Vibraphone master and thought leader Stefon Harris (featured on the cover of Downbeat's May 2024 issue) drops a surprise short-form album featuring four excellent tracks from his 2017 Sonic Creed sessions, his exquisite vibes & marimba arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "You. and I," and a moving new ballad titled "I Know Love." His 10th album serves as both a sequel to the previous 2018 release and also serves as a prequel for an epic new release coming in 1Q 2025, entitled 'LEGACY DANCES'.
Vibraphone master and thought leader Stefon Harris (featured on the cover of Downbeat's May 2024 issue) drops a surprise short-form album featuring four excellent tracks from his 2017 Sonic Creed sessions, his exquisite vibes & marimba arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "You. and I," and a moving new ballad titled "I Know Love." His 10th album serves as both a sequel to the previous 2018 release and also serves as a prequel for an epic new release coming in 1Q 2025, entitled 'LEGACY DANCES'.
Slide guitarist Lil' Ed Williams & the Blues Imperials bring the energy of live performance to their seventh Alligator release, Full Tilt. The highlights on this disc tend to reflect that of the album's title, especially the spirited cover versions of the Contours' "First I Look at the Purse" and Hound Dog Taylor's "Take Five," along with the originals "Hold That Train," "Candy Sweet," and "My Baby Moves Me." Lil' Ed's raucous guitar chops are at center stage on those tracks and the additional backing from horn players Eddie McKinley and David Basinger and pianist/organist Johnny Iguana add some extra kick. There are a few lukewarm tracks that are a bit too rote and, unfortunately, bring down the overall good-time party appeal of this disc. Still, fans of Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials, or electric modern blues in general, will want to add this to their collections.
Slide guitarist Lil' Ed Williams & the Blues Imperials bring the energy of live performance to their seventh Alligator release, Full Tilt. The highlights on this disc tend to reflect that of the album's title, especially the spirited cover versions of the Contours' "First I Look at the Purse" and Hound Dog Taylor's "Take Five," along with the originals "Hold That Train," "Candy Sweet," and "My Baby Moves Me." Lil' Ed's raucous guitar chops are at center stage on those tracks and the additional backing from horn players Eddie McKinley and David Basinger and pianist/organist Johnny Iguana add some extra kick. There are a few lukewarm tracks that are a bit too rote and, unfortunately, bring down the overall good-time party appeal of this disc. Still, fans of Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials, or electric modern blues in general, will want to add this to their collections.
The first major-label release of Mutantes material was this 1999 compilation, put together by longtime Brazilian fan David Byrne through his Luaka Bop label. Including tracks from the band's late-'60s and early-'70s LPs (available separately through Omplatten), Everything Is Possible is a solid collection that only includes 14 tracks but does spotlight Mutantes' tremendous diversity. From the birth of tropicalia on their first album from 1968 (wildly experimental pop songs like "Panis Et Circenses" and "Bat Macumba") plus their later, more straight-ahead incarnations, the album gives beginners a solid place to start. The inclusion of both versions of the rather tiresome Janis Joplin retread "Baby" is a bit regrettable, but all around, Everything Is Possible gets it right better than could be hoped from a domestic compilation.