Summary
Country/roots
Tracy Nelson, "Victim of the Blues" (Delta Groove). Tracy Nelson's 1964 debut was titled "Deep Are the Roots," and the singer who once led Mother Earth has been plumbing those roots ever since, excelling at both country and blues. Nelson comes by the title of her new album honestly. The tapes for it were one of the few things saved when her Tennessee farmhouse burned down. What they reveal is that she still possesses magnificent skills as an interpreter: With her distinctive touch of vibrato, she combines roof-raising power with deep-soul expressiveness, putting her own stamp on this vintage material. She romps through Jimmy Reed's "Shoot My Baby" (with Marcia Ball) and Howlin' Wolf's "Howlin' for My Baby" (with Angela Strehli). She slows it down for a pungent acoustic take on the Ma Rainey title track, indulges in some gospel-flavored sermonizing with Joe Tex's "The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)," and concludes with a soaring, bring-down-the-house rendition of Irma Thomas' "Without Love (There Is Nothing)" that puts a fitting exclamation point on this tour de force. Review: 3 1/2 stars (out of 4) (Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer)See the full content of this document
Extract
Listening Post / Brief Reviews of Select Releases
Jazz
Ben Allison, "Action -- Refraction" (Palmetto). Thelonious Monk's "Jackie-Ing?" Well, sure. Any 44-year-old jazz bassist might open his 10th new disc with that. Well, not like this, they wouldn't. Ben Allison describes his version this way: "I began with the intention of writing an intro t...See the full content of this document
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