Dave Hoekstra of the Chicago Sun Times
The dance music of Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans is something regional clubgoers have taken for granted, like faint lights and fully krausened beer. But Cebar is making some of the most vital music of his career, fronting a new band that embraces hip-hop, reggae and old-school soul.Its a different band.
“It’s an evolution,” Cebar said last week from Milwaukee. “The last member to go was Terry Vittone, who left two years ago New Year’s. He was playing lap steel and additional guitar. But rather than add another member, I pared back and put the focus on rhythm. And its more focused on the idiosyncratic guitar work from the guy up front [Cebar].”
Cebar and the Milwaukeeans appear at a New Year’s Eve house party in the new 125-seat Sidebar at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn. “I’m coming in the sidecar to the sidebar,” Cebar cracked. “I hope there’s a salad bar.” Not quite, but appetizers, spring rolls and mini-quiche will be served from the Roosevelt Grill next door. Cebar is the first act to play two New Year’s Eves at FitzGerald’s. The cover to Cebar’s show also includes admission to the Cathy Richardson Band, playing next door in the main room.
The current edition of the Milwaukeeans consist of Reggie Bordeaux (drummer) and Bob Jennings (keyboard, saxophone and accordion), both of whom have been with Cebar since 1995. The newest members are Patrick Patterson (bass-vocals) and Romero Beverly (congas, percussion). Beverly also is musical director of the Ko Thai Dance Company in Milwaukee. Patterson plays in reggae bands around Milwaukee and also did some time on the Chitlin’ Circuit with Malaco Records, based out of Jackson, Miss.
“Our percussionist has been to Cuba and Senegal,” Cebar said. “He is a rhythm student so our Latin and African end has intensified with his abilities. Pat is a funkateer and reggae fiend. My departure has always been funk and soul oriented, with African and Latin aspects. If you look at the one record I’ve gotten played on the radio (1996’s “Didn’t Leave Me No Ladder”), it was a funk tune. But the funk end of things has certainly been stepped up. There is a freshness going on. Everyone is a very good singer. Its been fun to work on the blend of the whole band singing at different times.”
Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans formed in the summer of 1986 as an offshoot of the R&B Cadets. Now leading his fourth version of the Milwaukeeans, Cebar has been unyielding in his devotion to Afro-Cuban rhythms and 1940s jump music while incorporating contemporary influences such as hip hop and (reggae) toasting. “We’ve been struggling to find the next generation,” Cebar admitted. “The band has really come into its own within the last year, with an intensity some of my other bands maybe didn’t bring to the table.”
Cebar and the Milwaukeeans haven’t released a studio record since 1997’s “The get-go.” (Don’t Records) In 2001 they released “Suchamuch,” a live CD. A new studio record is in the can while Cebar shops for a label.
Cebar is a relentless road tripper. The band just came off a tour that started at the Green Parrot in Key West, Fla. (the island’s version of the Old Town Ale House in Chicago), moved north to the Hurricane in Marathon, Fla., an outdoor festival in West Palm Beach, a club in Tampa and finally the Rock n’ Bowl in New Orleans. “I’ve been doing a lot of field recordings as I’ve been traveling,” he said. “Since the last studio record we went to Cuba again, Trinidad for Carnival and I’ve been to Mexico pretty regularly. On all these journeys and all around the country, I’ve been recording on a primitive tape recorder and taking photos. The new record will incorporate some of that. I’m working on a whole [solo] record of primitive sound source with sample kind of music. I also did some recording with [coronet player, guitarist-vocalist] Olu Dara and that’s yet another record. I’m trying to keep it all going.”