 Singer/songwriter Al Basile was the first trumpet player for Roomful of Blues in 1973, and he's backed by the Duke Robillard band again on this second solo CD, Shaking the Soul Tree, which introduces a 3-piece horn section: Sax Gordon Beadle on tenor and Doug James on baritone sax along with Al on cornet. Duke's former drummer, Jeff McAllister, recently with Hank Williams Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd, holds down the drum chair, and Tom West, most recently from Susan Tedeschi's band, is on piano and B-3. Duke again plays the guitars himself and produces. In this 16-song collection the emphasis is on Memphis soul grooves, but late-'60s rock, swing-based blues and classic R&B show up, too. Basile plays in Rhode Island but does not tour, so he's reaching an audience almost entirely online. His web site: http://www.albasile.com |
