05/10/08
KARI ON PRODUCTIONS
SILVEROOT/Full Measure: Tell me again how two old hippies get a hot, young fiddle chick to move across country to play in their crew. Kicking off very much like an organic date when a player like Mark O’Connor goes uptown, this quickly becomes a spiritual tribute to the Holy Modal Rounders “serious” period in the 70s. As offbeat as you could want it, this is from that sub-genre of Americana where anything goes and latent hippies grin knowingly when uptight neighbors and bosses aren’t looking.
(Silverado)
LISA REEDY PROMOTIONS
BOB CLAIRE/Another Day: Long time jazzbo enters his lion in winter phase by rounding up some well traveled jazzbos in their own right to kick off this phase of his career with one of those records he always wanted to make. An educated cat that doesn’t make music that feels like work to listen to, the flutist is still in touch with the vibe that bought him to jazz in the first place. A tasty, left of center work that has a lot on the ball for the up market listener that isn’t ready to gracefully tune in NPR, this is a set with some real soul.
100 (Whole Rest Music)
MASSIVE MUSIC
AOEDE/Push and Pull: This crew probably came to Leonard Cohen by way of “I’m Your Fan”, but the contemporary influences like Nick Cave and PJ Harvey certainly ring authentic and organic. Not exactly a set that will make you want to gargle with razor blades, this trio certainly know their way around college music for the moody. Well conceived genre set that you can just imagine leaking out of Ipods as the fall term kicks in.
(Aoede Muse)
MAXJAZZ
BEN WOLFE/No Strangers Here: If you caught Diana Krall once between 1995 and 1998, you might have been tempted to think Wolfe was a faux hipster. If you frequented her shows as they came to your town in that period, you came to see that Wolfe’s attitude was the fourth member of the trio, as important to the proceedings as Russ Malone. Certainly no faux hipster, on this set, he is in touch with his essence and rounds up a stellar crew that wants to bask in this vibe as let their freak flags fly as well. With doses of crime jazz, chamber jazz and some zesty playing where everyone gets so much of a taste that you wouldn’t think this was a bass players solo set, slightly left leaning tastes will champion this outing. A solid set form a real pro that has really yet to get his due outside of the inner circle.
605 (String Series)
Volume 31/Number 192
May 10, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record