REVIEWS:
“Few could make an album as striking as this…the highlights are the originals.”
- Sylvie Simmons, Mojo Magazine
"True to form, The Crooked Jades are alive and thriving and they just may have produced one of the best Americana albums of 2019"
- FOLKWorks
The Crooked Jades "Empathy Moves The Water" made another best album of 2019!!
–TIMEPASTANDTIMEPASSING
Ten Of The Best – A Review of 2019
Water links and flows through this album. It connects us, it cleanses, baptises and sustains us. The sleeve speaks of our empathy for others making us larger, becoming the ocean rather than a moved passenger in a small boat. Bob Ciano’s artwork, a world away from his technicolour full on gatefolds for 70s Blue Note, CTI and Kudu records, shows a figure in twined in a scarf, pulled towards the water, bound or wrapped before baptism. Either way we are pulled in, the image is as enigmatic and beguiling as the album itself.
Across the wide seas, distant mountains, and the vast complexity of the soul, The Crooked Jades new release “Empathy Moves The Water" emphasizes the lonesome in "High Lonesome" music. The band’s old-time roots reflect the cultural melange and longing implicit in the shadows of America - from haunting ballads punctuated by hypnotic fiddles that express digital isolation and humanity lost in a rapidly changing land, to the high energy revival songs inspired by early rural gospel blues. Reaffirming their reputation as an innovative old-time string band closer in spirit to Tom Waits and Nick Cave, The Crooked Jades create a unique and soulful modern sound by exploring the roots of Americana and interweaving the diverse musical influences of Europe and Africa.
With a bold vision and drive to innovate and inspire, the Crooked Jades release their brand new album “Empathy Moves The Water" on their own label, Jade Note Music. Largely recorded at Berkeley’s famous Fantasy Studios, this new album is produced by the highly celebrated Bruce Kaphan. The band once again features their signature mix of inspired re-arrangements of rare and obscure old-time gems and beautiful original compositions, all played on vintage and eclectic instruments, including Hawaiian slide, Vietnamese jaw harp, harmonium, ukulele, banjo, ukulele, arco bass, and minstrel banjo.
Wade in the Water (Trad/Arr. Jeff Kazor, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Ryland and Spencer (Rise and Bloom Again) (Trad/Arr. Jeff Kazor, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Featherbed (Trad/Arr. Emily Mann, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Down to the River (Inspired by Mississippi Fred McDowell, Arr. Lisa Berman, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Yellow Mercury 4 (Jeff Kazor, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Going Across the Sea (Trad/Arr. Erik Pearson, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- The Water Spirit According to Mike (Erik Pearson, Jeff Kazor, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Empathy Moves the Water (Jeff Kazor, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Mike in the Wilderness (Trad/Arr. Emily Mann, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Long Time Traveling (Trad/Arr. Bruce Kaphan, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Wade in the Water (Trad/Arr. Jeff Kazor, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Am I Born to Die / Long Time Traveling (Trad/Arr. Megan Adie, Emily Mann, Jeff Kazor, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Pretty Little Shoes (Trad/Arr. Emily Mann, Jade Note Music, BMI)
- Yellow Mercury 3 (Jeff Kazor, Jade Note Music, BMI)
