Ross Hammond & Jon Bafus - New Milwaukee (2019)

Sacramento’s Ross Hammond and Jon Bafus' New Milwaukee is a duo album of steel guitar and drums and a follow up to the 2017 release Masonic Lawn. This record has flavors of traditional blues combined with post rock, with Hammond’s blues tendencies meshing with the hypnotic, prog-based drumming of Bafus. Tracks such as “Get Down!” and “Preach, Robert Johnson!” link traditional American folk forms with polyrhythms and group improvisation.

The other notable part of this record is the absence of traditional guitar, with Hammond opting to record entirely with lap steel.

“I was really terrible at lap steel for a long time. But I spent the past couple of years committing to learning the instrument. This New Milwaukee record is the first time I’ve used lap steel exclusively” says Hammond.

The musical duo are frequent collaborators and met in free-jazz in collaborations with Vinny Golia, Tony Passarell and Steuart Liebig before settling into the duo format. They are both based out of Gold Lion Arts in Sacramento, where they are both raising families.

“Honestly, I love this duo. With family life things can get jammed schedule-wise. Jon is easy. We show up, set up, shred and then pack up and go home. It feels like it’s a day at the office the way we’re streamlined. This duo is one of my favorite collaborations” said Hammond.