Reviews
“I get excited to bring a new song to the band. Even if some of them are 100 years old, they still have feelings, they’re relatable.” – Annie Rosen
https://www.timesunion.com/music/article/annie-hedonists-now-revered-music-play-19506569.php
-Jim Shahan, Jr., Freelance Arts Writer, June 12, 2024
We absolutely loved, loved, loved you. Thank you for making the Sharon Springs Harvest Festival a big success from the Sharon Springs Chamber of Commerce. Please express our thanks to the whole group.
-Kae Schell, Sharon Springs Chamber of Commerce
Annie and the Hedonists are a perfect fit for the Meeting House on the Green’s summer concert series. This band defies easy (or any, for that matter) characterization, moving exuberantly and expertly through the genres of swing, blues, jazz, roots Americana and more. Annie’s strong, rich voice is perfectly complemented by band mates Peter Davis, Jonny Rosen, and Don Young, each bringing a distinctive flavor to this ensemble. We’re already scheming to have them back next year for more hedonism on the green.
Hi Jonny & Annie,
Thanks so much for the wonderful performance/ workshop this afternoon! It was so fun to listen to you teach about the origins and collection of tunes in blues and jazz — the kids seemed to really enjoyed it!
especially loved the last handful of tunes you played; those are some of my favorites to play on fiddle and sing too (and who doesn’t love Goodnight Irene — one of my favorites!) I especially enjoyed the bit about scatting and Ella Fitzgerald! So much fun.
Well, you guys rocked! That was almost a pre-pandemic level of good time – of all the concerts we had this summer, last night it looked the most like a Music in the Garden concert from pre-pandemic times would have looked and felt…
The two tunes overlaid at the end were so clever, the way the kids all gravitated to the front row for the closing was so sweet (and the clarinet serenade in front of each!) the whole thing was lovely and thanks so very much to all of you for ‘bringing it” big time. On such a steamy day, too. We’re lucky to have you in the region!
Annie and the Hedonists perform a fascinating mixture of styles. Headed by the excellent singer Annie Rosen and featuring guitarist Jonny Rosen, Peter Davis on clarinet, tenor guitar, piano, alto-sax and vocals, Donald Young on string bass, electric guitar, ukulele and vocals, and drummer Jerry Marotta, the band sounds equally at home playing 1920s classic blues and jazz, swing, 1930s blues, and Western swing as it does country, doo wop, early r&b and even early rock and roll.
Bring It On Home displays both the band’s versatility and their skill at a variety of vintage styles. Starting with a 1928 Tommy Johnson blues (“Big Road Blues”) that sounds here like it was recorded in the mid-1950s, and including 1929’s “Do Do Something” (on which Annie Rosen does a light impression of Helen Kane), an original lowdown blues “Bring It On Home To Mama” (featuring guest John Sebastian on harmonica), Porter Grainger’s witty 1924 “Prescription For The Blues” (one of two numbers on which cornetist Randy Reinhart and trombonist Dave Davies help out), a doo wopish “I Miss You So,” and even a credible “Under Paris Skies,” the result is a consistently successful set full of bright moments.
This would clearly be a great band to see live. Since they are based in New York, Bring It On Home gives listeners a strong sampling of what Annie & The Hedonists can do. It will have to suffice, at least until some enterprising booking agent brings the group out to the West Coast. Bring It On Home is easily recommended and available from www.annieandthehedonists.com.
The concert at the Lewis County Historical Society (LCHS) with Annie and the Hedonists on January 11, 2020 was extraordinary by any measure! Annie’s amazing voice, the outstanding musicianship of all the performers, the immediate rapport they built with the audience, and the sheer joy with which their music was imbued resulted in what was truly a magical evening! It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I recommend this group to other venues throughout New York’s North Country, the Northeast, and beyond!
It was our absolute pleasure to host you all again! We hope you enjoyed playing at South Church. Yes, the community is quite amazing. It is due to their support and enthusiasm that we are able to continue into our 28th year hosting First Night in the Northeast Kingdom. It is artists like yourselves that bring such depth of talent to our lineup. We can’t thank you enough! Happy New Year,
Oh man, will they take you there and then some, on a rollicking romp through the vault of vintage American Blues, Swing, Jazz, Dixeland, Bebop and more, you will dance, sing, hum, sway, smile, clap your hands and want more. Annie & the Hedonists are a top notch festival band!
Dancers in pairs bounded about the floor, swinging in and out and back and forth. The band kept the crowd guessing as they jumped from classics like “Blue Light Boogie” to “Walk Right In, Walk Right Out;” then to “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm,” each tune matched the energy in the room.
Lead vocalist Annie Rosen was complimented by guitarist Jonny Rosen, bassist Don Young, Peter Davis on keyboard and saxophone, and Jerrry Marotta on drums. No feet hid underneath tablecloths. Even those who weren’t dancing stood and bobbed their heads to the catchy tunes. A favorite of Annie and the Hedonists is to interpret the music of early female jazz vocalists such as Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, both of whom were represented beautifully by the passion in Annie Rosen’s voice during the performance.
If you want energy, joy, a wealth of talent, a way to be in touch with almost every part of American music…and the spirit of love and generosity to go with that…then Annie & the Hedonists are most definitely who you want for your festival!
SARATOGA SPRINGS – A rollicking piano, nicely harnessed by a sturdy rhythm section, channels alongside the vocal sass of Annie Rosen and launches into Tommy Johnson’s 1928 “Big Road Blues,” introducing the sixth album by Capital/Saratoga region favorites Annie and the Hedonists.
Produced by Grammy award winner, Joel Moss and recorded at the legendary Dreamland Studio in Woodstock, the new album – “Bring it On Home” – features 12 vintage blues and jazz tracks from the 1920s through the 1950s, as well as a trio of original contemporary blues songs.
On Friday May 31, the band will stage a record release party at Caffe Lena.
The Hedonists – comprised of core members Annie and Jonny Rosen, Donald Young and Peter Davis – are accompanied by drummer Jerry Marotta, who spent two decades Jerry dividing his time between recording and touring with Peter Gabriel, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Tears for Fears, Joan Armatrading, Paul McCartney, and countless others. With “Bring it On Home,” the band is amiably assisted by guest musicians John Sebastian (yes, that one), Dave Davies (no, not that one), and Randy Reinhart.
“This record differs from the other five,” says guitarist Jonny Rosen, “in that we decided to focus on two related genres of music, as opposed to our previous albums which were an eclectic mix of folk, country, bluegrass, blues and jazz.”
The 12-song release features tasty renditions of a mid-20th century Parisian waltz (“Under Paris Skies”), a cornet and trombone mating that weaves through the sultry 1924 tune “Prescription for the Blues,” and a musical re-make of the Depression-Era protest song “The Panic Is Own,” whose updated lyrics include themes of the plight of the immigrant, the (lack of) gun control, rising oceans, Russian hackings and the ever-widening gap of economic inequality in a new world.
“Bring it On Home” also features a smattering of original tunes – from the Davis and Moss co-penned 12-bar blues femme homage “Bring It On Home To Mama,” to the love lost sorrow-cholic “Long Distance Call,” and “Who’d be knocking (Knocking on my door/ so late at night)” penned by Davies about one particularly strange pre-dawn awakening when the songwriter was startled from his slumber to find a stranger standing over his bed.
Annie & the Hedonists album release concert will stake place 8 p.m. Friday May 31 at Caffé Lena, 47 Phila St. Special guests: Randy Reinhart and Dave Davies. For reservations or more information, call 518-583-0022 or visit Caffe Lena. org.
Annie and the Hedonists can be found all over upstate New York and New England sharing their brand of upbeat American music at civic concerts and in schools. They are consummate performers who enjoy teaching as they entertain. They play early jazz and blues with a focus on the female performers of the era that Annie Rosen capture’s so well. Several of the guys are also fine vocalists.
In addition to return engagements at local concert series where they please diverse crowds with arrangements in styles from doo wop to blues and western swing, they also give workshops with titles like “The Roots of Blues and Jazz” , “Great Female Blues & Jazz Artists of the 1920s – 40s”, and the always fun “Double Entendre Songs”.
Their commitment to giving the audience an education as well as a good time extends to the liner notes on their sixth album, Bring It On Home, which explain the origins of each song and include an enthusiastic endorsement from Syncopated Times publisher and fanboy Andy Senior. The album includes 12 tracks, with three originals. Two of these pull on a 40s blues vein, the last, “Long Distance Call”, is just a timeless soulful tune. They also rework “The Panic Is On” from 1931 to reflect the various panics of our time.
Of jazz interest, they play “Do Do Something” in a nod to Helen Kane, “Perscription For The Blues” as performed by Clara Smith, and “Too Busy” from Louis Armstrong’s Hot Four with the unappreciated Lillie Delk Christian. A guest cornet and trombone also join the group’s reedman on several tracks.
African American vocal groups are done justice on several tracks including the Prisonaires “Rolling Stone”, Cats and the Fiddle’s “I Miss You So”, and the rhythm and blues “Fee Fee Fi Fo Fum”. The album ends with a swaying waltz, 1951’s “Under Paris Skies”. The result is a fun, varied, and professional album from a group that has learned to please a crowd over the last 20 years.
Annie and the Hedonist’s show Women Sing The Blues was historically important and also a blast. A lot of those classic blues songs will make you laugh, some will make you want to cry. The library audience gave a standing ovation for the musicianship, for the song selection and for Annie’s brilliant singing. Annie is really a special singer and she had the audience in thrall from start to finish — a wonderful show!
“Seventeen tracks of music that will make you feel varied moods from joy to melancholy and back again, and it sounds good doing it.”
“This new album sounds like something from an earlier decade that all the serious music nuts know about. Some of these old blues and jazz songs deal with sad stuff, but Annie gives it to you so smooth and easy that you end up happy anyway.”
Annie and the Hedonists brought the crowd to their feet and the energy soaring as they closed out the Tang Museum’s
15th season of the UpBeat on the Roof concert series. With Annie’s powerful vocals and the band’s tight rhythms and
versatile musicianship, the group delivered lively, infectious songs that had audiences still beaming as they left the
museum. What a fantastic way to conclude this summer’s Tang music series. Thank you, Annie and the Hedonists!
“Annie is a captivating singer. She delivers a lyric like it was a cherished bedtime story; as comfortable as your favorite sweater; as truthful as…well, I can’t think of anything that honest. Her band mates, Peter Davis, (guitar, banjo, clarinet, piano, vocal), Jonny Rosen, (guitar, vocal) and Don Young, (bass, guitar, vocal), are first and foremost accomplished, serious musicians. More importantly, they each have an innate yet individual sense of child-like wonder, which is evident on every track, becoming more intoxicating upon multiple listenings.”
This is music that makes you smile. Whether one of their upbeat toe-tappers like Cakewalking Babies or Tall Skinny Pappa, or one of their more bluesy, laid back tunes like Jealousy or Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl, this is music that’s full of life and grabs your attention.
Their blend of western swing, jazz, blues, vaudeville, folk and country creates a unique stew with just the right spices. The songs are pulled from the 20’s and 30’s, infused with well crafted vocals and harmonies, and punctuated with flavorful instrumental interjections from interesting directions such as the Ukelele, Clarinet, and Dobro. I especially enjoyed the jazz Clarinet contributions!
If you get a chance to see the Hedonists in person, do yourself a favor and buy a ticket. If not, their latest CD is the next best thing. Women be Wise gets a big thumbs-up from me!”
Annie and the Hedonists’ show “Interpreting Songs of Female Blues Artists of the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s” was brilliant! The music was lively, happy and just thrilling as expressed by young and old alike. Each song was arranged with such care – featuring Annie’s ever soulful and heartfelt vocals mixed with just the right amount of harmony and exciting accompaniment. Thrilling – may be a better word to describe the instrumental solos! The show ended with a standing ovation. A slide show of the great female blues artists behind the band with just the right bit of history was an added bonus. If you have not yet seen them live…you must make it a point! Seek them out or hire them as we did – wonderful performers and entertainers!
Three men of a certain age in Hawaiian shirts and a woman in a purple dress peer out at you from the CD cover, their upright index fingers pressed to their lips enjoining silence. That’s a reference to the title track by Sippie Wallace, which warns against bragging up your lover’s boudoir prowess—it can invite curiosity seekers, after all.
You’ll need no such caution about getting Annie and Hedonists’ latest CD, however.
(more…)
Annie and Jonny Rosen of Annie and the Hedonists met each other in Milwaukee almost 20 years ago. “When I saw Annie on the stage, I fell in love,” says Jonny.
The way they worked with each other in our interview offers just a hint at the harmony you can expect from both their Saturday concert at Eighth Step in Cohoes and their debut CD, “Side of the Road.” (more…)
Annie and the Hedonists’ “Good Ole Wagon” (Windy Acres): Jazz, blues, country, folk, bluegrass … it’s all here. Annie Rosen’s versatile, vintage-tinged voice is the perfect match for the Hedonists’ ace musicianship. (more…)