Juke & Jive is the new release from Western Swing Hall of Famer Mark Holzinger (guitar), with Simon Planting on bass and John Waller on drums — plus 17 all-pro guests, plus one in memory.
The instrumentals include “Air Mail Special,” which Benny Goodman had a hand in writing. Bob Roble’s up-tempo fiddle carries “Young Joe Clark,” a Holzinger original. “Yesterdays” is a Jerome Kerr tune from the 1933 musical Roberta. The pickin’ on “Twin Guitar Special,” which the liner notes credit as the “most difficult jazz-influenced song in western swing,” why he’s in the WS-HoF.
The vocal guests include May McCoy, who has her band, the Neon Stars, and sings “Real Good Time” so well that it could be on her next CD. Bluegrass veteran Laurie Lewis sings “Old Fashioned Love” and Pam Brandon, a veteran of more bands than she can count, croons “Come Love,” the longest cut clocking in at 6:36.
“My Adobe Hacienda” adds “Latin sabor to the CD, and the maestro himself sings lead! A tribute to the late Jim Rothermel is tucked into this song in the form of a recorder solo he’d recorded before he passed.
Below are audio samples of the tracks mentioned in this review. Note the first four samples, the instrumentals, where the guitar shines.
