Blind Pig

Recorded at the late Levon Helm’s studio in Woodstock, N.Y., the legendary Band drummer/singer’s spirit fires up 13 Live by Jimmy Vivino’s reactivated Black Italians. Vivino is at home pretty much anywhere, whether it’s being a part of a late-night TV show house act and The Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux or working on his myriad of side projects. He channels a number of his source styles on 13 Live, ranging from original material like “Miss Mona” and “Fool’s Gold” – the latter of which features a fine Catherine Russell on lead vocals – to a memorable cover of Bob Dylan’s “From a Buick 6.” Elsewhere, bandmate/harmonica ace/vocalist Felix Cabrera offers his “Animalism,” while The Black Italians also nod to Helm twice in 13 songs. While their take on The Band’s “The Shape I’m In” is passionate, it is Vivino’s “Song For Levon,” with the line, “It ain’t what you take with you, brother, it’s what you leave behind” that serves as the group’s finest tribute.