What's This Music For?

After watching Vicki Genfan play guitar live, I felt like giving the instrument up.  She is a wizard of the acoustic guitar, playing a rhythmic, often two-handed style that seems effortless; picking out a bass line, percussion and chords all at once, she sounds like three guitarists playing at the same time.  How she can do all that and sing at the same time is beyond me.  Her voice is bluesy and expressive, sometimes husky, sometimes soaring.  Live was recorded at the Open Strings Festival 2002 in Osnabrück, Germany, where I’m sure she wowed the audience like she does everywhere.  The eleven tracks of the album are a good introduction to Vicki’s intense and varied style.  She throws jazz, soul, blues, funk, and folk together in a huge bowl and mixes it up for your listening pleasure.  Ten of the eleven tracks are original; the songs with vocals seem very personal and sung with great conviction, while the instrumentals are dazzling displays of her virtuosity.  The eleventh track is a unique, powerful cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”.  I highly recommend this album; you’ve never heard anything like Vicki Genfan, but when you do, you’ll want to hear more.

Visit Vicki’s website at vickigenfan.com.