Evening Sky - One Mic, Two Weekends (2021)

The album name says it all. One Mic, Two Weekends by Evening Sky was recorded with One Microphone over Two Weekends in 2020. The first session was right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The other, a couple of months later – with masks on. The group had released its debut album, a collaboration with different vocalists titled Guest Stars, early in 2020, and it wanted to approach the next one differently.

For this album of all original, instrumental music, the musicians gathered around just One Stereo Ribbon Microphone – an AEA R88 – in drummer Eric Hastings’ studio, The Grapevine in Providence, Rhode Island. No headphones, no overdubs, and “mixing” themselves as they recorded. Additionally, the group members decided the best way to capture this sound was by recording direct to Stereo DSD 128, so the listener could feel like they were in the room with the band.

The result is an expansive yet intimate Americana-Jazz hybrid. The dancing interplay between Chris Brooks’ pedal steel and Gino Rosati’s electric guitar evoke comparisons to Bill Frisell and Buddy Emmons while the rhythm section of Hastings and bassist Joe Potenza lays down grooves that wouldn’t be out of place on a Little Feat or George Benson record.

Evening Sky describes its sound as “Everything from Pat Metheny to Patsy Cline; Coltrane to train beats.” This set of originals confirms that the band is keeping that musical spirit alive.

Tracklist:

01. The Good Fight
02. Montana Sky
03. Snake Oil
04. The Hope Street Shuffle
05. For Those We Lost
06. Slip n Slide
07. Living On The Moon
08. Time For You