Central Vermont bandleader and guitarist Lewis Franco has been holding down the swinging side of jazz for the better part of two and a half decades. His sixth studio album, On the Sidelines, came out on Monday, and this time he’s tackling the work of some of his favorite Jewish composers.
Franco traveled down to his birthplace of Atlanta to record the record with his cousin, jazz pianist Joe Alterman.
“Joe and I share a love of the Great American Songbook,” Franco wrote in a press release, name-checking some of the Jewish composers who inspired him, such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and George Gershwin.
“I really relate to these songwriters as nervous outsiders, observing American life while looking for a sense of belonging,” wrote Franco, who has Ashkenazi and Sephardi roots. “It’s important not to be intimidated by bigotry, so I’m making a conscious effort to address it in more of my songs and performances.”
Eight of On the Sidelines‘ 10 tracks feature bassist Scott Glazer and drummer Justin Chesarek, who join Franco and Alterman in a tight four-piece with no overdubs, essentially making the record a live album. Franco returned to finish the last two songs on the album in Vermont, where he was joined by some longtime collaborators: guitarist Dono Schabner, Will Patton on upright bass, and backing vocalists Susannah Blachly, Patti Casey, Louisa Franco, Halle Toulis and Ben Patton.
Bringing it all home, the cover of the album is a painting by Franco’s mother, Atlanta artist Phyllis Alterman Franco, who died in November.
New band alert! In 2020, local rapper and producer Rico James reached out to Boomslang‘s resident producer, JL (real name Johnny Morris), to discuss collaborating on a record. The pandemic and Morris’ diagnosis with brain cancer kept the project on the back burner, but eventually the duo created more than 30 beats.
In an odd twist of fate, the other half of Boomslang, Dustin Byerly, aka Sed One, was preparing to make a record with fellow MC Learic from Burlington hip-hop outfit the Aztext. They needed beats, though. See where this is going?
After learning of each other’s projects, the two duos decided to merge into a Vermont hip-hop supergroup called Kinetic Fource.
Sadly, Morris died in fall 2021. His bandmates have pressed on, however, and will release a self-titled debut LP on Friday, April 7. Head to soundsofrico.bandcamp.com to preorder the album. All sales will go toward funding the release of Morris’ final beat tape, which the group hopes to release in 2024.
Eye on the Scene
Last week’s live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry
The Den at Harry’s Hardware, Cabot, Thursday, March 23: Skeptics will argue that there is no such thing as successful multitasking. Modern neuroscience even reinforces that conclusion. For the haters, I have only one question: Have you ever been to Harry’s Hardware in Cabot? Tasked with the singular mission of taking photos of food, I multitasked. Hard. Sit at the bar, enjoy a local draft and make some new friends? Check. Eat a delicious dinner? Check. Catch musicians in a spontaneous jam while surrounded by goat feed? Check. Leave with a cookie and a bag of cat food? Check. Fulfill all my tool, hardware and farm project needs? Not this time — but at Harry’s, I sure could have.
On the Air
Where to tune in to Vermont music this week:
- “Wave Cave Radio Show,” Wednesday, March 29, 2 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: DJs Flywlkr and Gingervitus spin the best of local (and nonlocal) hip-hop.
- “Exposure,” Wednesday, March 29, 6 p.m., on 90.1 WRUV: Indie rockers Blackwater play live in studio.
- “Rocket Shop Radio Hour,” Wednesday, March 29, 8 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: Singer-songwriter Lilly Smith plays live in studio.
- “The Sounds of Burlington,” Thursday, March 30, 9 p.m., at wbkm.org: Host Tim Lewis plays selections of local music.
- “Cultural Bunker,” Friday, March 31, 6 p.m., on 90.1 WRUV: Host Melo Grant plays local and nonlocal hip-hop selections.
- “All the Traditions,” Sunday, April 2, 7 p.m., on Vermont Public: Host Robert Resnik plays an assortment of folk music with a focus on Vermont artists.
Listening In
(Spotify mix of local jams)
This article appears in The Money & Retirement Issue 2023.
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