It's Been Swell: The Hillside Recordings, by Matt Munisteri and BROCK MUMFORD

It's Been Swell: The Hillside Recordings

by Matt Munisteri and BROCK MUMFORD

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Get all 4 Matt Munisteri releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of It's Been Swell: The Hillside Recordings, Still Runnin' Round In The Wilderness: The Lost Music of Willard Robison, Vol I, Hell Among The Hedgehogs, and Love Story. , and , .

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1.	Guess Who's In Town 02:40	info	buy track
2.	Douce Ambiance 03:42	info	buy track
3.	Moonlight Becomes You 03:49	info	buy track
4.	There's a Small Hotel 04:31	info	buy track
5.	Bryant's Bounce 03:26	info	buy track
6.	Get Acquainted With Yourself 03:23	info	buy track
7.	I Get Ideas 04:40	info	buy track
8.	You're Laughing At Me 03:14	info	buy track
9.	Mississippi Delta Blues 04:12	info	buy track
10.	Scartunas 02:58	info	buy track

about

Dating from two sessions in late 1998 and early 1999, the tracks that comprise "It's Been Swell" were recorded in a few hours by my newly assembled band (soon to be christened BROCK MUMFORD), with all production by the great engineer/producer Dae Bennett at Hillside Recording in Englewood NJ.

I'd been playing with a band that was working a lot, on the road and in town, had arrived in my mid-thirties, and wanted to play even MORE unpopular music than I was (!), and thus jumped at Dae's very generous offer to record some tunes. I figured we'd put down some of the slightly-off-the-beaten-path standards that I'd been playing at my own gigs, and use the recordings as gig-procuring demos. The material draws extensively from music I was listening to in the 1990's - records by Django Reinhardt, Jimmie Rodgers, Louis Armstrong, Bob Wills, Fats Waller, Willie Nelson, Oscar Aleman, Jimmy Bryant etc. It was actually hard to find some of these artist's records in the 80's and 90's! It might sound strange to some of you, but it was also pretty difficult to find anyone under 80 in the NYC of the 1990's who had any familiarity with these names - especially club owners! And there were even fewer who regarded these artists as connected.

The performances were loose, and aside from some intros/harmonies/interludes that I'd written out, we were just playing a gig live to tape. But I'll confess, whenever one of these sides comes on "shuffle" these days, I'm pleasantly surprised. I'll even go so far as to say that they're pretty good for a "pre-internet" guitarist who, though green and occasionally stumbling around in the dark, is definitely possessed by an infectious confidence. In hindsight I'd say that confidence was born of a happy confluence of youthful passion and the great blessings of ignorance! That lucky rascal...

Of course, said guitarist is helped immeasurably by the fact that he's always known how to hire a great band. Already a master, the playing of young trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso is packed with bracing ideas, and the adventurous and sly playing by accordionist Will Holshouser (the secret ingredient!) and bassist Jim Whitney and drummer Rob Garcia elevates every track. Everyone was really bringing it all to each performance. There's definitely no holding back!

Periodically I'll meet some happy listener who has somehow gotten hold of these tracks (they were briefly available at gigs), and it's a genuine kick every time I learn about a new journey this music has taken. These sides have never been commercially available, but now thanks to Bandcamp, well...here ya go!

credits

released December 8, 2023

Matt Munisteri - guitar and vocals
Jon-Erik Kellso - trumpet
Will Holshouser - accordion
Jim Whitney - bass
Rob Garcia - drums

Recorded and mixed by Dae Bennett at Hillside Recording, Englewood NJ during two sessions in 1998 and '99.

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about

Matt Munisteri New York, New York

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Matt Munisteri is a Brooklyn native who grew up as almost assuredly the only bluegrass banjo player on his block. His own compositions and playing reflect this life-long devotion to a rich history of American Popular song; linking rural and urban, long-gone and contemporary. ... more

mattmunisteri.com

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