4/27/11 Playlist

1. Tramp-Otis Redding

2. Give Him a Great Big Kiss-The Shangri-Las

3. I'd Rather Be An Old Man's Sweetheart-Candi Staton

4. Today I Started Loving You Again-Bettye Swann

5. Soul Serenade-Willie Mitchell

6. Blues Stay Away from Me-The Sweet Inspiration

7. Lord, Don't Leave Us Now-The Caravans

8. Stand by Me-Jimmy Ruffin & David Ruffin

9. Ain't It Baby-The Miracles

10. Mr. Lee-The Bobbettes

11. I Love You Baby-Moovers

12. Chained-Marvin Gaye

13. One Man's Leftovers-100 Proof (Aged in Soul)

14. My Country Man-Big Maybelle

15. Baby Please Don't Go-Big Joe Williams

16. Fire On the Mountain-The Marshall Tucker Band

17. So So Freely-AgesandAges

18. Jesus and Arizona-Paper Bird

19. Fisherman's Daughter-The Waifs

20. Green River-M. Ward

21. Granddaddy's Mouth-The Dexateens

22. Antonia June-Lightning Dust

23. Trapeze-Patty Griffin

24. Dagger Through the Heart-Sinéad O'Connor

25. Lille-Lisa Hannigan

26. Wizard Flurry Home-Mariee Sioux

27. Suspicious Minds-My Morning Jacket

28. The Tree (f/ Alela Diane)-Blitzen Trapper

29. Carpenter-Huckleberry Flint

30. Lonesome Blues-The Be Good Tanyas

Keep it real, lemon peel

Ashley

4/20/11 Playlist

1. Rock Me Baby-Otis Redding

2. Honey Chile-Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

3. I'm the Lover Man-Little Jerry Williams

4. Lover's Holiday-Peggy Scott & Jo Jo Benson

5. I Don't Want to Lose Your Love-The Mad Lads

6. That's How It Feels-The Soul Clan

7. I've Got a Notion-Henry Lumpkin

8. Who's the Fool-Sammy Ward

9. I Got To Go-Little Walter

10. Frankie & Johnny-Champion Jack Dupree

11. I'm Feeling Alright-Big Mama Thornton

12. Cornbread and Butterbeans-Carolina Chocolate Drops

13. CC Rider-Old Crow Medicine Show

14. Blue Car-Greg Brown

15. Circuital-My Morning Jacket

16. The Ghost Who Walks-Karen Elson

17. Lil' Big-Mirah, Ginger, and Friends

18. Opal's Blues-The Be Good Tanyas

19. Lost In My Mind-The Head and the Heart

20. Bundles-Mariee Sioux

21. My Brambles-Alela Diane

22. Amazing Grace-Cat Power & Dirty Delta Blues

23. My Sweet Lord-Yim Yames

24. Hallelujah-Jake Shimabukuro

All the best,

Ashley

91.9FM KCSB

Review: Maceo Parker

As I approached Campbell Hall, I knew that I was in for a treat. Clusters of excited fans gathered at the steps to the lecture hall, clasping their tickets and engaging in animated chatter about the upcoming performance. Settling into my seat, I soon realized that I was surrounded by not only fans, but by a wide array of accomplished musicians. Behind me sat a man who was an electronic/hip hop music producer who had just completed a music archive project that intersected environmental sustainability with the soundtrack of old-school funk and jazz. In front of me was a married couple of classical concert pianists who exchanged tender murmurs of excitement as the lights came down. "He's the real thing," they whispered. And then it started. Coming on stage, with a personality that filled up the lecture hall of 860 seats to the brim. The epitome of cool, he danced and jived all through the set and when he played his infamous instrument of choice, the seductive and powerful sax, there was no one in the lecture hall who wasn't moving right along. It was time, as he said, to get funky. Every solo elicited a holler from the audience members, every little dance a grin. The performance was like nothing I had ever seen. More than two hours of pure, unadulterated music (and don't let Maceo Parker hear you call it your mama's jazz!). This was prime, old-school, full-throttle funk. Fresh off a tour that has taken him everywhere from Moscow to San Francisco, Maceo Parker has been keeping funk alive for over twenty years, collaborating with a diverse set of artists such as Ray Charles, Dave Matthews, and even the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Weaving in songs and riffs from classic motown, R&B and soul, Parker demonstrated the absolute breadth and musical aptitude that he can incorporate into this established genre. This sentiment was only amplified by the immensely talented musicians that he surrounded himself with on stage (which he introduced with James Brown-esque zest and humor). A throwback to the glory days of funk and a harbinger of the many golden days to come, it reminds us that his catchphrase of "2% jazz, 98% funk" still rings true. And that's 100% okay with me.

Keep gettin' yo funk on,

Ashley

Featured Artist: Mariee Sioux

-MARIEE SIOUX-

I stumbled upon Mariee Sioux in the wee hours of an early morning music binge and was instantly captivated by her use of visceral imagery and her utilization of a sparse but powerful musical technique that echoes the theme of longing for solace, a solace that can be both lost and found within the natural world.

Here is her biography from Grassroots Records:

"The tale of Mariee Sioux began as delicately and spiritually as her captivating song, as a small ember introduced to the universe that soon grew into a flame of hope and illumination. Her dazzling debut album, Faces in the Rocks, weaves together the poetic interpretations of the universe’s deep truths and interconnectedness that have intrigued her since childhood. Each spin invites listeners to be the cast in Mariee’s entrancing tale with a journey ahead that is only beginning.

The stage was set in her hometown of Nevada City, CA, a historically creative community in which artists have flourished over the ages, where Mariee intertwined the vivid verse she had been writing as a child with the life lessons she has learned as an adult for this powerful record. Her roots had been planted deep in music through the love of her mandolin-playing father, but it was not until Mariee ventured a life-changing trip to Patagonia at the age of 17 that she began to play an instrument herself. She soon perfected the spry, delicate finger picking guitar technique featured on Faces in the Rocks, a faultless accompaniment to her strong yet sweetly cooing vocals, and toured internationally with her adoring compatriots Brightblack Morning Light.

Featuring Grammy-nominee Gentle Thunder’s enchanting sound on a redwood-carved Native American flute as well as her own famed father Gary Sobonya on mandolin, Mariee recorded Faces in May 2007 with a troupe of Nevada City’s talented musicians. Recorded with the intent of aligning the magnificence of the human voice with the universe’s creative energy, each song is a stirring exploration of life. Her tales range from the profundity of friendship on the single “Friendboats” to the yearning of self-understanding on “Bundles,” each laced with fabled images and poignant verse. “Two Tongues at One Time,” recently released on a rare 7” vinyl, is a sonnet-filled homage to the ancestors who traversed the wild lands of America hundreds of years ago, reminding listeners of our vital ties to our past.

Continuing the folk tradition of songwriting greats such as Joni Mitchell, Kate Wolf and Nick Drake, Faces glorifies an appreciation of the working spirit and the oneness of nature that remains timeless." http://www.grassrootsrecordco.com/artists/artist_mariee.html

With respect and love,

Ashley

4/13/2011 Playlist

1. Johnny's Heartbreak-Otis Redding

2. Headline News-Edwin Starr

3. Westbound #9-Flaming Ember

4. Who's That Guy-The Kolettes

5. Lift This Hurt-Elvin Spencer

6. You Keep Me Hanging On-Bonnie & Sheila

7. Invisible-Baby Charles

8. I Can Be Cool-Bob & Gene

9. Your Love Keeps Drawing Me Closer-Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum, & Durr

10. Promised Land-Naomi Davis & Sugarman Three

11. Let's Take a Walk-Raphael Saadiq

12. You Wish-Nightmares On Wax

13. Nobody But You-Junior Kimbrough & The Soul Blues Boys

14. Jumper Hanging Out On the Line-R.L. Burnside & The Sound Machine

15. I Got My Eyes On You-Robert Belfour

16. John Henry-Fred McDowell

17. Baby Don't Go-Hacienda

18. Railroad Bill-Etta Baker

19. The Traveler, 108b-Cordelia's Dad

20. Angel Band-The Stanley Brothers

21. The Magnolia Set-The Duhks

22. Lil' Bit-Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, et al

23. Love's Melody-Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli

24. Swing to Bop-Charlie Christian

25. Made By Maid-Laura Marling

26. Lost In My Mind-The Head and the Heart

27. Oh Mississippi-Lissie

28. Don't You Remember-Adele

29. The Walker-Gayngs

30. Had to Go-Heartless Bastards

Spring has sprung! Let warm evenings with pleasant tunes commence!

Ashley

Review: Jake Shimabukuro

Courtesy of UCSB Arts & Lectures, I was able to catch a free concert in Storke Plaza featuring one of the world's most celebrated ukulele players, Jake Shimabukuro. Before performing at his sold-out Campbell Hall show, Shimabukuro performed songs off of his new record, Peace Love Ukulele. On a warm Santa Barbara afternoon, Shimabukuro took the stage and performed for hundreds of eager listeners who had flocked to campus in order to see one of YouTube's biggest musical sensations. Of amicable demeanor and presence, Shimabukuro sprinkled his set with charming stories and insights into the craft of his both delicate and powerful sound. Taught by his mother in his native Hawaii, Shimabukuro recounted stories of young love in "143," dazzled the audience with his rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and paid homage to the victims of the Japanese earthquake with the ancient Japanese folk song "Cherry Blossoms." With his inclination to transcend the rigid boundaries of genre, Shimabukuro demonstrated the unique propensity for the ukulele to combine two seemingly different musical worlds into one beautiful and unifying presentation. It was such a pleasure to see such an innovator of profound musical virtuosity and enthusiastic sincerity. I am so excited to see what he does next!

Check out his most famous cover, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" here:

Aloha,

Ashley