Last July, through a Facebook post, Pat Thomas hipped me to Dave Mihaly‘s new CD. He wrote: “Basically Dave has done what has so far has proved impossible for any other Bay Area ‘jazz’ musician (and I use that term both loosely and with some kind of back handed respect), which is to record the perfect ‘cross-over’ album. This record is hands down, in my mind, the most consistent and most listenable record to emerge from the Bay Area in any genre in quite some time. I wouldn’t file it under jazz, I might consider it a singer/songwriter record – but only for those who understand a record like [Tim Buckley’s] “Happy/Sad.” It’s the kind of album that a wise [sic] mind like Derk Richardson would play on KPFA and 10 people would call in and ask ‘what the hell is that?’ ”
I’ve been playing tracks from the album, “Rivers,” occasionally ever since. It was one of the best releases of 2013. Tonight, Mihaly and the Shimmering Leaves Ensemble perform live in the KPFA studio. Don’t miss it! Tune in at 10 p.m.