A few reviews, the Crawfish Fest and more

John McVey, Gone To Texas, Doc Blues Records.

John McVey is the latest in the never-ending procession of Texas blues guitarists, but to his credit, he doesn’t copy Stevie Ray Vaughan and relies on a style that has elements of surf guitar and R&B, as well as blues. McVey really gives the whammy bar on his Fender Stratocaster a workout in true Dick Dale fashion and even allows his female background singers to take the occasional lead vocal. www.docbluesrecords.com.

Eliza Gilkyson, Lost and Found, Red House Records.

Singer/songwriter Eliza Gilkyson treads the same waters as Lucinda Williams, incorporating folk, blues, country and rock elements, coupled with sometimes wistful, confessional lyrics, delivered with a similar throaty rasp. It seems from her words that Gilkyson has a new love in her life, which can make for either mawkish sentimentality or true emotion. She succeeds handsomely on all counts, but, rocker that I am, would have liked to have heard a little more up-tempo energy from this disc. Red House Records, PO Box 4044, St. Paul, MN 55104.

Miles Davis, The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions, Columbia Records.

This beautifully packaged three-disc set reprises a jazz classic and adds to the rich legacy of Miles Davis’s music. At this moment in time, Miles began to move away from standard jazz forms to a new electrified, loose style that would later become known as “jazz/rock fusion.” Jazz fans and critics spar over when fusion really started. This just might be it. Included are rehearsal sessions, unreleased songs and alternate takes, plus the most extensive liner notes one could imagine. Of course, everything has been remixed and remastered in 24-Bit super bit technology for flawless sound. This is an indispensable jazz masterpiece, reissued with great care and attention.

Caught Live: Michael Arnone’s 13th Annual Crawfish Fest took place the weekend of June 1 and 2 at the Waterloo Concert Field in Stanhope, NJ. This popular event always presents great, rootsy American music like Cajun, Zydeco and blues, as well as copious amounts of good old Louisiana culinary delights like boiled crawfish, po’ boys, jambalaya, red beans and rice and much more. Featured performers included bluesman John Mooney, Zydeco accordion masters Geno Delafose and Steve Riley and their respective bands, The Radiators and Sunday’s headliners, Little Feat, this writer’s favorite band. Sunday’s weather was warm and dry with a cool breeze that added to the festivities. The music was excellent, the crawfish were hot and spicy (and messy!) and Little Feat sounded wonderful, as always. I’ll be back again next year and you should too!

Coming Soon: The Brooklyn Cowboys, a talented country band cut from the same musical cloth as the Flying Burrito Brother and The Byrds, will be appearing in our area as follows: 6/19, Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ; 6/20, The Gin Mill, Manhattan, 212/580-9080; 6/21; Danish Club, Brooklyn, 718/745-9224. Check them out.