Show Preview: Marti Jones, Don Dixon featuring Kelley Ryan ~ Club Passim ~ Sunday, April 25

Marti Jones and Don Dixon featuring Kelley Ryan, at Cafe Passim, Cambridge, MA – Sunday, April 25 (8pm – buy tickets)

Marti Jones and Don Dixon (photo by Merch Mike); Kelley Ryan

I’m rather late out of the gate with this one, but there’s a cool show coming up tomorrow night at Passim with a trio of very talented people – Marti Jones (singer-songwriter; has supported Marshall Crenshaw, T-Bone Burnett) and Don Dixon (producer REM, The Smithereens) featuring Kelley Ryan (astroPuppees). They’ll be performing both solo material and collaborations from Kelley Ryan’s debut solo album Twist (which was produced by Dixon with backing vocals from Jones).

For those previously unfamiliar with these artists (like me), Dixon’s own material is in a 60’s soul vein with smooth vocals. He’s been a singer, songwriter, musician and producer, and has worked with Kim Carnes, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joe Cocker, REM, The Smithereens, Ronnie Spector, and many others. His wife Marti Jones has been a pop singer since the 1980s (at times incorporating a soul sound). You can hear her gutsy and powerful voice on her 1996 album Live at Spirit Square. Jones and Dixon’s latest album together is Lucky Stars: New Lullabies for Old Souls (2008). Kelley Ryan was formerly the front-woman for the band astroPuppees and has collaborated with many artists, most recently with Marshall Crenshaw on his album Jaggedland.

Here’s a song called “The Beautiful Child” from Twist, which includes a string arrangement by Van Dyke Parks: