As if their name didn’t give the band away, dancing beats are what the Hi-Rhythm Hustlers are about.  Fronted by the inimitable Rockin’ Raul Castro, a dance instructor himself, the Hustlers’ live show combines Castro’s stage presence with the musicianship of veterans Mitch Polzak (guitar), Mike Walz (bass) and Jay Laude (drums) to squeeze all of the old school R&B to be had from a quartet.  But how to get what works on the stage onto a recording, ah, there’s the rub.

The Hustlers pull it off by calling reinforcements into the studio.   Chris Binnings the lead from Stompy Jones adds his voice to “Let’s Rock and Roll” and the piano is supplied by renowned SoCal keyboardist Carl Sony Leyland to rachet up the romp factor even further.  Local keyboardist-at-large Noam Eisen plays on Charlie Rich‘s “Right Behind You Baby” and a Hustlers’ original “One More Night.”  Pedal steel, back up singers, tenor sax and an accordion are scattered among the other tracks to provide variation while staying true to their boppin’ roots. (more…)