02

All In a Day’s Blues

An alum of the late, great Calvin Owens's Blues Orchestra, guitarist CHARLES 'CD' DAVIS has a winner in his solo debut, 24 HOUR BLUES, featuring some Orchestra vets and four outstanding vocalists playing up a blues storm.
by David McGee
 

 
 
delta reign calm

Then Came The Reign

Though nominally a bluegrass group, Mobile, Alabama's DELTA REIGN brings folk, blues and western swing styles to bear on its music, originals and covers alike,on Calm Before the Storm, our new Album of the Week.
by David McGee
 

 

 
mississippi heat delta

Choogling On

Sagacious, well-traveled harp master Pierre Lacocque and his Chicago-based Mississippi Heat blues band offer Delta Bound, a thoroughly delightful hour of blues in various colors.
by David McGee
 

 
 
lisa somebodys baby

Between Rock and a Traditional Place

Lisa Matassa's impressive EP Somebody's Baby is not for country traditionalist, but fans of contemporary arena-style mainstream country will find much to admire in the rock-fueled anthems, but there is evidence here of a sensit...
by David McGee
 

 

 
juliet and the lonesome romeos no regrets

Whither Passionate Kisses?

Boston-based Juliet and the Lonesome Romeos make a favorable impression on their debut album, No Regrets, by serving up pop-country with a bite. The long player shows Juliet Simmons Dinallo to be a songwriter with immense promi...
by David McGee
 

 
 
earl brothers1

Of Dark Hearts and Lethal Consequences

The Earl Brothers are back with their dark-hearted bluegrass--like no other bluegrass known to humankind--on Outlaw Hillbilly. Our Album of the Week selection chronicles the Bay Area band's continuing crafting of one of the mos...
by David McGee
 

 

 
american drive2

Ready for the Long Haul

J.D. Crowe has retired, but his last incarnation of the New South soldiers on, quite impressively, as American Drive. The quartet's self-titled debut album shows it to be ready for the long haul.
by David McGee
 

 
 
angela hewitt spotlight

An Atmospheric Take on Debussy’s Piano Music

Angela Hewitt's new album, Debussy: Solo PIano Music is being hailed in all quarters for bringing a fresh perspective to the evocative piano music of Debussy. One of today's leading Bach pianists. Ms. Hewitt enhances her reputa...
by David McGee
 

 

 
024

Talking Turkey and Radiating on the 88s

Mitch Woods and the Rocket 88s got the crowds in Turkey all shook up on the Efes Blues Festival tour in October 2010. A new CD/DVD set preserves a record of the boogie woogie flu and rockin' pneumonia the fellows infected the c...
by David McGee
 

 
 
023

Suave, Like Nobody’s Business

We redress a great wrong in finally reviewing RAUL MALO's 2007 Christmas masterpiece, Marshmallow World + Other Holiday Favorites. This Yuletide essential is so suave it even offers 'Silver Bells' as a tango. Believe it.
by David McGee
 

 

 
022

Kind Of, Sort Of…No, Really Good. Exceptional, Even.

Joanne Shaw Taylor’s artistic growth continues unabated since her dramatic debut in 2008 with White Sugar. Her third solo long player, Almost Always Never, is another triumph,. one of the best blues albums of 2012.
by David McGee
 

 
 
dallas wind symphony

A Bracing Christmas Wind

In Horns For the Holidays, the superb Dallas Wind Symphony not only celebrates the Christmas music tradition but also exemplifies the best of the wind ensemble genre, with its unique sonorities and long tradition of both origin...
by David McGee