HARRY MANX KEVIN BREIT
''IN GOOD WE TRUST''
APRIL 3 2007
44:41
********************
1 I'm On Fire 03:43 (Bruce Springsteen)
2 Sometimes 04:55 (Harry Manx)
3 Bottom Of The Hill 03:38 (Kevin Breit)
4 Better Man's Waltz 03:01 (Kevin Breit)
5 Death Have Mercy 04:44 (Traditional)
6 Steal 6 05:15 (Harry Manx)
7 Ship Of Fools 04:28 (Harry Manx)
8 In Good We Trust 02:47 (Kevin Breit)
9 Hang On 05:01 (Kevin Breit)
10 Don't Swim, Float 02:49 (Kevin Breit, Harry Manx)
11 Sisters 04:14 (Kevin Breit)
********************
Kevin Breit/Bass Guitar, Bazouki, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Tenor), Guitar (Tremolo), Mandocello, Mandola, Mandolin, National Steel Guitar, Slide Guitar, Tamboura, Vocals (Background)
Harry ManxArranger, Banjo, Drums, Guitar (Acoustic), Lap Steel Guitar, Mohan Vina, Slide Guitar, Vocals
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Jason MacNeil
The follow-up to this pair's Jubilee album finds them basically starting where they left off. And fans should be thankful for that. The instrumentation is top-notch and the selections seem to suit the record perfectly. A great example of this is the haunting but folksy reworking of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire," which is still dark but has a certain hint of brightness thanks to the use of bazouki and tamboura. However, the original material definitely measures up to the covers, especially the smooth and tender "Sometimes," which glides along effortlessly. Meanwhile, Manx and Breit weave more magic with the strolling, ambling "Bottom of the Hill," which is quite catchy. Think of a song by Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch and it's a fair comparison. This is definitely truer during the rootsy and looser "Steal," as Manx and Breit mix roots, folk, and blues impressively. The album is offset, though, by pretty instrumentals, the first being "Better Man Blues," which has an airy yet dark quality running through it, resembling a piece of a soundtrack score thatMark Knopfler hasn't gotten around to yet. However, a rather heady, psychedelic-era tune called "Death Have Mercy" brings to mind Jeff Beck's work circa Frankie's House. Meanwhile, the title track is the Delta blues personified, even if there are flourishes of guitar strumming over the standard slow-creeping blues chords. For the homestretch, Manx and Breit create the gorgeous and cozy "Hang On," which sounds like it was recorded in one take as the sun was coming up. The album, as it states on its cover, is indeed supreme quality.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG/HARRY MANX
Richard Skelly
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Harry Manx has been described as an essential link between the music of the East and the music of the West. He fuses traditional blues with classic Indian ragas to create a distinctive sound.
Manx, primarily a guitarist, who also plays harmonica and banjo, was born on the Isle of Mann and moved with his family to Canada. He left home in his teens to live in Europe, Japan, India and Brazil, carefully perfecting his compelling live show on streets and in cafes and bars before later breaking out to music festivals. Blues music capture his attention when he was still in his teens and he did some roadie work for Willie Dixon, John Hammond and others. He hit the road hard in Europe, booking himself wherever and whenever he could, as a solo act playing banjo, harmonica and guitar.
He moved to Japan and spent the latter half of the 1980's performing there. In Japan, he discovered the music of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and left Japan for India. In 1992, he introduced himself to Bhatt and then spent the next five years under his tutelage, learning to play Bhatt's creation, the 20-string mohan veena. The apex of his time as Bhatt's apprentice came about with a concert for several thousand people at the Taj Mahal. At that time, Bhatt was well known in India, but several years later, he'd be discovered by some American audiences with his 1994 Grammy Award winning recording with Ry Cooder, "Meeting By the River." The only other musician to have mastered the complex Mohan veena was the late Beatle, George Harrison.
Manx, based in Canada for the last dozen years, traveled from India to his wife's home country, Brazil, and played his unique blend of American and Indian "blues" music in the bars and cafes around Sao Paulo. He returned to Canada in 2000 and quickly recorded a demo, which became his debut album for Northern Blues Music, "Dog My Cat." After hearing Manx perform at a conference of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance executives at Northern Blues Music signed Manx, releasing "Dog My Cat."
Manx's debut album was immediately recognized by cognoscenti in Toronto's blues scene, and he was nominated for two Maple Blues Awards, for "Best Acoustic Act" and "Best Recording" in 2001. Manx quickly followed up with his 2002 release for Northern Blues Music, "Wise and Otherwise," which he recorded in the space of a day. Manx's sophomore effort won a Canadian Independent Music Award for "Blues Album of the Year" and drew him critical praise comparing his stylings with those of Kelly Joe Phelps and Ry Cooder. In 2003, he released "Jubilee" with Northern Blues Music, a collaboration with sought-after recording session maven Kevin Breit.
Since his emergence in 2001 to an international touring base [ via his releases with Northern Blues Music ] in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, Manx has been nominated for numerous Juno and Maple Blues Awards.
Since 2001, Manx, an engaging musician and vocalist, has released "Road Ragas" [2003,] "West Eats Meet" on his own label in 2004, and "Mantras for Madmen" in 2005. In the spring of 2007, he released "In Good We Trust" another excellent collaboration with Kevin Breit, for the highly regarded Stony Plain Records.
Manx continues to tour around Canada, Europe, South America and the U.S. His live shows have been described as captivating and engaging, as he plays guitar, lap steel, harmonica, banjo and the Indian Mohan Veena. In a biography accompanying one of his releases, Manx says: "The live performances have become the most exciting part of the music business for me. And it's not only the playing; it's all the other magic that happens between myself and the audience. My goal has always been to draw the audience as deep as possible into the music."
********************
WEBSITE HM
********************
WEBSITE KB
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
''IN GOOD WE TRUST''
APRIL 3 2007
44:41
********************
1 I'm On Fire 03:43 (Bruce Springsteen)
2 Sometimes 04:55 (Harry Manx)
3 Bottom Of The Hill 03:38 (Kevin Breit)
4 Better Man's Waltz 03:01 (Kevin Breit)
5 Death Have Mercy 04:44 (Traditional)
6 Steal 6 05:15 (Harry Manx)
7 Ship Of Fools 04:28 (Harry Manx)
8 In Good We Trust 02:47 (Kevin Breit)
9 Hang On 05:01 (Kevin Breit)
10 Don't Swim, Float 02:49 (Kevin Breit, Harry Manx)
11 Sisters 04:14 (Kevin Breit)
********************
Kevin Breit/Bass Guitar, Bazouki, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Tenor), Guitar (Tremolo), Mandocello, Mandola, Mandolin, National Steel Guitar, Slide Guitar, Tamboura, Vocals (Background)
Harry ManxArranger, Banjo, Drums, Guitar (Acoustic), Lap Steel Guitar, Mohan Vina, Slide Guitar, Vocals
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Jason MacNeil
The follow-up to this pair's Jubilee album finds them basically starting where they left off. And fans should be thankful for that. The instrumentation is top-notch and the selections seem to suit the record perfectly. A great example of this is the haunting but folksy reworking of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire," which is still dark but has a certain hint of brightness thanks to the use of bazouki and tamboura. However, the original material definitely measures up to the covers, especially the smooth and tender "Sometimes," which glides along effortlessly. Meanwhile, Manx and Breit weave more magic with the strolling, ambling "Bottom of the Hill," which is quite catchy. Think of a song by Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch and it's a fair comparison. This is definitely truer during the rootsy and looser "Steal," as Manx and Breit mix roots, folk, and blues impressively. The album is offset, though, by pretty instrumentals, the first being "Better Man Blues," which has an airy yet dark quality running through it, resembling a piece of a soundtrack score thatMark Knopfler hasn't gotten around to yet. However, a rather heady, psychedelic-era tune called "Death Have Mercy" brings to mind Jeff Beck's work circa Frankie's House. Meanwhile, the title track is the Delta blues personified, even if there are flourishes of guitar strumming over the standard slow-creeping blues chords. For the homestretch, Manx and Breit create the gorgeous and cozy "Hang On," which sounds like it was recorded in one take as the sun was coming up. The album, as it states on its cover, is indeed supreme quality.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG/HARRY MANX
Richard Skelly
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Harry Manx has been described as an essential link between the music of the East and the music of the West. He fuses traditional blues with classic Indian ragas to create a distinctive sound.
Manx, primarily a guitarist, who also plays harmonica and banjo, was born on the Isle of Mann and moved with his family to Canada. He left home in his teens to live in Europe, Japan, India and Brazil, carefully perfecting his compelling live show on streets and in cafes and bars before later breaking out to music festivals. Blues music capture his attention when he was still in his teens and he did some roadie work for Willie Dixon, John Hammond and others. He hit the road hard in Europe, booking himself wherever and whenever he could, as a solo act playing banjo, harmonica and guitar.
He moved to Japan and spent the latter half of the 1980's performing there. In Japan, he discovered the music of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and left Japan for India. In 1992, he introduced himself to Bhatt and then spent the next five years under his tutelage, learning to play Bhatt's creation, the 20-string mohan veena. The apex of his time as Bhatt's apprentice came about with a concert for several thousand people at the Taj Mahal. At that time, Bhatt was well known in India, but several years later, he'd be discovered by some American audiences with his 1994 Grammy Award winning recording with Ry Cooder, "Meeting By the River." The only other musician to have mastered the complex Mohan veena was the late Beatle, George Harrison.
Manx, based in Canada for the last dozen years, traveled from India to his wife's home country, Brazil, and played his unique blend of American and Indian "blues" music in the bars and cafes around Sao Paulo. He returned to Canada in 2000 and quickly recorded a demo, which became his debut album for Northern Blues Music, "Dog My Cat." After hearing Manx perform at a conference of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance executives at Northern Blues Music signed Manx, releasing "Dog My Cat."
Manx's debut album was immediately recognized by cognoscenti in Toronto's blues scene, and he was nominated for two Maple Blues Awards, for "Best Acoustic Act" and "Best Recording" in 2001. Manx quickly followed up with his 2002 release for Northern Blues Music, "Wise and Otherwise," which he recorded in the space of a day. Manx's sophomore effort won a Canadian Independent Music Award for "Blues Album of the Year" and drew him critical praise comparing his stylings with those of Kelly Joe Phelps and Ry Cooder. In 2003, he released "Jubilee" with Northern Blues Music, a collaboration with sought-after recording session maven Kevin Breit.
Since his emergence in 2001 to an international touring base [ via his releases with Northern Blues Music ] in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, Manx has been nominated for numerous Juno and Maple Blues Awards.
Since 2001, Manx, an engaging musician and vocalist, has released "Road Ragas" [2003,] "West Eats Meet" on his own label in 2004, and "Mantras for Madmen" in 2005. In the spring of 2007, he released "In Good We Trust" another excellent collaboration with Kevin Breit, for the highly regarded Stony Plain Records.
Manx continues to tour around Canada, Europe, South America and the U.S. His live shows have been described as captivating and engaging, as he plays guitar, lap steel, harmonica, banjo and the Indian Mohan Veena. In a biography accompanying one of his releases, Manx says: "The live performances have become the most exciting part of the music business for me. And it's not only the playing; it's all the other magic that happens between myself and the audience. My goal has always been to draw the audience as deep as possible into the music."
********************
WEBSITE HM
********************
WEBSITE KB
********************
TO THE TOP
********************