Joe Craven & Sam Bevan collaborate on new CD
Foakee – OUT NOW
 Joe Craven |
When you take a blues, rock, folk, whirled music multi-instrumentalist and a classically trained pianist/jazz trained bassist and put them together to have their way with traditional American folk songs, you can get something like the Joe Craven/Sam Bevan collaboration called Foakee.
Gospel, blues, Appalachian, Cuban, West African, hip-hop, Brazilian and jazz influences are all combined with sound samples, and looping technology to create beats from mouth, found objects and conventional acoustic on this album. The fun, innovative tribute to the old and the new, on Foakee, creates a fresh cocktail of sound stretching the boundaries of musical style while paying tribute to and forwarding evolving musical traditions.
Joe Craven is a madman with anything that has strings attached or not: violin, mandolin, tin can, bedpan, cookie tin, tenor guitar, mouth bow, banjo, berimbau, balalaika, boot ‘n lace, animal bones, squeeze toys, cake pans, waste cans, umbrella stands, martini shakers, and so on. Mandolin Magazine lauded Joe as, “One of the most daringly inventive musicians working today.” As an educator, former museum curator, visual artist, actor/storyteller and festival emcee, Joe plays all kinds of music and he has made it with all kinds of artists ranging from jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli to Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia to banjo player Alison Brown to The Persuasions.
When it comes to Sam Bevan, Guitar World’s Bass Guitar Magazine says, “Bay Area jazzman Bevan is a bassist for all occasions…” Sam’s own recordings showcase not only his chops but his composing and arrangement abilities as well. Sam is a first call bassist, having played and/or recorded with a variety of artists including Roswell Rudd, David Grisman, Geoff Muldaur and more.
Foakee Track List
1. Dig a Little Deeper in the Well
2. Julianne
3. Little Sadie
4. The Leather Britches of Hackensack
5. Nobody’s Fault but Mine
6. Brown’s Ferry Blues
7. Sittin’ On Top of the World
8. Intro to Shady Grove
9. Shady Grove
10. Bright Sunny South
11. Wayfaring Stranger – Lagrimas Negras
12. Black Jack Davey
13. Cluck ‘ol Hen