#steve bernstein

The Great Snake Woman -   Fim Poster by Glitchway “After getting a new position at a carnival, an optimistic woman is held against her will and introduced to the seedy business practices of the modern day freak show.”  A film by Taylor Hentrup. Starring Elizabeth Hartwig and Steve Bernstein.

Lou Reed The Raven 2003 Sire ————————————————— Tracks: 01. Overture 02. Edgar Allan Poe 03. Call on Me 04. The Valley of Unrest 05. A Thousand Departed Friends 06. Change 07. The Bed 08. Perfect Day 09. The Raven 10. Balloon 11. Broadway Song 12. Blind Rage 13. Burning Embers 14. Vanishing Act 15. Guilty 16. I Wanna Know (the Pit and the Pendulum) 17. Science of the Mind 18. Hop Frog 19. Tripitena’s Speech 20. Who Am I (Tripitena’s Song) 21. Guardian Angel —————————————————

Steve Bernstein

Russ DeSalvo

Friedrich Paravicini

Mike Rathke

Lou Reed

Fernando Saunders

Jane Scarpantoni

Paul Shapiro

Tony Smith “Thunder”

Doug Wieselman

Steve Bernstein Aces Non-tryout Tryout with Hot Tuna

It wasn’t an audition. But if it had been, Steve Bernstein would already be the fourth member of Hot Tuna.

The brass-playing musician was the band’s full-time guest at its Dec. 2-3 shows and associated livestreams from New York State. And the giveaway moments from the webcasts - which on the 3rd included “Hesitation Blues,” “Mann’s Fate,” “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” “Barbeque King” and “Parchman Farm” - convinced Sound Bites of the veracity of paragraph No. 1.

Having spent the first two decades of the 21st century planted somewhere between the Mississippi Delta (acoustic) and Chicago’s South Side (electric), Hot Tuna find their way to Depression-era speakeasies, reeling and drunk on Tin Pan Alley and singing the blues across two-thirds of the 20th century as Bernstein blows muted trumpet, bawdy trombone and other woodwinds as the songs necessitate.

As the saying goes, if you don’t know (guitarist) Jorma (Kaukonen), you don’t know (bassist) Jack (Casady). And if Sound Bites didn’t know Jorma and Jack, he might not have known Steve. As it is, the blog is thrilled to have made his acquaintance.

Read about Hot Tuna’s Dec. 2 freebies here.

Song Review(s): Hot Tuna - “Winin’ Boy Blues,” “That’ll Never Happen No More,” “Hesitation Blues” and “How Long Blues” (Live, Dec. 2, 2022)

Hot Tuna have the blues up to here. But the blues don’t have Hot Tuna down.

With Steve Bernstein on hand to add a variety of brass instruments, Tuna’s blues - the “Winin’ Boy,” “Hesitation” and “How Long” variety - seemed to emanate from the Depression. It’s the kind of music that served to fend off depression.

As much a soloist as a colorist, Bernstein locked in with bassist Jack Casady on “That’ll Never Happen No More” and remained in tune with guitarist/singer Jorma Kaukonen throughout the four giveaway numbers from the band’s Dec. 2 pay-per-view livestream from New York.

Kaukonen played acoustic for first two numbers and electric for the latter. But the shift was nominal as the resultant music was a masterclass in jazzy improvisation, fidelity to the rules of blues and musical groupthink that can only come with the decades-long partnership between Casady and Kaukonen.

Grade card: Hot Tuna - “Winin’ Boy Blues,” “That’ll Never Happen No More,” “Hesitation Blues” and “How Long Blues” (Live - 12/2/22) - A+/A/A+/A+