Review: Bright & Jacques Texacali Blues
by Sarah Hagerman
A cold December night in Texas (yes, it does get cold in Texas), where cheap pitchers of Lone Star beer and heating lamps kept us warm under a billowy white tent that encompassed the outside area of The Tiniest Bar in Texas (that is its name, I’m not sure if its diminutive stature compared to other watering holes has been officially evaluated). It’s a small group gathered under the tent, comprising a few folks huddled up at picnic tables. On the plywood stage, Billy Bright (Two High String Band) and Wayne “Chojo” Jacques (The Waybacks) are playing a duet of mandolin and, what Jacques’ website describes as, a “Stratocaster type octave mandolin/mini guitar” that is holding us rapt, glued to our benches. It’s a brew where the dense, raw earth of Jacques axe weaves through the iridescent sparkle of Bright’s mando, with the results taking a left turn in their dance and tumbling down the mountainside, notes thrown into tailspins as they shake off the dew. I felt sincerely happy to be amongst those to witness it that night, but you too can catch a case of the Texacali Blues (Fiddling Cricket Records).
The album’s name nods to Bright and Jacques’ respective states of residence, but also hints at the mile markers flying by in the rearview mirror, the redrawing of traditional roadmaps. The record is stock full of sneaky sonic surprises in its stripped down approach, from the magnetic mando and fiddle duets, from Kenny Baker’s “Cross Eyed Fiddler” to Bright’s Tejano-influenced “Guillermo,” to the intriguing electric/acoustic interplay on Jacques’ “J.N.P.T.” and the traditional “Over the Waterfall.” The sounds of the electric instruments are native creatures in the landscape they’ve created, especially on the completely plugged-in “Nashville,” where Bright plays the electric guitar with fine delicacy, really making it sing. Jacques’ playing is decidedly rough and tumble on this track and his mando/guitar hums and breathes with a mantle-cracking buzz. Bright’s comment on the fake façade of Music City, where one has to explain, “Bluegrass music is not country,” boasts an addictively catchy melody, but is executed in a winsomely askew manner that would freak out most uptight Opry goers.
But there’s also plenty of straight-up acoustic picking on Texacali. The two travel copious terrain in the songs, whether it’s a cover of Blind Blake’s “Police Dog Blues,” where Jacques and Bright’s mandos chase each other through the junk yard and onto the box car, or “E. Compton Blues,” a Bright tune that is part of the Two High repertoire. It’s as bouncy and burnished as ever pared down to two players, as Jacques’ razor-sharp fiddle slices cleanly through Bright’s mando chops. An end cap of “Reuben’s Train/Little Sadie/Soldier’s Joy” brings it back to the roots, a fitting end to an album by two musicians who put their own distinctive twists on tradition. What I may like most about this record, is that the overall production feels casual and loose. When pickers enter the studio, the grit and human warmth, and that occasional blessed messiness, that draw many into bluegrass is often polished away to a point where it’s too clean and shiny. If you can see your reflection in the licks, the music can feel like it’s lost some essential earthy soul. But throwing this on, there’s a sense of breathing room, beauty and bruises left wonderfully intact, captured moments of Zen from two masters.
Recommended Listening:
Two High String Band October 7, 2005 Oklahoma City, OK- Galileo¹s (Soundboard recorded by Scott Hilliard)
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