Adrian Raso - Gypsybilly King

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Gypsy Swing
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:57
Size: 117,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:35)  1. Eric the Baker
(3:27)  2. One Last Time
(5:17)  3. Tres Pistoleros
(3:12)  4. Once Upon a November
(4:11)  5. St. James Infirmary
(3:13)  6. Bobolobo
(3:23)  7. The Gypsybilly King
(3:34)  8. Catch the Devil By It's Tale
(4:36)  9. Dark Waltz
(5:17) 10. Playa La Ropa
(3:08) 11. Beelzebaby Swing
(3:25) 12. Emilja's Waltz
(3:33) 13. Allumette

A journey from dusty desert roads, to deep south swamps, from Parisian rooms to bars in Prague. Zegna pinstripe suit, black Biltmore Eleganza fedora and Ted Baker tie: Adrian Raso is a sharply dressed man. The Toronto guitarist cuts a raffish figure, as he plays observers might just imagine him having succumbed to the old blues myth of selling his soul so to become a master musician. Raso defiantly blends a vast musical vocabulary that sees his supple guitar technique reference Django Reinhardt’s Gypsy jazz stylings and Brian Setzer rockabilly licks, whilst his diverse songwriting channels Johnny Cash’s ghost and deep south voodoo - drawing a clear line through these disparate yet similar musical-sociological traditions. Cutting his teeth playing tough Toronto dive bars, Raso came to realise he preferred forging his own path. Having released several solo albums in Canada, Raso’s 2014 collaboration with superstar Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia “Devil’s Tale’” ( Asphalt Tango Records ) secured his international reputation. Never before had East met West so successfully, the album, one of the first to combine Balkan/ Gypsy style rhythms with Mediterranean music, charted #1 on the World Music Charts and earned wide critical praise and a myriad awards. In 2019 Raso released his follow up and 10th studio album aptly titled “Gypsybilly King”. Blending furious Rockabilly guitar with influences ranging from Country Western, Romanian Hora, deep south Blues and Italian Tarantella. Raso seamlessly moves us from a smoky room in Paris to an after-hours bar in Prague, before quietly taking us down a dusty road in Texas, until finally settling in the dark streets of New Orleans. Mixed and mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Bob St. John, the album also features collaborations with the likes of Prince’s drummer Michael Bland, The Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker, along with multiple members of Del Bel. https://theadrianraso.bandcamp.com/releases

Gypsybilly King

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Adrian Raso - C´est La Vie

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Gypsy Swing
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:38
Size: 104,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:40)  1. Hot Club Swing
(2:36)  2. Biltmore Blues
(2:52)  3. Tango De La Noche
(2:51)  4. Antonio's Strut
(6:58)  5. Swing Sagarese
(2:34)  6. Until Tomorrow
(3:39)  7. Bireli's Waltz
(3:10)  8. My Darling
(2:34)  9. C'est La Vie
(2:26) 10. Limehouse Blues
(2:29) 11. C'est La Vie (Drum Mix)
(2:39) 12. Biltmore Blues (Drum Mix)
(2:31) 13. Swing Sagarese (Drum Mix)
(2:51) 14. Antonio's Strut (Drum Mix)
(2:42) 15. Hot Club Swing (Drum Mix)

Adrian Raso is a respected guitarist/composer from Guelph, Ontario, Canada.  Adrian has recorded 2 instrumental EPs, Supersonic Music Man (1999) and the self-titled Adrian Raso (2001) and in 2004, he recorded his first full-length electric album, Electric Medusa.  In 2005, Adrian released an all-acoustic album, Black Mamba, which was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Metalworks Studios in Toronto, Ontario.  This CD featured Adrian’s stunning versatility and musicianship over a variety of styles, ranging from Gypsy to Latin flavours. This album is a fine example of the balance between commercially accepted music that is also readily embraced by the technically-minded musician. In 2006, Adrian released his second full-length all-acoustic album called Tales of a Travelling Bohemian.  This fiery, passionate guitar-driven CD accentuates his ease of moving from Middle-Eastern to Mediterranean to Gypsy styles of music.  The 14 tracks on this disc will no doubt take you to far and distant lands. Reviews regarding Adrian’s body of work consider him a guitar virtuoso, an exceptional songwriter, and his jaw-dropping live shows never fail to impress.  Favourable reviews and critical acclaim has led to Adrian being commissioned to write original music for independent film and theatre productions, and artist endorsements from the Godin Guitars Company, Gitane Guitars, and Biltmore Hats.  Adrian has also been featured in many magazines, on CBC, and most recently composed a song for the latest Canadian YMCA campaign. Adrian and his band are currently on a 200-date tour, booked solidly into 2007, playing at various Indigo-Chapters Bookstores all across Ontario, as well as festivals and private corporate functions. Proceeds from Adrian’s discs go to the London Children’s Hospital, in memory of his daughter, Ava Amelie. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/adrianraso4

C´est La Vie

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Adrian Raso & Fanfare Ciocarlia - Devil's Tale

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Swing
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:55
Size: 94,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:06)  1. Urn St. Tavern
(3:10)  2. Swing Sagarese
(4:27)  3. The Absinthe-Minded Gypsy
(2:46)  4. C'est La Vie
(2:39)  5. Quattro Cicci
(2:53)  6. Charlatan's Waltz
(2:53)  7. Devil's Tale
(3:11)  8. Leezard's Lament
(3:16)  9. Cafe Con Leche
(3:34) 10. Spiritissimo
(3:47) 11. Birelli's Waltz
(4:07) 12. Django

Balkan brass bands, who compete fiercely among themselves, are prone to blow away anyone who comes near. Credit, then, to Toronto guitarist Adrian Raso, who has tamed Romania's Fanfare Ciocarlia for a winning collaboration rooted in the "Gypsy swing" of Django Reinhardt. Raso is an eclectic talent; the title track carries the twang of electric surf guitar, the languid Leezard's Lament finds him improvising on banjo, and Spiritissimo dips into flamenco flavours. The 12-piece band are splendidly restrained, swelling gently behind waltzes, contributing accordion and clarinet and only occasionally ripping into their trademark supercharged intricacy. All instrumental and all delightful.     ~ Neil Spencer   http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/05/adrian-raso-fanfare-ciocarlia-devils-tale-review

Personnel: Adrian Raso (guitar, banjo, electric bass); Costica "Cimai" Trifan (vocals, trumpet); Oprica Ivancea (clarinet, alto saxophone); Daniel Ivancea (alto saxophone); Paul Marian Bulgaru, Trifan Craciun, Radulescu Lazar (trumpet); Monel "Gutzel" Grifan, Constantin "Pinca" Cantea (tuba); Laurentiu Mihai Ivancea (baritone horn); Constantin "Sulo" Calin (tenor horn); Costel "Gisniaca" Ursu (drums); Nicolae Ionita (percussion).

Devil's Tale

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