Stone In My Heart - Big Creek Slim & Rodrigo Mantovani

Stone In My Heart (SHOT41)

In two distinct ways, Stone In My Heart is a time capsule. First, anyone familiar with Big Creek Slim knows that his music is steeped in the 1930s/1940s acoustic country blues of the American South. Big Creek is a master of the music of this time and place, both technically and in terms of the energy, the language and the overall vibe that bring the music to life.

Enhancing his performance is upright bassist Rodrigo Mantovani, who builds a musical framework that frees Big Creek from the rhythm constraints of performing solo.

“Rodrigo keeps the time and intensity, and I go crazy!” Big Creek says. “I can go anywhere I want, knowing he will follow. There are no limits.” Further liberation arrives on three tracks via drummer Mikko Peltola, who is tasteful and right in the pocket.

Mantovani, a native of Brazil, is an internationally acclaimed upright bassist who, at the ripe old age of 38, has been playing professionally for more than 20 years. He is currently a member of the Nick Moss Band and is based in Chicago. Stone In My Heart is his second collaboration with Big Creek, following their 2018 duo release, First Born.

Mantovani shares Big Creek’s enthusiasm regarding their interaction.

"I don't have to think about anything when I play with Big Creek,” he says. “There is a natural chemistry between us and a unique opportunity to let the feelings and grooves flow. He is always ready to accept what we are playing, taking it to a higher level."

Time capsule, part 2: Because it was recorded (live to tape) in November of 2019, Stone In My Heart precedes the impact of the pandemic and the various political insanities of the past two years, both of which Big Creek faced down, boldly, in his 2020 releases Twenty-Twenty Blues and Migration Blues. The themes of Stone In My Heart, captured in 12 Big Creek original tunes, center on male/female dynamics – the internal struggles between lust, the desire for companionship and the simultaneous desire to not be bound by such a relationship. Timeless themes, unfettered by vaccines, masks or travel restrictions. Those were the days… perhaps.