Everybody Was Friendly

ANISTAR is one of the best bands I’ve heard in a while. Sadly, they played their last show in NYC last night (the leader, Harel Shachal, is leaving the country to raise his family in Israel), but you can get their CD here, a live recording made a few years ago. I’m listening to it now. All of the players are ridiculous, but Harvey Valdez on Oud is on another level. I may have to get myself one of those things.

I went to see the band for the first time a couple of weeks ago on the recommendation of my friend and sometime-violinist Skye Steele , who plays in Anistar and also fronts his own mighty quintet that was sharing the bill that night. Skye recently put out his debut CD “Late Bloomer,” a fine collection of originals, standards and traditionals highlighted (I think) by Skye’s vocal debut on “I Don’t Want To Live on the Moon.” If you haven’t heard Skye play with my band, you’ve missed out. Check him out playing on : "A Ghost " from last December at Joe’s Pub.

Someone else I’ve checked out a few times recently is Sasha Dobson, a fabulous singer who has that rare something between jazz, country, pop and blues that I like so much. I don’t know a lot about Sasha, but she’s the real deal as far as I’m concerned. I met her, her beau Richard Julian and Josh Radin a few weeks ago when we all took turns passing around Sasha’s guitar and trading songs after her gig at MOTO. The four of us, plus Jon Flaugher and Ian Riggs (taking turns on bass) hung out till the wee hours playing each other tunes — lots of fun. I don’t know Richard’s music as well yet, but I plan to check it out some. Sasha plays Sundays at my old stomping grounds Pete’s Candy Store — be sure to stop in and see her.

People often ask when I’m going to put out a new record, and I think I can finally, safely, say “soon.”  Maybe more than one. Maybe more than two.  

There’s no shortage of new material — those of you that come to hear me play live know that there are a number of unrecorded songs that I’ve been playing out with regularity for some time: “Show Me The Way,” “A Ghost,” “When It Rains,” all of the “Romania” songs…the issue has been a financial one.  Like a lot of musicians who have their own labels, I often wonder what the point is of making a new record in the current landscape where, let’s face it, music is now free.

But there is a point, darn it, — the point is to make art. I’ve got somewhere between 40 and 60 unrecorded songs, and more where those came from every week it seems. I like most of them better than anything else I’ve already written and recorded, and the rest are just really good songs.  So, I’m gonna record them, and I’m going to pay as I go — a few songs here, a few songs there, some with one group of musicians, some with others. I started a couple of weeks ago with some sessions up in Harlem with my brass band, and we got a bunch of really good tracks down.  The next batch will probably be with a different band.  When there’s enough material to make a cohesive album, I’ll put one out. But I’m going to keep recording where and when I can. Maybe by the end of the year there will be two or three new CDs of mine.

I recently posted a live version of one of the “Romania” songs on my facebook page — it’s called “The Pensione Owner’s Song,” and it’s from a show at JOE’S PUB in NYC this past December.

There’s also an interesting discussion happening on that page about my music and what it sounds like to different people. I’d love to hear from you if you have any thoughts to contribute.

Thanks for listening. 

HF