Davina & The Vagabonds - Sugar Drops

Styles: New Orleans Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:11
Size: 87,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:03)  1. Bone Collection
(3:49)  2. I Can't Believe I Let You Go
(3:27)  3. Devil Horns
(3:39)  4. Little Miss Moonshine
(4:03)  5. Sugar Drops
(4:06)  6. Another Lonely Day
(3:52)  7. No Matter Where We Are
(4:07)  8. Mr. Big Talker
(3:31)  9. Magic Kisses
(3:29) 10. Deep End

2019 release. Sugar Drops is the first album on Red House Records from Davina and the Vagabonds and marks the first time singer/songwriter/pianist Davina Sowers entered a proper studio to record an album. The Minneapolis-based artist holed up in Nashville's Compass Sound Studio with producer (and Compass Records co-founder) Garry West, along with her trumpeter, string arranger and husband, Zack Lozier, and a rotating cast of powerhouse players including Todd Phillips (David Grisman, Robbie Fulks) on bass, Doug Lancio (Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, Tom Jones) on guitar and Reese Wynans (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Bonamassa) on Hammond B3. Sugar Drops is distillation of bluesy barroom baritone and bravado, graveyard jazz grooves, and noir-ish confessional lyricism backed by boisterous piano, guitar, and strings. Eclectic, engaging and instilled with a deep respect and knowledge for the Great American Songbook. https://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Drops-DAVINA-VAGABONDS/dp/B07SBCK59B

Sugar Drops

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Davina & The Vagabonds - Nicollet & Tenth

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:46
Size: 152.8 MB
Styles: New Orleans jazz/blues
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[3:06] 1. Knock Me A Kiss
[2:22] 2. Black Cloud
[3:25] 3. Sunshine
[2:31] 4. Ain't That A Shame
[3:45] 5. Louisiana Fairytale
[5:20] 6. Shake That Thing
[2:31] 7. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water
[7:07] 8. You Must Be Losing Your Mind
[3:27] 9. Lipstick And Chrome
[2:50] 10. Start Runnin'
[5:07] 11. I'd Rather Go Blind
[3:03] 12. Red Shoes
[3:25] 13. Pocket
[2:42] 14. Trav'lin' All Alone
[4:00] 15. 5 Ft 2
[2:32] 16. Bee Sting
[5:26] 17. St. James Infirmary
[3:59] 18. His Eye Is On The Sparrow

Over the past several years, Davina And The Vagabonds have been building an audience around the globe. Their shows are filled with New Orleans charm, Memphis soul swagger, dark theatrical moments that evoke Kurt Weill, and tender gospel passages. Singer/pianist Davina Sowers’ presence is indelible, while her voice defies simple categorization. Evoking comparisons as diverse as Etta James, Amy Winehouse, Billie Holiday and Betty Boop, she is simply a true original, presenting a personal vision that celebrates a century of American music. ~Matt Marshall

Nicollet & Tenth

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Davina & The Vagabonds - Live @ The Times

Styles: New Orleans Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 80:17
Size: 184,5 MB
Art: Front

(0:43)  1. Intro
(3:25)  2. Knock Me a Kiss
(2:44)  3. Pushpin
(2:29)  4. Muddy Water
(4:51)  5. Death
(3:01)  6. This Little Light of Mine
(2:48)  7. Daydream
(3:11)  8. Big Fish
(4:08)  9. Monday Date
(2:39) 10. The Clock
(3:28) 11. Watching the River Flow
(4:50) 12. St Michael vs the Devil
(4:46) 13. Love
(2:11) 14. Hate
(2:34) 15. No Buts, No Maybes
(5:19) 16. Dream A Little Dream Of Me
(3:13) 17. Put A Lid On It
(3:04) 18. I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday
(4:12) 19. Honey Pie
(7:14) 20. St. James Infirmary
(3:00) 21. Back To Memphis
(3:22) 22. Under Lock And Key
(0:26) 23. Mpls In February
(2:29) 24. Finally Home

Davina and The Vagabonds are known in The Twin Cities, Minnesota as being the busiest band in town because of their hard-working professionalism, high energy stage performance, and original sound.

DATV average over 300 performance dates a year, trying to share their music with the world.

Awards : "Road To Memphis MN" 2009, King of Beale Street 2009, and International Songwriting Competition Finalist 2010.

Shared the stage with : Pinetop Perkins, Aaron Neville, Gary Moore, 10 Years After, The Mannish Boys, Robert Cray, Los Lonely Boys, Scottie "Bones" Miller, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith,Ana Popovic, Booker T and The MGs, Bobby Rush, Irma Thomas, James Hunter, Bobbie Blue Bland, Willie Big Eyes Smith, and many others. Davina and The Vagabonds are proud to have just signed with Award Winning Talent Agency, Piedmont Talent.  More...http://www.davinaandthevagabonds.com/meetdatv.html

"Hardest -working Blues woman in Minnesota, but......two things remain consistent at all her shows, though: her throaty but cushiony voice, which has a sort of hard-mattress comfort to it that's part Bonnie Raitt, Etta James and a little Amy Winehouse, and her band's rollicking New Orleans flavor, driven home by dueling horn players and a bayou-thick standup bass”
-Chris Rimenschneider, Star Tribune 2010

"At first listen to Davina and the Vagabonds, you imagine the tones escaping from a 300-pound blues musician. It seems unlikely that much power is coming from the slight frame of one Ms. Davina. It sounds like an unnatural force, pulled from some secret spot in the belly no other singer has yet discovered. It's a low bellow, most closely aligned with Amy Winehouse's walloping alto. But Davina takes "retro" back further than Winehouse and her Phil Spector reminiscing. She beckons an age when bad girls wore red lipstick and pin curls. Her music may be adorned with exceptional groaning trumpets, rat-a-tatting drum rolls, and staccato piano lines, but nothing deserves the complementing position to her voice. She’s in a league of her own." ~ Erin Roof, City Pages 2009

"Davina and The Vagabonds are based out of the Twin Cities and play hot jazz-blues-cabaret-soul-lounge-rock that warms the soul an just plain makes ya wanna dance." ~ John Hammer,Blue Monday

"When I listen to her sing all I can say is “Fun, fun, fun” ~ Diana Skope, Skope Entertainment 2010

"..this girl is something special and her band is top notch..she just simply sits down at the piano and totally takes over the room." ~ Fizz Kizer,The Honkytonk Cafe 2011

Live @ The Times

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Davina & The Vagabonds - Black Cloud

Size: 100,4 MB
Time: 43:51
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2011
Styles: New Orleans Jazz/Blues Jazz, Ragtime
Label: Roustabout Records
Art: Front

01. Vagabond Stomp (Intro) (1:39)
02. Black Cloud (2:22)
03. Disappears (2:56)
04. Start Running (2:43)
05. Sugar Moon (4:02)
06. Pushpin (3:40)
07. Lipstick And Chrome (3:41)
08. River (4:56)
09. Pocket (3:20)
10. Let's Bring It Back (4:23)
11. Bee Sting (2:21)
12. Crosseyed (3:25)
13. Carry Him With You (3:20)
14. Vagabond Stomp (Outro) (0:56)

Davina & the Vagabonds play a blend of horn-driven retro blues and jazz – the kind of music that was blasting out of New Orleans in the 20’s & 30’s. Yet, the band has a couple of things that set them apart from their fellow revivalists. For one, they’ve got an utterly amazing vocalist in leader Davina Sowers, who’s able to rasp like Billie Holiday, soar like Dinah Washington, bellow like Sarah Vaughan and get goofy like Ethel Merman, yet manage to still sound completely unique. She’s one of those rare singers that make you smile when you hear her.

But, the truly singular element that this band possesses that should eventually rocket them to notoriety is the songs. Most roots artists, especially those who take a very traditional approach like this (piano, bass, drums, trombone, & trumpet), tend to stick to classic songs by other people. Yet, every track on Black Cloud was composed by Sowers. Because the horns are likely the first thing you notice, it may take awhile for her lyrics to set in, yet she’s capable of tremendous imagery. Take for instance the ukulele-led “Bee Sting,” with the lines “I’m sick of makin’ / the same old bread / the kind you eat / and you’re still not fed.” Many of the tracks, like “Black Cloud” and “Pushpin,” have the sis-boom-bah of classic Vaudeville, while others, like “Disappears” and “Pocket” are surprisingly melodic and poppy. In fact, if you stripped away the arrangements of those two songs, you might end up with something akin to say Ben Folds.

The Vagabonds band are a tight bunch, with the brash horns and upright bass (which is particularly good on the aforementioned “Bee Sting”). The production isn’t flashy, but that’s exactly what it needs. There is no attempt to turn this into something other than what it is – roots music played with reckless abandon. The album also works because it’s full of so many emotions, from the ass-kickin’ attitude of “Start Runnin’” to the pleading of “Lipstick and Chrome,” to the teary “River.” Another highlight is “Carry Him With You,” a gospel-inspired piece that makes an excellent closer. While their style of music certainly can’t be called mainstream, Davina & the Vagabonds, with their great songs and performances, have the makings of something bigger. – Tony Peters

Black Cloud

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