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Mundell Lowe / Lloyd Wells / Jim Ferguson: Poor Butterfly
ByWith Poor Butterfly Lowe shows that his warmth, taste, intelligence, and technique are still fully intact. He teams up with a pair of musicians that he's worked with in duo settings in the pastguitarist Lloyd Wells, who worked side-by-side with Lowe on This One's For Charlie (Azica, 2000), and bassist Jim Ferguson, Lowe's duo partner on Haunted Heart (LDM, 2007)and delivers a collection of classics-in-miniature. Nothing breaks the five-minute markmore than half the songs clock in under three minutesand there's no wasted notes or passages. These three play to the song, say what needs to be said, and simply move on.
While certain traits carry through a number of these songsfour-to-the-bar Freddie Green-esque rhythm strumming, concise single-note statementseach piece offers its own reward(s). There's a pleasantly cruising "My Shining Hour" for three, a beautifully-rendered Wells solo take on "Here's That Rainy Day," a sleepy and flowing "Poor Butterfly" for two guitars, a brief and moving "I'll Never Be The Same" that finds Lowe alone, and an album-ending Wells original that serves as a vocal feature for Ferguson. The configuration constantly changes from track to track, with three trio numbers, three solo pieces per guitarist, and three guitar duo performances in the mix, but everything is sonically and stylistically of a piece here. Poor Butterfly is a short-and-sweet collection of music with no shortage of elegance and grace.
Track Listing
Line For Lyons; Poor Butterfly; I Loves You, Porgy; Here's That Rainy Day; My Shining Hour; I'm Through With Love; Alice In Wonderland; Last Night When We Were Young; For All We Know; I'll Never Be The Same; Every Time We Say Goodbye; Uncle John.
Personnel
Mundell Lowe
guitarMundell Lowe: guitar; Lloyd Wells: guitar; Jim Ferguson: bass, vocals (12).
Album information
Title: Poor Butterfly | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Two Helpins' O' Collards