04/13/08
BLIND RACCOON
BILLY GIBSON/Live at the North Atlantic Blues Festival: He’s made the trek from Mississippi to Memphis to the top of his game as a harmonica playing fool that blows everyone away and puts all comers on warning. Leading his crew through a crack set, he makes it all too easy to take harmonica for granted but don’t overlook him as a force of nature. Killer stuff that’ll grab any self respecting blues fan hard. As befitting a youngster on the rise, this is a dvd compilation.
(North Atlantic Blues)
LOTOS NILE
ANGEL BAND/With Roots and Wings: Ever wonder what would happen if Lloyd Maines, Nancy Josephson and David Bromberg got together? Apparently those three did because they did and crafted a return to 70s adult music, left field division. With obvious roots in folk, country and vocal music, everyone pools their strengths, the large crew (big band?) behind them likes being there and this is the kind of throw back stuff that would lead to Linda Ronstadt finding Nicolette Larson, back in the day of course. A nice throwback to back porch music that used to work well when hippies roamed the earth.
1108 (Appleseed)
MICHAEL BLOOM MEDIA RELATIONS
LORRAINE FEATHER/Language: Jazz royalty like Feather gets a pass if she wants it, but she never takes us up on it, never mulligans and always delivers the goods. Growing up in jazz and not hitting us over the head about it, she free wheels her songs and lyrics into a wonderful collection that hipsters can’t help but fall in love with. A sassy collection that undeservingly will probably fly under the radar like so many of her past efforts, this is one for the fans, especially those that know which end is up. You left leaning jazzbos have something to savor here!
1052 (Jazzed Media)
SIX DEGREES
REAL TUESDAY WELD/End of the World: Everybody, big and small, eventually wants to make a Chris Gaines record and Stephen Coates is no exception as he cloaks his main group in mystery of a one off concert by an alter ego crew. Got all that? At least there aren’t any Bowiesque pics of him on the cover. It’s a fun thing that you can appreciate as long as you keep your sense of offbeat front and center, like you would have needed to properly enjoy Chris Gaines. Those Brits love that gloom and doom stuff and this concert for the apocalypse fits the Brit bill properly.
1141
TWO FOR THE SHOW MEDIA
BILL O’CONNELL/Triple Play: A couple of New York cats that love Latin jazz and have been playing it together for 25 years in various first call forms call in a Latin drumming pal for a trio date of piano/flute/percussion that simply cooks. No frills, just great playing that cuts to the chase quickly and easily, gets the party started and leaves a load of good vibes in it’s wake. A real players date, this just plain smokes and feel a lot bigger than three hard working pals giving it their all. Check it out.
2089 (Savant)
Volume 31/Number 165
April 13, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
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Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record