|
~ NEWS & UPDATES ~
Maria Muldaur And Dan Hicks will tour together
in Japan with an all star Blues Band 6/18-6/21!
Congratulations to my dear pal Bonnie Raitt and her induction into the Blues Hall of Fame this May in Memphis!
Yes, we've got a new jug band album,
"Maria Muldaur & Her Garden of Joy": Good Time Music for Hard Times
(9 Blues Award Nominations, 3 Grammy nominations).
Special guests on the album include John Sebastian, David Grisman, Taj Mahal, Fritz Richmond, Suzy Thompson,
my sensational new discovery Kit Stovepipe (who plays absolutely amazing ragtime guitar!), and that
illustrious ultimate hipster, Dan Hicks!
My touring Garden of Joy Jug Band will feature the funky, syncopatin' guitar work of Kit Stovepipe. Also
joining me are the multi-talented Gallus Brothers, Devin Champlin & Lucas Hicks from the Crow Quill Night
Owls on multiple acoustic instruments - mandolins, fiddles, banjos, jugs, tubs, kazoos, harmonicas - you name
it! Last but not least, laying down that solid jug band groove will be Kurt Jensen on the bass and washtub.
Please check out my listed tour dates to find a show near you!
I am so excited about touring with my new Garden of Joy Jug Band, and we can't wait to share this carefree,
fun music with folks everywhere!
Hope to see y'all at my shows soon!
Let's all forget our worries and have fun with this Good Time Music for Hard Times!
Peace & Blessings!
Reviews of "Garden Of Joy"
(3***) As the cartoonist Robert Crumb has pointed out, the current depression is worse that it was in the 1930s
"because we don't have the music to get us through it". Muldaur attempts to remedy that with a selection of
jug band tunes new and old and collaborators such as John Sebastian, Taj Mahal and the songwriter Dan Hicks.
Shout You Cats and Garden of Joy provide some vintage optimism, while Bank Failure Blues and The Panic is On add a piquant topicality.
(4****) Any album boasting a song
called "Bank Failure Blues" has
got to be dead contemporary, right? Weil, no, actually.
Martha Copeland sang that selfsame song back in 1927. But that's the beauty of Maria
Muldaur's latest offering. It's a complete return to the past that,
without relinquishing
anything in the way of
authenticity, sounds great in
2010. And, while reminding us that the world is crashing clown around our heads, confirms that
happiness is only a good tune or two away. Remember the Kweskin Jug
Band, where the Muldaur story began? Well, here we are, back in that rooty-tooty way of
things, except the cast these
days includes John Sebastian, David Grisman and Taj Mahal. And, of course, good-time
guru Dan Hicks, whose duet with Muldaur on a mediey
that includes "When Elephants Roost In Bamboo Trees," is the ultimate, melodic, wide grin.
Grab yourself a washboard
and join in.
- Fred Dellar, MOJO
|
