 |
Artiest/Band: Steve Howell, Dan Sumner & Jason Weinheime
|
Steve Howell, Dan Sumner & Jason Weinheimer - I Don't Mind
Fingerpicking guitarist and songster Steve Howell is a man of many musical talents, but his secret power is time travel – scouring the past for music he loves in order to make it fresh again. “Since I was very young, I have loved the music from the early twentieth century,” the East Texas native says. “This has been a constant in my life and been reflected in my repertoire.”
Howell was just 13 when he first heard Mississippi John Hurt’s finger-style country blues. That experience became a revelation that opened the door to a new musical universe – and his 30-year career exploring that universe. “A big part of my musical mission is to present songs from the deep well of great songs that have been written over time,” Howell told interviewer Michael Limnios. ”I feel that many of these tunes need to be remembered and appreciated for their beauty, humor, and continuing human relevance and wisdom.”
That appreciation manifests itself on his latest album, I Don ’t Mind, as Howell dips into the tuneful well of the last century for a delicious re-creation of a dozen wisely chosen songs with the consummate assistance of Dan Sumner on guitar and album-producer Jason Weinheimer on bass. Sumner is a Louisiana-based, internationally acclaimed guitarist, arranger and producer. Weinheimer records and produces albums at his studio, Fellowship Hall Sound in Little Rock, Ark.
I Don't Mind explores classic jazz, folk and blues styles with Howell's unique talents: “I’ve always been drawn to finger-style guitar playing because it provides what seems to me to be a more complete sound and a more pianistic approach.”
Howell sets the tone for this session with the opener, “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” a 1946 Louis Jordan jump blues hit, by creating his own stylish, swinging version. His take on the whimsical “The Fresno
Shuffle” was inspired by Dave Van Ronk's 1971 recording of Erik Frandsen's folky blues tune. Howell reincarnates the title track, “I Don't Mind,” with the airy, jazzy rhythm of his rendition of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's 1944 creation.
Howell's relaxed vocal lends an air of refreshing innocence to Cole Porter's once controversial
1930's “Love For Sale,” and then he reaches deep into blues history for the classic “St. Louis
Blues,” published by W.C. Handy in 1914, and since covered by just about everyone. “Hummin’ To Myself” was a hit in 1932 for Connee Boswell, who sang with the Dorsey Brothers, and Howell makes it sound as though it was written just for his laid-back style.
Howell flexes his guitar's pianistic side for “In Walked Bud,” written by jazz piano legend Thelonious Monk in 1947 for his friend Bud Powell, with John Hendricks' lyrics paying tribute to other giants of the
genre. An Ellington instrumental from 1940 was titled “Never No Lament” until Bob Russell wrote the lyrics in 1942, and it became the classic “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” Howell captures the magic of both efforts in his jazz-enriched version.
Howell's elegant guitar work captures the gentle instrumental lyricism of “The Shadow Of Your Smile,” a song from the1965 film The Sandpipers that won an Academy Award for Best Song. Howell's delicate balladry caresses “Once In A While,” a #1 hit for Tommy Dorsey in 1937. Ellington earns another breezy tribute on Howell's rhythmic “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)”, swinging back to 1932. The closer is Howell's eloquent instrumental interpretation of the jazz standard, “Out Of Nowhere,” first popularized by Bing Crosby in 193
BIOGRAPHY
Steve Howell is a fingerstyle guitarist and vocalist based in East Texas. His fifteen album releases have garnered wide international radio airplay and nearly unanimous critical acclaim. A lifelong lover of rural, folk-blues styles and traditional jazz, his chord melody-rooted guitar approach lends itself splendidly to his chosen repertoire and has been featured in the Hal Leonard-published “Fingerpicking Early Jazz Standards,” a book containing fifteen of his arrangements of classic tunes. He was also instrumental in the production and release of the book “Snoozer Quinn: Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Pioneer” by Katy Hobgood Ray and Dan Sumner. A veteran of the East Texas-North Louisiana music scene since the 1970’s, he has presented his music over the years from the United Kingdom and Italy to Oregon and Mississippi, and many places in between. With the quartet, Steve Howell and The Mighty Men, he has recorded and performed for nearly forty years from Little Rock to Shreveport and Memphis to Houston. He also spent several years recording and playing gigs with the great Wrecking Crew bassist, Joe Osborn. Steve is the recipient of the 2012 Academy of Texas Music Historical Significance Award.
Dan Sumner is a Louisiana-based guitarist, arranger and music producer. He is an internationally acclaimed guitarist who performs and tours the world regularly with acts such as Doug Duffey and BADD, Louisiana Soul Revival, Steve Howell, Louis Romanos Quartet, LA Legacy Jazz Band, Glynn Styler, Janice Jaffee and many others. He transcribed all of the songs included in the book “Snoozer Quinn: Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar Pioneer” by Katy Hobgood Ray and Dan Sumner. He is a sponsored Benedetto Guitars Artist and plays two custom-made Benedetto archtop jazz guitars. He owns and operates Fort Sumner Studio where he has recorded and/or produced dozens of critically-acclaimed albums by artists such as: Doug Duffey and BADD, Astro Motel, Logan and the Legendaries, The Vidrines, Gin Mobsters, Tito and the Fabulous Freeloaders, Louisiana Soul Revival featuring Doug Duffey, Fred Brown, The Gold Dust Mannequins, Jig the Alien, Bunki, Doug Duffey and BADD, and many others. He also owns and operates Fort Sumner Music School (fortsumnermusicschool.mymusicstaff.com) in Monroe, Louisiana.
A veteran producer, instrumentalist, songwriter and performer, Jason Weinheimer has spent the last decade focused on recording and producing albums for other artists at his studio, Fellowship Hall Sound (www.fellowshiphallsound.com) in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has recorded albums by Indy Grotto, John Moreland, Buddy Flett, Jim Mize, John Fullbright, Paul Benjamin, Jesse Aycock, Seth Lee Jones, Pony Bradshaw, and Steve Howell, among others. In addition to his studio work, he plays bass in a few bands, most notably Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer, John Fullbright, The Easys, and Steve Howell & the Mighty Men. His solo album “Skies Are Grey” was released in 2016 under the name The Libras.
WEBLINKS
More Info: Betsie Brown, Blind Raccoon, betsie@blindraccoon.com
 |
[Back to TOP] |
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten