The very gift that makes a session musician great can also be a curse. Oftentimes expected to be chameleon-like, it’s that very act of becoming a credible musical shape-shifter that can sometimes lead to a loss of individuality. Lee Ritenour is a consummate and complete guitarist if ever there was one; his varied discography supporting a seemingly insatiable appetite for anything to do with the six-stringed instrument and all its variations. Often (and, in many cases, unfairly) linked too heavily with a genre that he helped formulate in the mid-to-late 1970s through his own "fusion lite" albums like Captain Fingers (Epic, 1977), to call Ritenour a smooth jazz guitarist would be unfairly exclusionary, as 6 String Theory proves in spades…
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Nearly every album by guitar whiz Elliot Sharp intimates a sound-shaping experience, loaded with surprises and ingenuity. His long-running Carbon band is primarily steeped in hardcore avant-garde rock mania, spiced with sizzling meltdowns and free-jazz style improvisation.

On "Fermion," the quartet launches a haunting sonic assault, which at times may seem like anti-pop morphed with metal-lite. Zeena Parkins’ resonating electric harp lines project a tuneful yet ominous vibe, as the band delves into a minimalist-hued motif, followed by Sharp’s powerful crunch chords and drummer Joseph Trump’s peppy backbeats. Moreover, the band surges into a musical netherworld, abetted by Sharp’s psyched-out and fuzz-toned melee attack, atop flickering electronics effects and rippling chord progressions…
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Fun. Plain, simple fun. That’s Eden Brent in a nutshell. Whether she’s in concert, at a festival or helping out fellow musicians, this vocalist and pianist thrills crowds wherever she plays. Ain’t Got No Troubles, like her previous recordings, brings that same level of joy and energy.

A longtime protA(C)gA(C) of Abie "Boogaloo" Ames, Brent grew up in the Mississippi Delta, surrounded by musicians. Her late mother Carol, and sisters Jessica and Bronwynne, all wrote and performed music. Eden Brent is a three-time Blues Music Award-winner, earning the 2009 Acoustic Album of the Year for Mississippi Number One (Yellow Dog) and Acoustic Artist of the Year, and 2010 Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year. She also has toured domestically and internationally…
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