Flatland

Featuring ex-Mighty Blue Kings bassist Jimmy Sutton, the Four Charms' debut album, Flatland Boogie, is loaded with authentic-sounding jump blues and swing recorded the old-fashioned way live. Taking inspiration from such rockin' acts of the past as Jimmy Preston, Tiny Grimes, and others, the Four Charms deliver a stripped-down sound that should appeal to fans of postwar electric blues. Also featuring lead guitarist Joel Paterson, baritone saxophonist Jonathan Doyle, and drummer Jim Barclay, the foursome reigned as the house band at the famed Chicago haunt the Green Mill during the late '90s. Unfortunately, by the time the band got around to recording an album, the retro-swing revival had been revived, died, and been buried. Consequently, Flatland Boogie never received the attention it deserved.

Flatland is a unique, delightful satire that has charmed readers for over a century. Published in 1884 by the English clergyman and headmaster Edwin A. Abbott, it is the fanciful tale of A. Square, a two-dimensional being who is whisked away by a mysterious visitor to The Land of Three Dimensions, an experience that forever alters his worldview.