Boss Hall is a group of five of the most respected and prolific musicians in the river city. Margaret Bianchetta (vocals and flute) and Tom Hall (resophonic guitar) are the two friends who began the band; they were quickly joined by Bob Breidenbach (dobro and vocals), Kevin Buckley (fiddle and vocals) and Vince Corkery (bass). Individually and often together, they've logged literally tens of thousands of gigs, performing in bands as diverse as Hot Club Canary, Lonesome Pines, Grace Basement, the Geyer Street Sheiks and the Western Satellites -- just for starters.
But in Boss Hall the full range of their love of contemporary folk, jazz, swing, country, blues and Irish music finds a crystalline, soulful purpose. Focusing on original songwriting (represented in this session by the searing "Crossroads," written by Bianchetta), instrumentals (the elegaic and intricate "920 State Street," written by Hall) and traditionals (the deathless "Wild Mountain Thyme," sung as a duet between Buckley and Bianchetta), the band more than lives up to the authority and expansiveness suggested by its name.
