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Zoe Schwarz: The Blues and I Should have a Party
ByOne of the most significant places the blues has recently gone is into the souls and spirits of British vocalist Zoe Schwarz and guitarist Rob Koral. The husband-and-wife pair have been recording since 2008, becoming Blue Commotion with the release of Zoë Schwarz Blues Commotion (33 Records, 2012). After several recordings bearing a progressive evolution and refinement of the blues through the Schwarz-Koral prism, the group circling a jazz organ-trio format, made the notable This Is the Life I Choose (33 Jazz Records, 2017) to which they follow up with the present The Blues and I Should have a Party.
The disc is a collection of thirteen original compositions of which exactly zero are slow 12-bar blues. None is what I would classify as Bobby Rush-R&B. There is a a decided European flavor to these songs, one that reminds me of Low Society's "Need Your Love" from 2014's You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down (Icehouse Records). Both songs have the rich, earthy sounds of Eastern Europe as presented from the stage of countless Berlin cabarets in the 1920s. As heady as Absinthe and as revealing as the cleavage of the Lost Generation, songs like the title piece, "Down in the Caves" and "Time Waits for No One" represent a sophisticated take on the blues and exists as a rightful evolutionary result.
Track Listing
Please Don’t Cheat on Me; The Blues and I Should Have a Party; You’ve Changed; Way Down in the Caves; Don’t Worry Blues; Should; I Don’t Live Here Anymore; My Handsome Man; Tell Me; Don’t Hold Back; the Memory of You; Time Waits for No One; Thank You.
Personnel
Zoe Schwarz
vocalsZoe Schwarz: vocals; Rob Koral: guitars; Pete Whittaker: Hammond organ; Paul Robinson: drums and Percussion.
Album information
Title: The Blues and I Should have a Party | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: 33 Jazz