Tag: Chuck Bartels

The Detroit Sound – New Live Roots Music Series Debuts Jan. 27 at Aretha’s Jazz Café

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A new live music series aims to showcase the musical “roots” of Detroit.

Known as The Detroit Sound, the quarterly roots music concert series debuts Jan. 27 at Aretha’s Jazz Café with singer-songwriters Jennifer Westwood, Jimmie Bones, John Bardy and Tino Gross.

“There are so many people here that I know who make music, and they never do shows together, and they’re from different parts of the city. We have fantastic music here as good as any other music city, and we need to champion that,” said Westwood, who curates The Detroit Sound with WhistlePig Music Group producer-engineer-mixer Bunky Hunt.

“It’s like, ‘Well, what is the Detroit sound?’ Some people just think it’s garage rock, some people just think it’s Motown, but really what’s happening right now? It’s a lot of things, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be one thing, but for our intents and purposes, it’s going to be more roots-based.”

To amplify those roots sounds, Westwood and Hunt selected a lineup artists and musicians who advocate Detroit’s independent rock, country and blues music scene. They also assembled the all-star Motown-Shoals house band of guitarist Dylan Dunbar, bassist Chuck Bartels, drummer David Below and keyboardist Bones.

“They’re all uniquely Detroit, and these are people who are carving their own path. They’re not listening to the people who run the tech media giants … they’re sticking to their art. These guys all fall in that category,” Hunt said.

“We’ve also got this great house band. These are guys that both play in Jennifer [Westwood’s] band and support me in the studio as well. I kinda use them as my wrecking crew. It’s gonna truly be a Detroit experience, and that’s what we’re gunning for.”

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World-Class – Tracy Kash Creates ‘Fierce’ Global Sounds on DMA-Nominated Album

Tracy Kash blends eclectic sounds to create a world music feel on “Fierce.” Photo by Aly Darin Photography

Tracy Kash fiercely brings world-class sounds and styles to the Motor City.

The Detroit world music vocalist, flutist, pianist, composer and arranger delightfully blends classic elements of jazz, soul, pop and theater into a dramatic center-stage sound on Fierce, her fourth and latest album that’s currently nominated for Outstanding World Music Recording in the 2020 Detroit Music Awards (DMA).

“It’s a tricky thing because I am kind of all over the place stylistically. When people go, ‘What kind of music do you play?’ I just say, ‘Um, yes, I don’t know what to say,’” Kash laughed. “Some of them are older tunes. I was never sure if I was going to record them. The rest of it came organically over the course of about eight years because I hadn’t released anything since 2010.”

For 2019’s Fierce, Kash assembled a star-studded cast of musicians called the Bro’ Fos, including Pat Shanley (guitars, mandolin, backing vocals), Chuck Bartels (bass) and Van Hunsberger (drums), to bring the album’s 11 sensational tracks to life. They spent six months recording the tracks with producer Tom Rice at Eastpointe’s Audio Café Studio and Eric Morgeson at Dearborn’s Studio A Recording.

“Most of it is just mastery of their instruments. When I put together rehearsals, performances or recordings, unless there’s something really specific I’m looking for, I won’t arrange each part. They’re such great musicians, and because of that, it gives them the freedom to bring something that’s more natural to them to the recording or the performance,” Kash said.

Getting ‘Fierce’

“Fierce” album artwork

With a troupe of A-list collaborators, Kash launches her eclectic Fierce sound with “Face Time,” a jazzy opener featuring swift piano, vibrating electric guitars, deep bass and pounding drums.

Her soulful vocals warn lovers to eradicate the ghosts of past relationships in favor of new ones – “I’m the one you run to/To unload a heavy heart/I’m happy knowing I can do the same/Well maybe it’s because I’m naïve/I assume that I’m the one you need/But the doubt comes when you call me by her name.”

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Inside Out – Audra Kubat Explores Life’s Dualities on ‘The Sliver & the Salve’

Audra Kubat will release her seventh album, “The Sliver & the Salve,” Friday via Whistle Pig Records. Photo by Allan Barnes

For Audra Kubat, life brings a series of dualities that challenge and change the soul.

Those dualities inspire her to create magical sonic epiphanies that instantly resonate with listeners on “The Sliver & the Salve,” a spectacular 10-track odyssey that drops Friday and looks inward and outward at the self, society and the cosmos.

“I feel like this album for me was recognizing that there were these dualities and sort of contradictions, these internal and external things going on. I wanted then to connect that also with the way we treat each other, treat ourselves and treat the earth,” said Kubat, a Detroit indie folk singer-songwriter.

“Those three ideas, the way we treat ourselves, the way we treat each other and the way we treat the land are what really define us. Our impact is limited, expounded or accentuated by our ability to be fully ourselves, to be gracious to others and to take care of the land.”

Throughout “The Sliver & the Salve,” Kubat brilliantly addresses relatable themes of inner strength, personal freedom and growth, tumultuous relationships, emotional upheavals and environmental stewardship.

Selections from ‘The Sliver & the Salve’

“The Sliver & the Salve” album artwork

As a follow-up to 2016’s acoustically-minded “Mended Vessel,” Kubat’s latest album via Whistle Pig Records showcases a carefully crafted batch of songs that evoke deep reflections against a backdrop of elegant instrumentation.

Each song highlights the challenges of everyday life experiences and the difficult choices people make to progress. The gorgeous opening track, “Some Comfort,” depicts the courageous mindset of a woman who escapes an abusive relationship and ponders a new life ahead.

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