Robinella and the CCstringband

Robinella, Robinella and the CCstringband | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 20, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B0000996HY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,526 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Most jazz-country hybrids tend to emphasize the instrumental side of the equation, but Robinella and the CCStringband, a mostly acoustic bluegrass-tinged quintet from Knoxville, Tennessee, break the mold by putting Robinella Contreras’s stylish vocals front and center. When she sings about getting her kicks from an old fruit jar on her version of Red Foley’s classic "Tennessee Saturday Night," her sophisticated phrasing and the swinging mandolin breaks from her husband Cruz Contreras make it sound as if she’s talking about martinis instead of moonshine. But Contreras still has some twang in her voice, and even when she scats, as she does on "Honey Honey Bee," there’s a "front porch" feel to her singing. For some, Robinella and the CCStringband may sometimes be a bit too laid back, but their easygoing charm is a pleasant change from the frenetic tempos that drive many bluegrass-inspired bands. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great voice, great instrumentation, great band!, May 21, 2003

By 

M. Finn "megs2219" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Robinella and the CCstringband (Audio CD)

Robinella and the CC Stringband sound like no other band that has ever come before. This may prove to be a stumbling block at first as nobody knows how to classify them, but it is also the thing that makes them so great. They mix bluegrass, country, and jazz to make a sound that is uniquely theirs. I don't even like any of those categories, except maybe jazz and they've converted me into a huge fan so if those are not your style, not let that stop you from giving them a chance! Robin's voice is beautiful and so engaging, she's impossible not to love. The boys play their instruments with amazing skill and the intrumental solos on this album barely do them justice. Robinella's music sort of reminds me of a cross between Norah Jones and Alison Krauss, so if you liked either of them at all you should try Robinella and the CC Stringband!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joy in a Soundbite, December 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Robinella and the CCstringband (Audio CD)

I have NEVER come directly from my car stero to the computer to find an artist and CD but I did today after hearing the NPR spot on Robinella & the Ccstring band. I tried to explain the group to my husband as I was doing my search....told him what I heard was sort of a cross between the sweetness and purity of Eva Cassidy & Emmy Lou Harris melded with a great jazz/bluegrass band. He just looked at me. The lyrics of of Dress me up, Dress Me Down will stay with me..touching my own memories. He's not a country fan but I am sure the "folk/jazz" lover part of him will like this CD.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Defies Every Categorization but This One: Excellence, March 11, 2005

By 

James Carragher (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Robinella and the CCstringband (Audio CD)

The CC Stringband name is entirely accurate -- this band, aside from Robinella's expressive vocals -- is all strings and almost all acoustic. But out of those strings, two guitars, mandolin, fiddle and bass, and her voice comes some impressive musical diversity. They dish up old time Opry-like rousers, Tennessee Saturday Night; a sweet life story country ballad of love and flannel pajamas, Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down; the always welcome Cajun black magic of Marie Laveaux; mountain gospel, Hold to God's Unchanging Hand; and -- the big surprise -- some jazz blues, the original Honey, Honey Bee and Duke Ellington's Solitude. As the CD booklet photo of Robinella grasping an old-style stand-up stage microphone suggests, this is a CD out of time that makes its own time. And every time I play it a different song jumps out at me, Mistakes is a current favorite, but eventually everything on Robinella and the CC Stringband will command your attention.