by Dave Rogers
Samoa Wilson w/ The Jim Kweskin Band – I Just Want To Be Horizontal (Kingswood): Jim Kweskin? Where has he been? Well, based upon Samoa Willson’s voice and sass, no puzzle for long! “Since she was 12 years old, Samoa Wilson has been captivating audiences with a voice the New York Times calls “sweet, effortless, old-timey”. Raised in the riverbed of traditional North American folk music, she came up in the Boston scene, under the wing of jug band and folk legend Jim Kweskin.” (https://www.samoawilson.com/) Wilson sure has the goods whether she’s singing “After You’ve Gone”, “Inch Worm”, “Until The Real Thing Comes Along” or “Kitchen Man”. It’s not quite as crazy as Kweskin’s earlier work, but it is a wonderful set. Wilson and Kweskin have some fine backing players as well: Titus Vollman (lead guitar, slide guitar, ukulele), Mike Davis (trumpet, cornet), Paloma Ohm (alto sax), Dennis Lichtman (clarinet, fiddle, mandolin, alto sax), Sonny Barbato (piano, accordion), Matthew Berlin (bass), Jeff Brown (drums) and Sean Read and Maddie Read Clarke (harmony backup on “At Ebb Tide”. Click here to listen to the title song.
