Kevin O'Donnell's Quality Six

Kevin O'Donnell's Quality Six: Heretic Blues

by Jack Bowers
August 1, 1999

Bob Koester, the main man at Delmark Records, labels the music produced by Kevin O’Donnell’s Quality Six “unclassifiable,” and he’ll get no argument from these quarters. It has elements of blues, swing, classic New Orleans and even occasional whiffs of bop, played by a sextet whose front line includes violin, guitar, alto sax and trombone. Violinist Andrew Bird handles most of the vocals (trombonist Dieckmann is heard on “Red Boa,” guitarist Bunn on “Margaret,” guest guitarist Jon Williams on “There, ...