Ryan Koenig - Two Different Worlds - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Wilson Williams - Eating Ain't Cheating [COMPACT DISCS] date 07/17/2001

The muscular, chooglin' beat of the country funk heater InchCan't Take BackInch opens Ryan Curtis' sophomore album 'Ain't Ever Easy.' Like a steam train gliding into some high desert station, it bears the strong vintage machinery of Curtis' Inchalt-country from the high countryInch sound. The song lopes in on oozing guitar and keys over a backbeat that pulses sexier than a breakup song has the right to be. Regret has rarely sounded this happy, but Curtis is capable of turning love and loss into dripping hot, powerful songs. Over the last decade the various styles of country have become Curtis' stock-in-trade. With a gravelly growl he paints cinematic pictures of picaresque people from the Midwest and the badlands; down and out townies, bar room drifters, forlorn lovers, and resilient loners fill his visionary tales, mournful subject matter he turns into country gold. The best thing about Ryan Curtis albums is his ability to cover all the country sub-genres ballads, western music, honky-tonk, country-rock are all in his oeuvre. 'Ain't Ever Easy' is the best example to date.

New York bassist & composer Lorin Cohen is best known for his work with Monty Alexander, Joe Locke, Guggenheim Fellow Ryan Cohan, and the acclaimed Hip-hop-meets-jazz ensemble, Vertikal. Here, he steps out as a leader for his debut album, Home, which celebrates his international musical travels through eight original compositions. Combining the languid sounds of the Caribbean, the hard-hitting grooves of New York City and the Blues of Cohen's native Chicago are a stellar international group of players Legendary NYC vibraphonist Joe Locke, steel pan virtuoso Victor Provost, harmonica player Yvonnick Prene, Pianist Ryan Cohan, veteran NYC drummer Donald Edwards and Colombian percussionist Samuel Torres. 3; •InchUltra-versatile... Poetic... Relentless InventionInch - The Chicago Tribune.