Brave new hodgepodges Dancing Dogs and ambitious sounds BY BOB GULLA

Here are a couple of worthwhile new records from some unexpected sources, with some unexpectedly good results.

Dancing Dogs: Patience (Whaling City Sound)

Dancing Dogs’ instrumental hodgepodge is an extraordinary feat of genre mashing that combines everything from fusion and bebop to funk, R&B, Afro-Cuban, and Latin jazz idioms. Think King Sunny Adé meets the Crusaders meets Chucho Valdes and you’d at least be on the right track. Throw in a little Neville Brothers and a battery of rock guitar licks and you’d be closer still. The engine of this New Bedford, Massachusetts-based band resides in the collective heart of its membership. Tom Short and Joe Rapoza make up the horn section, apparently blowing into whatever reed happens to be nearby. Their resumés list trumpets, saxes, cornets, flutes, clarinets, and valve trombones. Matt Ryckebush and John Nieman stand tall as the rhythmic backbone, on bass and drums, respectively. They are the Dogs that keep the band’s snarling arrangements pinned down to its strong rhythmic motifs. Percussionist Jimi Beauregard does his part to enrich the band’s uptempo approach. And finally, guitarist Jim Robitaille, a bebopper by trade, lets loose with all manner of licks, from Latin-fired solos to Stevie Ray slashing and juju beat "synchronicity." Together the band sinks its teeth into more than a dozen originals and a few covers, with Rapoza and Robitaille serving as the band’s chief composers. Both write from an eclectic palette. Robitaille’s "Deep Tango" takes Astor Piazzolla to its extreme, while Rapoza’s "Haute Tamale" starts with a New Orleans march and ventures into funk. Short contributes the odd but rockin’ and ska-flavored "Corporate Heads." Elsewhere, the band covers Monk’s classic "Brilliant Corners" with zesty aplomb, and ends the disc with a breathless run-through of Mingus’s "Nostalgia in Times Square." A departure from the more traditional jazz sounds from Whaling City Sound, Patience is a unique approach to the instrumental idiom, and a daring one at that. Check it out.

Various Artists: RISD Musicians Present Volume IV

The art adventure at RISD is not confined to canvas and couture, the pursuit not limited to print, paint, and pottery. There’s also the digital realm. The latest exploits by the school’s daring musical talents are rendered on the fourth volume of RISD Musicians Present, a compendium of musical projects and side projects that are nothing if not boundary-expanding innovations. There are 21 tracks in 76 minutes, ranging from the pure classical piano of Alex Hanson’s Chopin to Kerry Roan’s post-New Wave "Goats Pi2K." There’s a stunning surfeit of electronic forays, including Jesse Honsa’s blippity house synth piece "Buoyant Corpuscles" and Massive’s rich hip-hop "Shrub." Some of the tunes are charming, with unexpected moments, like Sarah Ann Rockower’s Nick Drake-ish "A Little" and Fang Island’s "We Were Lions," which seems to be inspired by late ’80s indie rock and At the Drive-In. But for $5 you get lots of great value and, like RISD itself, a lot of outlandish and surprising creativity. The disc is available for $5 from pconnell@risd.edu.

OTIS READ BENEFIT

As previously noted, local luminary Otis Read — guitarist, singer, composer, and producer — suffered a stroke recently, which has temporarily sidelined the busy artist. In the past, Read has performed at many benefits; this time he’ll be the recipient as the music community rallies to his aid during his recuperation. The first benefit will take place next Thursday, July 14 at the Nirvana Lounge in Warren (520 Main Street, above India restaurant), and will be hosted by Rudy Cheeks and Rick Adams. The music starts at 7 pm and features a fine lineup, including Joyce Katzberg and the Kat’z Meow, the Mickey Band and the Providence Wholebellies. Admission is $15, more if you can, less if you can’t. Call 401.245.4500 for more information. If you can’t attend, don’t let that deter you from helping out. Send a check to 47 Washington Street, Warren RI 02885.

WANDERING EYE

Dirty blues trio the Hoodoo Brothers, featuring Mike Dinallo, Tim Taylor, and Mook Kane, will be at the News Cafe in Pawtucket on Friday, July 8. Mike describes his trio this way: "Little amps overdriven to the point of near explosion and slinky grooves."

The Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce will present the 3rd Annual Blackstone Valley Celtic Festival on Saturday, July 9 from 10 am to 8:30 pm at King Farm in Sutton, Massachusetts, right off of Route 146. Featured performers will be Cherish the Ladies, Aoife Clancy with Robbie O’Connell, the Glengarry Bhoys, and Pendragon. You also get Celtic craft booths, falconry, and sheep herding demonstrations. Admission is $15 and children under 10 get in free. For further info visit www.blackstonevalley.org.

Herbal Nation continues its stretch of summer shows by bringing the funk jams to the Living Room in Providence on Saturday, July 9. Get in free with a Dave Matthews ticket stub. Also on Saturday, Pennyred, Private Tremendous, and Path of Logik rock loud and hard at the Blackstone in Cumberland. And on Sunday, July 10, this month’s P installment stars Jason Myles Goss, Anna’s House, Kevin Murphy, and host Ryan Fitzsimmons. But because finishing touches have been elusive at AS220, the show will take place at Perishable Theatre, 95 Empire Street, Providence. The show starts at 7 pm and costs $5. Immediately following the Songwriters show at 9 pm, you’ll get music of a similar strain with Mary Mulliken, Lori Amey, Kendra Flowers, and MARCYLANG.

Congrats to JAZZBASTARDS. The boys have been selected as part of Relix magazine’s JamOff competition. The editors of the jam mag selected 13 bands from thousands of entries for a compilation CD that will be included in an upcoming issue. The "JamOff 13" disc will also be available nationwide at summer festivals and concerts, and one of the 13 bands will also get a grand prize — a Hybrid Records contract. Good show, chaps! Catch ’em on July 29 at the Living Room.

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