Espresso Bongo
A good friend asked my opinion on music to play in a coffee shop – she’d already got it pretty sorted, IMO – Cat Power’s ‘The Greatest’ and Solal’s ‘Moonshine Sessions’ are just the kind of sounds I’d like to hear while slurping my morning pick-me-up.. but I made a few additional suggestions.
Good music but understated was the brief, but not so understated it’s ignore-able. Last year’s excellent ‘Raising Sand’ album from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss was an instant (little coffee pun there) hit. I’d have no problem with Bonnie Prince Billy’s ‘The Letting Go’ keeping me company while I browsed the newspaper rack, not forgetting Nina Nastasia and Jim White’s ‘You Follow Me’, a Captain’s Pick from 2007.
Then one of those little coincidences.. a pal in England tipped me off to a class act by the name of Eilen Jewell – he’d seen her live (and lent the band his amp for the evening). He was wowed, and so am I. ‘Letters From Sinners and Strangers’ swings, gets the blues, aches your heart.. it’s low key, sure, but it nags at you subtly.. “Hey, listen to me”…
Mine’s a latte in a bowl and an almond croissant.
