Bluegrass and Beyond

Newgrass is a term that is used to describe some of the music that is coming out these days. It is mostly acoustic music, and it uses instruments that are often found in bluegrass: acoustic guitar of course, but also banjo, fiddle, stand up bass, dobro, mandolin, and so on. That all sounds specific and vague at the same time. You can use some of these instruments and not others, and still be newgrass. You can incorporate a variety of musical influences. So I thought it might be helpful to listen to some of the different traditional musics that newgrass grew out of. Even if you, the reader, end up as confused as before about what newgrass is, I promise you some great music along the way.

Ivan Rosenberg & The Foggy Hogtown Boys: Low and Lonesome Sea

[purchase]

I am talking about musical traditions that have their origins in the American South. So it makes sense to begin our journey in Toronto, Canada. Actually, that only makes sense in the company of Ivan Rosenberg and the Foggy Hogtown Boys. Rosenberg and the Boys have set out to make an album of bluegrass as played in the 1970s, before many of the musical innovations that so muddy the waters today. But this album is no museum piece. The music sounds lively and fresh, because the musicians clearly love what they are doing, and they have the talent to back it up. The Hogtown Sessions is a mix of originals and covers. The new songs sound right at home with songs by the Osborne Brothers and Ralph Stanley. There are also old country songs here, quite successfully reimagined as bluegrass. Low and Lonesome Sea is a reminder that this music evolved from the traditional ballads that were brought to Appalachia by the areas original European settlers. The song is an old English ballad that I first heard as The Golden Vanity.

Thomm Jutz (with Caroline and Hannah Melby of Nash Street): The South‘s on Fire

[purchase]

The 1861 Project is a wonderful album that can function as a survey of Southern music. There is an Irish ballad here, and also two songs that represent the acoustic side of modern country, with lead singers John Anderson and Marty Stuart. In between are various strands of Southern folk, including The South’s on Fire. The song is close to bluegrass, but it has some jazz flavorings that make it newgrass. The vocals are by sisters Caroline and Hannah Melby. They have their own band, Nash Street, and I checked them out in preparing for this post. I can report that Nash Street is quite good in their own right, and I hope to have more to say about them in the future.

Meanwhile, it is true that The 1861 Project could be a horrible mishmash. That it is not is a testament to the talent of Thomm Jutz. This album is his baby. All of the songs were written or cowritten by Jutz, and he performs on all of them, even taking the lead vocals on a few. The 1861 project is a collection of songs about how ordinary people got through the American Civil War, although we do meet the occasional general along the way. Jutz puts his musical mark on everything here, but his lyrics are just as important. Jutz takes people who lived 150 years ago and brings them to life in the here and now. This album has “Volume 1” in its full title. I look forward to volume 2 as well.

Robin & Linda Williams: Somebody‘s Someone

[purchase]

Robin and Linda Williams made their recording debut on a small Minnesota label in 1975. They made their early reputation on A Prairie Home Companion, the radio show also out of Minnesota. But they originally hail from Virginia, and their music is Southern folk, but not exclusively bluegrass by any means. Stonewall Country is another Civil War album of original songs. This one is set of music written for a stage show that tells the story of the life of Stonewall Jackson. Each song represents a different character or mood, and the music shifts accordingly. So there is a bluegrass number, a blues, and any number of songs that resist genre labeling beyond folk. Robin and Linda Williams handle all of the lead vocals, and portray all of the different characters and moods, proving themselves to be wonderfully flexible singers. My point in including this album in this post is that what is called newgrass actually includes music that is only tangentially related to bluegrass in the first place. Somebody’s Someone is a beautiful love ballad, inspired by actual letters that Stonewall Jackson exchanged with his second wife during the war. Musically, it has more in common with country than bluegrass. Either way, it is one of the most moving songs on an album that is full of them.

Nell Robinson: Wahatchee

[purchase]

Nell Robinson can play and sing bluegrass as well as anyone, and she proves it here. But Robinson is not bound by it. On the Brooklyn Road is a set of songs inspired by Robinson’s family history and lore, and the music moves back and forth in time with the stories. There are also pieces of oral history, spoken by Robinson’s family, between some songs. The songs that tell of the earliest times are closest musically to bluegrass. Wahatchie is one of the oldest, but here something interesting happens. The song seems to be pure bluegrass, until you reach the first instrumental break. That’s when you realize that you have been hearing modalities from Celtic music all along. There are touches of Southern gospel, folk, and even blues in other songs. Robinson takes all of these influences and makes at clear that they are all part of her. It’s a wonderful performance.

Cheryl J Watson: I‘ll Learn to Live With the Blues

[purchase]

Take Cheryl J Watson’s album Watertown as a whole, and there can be no doubt that she is a newgrass artist. There are country and bluegrass and folk tunes here in abundance. But there are also a couple of moments that show just how far the label is being asked to stretch. One is an instrumental called Beaumont Rag, which proves to be a remarkable hybrid of bluegrass and ragtime. I’ll Learn to Live With the Blues is the other. This song would be right at home in one of my posts of jazz singers. In fact, if Watson ever does a whole album like this, I would have to consider it. The thing is, as Watson presents all of these different styles, she more than does all of them justice. She shows great versatility on guitar and mandolin. In fact, she switches out her accompanists to accommodate the varying musical styles on the album, but she plays on everything. And then there is Watson’s voice. She has a clear and clean tone, and she can handle the stylistic shifts with ease. Through it all, she never loses track of the emotion of each song. In short, Watson’s voice is the glue that hold this wonderfully diverse album together. I have a feeling that we will be hearing a lot more from her in the future.

Call for help:

Dudley Saunders: The Rain on Eight Avenue

[purchase The Emergency Lane here]

[listen to Monster and make your donation here]

Dudley Saunders is conducting an unusual fund drive to finish his next album Novelsongs. He is offering his new song Monster as a name-your-price download. Novelsongs is a good term for what he does. In a novel, as opposed to a short story, there is time to evoke a mood and establish a character. Saunders does this beautifully in his lyrics, and he creates musical settings that compliment this beautifully. Of course, I can not offer Monster as an example, but you can stream it before you give by following the link above. The Rain on Eighth Avenue is from Saunders’ previous album, The Emergency Lane, and it is a fine example of what I mean. Please help if you can. Thank you.

My Cabaret

Cabaret is a word that can indicate a musical genre. Jazz singers who work with just a single accompanist or a small ensemble, and who perform programs of music organized around a single theme get this label. They tend to go for a musical style like Frank Sinatra, or late Ella Fitzgerald. There is nothing wrong with that, but it’s not what I mean.

Think of the show and movie Cabaret, not so much for the sound as for the feel. You walk into a gloomy room, lit mostly by the spotlight directed at the stage, and filtered through a thick haze of cigarette smoke. On that stage is an assortment of musical instruments. Some are predictable, guitars, piano, stand-up bass, sax and trumpet perhaps. But there are some surprises in the mix. Is that a gypsy‘s violin? There, an accordion? Harmonica even? And maybe one or two you can’t identify at all. I don’t know if the artists I have chosen wear costumes when they perform, but in this place, the performers are extravagantly dressed. And then there is the music. The songs are almost familiar but elusive. At times, they seem to veer away from every rule you know about songwriting. And yet, in this place and time, it all makes sense, and it takes your breath away. There is a sense of otherness in this music, even a hint of danger and a splash of darkness. But, above all, there is fierce originality. Welcome to my cabaret. Get yourself a drink, and stay for a few songs at least.

Alexis Marceaux: Stars

[purchase]

Alexis Marceaux is a powerful singer with a rich and emotive alto voice. Stars is a fine example of her work. The lyrics have an otherworldly feel to them, but it’s handled lightly. The arrangement is stunning. Marceaux, I believe, is using two fiddles here, but one is bowed and the other plucked. These join an acoustic guitar, drums, and bass. And then there is a moment in the middle of the song where everything except the guitar and voice drop out, and the song is rebuilt from there. All of this gives the song a unique feel, and it all serves the text of the song, about separation and yearning.

Tea Leaf Green: It‘s So Easy to Be Your Lover

[purchase]

I’m supposed to hate Tea Leaf Green. This album is a survey of pop styles, from the light reggae of It’s So Easy to Be Your Lover to folk, 60s rock, maybe even a dash of new wave. It’s all bathed in reverb, for that extra retro feel. But Tea Leaf Green obviously love this music, while also approaching it with a knowing wink. And they take these diverse styles and get the album to make sense as a whole. There is a slight sense of melodrama here, enhanced by the wonderful illustrations on the cover and in the booklet. These illustrations are by band member Josh Clark, and they suggest a gangster story told in the form of a graphic novel. If Clark ever does do a graphic novel, I want to know about it.

Fellaheen: Always on the Way

[purchase]

What does cigarette smoke sound like? It’s not a question that I would have thought to ask. But it sounds like Fellaheen’s song Always on the Way. The smoke suffuses Bruce Hanson’s lead vocal. It also oozes through the twin accordions that provide the musical cushion for this song. Listening to this, I imagine a Parisian café, filled with scientists and artists making secret plans. That may sound bizarre, but the musical setting here makes it entirely plausible.

Dirty Bourbon River Show: The Day the Devil Took My Happiness Away

[purchase, download only]

The Day the Devil Took My Happiness Away starts with a vibe that recalls the best versions of St James Infirmary. Soon there is haunted whistling, then chorused male vocals like some of the old big bands used to use, and even some horn parts that feel more like strings. And then it’s all done. This song passes quickly, but with a powerful effect. And all of those disparate elements add up in a coherent way. Dirty Bourbon River Show has this gift. Blues is the foundation for their music, but they can build from it in various ways, and it all works.

Jack Cheshire: Copenhagen

[purchase]

Throughout this post, I have been talking about the arrangements, and the unusual uses of some instruments. But Jack Cheshire makes the most from the least. The band here is just guitar, stand-up bass, drums, and lead and background vocals, with minimal overdubs. Yet the sound is as rich as anything else here. The bass sings, which helps. But mostly, it’s just great economical writing and arranging. Copenhagen feels like a combination of moving parts, gears catching gears catching gears. If you have ever seen a perpetual motion machine where all of the parts are exposed to view, you have an idea of the sense of wonder that this music inspires.

Call for help:

Olinde Mandell: Love Me Tomorrow (demo)

[donate here]

Olinde Mandell is a type of performer who is rare these days; she can carry her delicate and beautiful songs with just her voice and guitar. For her debut album, she wants to add light production touches, including fiddle and backing vocals. On the evidence of her demo for Love Me Tomorrow, that is going to sound great. As I write this, Mandell is about half way to her fund raising goal with 13 days to go. If you can do anything at all, please help her go over the top, so this album can get made. Remember, this is a Kickstarter campaign, so if she doesn’t make her goal, she gets nothing. Thank you for what ever help you can give.

For a Song: The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul

XTC: The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul

[purchase]

This is one of those times when a song told me what to do. The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul popped into my head as I started my day, and said, “post me”. XTC was always a band that used strong rhythms, and, especially late in their career, they loved to experiment with their sound. Most of it worked, while some of it flopped amazingly. The album Skylarking is a microcosm of this. It’s a flawed album that I always find myself drawn back to. The album was produced by Todd Rundgren, and some of it is almost ridiculous for how overwrought the emotions are. In particular, 1000 Umbrellas is a song I often find either laughable or pathetic. And yet, the good stuff on this album is great. Man Who Sailed is a fine example. The lyrics describe a man who looks back over his life, and finds much to regret. His tale is told against an almost jaunty jazzy musical setting. The tension between the sound of the song and its content give this one its power. This is, as far as I know, the closest XTC ever came to exploring jazz, and it is a sound I wish they would have done more with.

Call for help:

Teresa Storch: Happy Girl (demo)

[donate here]

As I write this, Teresa Storch has 16 days to go to complete her Kickstarter campaign for her new album The Honesty Kitchen. The first thing I noticed about Storch was her voice. Her music is not blues, but her voice is a bluesy moan, and she does this as well as anyone I have ever heard. Some of the songs in her video look like they have jazzy touches, (one has fiddle and trombone together!), and I can’t wait to hear them. Happy Girl in its present form reminds me of the quiet intensity of a young Tracy Chapman. Please help Storch finish The Honesty Kitchen if you can. Thank you for whatever you can do.

Revisited: George Wirth, Pat Wictor, Mike and Ruthy, Danny Ellis, Melissa Stylianou

This is the first Revisited post. I intend this to be an occasional feature. In these posts, I will be looking back at an artist or group that I have already covered, and examining their older work. So, if you are an artist that I have previously featured, let me hear from you about your older work.

There are many reasons to look back at an artist’s history. It can be a simple matter of wanting to know if the quality of their work has been consistent. But inconsistency also has its pleasures. Some artists take a while to find their style, and their early work provides a wonderful insight into how they developed. Other artists have only a short history, and their work could be that of two artists or even more, so sharp are the differences from album to album. There is also value in reintroducing an artist who will have a new album out soon. Above all, these songs are here because the great music made by these artists is not confined to just one of their albums.

George Wirth: Diner

[purchase]

George Wirth impressed me on his album The Last Good Kiss with the quality of his songwriting. In particular, he displayed a strong sense of place and a gift for bringing his characters to life in just a few lines. This quality was already fully developed on his debut album The Lights of Brigantine. Diner is a fine example. As I listened to the song, I was in that booth in the diner, watching the customers as Wirth told me about them. I could almost smell the food cooking. Suzanne Vega’s song Tom’s Diner has her observing the customers from outside, not as part of their world. But Wirth is both an observer and a member of this group of patrons. It’s a fine balance, and one that he realizes perfectly. The only accompaniment here is Wirth’s guitar, and that’s all the song needs.

Pat Wictor: Don‘t Dig My Grave Too Deep

[purchase]

When I featured him here, I presented Pat Wictor showing his jazzy side. But he is far more versatile than that. Don’t Dig My Grave Too Deep shows that Wictor is also a fine storyteller. The song is by Rich Deans, a songwriter I need to learn more about. But Wictor’s performance of it made me choose this song over some of his originals. Wictor is a fine songwriter, but this one just has it all for me. The song presents the challenge of taking a character who may have done some awful things, and making him sympathetic. Not every singer can pull that off, but Wictor succeeds beautifully.

Mike and Ruthy: Another Dawn Another Day

[purchase]

It is worth revisiting the music of Mike and Ruthy because it has two distinct sides. On Million to One, they decided to rock out, and that album was an exuberant joy. But Waltz of the Chickadee emphasizes their folk side, and it was the album that drew me to their music in the first place. This is quieter music with quieter concerns. The album notes suggest that the couple were celebrating the birth of their son at the time, and the whole album could be taken as a lullaby. But this is a set of songs for adults, and it eloquently expresses the hopes and fears that are wrapped up in the birth of a child. On this album, Mike and Ruthy sing softly but expressively, often in unison or close harmony. Another Dawn Another Day leads off the album, and does not get into its theme yet, but it shows off their voices best.

Danny Ellis: Searching

[purchase]

There could not be a sharper contrast between 800 Voices and Danny Ellis’ album from six years earlier, This Tenderness. You may recall that 800 Voices was the album where Ellis tried to set some powerful personal ghosts to rest. The music was a mix of musical styles he heard in his youth, dominated by Irish folk. But This Tenderness is something else again. The songs have a Latin Jazz feel to them. It’s all too easy to mess this kind of thing up with overproduction, but Danny Ellis handles the music with a delicacy that is perfect for this kind of thing. Searching is a fine example, but the quality of this album is very consistent. This Tenderness does not have the passion of 800 Voices, but it shouldn’t. Ellis sings with all of the feeling that is needed. And his trombone solos on this album are a real treat. You can’t really use a mute on a trombone unless you have impossibly long arms, but that is the kind of sound Ellis gets, and it is exactly right, like so much of this album. So, perhaps Ellis’ next album will reveal what he really sounds like. Or maybe he is still asking himself the same question. Either way, that will be an album I want to hear.

Melissa Stylianou: Tea in the Sahara

[purchase]

If I was going to do this post, then I had to consider what I said here as a promise to share with you Melissa Stylianou’s wonderful version of Tea in the Sahara. It might seem like an odd choice for a jazz singer, but Stylianou makes the song sound like a standard. There have been other jazz versions, but I have found none that give the song such a classic jazz treatment. That said, Stylianou and her band perform this with a freedom that is the cornerstone of what jazz is all about. Listen closely, and you will notice that the band changes the arrangement with each verse. But this is not for show; Stylianou makes the song her own, but she never forgets that the song is what is important.

Call for help:

Anna Coogan: Crooked Sea

[purchase The Nocturnal Among Us here]

[donate here]

Here is news of a fund drive, and it is only fitting that it is for an artist I have featured here before. In fact, the song Crooked Sea comes from Anna Coogan’s last album, The Nocturnal Among Us. But it is a song of the sea, and that is the theme of the album Coogan needs your help to finish. Coogan is a poetic songwriter, and a singer with both great feeling and great subtlety. She has modeled her campaign after Kickstarter, with rewards for various levels of donation, but she is running the campaign on her website. There is no deadline, and Coogan will get whatever is raised. You can hear more songs from Nocturnal on Coogan’s website. Please do what ever you can to help.

Reminder: Adam Sweeney & the Jambouree have only until May 4 to make their goal, and they still have a lot of ground to cover. Please do what you can to help here as well.

Finally, I hope everyone has noticed the Facebook like button on the right-hand sidebar. This will get you signed up for the new Oliver di Place community page on Facebook. There, you will see posts to let you know whenever there is a new post here, but there will also be exclusive content there. I invite artists who I have posted about here to use that space to let my readers know about upcoming releases. Thank you.

The Arranger’s Art

As I write this, in a room somewhere, a man or a woman is bent over a guitar, or seated at a piano. Actually, this is happening in many places. These people are writing songs. Some of them believe that their song will only have guitar or piano accompaniment, and a few of them are right. Some know that the song needs more, but they are not sure what. Some of these songs will be recorded and released, and we will all find out together. The difference between how these songs sound now and how they will sound when they are done is the arrangement. Some, but by no means all songwriters do their own arrangements. Others know that their band will take what they have written and make magic. And sometimes, the arranger is the producer. The five songs I present in this post may have all been written on an acoustic guitar, but they didn’t end up that way. Here then are five very different examples of the art of arranging a song.

Phyllis Sinclair: Washerwoman‘s Lament

[purchase]

Sometimes, the secret to a great arrangement is knowing when to stop. Phyllis Sinclair’s Washerwoman’s Lament was clearly written on acoustic guitar, and that’s the first thing you hear. Sinclair plays a rhythmic strum, and her vocal line has a wonderful folk-gospel feel. Eventually, a mandolin and bass part come in, and there is even some background vocals towards the end. And that’s all. Elsewhere on this album, there are some drums, some strings, even accordion. But Washerwoman’s Lament opens the album, and it establishes that Sinclair is going to use a light touch with her arrangements. This works beautifully throughout, but nowhere better than here. (Incidentally, it’s not clear who did the arrangements on the album. They may be by Sinclair, or producer Stew Kirkwood, or both.)

Bella Segreta: In Holsters

[purchase]

Arranging can be a matter not only of which instruments are needed, but also how they should be recorded. Bella Segreta is a band fronted by singer Victoria Ferguson and singer and guitarist Ben Ingall. Ferguson has a delicate breathy voice, although she can sing effectively with a full band plugged in. But on In Holsters, the only instruments are guitar and stand up bass. The guitar is recorded with a tone that sounds almost like a harpsichord, and it complements Ferguson’s voice perfectly. The bass is recorded normally, which in this context gives the song drive and texture. The few elements that are needed to make the song work are perfectly balanced here.

Johnny Flynn: Sweet William (Part 2)

[purchase]

Johnny Flynn is another matter entirely. Sweet William (Part 2) has banjo, fiddle, cello, electric guitar, drums and bass. There is also a double-tracked trumpet that sounds like a brass band. And those are just the instruments that I can pick out by ear. Also background vocals and audience shouts. It should be complete chaos, and I wouldn’t recommend that anyone try it at home. But Johnny Flynn wrote this on whatever instrument, (he plays four on this song, and a few others elsewhere on the album), and took it to his band to arrange. And together, they made it work. It probably helps that a few of the players play multiple instruments. In any case, the resulting song, in all of its brash glory, makes sense and is a work of real power. Elsewhere on the album, Flynn and his band demonstrate the ability to thrive on more subtle material as well, but here they are in their glory.

Moddi: Magpie Eggs

[purchase, prices in Norwegian Krone]

Moddi is Pål Moddi Knutsen, from Norway. He plays acoustic guitar and accordion. On Magpie Eggs, his guitar part sounds almost like a small harp. That’s still the writing. The arrangement adds bass and drums, and a very subtle piano part. And then there are those strings. I knew that I had never heard a string sound quite like this before, but it took me a while to realize what I was hearing. Moddi plays some accordion elsewhere on the album, and it has a slightly abrasive sound where it is used, and that works for those songs. But that would not have helped Magpie Eggs. So Moddi essentially has the string section playing the accordion part. it’s a great idea, and it really works beautifully. The song gradually builds in intensity, until the very end. Then everything drops out except the guitar and voice. Moddi uses this device a lot on this album, but it never gets old, and it has real emotional power.

Angie Mattson: Mississippi

[purchase]

Angie Mattson probably writes her songs on the guitar, and she brings them to her band to do the arranging. She plays both electric and acoustic guitars, and also drums and percussion. Her co-producer here, Jeff Mendel, plays all of that, plus drums, bass, organ and piano. The rest of the musicians can double most of that, and also add violin, mandolin, and trumpet. So the thing you notice about the arrangements here is texture. Mississippi starts with Mattson singing over a drone, and I’m not sure what the combination of instruments is here. This soon gives way to a bluesy feel. Parts of the song find a middle ground between these two sounds. Mattson’s vocal is recorded with just a slight bit of reverb, so the whole thing has a wonderful haunted quality that serves the song beautifully.

Call for help:

Adam Sweeney & The Jambouree: Bound to Go (demo)

[donate here]

Adam Sweeney & the Jambouree cite many influences on their Kickstarter page, but they don’t mention Steve Goodman. I hear his influence in the way these songs are arranged, and I also some of that warmth in Andy Sweeney’s vocals. Bound to Go, in its final version, will probably have a more complex arrangement, and I have high hopes for what that will sound like. What I hear already is quality songwriting, backed up by fine musicianship. Please do whatever you can to help Sweeney and Co get this one made. Thank you.

Finally, congratulations to Samantha Kushnick, who made her goal for her drive. Thank you to everyone who was able to help.

That 70s Vibe

In the picture above, we are looking at a riot of flowers in a garden. But the natural texture of the plants has been eliminated, replaced by day-glo colors. The resulting image is loud and may produce a strong emotional response, but the simple natural beauty of a single flower is nowhere to be seen. For me, a lot of the music of the 1970s was like that. The Beatles showed everyone how the recording studio could be another instrument in a band, and then the record producers of the 70s abused that lesson. There were layers of strings masking genuine emotions. Bombast was the order of the day for guitar players. Chorused vocals were used by singers who weren’t up to the task of emoting on their own, while other singers mastered the art of over singing, just so they could be heard above the din. To be sure, it wasn’t all bad. Steely Dan’s music was densely layered, but it needed to be to create the pop-jazz textures they were after. Earth Wind and Fire, in their predisco days, had a huge sound, but it served to make them a glorious funk orchestra. But compare Jackson Browne’s album Late For the Sky to its follow-up, The Pretender. The song The Pretender makes it clear that Browne was being pressured by his label to make hits. The arrangements are awash in strings that sound all the more forced, knowing what had come before. The real emotion of Late For the Sky is lost, replaced by responses that are forced by the heavy-handed production of The Pretender.

All of this comes to mind because of a realization I had while selecting the songs for this week’s post. These are all modern artists, and some may not even have been born in the 70s. But I wound up with five songs that have a 70s feel, but are not marred by the production excesses of that era. And it made me wonder how many of the songs I’ve always hated from those years were actually good songs wearing really bad make-up. Let me show you what I mean.

Jaime Michaels: Wish on the Moon

[purchase]

Wish on the Moon is a perfect pop song. Jaime Michaels gets a wonderful breezy feel, and the call-and-response with the background vocals gives the whole thing a wonderful gospel feel. The pop song craft that I praised last week is certainly here, but, given that, the production is done with a light touch. The song is allowed to fly on its own, and it does. As a bonus, the harmonica player heard here is John Popper.
Elsewhere on this album, the songs quiet down, and Jaime Michaels proves that he can deliver his emotional messages at a lower volume as well. He also is a very fine songwriter.

Susan Anders: Love Beats Time

[purchase]

The title Love Beats Time warns you to expect a love ballad, and that’s what you get. In places, Susan Anders is going to elongate syllables, and she will make use of changes in volume. But Anders doesn’t need a wall of strings or anything like that. This expression of love is so much truer because Anders puts it across with such graceful subtlety.

Swimmer has songs with country, jazzy, or even a bossa nova feel to them. Anders makes subtle adjustments in her approach that make all of this work. She can sing in a sultry purr or add and bit of a bluesy growl, always in service of the song. It all makes Swimmer a nicely varied collection.

Casey Abrams and The Mysterious Strangers: It‘s Rained Every Day Since They Closed Down the Zoo

[purchase]

Casey Abrams has a way of crafting new music that you could swear you’ve heard before. But a careful listen will reveal an odd note here or there that makes the whole thing more memorable, even if you’re not conscious of it. On It’s Rained Every Day Since They Closed Down the Zoo, he sings in a high tenor, and conveys all of the emotion he needs. The song has a wonderful bittersweet and wistful quality. A delicate arrangement is called for, and Abrams and Co deliver it. Other songs here have just guitar and vocal, and there are also times when the band plugs in for a light rock sound. Abrams and Co know just how to make this work.

Terence Martin: Down From Sacamento

[purchase]

Terence Martin does not have a pretty voice. There is a gruff quality to it, a voice that has been lived in. But it is a musical voice, and there is no need for arrangements to pretty it up. The music comes from that odd borderland between folk and country. What makes this kind of thing work is a fine singer and equally good songwriting. Martin is a master of small details, giving his songs great emotional resonance, but in a way that may sneak up on you with repeated listening. Down to Sacramento is one of many fine examples on this album.

Jenny Arch: Black Barns

[purchase]

For Jenny Arch, there is no need for a full string section, when a single cello will do. Black Barns is the kind of song that paints pictures in my head as I listen, (and not in day-glo colors either). Vocally, Arch sounds like a more intimate and contemplative version of Natalie Merchant, and her small-scale, mostly acoustic arrangements emphasize this beautifully.

Call for help:

Walking Home (Samantha Kushnick and Anna Fritz): Remedy

[donate here]

Samantha Kushnick has been a member of the Portland Cello Project, which is a sort of chamber orchestra made up entirely of cellos. They make quite an amazing sound. In 2009, Kushnick was in a cello duo with Anna Fritz, called Walking Home. That was where she made her debut as a songwriter, with the version of Remedy heard above. The twin cellos are sometimes bowed, and sometimes plucked, but cellos are the only instrument you hear. Now, Kushnick is ready to step out on her own. We already know that she is a wonderfully imaginative cellist, but she plans to work with other instruments as well, so I look forward to hearing her skills as an arranger blossom. Kushnick is asking for $1000 on Kickstarter to make her album, and she is already well along towards her goal. But I have a feeling she will need more, so I ask you, my readers, to do whatever you can to see that she has it.

Updates:

As I write this, Daniel Levi Goans has three days left to make his goal, so it’s crunch time. An angel or two would get it done, but, of course, smaller donations will also help.

Meanwhile, the String Bone campaign on Kapipal is just getting underway, but even a small donation is needed now to really get the ball rolling. Take Hold of the Line is going to be one of my favorite Americana albums of the year, assuming it gets made.

On behalf of all of these artists, thank you for whatever you can do.

Voices of Women

I have a nice problem. I receive too much great music. Sometimes, unfortunately, that means that I set aside an incredible album, and it winds up in the stack. So this week, I decided to get into the stack, and feature some artists who have waited longer than I ever intended. It happened that they all have two things in common: all are female singers or groups fronted by female singers, and the singers are all amazing. They are working in very different styles, and showing that there are many ways to sing incredibly. Put another way, there are many ways to put over the emotion of a song.

Patty Carpenter, Melissa Shetler, and the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band: Angel From Montgomery

[purchase]

So here are Patty Carpenter, Melissa Shetler, and the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band. Look closely at the album cover, and you will also see Scott Shetler’s name. This is easily the most unwieldy band name I’ve ever seen. Nowadays, they record as the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band, and they have broadened their sound. But this set, from 2002, is a fairly straight ahead jazz set. Then again, Angel From Montgomery is the song you think it is, and probably the only time there has been a jazz cover of John Prine. These folks make it work. Patty Carpenter and Melissa Shetler trade lines seamlessly, and blend beautifully on the chorus. Female jazz singers are often either sweet and flirty, or smoky and seductive. Here, we got one of each, and it really works. The arrangement reminds me of Cannonball Adderley’s Mercy Mercy Mercy; I never would have thought of doing that with this song, but it too works beautifully.

Madison Violet: The Woodshop

[purchase here, prices in Canadian dollars]

Madison Violet is the Canadian duo of Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac. MacEachern handles lead vocals and plays several varieties of guitar. MacIsaac sings background vocals and plays guitar and fiddle. They deliver folk vocals at their best. The Woodshop is an original song in which a young man dies before his time. The song is not very concerned with how he died. Instead, the focus is on how each of the family members left behind deal with the tragedy. The spotlight shines briefly on each of them in turn, but the song says everything it needs to about each of them. This is a tremendous piece of songwriting, and the vocals of MacEachern and MacIsaac seal the deal.

Jenee Halstead: Darkest Day

[purchase]

Jenee Halstead sings in a voice that is perfect for the borderland between folk and country. I could easily imagine her harmonizing with Emmylou Harris, (if that ever happens, I hope someone will make sure to let me know). Darkest Day also reveals her to be a fine story teller. Here too, we have the death of a young man before his time. Halstead’s vocal perfectly captures the aching emotion of this. Compare it to the Madison Violet song above, and you will find two very different ways of performing the same emotion.

Debra Cowan: Lili Marlene Walks Away

[purchase]

Dave Mattacks is a big name in British folk-rock. He was in the original line-up of Fairport Convention, worked extensively with The Incredible String Band and Richard Thompson, and later worked with Steeleye Span and even Jethro Tull. So it says a lot that he was willing to produce Debra Cowan’s latest album. Cowan is the owner of one of those great Celtic/ British folk voices. What is surprising is that she does the British and Celtic styles equally well. She does a wonderful job of setting the dark mood that many traditional British songs require, but she can also pull off a more modern tone for contemporary songs, as heard here. Lili Marlene Walks Away is a song by Bill Caddick, who I am not familiar with. But Cowan must also be a story teller, even though the words are not her own, and she is more than up to the task.

Call for Help

Daniel Levi Goans: Heights So High

[purchase Choice Cannonballs]

Donate

Daniel Levi Goans is a solo act with the rare ability to let you hear a backup band that isn’t there. I can tell you what instruments there are and what they are doing. But it’s just Goans playing acoustic guitar and light percussion. Sometimes he adds a bit of piano, and he provides his own background vocals. Heights So High comes from his debut album, Choice Cannonballs. Now Goans is working on the follow-up, and he needs your help. Please give what you can.

Reminders:

Urban Sun is halfway there, with 19 days to go as I write this. It’s getting to be time for an angel or two, but small donations will also really help right now.

The Scarlet Furies seem to be stuck right now. Sometimes, it only takes a small donation to open the taps again. This promises to be one of the best Americana albums of the year, if they can just get it made. Please give what you can.

Leannan Sidhe is down to 8 days left as I write this, and she is so close to her goal. Can someone put her over the top?

On behalf of all of these artists, thank you for whatever you can do to help.

Just Imagine

One thing that I prize in the music and musicians I listen to is imagination. Sometimes, that means taking a song that is known in one style and utterly transforming it by playing it in another style entirely. But, for artists performing original songs, it means using instruments in unusual ways or combinations. Sometimes, the instruments themselves are unusual. In one song, or over the course of an album, the artists revels in the fact that they are not bound by the rules that govern others. Some of the music made with this attitude is frankly horrible. But, when it works, the results can be spectacular. Let me show you what I mean.

Kim Lamothe: Reclaim/ Rearrange

[purchase]

Kim Lamothe sings in a sassy alto, almost speak-singing at times. Yet, she definitely gets the emotions of her songs across. Lamothe plays acoustic guitar, putting it aside on one song to pick up the ukulele. She has a drummer, and her stand-up bass player sets down the bass to play electric guitar on one track and banjo on another. So, you might expect a folk album, or perhaps something with the feel of early jazz. The album opens instead with a brief instrumental that I would call mood music for lack of a better term. You have been put on notice to set aside your expectations. Then, the album starts to rock. Just as you are getting used to that idea, the music slows down, and there is a jazzy ballad. But this brand of jazz is completely modern. Then there is a sort-of-folk piece, and then another moody instrumental. Next is Reclaim/ Rearrange. The song opens with an odd guitar figure that seems to have something missing, but doesn’t. the rest of the band comes in and you realize that you are hearing funk. And really good funk, at that. The rest of the album keeps trying on different musical suits, but it doesn’t sound chaotic at all. Lamothe and her band make the whole album sound like it belongs together. I’m still not sure how they did that, but it really works.

Chloe Charles: The Heavens

[purchase]

The Heavens is the first track of a five-song EP, and the imagination of Chloe Charles is fully on display from the start. Her voice is somewhere between soulful and operatic, and it’s an amazing instrument. I could tell you that the band on The Heavens includes tabla, sitar, and some sort of Indian flute, and you could almost believe it. Actually though, it’s drums, stand-up bass, acoustic guitar, and violin. The bass player bows his instrument to set up a drone on the verses, and plays normally on the chorus. The drummer plays an unusual rhythmic pattern, and gets a tone I didn’t know was possible from a standard drum set. And the violin sounds otherworldly, both because of its tone and the way it is recorded. Chloe Charles’ guitar part completes the sound perfectly. There are additional instruments on some of the other songs on the EP, but it all sounds as amazing as this.

Jenn Grant: Britt n‘ Kipp

[purchase, priced in Canadian dollars]

Jenn Grant is a musical chameleon. Her songs can display keen pop instincts, but she also draws on cabaret, folk, and country, to name a few. This varies from song to song, but it all comes to a head in Briit n’ Kip. The song starts out sounding like something out of a spaghetti western, except for one odd instrument; that’s a bass harmonica. Then the song suddenly becomes a pop-rock number. That dissolves into a brief waltz with a string quartet. Finally, the song rides off into the sunset on a pop-funk groove. It’s almost like having four movements, but in just a three minute song. The amazing thing is that it all makes sense as a single song. Jenn Grant sings it that way, never losing track of the song as a whole, and she takes us right along with her.

Calls for help:

The Scarlet Furies: Young Goodman Brown

[purchase Dark Clad Company]

[donate here]

The Scarlet Furies have been selected to do a Showcase Presentation at the 2011 International Folk Alliance Convention in Memphis. While there, they want to go into Sun Studios to record their next album. So their fund drive will get them there and cover paying for the studio time, among other things. Based on their sound and this opportunity, I think we’re all going to be hearing a lot about them soon. Raleigh Holmes draws the listener in; her voice is a beautiful alto, very clear and full of feeling. Behind her, the band plays beautifully crafted country-folk arrangements. Young Goodman Brown shows how good the songwriting can be. Give you what can to this one, and you will be able to say you were there at the beginning.

Leannan Sidhe: Step Out of the Shadows (demo version)

[donate here]

You’ll find this one on Kickstarter by looking up Shanti Singleton, but she records as Leannan Sidhe. Step Out of the Shadows is a song of encouragement, sung in a lovely folk soprano. Singleton conveys all the warmth that a song like this needs to work. But the finished version will have a fiddle part that really adds richness and depth to the song. Other songs on the album will have viola, harp and flute. Please help if you can

Reminders:

I wrote about Urban Sun‘s campaign last year. They have 27 days left as I write this, and they have a ways to go yet.

I posted about Kristi Martel and Kim Davidson raising money on their own to make their albums, and I have posted reminders since. But I only gave the links for donating in the first post, so I thought I should give those again.

Follow this link to help Kristi Martel,

And this one to help Kim Davidson.

Thank you for whatever you can do to help.

Christmas Presents

As I write this, most of the stores here in the Eastern time zone are closed. The frenzy of shopping is over, and now there is finally a quiet moment to actually think about the meaning and spirit of the holiday. There are presents which are very important, but have no physical substance. I will be giving my children this kind of present this evening as I share a story with each of them at bedtime. And music can often be this kind of gift. So this year, I want to propose a music themed gift for the last minute.

Incidentally, there is no album review this week. I was blindsided by some late-in-the-game elfing, and there wasn’t time. I hope to get one last album review in before the end of the year. Stay tuned, and we’ll see how that works out.

Steve Forbert: Grand Central Station, March 18, 1977

[purchase]

In my mind, nothing better represents the gift of music than a busker. Steve Forbert started out this way, and he put Grand Central Station… on his first album. Forbert clearly regarded the music he played as a busker a gift, although I’m sure he never turned down the money people gave him. But I have often enjoyed the work of street musicians when I have visited New York City. This year, when I made the trip to find Christmas presents for my wife, I heard a wonderful A Capella group who I hope to tell you more about eventually. As I thank all of the musicians I have heard who gave there art away for all to enjoy, that leads me to…

Calls for help:

Urban Sun: Good Beat

[ donate to Urban Sun’s campaign here]

Urban Sun is an old, old school funk band. I’ve been looking for music like this, but I didn’t think anyone was making it any more. I’m glad I was wrong. Urban Sun is an eight-piece band, and each part moves and grooves. Take the songs apart, and it seems like it shouldn’t work, but put it all together and it definitely does. That’s how classic funk, by people like Earth, Wind and Fire and the Neville Brothers worked, and Urban Sun nails it. Their lead singer sounds like Supestition-era Stevie Wonder, and the whole thing just cooks. The band has established themselves in New York City, and now they are hoping that their second album will help them get heard further afield. Now that the holiday shopping is done, and we all have a better idea of what we can afford, please help make this happen if you can.

[donate to Tara O‘Grady‘s campaign here]

I don’t have a finished song or even a demo to share with you from Tara O’Grady. I even had to find an image for this post. For her new album, these are things O’Grady hopes to be able to afford if her Kickstarter campaign succeeds. So, Tara, this post is my Christmas present to you.

For her debut album, Tara O’Grady recorded a set of traditional Irish Songs her father sang to her when she was a girl. But O’Grady grew up to be a jazz singer, and that is how she recoded these songs. It sounds crazy, but she made it work. It was O’Grady with just drums, bass and piano, and it’s an album I would gladly have featured here if I had known about it in time. But now, O’Grady is making her debut as a songwriter. I haven’t heard any songs from the new album, (I don’t think anyone has), but I believe the music will still be jazz. The band, however, will have a lineup that is closer to Americana. If anyone can make this work, it’s O’Grady. Assuming the album gets made, I hope to share the results with you here.

Updates:

I told you about Chris LaVancher a while back, and I said that I hoped he could exceed his goal, and make the album he heard in his head. With six days to go as I write this, LaVancher has made his goal. Thank you to everyone who was able to help. So anything he gets now is gravy, and may allow him to have more musicians on the album. Please help if you can.

Finally, Kim Davidson and Kristi Martel are raising money on their own to get their albums made. I have not heard otherwise, so I assume they still need your help as well. Thank you for whatever you can do.

I already said “finally”, but there is just one more thing. Merry Christmas to all of my readers who celebrate, and a happy New Year to all and yours.