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| Archive 4 |
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2004 pioneer valley top 10
It's that time of year again when critics drag out their annual best-of and worst-of lists, so I figured why not get in on the action. What I have done here is a little different: I have assembled some of my favorite CDs of the past year that were recorded by artists that fall under the category of "local" musicians.
I want to stress that this list is not meant to be a definitive "best of," but rather a list of the CDs that I have enjoyed this past year and that I think that you might also like.
Every CD that was released this past year didn't make its way across my desk, so there are bound to be some omissions. You'll also see that, as is common with many music fans, my tastes are wide ranging and span everything from folk to alt-country and to rock.
Overall, 2004 was a good year for recorded music, both on the local and national level. So check out this list; and if you are inspired to give any of these CDs a listen, just head down to your local independent music store and you should have no problem finding any of these releases.
King Radio - "Are You the Sick Passenger?"
If it's lush orchestrated pop that you're after, nobody does it better than Frank Padellaro and his bandmates in King Radio. Padellaro looked toward the past and the sounds of Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach and others when he assembled this ambitious work and the results are striking. The melodies here are beautiful and the instrumentation stunning. He utilizes strings, horns, vibes, keyboards and even bangs away at an old Smith Corona on "Famous Umbrellas," all to dramatic effect.
Ware River Club - "Cathedral"
Cathedral is a compelling listen that is testament to the growing songwriting prowess of Ware River Club frontman Matt Hebert. It's mellower and more contemplative than their previous two releases that this Northampton-based quintet have released, but don't be dissuaded by that. Cathedral is the type of work that requires repeated listening to savor the full impact of these songs of loss, love and longing. The title track, which explores the frailty of relationships, is perhaps the strongest song Hebert has ever penned.
Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers - "Bulletproof Heart"
On his third album, Stephen Kellogg continues to craft irresistible pop songs that feature soaring melodies, catchy hooks, and smart lyrics. This time out, Kellogg has settled in with a band, the Sixers (bassist Keith Karlson and drummer Brian Factor), resulting in a sound that is more fleshed out and rocking. After you listen to tunes like "Thirteen" and "Summer," you'll understand why Foundations Records, an imprint of Universal, snapped him up. Kellogg will release his debut for the label this February.
Sonya Kitchell - "Cold Day"
This six-song EP is proof of Sonya Kitchell's maturing as both a singer and songwriter. These songs may have a jazzy flavor; but Kitchell touches upon other musical genres, stretching out into folk, r&b and pop. The young singer's nuanced vocals make the languid title track a particular standout. Cold Day was released on her Website last year and will be released nationally this winter. It will no doubt provide a nice boost to Kitchell's growing reputation.
A larger Sonya Kitchell item appears below.
Various Artists - "The Signature Sounds 10th Anniversary Collection"
This two-disc set was released in November to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Whately-based Signature Sounds record label. Disc one is a sure bet - a compilation that features some of the best loved songs from Signature Sounds artists ("Kathleen" by Josh Ritter and "Blackbirds" by Erin McKeown among them). The 12-track second disc, however, is made up of unreleased material that includes hidden treasures like Richard Shindell's "Shades of Black, Shades of Blue," and "You Must Slumber," by Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer. This collection is a testament to the efforts of the Signature Sounds label, which has proven time and again that great music can be produced in our own backyard.
Sonic Youth - "Sonic Nurse"
I may be stretching a bit with this one; but since leaders Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon are residents of Northampton, I am going to cheat a bit and call this a local release. There aren't many bands that have been together for twenty-plus years that can still create music that is edgy and vital. Sonic Youth's latest, Sonic Nurse, accomplishes this feat and adds to the legend of these alternative giants. While not quite up to the high standard established by their previous outing, Murray Street, (and certainly no Daydream Nation), this rather somber disc is a worthy addition to the canon. "Kim Gordon and the Arthur Conan Doyle Handcream" is vintage Kim, and one of the big plusses of this disc is that Kim is all over the place.
Promize - "Reason for Expectation"
If you are a fan of good old fist-pumping pedal-to-the-metal rock 'n' roll, then check out the Greenfield-based band, Promize. Fronted by Leslie Borden Pasco, who is also the band's lyricist, this group plays straight-ahead, hard driving rock in the tradition of old school rockers like Heart and Rush. Right from the get-go, the opening track, "Mine," displays that Pasco was born to sing rock 'n' roll. As she roars through tunes like "Fade," she is helped along by the driving rhythm section of drummer Dave Manning and bassist Bob Sweeney and by the searing guitars of Mike Sherry and Jim Pitoniak.
Spouse - "Are You Going To Kiss or Wave Goodbye?"
Having liberated himself from the influence of the Pixies, Jose Ayerve and the company that makes up his group Spouse check in with a pop opus that at the same time is an uncompromising rocker. Spouse's new effort, Are You Gonna Kiss or Wave Goodbye? employs guitar-based hooks that are to die for. The out-and-out rocker "Dancing to the Nuclear Stomp" and the impressionistic "Space" encompass styles of writing and playing that make this a varied and strong outing.
Lonesome Brothers - "Fences"
The Lonesome Brothers - guitarist Jim Armenti, bassist Ray Mason, and drummer Tom Shea - are something of a Valley institution. If you are looking for the key to their success you don't have to look any further than their fifth CD, Fences. This disc, like their previous work, is full of impeccable musicianship, humor, excellent production, and the world-weary vocals of both Mason and Armenti. But it's the endless stream of songs they write that range from funny toe-tappers like "Frozen George" and "Galaxy" to touching ballads like "Try Me Out for Awhile" and "Come to the Window," that make this band such a local treasure.
Jeffrey Foucault - "Stripping Cane"
Jeffrey Foucault originally hails from Wisconsin but recently settled here in Western Mass. Stripping Cane is his second release but first for the Signature Sounds label. A deeply soulful singer, Foucault, who claims Townes Van Zandt as a major influence, is a literate writer whose story-songs are rich in character and detail.
|
You make your heart a decoration It's like a broken violin So carefully made empty Taking only silence in Taking saccharine to kill your pain Won't you help me stripping cane |
he writes in the title track. Lyrics like this are making Foucault a fast rising presence on the singer-songwriter scene.
Coming in 2005. - New releases from Lo-Fine, the Drunk Stuntmen, Erin McKeown, the Stone Coyotes, Fancy Trash, and many others. Stay tuned.
| Parts of this column by Sheryl Hunter were first published in the Greenfield Recorder, Greenfield, Massachusetts, on Thursday, January 6, 2005. |
| Copyright © 2005 by Sheryl Hunter. |
| All rights reserved. |
| Used with permission. |
the year in review
A happy 2005 to one and all. Robin Right looks forward to the new year with eager anticipation. At a time when most entertainers have long ago retired, she is full of energy and ready to take on new challenges. Already in the plans are Tammy Wynette tribute shows, a summer concert tour in Europe, the digital re-release of her first album, and a video. More about 2005 in another newsletter; but first, we can't go forward without taking one last look back at the year 2004. And a very good year it was, including a concert with George Jones, lots of travel around the US and Europe for performances of the Robin Right Show and Hard To Be a Woman, plenty of work in the studios, and even time with friends and family.
January - Robin entered 2004 with a big bang when she slipped on the ice and broke her wrist. It required a cast and Robin was surprised to be offered a choice of colors. She chose green. Unfortunately she was in too much pain to make a trip to Pennsylvania for a concert the next day. However, in true show business tradition, the show went on. Her very talented band performed that night without her for an understanding audience. It was one of the very few times in her long career that Robin missed a
Also in January, long-time fan club member Carol Minicucci married Charles Dutton. German concert promoters Andy and Julia came for a visit. And Robin did a radio interview with Trudy Burke in Australia.
February - Robin displays her versatility by acting in Phil and Rhonda's Gala Divorce, a murder mystery musical comedy! We won't give away the plot, but Robin played the role of Joanie Cockroach. We know she wasn't type-cast, but that should give you some idea about the
The availability of Robin's CDs increases when CD Baby adds Robin to its website, www.cdbaby.com/robinright/
March - Robin's cast is removed and she begins some painful physical therapy. Husband Fred travels to Huntsville, Alabama for a long consulting assignment. It wasn't all work as he goes to concerts by Joe Diffie, Lone Star, and the Lovin' Spoonful.
April - Robin enjoys a nice visit from fellow entertainers Debbie and Stevie Cee. She does a radio interview on the long-running Hillbilly at Harvard show on WHRB with Lynn Joiner and another on the Jordon Rich Show on WBZ. Hillbilly at Harvard can be heard all around the world on the Internet, and WBZ has a clear signal at night that can heard from Canada to Florida. Jordon's show has a call-in format and Robin was surprised to talk to listeners as far away as
Robin performs Hard To Be a Woman, her Tammy Wynette tribute, twice, at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Massachusetts and at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The show in Arlington is video-taped by a professional crew for future DVD release.
May - Robin accompanies Fred to historic Annapolis, Maryland where she admires the old buildings in the town and the young sailors at the U.S. Naval
Tower Records adds Robin to its web site.
June - Robin spends some time in Saratoga, New York attending a family gathering, tasting the mineral waters that spout out of the ground, hiking over Revolutionary War battle grounds, and learning the history of thoroughbred racing in America's first resort. She has performed in Saratoga many times, but being on tour never had the opportunity to visit the sights. The one that fascinated her the most was a monument to somebody's leg at Saratoga Battlefield. Do you know who's leg it is and why only his leg is on the monument? If you'd like to know more send us an email.
July - Fourth of July saw Robin performing in the Natick, Massachusetts parade. The minute the float entered the parade route, it began to rain and continued for the entire parade until the band returned to the starting point. Then it stopped. Of course the show must go on (see January), so Robin and the band played and sang in the rain to the hardy parade-goers who stood under their umbrellas. Fred was a little nervous when he was nominated to go restart the generator every time the water shorted it
Next was an outdoor concert in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts to a large and enthusiastic
Then it was on a plane to Europe for concerts in Finland and
Robin spent some time in the studio, digitally remixing her first album, Right the First Time. Look for a CD release in early 2005.
August - Robin performs with George Jones at Indian Ranch in Webster, Massachusetts on the shores of beautiful Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg! Robin surprised George with a picture of them taken the last time they performed together, and they spent some time back stage getting caught up on each other's careers since their last meeting. She captivated the crowd of 6000 by demonstrating how she is getting younger and more energetic every year. And she got a laugh when she thanked them for coming out just to see
September - Robin didn't get all of the fishing out of her system, so she and Fred returned to their secret spot for another week of camping. They are now experienced enough that when the rains came, they were able to keep dry and enjoy a late night light show of thunder and lightning. Once back to civilization, Robin enjoyed getting all dressed up for a gala night at the annual Massachusetts Country Music Awards Show, and the show enjoyed her singing "Kiss This."
October - In October one of Robin's other personalities emerges. She can't control it; but as Halloween approaches, she transforms into the alluring, the enticing, the dangerous, the almost real Elmira! To her victims, like John Penny, we can only offer our apologies. Maybe next year garlic or wolfbane will do the trick and keep the world safe from
The New England Country Music Historical Society needed a place to store their collection after their museum closed and their public storage space had to be released. So in October, it arrived at Robin's doorstep and now occupies two rooms in her house until a permanent location can be found.
November - Robin spends a lot more time in the studio, two studios as a matter of fact, audio and video. The remixing of Right the First Time is completed at Specialized Mastering Studio. Robin's first album was released before there were CDs, only LPs and cassettes. That either demonstrates how fast technology is changing or how long Robin's career has been. She is hoping to re-release Right the First Time in CD format in early
Thanksgiving was spent visiting Robin's daughter and family in Florida. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner was replaced by a camping trip to a beautiful, crystal clear Florida spring. Fred, Robin, her daughter Tammy & husband Aaron, and the two grandsons, Chandler and Austin, had a great time kayaking, fishing, and hiking.
December - December is quite a month for Robin. Not only does she enjoy the holidays, but also her birthday falls right in between, on December 29th. This year turned into quite a celebration. Fred took her to one of their favorite restaurants for some Mexican food. The restaurant is the home of the Worm-Eaters Club, which is joined by consuming a shot of Mescal, including the traditional grub at the bottom of the glass. After joining, you get a commemorative T-shirt and your name on a plaque on the wall. You can find Andy Huebner's name there, the result of an earlier visit from Germany. Well, dinner was delicious, and the Margaritas were flowing. Maybe that is why, during the evening, the idea of joining the Worm-Eater's Club became attractive to Robin. Fortified by another Margarita, the Mescal was ordered, complete with the worm, and down the hatch it went. Then the partying began in earnest, including a presentation of the T-shirt and the singing of Happy Birthday by all the waiters and waitresses. Robin says it definitely made her feel young again.
A peaceful, healthy and prosperous New Year to all of our readers. Robin hopes to see all of you in person before the year is done.
2004 Robin Right Year-in-Review, January 11, 2005
| Copyright © 2005 by Morningside Management. |
| All rights reserved. |
| Used with permission. |
sonya kitchell
With the release of her new EP, Cold Day, listeners may finally get beyond Sonya Kitchell's age.
Sure, she is only 15, but the Ashfield based singer-songwriter can still write a great song and deliver it in a voice that is warm yet at the same time powerful. Kitchell wrote all six songs on Cold Day, which is currently available on her Website but won't be released nationally until February.
The disc was produced by Steve Addabbo (Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega) and recorded with her current band - guitarist Jason Ennis, bassist Jon Suters, jazz pianist Miro Sprague, and drummer Conor Meehan. (Saxophonist Emiliano Garcia does not appear on the disc, but is a regular member of Kitchell's touring group.)
Kitchell and the band will perform at the Coffee and Soul Coffehouse held at the All Soul's Church in Greenfield on Saturday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. Joining her for this show will be the pop-funk vocal group All About Buford.
After showcasing for various labels, Kitchell ended up releasing the disc on Velour Recordings. "Velour is my management company and they also have an artist development label," explained Kitchell. "I did this EP for Velour and will probably do a full-length release as well; but I've had some interest from larger labels, so I'm kind of hoping that Velour will be kind of a stepping stone for me."
While Kitchell has been defined as a jazz singer, Cold Day shows her moving far beyond that label as she incorporates traces of folk, rock, R&B, and even pop into her sound. Her smooth, rich voice has never sounded better and has been drawing comparisons to Norah Jones and Natalie Merchant.
"I don't write jazz music. When I wasn't writing much, I did a lot of jazz covers; but the more I started writing the less jazz I started doing," said Kitchell. "I mean, I have written a couple of sort of jazzy tunes. Mostly I write folkie-soul-rock stuff, but it is all jazz influenced."
Kitchell, who has written over 100 songs, composed all six of the tunes on this disc, from the love song "Think of You" to "Clara," a song that was inspired by reading Isabelle Arlene's House of Sprits. "I write all the time, but I go through phases," she said. "Sometimes I write songs every day. Then I'll go a week without writing and feel like I get all pent up inside and have to write."
Kitchell, a sophomore at Hadley's Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School, is touring as much as her academic schedule allows. She recently finished successful dates opening for Tuck & Patti and is exploring some other touring options, while considering what she can realistically fit into the school year.
Once the EP is released nationally, there will no doubt be even more touring, then another album to make, and perhaps even offers from a major label to weigh. Kitchell is making great strides in her career, a feat that's all the more impressive when we consider that she hasn't yet graduated from high school.
Of course, she wishes that people would look at her as a musician and stop focusing on her age; but she realizes that isn't going to happen anytime soon.
"Oh, I don't think people are going to get past that," she says with a laugh, speaking of her age. "Things are happening slowly but surely and maybe not even so slowly - it just seems that way to me."
| Parts of this column by Sheryl Hunter were first published in the Greenfield Recorder, Greenfield, Massachusetts, on Thursday, November 18, 2004. |
| Copyright © 2004 by Sheryl Hunter. |
| All rights reserved. |
| Used with permission. |
david r. carter (1952-2002)
We first got within ear-shot of Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer with the arrival of the wonderful Tanglewood Tree (CD, Signature Sounds Recordings SIG 1257, 2000), their second album - but the first to be distributed nationally. Though they live in far-off Portland, Oregon, they have built a sizeable following here in New England. Last evening, in a split bill with Nerissa and Katryna Nields, they packed the Hooker-Dunham Theater, though they had been announced as part of the bill only days before the concert was held, the publicity ran mostly in out-of-state outlets, and their fans had to brave terrible driving and walking conditions to get there. (The weather forecast for that day pretty much amounted to a scare tactic.) It said much about the snowballing reputation of Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer that their albums were selling briskly before the concert began.
In the afternoon prior to the show, we Western New Englanders had the opportunity to hear Carter and Grammer sing live in the studio of Northampton's great WRSI-FM ("The River"). They did my two favorite numbers from the Tanglewood Tree disc - "The Mountain" and the title song; and that was all I needed to hear to help me decide that I would be at their Brattleboro concert. The two performed quite brilliantly on WRSI.
Tracy Grammer has actually been one of my e-mail correspondents, and it was marvelous to get a chance to meet her. I got to talk with Dave Carter at good length. He was very generous with his time.
Dave Carter's reputation for being highly intelligent and well educated preceded him, but there was still room for surprises. I guess I must have never seen a review of one of this duo's concerts. So it was a real revelation to learn that Carter is a delightfully charismatic presence on stage. Both musicians played amplified instruments, and Carter alternated between six-string guitar and five-string banjo. At one point, it appeared that he was playing banjo lines on guitar. Carter gets most of his songs from dreams, writing down as much as he can remember as soon as he wakes up. His lyrics probably attract more attention than anything else the group does, but he is also a gifted tunesmith and singer. His voice comes with a captivating soft twang. Carter's performances, at times, crackle with energy; and he is great fun to watch.
![[Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer]](pic/daveandtracy270.jpg)
Dave Carter says that Tracy Grammer is his favorite singer in the whole world. His appreciation is not misplaced. On stage, Grammer may be a little shy between songs. She took many of the instrumental leads on fiddle, the instrument for which she seems to be best known. In the midst of one solo, she played a line that was reminiscent of the style of Vassar Clements. Grammer has an excellent, clear, accurate voice and she is quite skilled in its use. Her big number, to my mind, is the gorgeous song, "The Mountain," which she sang beautifully last evening. Her performances are sparked by her love for the material, for clearly she is, herself, a devoted music fan and, more specifically, a fan of the songs of Dave Carter.
On record, Grammer is a superior harmony singer, consistently achieving a good balance with Carter when his voice takes the lead. Though this is more of a challenge live, she accomplished much the same on stage. In fact, both singers excell in a backup role. One vocal passage even brought the Everly Brothers to mind - and it doesn't get any better than that.
The Hooker-Dunham Theater is an intimate setting, and the music required only light amplification; but Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer are headed fast toward playing mostly larger halls, and one can't help but wonder what they would sound like with the amps cranked up. It's a thing I'd love to witness. They are sometimes compared to my all-time favorite group, Ian and Sylvia; and Dave and Tracy's folk-rock, with its country flavor, could have a similar effect.
Word is getting around about Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer. If you want to hear them in an intimate setting, you might want to do it soon.
When Dave Carter spoke of the group's happy association with the Signature Sounds record label, many members of the crowd clapped. It's not so very often that one hears applause for a commercial enterprise; but Signature Sounds has its own way of doing business, and clearly they have strong customer support. They make great records. Even people who are unfamiliar with the label may be aware of Signature Sounds president Jim Olsen - for Dar Williams has immortalized him in the chorus of one of her most popular songs, "Are You Out There."
Nerissa and Katryna Nields are terrific singers and it is unfortunate that I had to miss their set. I get up at 3:30 a.m., had things that evening that I couldn't put off or skip, and needed to get at least some sleep. As they say, the will is strong but the flesh is weak.
March 23, 2001 (partly rewritten December 27, 2004)
| Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Alan Lewis. |
| All rights reserved. |
| Used with permission. |
We have published several other items about or having something to do with Dave and Tracy. Here are a few excerpts:
When an advance copy of Tanglewood Tree arrived, I researched Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, using several large periodicals databases, and found nothing - not a single hit. The print media, broadly taken, had not yet caught on to these two. I got radically different results, though, when I searched the Internet. Not only did the hit-list run off-screen, but the numerical list of pages of hits also ran off-screen. Dave and Tracy already had a groundswell of grassroots support out there in cyberspace. Incidentally, my favorite of the pieces that I found when using that hitlist is a passage from a show listing written by Bob Williams of KANU radio and West Side Folk:
The Boston Globe, in an enthusiastic 2001 preview, called the Boston Folk Festival "the perfect swan song for the summer festival season." Advance ticket sales had been double those of the year 2000; but, following the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC, along with news that Boston might be the target of another terrorist plot, Saturday's actual attendance was half of what it had been at the same point the previous year. Yet in his coverage of the 2001 festival, Globe correspondent Scott Alarik reported picking up signs of a developing cult following for Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer. Folkies jammed into the hall to hear them and cheered Carter's songs, before the duo could start singing them.
The year 2002 was shaping up to be a good one for Tracy Grammer and her partner Dave Carter," wrote "Sounds Local" columnist Sheryl Hunter of the Greenfield (Mass.) Recorder.
www.geocities.com/nemsnewz/news/0062.htm#tg
"They had joined up with Joan Baez on her winter tour, were winning raves for their latest album Drum Hat Buddha and had a full schedule of summer festivals booked. The duo was one of the fastest-rising acts in folk music; but then a sad twist of fate took place, and the day before they were set to perform at the Green River Festival here in Greenfield Dave Carter died unexpectedly of a heart attack."
The following quote was circulated by someone unknown to us who is on the Melissa Ferrick list. We have no reason, though, to doubt its authenticity.
I will meet you at Falcon Ridge on Saturday, if not before. We need to keep this music alive. It was always my mission that the world hear and know the poetry and vision and wonderful mystical magic of David Carter. This path is broad and long; I hope you will stay the course with me.
sabby lewis
To the world, "Boston jazz" is defined by those who move on and move out. Johnny Hodges, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, and others have defined a rich Boston legacy, primarily through the music they created in other places.
Jazz in Boston, on the other hand, has survived and frequently thrived because several important musicians chose to call this area home. Over the past 60 years, no single figure has been more central to this effort than pianist William (Sabby) Lewis, who died at age 79 on Saturday.
Lewis and his family arrived in Boston in 1933 via Middleburg, N.C., where he was born, and Philadelphia, where he attended high school. The first Lewis band took shape in 1937, after he had studied at the New England Conservatory. "We formed an eight-piece band that managed to get a big band sound," he recalled in a 1987 conversation. "The trick was the voicings of the three saxes, and using a second trumpet who doubled on trombone."
With key assists from saxophonist/writer Jerry Heffron and violinist Ray Perry, Lewis' career took off in 1940, when he settled in at the Savoy Café on Columbus Avenue and won a summer replacement contest on the nationally broadcast Fitch Bandwagon, making his group the first "on location" jazz band in Boston. Bassist/vocalist Al Morgan and singer Evelyn White became focal points, regular visits to the Famous Door and the Savoy Ballroom in New York ensued, and a host of now-legendary players passed through.
"We had Sonny Stitt for a while, Freddie Webster and Big Nick Nicholas. Charlie Parker was with us briefly in New York, too," Lewis remembered. Once the war ended and Lewis moved from the relocated Savoy to the corner of Columbus and Mass. avenues and the Hi Hat, the list of alumni grew to include Cat Anderson, Idrees Sulieman, Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Tyler, Lennie Johnson, the brothers Francis and Herbie Williams, and Alan Dawson.
Lewis added a career as a WBMS disc jockey in the early '50s, while young musicians like Quincy Jones who had been drawn to Boston by the Berklee School of Music still sought him out for professional grounding. When rock 'n' roll ended the heyday of the live jazz scene, Lewis briefly formed a rock band. "We played through Canada, but I didn't want to work with it here," he admitted. "I didn't want to get identified with it."
He continued to play jazz in these parts until his car was hit by a drunk driver in 1963. The ensuing damage to his left hand required years of rehabilitation, so Lewis began working for the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and slowly returned to active performing. For well over a decade, he had again been a familiar presence on club and concert stages.
Lewis would undoubtedly have enjoyed a larger international reputation if he had recorded more. The recording ban in effect during 1942-1943 (to conserve materials needed in the war) effectively canceled his contract with Decca, and Lewis would ultimately cut fewer than two dozen titles. Six of these, which capture his classic piano concept out of Earl Hines and Teddy Wilson and the compact power of his band, plus airchecks from New York's Club Zanzibar and a 1944 jam session were collected on the Phoenix Jazz album Boston Bounce 20 years ago, but this LP has long been unavailable.
Boston jazz musicians do not need records to appreciate Sabby Lewis' importance, however. To them, he will remain the fountainhead, the leader of New England's greatest "territory band" and a model for pianists and leaders to the end.
| Parts of this appreciation by Bob Blumenthal were first published in the Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, July 12, 1994. |
| Copyright © 1994 by Bob Blumenthal. |
| All rights reserved. |
| Used with permission. |
donna the buffalo
If you have ever listened to the music of Donna the Buffalo, you know that the band's lyrics carry a strong message of social responsibility. But this sextet from upstate New York does more than just talk the talk. The members of Donna the Buffalo believe that you can't preach without practicing - and practice they do.
Each July the band is the driving force behind the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival, which is staged in Trumansburg, New York. A benefit for AIDS programs and arts education, the Grassroots Festival has donated over
Beyond that, the fans of Donna the Buffalo, known affectionately as the Herd, are also active in fundraising, having raised money for local charities in the towns where Donna the Buffalo concerts are held. In under a year of operation, Herd Charities has raised over
So it makes perfect sense that Donna the Buffalo is the co-headlining act for this year's Bread and Jam concert to fight hunger in the area. The concert will be held on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at John M. Greene Hall in Northampton and will aid the Western Massachusetts Food Bank. Along with Donna the Buffalo, the show will feature the acclaimed gospel-flavored funk of the Holmes Brothers, as well as Winterpills, a local band from Northampton fronted by ex-Maggies singer and songwriter Philip Price.
The collective spirit for giving aside, Donna the Buffalo also creates great music. Anyone who happened to catch this group at the Green River Festival this past summer will recall that it transformed the field of Greenfield Community College into a wild, frenzied dance floor. The band, which formed in 1988, plays a blend of highly danceable old-time music, zydeco, reggae, and rock and roll. (These musicians originally called their group "Dawn of the Buffalo;" but since "dawn of" always seemed to come out as Donna, they switched to the current unusual moniker.)
Tara Nevins, who plays fiddle, accordion, scrubboard, and guitar also shares vocals and songwriting chores with guitarist Jeb Puryear. "Our music is original dance music that's Americana in nature, with several different American roots influences," says Nevins in an attempt to define Donna the Buffalo's difficult-to-pigeonhole sound.
At the time of our conversation Nevins was traveling on the band's tour bus en route to Boston. Donna the Buffalo plays about 150 shows a year and is a strong presence on the festival circuit during the warm weather months. Like a lot of contemporary bands, Donna the Buffalo is a do-it-yourself outfit that works without benefit of a major record label or heavy radio support. Members depend on reaching their fans through live shows, including festivals like Bonnaroo; and, while this troupe has some of the characteristics of many of those under the "jamband" umbrella, Nevins does not really feel that her group is part of that circuit. "We have great respect for that scene, as it's been a testament to a grassroots, outside-the-industry success, which is a great thing," said Nevins. "But our music doesn't really fit in that niche. We come from a strong fiddle-music background and our songs are very verse-chorus, lyric based. We do jam some, but we are more of an Americana band."
Donna the Buffalo fans are as hard to pin down as is the group's music. Their ages range from 7 to 84 and their tastes are likely to be as diverse. Over time these enthusiasts have united and formed a strong fan base known as The Herd. The Herd is a very organized, ever-growing segment of the crowd that follows Donna the Buffalo from show to show and also has created a strong presence on the Internet. Like the Deadheads and the Phishheads, the Herd is a mighty devoted lot; and Nevins realizes that this core of fans has contributed in no small part to Donna the Buffalo's current level of success.
"The Herd started about five years ago," Nevis explained. "It's basically people that discovered us and felt strongly about us. It started really small, with like three or four people who were really excited about the band. They would meet at our gigs and from there it just kept growing. It's a pretty great thing."
The Herd will be heading south in January when Donna the Buffalo plays its annual New Year's Eve concert in St. Petersburg, Florida, followed by a seven-night stand in Key West. Donna the Buffalo will also be releasing a new studio album in early 2005. But before they embark on a busy 2005, there are still a few shows left in 2004, including the stop in Northampton.
"Playing that Green River Festival last summer was really great, and we look forward to coming back to that area to play in Northampton," said Nevins. "This is going to be a good show."
| Parts of this column by Sheryl Hunter were first published in the Greenfield Recorder, Greenfield, Massachusetts, on Thursday, December 9, 2004. |
| Copyright © 2004 by Sheryl Hunter. |
| All rights reserved. |
| Used with permission. |
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