Good Time Music (Community Music, Vol. 2), by Steven Bernstein's MTO feat. Catherine Russell

Good Time Music (Community Music, Vol. 2)

by Steven Bernstein's MTO feat. Catherine Russell

supported by

ep_in_kc_mo Yo Steven: you were right! Cat kills it and Ben is killing it too! You are no slouch, your own self ..
Love you like the brother from the other mother you are☮️

Dan Levy I love this record. It really *is* Good Time Music, expertly played by the glorious MTO with spectacular singing by New York's own Catherine Russell. I hope this band can play live soon! The recent MTO show at City Winery was a real highlight. Favorite track: Careless Love.

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1.	Rivers Invitation 06:41	buy track
2.	Yes We Can 06:29	buy track
3.	Good Old Wagon 06:09	buy track
4.	Careless Love 06:34	buy track
5.	Come On 05:05	buy track
6.	Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand 05:33	buy track

about

Good Time Music began when a promoter from Portugal asked Bernstein if Butler and the Hot 9 would like to play there. Butler couldn't make the show but Bernstein suggested this great singer he'd worked with at the Barn, Catherine Russell, who had cut the Harry Nilsson tune "Poli High" with Sexmob back in 2009. Bernstein built a book of arrangements around her, they played the show and it was a hit. The Community sessions with Russell were originally intended as a calling card for getting more shows, but after hearing Andy Taub's mixes, it was obvious that Good Time Music was a bona fide album.

The title comes from Lou Reed, who had just seen Levon Helm's triumphant 2007 show at New York's Beacon Theatre. Bernstein was in the band and recalls that "the audience went crazy." But Reed's summation was a bit more laconic. "Oh, you know," he told his friend Hal Willner, "it was good time music.”

"When Hal told me that story, I thought it was a put-down," says Bernstein. "But later I learned that Lou loved good time music — the kind where you just tap your foot and nod your head with a smile on your face — because he knew how important that is in the world. And with Levon, I learned how beautiful it was to play that kind of music. I always thought it would be great to make a record of good time music. So here it is.”

And once again, there's that sense of music as healing. "Absolutely," Bernstein agrees. "It's _always_ healing to play good time music — even if you haven't experienced loss. Playing good time music feels good: the band feels good, the audience feels good, everything feels good." Of course, Bernstein and the MTO had no way of knowing how much the world would soon need music such as this.

All these tunes were Bernstein arrangements that got played once or even not at all. And most of them happen to be written by residents of New Orleans: Percy Mayfield ("River's Invitation"), Earl King ("Come On"), Allen Toussaint ("Yes We Can") and Professor Longhair ("Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand"). New Orleans music runs deep in Bernstein's bones: he's worked extensively not just with Henry Butler but with Allen Toussaint and Dr. John; he was originally taught trumpet in the style of Louis Armstrong, and, like Satchmo, he funnels his charisma and genial sense of humor into a compelling stage presence.

Louis Armstrong is just one connection to Cat Russell: her father Luis Russell was Louis Armstrong's musical director in the '30s and early '40s; he also played with another New Orleans jazz originator, King Oliver. (Russell's mother Carline Ray, a Juilliard grad, played with the famed International Sweethearts of Rhythm.) In their roles as "go to musicians" Cat and Bernstein have also collaborated on recordings with Levon Helm and Little Feat.

Russell sang backup with Steely Dan and David Bowie for years, as well as other blue chip artists such as Paul Simon, Madonna and Al Green. Later in her career, she became an acclaimed solo artist, with seven albums and two Grammy nominations to her credit. "She's just the best," Bernstein marvels. "She's got a perfect mixture of science [technique] and intuition. She's an excellent musician: listen to her rhythm, every note she sings, it's perfect. There is no one else like her."

credits

released January 7, 2022

Steven Bernstein — Trumpet, Slide Trumpet
Catherine Russel — Vocals
Curtis Fowlkes — Trombone
Charlie Burnham — Violin
Doug Wieselman — Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone
Peter Apfelbaum — Tenor & Soprano Saxophone
Erik Lawrence — Baritone Saxophone
Matt Munisteri — Guitar
John Medeski — Organ (track 6)
Ben Allison — Bass
Ben Perowsky — Drums

Produced & Arranged by Steven Bernstein
Recorded at Brooklyn Recording
Recorded and Mixed by Andy Taub
Mastered by Gene Paul for G&J Audio
Artwork and Design by Victor Melamed
Additional Design by Gregory J. Del Deo
A&R + Label Management by Kevin Calabro
Project Coordination by Tinku Bhattacharyya

The River’s Invitation - Written by Percy Mayfield (Sony/ATV Songs)
Yes We Can - Written by Allen Toussaint (Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc.)
Good Ole Wagon - Written by Bessie Smith & Stuart Balcom (Public Domain)
Loveless Love - Written by W.C. Handy (Handy Brothers Music Co. Inc.)
Come On - Written by Earl King (EMI Unart Catalog Inc.)
Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand - Written by Henry Roeland Byrd (Professor Longhair Music)

Thank you Levon, Lou, Henry and Hal
And thanks to Jay Weissman for inviting MTO to play “The Early Blues” at the Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival July 2011

“Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand” is in tribute to Joel Dorn’s notation on “The Entertainer” from Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Case Of The 3-Sided Dream”

stevenbernstein.net

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about

Steven Bernstein New York, New York

An impactful presence on the New York scene over the past 30 years, trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader Steven Bernstein has immersed himself in such a wide array of music with his bands Sexmob, Millennial Territory Orchestra, Diaspora Soul, Universal Melody Brass Band, Spanish Fly, Blue Campfire and the Butler-Bernstein Hot 9 that he defies easy categorization. ... more

stevenbernstein.net

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