We often hear about musicians re-locating because of the curves their respective muses throw. However, in the case of JEFF & VIDA, their move to Country music Mecca Nashville was rather more forcible. Their one-time home in New Orleans was devastated by the notorious Hurricane Katrina in 2005, uprooting them and re-focussing their priorities in no uncertain tems.
So it's a testament to the endurance of Jeff Burke and Vida Wakeman's spirit that they continue to shape some of the most potent, bluegrass-influenced sounds around. Their new album 'Selma Chalk' (their umpteenth, I've lost count to be honest) was recorded in Colorado with several of their talented cohorts – Jake Schepps (banjo), Justin Hoffenberg (fiddle), Greg Schochet (guitar/ bouzouki) and bassist Will Downes – in tow and once again proffers a hearty, Roots-y gumbo which is enough to satisfy even the most ravenous of Americana-craving stomachs.
For a band without a drummer, Jeff and Vida lay down some of the funkiest, swingin' sounds around. Songs like the opening 'Heartache Train' and the dangerously covetous 'Jealousy' (“I want the moon, I want the stars too!”) are strident and gutsy blends of Roots and sassy pop, while the yearning likes of 'Alabama Sky' or the fatalistic, Handsome Family-style lament 'Sharp As a Knife' are keening tales of hard times for both honest and dishonest men tryin' to make sense of this sick old world.
There's plenty to keep the purists happy too. 'Sugarcane Blues' is a catchy, cotton'-pickin' two step, while Jeff's 'Little Sara' and the nomadic, Dillards-style 'Boxcar Blues (Hello Sunshine)' are great, bluegrass-influenced affairs with fast fingers flying and solos being swapped seamlessly. Admittedly it helps that in Vida Wakeman, they have one of THE contemporary Americana vocalists and her smoky voice (think a Southern-influenced Gina Villalobos or a younger Loretta Lynn) really is something to behold on the Bonnie & Clyde-style murder ballad 'Letter to my Love' where you can only too tangibly feel the sultry obsession coming from lines like “you killed in cold blood, I did not ask why/ 'cos I swore to be with you 'til the day I die.” Whoo. Goosebumps and then some.
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The album's sequencing is impressive, with heartbroken ballads coming in the wake of hepped-up Roots-y set pieces. However, while Jeff & Vida surely represent the grittier, funky end of the Alt. Country spectrum, songs like 'Never Hurt Before' display why they have also been accepted by the more conservative Ryman Auditorium crowd and in the closing 'Time Will Heal Your Wounds' they have fashioned a classic, Honky-Tonk country-blues with a dynamite Patsy Cline/ Helen Hall vocal from Vida and some wonderfully fluid, Byron Berline-esque fiddle from Justin Hoffenberg.
'Selma Chalk' is another skilful, Roots-imbued missive from this long-serving duo who seem to have a knack for turning misfortune into artistic gold. Eleven years into their career and almost as many successes under their belt, Jeff & Vida continue to thwart the elements and blaze their own trail. Good on 'em.
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