erasing clouds
 

Joey Wright, Jalopy

by dave heaton

Joey Wright's instrumental album Jalopy at first appears like it'll be straight bluegrass. The instruments are acoustic guitar, with banjo, fiddle, ukulele, harmonica, mandolin, double bass. The label is called Black Hen, and the song titled include "Giddy Up Bill Monroe" and "Farm Show Ghost." Certainly, bluegrass, and a carefree rustic/rural vibe, is part of what's going on here. But Wright also has a serious Django Reinhardt jones, exercised not just on the lazy-river cover of Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday", but throughout much of the CD. That combination of elegant precision (erudition, even) and country-time relaxation – evocative of hillside picnics and river rambles and a lifetime of leisure – is a bountiful one. One song title playfully refers to "Jethro Monk", and the dual backwoods/jazz influences suggested by that title do run through this whole affair, helping make it quite special.

{www.blackhenmusic.com}


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