Harvey Mandel & The Snake Crew

Description

His career has spanned over 50 years, bridging the gap between the blues, jazz and rock with his two-handed fretboard tapping and his creative use of sustain and controlled feedback.

He has performed with many blues legends including Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Albert King, and Buddy Guy. He was a part of Canned Heat in 1969 when they played the Woodstock Festival. One of Harvey’s most significant session credits is his participation on ‘Black and Blue’, the 1976 Rolling Stones album.

Rising from the Chicago Blues scene of the mid 60’s, Mandel set the pace for those early outings by harpist Charlie Musselwhite, Steve Miller and Mike Bloomfield. He’s also known for the work he did with the godfather of English blues, John Mayall … though what he’ll be forever remembered for is his sinuously hot licks with Canned Heat, including their sensational performance at Woodstock.

The Snake Crew treats you to the interplay of the legendary Harvey Mandel, side by side with a host of gunslingers who know their trade and know how to work with each other. The music is bright balanced effortless and clean, though the strength of this release revolves around hearing how these people, and it is an impressive list, manage to work together so effortlessly.

Freddie Roulette on lap steel and vocals, was also from the Chicago blues scene, playing a serious groove. His roots went way back to folks like Charlie Musselwhite, Roy Rogers, Country Joe McDonald, Steve Kimock, Frank Zappa, and many others. On bass and vocals, Michael Warren has been a favorite of Merl Saunders and the Rainforest Band for over 15 years. During that time the band headlined and played with such jammers as Leo Nocentelli, Phish, Rat Dog, String Cheese, Kingfish, and many more. Drummer, producer, and promoter Michael Borbridge provided the glue that kept the band moving and grooving in the right direction. Michael was been a band leader for Country Joe McDonald and has produced a number of projects involving Harvey Mandel, Carlos Santana, Elvin Bishop, Melvina Reynolds, Henry Kaiser, Marcy Levy, the Rowan Brothers, and others.