West Tracy

Five Times Surprise brings together a volatile mix of longtime compatriots and newly forged relationships. The distinguished improvisers all boast exceptionally diverse resumes. More than finding common ground, they reveal a vast universe of possibilities fueled by creative conflagration and genre blurring. “We’re improvisers who can walk into a room and create something together,” says the project's original instigator Henry Kaiser, who then listed the salient qualities of his fellow players here: the ability to listen, kindness, generosity, and—rare in this electric realm—a sense of humor. All those factors were at work on this new recording.

Two-time Grammy nominated vocalist Tracy Nelson makes her Delta Groove debut with a strong return to her roots on her latest effort Victim of the Blues. Although best known for her work with the blues rock group Mother Earth in the late 1960's, Nelson has always had an affinity for the real deep traditional blues art form as evidenced on her very first album, Deep Are The Roots, recorded in Chicago back in 1964. Victim of the Blues finds Nelson fully embracing her blues and gospel roots on an inspired program of material that features songs by Jimmy Reed, Otis Spann, Howlin' Wolf, and Ma Rainey, along with appearances by special guests Angela Strehli and Marcia Ball.