Raisins In The Sun

The gathering in the desert of this diversely talented group to shake and bake their musical skills in the "dry" heat of a Tucson summer produced some results that were not foreseen -- and it also raises deep questions about their sanity. In fact, the whole thing was pure speculation and hopeful thinking that this eclectic collection of musicians could produce anything. They did, in fact, coalesce and produce the unexpected results that you can hear on this disc. This disc fits into no easy packaging, nor into some neat category bin. It is a disparate mix of persons and musical styles that were thrown into the studio with the directive "Lets see what you can come up with." Theres Harvey Brooks, who has played bass with the likes of Miles Davis and Bob Dylan; Winston Watson, a drummer in demand; Jules Shear, a singer songwriter who has penned songs done by everyone under the sun; Jim Dickinson, the epitome of the Memphis rhythm and blues sound; and so on with the whole crew. These are not always names that are on the publics lips, yet they are among the first out of musicians mouths. Very interestingly, there are no songwriting credits except to say they were written by the band. Additionally there is no credit for who plays what. This disc is an amalgamation of all of the above influences, plus others, and yet greater than the sum of its parts. ~ Bob Gottlieb