Howard Kalish – What The Hey

Howard Kalish is best known as Don Walsers fiddler of the past twelve years (though he recently departed), and for his first solo effort hes backed by Walsers Pure Texas Band augmented by such other Austin luminaries as pianist Floyd Domino, drummer Ernie Durawa and guitarist Dave Biller. The result is a swinging and casually assured honky-tonk kaleidoscope, the sound of musicians who do what they do so well that they dont have to set off fireworks to get your attention and hold it. Instead, they just keep swinging.

Whether bowing smooth as silk on the like so Philco Drive or more staccato on efforts like South First Street Rag, Kalish retains a sweet tone with almost conversational phrasing. And while there are plenty of new and old instrumental tunes here, as youd expect from what is essentially a pickers album, its also a surprising showcase for Kalishs barrel-chested vocals and some ironically cheeky and/or ruefully philosophical original witticisms such as I Will Never Change So Why Dont You and I Just Want You For A Friend.

Kalish and crew balance their hot picking with an admirable sense of discipline, but they can cut loose when they want to. The jazzy title tune is swirling, gypsy-like and kinda goofy, and as each new soloist ups the ante and the piece continues to pick up steam, the whole exhilarating thing threatens repeatedly to come unhinged but it never does. That aint easy to pull off, but it sure is a pleasure to hear.