Don Harvey
A Dance in Red: Open Music Volume I
Indie

“Influenced by many genres. Unclassifiable (why try?)” says the back cover to Austin, Texas’s Don Harvey’s Middle Eastern-themed A Dance in Red: Open Music Volume I. One listen to the opener “Dance in Red” and it’s apparent that one should brace themselves for an engaging blend of Middle Eastern, blues, rock, ambient, jazz and classical influences on this record, hence the term “open music.”

Harvey, a drummer for Ian McLagan & the Bump Band, has performed with dynamite legends such as Bruce Springsteen and Pete Townshend as well as Joe Ely, Billy Bragg, and Ian Matthews. Now, Harvey has assembled some of Austin’s finest musical talent such as Ephraim Owens (trumpet), Brian Standefer (cello), Guy Forsyth (harmonica), John Mills (bass clarinet), and Bukka Allen (accordion) to supply some music for his debut EP consisting of four stirring instrumentals.

“Desert Meets the Sky at Twilight” is the breadwinner in this family of musical soundscapes. Marinated with piano, trumpet and lap steel, “Desert” evokes the lazy sway of summer. “Dance in Red” is decked with strong Middle Eastern trappings, augmented by cello and accordion, and is a direct nod to two of Israel’s best-known recording artists, Jonathan Geffen and David Broza, with whom Harvey worked with in the late ‘70s. The meandering “The Wish (For Dad)” opens with bass clarinet and is punctuated by tinkling piano while “Flowing Home” contains floating drums and harmonica.

In the Middle East, the color red symbolizes sacrifice, courage, love and passion, and Harvey and his local star-studded affair capture that mood in A Dance in Red: Open Music Volume I. Whereas Harvey was more of a timekeeper in the Bump Band, here he is able to display the full extent of his talents in a thoroughly engrossing musical setting.

by Jeff Boyce