Reviews

Sing Out!
Fall 1997

by John Lipton

Is there such a word as schizomusicoholic? Or maybe musicophrenia? Being unlike just about anything you may have heard before, the Jazzabels probably deserve a word not normally found in the English language. Didn't anyone tell them you're not supposed to take folk, country, jazz, blues, Cajun and rock 'n' roll, mix it all up into one big musical meatloaf, season it with accordions, saxophones, didgeridoos, African flutes and pedal steel guitars, and serve it up as folk music? What were they thinking? Can they do that? With or without our permission, this is good stuff!

The Jazzabels (Cathy Carfagna and Kilissa McGoldrick) have been favorites on the Buffalo music scene since 1990. All mock indignation aside, the 13 songs (all but one written by Carfagna and/or McGoldrick) on this, their second release, bubble with enthusiasm and joy. Their music reaches even middle-aged country purists like me. Previous reviewers have compared their vocals to contemporary talents like Lucinda Williams, and that's an apt comparison. But on cuts like ÆGenie Called From Vegas‘ and others, I hear nothing less than echoes of the kind of refreshing and original music that Karla Bonoff was making back in the late '70s. Maybe that's just one man's opinion, but that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Other standouts here include the haunting "Sea of Grass," the smoky jazz of "Midnight Blue" (most definitely not the same song as the mid-'70s Melissa Manchester hit) and the good-time rocking of  "Thunder" and "Drive."

A share of the credit for the overall sound has to go to the band behind Carfagna and McGoldrick, principally Kevin O'Brien (acoustic bass) and Corey Kurtzie (drums). John Caruso's engineering should be applauded as well. Skyway is well-recorded and well-mixed.

I don't usually use the word "I" in reviews, but the Jazzabels, to their credit, are entirely out of the ordinary. Giving a comprehensive description of Skyway, or the Jazzabels  themselves, in a few hundred words is nearly impossible … there's just so much going on and so much that could be said about it. I like 'em, and I'm surprised at how much I like 'em. Let's just say that if you like surprises, or if you like music that touches a lot of bases, you'll probably like this album. In fact, you'll probably like it a lot.

Woodstock Times
7/3/97

by Gary Alexander

"Some people got their feet frozen off in blizzards, or even their hands, but Calamity still had her hands and feet," wrote Larry McMurty in Buffalo Girls. So do The Jazzabels, who ushered in the third season of Tinker Street Cafe's Women In Music Series Sunday night, and they used them to touch and tap intricate time to a dazzlingly eclectic store of originals not heard before in Woodstock.

Fresh from gigs at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, the Turning Point in Piermont and the Hotel Galvez in New York City, the Buffalo-based acoustic duo proved an inspired choice to initiate the deservedly celebrated series. Instead of losing extremities to Lake Erie winds, Cathy Carfagna and Kilissa McGoldrick were growing musical arms long enough to reach without stretching into blends of swing, rock, neo-folk, Delta blues, Cajun and rockabilly.

Their first pass covered the line with "Lucky Day," a song from their award-winning CD, Cafe All Day. McGoldrick's guitar and Carfagna's synchro-meshed accordion frolicked the gambit into gear as the gemstone quality of their shadow harmonies became instantly apparent. The newly-penned "Four Leaf Clover" pushed the roll with a distinctly mountain-toned strut, and Carfagna's deliciously inflected lead vocal on "Little Harlem Hotel," a song they contributed to a compliation CD of Buffalo's leading female artits called No Illusions, moved Bourbon Street closer to Lake Erie than to Pontchartrain.

Carfagna, who at one point supplied keyboard for the country band Nimrod Wildfire & The Sagebrush Lotharios, bottlenecked on a taste from their latest CD, Skyway, called "Thunder." Images from Lillian Schissel's Women's Diaries Of The Westward Journey provided earthy inspiration for the 19th-century frontier moods of "Sea of Grass". And, as long as we're on the prairie, it seemed natural for McGoldrick (who played sxophone in the Zappa-tribute band The Voice of Cheese) to pick up a recorder to tint "Devil In Disguise" with a shade of tonality from what yuppies call a "Pasta Western" soundtrack.

When they turned to one of their few cover tunes of the evening, such as Neil Young's "Southern Pacific" or Johnny Cash's "Big River," the audience was provided a revealing glimpse into how thoroughly polished was each fiber of the textures galore being offered. Familiarity breeds wonder and respect when you observe the way these tunes, rather than just being copied, were stripped down to their bare notes and completely reconstructed in a way that makes something else out of them; something entirely intrinsic to The Jazzabels. Their take on the Velvet Underground's "All Tomorrow's Parties" delivered it with undreamed-of dimensions, and a spin of Buck Quigley's wicked "Dashboard Mary" (with an appropriate prop) turned mouth corners toward the ceiling.

Obviously, the long-long nights of western New York favored the smoothing of every little nook in these melodies, helping fashion bright and intellient lyrics that don't trip all over themselves or the chords and buttering-out harmonies-like the lava flow that swept along "Room To Breathe," another new tune from McGoldrick which windows the world.

The Jazzabels formed seven years ago when John Lombardo and Mary Ramsey of the 10,000 Maniacs were putting together a line-up of duos for a show. Their second gig was opening for indie-queen Ani DiFranco's first album release party. Their own first album in 1991, Come Hell Or High Harmonies, has since sold out beyond attainablility. Touring for the past four years, they've played from Canada to Mexico to Italy and are currently building an appreciative following along the entire length of the New York State Thruway. This first night in Woodstock brought us the most musical stimulation out of Buffalo since the legendary Paul Siebel left there to settle in town during the '70s.

There were moments Sunday of distant flashing on a youthful Judy Collins and Joan Baez, but that pair never meshed in shared concert as seamlessly as this duo. There was a sliver of drawback in the fact that, as much as you may have gotten into their version of a familiar tune, you didn't want to sing along. You just wanted to listen to the exquisite interlace.

Highlights were wall-to-wall with an edge in prominence to "Whole Lot Of Rhythm And A Little Twang," a hilarious tribute to Johnny Cash, and the soul-chords of a yet-to-be-recorded monster called "Only You."

The Jazzabels will be playing Manhattan's Bitter End on July 22 and broadcasting live from WFUV 90.7 FM that afternoon. A return to Woodstock in August is a possibility, so if you missed them this time around, make a note. If you don't see their albums in local stores, their national distributor is Ladyslipper, Inc. (1-800-634-6044) and surfers can try http://www.wnywebshop.com/jazzabel.

Dirty Linen (Feb/March 1997)

"The Jazzabels work the Buffalo-Toronto axis of goodtime roots-based venues, while swinging and twanging in harmony... 'Sea of Grass'...delves into the bountiful text Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey, turning a homesteader's tale into compelling song. Richard Chon's violin part stirs these amber waves. Neil Young's "Southern Pacific" rolls on...with Carfagna and McGoldrick's harmonies borne aloft by Dennis Mike's windblown pedal steel.... freshly played Americana. Skyway is mostly rollicking fare until McGoldrick's closer: the memorable ...'Little Bird'."

"Pleasingly varied harmonic roots and jazz chops with a couple of sussed swingstrels. A soundtrack for touring the States in a pickup truck and piling through small town after small town."

JULY 22, 1996
Washington Park, Albany, NY, with Marcia Ball
by Michael Hochanadel
The Daily Gazette
Albany, NY, 7/23/96

The Jazzabels opened the show with 50 minutes of bravely diverse music. They started with a Cajun dance tune, Carfagna's accordion chords gliding over McGoldrick's percussive guitar. They switched instruments often – Carfagna playing guitar as well as accordion. They celebrated a "Lucky Day" in earthy counterpoint, the "Telephone" in a jazzy swing number, and impatient love in "I Don't Want To Wait..." They evoked torch jazz in "Little Harlem Hotel," and hailed the healing properties of rock-n'roll in "A Whole Lot of Rhythm and a Little Twang." "Little Bird" intriguingly grafted flute to slide guitar in an Afro-Blues, while the sweet "Sweet Dream" celebrated the beauty of two voices. They made the songs work in more directions than most bigger bands can manage.

...During the making of the new release, "Skyway," the good-time girls traded the cafe for a cantina and set aside Cinderella for a genie from Las Vegas. "We've explored new territory with some of the instrumentation, and we've been doing a lot of travelling," Carfagna explained.
One of those travels was to central Mexico, where the Jazzabels performed three shows as part of an artist exchange. "It was 3 a.m. in some cantina, and somebody pulled out a bottle of tequila, and we played this song," McGoldrick related during a lively perfomance of "La Que Sea," a Mexican polka sung in Spanish.
Although that song does not appear on the new release, several other souvenirs of their travels do, such as "Genie Called From Vegas," and a rendition of Neil Young's "Southern Pacific." New songs covered a wide range of musical styles, from the bluesy "Thunder" to the country-flavored foot-stomper "Whole Lot of Rhythm ."
...Carfagna wowed the elite, standing room only audience with her fancy accordion and guitar lines. McGoldrick commanded attention with her soft, emotional voice and articulate flute lines. Joining the Jazzabels for various songs were Kevin O'Brien on upright bass, Corey Kertzie on drums, Jim Whitford of the Pine Dogs on guitar and Dennis Mike on pedal steel, plus backup singers Ann Janish, Tina Peel, and Doug Lambert.

by Dale Anderson
Art Voice, Buffalo, NY 9/11/96

I've adored the Jazzabels as live performers for years, but the considerable charms of Buffalo's foremost acoustic duo on stage have never been fully replicated on an album length disc and tape. Until now, that is.
The Jazzabels' CD, Skyway, captures their sense of fun in its many facets. Not merely a collection of songs – and fine songs they are – Skyway presents Cathy Carfagna and Kilissa McGoldrick as artists who can slip into many styles and seem right at home in all of them.
This bravura exercise in eclecticism is carried out so off-handedly that it's hardly apparent at first that the two of them are up to anything different from the affectionate folk-rock, zydeco and Western swing of their 1994 album, Cafe All Day.
Skyway even opens on the same sort of upbeat note, an invitation to come out for an evening of music and good times. But "Whole Lot of Rhythm" takes that invitation to a whole other dimension.
First of all, it's all inclusive. Instead of calling out to girlfriends, as "Good Time Girls" does, it goes all the way to the President and both houses of Congress. It's also more interesting stylistically, mixing handclaps, a walking rockabilly bass and twangy guitar (courtesy of the Pine Dogs' Jim Whitford) into a sort of country and blues mixture that easily could have percolated out of Sun Studios in Memphis.
The subsequent track, "I Don't Want to Wait," serves notice that the blues are playing a more prominent role in the Jazzabels' writing. The song progresses from a light declaration of romantic impatience to a dense, revved-up demand for action. One can almost imagine Bonnie Raitt digging into it.
Invocations of other famous female singers abound in other Skyway selections, as well. "Sweet Dream" has a tart poetry and a plaintive country voice reminiscent of Lucinda Williams. "Genie Called From Vegas," meanwhile, evokes a scuffling scenario not unlike Sheryl Crow. And then there's the totally atypical "Midnight Blue," a slinky, smoky jazz ballad a la June Cristy which is planted smack in the middle of the proceedings.
Skyway also has a delightful way of giving similar themes a different slant from song to song. For example, the melancholy new life out West in "Genie" brings despair and hopelessness, while the life-and-death grind in the waltz of "Sea of Grass" serves only to reinforce the pioneer narrator's drive to press on regardlessly across the prairie. And then there are alternatives in motion in the sleek "Southern Pacific" and the more bumptious "Drive."
The only exception to my general admiration for the entire proceedings lies in "Telephone," where the sampled over-the-line announcements seem like electronic intrusions on an otherwise delightful tune. In light of the general excellence of the rest of Skyway, it's a minor complaint.
Compliments should also be extended to the people who have given the Jazzabels additional depth and sparkle – engineer John Caruso and the folks who mastered these tracks. It's a fine-sounding album. Skyway should put the Jazzabels well on the route to wider acclaim.

Sweet harmonies with folk, pop, and country influences... The Jazzabels kick off the CD in style with "Whole Lot Of Rhythm," an irresistible, catchy tune with a jump beat and references to Chuck Berry. They turn mellow on the pensive "Sweet Dream" and go to a bluesy number, "That's the Way." Other highights include a rollicking version of Neil Young's "Southern Pacific" and a push to the creative edge with "Little Bird."

DIRTY LINEN, Folk, Electric Folk, Traditional and World Music
Vol. 55, Dec.'95/Jan. `95
Charles de Lint (Ottawa, ON, Canada)

I can't remember the last time I had as much fun with an album as I've had with this latest recording by Kilissa McGoldrick (wind instruments, guitar) and Cathy Carfagna (accordion, guitar), collectively known as The Jazzabels. From the infectious opening of "Good Time Girls," complete with a phone call interruption in the middle of the song's break ("Hang on for a minute, I have to go sing my harmony"), through to the tender strains of the album's closer "Lay Your Burden Down," there's not a dull cut to be found.
Their influences range right across the board: the girl bands of the fifties and sixties ("Gypsy Song," "Hey, Cinderella!"), the Everly Brothers ("El Diablo (Devil in Disguise)"), Tex-Mex ("If He Asks You To Dance," "Should I Wait"), rockabilly ("My Blue Heart"), through to their own inimitable sound ("(I Wish I Could Sing Like) Johnny Cash" and the aforementioned "Good Time Girls").
The arrangements are straightforward, simple but effective; the blend of the two women's voices, enchanting; and while a mischievous good humour spills over most of the cuts on the album, the lyrics are serious as often as they're frothy. There can be a pitfall for musicians using humour to make the medicine taste nice, the danger that you'll be viewed as merely a novelty act, but The Jazzabels walk that fine line without a misstep, neither too arch, nor too flighty. Sometimes you just want to have fun, and you have to love a group that called their last album Come Hell or High Harmonies, or can come up with a line like "It's hard to sing like Johnny Cash when you're wearing a dress." Definitely recommended.

Contact: Jzcentral@aol.com.

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