These February days are long, cold and a little stormy, so this week’s mix is meant to lighten the mood and brighten some spirits. Essentially culled from my last month or so of regular listening, this winter sampler opens with a sick version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Garaj Mahal from back in 2002. Yeah, yeah, Christmas music and all that, but check out just how deep this groove is. Just like the next track: the downtempo Let It Crawl by Society’s Bag.
The Jesus Left Chicago is from Phish’s Halloween concert back in ’95, and features a killer alto solo from Dave “The Truth” Grippo. Staying in the ’90s, we move on to KVHW. Near the end of the band’s short existence, when Ray White couldn’t even make it to a show with a personal escort, and the W stood for Whoever they could get to fill in, the quartet, featuring Terry Haggerty on rhythm guitar, played a pair of smokin’ shows at Chester’s in Fayetteville. From the first night comes Poonk, a goofy, fun Bobby Vega tune (it’s worth asking why the best bassists write the cartooniest music.)
Next up is Letter Home from moe.’s NYE gig at Radio City – a pretty interlude in a night full of half hour suites. The mix closes with The Trio of Doom – better known as John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius and Tony Williams – doing Para Oriente from their sole recording date in 1979. Spring is just around the corner. Enjoy!
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