Upon the twin pillars of Duke Ellington's compositions “Jack the Bear” and “Sunset and the Mocking Bird” this aggregation of enthusiastic young swingers sets up its own tribute to Nat “King” Cole in the centennial celebration of the legendary singer's birthday (March 17, 1919). 'Orange Colored Sky” is the new 11-track album from the Ellington Big Band of the Tucson Jazz Institute, directed by John Black. 'BETWEEN THE SPACES' FILLED WITH THOUGHTFUL LISTENING

To hear the music of “Dry River Redemption” and get your own copy, visit Joining in at different times on various songs are Heather Hardy, electric and acoustic fiddle Tom Walbank, harmonica Alvin Blaine, lap steel, pedal steel, dobro and other instruments Damon Barnaby, Rich Hopkins, guitar Billy Sedlmayr, Misty Nowak and Lisa Novik, background and harmony vocals. The whole album flaunts this inside knowledge of border life from an older time, before Trump's wall, the internet and cell phones, when everyone helped each other get along as best they could, when survival was always a shared reward.įebbo's core band is Oscar Fuentes singing harmony and playing various instruments, Thoger Lund on bass and drummer Bruce Halper. Driving and hearing lyrics that take shape from the hum of the asphalt, thoughts left hanging in the dim glow of dash lights and cigarettes.Įach plaintive cut on “Dry River Redemption” tells a story, creates an atmosphere, paints a picture of lives haunted by myth (as in “Dulcinea”), possibility (“Living Before You Die”) and Fate itself (“Penitent”).Ī third-generation Tucsonan by birth, Febbo mentions the Old Pueblo by name in three other songs, “Urban Hollow,” “Agave Nectar” and “Alfie's Song (Riverside).” These are the songs of men accustomed to riding long distances by themselves, preferably at night. So personal that it's doubtful anyone else could give these lyrics the intensity and intonation they require. But I would suggest a new category, “two-lane lament,” or “roadhouse revival,” or maybe “desert soul.”įebbo sings from a spot that's way deep in his past, sealed away and never touched until now. He gives a co-writing credit to Billy Sedlmayr for “Blue Monsoon” and to Buck Burns for “Sleepy Eyes.”Īmericana is the sort of label most often given to this blend of country and folkish sounds, timeless in its own way. Recorded locally at the studio of his new singing partner Oscar Fuentes, all the songs are Febbo originals.

The declaration of this richer sound in both his singing and songwriting is Febbo's new and surely to become eponymous CD release, the 12-track “Dry River Redemption.” Just like the Mississippi River, Febbo has become wider, deeper and lots more interesting. Mark Anthony Febbo has traveled a long way from his 2013 recording with the Tucson country-eclectic band Clam Tostada.

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