Reviews roundup – Dewa Budjana vs. Tweed Funk vs. Erja Lyytinen
DEWA BUDJANA
Surya Namaskar
MoonJune
He’s not hanging about, is Dewa Budjana. He released two albums in 2013, and now early in 2014, his third MoonJune release is out, featuring a rhythm section of drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Jimmy Johnson. Between them they’ve got a pedigree that covers Frank Zappa, John McLaughlin, Joni Mitchell and Allan Holdsworth, and they bring it all to bear on this excellentrelease.
Dewa Budjana’s previous form shows him kixing up jazz fusion with prog rock, so it makes sense to bring in musicians of their calibre, and with some featured tarawangsa and kacapi, his Indonesian roots are still showing through. It makes for an engaging release and bar a few overdubs, it’s single take stuff, and the immediacy lifts the album throughout.
Add in some synthesizer from the well travelled Gary Husband, and material like ‘Lamboya’, ‘Fifty’ and ‘Capistrano Road’ really comes to life. Unlike many, he never shows off in place of composition, and even casual passers by will find a lot to enjoy here.
He’s already pencilled in another 2014 release, and if this is anything to go by, then it should be one to watch out for.
TWEED FUNK
First Name Lucky
Tweed Tone
Back when “Love Is” was released in 2012 I hollered “The funk, the whole funk and nothing but the funk! Oh, yes. It’s old school r’n’b time, as Tweed Funk get back to the days when the Memphis Horns and Tower Of Power were blasting out brass driven grooves across the planet. And it is good.”
And I’m hollering again, because “First Name Lucky” is an absolute peach of a record. With seven originals and four covers, they wisely kick off with a a couple of new tunes, that get the groove going in fine fashion. Then it’s off into a blues shoutin’ romp through ‘Let The Good Times Roll’, and the party has well and truly started.
They can swing as well as groove, and testify to the the fact on ‘Deed Is Done’, but are equally adept at the slow blues of ‘Sippin Misery’. The honkin’ horns are in fine form, Smokey lays down some of his best vocals, and if you’re looking for a Friday night party, then this is your new soundtrack.
And don’t forget, this is album number three, so you’ve got some catching up to do!
ERJA LYYTINEN
The Sky Is Crying
Tuohi Records
Oh, come on! That’s just cheating. How am I supposed to be impartial when my favourite bluestress does an album of songs by my favourite blues composer? Well I can’t. And this is terrific.
Yes, Finnish singer and slide guitarist, Erja Lyytinen, has put her skills to mighty good use here on an album of kent and no weel kent Elmore James tunes, along with a couple of her own tributes to the King of the Slide Guitar.
So, yes, there are versions of ‘It Hurts Me Too’, ‘The Sky Is Crying’ and a live run through of ‘Dust My Broom’, but then you’re also getting ‘Something Inside Me’ and ‘Hand In Hand’ for your listening pleasure. Ms Lyytinen is in sparkling form, and I would also give a big hand to the piano fills of Harri Taittonen, which fill out the sound beautifully.
I’m biased, but this is my favourite blues release of the year so far.
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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