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Live on Breeze Hill is a real tribute to the late Rick Danko and shows his flair for guitar playing and singing in a soulful, almost-pinched-at-times voice.  His legacy to follow is his style of singing the blues and country.  He has almost a Bob Dylan-ish quality that fans cling to.

The album was originally recorded “live” at Breeze Hill in 1998 and has been re-mixed and re-released this year.  The Rick Danko Band consisted of Rick Danko on vocals, acoustic guitar and bass, along with Garth Hudson (a life-long friend) on keyboards, accordion and sax.  The third member was Aaron “Louie” Hurtwitz (later with The Crowmatix) on vocals, piano, accordion and Hammond organ.  They are accompanied by six other members of the band providing drums, background vocals, electric bass, sax, clarinet, trumpet and trombone.

Danko was born in 1943 and started performing at the young age of 14.  He was exposed early to country and R&B music and that set the tone for what he wanted to do the rest of his life.  He was heavily influenced by the music of Hank Williams and Sam Cooke.

His definitive wail in his songs became Danko’s trademark and his songs are easy to follow.  With tunes on the album like “Twilight” (about that being the worst part of the day) to “Shape I’m In” and “Chest Fever,” he holds the audience in the palm of his hands.

From performing with Bob Dylan as backup band to touring with Eric Clapton, Danko is a well respected musician that has played with some of the best.  Danko was severely injured in a car accident in the late 60s and started taking prescription medication for the constant pain he was in.  He died of a heart attack at age 56 in December, 1999.

Danko’s music lives on and Live on Breeze Hill is a testimony to his unique style and voice.  He is captivating and the album exemplifies country and some of the best blues I’ve heard.

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