11/1/2005

Michael Cote

It's impossible to listen to Mary Flower's latest album without thinking about its context. A love letter to the Crescent City recorded in New Orleans in May 2005, Bywater Dance was released just a few weeks after Katrina hit.

Yellow Dog Records is donating a portion of the profits of Flower's label debut to charities supporting New Orleans musicians. But there's certainly no sadness in this collection of originals and covers steeped in bayou tradition. Flower, who performed and taught guitar in Denver before moving to Portland, Ore., is a first-rate fingerpicker who also plays fine bottleneck. She gets a lot of help here, including appearances by pianist Henry Butler, keyboardist Jon Cleary, and several horn players. The added instrumentation lends a new dimension to the music of this primarily solo performer.

Flower straddles the line between blues and jazz, recalling the spirits of Memphis Minnie, Blind Blake, and Louis Armstrong. She exudes a subtle but sultry vocal presence on album opener "Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me" and even discovers something new to say in well-worn songs such as "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Nobody's Fault but Mine." Flower alternates vocal tracks with self-penned guitar instrumentals that offer a taste of her virtuosic playing, including "La Grippe" and "Terminal Rag." Bywater Dance will surely enhance Flower's efforts to secure a national reputation.