Benny Bleu
‘Warm Prickly’
Self-released
It sounds like I’m lying
when I tell you a performance or record from Benny Bleu, a k a Ben Haravitch,
features the entire Hochstein School of Music’s banjo faculty. That’s because
he’s the only one there. Though Haravitch spends a lot of time solo on his new
CD “Warm Prickly,” he ain’t alone, blending his easygoing pluck-and-twang with
the traditional weaponry of drummer Michael Brown, dobro
and lap steel player G. Elwyn Meixner, and mandolin and fiddle player Charlie
Coughlin.
The album kicks off
with the gentle rural swing of “Maddy-O” as it heads into the remaining nine
tracks of various country palettes, including a sleepy and lonesome nod to the
senior Hank on “Lonesome Hill.” Through its subtle dips and dynamics, this is an
all-around excellent record.
Benny Bleu plays his
CD release party for “Warm Prickly” on Friday, March 29, 8 p.m. at The Little
Theatre Café, 240 East Avenue. Free. 258-4000.
thelittle.org/music; benharavitch.com.
This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 2, 2019.
