Selections from Uncle Carl

I'm Smokin' Again (1.9 MB)

Daffodil (1.8 MB)

Uncle Carl is also available at

IndepenDisc
iTunes
Woodstock CD

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"Uncle Carl is Brooklyn's answer to Dr. John." —The Night Guide

"A perfect combination of style and substance." —Musicians Exchange

"I totally love this band. Every song is a masterpiece in it's own right." —The Global Muse

A smoky set of blues and R&B with some light jazz thrown in as mixer. Uncle Carl has a distinctive voice— expressive and witty, with the presence of a good nightclub showman. The band is tight and comps nicely. There's a studied seediness to the affair, as if you're perpetually caught in a "last call" situation with only one shot of bourbon left to chase down, and the babe you've had your eye on all evening has upped and left with the ugliest dude in the joint— the one with the BMW. So you light up another one, take a deep drag, and drink in as much Uncle Carl music as you can.
—Jim Esch

Uncle Carl's Carl Vreeland is a master of smooth guitar-based rhythm and blues. His vocals glide through melodies with strong jazz inflections anchored in the traditional feel of the genre, expertly backed by this band with an obvious love for the music and a passion for expression. This will take you back fondly to classic jazz and blues singers, and fans of the genre will simply love this one.
—Bryan Baker

A few drinks, a smoky lounge, a date, and a late night in some dirty bar in Brooklyn. The band on stage is playing some steamy, jazz-blues riffs with lyrics that don't hold back any punches. The singer proclaims he's "too tired to masturbate" and later discusses peeping toms. Well, you've got the sex covered for the night (unless you get lucky because the alcohol and/or the music intoxicates your date and makes him/her horny, but that's a different story). Anyhow, the song stops and the band mentions their name before jumping into yet another steamy, seductive blues-jazz conceptual piece. "What was their name?" you ask. "Oh, Uncle Carl. They're great." A typical reaction to Uncle Carl's live show, I'm sure. And, their debut, self-titled album is a testament to that.

"I'm Smokin' Again" is the steamy lead-off track to this oh-so-hot, dirty, sleazy-yet-classy recording from this perverted, tongue-in-cheek blues ensemble who further the seduction with their jazz influences.

"Peek-A-Boo" takes the silky grooves of jazz and mixes it with some dirty, Lower East Side blues and some lyrics about a peeping tom. "I'm Too Tired" is the number that finds frontman Carl Vreeland proclaiming he's "too tired to masturbate," and "Daffodil" is all about finding the girl you want at the bar and going for it.

Blues, dirty, seductive, jazzy, and a whole bunch of other things, Uncle Carl is a pack of musicians who you've been warned about. But, somehow, you fall prey to their charm and get taken in.

—Alex Steininger
Issue Forty-Nine // June 2002
http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/29r34.html

Uncle Carl is Carl Vreeland and his band rocks. From the very first bar of the very first track on the self titled CD, my foot was tapping. If you like bluesy jazz then you'll love this CD. From the very jazzy, "I'm Smoking Again" and bluesy "Barber Shop Mass" to the New Orleans sound of "No One to Hold", Uncle Carl is Brooklyn's answer to Dr. John.

The musicianship is superb on this CD too. Great guitar work by Carl Vreeland, Jay Condiotti, and Julian Coryell. Upright Bass by Ivan Bodley and drums by Bill Winans and Andrian Harpham. Uncle Carl's voice is very sexy and soothing too. Piano and organ also played by Carl Vreeland.

Cool man cool! I'm chillin here with my Uncle Carl! Well not my real Uncle carl but the self titled album from Uncle Carl. It takes the whole world and puts everything in slow motion. Close your eyes and you would think you were sitting back and relaxing in one of the old jazz clubs of the 50s or 60s. This is the best thing that's been in my CD player in a very long time. I don't know if I'll ever be able to listen to anything else after this experience. It's a little bluesy and a little jazzy all at the same time. Now I'm not an expert but if it sounds good it must be right? Take a break cats and slide right down to your local music store and pick up a copy of "Uncle Carl" and you tell me, is it not just the best thing that has hit your ears in a while? I already know the answer!

—Christopher Wright http://members.tripod.com/~modern_music/albumreviews00003.html

Cool Blues-Jazz from the Big Apple. Nice and schmoove…

Too tired to what?!?

Talk about the black sheep of the family, Uncle Carl is the relative you would least like to have attend your Bar Mitzvah. Brother Dan understands that he's a bit risqué. Cousin Maryanne thinks he's cute. Aunt Flo just thinks he's a pervert.

Uncle Carl is actually an ethereal entity comprised of the alter ego of songwriter/guitarist/singer Carl "Smokin' Again" Vreeland ("I'm a stylist," Vreeland maintains), and a trio of eclectic and quirky lovesick musicians. The Uncle Carl sound can be described as a smoky, swirling combination of blues, jazz, pop, romance, occasional perversion, and voyeurism, in a state of constant flux. 'Blue-vant garde' perhaps, someone coyly suggests.

After the start of a promising career, winning the highly coveted title of cutest two-year-old in Bayonne, New Jersey, Vreeland now leads the Uncle Carl sound experience (between janitorial gigs and experimental anti-psychotic drug treatments). Uncle Carl is capable of being at once charming and funny and yet somehow slightly appalling. You know your mother told you not to like things like this, but somehow, you can't look away.

Mixing such disparate elements as blues, voodoo and swamp funk, no subject matter is taboo in these lyrics. Sex, religion and politics, the three classic guaranteed conversation killers, are often breached within the first three songs of any given performance. Conversation indeed stops, but attentiveness and audience participation soon takes over.

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I'm Smokin' Again Baby, your loving's been good for my health I broke the cigarette habit, I've been under your spell The sun's been shining and smiling at me I've been jogging every day and I'm caffeine free But since last week when I found your note That said you joined up with some bikers      that were headed for the coast I'm smokin' again I'm smokin' again I'm smokin' again Now that you're gone, I'm hanging at the bar Sitting with an ashtray, wondering where you are Baby, why'd you leave me, I've been a good boy Was I boring you with vitamins, cereal, and soy Maybe I changed but I did it for you I thought you hated greasy food and big tattoos Well, I'm smokin' again Yes, I'm smokin' again I'm smokin' again Baby, come back, we'll buy beer and cigarettes We'll fry juicy steaks and leave the kitchen a mess I'll get a diamond in my ear, grow my hair long We'll go drinking dressed in leather and flick ashes on the floor I'll save some money and sell the Pontiac I'll buy a custom made Harley, baby, please come back 'Cause I'm smokin' again Yes, I'm smokin' again I'm smokin' again Daffodil Daffodil, like a yellow moon, you cast your spell Over this courtyard bar Your golden hair, your sweet soft voice and your wicked smile Lures me to your table Why, oh why, Daffodil? Under a New Orleans sky, your devilish words lead us to the street To your hotel room I bashfully let you tie me up with silk 'Round my wrists and ankles Why, oh why, Daffodil? A starry night and candlelight A satin scarf to blind my eyes The sound and shiver of every strike That fills me, ills me, thrills me The morning sun wakes me wanting you, and I turn in bed To find you gone The scent of your skin on these pale white sheets Makes you miss your touch And now my heart is aching Why, oh why, Daffodil? All lyrics written by Carl T. Vreeland © 1997 La Porta Music (ASCAP)

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