John and the Sisters

This new album by Kevin Breit is a blues smorgasbord and a mishmash of musical styles. The Sisters here are actually not of the female variety, but rather, blues singer John Dickie teaming up with Breit’s blues brothers — the Sisters Euclid band. Breit and Dickie wrote or co-wrote most of the tracks; the combination is a blues experience unlike any other. Breit has garnered much attention over the last few years as a member of Norah Jones’s band, having played on her last couple of albums. For the accomplished Hogtown guitarist, the move from easy-listening jazz to back-alley blues was easy. The album opens with the funk-driven, loud song "Too Damn Big,” which assaults your senses with its big sound that echoes the godfather of soul, James Brown. From the honky-tonk blues piano on "Only One” to the sleepy, jazz-soaked, spacey blues arrangement on "Gun,” to the spoken word of Breit’s son on the fun 15-second "Bad Machine,” John and his Sisters is a spirited blues fusion that offers a little something for everyone.