Reviews for Joey Wright

When you mix bluegrass, blues, swing, pop and country along with some good ol’ strumming on the mandolin you get Hatch by Joey Wright.
This third musical venture is a bit different for Wright since this is the first time taking over the vocal job. His voice definately has that homegrown feel giving the listener that warm and fuzzy feeling all over.

Multi-instrumentalist Joey Wright has long been a go to guy for such roots music stars as Sarah Harmer, Jenny Whiteley and Amy Millan, all of whom return the favour with guest turns here. It's his third solo record, but the first on which he has handled vocals (previous CD Jalopy earned a Juno nomination for Instrumental Album of the Year).

Hatch is Elphinite Joey Wright's third CD. I was taken by how different it sounds from either of his two earlier ones, Camp, and Jalopy. Camp, a sure-fire antidote to depression, is a collection of moving bluegrass, jazz and country influenced original instrumentals with a few vocal covers in the mix. Jalopy is an all original, instrumental, introspective and experimental jazz-grass album.

Warning: prolonged exposure to Joey Wright’s latest offering, Hatch, may leave you in a state of permanent bliss. If you think you can handle it, read on…

Hatch is the third album by Wright, however this album is a bit different for him since this is his first time taking over the vocal job. He’s definitely not a bad singer.

I know fans of Sarah Harmer are already excited about her sit down, theatre show @ The Cohn tonight (with special guest and herohill fav, Julie Fader adding vocal and maybe flute support). People might not be as familiar with the opening act as they are with “Ms. Put Me On Your Record and Get a Polaris nomination”, but Joey Wright is an artist that deserves his share of the spotlight.

There’s a quote from Sarah Harmer is the press release for Joey Wright‘s new album Hatch that’s a beautiful summation of what I was thinking while listening to the record: “Joey Wright doesn’t need a bio. You just hear about him. A rumour, a sound. Musical charisma enveloping a career of cinematic guitars, slides of blues and bluegrass.

While guitar, mandolin and banjo player Joey Wright is best known as sideman for such artists as Sarah Harmer and his wife, Jenny Whiteley, he’s front and centre leading the likes of Jesse Zubot, Steve Dawson, Dan Whiteley and Joe Phillips on this relaxed, thoroughly enjoyable set of instrumental tunes.

The title of this album is apt: the music seems heaped together from disparate parts, none of them in stride with the other, yet managing somehow to work. The only difference is, we’re talking about musical genres here, and not rusty car doors, cardboard windows, or off-colour hoods.

Lots of nimble fingers as multi-instrumentalist and long time member of the Toronto bluegrass mafia Joey Wright links up with a choice selection of like-minded Canadian pals - fiddler Jesse Zubot, guitarist Steve Dawson (whose playing on the cumbersome Weissenborn guitar is especially laudable), double bassist Joe Phillips and Mandolin ace Dan Whitely - on a set of what Wright refers to as "cinema

They may be a continent apart but there’s no mistaking the musical brotherhood between Ontario’s Joey Wright – Mr Jenny Whiteley to you – and our own Jesse Zubot and Steve Dawson.

Toronto guitarist-mandolinist-banjo player Joey Wright is the latest formidable Canadian talent to sign up with Vancouver based label Black Hen Music. Wright, best known for his work with Sarah Harmer, welcomes Black Hen label czar Steve Dawson into his studio band.

Journeyman guitarist/mandolin player, Sarah Harmer sidekick and master, it seems, of just about any instrument that requires plucking, strumming, sliding or picking, Joey Wright is in his element with his second CD, the acoustically loaded and eclectically instrumental Jalopy.