California Sessions Vol. 2
Blues
*** Winner Of Danish Blues Award 2007 ***
The California Sessions Vol. II is 13 additional tunes recorded in California
with James Harman and a rhythm section of SoCal blues players. 'Jelly Bean'
continues the home-made good feeling blues that got Peter Nande a Danish
Music Award "Blues Release of the Year" in 2007.. Excellent packaging again
with booklet full of pics and info on the sessions.
Jelly Bean Baby and Other Stories from Peter Nande. Peter Nande is back from another sojourn to Southern California, U.S.A., with a brand new batch of stories to tell on his new CD, Jelly Bean Baby: California Sessions Vol. II.
Jelly Bean Baby is Nande’s second CD recording in three years under the guidance of California-based producer and blues artist James Harman. Like its predecessor, Big Boy Boogie: California Sessions Vol. I (2006), it features original, danceable tunes based in the propulsive rhythms and tonal vocabulary of American blues and Caribbean music, with some jazzy touches added for good measure.
Jelly Bean Baby builds on the foundation that Nande laid with Big Boy Boogie, which was nominated for Danish Blues Album of the Year by the Danish Blues Awards in 2007 and factored substantially in Nande’s acknowledgement as Danish Blues Musician of the Year for 2007 by the Copenhagen Blues Festival. Nande wrote or co-wrote all but one of the 13 songs on Jelly Bean Baby. With Harman’s mentoring, Nande has learned that the best blues songs tell stories, often with an ironic twist, of the consequences of human desire. Listen, for example, to the cautionary tale “Beware Brother,” set to an irresistible, laid-back shuffle. “It’s rough being a prisoner in your own life,” Nande explains, in reference to the character in the song. “All your friends see it, but you’re lookin’ from inside the eye of the hurricane, trapped in an open-ended, goin’-nowhere, dead-end relationship and can’t see what’s happening.”
Listen also to “Walk the Talk,” and you’ll hear the complexity of man/woman relationships at work. The song’s lyrics denounce an unfaithful woman, but the driving shuffle beat tells a different tale, one of a woman shakin’ what her mama gave her; somehow, you know she’s going to get away with it, at least for a while. These songs work on more than one level, clearly, and bear evidence of Nande’s artistry. This is the blues, sure, but perhaps something more, as well. Nande executes his ideas with inspired support from his band mate, guitarist Ronni Busack-Boysen – who has played with Nande for three years and has earned a reputation as one of Europe’s top guitar players – and with vocal and harmonica spots by Harman, and with the exemplary work of Harman’s crack team of blues recruits. These include ace guitarist Nathan James, who also engineered the sessions and hosted them in his one-car garage studio in Oceanside, Calif.; and Harman band bassist Buddy Clark and percussionist Mike Tempo. Marty Dodson drummed on the sessions, which also included Neil Wauchope on organ; Jonny Viau on tenor sax; Toni Matoian on baritone sax (revel in the captivating on-the-spot horn arrangements that the sax duo composed); Carl Sonny Leyland on piano; and Ben Hernandez on backing vocals.
On these tracks, you’ll find laid-back, cool grooves that are easy to dance and listen to. You’ll find lots of air and space in the songs, and musicians playing to the songs and playing together, not trying to show off… well, maybe just a little,” Nande says, with a laugh.
Three years after he set out to realize his dream of recording with American blues musicians, Nande’s journey is ongoing. He’s already learned plenty, however, including the value of surrounding himself with talented musicians who share his passion for blues. The songs on Jelly Bean Baby, primarily, are Nande’s; he wrote or co-wrote all but one. However, Nande is the first to say that the songs on Jelly Bean Baby came to fruition only under the care of this entire ensemble.
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01. Jelly Bean Baby 3.20
02. Beware Brother 3.11
03. Slo' Poke 5.31
04. Ridin' The Gravy Train 3.36
05. In A State Of Bliss 5.30
06. Walk The Talk 3.13
07. Let Me In 3.47
08. The Can't Hardlies 5.17
09. The Stubblejumper 2.07
10. The Goblin Rule 3.53
11. Stop Now 3.23
12. Goodbye California 3.45
13. Bumpin' On Leonard 7.36
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