The subtitle of this album is truth in advertising, as it states, “A New Sound With The Pascal Bokar AfroBlueGrazz Band”.
I’m sure your first question is ‘What is “Afro Blue Grazz” music? Glad you asked!
Just to give a hint, think of putting together a band that has the funky of Sly and the Family Stone, the voice of a Jackie Wilson and throw in Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs bluegrass and you’ve got the worldview of South African guitarist/vocalist Pascal Bokar. He brings together a team of Avram Siegel/banjo, Idrissa Gueye/perc, Vincent Spaulding/g, Fan Purat/fiddle, Dennis Smith/b, Bryant Mills/dr,Steve Carter/key, Mohamed Koutate/balafon and some guests of voice, keys and fiddle. The result is a high energy mix of swampy soul and down home picking and grinning.Think in terms of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” crashing into a the party of “Everyday People”.
And there’s a get-down mood all throughout, with the mix of banjo, guitar and deep rivulets searing through “Let It Groove All Night Long” and the head bobbing “I Can Tell”. Paula Harris chimes in with her voice on a gritty take of Otis Spann’s “The Blues Don’t Like Nobody” and gets romantic with Bokar on “ I Wanna See You In My Dreams”. The rhythm team shuffles along on the locomotive of “Everytime I See You There” and the strings are flying on the upbeat “Everytime I See You There”. This guy is on to something-is he coming to So Cal? WHEW!