 Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (Houghton Mifflin 2001)I’ve been a vegetarian for 15 years, so its no surprise I would relish a powerful condemnation of the fast food industry. Fast Food Nation is a scathing story of corporate greed, the mishandling of our food supply and blatant disregard for public health. Eric Schlosser is a muckraker, but he’s also a seasoned writer who -in the tradition of Upton Sinclair - blows the whistle on the impact fast food is having on the entire world. Beware, if you are still eating hamburgers, this bestselling book will change your eating habits.  Accordion Crimes by E. Annie Proulx (Scribner Paperback Fiction)This novel by the E. Annie Proulx - who won the Pulitzer Prize for The Shipping News - is full of brilliant imagery and shimmering prose. The book centers around music and brawling stories about the immigrant experience in America. Ms. Proulx is one of my favorite writers in contemporary literature - this is ingenious stuff.  Bones of the Master : A Buddhist Monk’s Search For The Lost
Heart of ChinaAn absolutely riveting book by George Crane. It is a true story of the Buddhist monk Tsung Tsai, a man I am honoured to know, and his return to China to properly re-bury the bones of his master Shiuh Deng. It is a deeply spiritual story, yet it is also a tale of adventure and intrigue. George Crane’s poetic writing captures Tsung Tsai perfectly and the book is fascinating throughout. Highly recommended!  In The Beginning: A Songwriter's Tribute To Garth BrooksPat Alger and Kent Blazy put together this entertaining collection of Garth Brooks' hits, as performed by the original songwriters. Among the highlights: Pat Alger's version of "The Thunder Rolls"; Victoria Shaw performing "The River"; Stephanie Davis singing the haunting "Wolves" and Tony Arata's "The Dance." I've always like "Friends In Low Places" and Dewayne Blackwell's scratchy vocal hits those late-night low notes with mournful humor. Gorgeous graphics, an interview with Garth Brooks and extensive liner notes makes this a winning package for singer-songwriter fans.  Larry Sandberg's "The Acoustic Guitar Guide" (acapella books) is a well-written
and comprehensive book about buying, maintaining and caring for guitars. I
wrote the introduction to this book, so I'm not a neutral observer, however I
wouldn't recommend it if it wasn't very good. Larry Sandberg has been playing
guitar for years (we were in a band with Mike Meeropol in high school called
the Bb Stompers) and LS introduced me to Libba Cotton, Jimmy Yancey, King
Oliver, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Jim Hall, The Modern Jazz Quartet and
Ornette Coleman. How's that for eclectic! Guitarist Mike DeMicco has long been one of my favorite jazz
players. On his debut CD "As The Sun Sets" (Blue Forest
Records/Brubeck Music) Mike swings through an excellent set of 9 tunes
with his characteristic warm tone and brilliant solos. Backed by a team of
jazz luminaries, including Warren Bernhardt on piano, Demicco shows off his
impressive chops and compositional skills. Favorites: "As The Sun Sets,"
"Deb's Dream" and "Cornelius." Warning: Demicco's command of the fingerboard
will make you wish you'd practiced more as a kid!
Venue of the month: International Music Hall (Grass Valley, CA) an exceptional venue with wonderful sound, good food and a fine lineup of performers. Just watch out for sudden winter storms up there.  Pat Kirtley "Just Listen" is a new CD from the Taylor clinician/performer,
backed on some tunes by Tommy Emmanuel, Chris Thile, Craig Wagner, Saleh
Hasan and Sara Watkins. Pat's playing is confident and restrained, part of
his philosophy of getting to "the essence of a piece," I think it's Kirtley's
best work to date and a revelation in how to make good recordings. It's been
a favorite at this house for weeks. More information available on Pat's website. Happy Traum has just re-released his classic
folk and blues CD "Bright Morning Stars" on Lark's Nest Records. Originally
recorded in Woodstock, NY in 1979, Happy's album has a timeless excellence
about it. The song selection is terrific as are Happy's vocals and guitar
playing. From Mississippi John Hurt's funky "Monday Morning Blues," to John
Herald's environmental lament "Passenger Pigeon" to Pat Alger's moving
"Daddy's Violin" every song sounds as if it might have been recorded this
year. Happy assembled an all-star cast to back him, including the late
Merle Watson, Richard Manuel (the late vocalist and piano player with The
Band), Roly Salley on bass, Pat Alger on mandolin, Larry Campbell playing
pedal steel, John Sebastian and Maria Muldaur vocalizing, and several others.
The package and the newly mastered material sounds great and I'm not just
saying that because he's my brother, although that fact certainly hasn't hurt
his cause! Order: 1 800 338 2737 (for those of you in Japan, "Bright Morning
Stars" is available from Slice of Life Records, PO Box 24, Kyoto, Japan
612-8691)I was introduced to Pete Huttlinger and his manager Erin Morris last month through my brother  and now I’m a huge fan of his guitar playing. "Naked
Pop" is an impressive collection of pop tunes arranged for solo guitar. His
version of Steely Dan’s Josie sets up an album that includes a phenomenal
version of Eleanor Rigby, Fields Of Gold and Sir Duke. Man, this guy can
play... it’s clean, funky and really musical. Also check out Huttlinger’s
"Catch & Release" - clearly Pete can play in any style with grace and good
taste. Highly recommended. (Instar Records, PO Box 90244, Nashville TN 37209) Bob Irwin’s Sundazed label continues to astound me with
re-issues of some of the greatest albums of all time. They released Bob
Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited on vinyl... and CD’s by Booker T and the MG’s...
Lee Dorsey (!)... and The Trashmen. Bob Irwin and I co-produced a funny, hip
poetry CD by Mikhail Horowitz, The Blues of the Birth, which is a combination ASIN/B00002EPVP
of Lord Buckley, Lenny Bruce and Jack Kerouac all blended into one. Check
this one out! Check out a Legacy compilation called Blues N’ Roots -
The Retrospective 1925-1950. There are about 100 songs on this 4-CD
boxed-set compilation, including lots of rare artists from the Columbia records
archives I’d never heard before: Blues Birdhead, The Hokum Boys, Gladys
Bentley and Hersal Thomas.
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