This is my last blurb, blog, or chapter on this particular subject. I’m not addressing any of the other genres specifically. I’m simply not qualified. I am not an expert on Reggae, but I do appreciate Bob Marley, UB-40, and other artists that have experimented with the style. I do not know anything about Indigenous music of the Americas. I’ve been to a couple of Pow Pow demonstrations, but that barely scratches the surface. I find the Country – Western Genre to be a hodgepodge of recycled micro-cultural idioms and two dimensional metaphors more useful for greeting cards. Folk, Americana, and Bluegrass music is wonderful. I just wish it had the same bite as Seeger and Dylan politically or humanistically. I am not a Bob Dylan the singer fan. I am a Bob Dylan the writer fan. Side note, Allison Krauss has the voice of an angel, if such a thing existed. I could listen to her sing the alphabet… She is a once in a lifetime musician.

Anyway, this little adventure will be about music or artists that just defy description or at least traditional genre labels. These are musicians that can bend or transition easily between genres. I enjoy these artists. They make music that they enjoy creating and there are many people out there that enjoy listening to their work. Here is my short list: Pink Martini, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, and to some extent Sting.

Decades ago or so it seems, I was watching a musical special on the A & E network. This was my introduction to the band Pink Martini. Thomas Lauderdale and China Forbes were featured and interviewed on the special. I found it interesting that they were singing songs that could be considered Easy Listening, but the arrangements were fresh. The salon orchestra which featured a small string section with harp, piano, bass, drums, congas, accessory percussion, trumpet, trombone, and shimmering vocals really captured my imagination. I ordered their debut recording Sympathique on compact disc through CD-Now or some such outfit. I was hooked quickly by the lovely arrangements of music in French, Italian, Spanish, and English. They have since released music in Arabic, Japanese, and several other languages. They market themselves well, “If the United Nations were to have a house band, it would be Pink Martini.” Lauderdale has managed to collaborate with dozens of musicians from the darker halls of the music industry. These collaborations just sparkle with seduction or a seedy beauty we are afraid to say we like.

What makes Pink Martini special is the stability of the ensemble. There are musicians in the group that have been there all 30+ years. Bass Player Phil Baker, and Trombonist Robert Taylor who also serves as a recording producer/engineer are two of those long time members. They have many releases available commercially and through their website. Despite all of this the genius of Lauderdale and Forbes is the soul and heart of Pink Martini, and these two are adventurous. There doesn’t seem to be a genre they haven’t covered. With the addition of Storm Large as a co-lead singer they have been able to do some duets that just amaze me. Pink Martini is a special musical ensemble that blends the world into one little package that appeals to audiences worldwide. I’ve seen them once during a rain delayed free concert at Millennium Park in Chicago, IL USA. It was magic. Check out this special ensemble.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are technically a jazz group, but the ensemble does not sound like a traditional jazz group. Bela Fleck is an electric and acoustic banjo artist. That label does not do him justice. He can do things on banjo that no one has tried before. The Flecktones consist of Victor Wooten – Bass Guitar, Roy Wooten – Drumitar (a unique electronic percussion get up,) Howard Levy – Harmonica & Keyboards, and formerly Jeff Coffin – Saxophones and Woodwinds. The ensemble is capable of playing numerous styles including funk, jazz fusion, progressive blue grass, and the jam band style (the kitchen sink of popular music that can solo extensively.)

Decades ago I heard Bela Fleck accidentally scrolling through Spotify looking for music I hadn’t heard before. I started with a strange Tango group called the Gotan Project and eventually through algorithms I ended up on Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. What caught me was the unique counterpoint between the bass and banjo. Victor’s style weaves effortlessly underneath and around Fleck’s picking. The harmonica, saxes, and drumitar all float above and below this magic between the banjo and bass. I was entranced with the sounds, the rhythms, and creativity. It was here it dawned on me that I had heard Fleck play on several songs by Dave Matthews. Namely #41 and Don’t Drink the Water. I realized I had my head into classical music and band far more than I should. I had always been a DMB fan, but I really never dug deep into the music, because I was always preparing a score for my day job as a band director/conductor. Bela Fleck shook me out of that bad habit and I diversified my listening on a daily basis. His magical progressive jazz fusion bluegrass coolness defied my expectations and to this day I have been a fan of their music. Key cut: Sinister Minister

The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies are a West Coast band that hit popular status during the late 90’s along with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Brian Setzer Orchestra, and the Squirrel Nut Zippers. I’m a fan of all four installments of turn of the century neo-jazz listed here, but the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies are more than just a neo-jazz band. They do punk, ska, rock, and a progressive Americana style of music with horns. They are much harder than Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. They swing less than Brian Setzer, and their song list is full of more double entendres and naughty bits than a paso doble entitled Hell by the Squirrel Nut Zippers. What is interesting to me about this genre bending band is the lead singer and primary writer Steve Perry. Perry’s writing process is narrative in nature. He is critical of pop culture and he explores darker subjects within his music. He is not afraid to get R – rated in language or in subject matter. Songs like Here comes the Snake or White Teeth Black Thoughts are full of double entendres. This is all delivered in a suit, tie, and hat.

I have never seen the band perform publicly as they are from the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest is not exactly dirty burlesque punk jazz with a side of swing territory. The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies are a weakness of mine, because they go past the proverbial line and deliberately cross it like Frank Zappa did. These gentleman are definitely not the Post Modern Jukebox, so listen responsibly.

Finally the artist Sting. I love that he has done country songs, that were covered by traditional country artists. He has written music in strange time signatures, explored samba and rhumba rhythms. Then he throws us for a loop by writing an Irish Ballad, or a sailing song for a musical… Then he sings John Dowland’s Lute Music on Deutsche Gramophone. Some of my off the wall favorites by Sting include: She’s too Good For Me, Saint Agnes and the Burning Train, I Was Brought To My Senses, La Belle Dames sans regrets, and I Hung My Head.

I just enjoy how Sting has evolved as a songwriter during his lifetime. He is always searching for a new lyrical or musical surprises. I’m glad the Police ended when they did. All three members of that band went on to create even cooler things that “The Police” would have never allowed them to pursue. Sting of course has done a little bit of everything with his solo career. If I were to recommend a couple of records, they would be Ten Summoner’s Tales, Mercury Falling, and Soul Cages. I have a real soft spot for the last record. It is very introspective written shortly after his parents passed away. There is a beauty in this self-reflective darkness.

There you have my genre bending artists. I presented them in order to from strongest to weakest in the genre bending by the way. I highly recommend giving Pink Martini a listen. I think you will find something you may like…. Like… Sway, Dream a Little Dream With Me, Sympathique, Où est ma tête?, or something else. Just enjoy some music… there is plenty of great stuff out there.

…so it goes…