Monday, October 26, 2009

Mitch KASHMAR - Live At Labatt 2008


Mitch KASHMAR - Live At Labatt 2008

Blues

On Friday, August 24, 2007, Mitch Kashmar was invited to perform at the 9th Annual Edmonton’s Labatt Blues Festival in Western Canada, and fortunately for blues fans everywhere, the event was captured for posterity in front of an enthusiastic crowd by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Joining Kashmar on his performances for this release are Pontiax drummer Tom Lackner, bassist Steve Nelson, pianist Jimmy Calire, and former William Clarke guitarist John Marx providing the perfect foil to Kashmar’s dynamic harp playing and emotive vocals. The live concert format allows Kashmar to really stretch out instrumentally and strut his stuff as he runs down a program featuring fan favorites off his two critically acclaimed Delta Groove releases and additional material including “Lollipop Mama,” a tribute to his old friend the late great William Clarke. “It’s the best stuff I’ve ever done!” says Kashmar,
and we think you’ll whole-heartedly agree!
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Mitch Kashmar is a well respected harp player/singer firmly out of the West Coast style of harmonica blues Chicago roots with lots of swing. Mitch' s profile has risen considerably since he started releasing albums on the Delta Groove label in the early 2000' s. In fact, he was one of the first artists to be signed to the label. He' s been a steadily working musician in the greater Los Angeles area for a couple decades plus (his early band, The Pontiax, made a bit of noise on the scene), and if there' s any justice or fairness in the music biz (but there rarely is…too many sharks in those waters!) this newest release 'Live at Labatt' should push Kashmar' s career to a higher level yet. This CD was recorded live at Edmonton' s Labatt Blues Festival in 2007 by the Canadian Broadcasting Company. They did a fine job of documenting the proceedings, which was no doubt made easier by the presence of guitarist John Marx (John Markowski). Marx was one of William Clarke' s primary guitar players over the years, and he plays that West Coast bluesy-jazzy style incredibly well. Speaking of William Clarke, he was both a mentor and a personal friend of Mitch Kashmar. You can hear Clarke' s influences in Kashmar' s music, (if you are going to have an influence as a singer and harmonica player, William Clarke would be the man), but you can also hear touches of Lee Oskar' s style. In fact, Kashmar has been touring for the last year or so as a member of Oskar' s old band, War. Kashmar' s style tends to be more raw (more Chicago influenced) than either Clarke or Oskar, but don' t mistake that as a detriment, it is not. It' s just that Mitch seems to truly enjoy playing in that hard Chicago blues style on occasion, without the effects and tricks some players like to use. What you hear is just Mitch, his harps and his amp. He swings, too, and can play nice and pretty when the occasion demands. Mitch is a fine, soulful harp player and singer, and this live CD documents those facts very well. Give the CD a spin, or listen to some song samples on the Internet, and see if you don' t agree with me.
By East Side Slim (Lee Howland).
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Steve Nelson- Bass guitar
Mitch Kashmar- Vocals, Harmonica
John Marx- Guitar
Tom Lackner- Drums
Jimmy Calire- Piano, Keyboards
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01. I Got No Reason 5:17
02. Dirty Deal 6:15
03. Whiskey Drinkin' Woman 5:53
04. Evil Man Blues (Aka Evil Gal Blues) 6:33
05. Song for My Father 9:27
06. Sugar Sweet 6:36
07. You're the One 7:13
08. Lollipop Mama 5:47
09. Wake Up & Worry 5:07
10. Castle Rock 7:54
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