12/1/2005

John Toebbe

Mary Flower was able to get into New Orleans and record a set of her fresh interpretations of some southern stompers, along with a few of her swinging originals, before the rains began to fall. And she has succeeded in creating another gem to add to her growing catalog of finely polished releases.

One of the beauties of recording in such a musical hotbed as New Orleans is the convenient proximity to such fine musicians. As usual, Mary has managed to surround herself with the cream of the crop. I don't recognize many of the names listed on the CD jacket, but the sounds they make speak for themselves! According to the liner notes, it sounds like Mary maybe didn't know some of the local dignitaries who stopped by to jam, but once they started playing it was just a matter of hitting the "record" button.

Rollicking piano backs Mary's jaunty Piedmont guitar on "Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me," and it's great. But then you add a second-line horn section of clarinet, trumpet and trombone and it just about jumps out of your speakers! That's pretty much the recipe for this session. Mary adds some funky keyboards to her already lyrical lap steel style on her own "Raise the Devil," that will have you doing a cakewalk down Bourbon Street. She turns everybody loose on "New Orleans Hop Scop Blues" and the second-line beat will keep you following the parade wherever they lead. The intermingling horn lines create that sort of lazy, ad-libbed New Orleans harmony that's readily apparent on the tin pan classic "Brother Can You Spare a Dime." Your feet will get a mind of their own when the swinging starts on Mary's take of Leroy Carr's "Papa's on the Housetop." And that's just a sampling of what's available on this collection. "Main Street Blues" hits all the right notes and will have the NOLA aficionado in you craving a messy po'boy and some Jax beer.

Once again, Mary Flower has demonstrated her powerful musical trifecta as performer, arranger and composer. Bywater Dance is Mary's sixth solo release, and at the rate she's going, her "Greatest Hits" package is going to have to be a double-CD set - she'll just have too many "great" cuts to choose from!