Having joined the growing percentage of the world's population being recently un-employed, I have been experiencing some re-adjustments. Now I suddenly find myself sleeping when it's dark and waking when it gets light. Daytime activities aside, I have found myself free to participate in some social endeavors in the evening hours. On June 8, I participated in the Slow Jam at Paddy O'Reillys, playing guitar and singing with twenty-something like-minded people. In the picture one can see Deborah Monlux far left on the fiddle, Gary on guitar, Sue on banjo and Rob on guitar in the foreground. Behind them are two mandolin players and a dobro player.
Then on the next Thursday, I got to see the legendary Danny Kalb playing at Jalopy with his bass player, Bob Jones, and drummer Mark Ambrosino. Danny was amazing. His (electrified) acoustic guitar carried instrumental solos and rhythmic accompaniment to his raspy blues vocals. Bob Jones sang bits of harmony on 30 Years and Who Put a Ring, and finished off several numbers by bowing his bass. Danny pleased us with some of the old favorites like Baby Please Don't Go, Alberta and Jesus Met the Woman at the Well. But also mixed in some really great tunes I had not heard before. Another audience member suggested that the song Got to Get Goin' Again sounded like a very autobiographical sentiment for where Danny is now. There were times when Kalb's bluesy improvisations on the upper strings almost flew off into another world, but his wonderful rhythmic thumping and running base strings always brought us back to the Blues that we can't help but love.
Danny was joined by young guitar wizard, Randy Johnson, for 3 tunes including Good Morning Blues and an incredible instrumental version of Lullabye of Birdland. Kalb finished his set with Big Bill Broonzy's Hey, Hey. But the audience wanted an encore, and Danny satisfied with the sweetest jazz/Blues instrumental on guitar.
3 comments:
There is a fabulous dobro player playing at my subway stop some mornings. I will try to speak to him next I see him. It is such a lovely sound to my ears.
I agree. And it works especially well with country or bluegrass music.
Dale -- My brother Joe Hillyer and I did a show a few years back called SHAKESPEARE'S SONGS, and it was just that, songs from the Shakespeare canon with music by Joe, performed with guitars, banjo, fiddle, dobro, mandolin and bass in an Appalachan style. We played with Danny Kalb and Bob Jones at a fund-raiser for the troops in Park Slope. In a sense, we "opened" for Danny. He is an amazing musician, and an encyclopedia of music. We didn't record the concert, alas (it was really good) but you can hear my brother's music at bardamericana.com. Cheers!
Post a Comment