THE BEAT
Lustre Kings, Ernie Williams, Maceo Parker, Mindy Jostyn
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 15, 1997) --
Lustre Kings: Rock 'n' roll
Remember when "rock 'n' roll" actually used to signify something? A sound, an attitude, a style? Remember when all you needed was a guitar, a bass and a set of drums and, presto, you had a "rock combo?" Mark Gamsjager remembers, and from the sound of the Lustre Kings' CD, "Mark Gamsjager Rocks and the Lustre Kinds Roll" (Cacophone), he never forgot. Gamsjager plays a big orange Gretsch guitar with a rockabilly twang, and his combo sounds like it just left Sun Studios yesterday. The Albany-based rockers play the Old Egremont Club in South Egremont on Friday night at 9. Call 413-528- 9712 for more info.Maceo Parker: Funkin' around
The name Maceo Parker is synonymous with funk, specifically the funky saxophone he patented as a member of James Brown's horn section. Parker, whose resume also includes stints with funkmeisters Parliament, P-Funk, George Clinton and Bootsy Collins, headlines the all-day Funk Music Festival at the Pines Theater in Northampton on Saturday starting at 2. The festival also includes appearances by the funky jazz trio Medeski Martin and Wood, which has been described as "the Phish of contemporary jazz," and Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise. Call 413-586-8686 for a funkin' good time.Ernie Williams: Blues catalog
"Harvest Time," the latest CD by Ernie Williams and the Wildcats, is a showcase for the 72-year-old Albany bluesman's diverse talents. From electric blues-rockers like the title track to the delta-style "Going Home" to the Jimmy Scott-like, jazz balladry of "So Long," the CD functions like a catalog of blues styles, even touching down for some pure, acoustic body percussion on "Hambone." The Virginia native has called the Capital District home for the last three decades, but it has only been in the last few years that the lifelong bluesman has been getting his well- deserved props. Williams and the Wildcats are at Milltown Studios in North Adams on Saturday night at 8:30. Call 413-662-2725 for more info.Mindy Jostyn: Alone at last
Mindy Jostyn's resume reads like a rock 'n' roll all-star lineup. As a singer and multi-instrumentalist, she has performed and recorded behind John Mellencamp, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, Laura Nyro, the Hooters, the Story, Joe Jackson, Cindy Lauper and Donald Fagen's New York Rock and Soul Revue. With her bar band, the Cyclone Rangers, she has even performed twice at Mass MoCA in North Adams. But Jostyn's personal calling is as a solo singer-songwriter, and her new CD, "Cedar Lane" (Palmetto), makes the strongest case yet for Jostyn as her own woman. Part of it is the songs, most of them co-written with her husband, Jacob Brackman, the lyricist who co-wrote many of Carly Simon's hits. Part of it is her amazing instrumental talent -- a veritable one-woman band, she's a whiz at harmonica, fiddle, mandolin, guitar and accordion, and on some tracks she plays nearly all of them. But this time out, it's the whole package, an eclectic, rootsy affair of well-observed songs that cut to the heart of life's passages, emotional and otherwise. Catch Jostyn performing as part of the Folkathon at Cafe Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Sunday.Readers requests
As promised, here is a list of performers that readers of this column would like to see at local venues this summer: Son Volt, Wilco, the Jayhawks, the Backsliders, Wayne Hancock, Dale Watson, Scud Mountain Boys, Lucinda Williams, Kelly Willis, Steve Earle, Kevin Salem, Freedy Johnston, Buffalo Tom, Guster, Hank, the Lyres, Morphine, Poundcake, Push Stars, Shelf Life, Susan Werner, Dar Williams, Jaime Morton and Ani DiFranco.Also, the Nields, Neil Young, Elvis Costello, David Byrne, Joe Jackson, Nelson Rangell, John Patitucci, Joan Armatrading, Martin Sexton, the Lilith Fair, Indigo Girls, Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin. And a number of readers asked for the Dave Matthews Band.
Promoters, are you listening?....
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on May 15, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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