Randall Bramblett

Randall Bramblett

Like any great sideman, Randall Bramblett can make himself almost invisible when need be. Long-standing gigs with Steve Winwood, Traffic, the Allman Brothers, Govt. Mule and Widespread Panic make the multi-instrumentalist one of the hottest commodities in music. Despite a dance book that's always full, he somehow finds time to record his own albums for New West Records, and without fail they earn critical praise.

A former divinity student at Harvard with monster chops on everything from piano to sax, Bramblett is grounded deep in Southern soul, but he always manages to extend things into new territory. Early career session work in New Orleans has hung with him like mildew in the closet, informing almost every track he lays down these days. Part of a tour behind his latest album Rich Someday with an ace band of Athens, Georgia, leading lights, this will almost certainly be one of those "shoulda been there" shows that we'll be recalling long after the doors are closed. -- William Michael Smith Randall Bramblett performs Saturday, February 17, at the Continental Club, 3400 Main, 713-529-9899.