We received the sad news yesterday of the passing of one of the great revival singers of traditional songs, a teller of tall tales, and a pillar of the Chicago folk song community: our dear friend Art Thieme. Art passed … Continue reading →
Perhaps the best known and definitely the most influential bluesman ever, Riley B. King (we’ll get to the B.B. shortly) was born to sharecroppers in 1925 in Berclair, Mississippi, a crossroads encampment just outside the whistle-stop town of Itta Bena … Continue reading →
We recently lost fiddler Johnny Gimble a true Western Swing pioneer. This week we honor him with a program focusing on the influences and development of Western Swing. We’ll hear classic music from Benny Goodman and The Boswell Sisters to … Continue reading →
DELLA MAE Della Mae Rounder 613637 www.rounder.com This four-piece Americana band kicks ass on a variety of songs, from thoughtful ballads to up-tempo bluegrass. Produced by Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Buddy Guy), every arrangement … Continue reading →
MONOSWEZI Monoswezi Yanga Tugboat 1090 www.worldmusic.net The second release from Monoswezi builds on their impressive debut. With a sound built on the unlikely twin foundations of Zimbabwean mbira (thumb piano) and Scandinavian jazz. Fronted … Continue reading →
THE KROPOTKINS Portents of Love Mulatta Records www.cdbaby.com/large-river-music Named after the Russian anarchist prince Peter Kropotkin, this New York City and Memphis-based sextet was created in 1994 by singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and neuroscientist Dave Soldier … Continue reading →
VARIOUS ARTISTS Rhythms of Labour Cambridge University Press 9781107000179 www.cambridge.org/large-river-music www.rhythmsoflabour.com Can you imagine it? Noon rolls around and office workers begin to sing: “Boss man called a meetin’ / At a time I should … Continue reading →
NORMAN BLAKE Wood Wire and Words Plectrafone www.westernjubilee.com Blake opens this album with “Savanna Rag,” a loose, syncopated instrumental that shows off his low key fingerpicking virtuosity. Descending bass runs and meandering flurries of … Continue reading →
LOST LEADERS Lost Leaders Lost Leaders www.lostleaders.net Lost Leaders is a trio of Byron Isaacs, Peter Cole and Justin Guip. Isaacs and Cole split the songwriting almost evenly on the set’s ten songs. Guip is … Continue reading →
As Memorial Day here in the States always falls on a Monday, it’s become a ‘thing’ for us here at MBM to try and capture its essence by sharing some meaningful music with you. This year the honor of trying falls to me, and I’ve … Continue reading →
