Is the first Jack's Waterfall release paying homage to the blues and New Orleans piano tradition. It features 10 new original songs from The Piano funk of "My Baby's Gone a Long time" to the early ragtime of "Jack's Rag." The project was co-produced by veteran sound engineer Brian Unger and grammy nominated Mark Carpentieri. The release features a tight trio of Jack Licitra on piano and vocals, Carpentieri on drums, and bassist Trifon Dmitrov.

 A great after-hours set to blow off steam, for both listener and player, this is a mighty good time for those whose ears are still open enough that they can enjoy things without being told it’s the thing to like.  Fun throughought

Midwest Record

Featured track "Louise" has rolling New Orleans piano with a second line groove while "Them Blues" highlights Steve Demanchick on harmonica. Demanchick and Licitra co-founded The Water Street Blues band in the 1990s. It's their first collaboration in 20 years. Waterstreet was a regular at Manny's Car Wash. They formed in Oneonta, New York, and released three CDs. Their single "Blame it on Jane" made heavy rotation on many triple aaa and Americana stations.

Jack's Waterfall has opened for many piano legends like Pinetop Perkins and Henry Butler. As a lifelong student of great piano players, these encounters shaped and encouraged the piano jams on this project. Each track explores different aspects of the tradition while

Licitra demonstrates his own unique voice on the instrument. "The American Roots Music Project" is being supported by some music, food, and culture shows in his home New York region as well as a September stop at The Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Licitra spoke about times he spent around some piano legends that inspired the project: "Getting a chance to meet Pinetop Perkins and be on the same bill was totally inspiring. I had played all the best stuff I had in my set, but when he went on he killed the room. His ownership and authenticity of a style he invented with riffs I heard so many times before, had an impact on the audience that was pure magic."

"Them Blues" highlights Steve Demanchick on harmonica. Demanchick and Licitra co-founded The Water Street Blues band in the 1990s. It's their first collaboration in 20 years.

Waterstreet was a regular at Manny's Car Wash. They formed in Oneonta, New York, and released three CDs. Their single "Blame it on Jane" made heavy rotation on many triple aaa and Americana stations.

Licitra found encouragement from a few encounters with a few of his piano heroes: Henry Butler once gave me some great feedback about my songwriting ability. I always felt encouraged by his blessing to keep on a mission of creating original blues and funk songs with a twist. The CD opens with a rolling New Orleans-based original "Louise" he said: "Allen Toussaint took interest in my voice and its timbre. Getting a chance to briefly work with him inspired this tune. It's my tribute to him and the late great Dr. John. So much soul and feeling in those legends. "