TOM MINDTE, MASON VIA & BEN SOMERVILLE

TOM MINDTE, MASON VIA & BEN SOMERVILLE
409

Patuxent Music
CD-330

And now for something completely different might be the best way to describe this eclectic offering from the trio of Tom Mindte, Mason Via, and Ben Somerville. How else do you talk about blues, Rockabilly, Swing, gospel, rock, and a pass at a Bob Dylan tune? It’s genre-bending for sure. The harmonies are tight and the variety is easygoing, but it’s hard to look past the fact that Via steals the show on a couple of tunes, including the opening “Brown Paper,” a soulful song and may be the best of the bunch. He also wrote “Rose Of Carolina” and takes a nice turn on the jumping blues throwback “Jump Little Children.” Via, who plays guitar, is one to watch.

Mindte, who handles mandolin, shines on “Hot Rod Man,” a new take on Rockabilly notable Tex Rubinowitz, but also on “From Jerusalem To Jericho.” “Take Your Tomorrow” seems like a cut you’d hear on an old flick on TCM. The closest the album gets to what one might slot as “bluegrass” is “The Sign On The Highway,” but the ride is enjoyable, with Somerville pacing things nicely on bass. (Patuxent Music, P.O. Box 572, Rockville, MD 20848, www.pxrec.com).MKB