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their recent Red House Recordsrelease, Steady As She Goes.Jorma Kaukonen and JackCasady recruited some great"friends" for their first studiorecord in 20 years, and BarryMitterhoff (mandolin), drum-mer Skoota Warner (man is hefunky!), guitarist Larry Campbelland vocalist Teresa Williams allreprised their studio roles livein concert. As if that weren'tenough, Tuna added specialguests Charlie Musselwhite onharp and all-around guitar whizG.E. Smith to the mix.This concert gave you a
taste of all things Tuna: firstset opener "Hesitation Blues;'with just Kaukonen and Casadyacoustic; electric blues with"Highway 61;' "Can't Get Satis-fied" and "Rock Me Baby;' allfeaturing Charlie Musselwhite;and a slew of tunes from SteadyAs She Goes, like the excellent"Angel Of Darkness" showcas-ing Larry and Teresa, and Rev.Gary Davis' gospe\-ly "ChildrenOf Zion" (a Jorma favorite).They wrapped set one with "HitSingle #1" and set two gave thisfine ensemble cast plenty ofmore room to shine. You know,sometimes you just have to bethere... PAUL AARONSON
Leon RussellB.B. King Blues ClubNew York, NYLast year, Elton John and LeonRussell collaborated, perform-ing several triumphant shows atthe Beacon Theatre, but Russellseemed tired and frail, havingrecently undergone major brainsurgery. However, Russell's re-cent performance at B.B. King'swas anything but frail.
Opening with his classic"Delta Lady;' the set allowedthe master of space and timeto seamlessly meld gospel,R&B, blues, country and rock.He flowed effortlessly be-tween his own classics like"Dixie Lullaby," "Roll Away
Annie DinennanFreelance [email protected]
crew than the studio record-ing: Howard Grimes (drums),Charles "Skip" Pitts (guitar andvocals), Marc Franklin (trum-pet), Kirk Smothers (tenor andbaritone sax), Curtis Jones (key-board) and leader Scott Bomar(bass). Bomar's smart, stream-lined arrangements don't needupdated hip-hop beats; this tra-ditional band feels fresh becauseevery player is free to contributeunique, funky textures.On instrumentals like "Jack
and Ginger" and "90 Days Same
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the Stone" and "Stranger in AStrange Land;' a SensationalNightingales gospel cover anda killer version of B.B. King's"Sweet Little Angel." Fromthe plaintive "Hummingbird"to the swampy "Out in theWoods" to the majestic "ASong For You:' Russell's self-penned material is a songwrit-er's feast. His interpretationsof Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain'sA-Gonna Fall" and "It Takes aLot to Laugh, It Takes a Trainto Cry" were outstandinglyadjoined with asides: from re-cording with Dylan to his nap-kin scribbled lyrics of "WhenI Paint My Masterpiece" and"Watching the River Flow:'Today, Russell is healthy, and
it's a treat to watch this masterin action. Thank you, EltonJohn, for bringing him back intothe public eye. DAVE KEYES
Laurelyn Dossettli FriendsCity WineryNew York, NYPolecat Creek's Laurelyn Dos-sett stepped onstage and pro-claimed that she and her fellowmusicians, most hailing fromthe Carolinas, came to "showyou Northerners how Christmasis really done:' Dossett, alongwith Rhiannon Giddens (Caro-lina Chocolate Drops), MikeCompton (Nashville BluegrassBand, Elvis Costello and theSugarcanes), Joe Newberry (BigMedicine) and bassist JasonSypher, did just that, treatingthe audience to nearly two hoursof folk/roots holiday cheer.
New York's most rustic venueprovided the perfect backdropto the music of The Gather-ing, the group's collaborativealbum featuring a six-song suitecomposed by Dossett. Dossettand Giddens' "String of Pearls"was impressive, as was Comp-ton's nod to Bill Monroe's "OldEbenezer Scrooge;' an intenseb~t playful mandolin jig.
"0 Holy Night;' a simultane-ously haunting and gorgeousduet between Giddens andSypher's upright bass, made fora memorable moment. ThoughGiddens' beautiful voice canably handle any style, whereshe most shines is on good 01'fashioned stomps. The closer,"Christ Was Born on ChristmasMorn;' almost had her in fits asshe belted out the gospel staple.With the perfect blend of
roots and folk, equivalent tothe warmth, richness and spice
of hot cider, The Gatheringproved that there's still somesoul to be found in contempo-rary Christmas music.
ALLISON JOHNELLE BORON
The Bo-KeysJoe's PubNew York, NYThis solid soullfunk/R&B bandhad such a good time onstagethat their legs were actuallypumping in time to the music. Ina swanky setting, the Bo-Keysgot their audience up and danc-ing. Touring in support of theirnew release, Got To Get Back!,the live band featured a smaller
As Cash;' work by Franklin andSmothers was crisp and tight.Jones delighted the crowd, cra-dling his keyboard in his left armwhile riffing right-handed. Intux and tie, Percy Wiggins sangwith excitement and authorityon tunes like "Catch This Tear-drop" and his 1967 hit "Book ofMemories:' Although Pitts hada hurt leg, the audience had noidea. Known for the "Themefrom Shaft;' the ace guitar-ist happily encored the tune.Onstage, the Bo-Keys demon-strated obvious respect for eachother's work, and clearly lovedtheir jobs. ANNIE DINERMAN
Elmore I March/April2012 47
