9/28/2005

Jeff Rosenberg

After making a name for herself in the Denver music community and on the touring blues circuit, Mary Flower has planted herself in Oregon, only to find that her musical reputation here-at least for now-is second to that of her offspring. "My new identity is 'Jackstraw mom,'" she jokes, referring to son Jesse Withers, longtime bassist for the local bluegrass heroes. But her esteem for the Portland scene predates his successful tenure here. "I've been in love with this town for years," says the celebrated fingerstyle guitarist, who relocated here just over a year ago.

Flower's new release, Bywater Dance, on Memphis label Yellow Dog (also home to Oregon bluesmen Terry Robb and Mark Lemhouse), records her visit last May to another beloved-and now beleaguered-town: New Orleans. "I had no idea how fortunate I was," she says of the opportunity to record there, "to be able to walk away with a little of that magic. It'll be hard for anybody else to do that for years, maybe." So the album's release is, she admits, a "bittersweet" affair.

Several of the the Crescent City's leading players were brought in to bounce their chops off Flower's deft, sensitive fingerpicking and worldly-wise voice, for a truly original musical blend. Fortunately, Bywater Dance features such joyous music-making, even in the midst of the album's blues, that it's likely to lift the spirits of N'awlins-lovin' listeners.