Flanfire

Sam Baker is already working on a new album - the followup to Mercy, which actually debuted in 2004 but has hardly been heard despite it being one of the best collections of songs I have heard in a very long time. Gurf Morlix, who shared a bill with Sam and Canadian songwriter Andrew Walker at Cafe Caffeine on Friday night, says that Baker's writing is the best he has come across since Mary Gauthier, whose most recent CD, "Mercy Now," Gurf produced. Sam actually showcased this CD last June 30 on KUT's Eklektikos, and you can catch half an hour of this magic that includes some amaziing conversation. Sam, who grew up west of Fort Worth, had to learn to play guitar left-handed after nearly getting blown to bits in Peru in 1986 by the Shining Path (those sitting next to him died, and Sam has had 18 operations to put his body back together). The blast also took away much of his hearing ... but clearly upgraded his inner hearing to a level few reach.

Rather than try my own hand at praising Sam Baker and his songs, it is better just to repeat what others have said:

Lawrence Kay -- "Song after song creeps up and pulls you in .. each a quiet, haunting, curious jewel... I honestly think only Guy Clark comes close to this guy, in terms of his self-assurance, his clarity of vision, and the consistent high calibre of his output."

Maverick: "This is more than music. This is a shuddering wake up slap in the face.... At his most poignant, he will choke you up; when the fire inside him recalls the whole unadulterated ugliness of what some human beings do to each other, you feel his anger but sense that while shock and disbelief caused him to write down his feelings, they are nonetheless, swaddled with genuine love and forgiveness.... This is songwriting that is so powerful an outpouring it kind of leaves you struck dumb. He digs much further than most care to venture, to communicate on a level that can be quite unsettling for its ability to make you examine yourself."

Tony Peyser: "It's like there was a storm, a couple of huge oaks fell down at your local park and you suddenly saw another big tree behind them in full bloom."

Did I mention that Jessi Colter is but one of the many guests on his CD, which was produced by songwriter Walt Wilkins (whose songs have been recorded by Ricky Skaggs, Pat Green, and numerous others). Folks, the Texas songwriter did not die out when Townes left us. This poet has been touched in a special way and was spared so that we could learn from his tender heart. I had met Sam a while back at Momo's Club during a Bonnie Whitmore-Walt Wilkins show - and he remembered.

Gurf, by the way, is also working on a new CD which he says may be out by January. Walker (previously reviewed here) has been working with Gurf on a forthcoming project during a brief stay before returning to Toronto where he lives. It was of course a joy to hear Gurf playing some quiet solos for Sam and Andrew (aren't those the names of the young twins on Seventh Heaven?) and to see the myriad of musicians who had come to sit at the feet of the masters -- Brent Malkus, Jackson, Leeann Atherton, Russell Beach, Melissa Gruener, Bryce Clifford, Kim Deschamps (whose lovely wife Karen had organized this gig for us), and many others.

Tidbits from the evening -- Beach will debut with his new trio, Las Damas, which features Alison Willis (lead) and Sarah Glynn (drums), on June 14 at the Red-Eyed Fly (about 10:30 or 11) - you may know Sarah from Echoset and Alison from various punk pop incarnations. Gruener is opening for Dar Williams at Poor Richard's in Dallas next Wednesday and is at Ruta Maya opening for Kacy Crowly and the fabulous Sarah Dashew next Thursday (Sarah also plays at the Saxon Pub along with Guy Forsyth next Friday).

So I was on the way home and drove by Threadgill's only to hear the magical sounds of Cyril Neville and Tribe 13 - still playing after midnight. Naturally, I pulled into the parking lot, jumped out of the station wagon, and virtually ran to the outdoor venue area. At long long last I get to hear my bud Kris Brown (whose new reggae album, produced by fellow Tribe 13 member Courtney Audain, is nearly ready for release) strumming on his guitar and singing backup vocals. The Caesar brothers - Cyril's nephews - are on drums and keyboards, while Cyril and his lovely wife lead the band; okay, Cyril did get behind the kit for the final song and showed his Neville Brothers stuff ... and the band also has a young gunslinger name of Jimmy (James) [I forget his last name] who laid down some very interesting sounds and brought a passle of his buds (on their way to a later night party, to be sure).

Courtney is just as excited about Kris' new CD as he is about his other newborn -- Steve Carter's new reggae album which features a previously unrecorded Merle Haggard song, "Since I Gave Up Cigarettes" -- Carter has played with Haggard, Freddy Powers, and Willie Nelson -- his country band, Stop the Truck, is a band that must be heard. His other band is the Mau Mau Chaplains. Audain, whom I know through Papa Mali, is well known for his work on bass and steel drums (his childhood instrument in Trinidad) but is about to break out as a producer.

I apologize for not writing earlier -- I have been to a few good shows -- and I do hope to be back at the keyboard soon. Notable in recent weeks -- Jackson's CD release party and watching my bud Ann Marie Harrop belt out a couple of songs in Polish during her band Brave Combo's recent appearance at Jovita's. And the trumpet player who Bryce Clifford had with him last Sunday at the Hole in the Wall made that set one not to be missed -- though we will miss Bryce during his upcoming visit to his Canadian homeland (but he will be back at the Hole on June 29 along with Little Alice and Her Monkey Butlers).

One final note -- Brent says that the Texas Sapphires are opening next Friday at Threadgill's for the South Austin Jug Band -- I hope to be there.