TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Muddy Basin Ramblers (泥灘地浪人) will celebrate the release of their fifth album "Jug Band Millionaire" with a party and live concert on Saturday (Jan. 20) at 7 p.m. at Yucheng Recording Studio in Taipei.
The group is made of U.S. and U.K. expat musicians who play early 1920s and 1930s blues, jazz, and traditional string band music. "Jug Band Millionaire" is a tribute to jug band music, the fun and freewheeling musical art form innovated by African-American folk, blues, and jazz musicians of the 1920s and 1930s.
"The early blues and jug band musicians like Will Shade and Sleepy John Estes left the world musical treasures that not enough folks know about, so that's the main reason we made this album," said Ramblers bandleader, vocalist, and guitarist David Chen. "When we play their music, we feel grateful for it. We feel like 'Jug Band' millionaires," he said.
Standard jug band instruments, like the washboard, washtub bass, and kazoo, have been popular features of the music of the Ramblers. They are now in their 21st year as a band.
The Ramblers' music is more than a DIY novelty. Chen said, "This kind of music is full of fun and joy, but it takes some practice to make it work. For a musician, they require a bit of study to get things to sound right."
The band spent the first half of 2023 choosing, rehearsing, and recording songs. The album includes classics by the Memphis Jug Band and early standards performed by New Orleans jazz composer Clarence Williams.
Ramblers' fans can learn some history behind the music and these blues and jazz "songsters." The Jug Band Millionaire CD includes a 33-page booklet detailing each song's origin and biographical information about the musicians, with sheet music for selected songs.
"We also want people who enjoy the music to give it a try themselves, especially younger folks. More and more young Taiwanese musicians are learning jazz and blues, and we hope this album can give them a sense of where the music originally comes from," said Chen.
Chen hopes the booklet and the album's visual presentation will encourage music lovers to purchase the Jug Band Millionaire CD package. It was designed by Onion Design Associates, the group behind the band's two other Grammy-nominated albums for design and packaging, Formosa Medicine Show (2013) and Hold That Tiger (2018).
For the album release party, the Ramblers chose Yucheng Recording Studio, one of Taiwan's top studios for indie artists, for its supportive staff and unique space. The studio is located at the site of a former movie theater.
"Everyone knows Yucheng for its beautiful sounding facilities, but not many people know about its warehouse space next door, which is where we're having the party," said Chen. "It harkens back to the early days of Huashan, where it was simple and intimate, and the vibe was down-to-earth and funky. We want everyone, of all ages, to have a good time," the vocalist said.
Jug Band Millionaire by the Muddy Basin Ramblers will be available for purchase in Taiwan starting Jan. 31 and on digital platforms starting Feb. 2.
