Bloggerhythms

Both Bell X1 and Flock , their latest CD, have become huge hits in the band's native Ireland but it's only since the disc's American release in February that they've developed any kind of following on our side of the Atlantic Ocean. As Bell X1 is probably unfamiliar to most of you a little history is in order. Singer-songwriter Damien Rice was one of the founding members of a band called Juniper in 1991. He left in 1999 due to differences with the band's label early in their recording career. He has since become well known as a solo artist both here and abroad. After Rice departed the remaining four members of Juniper carried on and changed their name to Bell X1, the name given to the jet Chuck Yeager flew when man broke the sound barrier for the first time. Many Irish bands have a tendency to waive their shamrocks proudly, and while I'm sure the band is proud of their heritage, there is nothing overtly ethnic about Bell X1's music. This does not mean...

Jazz singer Bett Butler admits she is not the most prolific recording artist on Earth but if she continues to release an album once every six years and the results are as good as they are on Myths & Fables you won’t hear me complaining. In Butler's case quality surely tops quantity. Despite hailing from San Antonio, TX, a city known more for country music and Americana rock, her obvious influences are the more progressive forms of jazz. Butler's vocals alternately remind the listener of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Lena Horne, all singers who deserve their place in the pantheon of the great vocalists of jazz. While the spirits of those three talents live within her soul Butler has weapons in her musical arsenal that they never possessed because she is also a talented pianist and composer. Myths & Fables , is Butler's first CD since her debut, Short Stories , in 2001. She and her bassist/producer Joel Dilley , who also doubles as her husband and has a r...