Posted on

review EP David Philips & Abel Boquera

David Philips & Abel Boquera have been playing together in one form or another for more than a decade, but they never made a record together, and even the just-released The Duo Sessions only became a record perhaps as an afterthought. Usually, the recordings of songs beget the videos for them; here, the videos came first and then the idea to make a record out of the performances caught on camera in Boquera’s studio came afterwards. A David Philips record that includes another musician is a very rare event; none of the prior seven ones covered in this space had anyone else playing on them. So it may be a revelation to some that Philips plays well with others, and this singer-songwriter guitar whiz certainly meshes with his Fender Rhodes-playing friend.

The first two tunes come from Philips’ then-latest album Get Along, and this drum-less version of “Another Day” isn’t really missing anything because the beat is still intact. Boquera’s electric piano and Philips’s acoustic guitar blend so well, at times they sound as one. The funky folk-jazz song “My Gravity” (video above) similarly has plenty of propulsion without the formal percussion. Boquera’s swinging solo only enhances the jazz element of the song even further. The final track is Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” and Davis Philips soulful croon is a natural for this number. For good measure, he tosses in a nifty aside from his acoustic six -string during the instrumental break.

At a running time just past 11 minutes, it’s barely an EP much less an LP, but it’s a pocket-sized collection of a couple of really good musicians and pals having fun with a trio of fine songs. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Posted on

new EP David Philips

today we released:

B&T 974 – David Philips & Abel Boquera – The Duo Sessions

David Philips and his good friend and keyboard wizard Abel Boquera have been playing in bands together for the past 10+ years. Last year they decided to get together in Abel’s studio to make a few videos playing duo. The audio from this session is what you find here. Abel played an old 1970s Fender Rhodes electric piano and mixed/mastered the session. The first 2 songs are David’s originals from his record “Get Along” and the last was a bit of fun; a cover version of the Michael Jackson hit “The Way You Make Me Feel.”

This new EP is released digital only and available on all the download and streaming platforms. Here are the links to a few popular ones: