THE ZEN of HUMIDITY
FONK HORN - RHYTHMS from NEW ORLEANS
CHARLIE MILLER and FREDDY STAEHLE
by Bunny Matthews (New Orleans Writer)
There has never been a recording exactly like this: Charlie Miller and
Freddy Staehle, both
Native New Orleanians and both lifetime "podnahs" of Dr. John, conspire
on, respectively
trumpet, voice, flute (Miller)and drums (Staehle). Actually, drums
is not entirely accurate-
Staehle plays what he calls the "Winger Tree," an assemblage of drums,
percussion
instruments, tree branches, and ostrich feathers that looks like it
sprung from the imagination
of Dr. Seuss. The duo - sans bass, keyboards, or anything else that
might clutter their
mission - tackles a selection of traditional New Orleans peices ("Saints
Go Marchin In",
"Careless Love", "Didn't He Ramble," etc.) in a decidedly non-traditional
manner.
The only other music that comes close to this is perhaps something
by Tom Waits - if Tom
Waits were to cut "Just A Closer Walk With Thee", which in the case
of Miller and Staehle,
is transformed into two songs: "Just a Closer Strut With Thee" and
"Closer Romp With Thee"
The effect is extremely mellow - as if one were hearing the muffled
sounds of a trumpet and
drums from across a French Quarter patio, the music reverberating against
peeling stucco
and shredded banana leaves and chipped cups of cafe-au-lait, and sunbathing
green lizards
and the bare bodies of sleeping girls. It's the Zen of Humidity, Fonk
with an "o". Omnipotent!
Unique - Click On CD's to Hear 'Em !
Listen To (or order) "PeaceHorn" or "Fonk Horn" CD
Email to Charlie
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