Victor Wainwright And The Train: “Memphis Loud” (2020) CD Review

Victor Wainwright is a singer, pianist, songwriter, and powerful force rising up from a river in Georgia to deliver a great burst of blues and soul to any within earshot. In 2018, his new band, Victor Wainwright And The Train, put out a self-titled release, an album that ended up being nominated for a Grammy. They are now following that up with Memphis Loud, a delicious album featuring all original material, written or co-written by Victor Wainwright. The band is made up of Billy Dean on drums and vocals, Terrence Grayson on bass and vocals, Pat Harrington on guitar and vocals, Mark Earley on saxophone and clarinet, Doug Woolverton on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Dave Gross on guitar and percussion. There are also several guests on various tracks.

The album opens with “Mississippi,” which begins with some pretty work on keys, then soon kicks in and starts rocking. This song builds and builds. Usually a song will kick in once, but this one starts at one level, kicks in, then kicks it up to another level soon after that. It has the feel of a celebration, but a celebration that has a sense of urgency behind it. A celebration that will sweep you up whether you are ready or not, like a determined wave rushing through the streets. Then suddenly there is a short break, a breather, with some work on electric guitar. But it is not long before things get thumping once again. I love the horns. Mikey Junior, Reba Russell, Stephen Dees, Patricia Ann Dees, Grace Curran and Terrell Reed join the band on vocals on this track (Mikey Junior also plays harmonica). That’s followed by “Walk The Walk,” which when it gets going has a bright New Orleans-type vibe. This song is partly a tribute to one’s parents and the advice they gave. This song features a seriously fun instrumental section, with some wonderful work form the horns, and it includes a big finish.

“Memphis Loud,” the album’s title track, comes barreling along, and best you get the hell out of the way, or join in – your choice – but you don’t have long to choose, because this song is suddenly on top of you. And holy moly, I love Victor Wainwright’s work on piano here, pushing everything forward. It is no surprise to find that the song’s lyrics are about a train; after all, the song feels like a train from the moment it begins. “Whoa, the train’s running through your town/Everyone’s allowed.” This track is tremendous fun, certainly one of the album’s best. It is followed by “Sing,” which opens with some absolutely delightful work on piano. Immediately you feel like perhaps you’ve taken a step back in time, listening to this jazzy and timeless gem. If forced to choose my favorite track on the album, this would be it. No question. It features a cool vocal performance, but it is the work of the horn section that really raises this track to a pretty high level of cool. Seriously. That jam toward the end is oddly glorious, with ghosts and spirits rising to join the celebration. “Don’t let life get you down/Silence is the loudest sound.” Then “Disappear” is a mellower number, delivered with a good dash of soul, and building in power as it goes, with that instrumental section featuring some excellent work on keys.

“Creek Don’t Rise” features some nice work on bass, a good steady rhythm, and appealing lyrics about getting away. “Let’s get away from family and all of our friends/Lose them for a while so we can find them again/I love you/We can make it this time.” There is something of a 1970s vibe to this one. Also, it is interesting how basically every single one of these tracks gets more interesting, more exciting as it goes. The organ at the beginning of “Golden Rule” sounds like something from a great old Stax album or something, and there is certainly some fine rhythm and blues to this one, along with positive vibes. Then “America” begins as a mellower tune. “I think we might be losing our minds/Is this real/America.” Those lines certainly stand out in this frightening time. None of these songs wants to stay mellow for too long, and by the end this one has built up a good amount of power. Mike Welch plays guitar on this track.

On “South End Of A North Bound Mule,” we get a vocal performance that reminds me of Dr. John. As you might guess from the title of this song, it is a whole lot of fun, a playful, and totally enjoyable number with a cool sound. I especially dig that stuff on keys. Greg Gumpel joins the band on guitar and vocals on this track. That’s followed by “Recovery.” Soon the entire nation will be in recovery (as soon as we get rid of that infection named Donald Trump). This song offers a positive outlook. “Rainbows shine through when the black clouds part/Yesterday is history, tomorrow’s a new start/When life seems broken, reach for more than who you are.” Then “My Dog Riley” is a tribute to the friendship of a dog. However, I say a friend who gnaws on your furniture and shits on your carpet is no damn friend at all.  This is a silly song, something of a throwaway number. The album concludes with “Reconcile,” which has a mellow and beautiful soul vibe and a really nice vocal performance. “I don’t know how long this pain will last,” Victor Wainwright sings. This track of course does build in power toward the end, sounding like a classic soul tune. Chris Stephenson plays organ on this track.

CD Track List

1. Mississippi
2. Walk The Walk
3. Memphis Loud
4. Sing
5. Disappear
6. Creek Don’t Rise
7. Golden Rule
8. America
9. South End Of A North Bound Mule
10. Recovery
11. My Dog Riley
12. Reconcile

Memphis Loud is scheduled to be released on May 22, 2020 on Ruf Records.

Jaromír Honzák: “Hard To Understand” (2020) CD Review

Jaromír Honzák is a jazz bassist and composer from the Czech Republic. He has been performing and recording for several decades, was a founding member of the group Naima, and now leads his own quintet. His new album, Hard To Understand, features mostly original compositions. Joining Jaromír Honzák on this release are David Dorůžka on electric guitar, Luboš Soukup on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Vít Křišťan on keys, and Martin Novák on drums. The CD case, by the way, is like a softcover book, its pages containing several photos.

The album opens with “François Truffaut,” and immediately you get the sense that Jaromír Honzák’s music not only sets a mood but tells a story. My introduction to François Truffaut was not any of his excellent films, but rather his appearance in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind when I was a child. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I discovered The 400 Blows, Shoot The Piano Player, and Day For Night. However, it is probably his film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 that has most often been on people’s minds lately, what with our government in the hands of a demented would-be dictator who is completely averse to knowledge and who has probably never even read a book from cover to cover. This track first creates a fairly relaxed atmosphere, and then seems to dive in to take closer looks at certain details, and that’s when things get interesting. The musicians each shine during their leads, and in particular there is some really good work on piano. But for me that rhythm is where the real appeal is. I love Martin Novák’s work on drums here. That’s followed by “Just Thinking,” which begins in a sort of tense place, feeling tight, claustrophobic, and then opens up into a wider space, where it is given more room to move, but still has to fight that tension. And it does seem to win at moments. Many of us are caught in our own heads these days, unable to take part in any social activities, and sometimes it gets fairly dark in there. How can we help it? Things get a little crazy in this track too, though there is still that urge to get a handle on our own thoughts, creating an interesting effect. David Dorůžka is a driving force here on guitar.

“Rain Cloud” begins with some good, expressive work by Jaromír Honzák on bass. I’m not sure if it’s due in part to my rather fragile state these days, but this track gets right on top of me. There is a dark strength, and I feel like succumbing to it. You know? Toward the end, there is a break, however, and it feels like we’ll make it through after all. This is a powerful and excellent track, one of my personal favorites on this release. It is followed by “Simple Truth,” which has a lighter, friendlier aspect to it at moments, and some interesting changes. Toward the end it becomes darker, heavier, but in its last moments it lets go, eases up, and we can relax again.

There are two tracks on this album that were not composed by Jaromír Honzák, both of them being adaptations of a medieval piece of music titled “Clausula Tamquam Sponsus.” The first, “Tamquam,” is rather pretty, though perhaps a bit chaotic. I had to look up the meaning of “tamquam.” I took Latin in fifth grade, and have forgotten all but a few words. Anyway, it means “as” or “as it were.” That first version is followed by “Hard To Understand,” the album’s title track, and there is something kind of pretty about this track as well. It has a comforting, relaxing quality as it begins. It builds from there into something exciting, but still beautiful, particularly the work by Luboš Soukup on saxophone. “Cryptic” is an interesting track, another of my favorites, in part because of its trippy quality (fans of the Grateful Dead will understand just what I’m talking about). There is a great appeal to the strange journey this track takes us on, seeming to go both outward and inward simultaneously. Then “Foolish Senior” comes on almost like a rock song, with its steady groove, certainly something of a surprise. The track then develops from there, and takes some interesting turns. It is a journey where things might halt momentarily, but that groove works to carry us onward, to push us forward. Or are we working to keep that groove going? The album concludes with a second approach to “Clausula Tamquam Sponsus,” “Tamquam 2,” this one adapted by Jaromír Honzák with Luboš Soukup. It begins in a darker, stranger place, the piano then emerging from the mist and shadow.

CD Track List

1. Francois Truffaut
2. Just Thinking
3. Rain Cloud
4. Simple Truth
5. Tamquam
6. Hard To Understand
7. Cryptic
8. Foolish Senior
9. Tamquam 2

Hard To Understand was released on CD on March 27, 2020 (and I believe it was made available digitally on December 20, 2019).

Jim Infantino at Home, 4-4-20 Concert Review

It has been twenty-eight days since I’ve been to a concert, which must certainly be the longest span of time I’ve gone without seeing live music since I was sixteen. Musicians, many of whom are struggling to pay the bills, have been putting on concerts in their homes, which we can enjoy in our homes. It’s strange, but there is a sense of community during these online concerts, with folks actually able to interact through the ongoing comments section. Jim Infantino has put on a few of these shows, referring to the series as “Solo In Isolation.” Today’s concert was shown on both Facebook and You Tube, so the community was sort of split in half, with folks commenting on both pages.

Jim Infantino had been fielding requests all week, and at the beginning of today’s show at 5 p.m. (eastern time) mentioned that he had received a lot. He then opened the show with “Where The Money Is,” and of course the line “Infections – that’s where the money is” stood out. That was the case with a lot of the songs he played, with certain lines seeming to be just exactly right for this bizarre situation we all are finding ourselves in. After that song, he said: “Somebody asked for ‘Big Chinos.’ I swear to God I don’t know how to play it anymore.” He then went into that “Kumbaya/Smells Like Teen Spirit” mash-up, and the line about feeling contagious of course stood out. Well, perhaps he suddenly recalled how to play it, because he went straight and seamlessly from “Kumbaya” into “Big Chinos.” It was a delight to hear this one again. “All right, so that was almost okay,” he said afterward. He followed that with a song that I requested, “Meanies.” While some songs already had lines relevant to our period of isolation and fear, for other tunes he added lines or adjusted lines. Such was the case with “Meanies,” with Jim adding “Or be awake during the day” after the line “Just to make it safe to sleep at night.” Folks, don’t let the meanies bite your head off.  He included a bit from the closing theme to The Magic Garden at the end, adding the line “I hope you don’t get the corona.”

Last week someone had requested “Can’t Fall Down,” and he attempted it, but quickly abandoned the effort, saying he’d learn it for today’s concert. And he did. It had perhaps a slow start, but he soon got into it, and it was wonderful hearing this song again. He played several songs that are not often in his set lists, at times reaching back to some really early material. He followed “Can’t Fall Down” with “Better Than You,” another I hadn’t heard in quite a while, and one with a sweet vocal delivery. After that song, he talked a bit about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting musicians, especially those who rely on income from live performances. “Artists are generally completely screwed. I’m not. I’m not completely screwed. Lots of artists are.” He urged folks to donate to Club Passim’s PEAR Fund. And speaking of reaching back to early material, Jim Infantino then played “Another Saturday Night.” In introducing the song, he said he was surprised to see it in the request list. He added some new lyrics for this performance, which was certainly a highlight of the show. He followed that with another old one, another highlight, “Venus,” which was absolutely beautiful. I hadn’t heard that one in ages. After playing it, he mentioned that he wrote it in 1986. He followed that with “Always Thus.” At the end he sort of combined the words “clown” and “crown,” leading him to laugh afterward, “Clown crown.”

“Everybody Gets The Blues” is one of the great songs from the End Construction days. Fellow End Construction member Brian Doser showed up in the comments section on the Facebook stream just before Jim started this song, leading Jim to suggest he could type in his part if he wanted. He didn’t, but it was a wonderful rendition, a good song to hear in these days when basically everybody I know has the blues. Though there had been a place to request songs during the week leading up to the show, that of course didn’t keep folks from adding requests in the comments section as Jim played. One of those requests was for “Ahead Of The Curve.” “I’m going to try it,” Jim said, then quickly added “I’m going to mess it up.” He changed “now the internet is tired” to “but now podcasting is tired.” He also added, “and lick my boots, slave” to the line in which the girl says “Don’t call me ‘girl.’” Yeah, he got stuck trying to remember the lyrics at one point, and perhaps delivered an incorrect chord, but no matter, it was a totally fun rendition.

Someone had requested a cover of Richard Thompson’s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” and so Jim tried to see if he could remember it. After a few moments, he gave that up, promising “I’ll work on it.” So we’ll probably get to hear it next week. Several people requested “You Rule,” so he did that one, following it with another request, “Big Old Dark Green Car,” changing the line “in rows and rows and rows of chairs” to “in their homes, in their homes.” Big Old Dark Green Car” is such a cool song, an old favorite of mine. He then played “Jumblies,” the only song repeated from the previous show, and wrapped up the show with a great and updated version of “Stress.” I loved his delivery of “So I’m fine, so I’m fine, I’m fine,” like he was trying to convince himself. He repeated the line “It’s the little things that get you,” leading to him adding “Your hands are contaminated,” which he also repeated several times. Among the other lyric changes to fit with this crazy pandemic, he sang “I just stick my thumb in a peach and they arrest me” and also “I feel all right, but I haven’t been tested.” Certainly a unique rendition of this popular number, and a great ending to the set. The show ended at 6:23 p.m. eastern time.

Set List

1. Where The Money Is
2. Kumbaya/Smells Like Teen Spirit >
3. Big Chinos
4. Meanies >
5. The Magic Garden Closing Theme (Goodbye Song)
6. Can’t Fall Down
7. Better Than You
8. Another Saturday Night
9. Venus
10. Always Thus
11. Everybody Gets The Blues
12. Ahead Of The Curve
13. You Rule
14. Big Old Dark Green Car
15. Jumblies
16. Stress

And, hey, if you missed the show, you can still watch it. I believe it is still up on both You Tube and Facebook. Enjoy!

Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story (2019) Book Review

It must have been something to be a part of the early rock and roll scene, or even to have been present for it, feeling the excitement at purchasing a new record from Little Richard and hearing those wild, raw vocals for the first time. Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story, the latest volume in the RPM Series, gives us a taste of that period, documenting one of the important independent labels in rhythm and blues and the emerging rock and roll scene. It was written by Billy Vera. If you are in your forties or fifties, you most likely remember watching Family Ties and hearing his beautiful song “At This Moment,” which was a huge hit. Based on that song, I purchased By Request: The Best Of Billy Vera & The Beaters, and was pleasantly surprised to hear some rock and roll tunes. Billy Vera, in addition to being a songwriter and musician, is a music historian, and actually worked for the Specialty label for a time, organizing compilations of early recordings. So he is exactly the right person to tell this story. And Art Rupe, the founder of Specialty Records, wrote the book’s foreword (he is now over a hundred years old).

Art Rupe is quite an interesting character. It is wild that when he started, he researched music, using what little money he had to purchase every record he could find and then analyzing each one to determine what would make up a hit record. Wouldn’t we all love to do that? And it worked. Through his research, he figured out certain key elements that seemed to guarantee sales, and the label’s first record, “Boogie #1,” sold nearly 70,000 copies (that label being Juke Box Records, the precursor to Specialty). Interestingly, Art produced most of the records on Specialty, and also did the mastering. There is also information on Specialty’s famous yellow, black and white label.

The book contains information and anecdotes on many of the artists who recorded for the label, people like Roy Milton, Lloyd Price and Sam Cooke. This is early Sam Cooke, during his time fronting the Soul Stirrers, when he sang gospel music and wanted to move into pop territory. The story of his leaving the label is documented here, with Art Rupe saying that letting him go was his biggest mistake. There is also some interesting information on Lloyd Price and the song “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” Also, throughout the book, there are little nuggets about the music business in general, like that records did not need to sell many copies in order to reach a high position on the charts in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The book also includes some of the typed advice that Art Rupe gave John Vincent, who ran the Mississippi office, advice record producers today might still find useful. And of course there is a lot about Little Richard, Specialty’s star, including some delicious anecdotes about the start of his career, such as one about the composition of “Long Tall Sally.”

This book makes me eager to hunt down certain recordings, such as those by Swan Silvertones. Billy Vera’s description of those records (“as emotionally wild and out of control as anything ever heard on record”) makes me want to own them. By the way, Billy Vera’s passion for the material is clear early on, and it is that passion – as much as the information – which makes this book so enjoyable. Also, he doesn’t hold back in his descriptions of a song or musician he doesn’t care for, which makes for a fun read. He does talk a bit about his own work for the label, particularly the collections and compilations, following in the footsteps of Barret “Dr. Demento” Hansen. The book also contains a sections of photos.

Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story was published on November 5, 2019. It is the fourth book in the RPM Series, following World Domination: The Sub Pop Records Story, Shake Your Hips: The Excello Records Story, and Goin’ Off: The Story Of The Juice Crew & Cold Chillin’ Records.

K Quintet: “Something Else” (2019) CD Review

K Quintet is a jazz group that was formed last summer by the husband and wife team of bassist David Duffy and singer Ksenia Parkhatskaya (the latter known for her skills as a dancer as well as vocalist). The group also consists of Gabriel Armagant on tenor saxophone, Juan Mar Saque on trumpet, Marc Martin on piano, and Xavi Hinojsa on drums. Joining them on a few tracks of the group’s debut album, Something Else, are Carlos Sarduy Dimet on trumpet, and Jake Klamberg on drums. The album contains a mix of some classic tunes and original compositions that have a delightfully classic and cool vibe. I am surprised by how many instrumental tracks are on this CD, considering a vocalist co-founded this group and co-wrote much of the original material. But then again, in live performances, the idea is to combine music and dance.

Something Else gets off to an excellent start with “Exactly Like You,” written by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. Ksenia Parkhatskaya delivers such a sweet and cheerful and wonderful vocal performance, that my spirits are instantly raised (no mean feat in these frightening days). Plus, this rendition features some really nice work on piano, including a great lead section, which is then followed by an excellent lead on trumpet. This is one of the tracks to feature both Carlos Sarduy Dimet on trumpet and Jake Klamberg on drums. That’s followed by “The Letter,” an original tune composed by David Duffy and Ksenia Parkhatskaya (not a cover of The Box Tops’ song). This is a delightful and catchy instrumental tune with a great rhythm, a track that gets better and better, those lead sections being tremendous fun. I particularly love that saxophone. We even get a cool lead on bass toward the end. David Duffy gives us another excellent lead on bass on the group’s rendition of Henry Mancini’s “Days Of Wine And Roses.” This is a sweet rendition that has a relaxed bit of swing to it, a track which should help to ease our stress.

“Bye Bye Blackbird” opens with Ksenia’s bright vocals supported by just a bit of percussion, which is very cool. Then the other musicians come in, and while there is some lovely stuff from the horns, it is Ksenia’s voice that really sets the tone on this track. There is a sweet joy to her voice that seems capable of gently ushering all troubles out the door. This is another of the tracks to feature Carlos Sarduy Dimet on trumpet and Jake Klamberg on drums. That’s followed by “Ain’t It Peculiar,” another original composition (not to be confused with “Ain’t That Peculiar”), an instrumental track that begins with some seriously cool stuff on piano and a rhythm that should make you smile. This one gets livelier as it goes, and includes a brief drum solo. It is one of my favorite tracks, mostly because of Marc Martin’s work on piano. It’s followed by another of my favorites, “Something Else,” the album’s title track, written by David Duffy. It’s an original tune, but it certainly has a familiar vibe to it. Again, there is something really cool and slinky about this music, and something particularly sexy about this track, with that bass line, but especially because of the horns. There is a sexy confidence behind the playing, like the instruments know they can play you right into bed, and so are in no hurry. This album often feels like it could be playing in a Godard film. You know?

John Duffy gets the group’s rendition of “Just Squeeze Me (But Don’t Tease Me)” off to a good start on bass, and then Ksenia’s vocals come in. This is so damn delicious, the two of them able to hold you in the palms of their hands. The rest of the musicians soon join them. This is my favorite vocal performance on the album. There is something both sensuous and playful about it. She sings “Just squeeze me/But please don’t tease me,” but it sounds like she herself will be doing the teasing. Ah, let’s see what the trumpet has to say about it. This is the last of the tracks to feature Carlos Sarduy Dimet on trumpet and Jake Klamberg on drums. It is followed by “My Major Is Minor,” an original tune written by David Duffy and Ksenia Parkhatskaya. This one has a sly, delightful vibe, and with a title like “My Major Is Minor,” it seems like an instant standard. I love the saxophone. That’s followed by the album’s final original tune, “Drivin’,” composed by David Duffy and Ksenia Parkhatskaya, a lively number with some playful touches. We then get a nice rendition of the Rodgers and Hart song “Have You Met Miss Jones,” led by Marc Martin on piano. This track also features a totally enjoyable lead on bass. The album then concludes with “Robbins’ Nest,” written by pianist Charles Thompson. This has another seriously cool groove. This album is full of delicious grooves, gently swinging numbers that should help to lessen our anxiety.

CD Track List

1. Exactly Like You
2. The Letter
3. Days Of Wine And Roses
4. Bye Bye Blackbird
5. Ain’t It Peculiar
6. Something Else
7. Just Squeeze Me
8. My Major Is Minor
9. Drivin’
10. Have You Met Miss Jones
11. Robbins’ Nest 

Something Else was released on December 20, 2019.

Ruthie Foster Big Band: “Live At The Paramount” (2020) CD Review

Ruthie Foster is one hell of a great singer, songwriter and performer. And on her new live album, Live At The Paramount, she gives us something special, the Ruthie Foster Big Band. Yes, this incredibly soulful vocalist is backed by a full horn section. The music is blues, soul, gospel, presented with a joyful energy. Ruthie Foster chooses a good mix of original material and covers for this release. If you’re looking for something to reaffirm your faith in humanity, give a listen to this album.

The album begins with a brief introduction by Ruthie Foster’s daughter (and actually, first someone introduces the daughter, an introduction to the introduction). Ruthie then greets the Austin audience and gets things going with “Brand New Day,” featuring some gorgeous bluesy gospel vocals, the song first delivered a cappella, as on the studio release, Promise Of A Brand New Day. Oh yes, this certainly hits the spot. Then, unlike the album version, some work on drums backs the vocals, and halfway through, the band comes in, something cool and unexpected. Her backing vocalists, by the way, are Sheree Smith, Tamara Mack and Torri Baker. Ruthie follows that with another song from Promise Of A Brand New Day, “Might Not Be Right,” which has a good groove. The horns have a sweet, positive sound, and are a great addition to this song. “Negative thoughts don’t control my fate.”

As much as I love Ruthie Foster’s original material, I am sometimes most impressed by what she is able to do with a song that someone else wrote. She can take a song that you think you know well, and make you look at it in a whole new way. She blew me away with her sexy cover of “If I Had A Hammer,” on her 2012 release Let It Burn. On that same album, she covered Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire,” presenting it as a slower, soulful number. And here she gives us a live take of it, first telling the audience, “This is a Johnny Cash like you may not have heard.” That’s followed by “Stone Love,” a song that was included on The Truth According To Ruthie Foster. The album version opens with organ, and quickly becomes a funky number. This live version begins with some nice, soulful work on piano, sounding like it’s going to go into a gospel number. Then, oh boy, that moment where the pace and tone change, just before the band comes in, is delicious. And then when the band comes in, everything is glorious and just right. And when Ruthie Foster belts out those lyrics, I feel that the entire planet is going to be lifted up to the heavens. The energy is fantastic. The crowd is clearly affected by the music, and you can tell from their applause at the end. Ruthie likewise is affected, as she shouts “Yeah!” at the end.

She takes things down a bit then with the beginning of “The Ghetto,” which has a more intimate vibe at the start. This is a song she included on Promise Of A Brand New Day, and here she gives us a soulful, beautiful vocal performance. Things get even better with this rendition of “Death Came A Knockin’ (Travelin’ Shoes),” a song from her 2002 album Runaway Soul. These glorious gospel vocals will make you shout “Halleljuah!” The horns are superb here, yet Ruthie’s voice seems more powerful than an entire horn section. This track features a cool guitar part as well, which elicits applause from the crowd. That is Mitch Watkins on guitar. That’s followed by “Singin’ The Blues,” the song that opens the Promise Of A Brand New Day album. It has a good groove and a bright, positive sound.

The horns get things going on this version of “Runaway Soul,” giving it a different sound and vibe than it has on the studio version, where harmonica starts it off.  And there is more wild and delicious work from the horn section throughout this track, making it a powerful number. After the song, Ruthie announces she is moving into gospel, and there is some nice work on organ, as she begins “Woke Up This Morning,” the song that also follows “Runaway Soul” on that studio release. Oddly, this is included on the same track as “Runaway Soul” on the disc, even though she begins singing: “I woke up this morning with my mind, it was stayed on freedom/Yes, I woke up this morning with my mind, it was stayed on freedom.” It isn’t until the song kicks in that a new track begins, a very strange (and rather irritating) choice, dividing the song up like that. But the song itself is a lot of fun, featuring some wonderful work on guitar, as well as from the horn section and the backing vocalists.

Interestingly, Ruthie Foster includes only one song from her most recent studio release, Joy Comes Back, on this live album. The song she chooses from it is the title track, and she delivers an absolutely fantastic version, a delicious mix of gospel and New Orleans fun, the horns adding a great deal to its appeal. That’s followed by “Phenomenal Woman,” another highlight of this disc, featuring a beautiful, sweet vocal performance. This song is from her 2007 album The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster (a title that, like all those “Genius” titles of Ray Charles’ work, somehow feels like an understatement). Her voice rises in glorious power, and is supported by some wonderful backing vocals. Ruthie Foster wraps up the album with covers of a couple of standards, first a totally cool and groovy rendition of “Fly Me To The Moon,” featuring some more wonderful work from the horn section, and then “Mack The Knife.” As she begins “Mack The Knife,” she recounts the anecdote of seeing Ella Fitzgerald in concert (purchasing tickets rather than paying the heating bill – exactly what anyone would do). Ruthie really gets into this, and delivers an excellent version. Before leaving the stage, she tells the audience: “Be kind to yourselves. Be kind to someone else.”

CD Track List

1. Introduction
2. Brand New Day
3. Might Not Be Right
4. Ring Of Fire
5. Stone Love
6. The Ghetto
7. Death Came A Knockin’ (Travelin’ Shoes)
8. Singin’ The Blues
9. Runaway Soul
10. Woke Up This Morning
11. Joy Comes Back
12. Phenomenal Woman
13. Fly Me To The Moon
14. Mack The Knife

Live At The Paramount is scheduled to be released on May 15, 2020 through Blue Corn Music.

The Brian Kinler Band: “Bragging Rights” (2020) CD Review

In recent years, jazz pianist Brian Kinler has moved steadily closer toward pop and dance music, where a good portion of his heart has always resided. A few tracks on his new album, Bragging Rights, are certainly in that realm, or use elements of pop. But that doesn’t mean that the tracks aren’t moving and emotionally engaging, for they certainly are. That is because Brian maintains that beautiful touch that he established on his earliest CD release, Two. And in these dark days when we are unable to physically reach out to each other, we need music that connects to us on a deeply human level, and Brian Kinler – even in his most dance-oriented moments – is able to provide that in composition after composition. This new release contains all original material, written by Brian Kinler. As with his previous release, Euphoric, this album is largely a solo effort.

The album opens with “Lift-Off,” which – after a brief countdown sound snippet from NASA – begins as a dance number. It has a positive and bright sound, and there are some unexpected changes here, creating a more interesting mood. Plus, the work on keys at times seems to fly, moving along at a good clip in an excited, joyous and almost carefree manner. Then we dip back into a more introspective section, before returning to that dance feel at the end. That’s followed by “Bragging Rights,” the album’s title track, which sort of works in the opposite way, beginning in a pretty place, a mellower spot, then bursting open with a delicious power. Nothing shy about the attitude there. This track goes back and forth between these two distinct locations and vibes. Steve Herrman joins Brian Kinler on trumpet and flugelhorn on this track, adding some absolutely gorgeous work in those quieter sections, and then cutting loose in the more boisterous sections, especially toward the end. I love the different moods he captures. Andre Mayeux did the horn arrangement for this track.

“Six Thousand Days” has a pretty and uplifting and romantic sound and style. There is a peaceful and comforting aspect to this track, even after it kicks in. This is a song that celebrates our most important relationships, the relationships that will carry us through whatever troubles may arise. Certainly this is exactly the sort of thing we are looking for and needing these days, particularly when we are distanced from others. The power of this song feels like the strength of the loves in our lives. Brian and his husband Steven took a trip to Vietnam last year, and this trip has clearly had an impact, heard in the composition of “Indochine,” and seen in the new music video for this song documenting some of that experience. This track has a steady dance beat, and is one you can definitely move to, but there is more going on here. There is a curiosity about the unknown and the foreign, as well as a joy in the discovery of special places. That’s followed by “Waiting For Her,” which has a more somber tone, and is incredibly moving. This is a song a lot of us first heard at Brian Kinler’s performance at Vitello’s last August, and it was probably the most beautiful moment of the show. This is an absolutely gorgeous piece of music. It develops a magical quality, like the ethereal touching the worldly. This is one of my favorite tracks.

“Gutterball” is pure fun, a dance song with a strong groove to raise our spirits and get our asses shaking. There is a joy to the playing, and it’s almost like the piano itself is smiling. And hey, does anyone else find that bowling is one thing you somehow get better at the more inebriated you are? Brian then slows things down again with “Suffocate,” a beautifully sad and touching piece. But when it might seem that hope is lost, the song kicks in with a renewed energy and power, like a hand reaching out to lift you up or to hold away the darkness. That is followed by “Me And Stevie P,” another one he introduced to folks at Vitello’s last August. There is a great happiness to this track. It is a love song that feels like that joy and lift you get just from seeing your partner nearby, when you feel that the whole world is a great place just because your sweet one is in it.

“The Honourable Mrs. Graham” is another beautiful track, a piece you can immerse yourself in. There is a sense of something approaching awe here at moments, and other times a complete understanding, a strong connection. This track features a string section written and performed by Andre Mayeux. Andre Mayeux likewise composed the string arrangement for the album’s final track, “The Heavens,” which is also beautiful. This song feels like a release as it begins, a letting go, and then a celebration of life as it goes on, a celebration of existence and the crazy miracle that any of us are here at all.

CD Track List

1. Lift-Off
2. Bragging Rights
3. Six Thousand Days
4. Indochine
5. Waiting For Her
6. Gutterball
7. Suffocate
8. Me And Stevie P
9. The Honourable Mrs. Graham
10. The Heavens

Bragging Rights was released on March 24, 2020.