It’s greater than honest to say that the prized Santa Barbara-based singer Lois Mahalia isn’t any stranger on this city, and that’s a fortunate factor for followers of her spectacular and innately soulful musical voice. Simply in current months, Mahalia has proven up on such native levels as SOhO, with Luis Munoz and elsewhere, on the Alcazar, and within the hip, humble setting of Roy with collaborator Zach Madden — additionally behind their band State Flower.
Her musical resume has additionally included excessive profile background singer gigs, with Joe Walsh, Kenny Loggins, and the late Joe Pattern. She has discovered a spot within the area so eloquently documented within the documentary 20 Toes from Stardom, and it could be time to maneuver up about 20 ft.
It’s time for a vivid highlight in Mahalia’s common route. In a important second in her evolving musical life as a frontrunner, Mahalia has simply launched what’s, by far, her most interesting recording to this point, the album Chasing the Solar. As prompt on the album’s first single, “Buttercup,” one thing daring and outdated/new faculty this manner has come. With this album, Mahalia has created a cultured however emotionally nuanced tune set of R&B/pop originals, starting from the opening assertion of “Sacred Floor” to the transferring balladry of “Gravity and Love” and “I Can Breathe,” the candy eco-coo of “Little Blue Marble,” and the driving funk-rocking of the nearer “Lightning Bolt,” on which Mahalia cuts unfastened along with her pure circulation of steamy soul riffs we all know are all the time beneath the managed floor of her vocal presence.
Mahalia’s official album launch occasion lands at SOhO on Saturday, August 19, a present properly price catching.
She’s in good artistic firm right here: the dynamic manufacturing values have been channeled into being by longtime Santa Barbara studio grasp Thom Flowers, who served as producer, engineer, guitarist and extra. Flowers was the funnel via which Mahalia did classes in Los Angeles’s legendary Sundown Sound, with such luminaries as drummer Steve Ferrone and former Journey-man lead singer Steve Perry as her personal “20 ft from stardom” concord singer. (Flowers labored with Perry on his 2018 comeback album Traces).
Regionally, Mahalia labored with Madden, Toad the Moist Sprocket’s Dean Dinning, well-established session guitarist Tariqh Akoni, and others, in such 805 studios as Beagle and Goodland Sound.
To catch a distinct musical angle on Mahalia — who was named after queenly gospel singer Mahalia Jackson — make a Sunday morning trek to Hope Church (held at La Cumbre Jr. Excessive College), the place the singer may be discovered tapping into her gospel/non secular music aspect when she’s on the town — she returned from considered one of her periodic jaunts to carry out in Italy this summer time. In impact, at Hope, Mahalia and band (together with her gifted brother William Fiedtkou on keyboards) prepare dinner up a mini-concert with a nice sound system, as they did final Sunday, main the congregation and luring our attentions with stirring up to date gospel songs, with the singer stretching out within the margins.
As inspiring musical occasions go, the Sunday morning session is without doubt one of the best-kept musical “secrets and techniques” on the town. After Saturday night time’s album launch soiree, catch the Sunday morning part at Hope Church. Within the basic custom of R&B musicians straddling the non secular/secular line, Mahalia pays respects to the gospel fact of the roots of pop music as we all know it.
To the Nice Basement within the Sky
A musical king has died, lengthy dwell the king Robbie Robertson. And he’ll dwell on, via the company of his songbook for the good American The Band (make that nice band from “the Americas,” being largely comprised of Canadians). J.R. Robertson’s superlative physique of songs and the overall vibe he co-created with The Band, and its magical chemistry with the triple-promise of singers Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel, is unparalleled in pop/rock/borrowed roots music annals, from the masterpiece Music from Massive Pink ahead. I simply wish to know the place, within the present celebration of the Band’s biggest hits, is the love for the numerous “deep lower” gems, together with considered one of my favorites, “Jawbone?”
Songwriting mastery apart, Robertson stays underrated as a masterful guitar stylist, he of sincere, craving and blissfully rough-hewn solos and fills. Try, as an illustration, his masterpiece solos in “It Makes No Distinction,” “Life is Carnival,” or “Jemimah Give up,” to quote a number of sizzlers.
Artistically, Robertson considerably misplaced his approach after The Band journey had its final waltz, and he actually went Hollywood, cooking up music for Scorsese (together with one within the can, for the forthcoming Killers of the Flower Moon), and creating occasional and considerably attention-grabbing solo albums. From knowledgeable standpoint, he discovered his approach, however the enduring legacy of music from The Band was one thing mystical and unequalled, an inconceivable act to observe. Closing thought, for now: try “Jawbone,” which additionally options a kind of mangled beauties of a guitar solo.
To-Doings:
Talking of music with some hyperlink — nonetheless cheeky — to churchiness and Sundays, Father John Misty (a.ok.a. the sensible and sarcastically charismatic-machine Josh Tillman), a part-time native nowadays, outdid himself on the Santa Barbara Bowl on Sunday. Try Leslie Dinaberg’s evaluate right here.
This week’s Bowl roster options Younger the Big, on its promotional tour for the brand new album American Bollywood, on Friday, August 18. It’s a busy weekend over on the Lobero, between Saturday’s return of swampy-blues hero Tab Benoit and a particular David Crosby tribute night time, “Stand Up and Be Counted,” on Sunday, that includes Crosby’s final band and visitors Shawn Colvin, Colin Hay and Richard Web page. To your nation music repair, head over the hill to the Chumash On line casino, the place Chris Younger does his explicit twang factor on Saturday.
