VAN HUNT – THE FUN RISES, THE FUN SETS
The fun never sets when Van Hunt's around – especially
given the fresh sound of this sweet little album! There's a crispy, gritty
approach that's a bit different than Van Hunt's previous work – a way of
bringing up the basslines and drums, while also dropping the singer's voice
down into the mix a bit more – so that there's this kind of swirl of rhythm and
lyrics together, which makes for a really unique groove! The sound is neither
broken beat, nor 70s funk – but seems to draw plenty of inspiration from both –
and the setting's really helped us get back into Van Hunt's music, especially
as it's been a few years since we last heard from him – plenty of time for the
singer to plot this great step forward from his previous album, What Were You
Hoping For? Titles include "Headroom", "French For Cloud",
"Teach Me A New Language", "Old Hat", "She Stays With
Me", "A Woman Never Changes", and "Emotional
Criminal". ~ Dusty Groove
JEFF RICHMAN - HOTWIRE
"Hotwire" is the newest release by jazz
guitarist Jeff Richman. The album features some of the best musicians in the
world including drummers Vinnie Colaiuta, Gary Novak and Gergo Borlai, bassists
Jimmy Haslip, Anthony Jackson and Dean Taba, Keyboardists. Tracklisting: Hit Spot, Seven Up, Chloe, Oh,
Yeah?, North Shore, One Last Kiss, Little Waves, Solar City. Golden Arrow, and
Miles Per Hour. Jeff Richman is a professional guitarist with a 35
year career in performance guitar, composing, arranging and recording. In
addition to his 16 solo releases, Jeff has produced six tribute CD's to Carlos
Santana, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Steely Dan, Miles Davis, Jeff Beck and John
Coltrane. Plus, he has appeared on countless tv/film scores and conducts the
Fusion Ensemble at Musicians Institute
SLIM HARPO – BUZZIN ‘ THE BLUES: THE COMPLETE SLIM
HARPO
The complete works of the mighty Slim Harpo – easily
one of the coolest, grooviest blues musicians ever – but one who was also taken
from our planet all too soon! Slim came into the fold a bit late – he didn't start
recording until the late 50s – but that timing also meant that his work was
less conventional blues than a blend with lots of R&B styles, which soon
morphed into more soulful expressions as the 60s came on – at a level that's
gone onto give Harpo a presence with so many different audiences over the
years. His music is all wonderful – harmonica blues, but with a twist – and
that twist is often an early example of funk, which keeps lots of these numbers
really raw, and plenty darn interesting! The massive box brings together
everything Slim recorded in his too-short career – a whopping 142 tracks on
5CDs, with both a and b-sides of every single, additional album tracks,
alternative versions, and even a rare session for Imperial Records too – never
issued during Harpo's life. There's also an extended version of a 1961 live
show, with four never issued tracks – and the whole thing comes with a heavy,
hardcover book – over 100 pages of notes, photos, and other great images. ~ Dusty Groove
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