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Dreamers

by Scott Sawyer

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1.
Booshki 06:37
2.
Dreamer 06:59
3.
River Man 06:49
Betty came by on her way Said she had a word to say About things today And fallen leaves. Said she hadn't heard the news Hadn't had the time to choose A way to lose But she believes. Going to see the river man Going to tell him all I can About the plan For lilac time. If he tells me all he knows About the way his river flows And all night shows In summertime. Betty said she prayed today For the sky to blow away Or maybe stay She wasn't sure. For when she thought of summer rain Calling for her mind again She lost the pain And stayed for more. Going to see the river man Going to tell him all I can About the ban On feeling free. If he tells me all he knows About the way his river flows I don't suppose It's meant for me. Oh, how they come and go Oh, how they come and go.
4.
Gotta Lotta 07:45
5.
Dakota 02:25
6.
Joe Dunn 06:28
7.
8.
Not Dark Yet 05:02
Shadows are falling and I been here all day It's too hot to sleep and time is running away Feel like my soul has turned into steel I've still got the scars that the sun didn't let me heal There's not even room enough to be anywhere It's not dark yet, but it's getting there Well my sense of humanity is going down the drain Behind every beautiful thing, there's been some kind of pain She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind She put down in writin' what was in her mind I just don't see why I should even care It's not dark yet, but it's getting there Well I been to London and I been to gay Paree I followed the river and I got to the sea I've been down to the bottom of a whirlpool of lies I ain't lookin' for nothin' in anyone's eyes Sometimes my burden is more than I can bear It's not dark yet, but it's getting there I was born here and I'll die here, against my will I know it looks like I'm movin' but I'm standin' still Every nerve in my body is so naked and numb I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from Don't even hear the murmur of a prayer It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
9.
Tony Speaks 04:41
10.
11.
No Good Byes 05:21

about

Life’s not always fair, is it? If it were, North Carolina-based improviser Scott Sawyer would be hyped like his better-known contemporaries, guitar heroes Bill Frisell, John Scofield and Pat Metheny. But those of us who have long celebrated his blues-inspired, often understated approach to the 6-string knew that his day would come. And that day, my friends, is today.

With the release of Dreamers, Sawyer announces to the rest of the world that there’s a new name, one that belongs in the pantheon of great American guitar-slingers. Welcome to the club, my man, because this record is the one you always wanted to make.

To paraphrase Joni Mitchell, Dreamers deserves all the hyphens, from jazz-to-blues-to-rock. The album’s flexible rhythm section, bassist Ron Brendle and drummer Brian Sullivan, is straight out of jazz: elastic, ever-changing, strumming and stroking in support of Sawyer’s every whim. But labeling Dreamers as just jazz is like appreciating only one color from the palette of a master painter. The deep blues shade every note Sawyer plays. He bends the strings, hesitates, surges and slurs, dipping the music into the dirty water of some mythical Delta. Beyond the record’s obvious blues and jazz lurks the accessible aesthetic of pop and rock as well. Note the presence of timeless tunes by Nick Drake and Bob Dylan, bittersweet vocals by multi-talented Kate McGarry and even a poetry recitation by Bruce Piephoff.

Out of Dreamer’s 11 tunes, 7 are Sawyer originals, including memorable melodies like “Booshki,” named for sawyer's dog, “Copperhead Stew,” perilously tart to the taste, and the ethereal “Dreamer,” an unadulterated jazz ballad, all of which co-stars saxophonist Dave Finucane. A resident of Durham, Finucane is a major player who combines fluttering, Joe Henderson-like tone with the abstract ideas of Wayne Shorter. On this date, he plays Robin to Sawyer’s Batman, whether doubling the guitarist’s billowing lines with breaths of fresh air or whispering wry commentary from the music’s shadows. Like Sawyer, Finucane, who cut his teeth on the Boston jazz scene, is a cat worthy of attention far beyond regional borderlines.

McGarry is the session’s wild card, guesting on 3 cuts. On “Dreamer,” her buoyant, wordless vocal becomes like a second saxophone dancing with Finucane’s tenor. Moments later, McGarry reprises Nick Drake’s melancholy masterpiece, “River Man,” with a wispy, vibrato-less reading that starts slowly, but culminates in an emotionally charged conversation with Sawyer as the sounds of two savvy improvisers embrace and intertwine. Drake’s dirge gives way to bawdy Bob Dylan on “Not Dark Yet,” which McGarry blasts like Bonnie Raitt in full honky-tonk-angel mode. McGarry, donning many hats, wears them all with style.

The high-water mark is a 2-song “suite” dedicated to Sawyer’s friend from his days as a fledgling guitarist based in Greensboro. “Dakota” & “Joe Dunn” are heartfelt nods to the late legendary Guilford county musician-visionary from the ‘70s. Bruce Piephoff, who, like Sawyer, knew Dunn intimately, toasts Dakota’s eclectic nature with a poem rife with imagery of dark midnights and lonely train whistles. The words become a toast to “the music that burned inside you and me.” While Piephoff recites, Sawyer picks circles of soft, spiraling notes in the background in a simple but majestic ode to their departed pal. When the poem ends, Brendle and Sullivan re-appear out of the ether with long bass notes and brushes for “Joe Dunn,” a fitting requiem. Those who indulge in the sonic landscape of 21st century Americana, Bill Frisell-style, will recognize this territory, a place where folk-infused reminders of Woody Guthrie sound comfortable beside sophisticated jazz harmony and – maybe, just maybe – the dark, aromatic soil of the blues. Without sounding a bit contrived, the Dakota suite touches all those bases.

Leave it to Scott Sawyer, a rare modest man in these watch-me-now times, to spend an entire record reminding his listeners about other folks, be they departed heroes or merely the other musicians in his band. He has spent much of his career deflecting the spotlight and shining it upon others. Now it’s his time to burn brightly – and live the dream.

That’s what Dreamers is all about. - Joe Vanderford

p.s. ...and a special appearance by NC mandolin legend Tony Williamson.

credits

released October 21, 2013

Recorded, mixed, and produced by Jason Richmond.
Assistant Engineer: Brad Womack
Mastered by Gavin Lurssen.
Associate Producers (Business): Jon Sawyer, Mark Masercola, Steve Bocckino
Copyright (c): Doll Records

Scott Sawyer: guitars
Ron Brendle: acoustic bass
Brian Sullivan: drums
Dave Finucane: tenor sax
Kate McGarry: voice (2,3,8)
Bruce Piephoff: spoken word (5)
Tony Williamson: mandolin (9)
Bobby Cohen: drums (7).

All songs written by Scott Sawyer except for tracks 3 (Nick Drake), 5 (Bruce Piephoff), 7 (Irving Berlin), and 8 (Bob Dylan).

Dreamers received 3 Grammy ballot nominations!

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Scott Sawyer Raleigh, North Carolina

NC based guitarist Scott Sawyer has performed and/or recorded with many notable artists of international stature including Nnenna Freelon, John Abercrombie, Charlie Byrd, David Murray, Oteil Burbridge, Kofi Burbridge, (prima ballerina) Marie-Christine Mouis, Kate McGarry, Tony Williamson, Bob Cranshaw, Dave Finucane, Jon Metzger, Bill Anschell, Mel Melton, to name a few. ... more

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