Paul Shapiro’s Ribs & Brisket Revue will be holding forth tonight, Thursday August 12th at the Brooklyn Public Library, Central Branch, right near Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. Celebrate a distinctly American music that thrived in the 1930s and 40s: hard-swinging jump blues. Jazzy, comedic and funky, Shapiro sprinkles a little Yiddish flavoring on Slim Gaillard's "Dunkin' Bagel," Cab Calloway's "Everybody Eats When They Come to My House" and Louie Jordan's "Fat Like That." It's FREE and there will be a swing dance instructor there at 6:30 PM for a little podiatric edification. Performance begins at 7:00 and they will play until around 8:30 PM.

Special guests Curtis Fowlkes on trombone and Tony Allen on drums- a real treat.

Also on hand the fab crew of Cilla Owens, Dan Rosengard and Booker King.

Take the 2 Train to Grand Army Plaza

From their CD: Essen - Paul Shapiro's Ribs and Brisket Revue (Tzadik) - The title of this CD
is Yiddish for "eat" and, after listening to this raucous collection, one could
not be faulted for believing the word also means "fun." The title track sounds
as if it was transplanted from a vintage Yiddish radio show with its vocal
give-and-take, its' jazzy interjections, and slightly off-color humor. There's
no mistaking the interplay of Jewish and African American culture and that theme
carries through the whole CD. Shapiro, a tenor saxophonist most of the time,
whips out his clarinet for "My Little Cousin" , written in the 1920s by
bandleader Abe Schwartz as "Mi Grine Kuzine.". Here, the ensemble blends Benny
Goodman-like clarinet, Cilla Owens' sincere vocals, and Brian Mitchell's
blues-saturated piano riffs (the pianist is wonderful throughout the program)
into a swing-filled mash-up that's hard to resist.

The rhythm section of bassist Booker King and drummer Tony Lewis are stalwarts
(the recording makes them sound like they're playing are in your living room)
and the lead vocalists Owens, Babi Floyd and Shapiro play around with the sassy
lyrics. Owens belts out Sophie Tucker's "Mama Goes Where Papa Goes" skillfully
blending Yiddish and English. Guitarist Slim Gaillard (popular in the 1930s and
40s) is represented on 2 tracks including the barn-burning "Matzoh Balls."

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For more info: David Cooper