Perhaps the best known and definitely the most influential bluesman ever, Riley B. King (weâll 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. Weâll 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: âBoss man called a meetinâ / At a time I should … Continue reading →
NORMAN BLAKE Wood Wire and Words Plectrafone www.westernjubilee.com Blake opens this album with âSavanna Rag,â 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 →
This week we conclude our two part feature noting Alan Lomaxâs 100th birthday with some music recorded in the late 1950âs from Almeda Riddle, E.C. Ball and Bessie Jones and the Sea Island Singers. Weâll also hear some of the … Continue reading →
