Havana Fairfax Connection

A carnival of music, happiness, joy and very danceable tunes with host Toni Basanta. Featuring the John Lackard Blues Band with many special guests in the LCATV studio. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com

A carnival of music, happiness, joy and very danceable tunes with host Toni Basanta. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com Featuring The House Rockers in the LCATV studio.
Passion + Trascendence + Joy + Reverence + Honesty
The title that we have given to the final lines of this new episode pretty much says it all. Phil Graziano, John Lackard, Walt Delaney and Michael Bishop, assemble to tackle the voice of the BLUES since 1994, taking us journey through music. The result is a high energy played set, - an unequivocal triumph of sound and spirit.
Vermont House Rockers had a blast with this material, so did us in the Studio! Drummer Michael "Papa" Bishop charges into it with supersonic rock blues drumming. Guitarists John Lackard and Phil Graziano interpret these anthems aggressively and passionately with chops of Old Rock 'N Roll and Blues school driving style. Follow John's warm vocals and fine finger-picking guitar and harmonica. Bassist Walt Delaney is intriguing to say the least in his support role. He dives into a blend of traditional and contemporary lines that push the band into some truly dazzling areas. It is all ridiculously high energy from beginning to end! We baptized John, Walt, Michael and Phil as The Vermont House of Rockers Plus 2018, as it was our purpose to celebrate their 25 years in the making. They had several guests as in an Open Jam: Dennis Willmott - the father of Vermont Blues, saxophonist John Bourden, guitarist Bruce Leclaire and harp vocalist Bob McKenzie.
Together, they embraced the spirit of the BLUES without succumbing to cliches. The material sings, thanks to the knowledge and experience you would expect from each of these Vermont legends. Legends? Yes, because they have proven themselves in this, and in their own independent projects, collaborations, and one more time, prove themselves as a Unit with passion, to their idols, celebrating their music with gusto. Vermont House Rockers Fans can feel this episode live with earthy, elegant, soulful and witty spirit, vibrating tunes with two centuries of history, while yet strikingly fresh, distinctive and new. There is a lot to chew and discover in this session ladies and gentlemen!
This was also an opportunity to discover the Art of John Lackard, who is also featured with his own John Lackard Blues Band on episode 45.
Check bassist Walt Delaney in 5 other episodes with Nobby Reed Project Reloaded. Walt has maintained a busy schedule with Nobby, and we are lucky that he makes time to play with both bands! In recent days, January 2021, the NRP played some other tunes for The Vermont Blues Society with a deep, greasy groove, that we have enjoyed on YouTube. Also John Lackard drove from his home in Randolph, to join Dennis Willmott's Left Eye Jump at Dennis' House in September 2020.
About our soundtrack to end this episode: Guitarist Dave Stryker's album "Messin' with Mr. T" recorded in NY in 2015. You could call it a Tribute to the late tenor great, but given Stryker's audacious title, Stanley Turrentine looms here more like an enduring challenge than an icon of past glories. The Pittsburgh native died 19 years ago, but remains synonymous with soulfulness. That's what 30-year old Tivon Pennicott, the youngest of the tenor players on the date, means when he says, "Stanley is undeniable !". While Don Braden affirms: "The most important things about Stanley were his sound and the attitude he projected when he played. He was authoritative and powerful, a player you would recognize in any situation. He was versatile too, he played the mess out of blues, standards, funk, Brazil and pop. I Love him !".
Side Steppin' our selection, has a historical reason to be used this time. It features Steve Slagle, - Stryker's long time co-leader in The Stryker Slagle Band, this time on tenor. Side Steppin' is a funky original that Turrentine included in the album "T Time" in 1995. The material on Messin' with Mr. T basically reflects set lists from the years Stryker toured with Turrentine.
It's my interest to remark, that most of the tenor saxophonists invited to this album, enjoyed a personal connection with the composer of La Place and Sugar. This soundtrack means also a real validation of all the players involved, and some winning hands in the brilliant series of recordings that Dave Stryker has led over the past 29 years. Let's hope there will be more, where these ones came from.
Peace is all we need - Toni

A kind of carnival of music, happiness, joy and very dancable tunes with host Toni Basanta. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com Featuring Vermont blues master Nobby Reed and his band with more local guitarists and guests jamming in the LCATV studio.

12/14/20 Note From Toni:
NOBBY REED PROJECT RELOADED Part 2. His third Blues Night Extravaganza in 2018 !
I always get a kick out of looking back at things I wrote and produced years ago, to see what about me has dramatically changed and what's stayed shockingly static.

During the selection of our Beat The Winter for December 2020, I went through all our shows, looking for the tunes, and staying for a few minutes grabbed by the sparks. For that reason, episode 41, became my selection of all the 6 Sessions, that we have hosted with Nobby Reed Project, with some of his slinger guitarists, and closer friends on other instruments.

About Our Guests: Over the decades, Vermont has burnished its strong cultural identity, so as you travel through the beautiful Green Mountain State, you will find Blues everywhere.

Nobby Reed's third recording for our Havana Fairfax Connection, contains the stylistic variety we have to come to expect from a real legend Nobby, with a relaxed and confident nature throughout.

This is because the Vermont native, doesn't have or doesn't need to prove anything; he's simply one of the best guitarists around, and for this Nobby Reed Project Reloaded Part 2, he has invited some of his own to join him in the studio.

On more than 10 songs with his regular Trio, featuring Walt Delaney on bass and Eric Belrose on drums, the new guests once again, pulled together and gave it their all.

They all seem to relax and play, Bob Weisburgh on guitar, Missisquoi Slim on guitar and keys, Bob McKenzie on harmonica, Bruce Leclaire on his cigar box guitar, and Joe Moore on tenor saxophone, contributing one of his multiple treasures on vocals.

Nobby's wonderful blues rendition on two of his originals inspired by Muddy Waters and the Grateful Dead; Welcome to the church of the blues (aka The Rev), Fly On People, and Big Boss Man for instance, display his ability to sing and play with exquisite sensitivity and completely avoid overwhelming with the rest of his team. As in the first Project Reloaded, there was never any danger of someone stepping on another's toes.

The evolution of these encounters are revealed joyously, while replayed in other sister stations all over New England, New York, New Jersey, Wiscosin, Wyoming, Ohio, Florida and California. The road ahead is now enthralling to the project's founders.

This episode, which is emphatically a dream, is dedicated In Loving Memory to bassist Ray Bushey, a longtime friend, accompanist, arranging partner and background vocalist. I could meet Bushey and his lovely wife, in one of his last performances with the NRP at The Franklin County Field Days Grounds in Swanton, VT in 2017, memories of which I keep and will be screened in a not distant future.

Our final Song, Unified Field from the album A New Promise (MCG Jazz, 2010), features sizzling guitar goddess Sheryl Bailey with the Ocho Rios Big Band from Pittsburgh, PA, conducted by saxophonist-arranger Mike Tomaro.
This album, also has a heartfelt dedication; to the late Guitar Masters Emily Remler and Wes Montgomery.

A kind of carnival of music, happiness, joy and very dancable tunes with host Toni Basanta. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com Featuring Vermont's Dark Star Project, a Grateful Dead Tribute band, in the LCATV studio.

A kind of carnival of music, happiness, joy and very dancable tunes with host Toni Basanta. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com Featuring Cuban jazz master Arturo Sandoval. Arturo Sandoval, hits the ceiling of The Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City singing, playing his trumpet, the piano and timbales with six of Miami's finest jazz players, which culminates on his first CD and DVD Live in Public !

A kind of carnival of music, happiness, joy and very dancable tunes with host Toni Basanta. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com Featuring Vermont Band My Mother's Moustache in the LCATV studio.

A kind of carnival of music, happiness, joy and very dancable tunes with host Toni Basanta. www.cubanbridge.wordpress.com Featuring Featuring Part One of Toni's visit to the 2018 Montreal Jazz Festival: Day time performances.