Blues artists Kat & Co. have
released their flagship new LP, “I Kat the Blues,” on the
ToneTrade Records label. The record is Kat & Co.'s debut
full-length album and serves as a magnificent introduction for music
fans not yet acquainted with their growing body of work. For fans of
the blues, however, it is much, much more. “I Kat the Blues” is a
return to legitimate blues music the likes of which just isn't done
anymore.
A genre dominated for decades by campy,
amateur cover artists in affluent restaurants, the blues has been
devoid of new records by new artists. For years blues fans have
listened to the same John Lee Hooker and Buddy Guy albums they've
practically worn smooth for lack of something genuine and low-down
blue to play. The wait is over for this woebegone music scene,
however, because “I Kat the Blues” by Kat & Co. is not only
blue as the ocean depths and groovy as the swaying of a boxcar, but
real as flesh and blood, and truer to the old spirit of the Deep
South than might be thought possible.
At the heart of Kat & Co. are the
sultry chanteuse Kathleen Pearson, guitarist and producer Francesco
Accurso, and pianist Federico Parodi. What stars must have aligned to
bring the world such a magical conjunction of creativity and soulful
sonorousness cannot be fathomed. Accurso's guitar would be worth the
price of admission alone, his sliding notes mourning and wailing with
just that right amount of aggression, that perfect balance of
lay-back and stand-up. Parodi's piano sounds effortlessly elegant,
sometimes plinking his keys in a honky-tonk fashion, sometimes making
them sing in chorus like the choir of a Tennessee church.
Naturally, Pearson herself, for whom
the band is named, is the star attraction of the record. Her voice
sounds like chocolate poured over hot coals. The complexity of her
cool undertones makes simple phrases into short works of musical
poetry. Half her performance is inflection, almost talking even, and
this is stately, tasteful restraint on her part – her actual
singing is easily as evocative as Aretha, or Ella, or Etta, and
though she's clearly capable of great bursts of song, her style is
subtle, smoky, and perfect in ways that haven't been accomplished by
a blues singer in years and years.
If there's a chance that the blues
might appear once again in the music spotlight the way it did in the
50s, 60s, and 70s, Kat & Co. are the obvious champions of the
scene, where, “We drink bourbon, not wine,” as their song goes.
May the music gods bless them for it.
“I Kat the Blues” by Kat & Co.
is available online everywhere.
-S. McCauley
Staff Press Release Writer
MondoTunes
The LP “I Kat the Blues”
is distributed globally by MondoTunes (www.MondoTunes.com)
and is available at iTunes for convenient purchase and download
MondoTunes
(www.mondotunes.com)
supplies the largest music distribution in the world and provides
upstream services for many major labels in search of breakout
artists. While most independent distributors reach only 45-50
retailers despite charging needless monthly and yearly fees,
MondoTunes reaches over 750 retailers and mobile partners in over 100
world regions without any monthly or yearly fees.
ARTIST CONTACT INFO:
eMail
-
info@tonetrade.co.uk
website -
www.katandco.co.uk
info@tonetrade.co.uk
website -
www.katandco.co.uk
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