Doyle Bramhall II

Singer-guitarist Doyle Bramhall II’s latest effort, Rich Man, draws upon his travels to India and Northern Africa and includes the North Indian classical bowed string instrument sarangi, which virtuoso Ustad Surjeet Singh plays, and the bowl-shaped Arabic oud lute, which Bramhall’s own oud teacher Yuval Ron, a renowned Israeli composer-player-arranger, plays. Though it’d been a few years since his last solo effort, Bramhall didn’t have a stockpile of songs. He did, however, want to draw on the experience of traveling. With its nasty guitar licks and howling vocals, a song such as “Hands Up” will please blues purists, but tracks such as “Saharan Crossing” suggest Bramhall’s widening musical interests. (Niesel)