Playlist Sept/Oct 2000

By Jay Walljasper, Keith Goetzman and Utne Reader
Published on October 31, 2007

PLAYLIST

Live at Antone’s: Joe Ely (Rounder). Honky-tonk hero Joe Ely captures the rough-riding spirit of Texas in his rollicking rock/country/folk/Norteño sound and sings its stories with a whiskey-voiced authenticity.

–Jay Walljasper

Rhythm Is Our Business: Duke Heitger and his Swing Band (Fantasy). Though it’s dismissed by mainstream critics because it isn’t “new,” the swing revival continues to move millions of Americans–literally, right onto the dance floor. New Orleans trumpeter Duke Heitger is one of new swing’s rising stars, and he shows why here with resonant shrieks on the horn and a band that’s hotter than its hometown on an August afternoon.

–J.W.

Drama Queen: Judith Edelman (Compass). Whether she’s inhabiting the head of a swing shift worker or a Catholic school student, Edelman the storyteller rings true, and her country-folk music swings with a loping grace.

–Keith Goetzman

Chasin’ the Gypsy and Layin’ in the Cut: James Carter (Atlantic). The prolific Carter blows great gusts of saxophone on two new albums: a sultry tribute to Django Reinhardt and a hard-charging session with a group of plugged-in young jazz lions. Both recordings smoke, but at different speeds.

–K.G.

The New America: Bad Religion (Atlantic). Still railing against all the right things, these veteran punk-poppers have mastered the art of the infectious three-minute tirade.

–K.G.

Drama Queen: Judith Edelman (Compass). Whether she’s inhabiting the head of a swing shift worker or a Catholic school student, Edelman the storyteller rings true, and her country-folk music swings with a loping grace.

–Keith Goetzman

Chasin’ the Gypsy and Layin’ in the Cut: James Carter (Atlantic). The prolific Carter blows great gusts of saxophone on two new albums: a sultry tribute to Django Reinhardt and a hard-charging session with a group of plugged-in young jazz lions. Both recordings smoke, but at different speeds.

–K.G.

The New America: Bad Religion (Atlantic). Still railing against all the right things, these veteran punk-poppers have mastered the art of the infectious three-minute tirade.

–K.G.

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