Fishtank Ensemble - 'Woman in Sin'

Like an aquarium with various species of fish, so the sound of the Fishtank Ensemble swims with a variety of genres and international music styles. The California based acoustic quartet boasts a jumping slap bassist, a torrid gypsy violinist, a rhythm-happy guitarist and a versatile, histrionic singer and musical saw player/violinist in Ursula Knudson.

 Throughout this breezy, jumping record, the ensemble injects Romany jazz, bluegrass, western swing, klezmer, folk, pop and blues all spiced by Arabic, Kurdish, Greek, Turkish, Eastern European, French and Spanish touches. And if the group’s musical reach and pin-point execution aren’t enough, there are Knudson’s incredible vocals.

The singer can scat like Ella Fitzgerald, smolder like Peggy Lee and jam radar like an opera diva. Sometimes she recalls Billie Holiday, and other times she sounds like Betty Boop on helium.

The Fishtankers prove most world musical genres can not only co-exist and give unbridled joy but also can get the world up and dancing.

– Eric Feber, The Pilot