Glorytellers

In Glorytellers, Geoff Farina is more storyteller than proselytizer. He delivers lyrics with the same staccato, stream-of-consciousness style that helped define Karate’s sound, but these image-laden lyrics are decidedly more narrative. They include stories of a teenage mother determined to raise her child against her family’s wishes, of a friend habitually in trouble with the law, of suburban parents who inadvertently vote for the policies that send their sons to war, and of Karate's experience witnessing a drug-related murder on tour. The characters in these dark stories share a positive outlook, and Glorytellers’ songs are ultimately about survivors searching for normalcy in the face of tribulation.

Although they are sometimes drawn indiscriminately from the American songbook, Glorytellers’ songs are anything but campy. The urgency of these songs manifest the depth of Glorytellers’ commitment to their influences: Luther Gray has backed Sabir Mateen, Joe McPhee, Anthony Braxton, Roy Campbell, Fred Anderson, and other contemporary Jazz greats; Farina has studied with Roswell Rudd, performed with Michael Zerang and Allan Chase, and he will break down a John Hurt, Blind Blake, or Kenny Burrell tune for you note-for-note at the drop of a hat. Glorytellers are musicians' musicians who have been individually mining the dusty bins of 20th Century American music for many years, and revitalize their findings with this unique set of delicate ballads.


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