In March 2000 Peter Keane released his third album, another kind of blue. Carole King wrote the cover copy: "...a perfect example of music for its own sake -- pure and simple." With six self-pinned songs and the songs of old country blues masters to round out the album, Keane created a delicious blue brew. The album features Charlie Larkey on upright bass and Richard White on drums. The use of an ensemble provides and extra dimension to the album and gives it a cohesive feel.
A superb fingerstyle guitarist and singer, Peter Keane (pronounced kane) mixes the country blues picking of Mississippi John Hurt with a subtle wit and wry humor to create a songwriting style both classic and unique.
His second album, Walkin' Around, covers the same territory as roots-oriented folks like Bill Morrissey (who appears on the album), Greg Brown, and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. He could easily wear the "Americana" label.
Keane started in the northeast, where his first album, The Goodnight Blues, was released. He moved to Austin in 1994, where he was quickly absorbed into the roots oriented scene here. The musicians Keane gathered for Walkin' Around are among the finest in the state, including Champ Hood (veteran of Uncle Walt's Band, the acoustic string trio with Walter Hyatt and David Ball and a regular with Toni Price's band), John Hagen (of Lyle Lovett's Large Band), Dave Heath, and Paul Pearcy (who has performed with Robert Earl Keen, Tish Hinojosa and others). A particular treat is the album's closing track, an inspired duet between Morrissey and Keane on Eric Von Schmidt's classic "Blow Whistle Blow."
The Austin Chronicle review of his second album said, "Keane is no ordinary folksinger--his myriad empathies stretch comfortably from the pre-dawn of American folklore to his own latter-day-derived originals...a vibrant and distinct bluesman and fingerstyle guitarist of remarkable subtlety."
Another review, in Sing Out, states, "The first thing you notice about Peter Keane is how doggone good his blues picking is. It's no secret that John Hurt was a big influence, but Keane has taken that quiet, precise style Hurt made famous and wrapped it around a bunch of great songs, mostly his own."
Winner MusicAustin's Austin's Best Albums Award for 2000!.
Check out his website.
