JACOB MILLER and the BRIDGE CITY CROONERS

2013 – Self
Released
A branch of roots music that seems to have gained momentum and continues to grow in popularity is a hugely entertaining loose blend of vaudevillian, New Orleans jazzy ragtime, folksy old time country and blues with, depending on the particular song and artist, a varying dose from each pot. In a nutshell, music that swings! Bands such as Pokey Lafarge, Woody Pines and Britains own Rob Heron and the Teapad Orchestra, amongst others, contribute to the high quality and entertainment value of this loose, virtually nameless sub genre and it’s a real pleasure to add Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners to this esteemed company.
This is the third excellent recording from this band that calls Portland, Oregon, way up in the pacific north west, home. I know there has been a thriving ‘roots’ scene in that area for quite a few years now and look forward to hearing more of these bands as they develop and make recordings. They take all of those various sub genres of music and blend them into a musical form that whilst feeling right for the 21st century and having a familiar feel, is also new and fresh. It is that clean freshness that in many ways enhances the appeal.
This recording is full of life and vitality with even the slightly darker songs having a lightness of touch that ensures the album has a huge entertainment value. It is genuine good time music that makes it almost impossible to feel anything other than upbeat, always assuming you wanted to!
Jacob Millers vocals are clear and precise and the music, whilst actually being sparse, never really comes across as being that way, a tribute to these excellent arrangements and to the high quality players. On this album the band consists of Jacob Miller on lead vocals, National resonator guitar, tenor banjo and kazoo, Ben Bailey, vocals, washboard, suitcase bass drum and percussion, Mike Team plays upright bass, Kyle Neumann adds some excellent harmonica, with special guests Max Ribner playing flugelhorn and trumpet and Libby Barthuly contributing harmony vocals and musical saw. All of the songs are written by Jacob Miller except for Home (When Shadows Fall) written by Peter Van Steeden, Harry Clarkson and Geoffrey Clarkson and dates back to the early 1930s, giving an idea of where this bands influences lie. The album was actually recorded on their home turf of New North Sound in Portland, Oregon.
Album opener Gotta Keep Movin’ On gets under way with the lovely sound of Jacob’s national resonator guitar aided by a shuffling washboard, upright bass and trumpet giving this chirpy mid tempo tale a slightly unusual sound, which added to Jacob’s clear precise vocal, perfectly sets the scene for what is to follow. Miss’ippi is an excellent easy rolling song that evokes the flow of that great river, again with resonator guitar but the wind instrument this time is the harmonica and a little kazoo. There is a tremendous trumpet and guitar combination, with solid bass laying an excellent foundation, on Goodbye Blues, a slow moody ‘goodbye’ tale told from the perspective of someone who has been left alone. East Side Drag is another excellent mid tempo tale with the usual instrumentation, but with kazoo playing a large part and adding to the atmosphere along with some very good harmony vocals. Home (when shadows fall) is slow and moody with a shuffling washboard on this old song, with an excellent vocal and resonator guitar from Jacob with an atmospheric female harmony plus the addition of musical saw, ensuring the finale exhibits some nice textural changes and a strange eerie atmosphere.
This is very much an album that takes a number of ‘traditional’ music forms and gives them a freshness and vitality that enables them to leap confidently into the 21st century, updating those forms as they go but also keeping them recognizable. Clocking in at nine songs and just over half an hour it is quite brief. However, on the plus side, if ever there was a case of quality over quantity, this tremendous recording is it!
http://jacobmillermusic.net/
A branch of roots music that seems to have gained momentum and continues to grow in popularity is a hugely entertaining loose blend of vaudevillian, New Orleans jazzy ragtime, folksy old time country and blues with, depending on the particular song and artist, a varying dose from each pot. In a nutshell, music that swings! Bands such as Pokey Lafarge, Woody Pines and Britains own Rob Heron and the Teapad Orchestra, amongst others, contribute to the high quality and entertainment value of this loose, virtually nameless sub genre and it’s a real pleasure to add Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners to this esteemed company.
This is the third excellent recording from this band that calls Portland, Oregon, way up in the pacific north west, home. I know there has been a thriving ‘roots’ scene in that area for quite a few years now and look forward to hearing more of these bands as they develop and make recordings. They take all of those various sub genres of music and blend them into a musical form that whilst feeling right for the 21st century and having a familiar feel, is also new and fresh. It is that clean freshness that in many ways enhances the appeal.
This recording is full of life and vitality with even the slightly darker songs having a lightness of touch that ensures the album has a huge entertainment value. It is genuine good time music that makes it almost impossible to feel anything other than upbeat, always assuming you wanted to!
Jacob Millers vocals are clear and precise and the music, whilst actually being sparse, never really comes across as being that way, a tribute to these excellent arrangements and to the high quality players. On this album the band consists of Jacob Miller on lead vocals, National resonator guitar, tenor banjo and kazoo, Ben Bailey, vocals, washboard, suitcase bass drum and percussion, Mike Team plays upright bass, Kyle Neumann adds some excellent harmonica, with special guests Max Ribner playing flugelhorn and trumpet and Libby Barthuly contributing harmony vocals and musical saw. All of the songs are written by Jacob Miller except for Home (When Shadows Fall) written by Peter Van Steeden, Harry Clarkson and Geoffrey Clarkson and dates back to the early 1930s, giving an idea of where this bands influences lie. The album was actually recorded on their home turf of New North Sound in Portland, Oregon.
Album opener Gotta Keep Movin’ On gets under way with the lovely sound of Jacob’s national resonator guitar aided by a shuffling washboard, upright bass and trumpet giving this chirpy mid tempo tale a slightly unusual sound, which added to Jacob’s clear precise vocal, perfectly sets the scene for what is to follow. Miss’ippi is an excellent easy rolling song that evokes the flow of that great river, again with resonator guitar but the wind instrument this time is the harmonica and a little kazoo. There is a tremendous trumpet and guitar combination, with solid bass laying an excellent foundation, on Goodbye Blues, a slow moody ‘goodbye’ tale told from the perspective of someone who has been left alone. East Side Drag is another excellent mid tempo tale with the usual instrumentation, but with kazoo playing a large part and adding to the atmosphere along with some very good harmony vocals. Home (when shadows fall) is slow and moody with a shuffling washboard on this old song, with an excellent vocal and resonator guitar from Jacob with an atmospheric female harmony plus the addition of musical saw, ensuring the finale exhibits some nice textural changes and a strange eerie atmosphere.
This is very much an album that takes a number of ‘traditional’ music forms and gives them a freshness and vitality that enables them to leap confidently into the 21st century, updating those forms as they go but also keeping them recognizable. Clocking in at nine songs and just over half an hour it is quite brief. However, on the plus side, if ever there was a case of quality over quantity, this tremendous recording is it!
http://jacobmillermusic.net/