Arts & Culture
CD Reviews: July 2014
New music from Bosley and Manuel Barrueco & Beijing Guitar Duo
The Dirty Dogs Radio Show
Bosley (self-released)
Revivalist bands evoking 1960s R&B revues and funk icons like James Brown are a dime a dozen, but this local ensemble puts a fresh spin on classic soul. Dirty Dogs has the requisite punchy horns, sassy harmonies, and percussive guitar licks, but with some hip-hop swagger and piano lunacy in the mix. Songs like “American Gurlz” and “Keep Good Time” exude an ecstatic and elastic vibe that stretches Bosley past any notion of genre restraint.
Bosley will play Artscape’s Station North Stage at 8 p.m. on July 19.
China West
Manuel Barrueco & Beijing Guitar Duo (Tonar Music)
One of Baltimore’s best record labels releases nothing but classical. Founded by Peabody’s Manuel Barrueco, Tonar puts out recordings by the virtuoso guitarist and his associates. Here, Barrueco and his protégés, the Bejing Guitar Duo, play a far-ranging set that includes Bach, Ástor Piazzolla, and a medley of Charlie Chaplin tunes arranged by Sérgio Assad. The latter piece is as sublime as it is surprising.