By MICHAEL ARDAIOLO

Thankfully though, Johnson has redeemed his career by embracing the John Fahey inside of him with his 2006 release, The Legend of Vernon McAlister. Gone is the myriad of expensive, geeky guitars and in their place, one 1930s single resonator National Steel guitar. Johnson crafted an imagined persona from the mysterious name etched on the side of the guitar and proceeded to create a hushed, twisting album that was absolutely a descendent of Blind Joe Death.
Joining Johnson on Who Knew Charlie Shoe? is another jazz-based musician that is more condemned to the faults of the era he evolved in rather than his actual musical style: the 80s and 90s. Percussionist and composer Gregg Bendian set out to become an avant-garde musician by studying the works of Anthony Braxton, Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, whom he joined in 1989 as the drummer for the Cecil Taylor Unit, but often got caught up in the prog-rock and fusion scenes (the Mahavishnu Project, Interzone) mostly because his options were limited. He has managed a good amount of modern creative work though joining the likes of Peter Brötzmann and William Parker on stage, and his knack for inventive percussive workouts is displayed in full force here.
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