Danielle Miraglia Bright Shining Stars

Danielle Miraglia
Bright Shining Stars
VizzTone

Boston-based Danielle Miraglia has straddled musical genres from folk, Americana-roots, and blues as a solo artist and with her band the Glory Junkies. There have been comparisons made of her to Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams. This new album highlights the folk-blues aspect of her music. It is an entertaining mix of her attractively sung renditions of classic blues with her original originals that range from blues-rooted to folk-country. She is aided on her performances by the viola of Laurence Scudder, the guitar of Peter Parcek, and the harmonica of Richard Rosenblatt.

With a gentle foot stomp, her mesmerizing guitar riff, and Scudder's melancholic viola, a brief instrumental "Sounds Like Home" leads into her rendition of "See See Rider." She is a striking singer who provides a slight folk tinge with a clean as spring water voice. Scudder's doleful viola accentuates this. Miraglia mixes in choice originals like the topical "Pick Up the Gun," a protest against gun violence as she sings that another should pick up a gun to give her a reason to shoot. Then there is "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You `Go," with Parcek's stinging guitar has a feel of a Tracy Chapman styled blues. Her heartfelt singing matches her distinctive lyrics. Another similar original is "Meet Me In the Morning," with her strong guitar playing with Rosenblatt adding harmonica.

There is plenty of charm in her cover of Keb Mo's "You Can Love Yourself," with Parcek's use of sustain giving his backing a steel guitar flavor. Miraglia renders a reflective interpretation of Tampa Red's "When Things Go Wrong," although her version is based on Big Bill Broonzy's recording. She accompanies herself very effectively, displaying technique as well as restraint.

Other tracks include intriguing covers of songs by Janis Joplin and Robert Johnson. Danielle Miraglia has a melodious voice with considerable appeal, and with the backing provided, has produced a gem of roots music.

I received my review copy from VizzTone. Here Danieel performs "Sounds Like Home," and "See See Rider."

Peter Parcek Solves The Mathematics of Love

Peter Parcek’s website, describes his guitar style as weaving “rock, gypsy-jazz, country, folk, and blues-- especially blues-- into a tapestry of melody, harmony and daredevil solos that push those styles to their limits without sacrificing the warmth of his own personality.” He has a release to showcase this musical blend and his virtuosity, “The Mathematics of Love” (VizzTone). As for this album he states the influence of Django Reinhardt, “Django’s performances are breathtakingly beautifully and technically demanding. I’ve really been taken with the purity of his acoustic guitar sound, and he played electric with such abandon. His music is very much alive and creative, so I also tried to bring those qualities to ‘The Mathematic of Love.’” He is backed here by drummer Steve Scully and bassist Marc Hickox with appearances by Mandolin virtuoso Jimmy Ryan, violinist Dan Kellar and upright bass Marty Ballou.

The recording opens with a rendition of Peter Green’s “Showbiz Blues,” with the mood incorporating Elmore James licks, a driving hill country groove with blistering slide. While not a great singer, Parcek convincing asks “Do you give a damn about me.” The title track follows with a hesitant slow tempo, as he hauntingly sings “don’t lie to me, don’t erase me, you know the Mathematics of Love are plain and simple as a A B C,” with nice acoustic slide contrasted with his use of electronic effects. “Rollin’ With Zah,” is an dazzling instrumental tour de force as Parcek snaps, crackles, chicken scratches and lays down some heavy runs.

A surprising, but striking, cover is from the pen of the late Jessie Mae Hemphill’s “Lord Help the Poor and Needy,” which he sings and plays at a dirge tempo with vibrato and echo prevalent and a synthesized drone, before he takes an impressive, carefully developed solo against this thudding rhythm. “Get Right With God,”is a rocking instrumental take of a Lucinda Williams song with more guitar pyrotechnics. He takes a softer approach on “Tears Like Diamonds,” with his vocal being a bit more effective here. “Kokomo Me Baby,” takes a number associated with Mississippi Fred McDowell, and takes it into warp drive with an able vocal and dazzling guitar. The cleanness of his picking as well as his use of sonic textures again stands out.

“New Year’s Eve,” again takes a more country blues feel with some tasty harp by Mike Fritz and Ronnie Earl adds his guitar to the performance. This is followed by an instrumental interpretation of “Busted” with Al Kooper guesting on organ. Parcek employ’s a heavy, nasty tone at the beginning as his guitar sings the lyrics before taking off on his sonic explorations.

“The Mathematics of Love,” is a first-rate recording of blues roots and guitar explorations that mixes tradition with a heavy dose of the contemporary. While his vocals may vary in convincingness, (he shines when he is in an acoustic-oriented vein), he always is listenable. However, his guitar playing will unquestionably be the recordings strongest appeal; and fans of the legendary Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan should enjoy listening to Parcek’s impressive fretwork.

This review originally appeared in the June 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 326) at pp.19-20 (www.jazz-blues.com) to which I made minor stylistic corrections. The review copy for this CD was provided by a publicist.