spirited bossa nova standard.

The choice of material is especially rewarding. There are a few well-worn standards, like those mentioned above, but overdue attention is paid to such gems as the title tune (a hit for Bing Crosby), “Destination Moon” (associated with Nat Cole), and Rodgers & Hart’s oft-overlooked “With A Song In My Heart.” So who needs a band? Certainly not Andy and Petra.

This article originally appeared in VG’s Sept. ’10 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

The Stryker/Slagle Band has been producing near-perfect quartet records for some time, and Keeper will not snap the string.

While Dave Stryker (on guitar) and Steve Slagle (sax) supply memorable melodies and soulful solos, the backbone of the band’s sound is provided by Jay Anderson (bass) and Victor Lewis (drums). Except for a take on Thelonius Monk’s “Ruby My Dear,” the two soloists composed the tunes and they’re all – as the title implies – keepers.

The title cut starts with a frenetic bluesy intro with nice changes and a repeating rhythm figure under Slagle’s sax. Stryker darts around the changes with considerable chops for a “jazz guitarist” who boasts as much feel as technical ability. Most cuts demonstrate the interplay between the soloists and the rhythm section.“Bailout” (a timely title given today’s political machinations) has an opening double line from Stryker and Slagle while the rhythm section cooks. Both serve up dazzling

solos, with Stryker’s octave-line out tipping the hat to old-school players like Wes Montgomery. The interplay makes full use of the feel they have for each other’s playing. “Convergence” is a bop tune, while the Stryker composition “Came To Believe” is a melodic swinger with imaginative soloing. “Gold Dust” features him on nylonstring acoustic, beautifully navigating the Latin feel. There’s more fine ballad work on “Bryce’s Peace,” with its fine chordal work under his partner’s solos.

Through the years, Stryker has put in a lot of time with Brother Jack McDuff, Stanley Turrentine, and Eliane Elias. But with this band (and Slagle), he has hit his stride as a player and composer, and now sits in the upper echelon of this generation’s jazz guitarists.

This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’09 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Bishop’s 2008 album, The Blues Roll On, was a landmark of sorts, as he surrounded himself with elder statesmen like B.B. King and James Cotton, as well as young guns like Derek Trucks and the Homemade Jamz Blues Band. His follow-up marks 45 years since his appearance on the self-titled debut of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band – an album that turned countless listeners onto the blues. 

As the title implies, he lets his 1959 stereo Gibson ES-345, nicknamed “Red Dog,” do much of the talking, in more ways than one. The opening title track is a talking blues in the tradition of “Drunk Again” (from Butter’s In My Own Dream) and “Sweet Potato” (from Bishop’s ’69 solo debut), but with less comedy and more autobiography. And when he prompts it to, “Speak, Red Dog,” it howls – thanks to Bishop’s slide.

Elsewhere, Bishop splits vocal duties with John Nemeth (on “Neighbor, Neighbor,” “Get Your Hand Out Of My Pocket,” and a beautiful reading, vocally and by Bishop’s slide, of Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers To Cross”), while sharing chores with guitarists Tommy Castro, Kid Andersen, Roy Gaines, and Ronnie Baker Brooks, not to mention veteran instrumentalists Terry Hanck (sax) and Buckwheat Zydeco (accordion).

The set features three instrumentals: the distorted (and aptly titled) “Barbecue Boogie,” a doo-wop medley of “In The Still Of The Night” and “Maybe,” and the hundred-year-old gospel classic “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” – the latter two, beautiful slide showcases.

Bishop calls his singing voice “limited,” but he delivers a fine, expressive rendition of Leroy Carr’s “Midnight Hour Blues.” And with his guitar the sole backing on the spoken/sung “Clean Livin’,” he makes a strong case (as he did on Blues Rolls On’s “Oklahoma”) for an entirely solo release.

This article originally appeared in VG’s Sept. ’10 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Peter Ostroushko channels a mixture of Stephen Foster, Carter Stanley, and Doc Boggs to create unique music that sounds much older than it is. Here, he further expands his library of heartbreakingly beautiful songs performed with understated grace.

Wistfulness and a sense of longing permeate most of the tunes on When the Last Morning Glory Blooms. Some of the melodies echo like something from deep in your dreams. “Down Where the River Bends” has a strong cinematic quality – the way the orchestration builds and slowly unfolds from stark gothic minimalism into a multi-part composition. Near its end, the song reverts to an etude that sounds like it came from a turnof- the-century piano method book. Ostroushko makes powerful music from the depths of the American soul.

This article originally appeared in VG’s Oct. ’09 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Brazilian jazz, when played by a native group such as Hamilton De Holanda’s quintet, is far more interesting than what usually passes for Brazilian jazz. Holanda combines his native Choro music with foreign styles such as Bossa Nova and fusion without losing its essential Brazilian nature.

Holanda’s quintet has an unusual assemblage of instruments; 10-string

mandolin, guitar, harmonica, bass and drums. But they deliver as rich and full a set of musical parts as any horn band. Holanda wrote all the music on Brasilianos. And while the styles and time signatures vary, each composition has powerful rhythmic underpinnings mated with a contrapuntal melody line using layered harmonies. It forms some of the most cohesive and textured music you’ll hear.

The sound quality on this album is top-notch. A less-than-pristine recording could easily have obscured the subtle interplay between the harmonica and the mandolin. But recording engineer Daniel Musy and mastering engineer Marcos Saboia captured every nuance of Holanda’s quintet’s playing.

Naturally, Holanda’s music is grouped with Brazilian jazz. But, his music isn’t so much Brazilian jazz as it is acoustic jazz performed by a Brazilian band. And these guys can play.

This article originally appeared in VG’s Sept. ’10 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

From the outside, one could easily judge Dierks Bentley’s music too slick, his status as merely a phenom on country radio. But Up On The Ridge might slap you up-side the head.

Recorded with a collection of hot young pickers and bluegrass icons, this may be the best acoustic album of the year; Chris Thile’s backing band, the Punch Brothers (with Noam Pikelny on banjo and Chris Eldridge on guitar) form the core on several cuts. Other players included Bryan Sutton (guitar), Rob Ickes (resonator) and Ronnie McCoury (mandolin). Del McCoury, Vince Gill, Kris Kristofferson, and Alison Krauss also add their inimitable vocal talents to the project.

Bentley ranges far and wide in terms of song choice. Covers of Kris Kristofferson’s “Bottle to The Bottom,” Julie and Buddy Miller’s “Love Grows Wild,” Shawn Camp’s “Fallin’ For You,” U2’s “Pride (In The Name of Love),” and Bob Dylan’s “Senor,” join five songs co-written by Bentley. Jon Randall Stewart, who served as producer, was Bentley’s co-writer on three. Their “Draw Me a Map,” a pop/country confection, especially benefits from the acoustic arrangement.

No doubt Bentley has a fine lead voice, but what makes this album more than another “so and so and…” album is the level of interaction by the other musicians. Instead of mixing and arranging tunes to put Bentley up front, he’s positioned as a band member… albeit the one who sings all the leads. The result comes across as a labor of love.

This article originally appeared in VG’s Sept. ’10 issue.  All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine.  Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.