The New Sheiks, by Leigh Barker

The New Sheiks

by Leigh Barker

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of MELBOURNE, PARIS, Off to Moruya, The New Sheiks, Australiana, Lynnville, The Sales Tax, Flow Like Wine, and 2 more. , and , .

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1.	Hot Blues 04:38	buy track
2.	Be Still, Hold On Tight 05:41	buy track
3.	She 'Aint No Good 03:42	buy track
4.	Lazy Afternoon 02:07	buy track
5.	Alma Waltz No. 2 02:19	buy track
6.	Skip James Part I 06:12	buy track
7.	Skip James Part II 03:45	buy track
8.	Skip James Part III 06:15	buy track
9.	Alma Waltz No. 1 02:21	buy track
10.	Charade 05:37	buy track
11.	Crazy 'Bout You 04:49	buy track
12.	Funeral Blues 04:24	buy track
13.	Love Me Tender 04:32	buy track

about

This was released back in 2011 in the dying days of the CD, if you can, listen to the tracks in order! They all segue and create a larger work... a lot of thought was put in to it.... ;-)

Musicians:

Leigh Barker – Double Bass

Alastair McGrath-Kerr – Drums

Matt Boden – Piano

John Felstead – Soprano Saxophone

Eamon McNelis – Cornet

Don Stewart – Trombone

Heather Stewart - Vocals

Liner Notes:

From 2005 to 2009, Eamon McNelis, accordionist Anthony Schulz and I held a residency at Federation Square in Melbourne on Sunday afternoons. Eamon suggested we call this trio ‘The Sheiks’. As the years went on the group would have many special guests, so anyone who came down and played became an honorary ‘Sheik’.
Eventually we moved the Sheiks out of Federation Square and into other venues. I added drums and quite naturally the material we played became very similar to the Leigh Barker Quintet. From then on I decided to call the group the ‘New Sheiks’ and keep the idea of a rotating line up, with a core ‘flavour’ that came from the instrumentation and the repertoire.

The band on this disc is basically the Leigh Barker Quintet with added guests of Heather Stewart on vocals and her twin brother Don Stewart on trombone. (No not really).

Years later I have discovered that the ‘Sheiks’ was a very popular band name for American blues groups in the 1930’s, hence ‘Mississippi Sheiks’, ‘Alabama Sheiks’ et al. It is possible Eamon knew this all along….

This album is partially about the blues, so the historic link has become even stronger for this band. There are three pieces I wrote inspired by blues guitarist Skip James, two traditional blues pieces sung by Heather, and an adaption of W.H Auden’s poem ‘Funeral Blues’ by John Scurry, one of Australia’s finest Jazz and Blues musicians.

After the blues, this album is mainly about Melbourne and Australia, as all these songs in some way represent just a few of the amazing friends and musicians I have had the honour of working with in the last five years. ‘Crazy About You’, ‘Alma Waltz’ and ‘She Aint No Good’ are for Heather and her band mates, Dan Dinnen and Danny McKenna. ‘Hot Blues’ and ‘Lazy Afternoon’ are for Tom Vincent, ‘Charade’ is for Anthony Schulz, and ‘Love Me Tender’, ‘Funeral Blues’ and ‘Be Still…’ are for John Scurry and Donny. ‘Skip James’ is for Al, Matt, John and Eamon, who have been playing my music for so long now.

Leigh Barker
October 7th, 2010

credits

released April 30, 2020

Recording Information

Recorded during the day, without an audience, on January the seventeenth 2010 at Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne, Australia.

Live recording engineer: Jem Savage (Rare Jem Studio).
Produced and Mixed by Jem and Leigh.
Mastered by Philip Rex (Paper Mache Studio)
Album graphic design by Anton Delecca
Photography by Woodrow Wilson www.woodrow-wilson.net

Thanks
Jem and Phil, you guys are still the best
Anton, likewise!
Thanks to Woodrow for the great photo shoot
Megg at Bennetts Lane Jazz Club for letting us use the room all weekend.
John Scurry for the two tunes, Heather for letting me steal her repertoire.
Eamon, John, Don, Matt and Al for just being yourselves

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Barking Mad Music Paris, France

Photo : Mélanie Robin www.melanierobin.fr

Barking Mad Music is a boutique production company based in Melbourne Australia and Paris France, enabling a worldwide reach presenting the finest consumable content in Jazz Blues and Swing. ... more

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