Category Archives: Music

Dubl Hand’s Morning in a New Machine

The Brooklyn-based old-time musical duo Dubl Handi is back with a followup to its 2013 debut Up Like the Clouds, which was one of my favorite Americana releases of that year. This new release Morning In A New Machine doubles … Continue reading

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Gothard Sisters’ Mountain Rose

The Gothard Sisters (Greta, Willow and Solana Gothard) are three young sisters from the U.S. Pacific Northwest. They started out as a classical violin trio. Their first album Christmas was released in 2006 with them playing Christmas songs as a … Continue reading

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Taraf de Haïdouks and Kočani Orkestar’s Band of Gypsies 2

When I was doing background research for my review of the most recent Taraf de Haïdouks, Of Lovers, Gamblers and Parachute Skirts, I ran across a reference to Band of Gypsies 2, their 2011 collaboration with Kočani Orkestar. That sounded … Continue reading

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Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Peanuts Greatest Hits

The reissue campaign of Vince Guaraldi’s piano trio music for the Peanuts TV specials franchise continues with this new compilation. So far the A Charlie Brown Christmas  special has been remastered and reissued, and in 2014 Concord issued on Fantasy … Continue reading

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John Potter’s Amores Pasados

What might you get if you have modern pop songwriters put music to ancient poetry? Music to be played on the lute and sung by a tenor and a soprano who specialize in art songs? It could have been a … Continue reading

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Kaia Kater’s Sorrow Bound

Singer, songwriter, banjo player and songster Kaia Kater‘s debut release Sorrow bound is a fine program of Americana. It leans particularly toward old-time Appalachian-style music — not surprising given her talent and obvious love for claw-hammer-style playing. But this is … Continue reading

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Our Summer Queen, S.J. Tucker, on Food and Drink

We remember the summer afternoon that SJ Tucker played for us on the Greensward. It was a perfect summer day — warm but not too warm, sunny with a gentle breeze. And SJ with just a guitar providing some of … Continue reading

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Continental Drifters’ Drifted: In The Beginning & Beyond

The Continental Drifters were one of those bands whose popularity rested somewhere between cult status and household name — unfortunately, it was closer to the former. As far as I can tell, none of their recordings ever charted, but they … Continue reading

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Banditos’ self-titled release

With a name like Banditos, you might expect this band to be from, say, Texas. But all six members are from Birmingham, Alabama, though now firmly ensconsed in Nashville. The alternative Nashville, that is, where you can still twang and … Continue reading

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Taraf de Haidouks’ Of Lovers, Gamblers and Parachute Skirts

Of Lovers, Gamblers and Parachute Skirts is the sixth CD released by Taraf de Haïdouks, a Romanian Gypsy band. Since the band formed in 1990, this CD also celebrates their 25th anniversary. Taraf de Haïdouks began as a group of … Continue reading

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