- STEVE HOWELL & JASON WEINHEIMER - FEATURING DAN SUMNER & DAVID DODSONHISTORY RHYMES
RELEASE DATE: APRIL 26, 2019
BlindRaccoon
Steve Howell has accomplished that elusive goal of music archivists: making classic songs from a bygone era
relevant and vital again through his recordings, publications and performances. The East Texas guitarist recently
published a guide, “Fingerpicking Early Jazz Standards,” and is now set to release his eighth album “History.......
relevant and vital again through his recordings, publications and performances. The East Texas guitarist recently
published a guide, “Fingerpicking Early Jazz Standards,” and is now set to release his eighth album “History.......
Rhymes.” Howell is joined once again by like-minded souls - Jason Weinheimer(bass), Dan Sumner (guitar) and
David Dodson (mandolin and banjo) - on a deep dive into the great American songbook. The dozen tracks
explore the depths of timeless tales told in classic standards, blues, roots, rags and ballads from the first half of
the 20th century, captured in an intimate acoustic setting.
The easy swing tune, ‘There’ll Be Some Changes Made,’ breezes in like a panhandle Zephyr opening the set with
a breath of fresh air. The Arlen and Mercer standard, ‘Blues In The Night,’ is well known for its signature line “My
Momma Done Told Me” and Howell brings out the delicacies in the melody. Fellow Texan Blind Lemon Jefferson
cut the fingerpicking blues, ‘Shuckin’ Sugar,’ in 1926 and Howell pays tribute to one of his heroes with a jaunty
reading of the old-timey tune. Dodson’s sweet mandolin joins Howell on the melody line of the Texas gambling
song ‘Jack Of Diamonds’ and adds authenticity to the Celtic fiddle tune ‘Frosty Morn.’ The old testament tentrevival hymn ‘If I Had My Way’ speaks truth to power with a message as relevant today as when street preacher
Reverend Gary Davis recorded it.
Howell then steps into the shoes of Satchmo and Fats Waller for the saucy ragtime ‘Everybody Loves My Baby’
and delivers a tender version of Ray Charles’ hit ‘You Don’t Know Me.’ Sumner and Howell spar on majestic
archtop guitars for a sophisticated take on the much loved standard ‘I Got A Right To Sing The Blues,’
showcasing those jazz fingerpicking skills demonstrated in the new method book. Howell dedicates the cowboy
song ‘Texas Rangers - The Falls Of Richmond,’ to his late father T.D. “Rusty” Howell and his late great-great uncles, who served as Texas Rangers. He then reveals more fingerpicking magic on Leadbelly’s story of the “unsinkable ship” ‘Titanic.’
The laid-back country blues ‘Pine Bluff, Arkansas’ closes the set with a gentle back-porch sway, while singing the
praises of a small-town girl and the good-old days. The album title is taken from a quote from the father of
American literature, Mark Twain - “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” On “History Rhymes” Steve
Howell honors the tradition of great American writers and their undaunted spirit.
STEVEHOWELL.WS
- Publicist: Betsie Brown, Blind Raccoon, betsie@blindraccoon.com
- Label & Booking: Out Of The Past Music, info@stevehowell.ws
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