Armando Zuppa – Soup Kitchen

Soup Kitchen, Armando Zuppa

Armando Zuppa’s latest offering, “Soup Kitchen,” serves up some tasty banjo driven music, that’s as interesting as Armando Zuppa himself. An Italian banjo player who uses his instrument in almost every genre imaginable, Zuppa has overcome the usual bluegrass and folk roots that have defined banjo playing and demonstrated that it can sound cool in any kind of music. This is demonstrated in his surprising cover of Greg Allman’s “Midnight Rider.” Several Irish jigs and folk tunes including “Silver Spear,” “Toss The Feathers” and “Irish Washerwoman/Swallowtail Jig.” “Tico Tico” has a spanish flavor. Zuppa sings on “Through the Gates.” “Two Part Invention in C” is Zuppa’s take on a classical piece by JS Bach. “Working on a Building” is an a capella number featuring vocals from Tempa Singer alongside Zuppa’s. “Oscar on the Roof” has a few horns and sounds much like a children’s song, but since the lyrics are in Italian, it’s hard to tell for sure. Most of the other tracks are originals and fall back closer to the kind of bluegrassy stuff you are used to hearing a banjo on.
Overall, a very enjoyable CD. Buy it.
For more info please visit: www.ArmandoZuppa.com