Recording Reviews
Just a few of the hundreds in every issue

David & Roselyn Praha Live Da Ro DR 0051299 (1999) As noted by the PBS documentary The Mississippi: River of Song, the folk duo David and Roselyn are a veritable New Orleans institution. For the past 25 years, the busking Buffalo Bill lookalike and his African-American wife Roselyn have entertained tourists and locals alike in the French Quarter. Occasionally they do venture out of the swampy city, like their headline appearance at the Mississippi Mud Blues Festival in the Czech Republic, the site of this live recording. Overall, it's an accurate representation of their performances in a slightly more formal setting. Along with a couple of Europeans on sax, flute, and bass, David and Roselyn quickly establish that they're genial sorts with endless surprises up their sleeves. For the first few songs, David alternates impressively between guitar and harmonica while Roselyn does the same (between guitar and mandolin) on several drifty blues numbers. Roselyn fuses her terrific soulish voice into the folky acoustic proceedings that inch slowly into rich climaxes with many memorable moments. On "Joe Turner," Roselyn enchants with her electric African mbira tinkling into this otherwise bluesy tune. The two remind their audience of their indigenous musical heritage with David's muted trumpet playing on a romantic Fats Waller tune, "House of the Rising Sun," as well as the New Orleans anthem, "Saints." Just like this live performance, David and Roselyn are not only playing for tips when they're busking the Quarter — they're out for hearts and souls as well. — Dan Willging (Denver, CO)

Ani DiFranco To the Teeth Righteous Babe RBR017-D (1999) On her 11th studio album, To the Teeth, Ani DiFranco is joined by two musical legends, saxophonist Maceo Parker and that guy with the symbol for a name that used to call himself Prince. DiFranco's blistering pace of one to two discs a year would cause most singer/songwriters to burn out, or at least start repeating themselves, but such limitations do not appear to apply to her muse. To the Teeth is a more introspective and intimate effort than her last couple of more pop-oriented releases. The lyrics of the title tune, an angry diatribe against gun ownership and the NRA, stand in sharp contrast to the lazy strummed guitar and subdued backing by DiFranco's crack three-piece band. The intimate love lament "Soft Shoulder" is similarly built on minimalist, heavily reverbed electric guitar, gradually augmented by pounding percussion and fuzzed guitar leads. "Wish I May," which is propelled along by washes of wah-wah guitar, seems to find DiFranco on a day when her optimism meter was near zero. The ponderous metal pop of "Freakshow" explores the dark side of being a high-profile touring musician. "Back, Back, Back" features soulful duet vocals by DiFranco and keyboardist Julie Wolf, accented by a slow, soulful sax line by Parker, who similarly manages to find a sweet spot (with an overdubbed duet, no less) in the street rant "Swing," which also features rapper Corey Parker. One of the disc's brightest moments is "The Arrivals Gait" with its stuttering tempo, Jason Mercer's happy banjo, and the song's picture of souls being reunited. The Artist's guest shot, on the moody "Providence," is pretty much a non-event, limited to some backing vocals and occasional soulful grunts. To the Teeth is too uneven to be a masterpiece, but it does have more than its share of memorable moments, and it shows that Ani DiFranco is not ready to rest on her laurels, instead choosing to continue to push the envelope of her artistic expression. - Michael Parrish (Downers Grove, IL)

Michael Hurley
Weatherhole
Field Recording Co. FLD 151 (1999)

How many singer/songwriters have been making records since the 60s that combine quirky, original guitar work, highly effective vocals, and an immediately recognizable writing style? That Michael Hurley has done this while remaining a marginal figure underlines the fact that even folkies are suspicious of real non-conformity. Hurley is certainly a law unto himself. You will never hear him adopt the self-righteous tone of the folksinger pointing out the evils of society, or the self-pity of the modern love songster, for example. Not that he doesn't write love songs, and I suppose "National Weed Growers Association" could be said to contain social commentary, though that's hardly the point. The one quality that is always present, whether the subject is love, pot, the blues, or humorous nonsense, is whimsy. Hurley's penchant for making even sad songs whimsical is as interesting as his ability to make sympathetic characters out of werewolves.

The present collection features recordings made in Virginia, Ohio, and New York City, with a revolving cast of supporting musicians. One familiar name is bassist Dave Reisch, who has aided and abetted The Holy Modal Rounders (as well as Hurley) for years. All involved do a good job of fitting in with this slightly off-center music, which moves from blues to country to folk flavorings, to things that can't be described but must be experienced, like the mouth-trumpet choir on "The Rue of Ruby Whores." Hurley is actually a better singer than he was on his early records, and more consistent as a writer. His own inimitable artwork and appropriately tortured notes from writer Nick Tosches grace this new release, which will be sought eagerly by Hurley's fanatic following. — Duck Baker (Richmond, CA)

Flook
Flatfish
Flatfish 002CD (1999)

You really wonder why no one has thought of it before. There are lots of groups that feature twin fiddles, dueling guitars and, (God forbid!) twin bagpipes, but Flook is the only group I know of that features two flutes. The players in Flook, Sarah Allen (a founding member of The Barely Works) and Brian Finnegan, are both good enough to hold the spotlight individually, but together their playing is nothing short of brilliant. Add to that the solid bodhrán playing of John Joe Kelley and the guitar/bouzouki/mandolin playing of Ed Boyd, and the results are irresistible.

Musically, the band takes many different approaches to the tunes. The opening set, "Calico" (taken from the Irish band of the same name), features fiery interplay between the two flutes. The second, "E Reels," makes use of two whistles, and on the third, Allen takes up the accordion on a traditional Macedonian tune. Boyd's guitar takes the spotlight on "Vero's," the opening tune of the "Waltzes" set, which flows into a Kathryn Tickell piece, "The Acharavi Waltz," which again features Allen's accordion playing.

Flook is much more than just two flutes, and this varied approach to the music keeps things both exciting and interesting. The group's multi-textured, strongly rhythmic performance style shows that there are still new, exciting ways of playing tradition-oriented music. Recommended.
— Jim Lee (Simi Valley, CA)

Various artists
Allons en Louisiane
Rounder 11661-6093-2 (1999), CD & CD ROM

This two-disc set, one of music and one a CD-ROM, celebrating the whole of Louisiana culture is somewhat limited in scope by its nature, but serves as a good good introduction. The music CD features great bands like Beausoleil, Boozoo Chavis, and D.L. Menard, and while one can always quibble with the song selection, it's certainly impressive that all of these artists have albums on Rounder that deserve to be heard in their entirety. It's a good mix, despite its lack of any rare or even re-mixed tracks.

The CD-ROM is interesting and remarkably easy to use, though maybe some live performances on real time video of these artists would have been nice. It is enjoyable enough, however, its navigability being its strongest point – one of the few CD-ROMs I've ever seen that really is "just point and click" user friendly. A tour through it includes dance and cooking instructions. One can browse and print lots of text and photographs, and listen to spoken clips (albeit mostly short ones). It also includes a travel guide to south Louisiana, which seems geared toward not becoming out of date too quickly. On the whole, a mixed bag for the initiated, but highly worthwhile for the curious. Two notes of caution, however — my copy has both discs imprinted with the "CD-ROM" label, though disc two is an audio CD only — hopefully this has been corrected on future pressings; and the visuals and the music really benefit (as is explained on the cover) from good audio and video capabilities.
— Dave Soyars (Sherman Oaks, CA)

Various artists
Balkan Blues:
Souffles De L'Ame
Network NET 33858 (1999)

This attractive two-CD set presents nearly two and a half hours of Balkan music that focuses not on the vestiges of folk tradition, but on the highly-evolved music of professional groups. The musical level is extraordinarily high, but the notes, which are presented in three languages, are uneven. A paragraph that blithely begins "If the blues can be regarded as an intensive musical expression of regionally linked cultural identities...", goes on to tell us of the great variety of "blues" in the region (the definition could fit classical music, of course). While no one should object to the term being used loosely, such pseudo-musicological justifications are tiresome. At other points some fairly abstruse musical concepts are addressed with enlightening results. It is awkward, however, that most of the information given about the musicians is in the contexts of these discussions.

But the music is great, which is the important thing. There are Gypsy bands of different shapes and sizes, voices with silver edges that carve astonishing melismatic runs, breathtakingly virtousic clarinets and accordions, some of the best fiddling I've ever heard, impossibly tight ensembles negotiating impossible tempi and time signatures, and excellent examples of the region's celebrated group harmony singing. There are a few tracks where the style is a little pop- oriented for my tastes, but there are also places where there are six or seven spectacular performances back-to-back. It seems impossible to single out individual efforts on such a collection. Musically, this set is guaranteed to delight serious listeners and should also appeal to just about anyone who's been weaned from top-40 shlock.
Duck Baker (Richmond, CA)

Brave Old World
Blood Oranges
Red House RHR CD 134 (1999)
Flying Bulgar
Klezmer Band with Adrienne Cooper
Fire
Traditional Crossroads 4295 (1999)
Flying Bulgar
Klezmer Band
Tsirkus
Traditional Crossroads CD 4292 (1999)
The Alexandria Kleztet
Y2Klezmer
Kleztet CD 1 (1999)

The klezmer scene continues to evolve, as a growing cadre of ensembles reach back to bygone days to revive numbers even as they meld them with new arrangements and different genres. Nowhere, though, is this experiment as pleasurable or as fascinating as on Brave Old World's latest release. Combining such traditional fare as bulgars and Hasidic melodies with classical forays, it's as if the Kronos Quartet stumbled into a Jewish wedding in Poland a century ago and began distilling the sounds. This effect, of course, is deliberate, because the energetic foursome in Brave Old World want nothing more than to turn klezmer on its head and develop something new, or at least notably different. They call it Yiddish music for serious listening. And they succeed superbly, without converting the music to something so avant-garde that its Jewish roots are unrecognizable. This joyous disc represents the best that the innovative Jewish music scene has to offer — a familiar framework from which playful and imaginative improvisation burst forth.

Meanwhile, Toronto's Flying Bulgars also offer a satisfying outing on Fire, which is a live recording with help from Kapelye's Adrienne Cooper, a dynamic singer who adds an almost operatic air to the proceedings. The Bulgars, however, aim for a slightly more traditional line-up of songs. But their approach and execution is no less pleasing than any of their contemporaries with a more avant-garde or experimental flair. What gives this release a little extra twist is some of the material chosen. "Di Dre Neytorins" is an ode to three seamstresses and their futile existence over their sewing machines. Similarly, there's "Mayne Ynge Yorn," or "My Youth," about an apprentice boy and how he must endure humiliation at the hands of his boss and the boss' wife. On an upbeat note, there's "Yash," a lovely number about the pleasures of whiskey. Drink it in.

With imaginative arrangements and invigorating musicianship, the Flying Bulgars have quickly captured a prominent place in the burgeoning klezmer scene. This Canadian group smartly mixes elements of jazz and pop along with the more traditional klezmer sounds, such as a hora, on their fourth disc. The title track of Tsirkus, for instance, is a very catchy song with a great piano riff based on a Yiddish poem. The instrumental, "Highwire," is a jazzy number that nicely weaves in more standard klezmer melodies. Although the Flying Bulgars aren't quite as edgy as, say, The Klezmatics or Brave Old World, they deserve to be mentioned in the same breath because they continue to successfully write their own material and find new ways to adapt ancient sounds to their forward-looking views.

By contrast, the Alexandria Kleztet is a little more traditional, offering up a generous dose of the by-now standard freylekhs and bulgars. But this Northern Virginia group does so with verve and a sense of humor, such as on one original track called "Klezmerobics," which is designed to be something of a workout number. Light-hearted, but firmly rooted in klezmer tradition, the Alexandria Kleztet demonstrates their chops and proves they have room to grow on this impressive debut. - Ed Silverman (Millburn, NJ)