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A Few Reviews...CDs & Performances Django Latino CD Reviews "Django passed a long time ago and has left his beauteous light in the genius of Joe Craven."
"Joe Craven’s playing will make your jaw drop in wonder and amazement. He’s a dazzling soloist, his virtuosity matched by his ability to swing. Django Latino is both a fine tribute and a stunning reinvention.” Paste Magazine
"Django Reinhardt was the first international artist to bring a fresh slant to jazz. So it's appropriate that multi-instrumentalist Craven has chosen Reinhardt's music for this unusually far-reaching project, which applies Latin rhythms to selections from the French gypsy guitarist's rich catalog of songs. ...Craven plays everything from violin (including a stirring solo on 'Minor Swing') to mandolin, mandola, cavaquiño, ukelele and a full range of percussion instruments. Ambitious as that might sound, Craven brings it off, playing with briskly swinging inventiveness and convincing authenticity. Los Angeles Times "Django Latino is a vibrant celebration of musical romance languages - and yes it swings. Th arrangements...are little marvels, each highly distinctive in its own right. Craven ha his hands full, playing mandola, violin, guiro, bomba and other instruments on "Minor Swing" alone. But as the album unfolds, with one imaginatively conceptualized performance after another, Craven's vision plays a more prominent role than even his handiwork." Jazz Times Magazine
"Inspired? This project redefines the word. Django Latino is...festive and spicy where the originals are swinging and hot. It is remarkable to hear “Hungaria” recast as a Brazilian choro samba complete with the exuberant squeals of the cuica, or “Minor Swing” twisted into a Puerto Rican plena. Reinhardt's famous “Nuages” becomes a Cuban danzón, revealing aspects of the original song, such as the dreamy, almost tropical languor, that make the transformation seem entirely natural. Bevan, flautist Matt Eakle, pianist John R. Burr and percussionist Kendrick Freeman are all part of the endeavor, making for one of the disc's larger studio ensembles, and the multifaceted Craven takes up multiple violins to create a rich but light and pillowy harmonic effect. Moving into the exotic genre of Nigerian-derived Haitian ibo, “Douce Ambiance” morphs into a moving, ambient chant sung by Freeman with original Creole lyrics. For songs like this one and the lesser-known ballad “Anouman,” Reinhardt's last (arranged here as a Cuban bolero), the liner notes are invaluable. Burr and Eakle share the spotlight with Craven on “Anouman,” and rightly so. Another track of note is “Double Scotch/Artillerie Lourde,” in the Colombian cumbia style. It's more than a little zany, featuring... Craven's sense of lightheartedness and whimsy, this would be enough. “Swing 39” is superbly rendered as stirring nuevo flamenco, drawing on several gypsy musical influences and instruments What makes Django Latino so outstanding from start to finish, beyond its musicianship and originality, is the reverent humor of Craven and his equally ingenious collaborators. They subject Reinhardt and Grappelli's music to strange and playful mutations but never resort to mocking the original. Whether one is a Django obsessive or a casual fan of world music, this disc will not disappoint." All About Jazz.com "...truly marvelous. Craven’s visionary style and finely honed skills on mandola, violin and an array of percussion serve him well. Hitting upon a proper blend of whimsy and genuine feeling, this disc is a refreshing and inventive take on a classic sound." Global Rhythm Magazine "Anyone lucky enough to witness the virtuoso musicianship of Joe Craven over the last year, either at his Whelan's gig or in Ballybunion at the World Fleadh (as a pivotal member of Alison Brown's band) will jump at the chance to hear this multi-instrumentalist in full flight. Transposing the intricate rhythms and glorious melodies of Django Reinhart south of the border is exactly the kind of trickery we've come to expect from Craven - and not only does the idea work, it positively triumphs in its playful juggling of Cuban Charangas, Brazilian Bossa Novas and Mexican-tinged waltzes. This is music that'll tickle you behind your ears, tweak your cheek muscles urging you inevitably towards a grin of Amazonian proportions. Craven's imagination finally streaks into the stratosphere. 4 stars" Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland "Joe Craven was a longtime member of the David Grisman Quintet, which was how he happened to meet and perform with the great jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli (1908-1997) who, despite a long and illustrious solo career, was best-known for his brief but seminal collaboration with the legendary Manouche (French Roma, or Gypsy) guitarist, composer and bandleader Django Reinhardt (1910-1953). It takes guts to tamper with a legacy like the latter’s, but surprisingly, this unbelievably versatile American multi-instrumentalist and virtuoso -- if it has strings or can be beaten, rattled or shaken, he can play it-- pulls it off beyond all expectations. The premise of the album, re-imagining fourteen of the Maestro’s best-known tunes via an eclectic array of Latin traditions, could easily have been disastrous. But, neatly sidestepping the twin pitfalls of reverent over-caution and ego-fuelled self-indulgence, even while overdubbing himself and his admirable back-up team (another perilous proposition!) into a veritable tropical palm-court band, Craven succeeds in refracting the tunes through genuine-sounding Cuban charanga, Brazilian bossa nova and choro, Haitian ibo, Colombia cumbia, and Argentinean tango, plus many other grooves. Each tune emerges as its own microcosm, separate from all the others yet part of a logical seamless progression. Amazon.com Editorial Review
Django Latino ranks as one of the most luscious recordings of beautiful music I've come across in some time. If you admire labors of love and aren't adverse to a musical trip to tropical climes, Django Latino should be in your Amazon market basket immediately. Enjoythemusic.com
"Craven enhances [Django Latino] by providing an instructive musical travelogue, which takes us to such locals as Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Spain, Argentina and the United States and presents to us such lesser-known musical forms such as ibo, jarocho, joropo and more. The notes for each track are illuminating. Each of the 14 songs becomes a vibrant tribute to the magic of their Gypsy jazz creation via the evolution of thier compositions." Jambands.com
"Perhaps no one else could’ve covered so many Latin styles, on so many instruments, while adding the unique voicings of Reinhardt and Grappelli.” JAZZIZ Magazine
"It is rare enough to find an all-around musician with such talent, but it is his refreshing, innovative approach to each of the selections associated with Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli which help to make this a release that is truly captivating from start to finish." (4 1/2 stars out of five) All Music Guide "Dyed-in-the-wool swing Manouche fans may find Craven's approach sacrilegious, but listeners open to intelligent, passionate reinterpretation of Reinhardt's music will find that it plays as well south of the border as it did in the smoky cabarets and dance halls of pre-World War II Paris." Acoustic Guitar Magazine "Fans of mandolin music in its most exotic forms will love this CD, even if they know nothing or little of Django's music, as Joe Craven again shows himself to be one of the most daringly inventive musicians working today." -Mandolin Magazine “I would like to single out Denny Zeitlin's Slick Rock (MaxJazz) and Joe Craven's Django Latino (Crow Art) as my favorite releases by Bay Area artists in 2004. Both are excellent and worth seeking out.” - FOJAZZ.com "I can't stop listening to multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven's Django Latino. It is sooo good." Chico (CA) News and Review "The title of Joe Craven's latest CD, Django Latino, tells you everything you need to know about the style of music therein...What it doesn't tell you is that this stuff is SICK! (In the jaw-dropping, how-does-he-do-it sense, that is.) The only people who won't be dancing at this show are the musicians shaking their heads in disbelief." Santa Cruz News & Entertainment Weekly "Good Times"
"Joe re-invents himself on almost a daily basis. You never know which direction Joe is going to go. He's always innovative and truly wonderful. He connects with the crowd like no one else. Django Latino (is) magnificent and I think it's going to make us listen to the music (Reinhardt-Grappelli) all over again." –Dan DeWayne, Director, Chico Performances, California State University – Chico "The project's surprising yet harmonious mix is par for the course for Craven... an under-cover innovator." Sacramento Bee
"Joe Craven is from Mars...the good side of Mars! A wonderful and wacko album, 'Mo'Joe' takes folk songs and Bluegrass to thier limit. Check it out for a twist on everything you believed sacred about ANY musical genre."
"Much of what goes on here defies logic, and that's part of the album's palpable charm. I just keep recalling that Chuck Berry line about changing the beauty of the melody until it sounds just like a symphony. Or a jazz sextet. Or a rap master. With Joe Craven at the helm the possibilities are endless." Sing Out! Magazine "Often side splitting, Joe Craven's new look at old songs will open ears and expand the boundaries of what many consider folk music to be, as he takes numerous different century-old folks and rearranges them in often drastic ways." 4 1/2 stars out of 5 ***** All Music Guide "...he breathes new life into such folk classics as 'Hear Jerusalem Moan' and 'Banks of the Ohio' with rocking arrangements and daring instrumentalization and [have] earned him a reputation for great adventurousness and a playful sense of humor... the boundaries of folk music seem to expand whenever Joe picks up the mandolin or violin and sets tradition on its ear with his wild, clever stylings." –Steve Baker, Freight and Salvage – Berkeley, CA "Craven is reinventing the folk idiom.... " Sacramento News and Review "He's one of those rare musicians, both as an interpreter of the music he plays and a scholar who's studied its history... he's been able to combine his passions—art, history and music—into presenting songs embellished into new tunes that have a timelessness that stays." Sacramento Bee "A distinctly American tour de force." Davis Enterprise, Davis, CA "...a tight, well produced, 17 track exposition...'Mo'Joe' takes standards and puts them in a Cuisinart. Craven's drum and string-play tastes like well-blended musical moonshine: Ferment string-driven folk song 100 years. Boil out impurities such as buttoned-up bluegrass affect and reserved vocals. Cut with a viral sense of rhythm and the musical sensibility described by the modifier 'world'. Bottle and serve—live if possible. When he's in front of his own trio, playing the mandolin, fiddle and hand drums among more exotic axes, the audience gets 200-proof Craven." Arizona Daily Star "While much of the music on Mo'Joe was inspired by classic field recordings of American roots music—Delta blues, field hollers, spirituals and work songs—the spirit of Craven's performances is anything but preservationist. More striking than his ability to turn anything into an instrument is the Sybarite congregation he brings to the stage, as he tailors a distinct voice and persona for each tune. He is dedicated to music as a living experience, a force that binds people together through the act of creation [and] his longtime commitment to musical education, helping people discover their inherent musicality." San Jose Mercury News
"This work shows that Craven is not only a virtuosic musician but has a wonderful sense of humor as well... production is bright and filled with wonderful textures but never once feels too busy or crowded. The music is as colorful as the massive array of instruments that appears on the cover. It truly is an absolute joy to hear and a breath of fresh air for the folk tradition." Dirty Linen "Depending on your taste, this is either sacrilege or the Second Coming. An Afro-pop 'Rights of Man', a Puerto Rican jibaro-inspired 'Uke Pick Waltz', a hip-hop 'Kitchen Girl', and somehow it works. In the hands of a lesser musician this would be awful, but Craven makes it very tight and stylish. Lots of interesting percussion, great dancing music."
"Sing Out" Magazine " [Camptown] is a very entertaining CD. Joe Craven's fiddle and mandolin playing are outstanding. When his arrangements hit the mark the music soars and tunes we sometimes take for granted take on a new vitality."
Fiddler Magazine "It takes a musician of rare sensitivity and skill to pull off a combination as audacious as a reggae version of an Irish reel or a samba-style 'Camptown Races'. It takes a musician like... Joe Craven 14 times in a row. String and percussion player Craven... mixes and matches a whole globe full of influences on this winning release." Oakland Tribune "Try to contain yourself listening to this, and be thankful you don't have my job trying to figure out which tunes NOT to play on Folk Alley!" Folk Alley.com "A success and unique for a 'traditional music disc'... 3 1/2 stars." Chicago Tribune "Camptown is performed with exhilaration and love for the music, and it shines through. This is a journey not to be missed on any account." All Music Guide "The concept is so bent and the playing so crisp and exciting that fiddler-mandolinist-percussionist Joe Craven's world music interpretations... rock and roll into a great one-world ball of sparkling musicianship and tangled rhythms." San Francisco Bay Guardian "Craven on his album Camptown, has created a conglomeration that is distinctive, creative and a fun romp through stylistic mixtures or, perhaps, cultural collisions that work remarkably well...." –George Graham, The Graham Weekly Album Review
Performance Reviews "Brushes and hi-hat? There's no drum kit up there. Are they using a sampling drum machine? Not a chance. To the surprise and delight of the audience, today's trap effects are being produced by... multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven, a man of many hats... a man of many strange sounds." Drums and Drumming Magazine "Few musicians are as adept at as many different instruments as Craven... adventurous, sometimes humorous, sometimes strikingly beautiful arrangements... an extremely versatile band...." Dirty Linen “A seriously talented multi-instrumentalist.” Fiddle On Magazine
"Joe is a treasure in the worlds of string jazz and roots music." Reno Gazette
"...Craven is a monster percussionist, [and] that's only half of the story. He's also a fine fiddler and confident mandolinist." Albany Times Union, Albany, NY "Craven, the extraordinary percussionist, has come up with a way to really use his head... rapping his skull, tapping his jaw, slapping his cheeks and pounding various other body parts in a percussive display that's both humorous and remarkably musical, Craven creates a whole host of rhythmic effects, including imitating percussion instruments from tablas and snare drums to hi-hats and shakers, plus a few things that can't really be described." Santa Barbara News "It's amazing the sound you can get from bronze strings and a pair of very hot hands. It is Joe Craven, trusty fiddle or mandolin at the ready, working magic. His melodic delicacy is reminiscent of David Grisman's, and his percussive power echoes the cafe jazz of Django Reinhardt." Sacramento News and Review "With David Grisman leading the way, it would be easy to overlook any percussionist, but that's not the case with Craven. Even when he's providing solid rhythmic backing to Grisman's creative soloing, you notice him. [Craven's] grooves are as steady and fluid as a rainforest waterfall and his tones are warm, rich and comforting. And just when you think you got him nailed as a percussionist, he walks out front and wrenches out a tearful solo on the violin or races for the finish line in a mandolin duet with Grisman. Then to top it off, maybe just to tease the audience a little, he'll sing to close the show." Joe Craven may not be a marquee attraction, but he is respected as a creative genius by those who do know his work." Santa Cruz Sentinel "Be careful what you hand Joe Craven. On second thought, hand him everything you can reach from the dining room and kitchen—and watch him turn the stuff into musical instruments. Craven plucks his mandolin till it talks; he has his fiddle singing, and then he layers on noises from a mouth hat, Mason jar, violin case, mixing bowls, a silverware tray, and doors slamming." New Times "'Everything Joe touches turns to music,' says David Grisman. No one who saw Joe wring a percussion concerto from his garbage-bag raincoat during a downpour at the Strawberry Music Festival could disagree." San Jose Mercury News "The most outstanding thing though, besides Grisman of course, was multi instrumentalist Joe Craven. Craven played rhythm mandolin and an assortment of percussion instruments. He was just incredible. "I caught the tail end of a solo performance by Joe Craven. I was only able to catch two songs, but those two songs were a life changing experience. I have met the Master. Joe Craven got up and played "John Henry"on just his mandolin. I have no idea where some of those chords he played came from. They aren't on my mandolin. At times it was almost as if he was attacking the mandolin instead of playing it. He had this Delta Blues thing going on as well. It was mesmerizing. I wanted him to keep playing for the rest of the afternoon. His last song was In the Pines where he accompanied himself on some weird little drum thing. Drums are evil, except when played by Kenny Malone or Larry Atamanuik... Now I have to add Craven on to that list. If you had asked me if you could play "In the Pines" on a drum, I would have laughed at you. That is before seeing Joe do it. After his set, I sat down and interviewed him for the Twangzine. Joe was an interesting fellow. He made me re-think my definition of Folk Music. It doesn't all have to be dreadfully earnest songs about dead baby whales and stuff. Folk Music is just what it sounds like. Music made by folks. He told me about a solo record he has out where he performed a bunch of traditional tunes in different World Music Styles, and about a record he will soon be releasing which is more like what his solo act was. I've got to investigate this stuff further." –Jeff Wall, Editor, Twangzine, from his review of Merlefest, 2001 in Wilkesboro, NC
“I knew that Joe Craven could do most anything in the world, and everyone knows what Grisman can do. They dance through the Grisman penned "Pneumonia" and the bluegrass tinted "Cedar Hill" which highlight the seemingly endless talent of Joe Craven. I have always been a sucker for multi-instrumentalists, but I have never seen a player who is so adept on such disparate instruments. His conga work is both smooth and driving, both rhythmic and musical. His mandolin work, even next to the master, is impressive, but, of course, he is really a fiddle player. His fiddle work on "Cedar Hill" leaves me slack-jawed. I find myself, at various times throughout the show, looking for the high-hat. It is nowhere on stage, but it is most certainly in the air. It isn’t until Craven steps away from his instruments and begins his convulsive body slapping and countrified scat/beatbox antics that the riddle reveals itself. The man recognizes no boundaries. He just won’t accept that no one is supposed to be that good at everything.” - Jambands.com
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Mo'Joe CD Reviews 
