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Get this crazy baby off my head!

30.6.12

Barry Goldberg



Barry Goldberg - Barry Goldberg's Soul Riot! - 2009 - Meroke Sky

Out in L.A., the Meroke Sky label has been releasing a bunch of interesting releases and high on the list is the 2009 CD from R&B / pop great Barry Goldberg entitled Barry Goldberg’s Soul Riot! More a music fest than a soul riot, the emphasis is on pop R&B stylings but a few tracks stand out as future classics including a classic pop-rock barnstormer called “Cold Blank Stare” that is quite reminiscent of Goldberg’s work on Gerry Goffin’s great mid ‘90s comeback. Produced by Mike Giangreco, the Soul Riot! CD features Goldberg’s keyboards backed up by contributions from a wide range of players including guitarists Jack Sherman and Greg Leisz along with drummer Gary Malabar, singer Melanie Herrold who comes across like a modern day Janis Joplin disciple. With the first six cuts recorded in the studio, the second side so to speak features tracks recorded at L.A.’s Cabana Club and I guess that’s where the riot part kicks in. Also live here is a new cover of “I’ve Got To Use My Imagination,” written by childhood hero Goffin and Goldberg way back when. With his past credits including work with Dylan, Hendrix, Janis, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters and more, Goldberg continues to live up to his credo—born and raised in Chicago, born and raised to play the blues. www.MerokeSkyRecords.com © 1999 - 2010 MWE3.com, Inc. http://mwe3.com/archive/pastfeature/featureMusicRevWinter2010.htm
All Rights Reserved

Great album from the legendary Chicago R&B, pop, blues, soul and jazz keyboardist, Barry Goldberg and dedicated to Michael Bloomfield and Jerry Colonna. Producer Mike Giangreco said, "I have been a fan of Barry's for many years, and had the good fortune to start working with him and Mick Taylor in the early '90s. We have worked together on various projects since then, but actually started recording together when he came into the studio to do some tracks on Joe Hajek's album. The collaboration worked so well that, when the opportunity to record a live set presented itself, we jumped at it. The finished project is 'Barry Goldberg's Soul Riot!' The album took about eight months to complete, with both of our busy schedules, but the finished product - the live show [recorded at Hollywood's Cabana Club] along with some songs Barry had from previous sessions - was well worth the wait. The level of professionalism and craftsmanship Barry displayed while we worked on this showed me just what a master musician and songwriter he is. I am not only proud to be associated with him, but also anxious to start the next project!" Try and listen to the 1972 "Barry Goldberg & Friends" album [Tracks @ 315-320 Kbps: File size = 101 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Middle of the Night
2. Like a River
3. Cold Blank Stare
4. Soul Shine
5. Gone
6. Why Not Tonight
7. Buried Alive In the Blues
8. I've Got To Use My Imagination
9. Burning Fire
10. Breakaway
11. Higher
12. Nut Bush City Limits

MUSICIANS

Barry Goldberg - Keyboards
Jack Sherman, Greg Leisz, Dave Williams - Guitar
Gerald Johnson - Bass
Alex Del Zoppo - Synths
Gary Malabar - Drums
Melanie Herrold - Vocals

BIO (WIKI)

Barry Joseph Goldberg (born December 25, 1942, Chicago, Illinois) is a blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter and record producer. As a teenager in Chicago, Goldberg sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin' Wolf. He played keyboards in the band supporting Bob Dylan during his 1965 'electrified' appearance at the Newport Folk Festival. He formed The Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield in 1967, and later formed the Barry Goldberg Reunion in 1968. Goldberg's songs (some of which co-written with Gerry Goffin) have been recorded by many musicians including Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight, Percy Sledge, Joe Cocker, Steve Miller, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Gram Parsons and B. J. Thomas. Goldberg's first professional recording session was "Devil With The Blue Dress On" / "Good Golly Miss Molly" by Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels. Among the albums he contributed to are Leonard Cohen's Death of a Ladies' Man, The Ramones' End of the Century, Gram Parson's The Gilded Palace of Sin, and Super Session which featured Michael Bloomfield, Stephen Stills, and Al Kooper.Goldberg also has produced albums by Percy Sledge including Blue Night (Grammy nominated and WC Handy soul album of the year) as well as Shining Through the Rain, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, The Textones plus Bob Dylan's version of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready". 1992: He played keyboards with the Carla Olson & Mick Taylor band, which resulted in the live CD "Too Hot for Snakes" and also featured the players Ian McLagan, Jesse Sublett (who also wrote the lead track, "Who Put the Sting on the Honey Bee,"), George Callins, Rick Hemmert, Joe Sublett, and Juke Logan. 1994: Blue Night by Percy Sledge produced by Barry Goldberg & Saul Davis and featured Bobby Womack, Steve Cropper, Mick Taylor, Greg Leisz, Bob Glaub, Ed Greene, Mikael Rickfors, the Waters... and songs written by Rickfors, Gregg Sutton, Pat Robinson, Carla Olson, the Bee Gees, Quinton Claunch, Fats Domino, Ois Redding... 1999: He wrote and performed the theme to the Disney Channel original movie Smart House, entitled "The House is Jumpin'," with Phil Shenale and Sterling Smith, with vocals by Chan André. He wrote the song with Jill Wisoff and Joel Diamond. 2004: Shining Through The Rain by Percy also co-produced by Saul & Barry and featuring Larry Byrom, Denny Freeman, Clayton Ivey, Ed Greene, Phil Upchurch, Bob Glaub, the waters, Jakob Dylan... and songs by the Bee Gees, Mikael Rickfors, Carla Olson, Jackie Lomax, Earl Carson, Bobby Moore. In 2002, he was featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley - A Tribute!, playing piano on the songs "Pills", "I'm A Man" and "Before You Accuse Me". (produced by Carla Olson.) In 2005-6, he toured with the Chicago Blues Reunion featuring Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel, and Corky Siegel. Their debut CD reached #2 on the Billboard Blues Chart and received a four star review from Rolling Stone's David Fricke. On July 7, 2009 Goldberg's self-titled 1974 album was reissued with never before released tracks and a restored sound. The album was produced by Bob Dylan and Jerry Wexler! Barry is currently producing a documentary, "White, Black & Blues," detailing the rock-blues explosion of the 1960s. The film is set to be released in the spring of 2012. Goldberg's uncle was Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg.

28.6.12

Bryce Janey



Bryce Janey - Live at J. M. O'Malley's - 2001 - Hot Fudge

On Live at J.M. O'Malley's, aspiring through slow blues, funk tunes, and rockers. Janey's no nonsense vocal style is effective, beating fake attitude and strings: his playing has a lot of personality to go along with Buddy Guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan building blocks. Top track: the shuffle "Workin' Fool," which balances B.B. King-esque fretwork with a super organ solo from T-Bone Giblin. "Live" should make new fans. © Blues Revue Magazine

Anytime you hear a hot new artist's studio release, you have to always pose the question, "Are they really that good live or is this thing going to be studio enhanced"? With the release of Bryce Janey's new "Live" CD, he answers the question after the successful release of his "Barewire" CD, also on Iowa's Hot Fudge label, he's for real.One can quickly tell, that the "Barewire" CD was not a studio enhanced effort, but rather the "tip of the iceberg" in what is yet to come from this talented new performer."Live at J.M. O'Malley's" caught Janey and his talented band at one of Cedar Rapids, Iowa's premier live clubs for one night of no holds barred blues.Backed by Steve Hayes on drums, Dan "DJ" Johnson on bass, and back for an encore performance from the "Barewire" CD, Hammond B-3 master, Tom T-Bone Giblin (ex Lonnie Brooks Band).The CD features eight tight cuts with a running time of 43 minutes and 36 seconds. It covers some of Janey's best self penned tunes from his "Barewire" CD including "Hold On", "Workin' Fool", and his revved up take on Earl King's "Trick Bag". Also included is a live version of his "Sweet Baby Jane" from his first Hot Fudge CD release of the same name.The best way to describe his vocals is "powerful", especially in alive setting. Janey distinguished himself as a top-notch vocalist.While the band is tight, one doesn't get the high level of interaction on this live effort between Janey and Giblin as you got on "Barewire". Giblin still shines, but appears to be "mixed down" somewhat in the final mastering. One can only imagine what these two are like live on stage.This new release by Janey appears to be his "next step", but it makes one anxious for whatever new additional releases are on the horizon.If you want to see Janey live, make sure to catch him with Iowa's Blue Band when they appear in your market. His guitar work is second to none, the vocals dominating, and the live element exciting. It's a CD worth picking up to experience a hot newcomer on the rise. © Tom Tourville Twin Cities Blues News November 2001

Recorded live at J. M. O'Malley's, Cedar Rapids, Iowa in January 2001. Buy Bryce's "Sweet Baby Jane" album and support good earthy blues rock that you won't hear on MTV! [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 96.9 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Hold On 6:01
2 Long Time Runnin' 4:46
3 Strat Blues Billy 7:05
4 Practice What You Preach 6:10
5 Workin' Fool 6:19
6 Sweet Baby Jane 5:38
7 Walkin' Blues 5:00
8 Trick Bag 3:13

All tracks composed by Bryce Janey &/or Billy Lee Janey except "Trick Bag" by Earl King

BAND

Bryce Janey - Guitar, Vocals
Billy Lee Janey - Rhythm Guitar
Dan "DJ" Johnson - Bass
Tommy "T-Bone" Giblin - Hammond B-3
Steve Hayes - Drums

BIO

Bryce Janey began his Music career in his hometown of Marion, IA at the age of 13 in a blues-rock trio called The Janey’s. With his mother on drums and his father Billy Lee on guitar, The Janey’s played regionally and nationally from Chicago to Los Angeles. They shared the stage with over 50 national acts, including Buddy Guy, Delbert McClinton, Blues Traveler, Johnny Winter and Koko Taylor. While still in The Janey’s, Bryce began a solo career and released his first CD, Practice What You Preach, in 1996 on Hot Fudge Music label. This release was later picked up by an independent label in Minneapolis, MN where Bryce began to showcase in local clubs like Whiskey Junction and BrewBakers in St. Paul. Two more CDs were released, Live at Checker’s Tavern and Sweet Baby Jane. These early CDs have gained national attention and five stars from Blues Access magazine (1998) and great reviews from Blues Revue and Living Blues, among others. In 1999, Bryce signed with San Diego music attorney, Rod Underhill and became the number one artist on mp3.com later that year. In 2001, Bryce released his next CD, Bare Wire, and began touring again with his own band and with Iowa’s own The Blue Band. Bryce played festivals and successful venues like B.B. King’s in Memphis and Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago. The Blue Band also played venues in Minneapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Nashville, Denver and Keystone. Bryce was inducted into the Iowa Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame with The Blue Band in 2007. In early 2003, Bryce released Live At JM O’Malley’s. That same year, he also released The Janey’s with his father, Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Billy Lee Janey. He performed with The Janey’s father/son team-up, as well as with his own band. Bryce’s influences include many artists ranging from Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry to Jimi Hendrix, Cream and The Band, in addition to many blues artists—Chicago style to Old Delta Robert Johnson. He also has a great love for country and folk music and tries to combine these into a melting pot genre of his own version of rock ‘n’ roll, county, and blues with a touch of acoustic ballads and R&B. His voice likens Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and his guitar playing has been compared with Robert Cray and Buddy Guy. Bryce’s Newest 2010 release “ Blues In My Soul” and (2001) reissue release” live at J.M. Omalley’s, on new label Grooveyard Records, showcases his guitar work, Live and in the studio! Two Cd’s full of killer blues guitar “riffage” with a powerhouse Band behind him, with soulful blues singing, old blues remakes, and new originals © Facebook © 2012 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bryce-Janey/168197936533914?sk=info

27.6.12

Eleanor McEvoy



Eleanor McEvoy - Alone - 2011 - Moscodisc

It has been a mystery to me for many years why Eleanor McEvoy is not a household name. It is fair to say that many of her, less talented, contemporaries have achieved greater success while she has almost been forgotten by the music establishment. McEvoy is a songwriter that I have held in great affection for many years. She has an honesty to her music with lyrics that have never shied away from the darker sides of life whether that be the abuse of women and children in Africa or by the catholic church in Ireland. With Alone McEvoy revisits a career that covers 10 albums and 22 years of recording with stripped back re-recordings of tracks from every period of her music. Her best known songs, Only A Woman's Heart & Sophie are both present and sounding even more fresh and poignant than when she first recorded them. Only A Woman's Heart catapulted McEvoy to fully fledged star status in her native Ireland, and indeed in most of Europe, but moving away from major labels to gain more control over her career meant that her public profile dipped considerably. This is a real pity as she arguably recorded some of her better work when freed from the confines of label interference, as the majestic and unsurpassed album Early Hours demonstrated. You'll Hear Better Songs (Than This) from the afore mentioned Early Hours is a definite highlight with its sideswiping lyrics and melancholy diminished chords. Throughout McEvoy's trademark distinctive Irish brogue is in full effect. Days Roll By is an equally splendid song that deals with growing older and unaccomplished dreams that can ring true with all of us. For Avoidance Of Any Doubt is a masterclass in lyric writing that shows a wry sense of humour that is an undercurrent of much of McEvoy's music. If I'm honest, then McEvoy's last two albums have proved to be huge disappointments in terms of the songs and the production but with Alone she has recaptured that something, that indefinable something, that makes an artist truly special. The voice still has the capability to make my spine tingle and 20 years on from first discovering her music, I have fallen in love with it all over again. The re-recorded versions of Just For The Tourists and Only A Woman's Heart are simply magnificent and are worth buying this album for, excuse the pun, alone. (5/5) 2011 © The Music Critic http://www.themusiccritic.co.uk/2011/09/eleanor-mcevoy-alone.html

Great "barebones" album from the unbelievably underrated Irish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eleanor McEvoy. This is real music. Eleanor plays simple acoustic and electric guitar, piano, and double bass and produces amazing results. Her melodies are wonderful. Her lyrics are exceptional, and her beautiful Dublin accent is a joy to listen to. "Alone" is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy her "Yola" album. What's the point in 20 years time reading about how great an artist Eleanor was, and how she never got the credit she deserved? You can find more info about Eleanor on this blog [All tracks @ 192 Kbps: File size = 62.7 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Did I Hurt You
2. Harbour
3. I'll Be Willing
4. What's Her Name
5. You'll Hear Better Songs (Than This)
6. Sophie
7. Just For The Tourists
8. Days Roll By
9. For Avoidance of Any Doubt
10. Only A Woman's Heart
11. Did You Tell Him
12. Eve of Destruction
13. You'll Hear Better Songs (Than This) (Acoustic Bonus Track)

All songs composed by Eleanor McEvoy except "Just For The Tourists" by Eleanor McEvoy & Dave Rotheray, and "Eve of Destruction" by P.F. Sloan. Eleanor plays acoustic and electric guitars, piano, and double bass

Eleanor McEvoy



Eleanor McEvoy - Out There - 2006 - Mosco Disc

"In her intimate Celtic way, she brings character to the simplest of arrangements, with rueful story-songs that sink in slowly, but it's the countrified likes of Suffer So Well that really suit her bruised, steadfast persona." - HMV Choice

"Forever associated with 'Only a Woman.s Heart', massively underrated Irish singer / songwriter, McEvoy raises the stakes with an ambitious self-produced, self-arranged album. It tackles Marvin Gaye and Lowell George and includes a Dave Rotheray collaboration along with her own immaculately tuneful, lyrically potent tales of love and life." Review by & © Colin Irwin, Mojo, February 2007

A very well-recorded album from an Irish folk artist who is rapidly gaining significant acclaim. Out There includes 15 folk tunes, most of them originals. Starting at the extremely young age of 4 Eleanor performed in a music competition as the lead singer in her sister's band. Four years later, she would take up the violin. Following college, (graduating with honors from Trinity) she began performing with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. Five years later, she made the decision to leave the symphony and begin songwriting, which was what she was truly passionate about. "Out There" follows four albums, soundtracks, singles and various compilations and contains fifteen folk tunes from Ireland's most successful songstress. As is often the way of the music biz world, Irish singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy has eased into some of the best material of her career after downsizing from a major. Classically founded but steeped in the transatlantic gypsy tradition of Van Morrison et al, her art has found its acoustic centre over her last couple of albums, a roots-return embodied here by a rare cover of one of the mighty Lowell George's most sublime songs, Roll Um Easy - that Dublin brogue skating over Lowell's oak-smoked lyrics is, verily, sweet paradise. McEvoy's own lyrics are equally romantic, well versed in the vagaries of hi-tech human relationships if prone to occasional heavy handedness on weightier issues. © 2012 Elusive Disc, Inc. All rights reserved http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DIVLP10SD

Forever associated with her classic ‘Only a Womans Heart’ song, Ireland's Eleanor McEvoy is one of the great but hugely underrated singer songwriters recording today. She is an exceptional multi-instrumentalist and is also a respected performer of contemporary pop, folk rock, and traditional music. Eleanor gained valuable experience playing in the Irish National Symphony Orchestra, and is now recognized throughout the world for her brilliant songwriting and stunning live performances. She has released twelve critically acclaimed albums. Today, she is recognised as Ireland’s most successful female singer songwriter. Many of her songs have been translated into other languages, used in film and covered by artists that include Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, and Sonja Kristina of Curved Air. "Out There" was named 'Record Of The Year' for 2007 by Hi-Fi+ magazine. Writing in the publication's awards issue, music critic Rueben Parry said that "Out There... offers soulful and jagged-edged lyricism at its very best. This is an album overflowing with insight - Eleanor’s wry observations in these beautifully crafted, intelligent and mature songs not only communicates those millpond ripples in our lives, but also takes moments of pure anguish, intense pain and intimacy and offers more than a glimmer of hope where none is readily apparent. She delivers music that combines permanence and pertinence in equal measure. For her relevance, and a deep-rooted understanding of the perverse, contrary and unpredictable human condition, Out There takes top spot this year."

Eleanor McEvoy is not an artist easy to pigeonhole. Irish, folk, pop, rock, country? Her last two albums - Yola and Early Hours - have been modern day singer songwriter masterpieces. Yet by and large she remains an undiscovered talent. Never one to 'go with the flow', Out There is yet another outstanding album with the classic McEvoy hallmarks of great songs, wonderful vocals and magnificent production. The album sees Eleanor take a further step along the DIY road, taking on all instrumental parts with the exception of some percussive input from Liam Bradley, and the help of Dave Rotheray (The Beautiful South and Homespun) who guests on the co-written Quite I Love You Unquote. And as on recent releases the instrumentation and arrangements are sparse, allowing the songs and performance space to breathe. Out There encompasses folk, blues, country, traditional, acoustic and even light jazz. Admittedly this can put some people off and big record labels never like anyone who doesn't fit their neat marketing niches. More fool them, but this suits Eleanor who prefers to plough her own furrow. This really is a lovely record full of intriguing lyrics and some truly wonderful vocals - a real spine tingle is (When You) Smile', whilst 'Little Look' would garner airplay on late night BBC Radio 2. Eleanor also tackles a couple of interesting covers - Little Feat's Roll Um Easy, which closes the album in fitting style and a beautiful stripped back and slowed down version of version of Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me. Out There in another superb and varied album from an artist who deserves wider exposure. Fantastic voice, thought provoking lyrics and neat instrumentation. And as with her last two albums, Out There is released in audiophile SACD format. What more can you ask for? ****½ Review by & © Pete Whalley and Jason Ritchie © http://www.getreadytorock.com/reviews/eleanor_mcevoy4.htm

"Out There" is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to Eleanor's "Snapshots" album, and buy her stripped down, acoustic "Alone" album. Check out Eleanor's 1993 s/t album @ ELMCEV/ST [Tracks @ 224-320 Kbps: File size = 86.1 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Non Smoking Single Female 3.21
2 To Sweep Away A Fool 3.31
3 Wrong So Wrong 2.09
4 Little Look 3.21
5 Vigeland's Dream 3.47
6 Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology Song) 3.26
7 Quote I Love You Unquote 4.30
8 So Much Trouble 3.56
9 Three Nights In November 4.30
10 Suffer So Well 4.29
11 The Way You Wear Your Troubles 2.21
12 (When You) Smile 3.24
13 Fields Of Dublin 4 3.38
14 Interlude - Iberious 0.50
15 Roll Um Easy 2.27

All songs composed by Eleanor McEvoy except "Quote I Love You Unquote" by Eleanor McEvoy & Dave Rotheray, "Mercy Mercy Me" by Marvin Gaye, and "Roll Um Easy" by Lowell George

MUSICIANS

Eleanor McEvoy - Electric, Acoustic & Slide Guitar, Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Piano, Electric Piano, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vibraphone, Violin, Shaker, Drum Programming,
Vocals, Background Vocals
Dave Rotheray - Electric & Bass Guitar on "Quote I Love You Unquote"
Liam Bradley - Drums, Percussion, Congas, Shaker, Tambourine, Background Vocals, Whistling

BIO (WIKI)

Eleanor McEvoy (born 22 January 1967) is one of Ireland's most accomplished contemporary singer/songwriters. McEvoy composed the song "Only A Woman's Heart", title track of A Woman's Heart, the best-selling Irish album in Irish history. McEvoy's life as a musician began at the age of four when she began playing piano. At the age of eight she took up violin. Upon finishing school she attended Trinity College, Dublin where she studied music by day and worked in pit orchestras and music clubs by night. McEvoy graduated from Trinity with an Honors Degree in music, and spent four months busking in New York City. In 1988 she was accepted into the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra where she spent four years before leaving to concentrate on songwriting. She built up a following in clubs in Dublin with her three piece band, Jim Tate on bass, Noel Eccles on drums, and latterly Bill Shanley on guitar. During a solo date in July 1992, she performed a little-known, self-penned song, "Only a Woman's Heart". Mary Black, of whose band McEvoy was a member, was in the audience and invited her to add the track to an album of Irish female artists. The album was subsequently titled A Woman's Heart and the track was released as the lead single. In the same week that A Woman's Heart was released, Tom Zutaut A & R from Geffen Records, who had previously signed Guns & Roses, Motley Crew, and Edie Brickell, offered McEvoy a worldwide recording deal after watching her perform at The Baggot Inn in Dublin. The album went on to sell over three-quarters of a million copies in Ireland alone and was (and remains) the biggest selling Irish album of all time. Eleanor McEvoy, the self-titled debut offering, recorded in Windmill Lane Studios, was released in February 1993, and tours in the United States, Asia, and Europe followed. Back on Irish soil, McEvoy was awarded Best New Artist, Best New Performer, and Best Songwriter Awards by the Irish entertainment and music industries. As she began writing her second album, Tom Zutaut departed Geffen Records, so when Columbia U.S. offered her a new deal, she jumped ship and began working on a new, edgier second album, which would eventually be titled What's Following Me? The album was released in 1996 and the sound was louder and grungier that her debut. The single "Precious Little" built to a Top-10 radio hit in the United States, giving McEvoy the exposure she needed for a headline tour of the U.S. She was invited to contribute of a number of movie and TV soundtracks. "A Glass Unkissed" was featured in ABC Television's Clueless and "Whisper a Prayer to the Moon" was featured in the Pierce Brosnan film The Nephew. which was released in August 1998. At home, the success of A Woman's Heart continued to overshadow McEvoy's solo work and fans of the mammoth hit were disappointed with the rock elements of the second album and those that might have identified with her bittersweet lyrics, sensual vocals, and loud guitars turned a blind eye to the album. McEvoy released her third album Snapshots in 1999. Her primary goal was to make Snapshots her most song-oriented album to date. Toward that goal, McEvoy hooked up with legendary producer Rupert Hine (who worked with Stevie Nicks, Tina Turner, Suzanne Vega, and Duncan Sheik) and recorded the album at Rupert’s “Chateau de la Tour de Moulin” and then in Metropolis Studios in London. The extensive use of drum loops was a complete change in style from her previous work. The album was greeted by rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. ”... her sophisticated voice and compassionate seasoned lyrics ... make Eleanor McEvoy’s album a gem....” declared The Boston Globe, while The Sunday Times described it as “her strongest album to date, with well appointed social comment topics...McEvoy’s take on matters emotional also hits pay dirt with the likes of the excellent 'Did You Tell Him?'" However Columbia Records had been unprepared for the complete stylistic change and relations between the company and McEvoy became strained. Despite this, a sell-out, 24-date tour of the United States accompanied the release of Snapshots in the summer of 1999, followed by the "Snapshots Unplugged" tour March–April 2000, which culminated in a performance in Boulder, Colorado accompanied by the E Town Band where she duetted with Richard Thompson. By 2000 McEvoy found herself increasingly entwined in record company red tape, Columbia had bought her first album Eleanor McEvoy from Geffen, but were refusing to release it. Neither What's Following Me? nor Snapshots had set the sales charts on fire, and McEvoy’s public perception, particularly in Ireland, was caught in a limbo state between rock and folk, with "A Woman’s Heart" and its many incarnations still lurking in the back of the minds of the record-buying public. Increasingly McEvoy started to work on outside projects. The Bert Jansch tribute album People On The Highway – A Bert Jansch Encomium (Market Square Records catalog number MSMCD106, Koch, September 2000) saw a newly recorded version of Jansch’s song about Sandy Denny, "Where Did My Life Go?", recorded by McEvoy especially for the album. Participating artists included Al Stewart, Roy Harper, Bernard Butler, Donovan, and Ralph McTell. As the century closed, McEvoy had had enough of major-label involvement, making the decision to take the fourth album and head down the independent road. Yola was a turning point in McEvoy’s musical direction. Released in 2001, it reflected the acoustic, jazz-influenced style she had developed on stage with Brian Connor. For McEvoy it was a new departure and one that found favour with music media. Irish Music Press described it as .... "her finest album", "a brave rejection of the predictable", "musically daring....beautifully atmospheric". International press lauded it as "a back to basics triumph", "beautifully restrained", "a classic", and "McEvoy’s best release to date". Extensive touring throughout the U.S. and the UK followed. In 2002 Yola was named "Record of the Year" by Hi-Fi+ Magazine. March 2004 saw the release of Early Hours (Market Square MSM51SACD128, distributor RSK/BMG), produced by McEvoy and Brian Connor. The album featured McEvoy on vocals, guitar, and fiddle; Connor on piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond organ, and keyboards; Liam Bradley on kit percussion and backing vocals; Calum McColl on guitars and backing vocals; Nicky Scott on bass; and Lindley Hamilton on trumpets. The style differed from McEvoy's previous work, taking on a jazz/blues feel for many of the songs. Early Hours continued the high-quality audio work that had been established with Yola. This album was the first to use TiMax (unique audio imaging) technology, mixed in 5.1 surround-sound onto multi-channel Super Audio CD (SACD). Early Hours was voted Best Contemporary Album 2004-2005, by Irish Music Magazine Readers Poll. McEvoy continued to tour with Brian Connor until April 2005. She then began performing solo, accompanying herself on bass guitar, electric guitar, mandolin and violin. Her sixth album, Out There, was recorded in The Grange Studio in Norfolk and released in early 2007. It was self-penned, self-produced and featured McEvoy all of the instruments with the exception of a guitar part on “Quote I Love You Unquote” played by Dave Rotheray (ex-Beautiful South) and the drumming of Liam Bradley (Van Morrison, Ronan Keeting) on three tracks. McEvoy toured the album extensively in Britain, Ireland, Spain and Australia throughout 2007 and early 2008. In 2007 Out There brought McEvoy her second "Record of the Year" award from Hi-Fi+ Magazine. Love Must Be Tough (MOSCD404, released 2008), her seventh album, is a departure from previous albums, where all the songs were typically her own. Half of this album features songs by other writers. Typically these songs were written by men and sung by men, but were about women. When sung by a woman, with the minimum of alteration to the lyrics, the words tell a new story. It revels in gender juxtaposition. Recorded with the South King Street Band, with arrangements by Peter Beckett, Love Must Be Tough opens with The Rolling Stones's "Mother’s Little Helper". The opening line, “what a drag it is getting old", sets the tone of the entire collection. The title track, "Love Must Be Tough", written by McEvoy and U.S.-legend Johnny Rivers during a late-night songwriting session in Killarney, is a nugget of West-Coast Americana. The lead single, "Old, New, Borrowed and Blue", penned by McEvoy and long-time friend Dave Rotheray (Beautiful South/Homespun), is a twist on the jaundiced over-optimism of the standard wedding song. Another track by the duo, "The Night May Still Be Young, But I Am Not", is also on the album. In 2008 McEvoy received her third "Record of the Year" award from Hi-Fi+ Magazine. In 2007 McEvoy was awarded "Best Traditional Act" at the 7th annual Big Buzz Awards. Awards are voted for entirely by the general public, and are designed to recognise the outstanding achievements and the amazing talent within the Irish entertainment scene. In 2008 McEvoy toured from January to November in the UK, Australia, Spain, Germany, Poland, and Ireland, with additional one-off dates in the Far East and elsewhere in Europe, including an appearance at Glastonbury in June 2008. On 21 November 2008, "Easy In Love" from the album Love Must Be Tough was released as a single to highlight McEvoy's recent visit to Uganda on behalf of Oxfam Ireland. McEvoy's album Singled Out was released on 28 September 2008. The album is a compilation of singles taken from McEvoy's four award-winning, independently-released albums. Three of the albums, Yola, Out There, and Love Must Be Tough, received the coveted Album of the Year Award from Hi-Fi+ Magazine. Early Hours was voted Best Contemporary Album 2004-2005 by Irish Music Magazine Readers Poll. The album includes "Did I Hurt You" and "Isn't It a Little Late" from McEvoy's double A-side single, the world's first single to be released on SACD format. Singled Out includes one new song, "Oh Uganda", which was written by McEvoy after her visit to Northern Uganda as part of her support for the work of Oxfam Unwrapped. I'd Rather Go Blonde, released 20 September 2010, is McEvoy's eighth album. Never one to shy away from the big issues, this album sees McEvoy tackling themes such as alienation, hypocrisy, recent Irish history and romance. As McEvoy says herself, “I always try to express myself clearly and honestly. I was the odd one, the tubby girl with glasses who had to go to violin lessons after school. The ray of sunlight was the radio with its music. The escape was learning to sing and play instruments and play with others and write and just get out there." The album has been met with glowing reviews including the five-star review in 2010 Maverick Magazine: "This absolutely stunning album, has been a real find – one of the most compelling female singer-songwriters I've heard in a long time." Alone, McEvoy's ninth album, released 12 September 2011, is a collection of twelve stripped-down solo numbers. Says McEvoy, "“There was a time when I was stranded in a long gap between tour dates and, with time to kill, I headed for the peace of The Grange; a small studio tucked away in the Norfolk countryside." The product of those tranquil sessions is an album of incredibly haunting performances, up close, personal, and timeless. This is McEvoy in her most intimate setting, running through the journey of her writing and singing career.

25.6.12

Walter Trout & The Radicals



Walter Trout & The Radicals - Vegas Live - 2006 - Walter Trout Band Fan Club

In an interview. in 2009, Jerry Fink asked Walter "What do you say to purists?" He replied with "I say go listen to whomever you want. I can’t be bothered with trying to please everybody. I’m trying to be an artist and expand myself as a person and explore my talent and my possibilities and I’m trying to basically have a good time doing what I do. The purists I couldn’t give a (expletive) about. I think they’re racist. When they come up with, “You’re a white guy. You can’t play the blues,” I think you need to go tell Yo-Yo Ma he can’t play classical music because that’s the music of white Europeans. “Yo-Yo Ma, take your Stradivarius and go home.” That’s the same mind-set. You gotta get past that (stuff). You really do. I played with John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Percy Mayfield, Lowell Fulson, Bo Diddley and Detroit Junior. I have a long list of old black guys I played with. I respect them and love them and look at them as inventors and innovators, but they didn’t come out and try to imitate anybody. And I’m not going to try to imitate anybody. We’re all second generation here. If you want to get into the thought process, the real thing in the blues is a black guy from Mississippi or Chicago and if you’re not that, just be who you are, be true to yourself. Quit imitating people. I just don’t have time for the purists. I didn’t go into this to try to please some prejudiced dude and fit into his preconceptions and his intellectualizing. Art’s not about your brain, it’s about your heart. You either feel it or you don’t". Walter has also said that "I always listened to the blues, probably more than anything else. I loved playing it on the guitar, but I loved everything. I’d just as soon listen to Joni Mitchell as listen to Howlin’ Wolf. I like them both".

In 2006 the official Walter Trout Band Fan Club mag celebrated its tenth anniversary by including this live CD recorded at the Boulder Station Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 26th, 2005. SQ is not the best, but this was a freebie. It's rough around the edges and there's little if any studio enhancements. Most of the tracks have band, crowd and instrumental noise at the end which is slightly distracting.This is a minor issue as it's great to hear any live Walter Trout music. [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 174 Mb]


TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Ride ‘Til I’m Satisfied - Walter Trout 7:23
2. Sweet As A Flower - Walter Trout & Jimmy Trapp 8:55
3. Helpin’ Hand - Walter Trout 5:02
4. Seems Like A Long Time - Walter Trout 10:02
5. Let’s Work Together - Wilbert Harrison 7:52
6. I Don’t Want My MTV - Walter Trout 5:28
7. Girl From The North Country - Bob Dylan 7:05
8. Serve Me Right To Suffer - John Lee Hooker 17:55
9. Goin’ Down - Don Nix 8:03

BAND

Walter Trout - Guitar, Vocals
James Trapp RIP - Bass
Sammy Avila - Hammond B-3 Organ
Joey Pafumi - Drums

BIO

Walter Trout enjoys pockets of support in the United States, but he is a veritable rock and blues god in Europe, where he routinely headlines major tours and releases albums to great critical acclaim. A slashing, intense guitarist, his work echoes the experimental freedom of Jimi Hendrix, the jammy sting of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the speedy phrasing of Eddie Van Halen. An impassioned singer who handles both hard rockers and slow blues, he is one of the last great purveyors of the sweat-stained art of rock showmanship.Born in Ocean City, New Jersey, on March 6, 1951, Trout inherited a love of music from his parents. "I was really lucky in that, even though my parents were not musicians, they were both incredible afficionados and lovers of music," he told Contemporary Musicians. "I heard it in the house all the time. There was anything playing from Duke Ellington to Count Basie to John Coltrane to Bill Monroe to Hank Williams to Ray Charles … you name it. I remember my father taking me to a black jazz club in Atlantic City when I was a little kid to see a pianist named Ahmad Jamaal…. My dad also took me to see Gary U.S. Bonds and Chuck Berry on a bill. My mom took me to see James Brown, Ray Charles, Harry Belafonte, Andy Williams, Lou Rawls. I also saw the Philadelphia orchestra on many occasions." Trout's first instrument of choice was the trumpet, which he began learning before he had turned ten. To encourage the boy, his mother, an English teacher who read poetry aloud to him, set up a special meeting with one of the youngster's idols. "When I was ten years old, my mom arranged somehow for me to spend an entire afternoon hanging out with Duke Ellington and his orchestra," recalled Trout. "I got to hang out with them in their dressing room. I was an aspiring trumpet player and I got to sit down and have guys like Cat Anderson, Johnny Hodges, and Paul Gonzales talk to me about jazz and music. Then Duke Ellington sat down on a couch with me and talked about the music business and what I could expect if I went into it. One of the things he told me was, 'Always keep your focus on being an artist and don't look for the glory. Try to have a career of longevity and not be a one-hit wonder. Concentrate on being the best that you can be on your instrument and think of it as an art and not show-business.' It was an amazing day." His parents' divorce marred the boy's seemingly idyllic situation, and young Walter was later emotionally scarred by the constant drunken turmoil created by his stepfather. As a result, he launched himself into music, switching over to guitar once his older brother, Ed Jr., tired of the one he owned. Overnight, Trout's musical interests changed. "That was the year that Dylan's first album came out. They had Hootenanny on televison. I got into the folk music thing and I was a big fan of the Chad Mitchell Trio." Many folk performers of the early 1960s included blues tunes in their repertoire, so the leap to that genre seemed natural for Trout, who recalled that his brother Ed continually encouraged his new areas of musical interest. "He brought home an album and said, 'Sit down and listen to this guy play the guitar.' It was the first Paul Butterfield album which featured Mike Bloomfield on guitar…. That changed my life. The trumpet went away and I knew what I wanted to do right then." Initially Trout performed solo, playing his first gigs in restaurants as an acoustic act. Egged on by the arrival of the Beatles and the 1960s rock-blues explosion, Trout played various spots in New Jersey, including the Steel Mill—which launched Bruce Springsteen—with a local aggregation called Wilmont Mews. A recording of the group from 1972 appeared on the Deep Trout compilation, and showed the youngster sounding quite polished. Hoping to make a name for himself, Trout moved to California in 1974 and began asking to sit in with other bands. Ironically, his first regular job didn't require his services as a guitarist. Sitting in with the Jive Bombers, a local country and bluegrass combo, he was told that they already had a guitarist, but needed a singer. After singing a couple of Hank Williams standards, he was hired as a regular vocalist, but was repeatedly told they didn't need another guitarist. With his first paycheck he bought a white Fender Stratocaster, and asked that he be allowed to play it on stage. Reluctantly, the other Jive Bombers acquiesced. Trout recalled with a chuckle: "I got up and played a song and they got all excited, 'You didn't tell us you could play like that!' That night I ended up as the lead guitarist. By the end of my tenure there, I eventually turned them from country bluegrass into a band that played Chuck Berry and early Stones. They ended up losing their regular gig because they went too rock 'n' roll." All the exposure did Trout some good. Soon he was playing clubs with various rock and soul bands, including J.E. Davis and the Boys. This led to some gigs playing behind established touring industry stars such as Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers, Joe Tex, Percy Mayfield, Big Mama Thornton, Pee Wee Crayton, and O.B. Wright. "Once I got my first sideman job," Trout proclaimed, "I was never without work." He backed up Big Mama Thornton, and John Lee Hooker, who was also on the bill, asked Trout to play a set with his band. Trout explained, "So, I got up and played and ended up in his band. Through playing with his band, I get heard by some members of Canned Heat and they say, 'We have a tour of Australia and Henry [Vestine] is drinking too much, would you do the tour?' I did the tour and ended up with a four-year gig." Trout injected some much-needed life into Canned Heat, whose days as an influential combo ended with the 1960s. In return he received some studio and overseas touring experience. This, however, exacerbated his drinking problem. "I drank to escape the pain of my youth and the pain I was feeling," he explained to Contemporary Musicians. "I was running from a lot of my past." Trout landed a gig opening for John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and ended up playing a set as second guitar to Mick Taylor. Mayall later added Trout to his group, but the thrill of recording and touring with Mayall was no match for Trout's hard-drinking ways. Finally, in 1987 a disgusted Carlos Santana, one of Trout's musical heroes, confronted the New Jersey guitarist about his constant inebriation and musical sloppiness. Ashamed, Trout finally quit drinking. Once sober, Trout's guitar technique improved dramatically and he began wondering if a solo career would be viable. One night in Denmark, Mayall was too sick to perform. Trout and fellow Bluesbreaker Coco Montoya filled in and brought the house down. Afterwards, a promoter offered Trout a chance to record and tour under his own name. By the end of his first solo tour, Trout was playing major venues to packed houses. Recording for the Provogue label, he even scored a hit, a single called "The Love That We Once Knew," which became a number one hit in Europe in 1990. It was re-recorded on Livin' Every Day in 1999. Overseas, Trout was a star who toured with Elton John and had a video on European MTV's power rotation. But American record labels still weren't buying. "I think that here in America, this type of music is taken for granted because it's everywhere and I think a lot of people in this country have even turned their back[s] on it," the performer declared. "It's just part of everyday life in America. In Europe it's not. They're still kind of in wonder when you come out and play it with the feel that Americans seem to have." Trout hoped to solve his greatest career conundrum—blues labels thought he was too rock, rock label thought he was too blues—by signing with Silvertone in 1994. However, the American independent label promoted poorly in the States and not at all in his European base. Fortunately, fellow Bluesbreakers guitarist Coco Montoya suggested he get together with producer Jim Gaines, who in turn got Trout onto the German Ruf label. A prolific songwriter with a knack for non-traditional lyrics, Trout has done his best work for Ruf, and his releases have sold well worldwide. In return Ruf has given the artist creative carte blanche. "[Ruf] has never once said anything about material," Trout stated. He added that the label has said, "'Here's a budget. It might not be a lot, but here's what I have. You make it work. You go make me a record. You do your job and I'll do mine.'"For the most part, Trout likes spontaneity in the studio and on stage. Many times songs are discussed rather than formally arranged or rehearsed. "Actually, it's the John Mayall thing of finding musicians that have chemistry, and then they play together naturally," said Trout. "A lot of that doesn't even have to be spoken, it's just felt among the four of you. It's definitely instinctual." Whether recording or playing a live gig, Trout still sings with every gutcheck emotion at his command. Asked if he finds that approach difficult to maintain, the singer responded: "You know what, it's not difficult to keep meaning it, because for me it's therapy." He described how his music has drawn on and then reflected his emotionally difficult and sometimes violent childhood, his parents' breakup and the problems with his alcoholic stepfather. "If you listen to a song of mine called 'Collingswood,' [from Relentless] it's in there. It took me thirty-five years to write that and when I wrote it, I had a nervous breakdown. So, the music and guitar became therapy for me. It became an outlet, a refuge, and a sanctuary." Today, Trout's personal life is far more serene than the memories he calls up for audiences night after night. Now managed by his wife and occasional co-writer, Marie Trout, and touring with his three sons—whose band occasionally opens for him—the singer-guitarist is more successful than ever. In 2006 he released Full Circle, a guest-star laden album that featured Trout in top form performing duets with the likes of Mayall, Montoya, Jeff Healey, Finis Tasby, Guitar Shorty, and Joe Bonamassa. It became his fastest selling album in the United States to date. He has even figured out a definitive response to blues purists who criticize his hard-rock leanings. On tour he sells T-shirts at the gigs: "I want everybody to know what they're in for so I don't have to hear about it," he explained. "So on the front [the shirt] reads: 'Walter Trout and the Radicals.' On the back of the shirt in big letters it says: 'Too many notes! Too loud!' (Laughter.) Sometimes a purist will come up and say, 'Man you played too many notes and you're too loud.' Then I'll hand him a shirt and say, 'I'm glad you understand what I'm trying to do.'" © http://www.answers.com/topic/walter-trout-1

23.6.12

Eddie King



Eddie King - Another Cow's Dead - 1997 - Roesch

"Eddie's approach can be likened to George Pickett's assault on Cemetery Ridge, straight ahead, yellinâ and shoutin', total commitment, but unlike the doomed Pickett, Eddie has pulled it off with a stunner of a release....You just have to check Eddie King out." Phil Wight. © Blues & Rhythm Magazine UK (www.bluesworld.com)

"Eddie King is solid as a rock." - Dan Aykroyd, Feb. 1998 House of Blues Radio Hour

"Eddie King is a real deal bluesman with a capital B whose authenticity should put him up there in the ranks of his various namesakes (B.B., Albert, Freddie, Earl). A great record and a delightful discovery." - Bill Milkowski © Jazz Times Magazine May 1998 (www.jazztimes.com)

"This is an album that just makes you want to hear more from this highly overlooked artist." - Cub Koda © Vinyl Junkie Nov.1997

"Eddie King's beautifully crafted Another Cow's Dead is a result of the all-too-rare synergy between prodigious musical talent and inspired production...The whole set is focused, coherent, and consistently brilliant." Jack Oudiz © Blues Access Magazine Winter 1998 no.32 (bluesaccess.com)

"Stax era soul...solid modern blues by an undeservedly neglected artist--- maybe he won't stay neglected long." Jim DeKoster © Living Blues magazine Vol.31 no.4 (www.LivingBluesOn Line.com)

"Gritty, back alley vocals, biting guitar solos, soulful blues arrangements, and a killer horn section provide a distinctive mix for Another Cow's Dead." Bill Mitchell © Phoenix Blues News July/Aug.1997 Vol.8 no.6 (www.phoenixblues.org)

"King's got a hot and heavy band, churning out jumps and swings with a mean groove. The Blues Brothers horn section was arranged and led by "Blue" Lou Marini, and play melodic backup that doesn't overpower the rest of the band. Scott Spray, bass; Joe Roesch, drums; Tim DeHuff, guitar; and Roger Young on piano and organ; move the driving rhythms. But Eddie King is the star here. His strong and impassioned vocals and flamboyant, biting guitar steal the show. I like this high-powered dance music." Tony Lombardi © Holler Magazine- Colorado Blues Society Aug/Sept 1997 Vol3 no.1 (www.coblues.com)

King's recorded output is slight bordering on criminal, so these 12 tracks from the West Side Chicago bluesman are a welcome addition to his scant discography indeed. King sports a strong, gospel-tinged voice and a nasty, thick-toned guitar style that never grates, and both are well served here. Featuring the Blues Brothers-plus horn section of Birch "Slide" Johnson, Alan Rubin, and "Blue" Lou Marini, abetted by Ronnie Cuber on baritone saxophone, the originals veer between soul and straight blues with "Kitty Kat," "Walk Right On In," "How Long Are You Going to Be Gone," "Pocketful of Blues, "Never Loved a Woman" and the set closer "Hey Mr. Bluesman." The covers mine the same genre turf with Luther Ingram's "If Lovin' Is Wrong," Albert King's "Angel Of Mercy," Eddy Giles' "Losin' Boy" and Elmore James' "Yonders Wall" being notable highlights. This album just makes you want to hear more from this highly overlooked artist. © Cub Koda © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/another-cows-dead-mw0000023833

Flame-throwing Chicago blues guitarist Eddie King lays down blistering solos and impassioned vocals in this stunningly recorded album which won the coveted 1998 WC Handy Award as Blues Comeback Album of the Year. The Blues Brothers Horns and Ronnie Cuber steam through this album with their signature sound and expert articulation. Marini's high-powered horn arrangements fit Eddie's blues attack like a glove. Eddie King drives every song with his smokey soulful voice and delivers seven new original compositions. © http://www.roeschrecords.com/anothercowalbum.html

Great, high intensity Chicago soul blues from the late Chicago blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Eddie King backed by the brilliant Blues Brothers Horns on all tracks. In 1998, the album earned Eddie a W.C Handy award for "Best Comeback Album Of The Year". Try and listen to Eddie's "The Blues Has Got Me" album [All tracks @ 256 Kbps: File size = 105 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Kitty Kat - Eddie King 5:17
2 Angel of Mercy - Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson 6:11
3 I Like the Feeling - Homer Banks, R. Jackson 6:59
4 Yonders Wall - Elmore James 4:42
5 Another Cow Dead Tonight - Eddie King 6:03
6 How Long Are You Going to Be Gone - Eddie King 4:26
7 Walk Right on In - Eddie King 3:56
8 Never Loved a Woman - Eddie King 3:43
9 Losing Boy - Eddy "G" Giles 4:46
10 Pocketful of Blues - Eddie King 2:46
11 (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right - Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson 5:32
12 Hey Mr. Bluesman - Eddie King 3:32

MUSICIANS

Eddie King - Guitar, Vocals
Tim DeHuff - Guitar
Scott Spray - Bass
Roger Young - Hammond B3 Organ, Piano
Joe Roesch - Drums
"Blue" Lou Marini - Tenor Sax
Ronnie Cuber - Baritone Sax
Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin - Trumpet
Birch "Slide" Johnson - Trombone

SHORT BIO (WIKI)

Eddie King (April 21, 1938 – March 14, 2012) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.Living Blues once stated "King is a potent singer and player with a raw, gospel-tinged voice and an aggressive, thick-toned guitar sound". He was noted as creating a "straightforward style, after Freddie King and Little Milton". King was born Edward Lewis Davis Milton in Talladega, Alabama, United States. His parents were both musical, with his father playing guitar and his mother a gospel singer. King learned basic guitar riffs from watching from outside the window of local blues clubs, and was inspired by the playing of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter. He grew up playing alongside Luther Allison, Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Eddie C. Campbell, and Freddie King. He relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1954, and his diminutive stature and the influence of B.B. King led to him being referred to as 'Little Eddie King'. Given a break by Little Mack Simmons, he first recorded under the tutelage of Willie Dixon and, in 1960, played on several tracks recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson II. He also recorded with Detroit Junior. Also in 1960, King had a single released by J.O.B. Records, "Shakin' Inside" / "Love You Baby". He then became the guitarist backing Koko Taylor, a role he undertook for two decades. Separately forming Eddie King & the Kingsmen in 1969, King moved to Peoria, Illinois, in the early 1980s. Since the early 1990s, King's backing ensemble were known as the Swamp Bees, and his output has incorporated Chicago blues, country blues, blues shouter, and soul. His debut album, The Blues Has Got Me (1987), was issued by the Netherlands based record label, Black Magic, and later re-released by Double Trouble. It featured one of his sisters, Mae Bee May, on vocals. In 1997, King recorded Another Cow's Dead, which got a Blues Music Award for 'Best Comeback Blues Album'. It was arranged by Lou Marini. His songwriting credits include "Kitty Kat", described by one journalist as "hilarious". King died in Peoria, Illinois, in March 2012, at the age of 73.

MORE

We're a little late with this one, but we just heard the news that Chicago blues guitarist Eddie King passed away on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 after a lengthy illness with a Parkinson's-like brain disorder. King was 73 years old at the time of his death. Born Edward Lewis Davis Milton in Alabama, King grew up in a musical family, his mother a gospel singer and his father a guitarist. King moved to Chicago as a teen in the early 1950s and became enamored of the city's thriving blues scene. King would sneak out of the house to watch blues performers through the club windows, paying special attention to how they played the guitar, and then he'd rush home and try to remember what he saw. By 1960, then known as "Little" Eddie King, the young guitarist had earned his place among a second generation of Chicago bluesmen that included talents like Luther Allison, Eddie C. Campbell, and Freddie King. In the early 1960s, King worked with musician, songwriter, and producer Willie Dixon; played on several Sonny Boy Williamson recordings; and also recorded with Detroit Junior. King released a single on the J.O.B. Records label, "Shakin' Inside" b/w "Love You Baby", but would record sporadically throughout his lengthy career as a sideman and bandleader. The guitarist is best known for his work as the lead guitarist in Koko Taylor's band, a job he had for better than 20 years and which took him around the world on tour with the "Queen of the Blues." King also led various bands through the years, including Eddie King & the Kingsmen, formed with noted bassist Bob Stroger, which he pursued in-between gigs with Taylor for 15 years. King moved to Peoria, Illinois in the early 1980s, and later formed Eddie King and the Swamp Bees in the 1990s. King recorded his debut album, The Blues Has Got Me, in 1987 with one of his sisters, Mae Bee May, singing. He released Another Cow's Dead in 1997, the album earning King a W.C. Handy Award for "Comeback Album of the Year." In more recent years, however, King struggled with a rare form of palsy that robbed him of his ability to play the guitar, but which didn't deter him from performing as a blues singer as late as 2010. Although not as well known as many of the other "Kings" of the blues, Eddie King was a fine singer and guitarist and a charismatic, dynamic showman who could hold an audience in the palm of his hand. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and many fans around the world. - from Chicago Blues Guitarist Eddie King, R.I.P. By & © Reverend Keith A. Gordon, About.com Guide April 16, 2012 © 2012 About.com. All rights reserved http://blues.about.com/b/2012/04/16/chicago-blues-guitarist-eddie-king-r-i-p.htm

22.6.12

Marc Bonilla



Marc Bonilla - EE Ticket - 1991 - Reprise

An instructor at the Guitar Institute of Technology and composer for film and television, Marc Bonilla appears to owe his opportunity to make EE Ticket, his debut album, to his stint in the touring version of Patrick Leonard and Kevin Gilbert's band Toy Matinee; Gilbert engineered and produced the album, which is being released by Reprise Records, Toy Matinee's label. But if Reprise intended to introduce a new guitar hero to compete with the likes of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, Bonilla doesn't sound like those players. Maybe it's his academic background, but he is much more of a classicist than an innovator, on the evidence of EE Ticket. This album may be a 1991 release, but it sounds like the '80s never happened. Rather, Bonilla stands squarely in the post-Jimi Hendrix '70s tradition of Robin Trower, Ritchie Blackmore, and, especially, Jeff Beck. He can be fleet of finger (for example on "Hit and Run"), but he never goes for the kind of showoff speed that Eddie Van Halen delights in. Rather, he is ever mindful of melody and logical progression, steeped in the 1960s (there are stray references to the Rolling Stones and the Beatles), and always tasteful. His technique is assured, but it is never displayed for its own sake. In this sense, EE Ticket is reminiscent of such '70s Beck albums as Blow by Blow and Wired. Many fans of instrumental guitar rock will applaud that, but for those who have become infatuated with the sonic explorations of Satriani and Vai, this will sound old-school. Marc Bonilla comes to play, not to shred. © William Ruhlmann © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/ee-ticket-mw0000277819

A great high energy rockin' progressive instrumental album in the '70's style from L.A. rock guitar great Marc Bonilla. You've got metal, funk, blues and fusion with some great chops and feeling from Marc. The tracks "Entrance" and "Exit" clocking in at 0:46 and 0:53 respectively are unnecessary snippets of audio rubbish and add nothing to the album, despite their explanation on the album's sleeve notes. Players include Ronnie Montrose, Keith Emerson, and the late Kevin Gilbert. The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to Marc's "American Matador" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 88.6 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Entrance
2. White Noise
3. Mannequin Highway
4. Commotion
5. Lycanthrope
6. Hit and Run
7. Afterburner
8. Hurling Blues Skyward
9. Antonio's Love Jungle
10. Razorback
11. Slaughter On Memory Lane
12. Exit

All tracks composed by Marc Bonilla except "Commotion" by John Fogerty, and "Razorback" by Marc Bonilla & Don Frank

MUSICIANS

Marc Bonilla – Guitar, Guitar Synthesizer, Synthesizer
Ronnie Montrose – Guitar, Slide Guitar
Dave Moreno – Bass
Kevin Gilbert RIP – Keyboard, Mellotron, Organ, (Vocals on "Antonio's Love Jungle")
Keith Emerson – Piano
Don Frank – Drums, Percussion
Troy Luccketta – Drums

SHORT BIO

Marc Bonilla is a guitarist and composer. He has worked with Keith Emerson (including on 1995's Changing States and in Emerson's 2006 touring band), Ronnie Montrose, Glenn Hughes (on The Way It Is, 1999, also playing keyboards), David Coverdale (late 2000 live band) and Kevin Gilbert (Toy Matinee live band). He also appears on the Emerson, Lake & Palmer tribute album Encores, Legends & Paradox (Magna Carta Records, 1999) and a spoken word album with comedian Bobby Gaylor for Atlantic entitled "Fuzzatonic Scream" including the controversial single, "Suicide" in 1998. He has released a number of solo albums. Among them, EE Ticket (Reprise, 1991), and American Matador (Warner Brothers, 1993), which includes covers of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "I Am The Walrus" with guest Ronnie Montrose. Bonilla currently plays in California Transit Authority, a project led by former Chicago drummer and founding member Danny Seraphine, featuring some updates to early Chicago songs as well as new material and is currently working on the follow-up album of all original material. He has also produced, co-written and performed with the Keith Emerson Band's new album. In addition, he tours with Eddie Jobson's UZ Project as singer and bassist. Marc is originally from the San Francisco Bay area and, along with Joe Satriani, was one of the preeminent rock guitar teachers in the Bay area during the 80s. Marc moved to LA in the early 90's to work on TV and movie scoring working with James Newton Howard, John Debney, and others, earning an Emmy nomination in 2001. In addition, he had cameo roles in the 1997 television series Nightman about a crime-fighting sax player, for which he was the musical director and acted as a performer (with his band) in several episodes under the alias Marc Bonilla and Dragonchoir. He recently completed guitars for Iron Man 2 and Green Lantern and is working with Steve Porcaro (of Toto) on the hit series, Justified, on FX channel as a composer and guitarist. He also lectured at LA's Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT). He currently resides in west Los Angeles. He now lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and son and is currently involved with composing new material for the Munich Radio Orchestra along with Keith Emerson and conductor, Terje Mikkelsen. Although Marc appears in the video for Toy Matinee's "Ballad of Jenny Ledge," he did not actually play lead guitar on the album. Lead guitar work for the Toy Matinee LP was done by LA studio guitarist Tim Pierce, though Marc replaced him for the touring incarnation of the band along with Sheryl Crow. Around the time that EE Ticket was released, Yamaha musical instruments produced a prototype left-handed Marc Bonilla model guitar. This guitar was embellished with comic book superheroes, of which Marc was very fond. (www.marcbonilla.com) - from Wikipedia

19.6.12

Larry Coryell



Larry Coryell - Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players - 2011 - Wide Hive Records

The last thing you hear on Larry Coryell’s latest is a voice, presumably Coryell’s, saying, “It sounded so great, man, I got spaced out and forgot to look at the music.” This provides a summation of the record that bursts with positive energy. With the Wide Hive Players, which recalls Coryell’s frist Eleventh house record, flirts soul, jazz, r&b and Chicago blues, but its loose approach gives it a jam-band feel. - Downbeat, March 2012

“Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players was like liquid honey. The blend of Larry Coryell’s masterful guitar playing and the band’s flavor blended together for a hypnotic listening experience.” - Dana Right, muzicreviews.com

“It’s been a long time since I have liked so much music from an artist I have never heard of. This album is simply brilliant!! The fusion of jazz, soul, rock is seamless. It is as though I am listening to a piece of history. Where have I been? …I consider myself a music aficionado. I am an instant fan. The music is mature…and free. A perfect release!!” - Jerry Henry, UCLA Radio

Now this is what I’m talkin’ about! Beautiful set straight up no filler. Well- rounded, very dynamic, and a great overall listening experience from intro to outro. Nice one to start the day with.” - Heather Trussel, Scion Music Group

“Uuuh Bay Area funk nice one! This is a standard and I mean standard listening. This album rocks the party. Honey Dijon is a nice track, Dream Scene great arrangement. Return of Shirtless was fuuuunky!” - Val de la Roa, Talkin’ Soul

A really old school jam from guitarist Larry Coryell – one that takes us back to some of the most tripped-out sounds of his early years! Given the cover, you can definitely expect a psychedelic influence to the music – and the group here really helps Larry get back to his roots – finding a sound that's still plenty jazz, but which mixes in some funky and progressive elements too – that genre-stepping quality that really helped Coryell break down a lot of barriers back in the day. Coryell plays both acoustic and electric on the date, and the lineup features some especially nice Fender Rhodes – plus trombone, saxes, bass, and plenty of percussion. © 1996-2012, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

Larry Coryell, the ‘Godfather of Fusion (Downbeat), joins forces with the Wide Hive Players for 13 electrifying new tracks. Well-known for his driving tone and intricate flurries, Coryell delivers intense performances atop solid and expansive grooves established by the The Wide Hive Players. Coryell plays a variety of guitars both acoustic and electric including Brownie, an internationally praised acoustic guitar custom made by Ken Parker as well as a 1967 Gibson 335 and a 1973 Fender Stratocaster. Together the Players and Coryell have produced an album that pushes the boundaries of musical genre combining the rhythmic genius of Thomas Cree (Lyrics Born) and Matt Montgomery, Doug Rowan’s (Jazz Mafia) gritty saxophone, Mike Rinta’s (Sly Stone, Santana) bawdy trombone with producer Gregory Howe’s unparalleled ear and Coryell’s improvisational wizardry. Adam Shulman ferries brilliantly between electric piano, B3 organ and a Yamaha C7 piano. Primarily Jazz-Funk, the album also glows with overtones of soul, blues and has a definitive rock undercurrent. Overall the record is timeless and current; both reflective of past craftsmanship while remaining progressive and original. As one of the pioneers of jazz-rock – perhaps the pioneer in the ears of some, Larry Coryell deserves a special place in the history books. He brought what amounted to a nearly alien sensibility to jazz electric guitar playing in the 1960s, a hard-edged, cutting tone, phrasing and note bending that owed as much to blues, rock and even country as it did to earlier, smoother bob influences. Yet as a true eclectic armed with a brilliant technique, he is comfortable in almost every style, covering almost every base from the most decibel- heavy, distortion-laden electric work to the most delicate, soothing lines on an acoustic guitar. © 2011 Wide Hive Records http://www.widehiverecords.com/larry-coryell-with-the-wide-hive-players/

While we’ve talked about a lot of fusion guitarists over the last five years, this is about a new album by the first one. That’s right, though John McLaughlin is widely regarded as the guy who shaped and defined jazz-rock guitar, no one was successfully reconciling the two elements into a coherent, identifiable playing style before Larry Coryell. While only about 21 years old in 1966, he joined the proto-fusion group The Free Spirits (a group drummer Bob Moses was also in). A little later, Coryell was part of a classic Gary Burton’s quartet with Steve Swallow and Moses in 1967-8 that was arguably the first real fusion group, largely because of Coryell himself. As a leader, he made some very fascinating records of his own in the late 60′s and early 70s that got submerged in the tidal wave of rock-jazz started by Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. Coryell’s best known fusion work came from his ’72-’75 Eleventh House unit that was ironically seen as a follower of Davis and Davis alumni Chick Corea (Return To Forever), Herbie Hancock (Headhunters) and McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra). So, Coryell kind of got the short shrift in recognition of his contributions to this hybrid genre. There’s probably not as many studio “house” bands as there used to be. Motown (The Funk Brothers), Stax (Booker T. and the MG’s) and Muscle Shoals had them, and Blue Note Records essentially had a core set of musicians who tended to be sidemen on most records made during their classic era. These days, Gregory Howe’s Wide Hive Records of Berkeley, CA has one too, a group of experienced crack session players that includes Josh Jones (percussion), Thomas McCree (drums), Matt Montgomery (bass), Adam Shulman (keys), Mike Rinta (trombone), Doug Rowan (saxes). Somebody came up with the bright idea of putting Coryell together with the Wide Hive Players and the results came out last April 12, titled rather directly, Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players. This is a fusion album through and through, but not some watered down, updated version of it; there is nothing on this record that sounds past 1972 on it. Coryell fans might think this is a follow-up to Offering or that first Eleventh House album, and to a large degree it is. Certainly, Coryell is playing like it’s bell bottoms and Watergate all over again. All the earmarks from his signature style from that era are there: those flurries of notes, the stinging single note lines, the full chord growl, and his penchant for squashing or clipping notes, that perfect combination of rough-edged mannerisms and clean virtuosity that he practically invented. And here’s the most important lesson he leaves for budding guitar virtuosos: playing with a lot of soul. Many have ignored that advice, Coryell still lives it. Though he’s the featured star, the backing band plays a major role in shaping the sound. Songs not written by Coryell are written by various band members plus producer Howe, sometimes with Coryell himself. That suggests a collaborative effort. The trombone-sax, electric piano and funky drums doesn’t evoke memories of Eleventh House as it does another jazz-rock band from the same time frame: the Crusaders. These thirteen songs aren’t among the most challenging in Coryell’s discography by a longshot, but most of them have some good melodies going for it that go well above serving as merely launching pad for aimless jamming. There’s not a single clunker track on an album that ranges from good to great, but these four songs sequenced in a row are alone worth the price of the CD: McCree’s “Purdie Shuffle” paces the in-the-pocket vibe of “Return Of Shirtless” (video above) and Coryell deftly manipulates his Gibson ES to wail, roar and plead, working with and around the horn charts like a real pro. This has the real feel of a old fusion classic song. “December Blues” is a straight up blues, but here again Coryell’s guitar makes it into something more than just that, by playing Larry Coryell licks, not copping someone else (and the piano-driven WHP’s give him a good, gutbucket backing). “Moody On My Mind,” presumably a tribute to the just-deceased James Moody, is Coryell overdubbing an acoustic guitar over another, accompanied only by light percussion. It’s light, pretty Latin stylings is a little taste of the his acoustic guitar phase that immediately followed his classic fusion one (the album ender “One For T.G.” is another almost-solo acoustic guitar number). Imagine an instrumental Chicago’s “Only The Beginning” with a funkier backbeat and the bridge swapped out for another and you’ve basically described “Moose Knuckle.” George Brooks makes a cameo here to supply a slippery sax solo and Coryell steps out from behind a soul swaying rhythm guitar to create a sweet ‘n’ sassy solo himself. Coryell has made several returns to his fusion beginnings over the years, but it took this little house band from Berkeley to bring him back with the full-on fire, fury and spirit or those pioneering times. You don’t even have to be a fan of his or a guitar afficionado to dig this disc; anyone who likes that old school funky rock-jazz with a few delectable diversions will find a lot to like about it. The old Larry Coryell, the Father of Fusion Guitar, is back. - Posted by & © S. Victor Aaron © Copyright 2012 — Something Else! Reviews. All Rights Reserved http://somethingelsereviews.com/2011/05/02/larry-coryell-larry-coryell-with-the-wide-hive-players-2011/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+somethingelsereviews%2FJjnG+%28SOMETHING+ELSE%21+REVIEWS%29

After 45 years of making records, Larry Coryell may have just cut his best one ever. Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players is a collaboration with this Bay Area-based rhythm and horn section, and the results are astonishing. Throughout the 13 tracks, Coryell raises his freak-flag high and ably resurrects the sound of pre-Mahavishnu fusion with style and precision. The correct elements are here – slightly grungy guitar tones, funky brass arrangements, sexy Fender Rhodes piano licks, and grooves to die for. Atop it all, Coryell jams with joyous abandon, mixing blues, rock, soul, and complex jazz phrases as only an old ’60s master can. No wonder he’s regularly touted as “the godfather of fusion” (if you’re in doubt, listen to landmark jazz-rock LPs like Chico Hamilton’s The Dealer from 1966, or the Free Spirits’ Out of Sight and Sound from ’67). Now, back to the present. Cue up “Terco” for a good example of Coryell’s acid-fusion nirvana. A deep, urban vamp provides the perfect backdrop for him to get funky with badass bends, post-bop phrases, and a not-quite-clean tone that evokes a gritty city scene. “The Last Drop” does what is unthinkable to today’s musicians, but which is to mix horns, Hammond organ, and acoustic guitar in a jazz tune. Larry smokes his solo nevertheless, playing without any trace of post-modern irony; he just delivers a great acoustic improv over an interesting harmonic situation. On “The Return of Shirtless,” the accent is on classic R&B á la Blood, Sweat & Tears or the Electric Flag, with Coryell employing a phase shifter to brilliant effect on a series of nasty solos. And in “Moose Knuckles,” you may think you’ve stumbled over a vintage jam from Terry-Kath-era Chicago or the original Steely Dan lineup – it’s a veritable time machine back to days of taste and tone. After listening to Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players a few times, you may smack yourself on the forehead as you realize how hip fusion guitar was before speedsters like John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola cranked it through a Marshall stack. Cut by cut, Coryell reminds us that the genre’s true roots lie in hard bop, blues, ’60s soul, and funk music, not hard rock and prog (the retro typeface and artwork on the cover are no accidents either, allowing us to visually reconnect with old-school fusion in all its trippy, hash-fueled glory). The coup de grâce is that at age 68, Coryell is making some of the most exhilarating, ballsiest music of his career. Hats off, too, to the amazing Wide Hive Players for giving him plenty of room to prove he’s still got it. © Pete Prown Vintage Guitar, August 2011

The Wide Hive Players, a group of talented in-house session players from the Berkeley, CA based label Wide Hive owned by musician/songwriter/producer Gregory Howe back the incredibly talented jazz fusion guitarist Larry Coryell on this progressive and original jazz rock album with shades of funk, indie jazz, soul, and blues. This album has a great '70's fusion flavour with Larry lighting the fuse! HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy the Wide Hive Players "Players" album, and listen to Larry's brilliant "Spaces" album with John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Miroslav Vitous, and Chick Corea [All tracks @ 256 Kbps: File size = 116 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Torchlight - Gregory Howe / Matt Montgomery 5:44
2 Cobalt - Larry Coryell / Gregory Howe 1:39
3 Terco - Gregory Howe / Doug Rowan 4:19
4 The Last Drop - Gregory Howe / Matt Montgomery / Mike Rinta 7:04
5 Return of Shirtless - Gregory Howe / Matt Montgomery 4:29
6 December Blues - Larry Coryell / Gregory Howe / Mike Rinta 4:44
7 Moody on My Mind - Larry Coryell 3:13
8 Moose Knuckle - Matt Montgomery / Mike Rinta 5:25
9 Beauty and Failure - Gregory Howe / Matt Montgomery / Mike Rinta 3:53
10 Honey Dijon - Gregory Howe / Matt Montgomery 5:00
11 Tilden - Matt Montgomery / Mike Rinta 7:13
12 Dream Scene - Mike Rinta 4:09
13 One For T.G. - Larry Coryell 6:12

MUSICIANS

Larry Coryell - Electric & Acoustic Guitar
Matt Montgomery, Gary Brown - Bass
Adam Shulman - Piano, Electric Piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3
Thomas McCree - Drums
Josh Jones - Congas, Percussion
Doug Rowan - Saxophone
George Brooks - Saxophone (Soloist)
Mike Rinta - Trombone

18.6.12

Lost Tribe



Lost Tribe - Soulfish - 1994 - High Street

The New York quintet Lost Tribe is typical of a new generation of fusion bands which have added hip-hop and funk-metal influences to the usual blend of jazz and rock. These younger musicians have failed, however, to solve the central problem of the fusion field--the tendency to emphasize technical virtuosity over heartfelt composition to the point where the music becomes a bloodless exercise. Lost Tribe's second release, Soulfish, is a case in point, for the five members (who have worked with the likes of Ronald Shannon Jackson, George Russell, Steve Coleman, and Rickie Lee Jones) are superb players one and all but seem incapable of writing a memorable composition. Adam Rogers in particular is notable for his ability to combine a Hendrixian guitar roar with post-bop solos, but his compositions "Whodunit" and "Steel Orchards" are shapeless vamps for jamming rather than real songs. Alto saxophonist David Binney has written two slower, moodier pieces, "Room of Life" and "La Fontaine," but they come uncomfortably close to the aural-wallpaper sound of new age. The rap production team, Rise Robots Rise, helped Lost Tribe create the hip-hop-flavored "Walkabout" and "Daze of Ol'," but the results merely point out the inadequacies of bassist Fima Ephron and drummer Ben Perowsky as vocalists and lyricists. © Geoffrey Himes © 2008-2012, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates http://www.amazon.ca/Soulfish-Lost-Tribe/dp/B00000131Q

Lost Tribe's provocative mix of jazz, funk, progressive rock, heavy metal, and hip-hop is well represented on this 1994 disc. There are moments during "It's Not What It Is" when the '80s rock stylings of Living Color come to mind. Other tracks, such as "Second Story" and "Fuzzy Logic," recall the frenetic, rap-influenced sound of early Steve Coleman and Five Elements. Guitarist Adam Rogers and saxophonist David Binney seem to be the resident metalheads -- witness Rogers' crushing "Steel Orchards" and Binney's avant-thrash composition "H." Former Five Elements guitarist David Gilmore joins Rogers throughout the disc, making for some hot dual guitar work. Bassist Fima Ephron lays down rap vocals on his own "Walkabout," as does drummer Ben Perowsky on his own, less convincing "Daze of Ol'." On a mellower note, "Room of Life" and "La Fontaine" feature a more harmonically colorful side of the band. © David R. Adler © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/soulfish-mw0000120303

If you like original, frenetic, tight, slick, rockin' and groovin' fusion with 2 axes, one bass, drums and killer sax then this album may appeal to you. This is sonic terrain where jazz and rock converge. Listen to Lost Tribe's s/t album, and buy the band's "Many Lifetimes". Promote great jazz fusion [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 135 Mb]

STEELY DAN TRIVIA: Lost Tribe's scorching 1993 self-titled debut album was produced by Walter Becker and featured a potent mix of funky syncopations, infectious rhythms, and soaring melodies. Adam Rogers also played on Walter Becker's complex and underrated "11 Tracks Of Whack" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Walkabout - Fima Ephron
2. Whodonit - Adam Rogers
3. It's Not What It Is - Fima Ephron
4. Daze of Ol' - Ben Perowsky
5. Room of Life - David Binney
6. Steel Orchards - Adam Rogers
7. La Fontaine (The Fountain) - David Binney
8. Second Story - David Gilmore
9. Planet Rock - Ben Perowsky
10. Fuzzy Logic - David Gilmore & Adam Rogers
11. H - David Binney

MUSICIANS

David Gilmore - Guitar
Adam Rogers - Guitar, Piano
Fima Ephron - Bass, Piano, Vocals
Ben Perowsky - Drums, Percussion, Piano, Vocals
Ben Nitze - Synthesizer, Talking Drum, Background Vocals
Daniel Sadownick - Percussion
David Binney - Alto, Soprano, & Tenor Saxophone, Flute
DJ Nass T - Turntables
Tracey Amos - Background Vocals

BIO

Lost Tribe didn't so much start out as a band but as a collective of excellent studio musicians working on the side. Like the 1970s British group Brand X (Phil Collins' jazz fusion alter ego getaway from Genesis), Lost Tribe became a melting pot of the styles popular in the 1990s, mixing rhythmic jazz and rock with even some hip-hop elements. Saxophonist David Binney's sparse lines and the twin-guitar assault of Adam Rogers and David Gilmore blended above the rhythmic muscle of bassist Fima Ephron and drummer Ben Perowsky on Lost Tribe's self-titled 1993 debut CD. Most of the music was instrumental, but the occasional rap track ("Letter to the Editor") and chanted vocal ("Mofungo") provided a changeup between dizzying jazz fusion pieces like "Mythology" and "Cause & Effect." The group's 1994 follow-up, Soulfish, was even harder-edged without losing any rhythmic focus. Perowsky's thunderous drumming on "Whodunit" and the guitar interplay on "Second Story," "Planet Rock," and "Fuzzy Logic" made for a nouveau fusion of funk and metal. But just as a collective from the rap-jazz-opera hybrid the Screaming Headless Torsos (Ephron), jazz fusion guitarist Mike Stern (Perowsky) and African-influenced jazz saxophonist Steve Coleman (Gilmore) was required for Lost Tribe's elemental sound, the nature of the session musicians' beast had to signal an eventual slowdown. Binney released solo CDs and Rogers focused on freelance work while Ephron, Perowsky, and Gilmore (ever-confused with Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour) toured and recorded elsewhere over the next four years. By the time Lost Tribe released Many Lifetimes in 1998, Gilmore had left the band, as much to pursue teaching as playing. The titles alone ("The River," "Kyoto," "Jordan") signaled a kinder, gentler, and more melodic Lost Tribe -- but not without fiery moments, especially from Ephron and Perowsky. Adding percussion and Fender Rhodes electric piano to his regular duties on Many Lifetimes, the regular touring drummer for Stern shows why there's no road -- letdown after the guitarist records with virtuosos like Dennis Chambers or Vinnie Colaiuta. And the spectacular yet virtually unknown bassist is now a part of both guitarist David Fiuczynski's vocal (Screaming Headless Torsos) and instrumental (Headless Torsos) groups, so there's no telling when Lost Tribe will be in session (in the studio or on stage) again. © Bill Meredith ©2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lost-tribe-mn0000218534

17.6.12

Steve Khan



Steve Khan - Got My Mental - 1997 - Evidence

Steve Khan began playing guitar when he was 19, after discovering that drumming was not his forte. As well as a considerable solo output, he is now regarded as one of the great session jazz guitarists, and a giant of progressive jazz and jazz fusion. He has performed with jazz and rock artists like Donald Fagan, (appearing on Steely Dan's Aja and Gaucho albums), Miles Davis, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Kahn, Lou Rawls, and Quincey Jones. "Got My Mental" brings Steve together for the first time with John Patitucci on acoustic bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Once again Steve uses his unique playing style to interpret the works of Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman, Lee Morgan, Eddie Harris, and standards by Rodgers & Hammerstein as well as Steve's father with Jimmy Van Heusen. The latter is a remarkable and beautiful cover of the Sinatra classic "The Last Dance." On four of the eight tracks, the trio is joined by percussionists Bobby Allende, Marc Quiñones, and Don Alias. The Brazilian percussionist Café also plays brilliantly on "I Have Dreamed." Steve Khan has always tried to bring something new to all his recordings, and he doesn't disappoint here. He is an intense and creative player who loves exploring new challenges in jazz. Read any article about great contemporary jazz guitar and you will nearly always find Steve Khan's name mentioned regarding the innovative qualities and freshness that he brings to the genre. The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. If you like this album, you should give his "Eyewitness" album a listen. [All tracks @ 192 Kbps: File size = 98.5 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. R.P.D.D. - Ornette Coleman 7:29
2. Paraphernalia - Wayne Shorter 8:33
3. Common Mama - Keith Jarrett 6:31
4. Got My Mental - Steve Khan 9:40
5. The Last Dance - Sammy Cahn, James Van Heusen 8:41
6. Sham Time - Eddie Harris 8:25
7. I Have Dreamed - Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein 9:20
8. Cunning Lee - Lee Morgan 9:06

MUSICIANS

Steve Khan - Guitar
John Patitucci - Bass
Jack DeJohnette - Drums
Don Alias -Timbales on Tracks 3,6: Shekeré on Track 2
Marc Quiñones - Timbales on Track 2
Bobby Allende - Congas, Guiro on Tracks 2,3,6
Café - Berimbau, Percussion, Voice on Track 7

ABOUT STEVE KHAN

In a special issue of Japan's "JAZZ LIFE" magazine, they selected the 22 All-Time Greatest Jazz Guitarists. Of course, legends like Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and Jim Hall were included alongside more recent giants George Benson, Pat Martino, Larry Coryell, and John McLaughlin. But right there amongst contemporaries John Abercrombie, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern and Bill Frisell was Steve Khan! Testament to a large body of work which now spans more than 30 years. Hard to believe this dream began at a rather late age with Wes Montgomery held as the model to which to aspire. Steve admits that, when he was a teenager, "I was a terrible drummer with no musical training. I had developed a love for the guitar, and when I was 19 I switched instruments. I decided that I would not make the same mistakes I had made with the drums and studied hard in college along with private lessons from Ron Anthony." During these years, Khan always found himself in fast company and, from such situations he learned, developed and survived. By the time he graduated from U.C.L.A., in 1969, he felt ready to make the move to New York City. From this point forward, so much of Steve's career is well documented. In 1974, he performed in one of the first contemporary jazz guitar duos with Larry Coryell. During this same period, he became a key member of the Brecker Bros. Band. His first recordings as a leader were a trio of well-received albums for Columbia Records titled: "TIGHTROPE"('77), "THE BLUE MAN"('78), and, "ARROWS"('79). These recordings featured Michael and Randy Brecker, David Sanborn, Don Grolnick, Will Lee, Steve Gadd, Mike Mainieri and others. In 1994, Sony Music/Columbia released a CD compilation drawn from these three LPs titled, "THE COLLECTION."
In 1980, Steve began a great transition when he recorded a brilliant solo acoustic guitar album, "EVIDENCE," which paid tribute to his earliest jazz inspirations and served to establish him as one of the great interpreters of the music of Thelonious Monk. Between 1981 and 1985, he worked and recorded steadily with his quartet, Eyewitness, which included Anthony Jackson, Manolo Badrena, and Steve Jordan. Together they made three recordings: "EYEWITNESS"('81), "MODERN TIMES"/"BLADES"('82), and "CASA LOCO"('83). This groundbreaking group, and its recorded work, would come to be regarded as among the most innovative of its time! During 1984, Steve teamed with Steely Dan's Donald Fagen to interpret Thelonious Monk's "Reflections" for the "THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL NOW" recording which was a tribute to Monk and his compositions. When Eyewitness needed a break, Khan joined Joe Zawinul's WEATHER UPDATE for its one and only tour in '86. This was followed by an innovative duet recording with keyboardist Rob Mounsey. The Grammy-nominated CD was titled "LOCAL COLOR" and was released in '87. In 1989, Eyewitness was resurrected with Dave Weckl replacing Steve Jordan for the "PUBLIC ACCESS" ('90) CD. Since that time, Steve has added two highly acclaimed straight-ahead jazz recordings featuring Ron Carter and Al Foster. "LET'S CALL THIS" and "HEADLINE" were released in '91 and '92 respectively. In '94, Steve found himself back in the company of Anthony Jackson and Manolo Badrena, adding Dennis Chambers and Michael Brecker for "CROSSINGS," which is dedicated to the memory of Steve's late father, lyricist Sammy Cahn. Steve has contributed his talents to several special projects. His unique medley of two George Harrison tunes graced Mike Mainieri's NYC Records "COME TOGETHER," A Guitar Tribute to the Beatles. Here Steve was accompanied by Marc Johnson, Peter Erskine, and Nana Vasconcelos. Special Olympics and the Holiday Season brought Steve together with the Brecker Bros. for a Salsa-styled interpretation of his father's one Christmas song, "The Christmas Waltz," which appeared on the "JAZZ TO THE WORLD" CD. 1996 saw Steve teamed with Argentine vocalist Gabriela Anders, Rob Mounsey, and, New York Salsa All-Stars Rubén Rodríguez, Marc Quiñones, and Papo Pepin to contribute "Don't Worry Baby"("No Te Preocupes Nena") to "WOULDN'T IT BE NICE." a tribute to Brian Wilson. Recorded in 1996, "GOT MY MENTAL" brings Steve together for the first time with John Patitucci on acoustic bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. The CD once again finds him using his unique playing and arranging perspective to interpret the works of Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman, Lee Morgan, Eddie Harris, and standards by Rodgers & Hammerstein as well as Steve's father with Jimmy Van Heusen. The latter is a stunningly beautiful rendering of the Sinatra classic "The Last Dance." On four of the eight tracks, the trio is joined at times by percussionists Bobby Allende, Marc Quiñones, and Don Alias. Brasilian percussionist Café lends his special talents to Steve's romantic journey through "I Have Dreamed." The intensity and creativity brought to the sessions shows Steve's unfailing desire to meet new challenges and explore them. These qualities cause his name to always be mentioned when discussions of contemporary jazz guitar are carried on. 1997 saw Steve reunite with Rob Mounsey to record "YOU ARE HERE." It had been nearly 10 years since the release of "LOCAL COLOR" and the duo was anxious to get back at it again. Like the prior CD, when these two tremendous musicians get together the music tends to defy categorization, but the new recording seemed to sit somewhere between a contemporary version of Latin jazz and World Music jazz. Also in keeping with their previous work, Steve is again heard on only acoustic guitars. Reminding us all, that he is one of the instruments most unique stylists, playing melodies and solos with a touch and phrasing all his own. One brand new dimension for "YOU ARE HERE" was the presence of Latin percussion virtuoso Marc Quiñones. Marc brought his spirit and power to signature compositions by Khan-Mounsey like "Clafouti," "Platanos Maduros," and "Peanut Soup." Released in September of 1998, the recording leaves little doubt that Steve and Rob are blazing a trail of their own making. August of '98, Steve toured Japan as part of Dave Samuels' "Tribute to Cal Tjader" Group. Apart from the tremendous reaction the group received, the tour was to have more far reaching consequences as it was here that plans were made for Steve, Dave Samuels and Dave Valentín to become the co-leaders of the reformed Caribbean Jazz Project. Together, the group recorded "NEW HORIZONS"(2000) was released on Concord Picante "PARAÍSO"(2001) both were released on Concord Picante and served to redefine just what the role of the guitar could be in Latin Jazz. However, in January of '02, citing conflicts over the group's direction, Steve chose to leave the group, and pursue other interests. After a nine year absence from recording as a leader, Steve entered Avatar Studios in May of 2005, accompanied once again by John Patitucci and Jack DeJohnette to record "THE GREEN FIELD." The return of longtime colleague, Manolo Badrena on percussion was most welcomed by all fans who appreciate his unique presence. The 18:05 title track is one of the absolute highpoints in Steve's long recording career. In addtition to the 6 quartet pieces, the basic "trio" was joined by Ralph Irizarry(timbal) and Roberto Quintero(conga & percussion) for Latin treatments of tunes such as: "Riot"(Herbie Hancock); the standard, "You Stepped Out of a Dream"; "Nefertiti"(Wayne Shorter) and, a special tribute, composed by Steve, and dedicated to both Tito Puente and Willie Bobo, which features incredible solos from Roberto, Ralph, and Jack, and is titled, "Cosecha lo que has sembrado." 2007 saw the release of the Grammy nominated "BORROWED TIME" and, for the first time since "CROSSINGS," the cover featured the beautiful artwork of the late Jean-Michel Folon. The recording is an extension of Steve's work with both John Patitucci and Jack DeJohnette and attempts to fulfill the promise of "THE GREEN FIELD." Manolo Badrena is on hand again, as are Ralph Irizarry(timbal) and Roberto Quintero(conga & percussion). All these players were joined by Bob Mintzer(bass clarinet) and tabla master Badal Roy for Steve's very original "El Faquir" which seeks to blend Jazz; Indian and Latin genres in a most surprising way. Steve was also able to present arrangements of "Have You Met Miss Jones?" and his own "Face Value" in tribute to Clare Fischer's harmonies. These spectacular tracks feature old friends: Randy Brecker(flügelhorn), Rob Mounsey(keys.), Rubén Rodríguez(baby bass & elec. bass) and, Marc Quiñones(timbal) & Bobby Allende(conga). After years of bootlegs and illegal downloads, 2008 brings with it the release of the 2-CD set, "THE SUITCASE." As was the case for the prior two CDs, the initial releases were on: 55 Records(Japan); Tone Center Records(USA) and ESC Records(Germany/Europe). Alongside longtime bandmates, Anthony Jackson and Dennis Chambers, the trio was originally recorded by WDR for a live radio broadcast from Köln, Germany in 1994. With the superb sound quality and the spectacular performances, this CD is already being hailed as: "One of the greatest live recordings of all-time!!!" Throughout his long and distinguished career, Steve has found time to lend his talents to recordings by such diverse artists as: Miles Davis, Steely Dan, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Quincy Jones, Lou Rawls, Eddie Palmieri, Gil Evans, Freddie Hubbard, the Brecker Bros., Steps Ahead, among others (too numerous to list). He has also produced recordings for fellow guitarists Larry Coryell, Mike Stern, Biréli Lagrène, and Bill Connors, as well as pianist Eliane Elias. In addition, he has published five highly-regarded books: "WES MONTGOMERY GUITAR FOLIO", "PAT MARTINO-The Early Years", "GUITAR WORKSHOP SERIES-Steve Khan"(this book really functions as an Eyewitness Songbook), and most recently, "CONTEMPORARY CHORD KHANCEPTS." 2002 saw the long-awaited publication of Steve's "PENTATONIC KHANCEPTS" which is intended to serve as the linear adjunct to its chordal predecessor. While continuing to perform in clubs and concert halls throughout the U.S., Europe, Central and South America, and Japan, Steve has also become one of the most in-demand music clinicians and teachers. © www.stevekhan.com/khanbio.htm