Blues Revue 132

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ISSUE #132 NOV/DEC 2011w w w . b l u e s r e v u e . c o m

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ROBERT CRAY

RORY BLOCKERIC BIBBTraveling TheAcoustic Road

LIL’ED & THEBLUES IMPERIALSStill House Rockin’

DAVID MAXWELL ONOTIS SPANN

RedefiningThe Blues

TAJ MAHAL& KEB’MO’ LIVE

COLUMNS

DEPARTMENTS

REVIEWS

From the Top ... CHIP EAGLE

Editor’s Solo ... ART TIPALDI

Down in the Delta ... ROGER STOLLE

Steady Rollin’ ... BOB MARGOLIN

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Club BR > concert reviews

CD Reviews

BRavo! > office picks

Blues Bites > reviews in brief

After Hours

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News From The Field

Q&A > interview with Beth Hart

Legends Of The Roots > Otis Spann

Right On the Number > harmonica instruction

Last Notes > in memoriam

Classifieds

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ISSUE #132 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

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COVER PHOTOGRAPHY © JOSEPH A. ROSEN

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FEATURES

ROBERT CRAYA Modern VoiceBY TIM PARSONS

RORY BLOCKHonoring Her TeachersBY ART TIPALDI

LIL’ EDUpward Slide: House-RockingFor More Than 25 YearsBY MICHAEL COTE

ERIC BIBBDonning “The Cape”and FlyingBY DON WILCOCK

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BLUES REVUE 3

I’m disgusted! It is unimaginable that any foundation as prestigious asThe Grammy’s would fail to recognize the genre of music calledblues. That’s right on the Grammy website, the one category where ablues artist can be awarded a Grammy is listed under the AmericanaRoots genre. However, we at Blues Revue feel that the blues shouldviewed as its own genre on the Grammy website, with the equalrespect afforded the other musical genres like Rock and Roll,Country, Jazz, R&B, and even Polka.

Nonetheless, blues is a genre rich in history and traditions; bluesis an America art form built on the backs of hardworking musicians;it’s a music that has influenced many genres on the radio today.Today blues is global with bands and fans from Nepal to Chicago;and we at Blues Revue, “The World’s Blues Magazine,”service subscribers in over 50 countries. So all we’re asking ourglobal community is to be recognized as a genre called blues.

Since the Grammy’s began in 1958, blues has never had morethan two categories. Blues was simply not on the radar or radios ofmany Americans during the 1950s and 1960s so it is understandablethat The Grammy’s didn’t recognize the blues either as a genre or acategory. Call it coincidence that the first category for a blues artistdidn’t appear until 1970 as the undeniable influence of the blues onrock ‘n’ roll was evident in the British Explosion. Was this why the cate-gory was created and named Best Ethnic Or Traditional Recording?The first Grammy was awarded to T-Bone Walker for Good Feeling.B.B. King won the Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance by aMale for The Thrill Is Gone that year also.

However, to not recognize blues as it’s own unique genre of music,with it’s rich historical background, not to mention the influence blueshas had on several other genres listed at the Grammy website, is clearevidence of their disrespect towards this purely American art form.

The blues began as a voice in the darkness. A voice that ultimatelycaptured the ears of the world. We ask you to give blues its voice back,give us the recognition this genre deserves. The recognition andrespect that has already been paid in full to the likes of B.B. King, MuddyWaters, Koko Taylor, Howlin’ Wolf, and the tens of thousands of bluesmusicians around the globe who play this music everyday.

Give blues a voice. Recognize blues as a genre equal to Jazz,R&B, Soul, Gospel, Country, Rock and Roll, and Polka. This is a smallrequest from one of America’s original art forms to one of America’siconic companies, which we support and believe was thoughtfullycreated to support music.

To that end, our publication is taking a stand and asking bluesfans around the world to join with us. Blues Revue has started a peti-tion, which will be submitted to the Grammy Foundation the week ofthe Grammy’s this February 12th. You can help. Go to bluesrevue.comand sign the petition “Give Blues A Voice.” Your favorite bands willappreciate the support. In the immortal words of the iconic bluesmusician Willie Dixon, “Blues is the roots, everything else is the fruits.”Give blues its voice!

As our esteemed publisher always says, Good Blues to Ya!

Jack Sullivan, Circulation Manager

The 54th Grammy Awards – Give Blues A Voice!

Editor’s Note: This issue’s From The Top was contributedby Jack Sullivan, our Circulation Director.

4 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

PUBLISHER: Chip Eagle

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSDavid Barrett / Michael Cote / Thomas J. Cullen IIIBill Dahl / Hal Horowitz / Tom Hyslop / Larry Nager

Bill Wasserzieher / Don Wilcock

COLUMNISTSDoug MacLeod / Bob Margolin / Roger Stolle

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSRobert Barclay / Mark Goodman / Les GruseckAigars Lapsa / Doug Richard / Joseph A. RosenDusty Scott / Marilyn Stringer / Susan Thorsen

Blues Revue is © 2011 Visionation, Ltd.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Art TipaldiCIRCULATION DIRECTOR: Jack Sullivan

CUSTOMER SERVICE: Kyle MorrisGRAPHIC DESIGNER: Andrew Miller

Blues Revue welcomes articles, photos, and any materialabout the blues suitable for publication. Please direct queriesto the Editorial Office. Blues Revue assumes no responsibility

for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or illustrations.Material may be edited at the discretion of the editors.

To be credited and reimbursed, all submissions, includingphotographs, must be properly marked with name, address,

and telephone number of author/artist/photographer.Payment for unsolicited materials is at the full discretion of thepublisher. All material becomes the property of Blues Revue.

The opinions expressed in this publication by individualcolumnists or contributors are not necessarily the editorial

opinion of Blues Revue. Persons wishing to write lettersto the editor are invited and encouraged to do so.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSVincent Abbate / Michael Cala / Thomas Clarke

Kay Cordtz / Ted Drozdowski / Robert FeuerRev. Keith Gordon / Tim Holek / Brian D. HollandStacy Jeffress / Michael Kinsman / Brian Owens

Tim Parsons / Bob Putignano / Phil Reser / Bob SekingerRichard Skelly / Eric Thom / M.E. Travaglini / Bill Vitka

Nick DeRiso / Wade Tatangelo / Eric Wrisley

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This October was a time for me to revisit aspecial place in the yearly cycle of the blues:the revitalized King Biscuit Blues Festival inHelena, Arkansas. Though I attended it from1994 through 2000, life’s demands kept mefrom it until this year. What I found was thesame magical aura that first attracted methere. From Thursday through Saturday,KBBF is all things blues, from stages facingpicturesque levees to stages set in everyCherry Street nook, this festival is awash inthe blues of the region. Few blues festivalsprepare you for the blues by having you dri-ving through Delta cotton fields to feel theauthentic history of the economic and socialsystems that gave birth to the blues. At 26years old, the King Biscuit Blues Festival isthe taproot of American blues festivals.

When you add in the Sunday PinetopPerkins Homecoming Festival held eachyear at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale andnightly jams at Red’s Lounge or GroundZero in nearby Clarksdale, there was morethen enough blues to satisfy every blueslover.

Kudos go out to Munnie Jordan, BubbaSullivan, and their crew of dedicated volun-teers who make this weekend a festival fansfrom around the world travel to each year.And a tip of the blues hat to Don Wilcockand Roger Stolle for the creation of the inau-gural sessions of Call And Response: TheKing Biscuit Blues Forum. On Saturdaymorning, over 200 fans were treated to upclose and personal discussions featuringmany performers from the festival’s all-starline-up.

The man who walked by me in thebackstage media section of the KBBF lookedvery familiar, but I couldn’t place the face. Hewas an older man wearing a knit rasta hat;the kind one wears to hold in dreads. Eachtime he passed, I was flipping the mentalRolodex. During the James Cotton show, hewas standing a few people in front of mediggin’ everything Cotton was playing.

It was then the man next to me asked,“Is that Robert Plant?”

BINGO.Though Buddy Guy was up next, he left

after Cotton’s show. I found out the next daythat Plant was sighted shopping for folk art atStan Street’s Hambone Gallery and watchingLightnin’ Malcolm Wednesday night atClarksdale’s renovated New Roxy Theater.And he was doing exactly what blues fansand I do on our Mississippi blues pilgrim-ages, soaking in the Delta, going to SonnyBoy’s grave in Tutwiler, and looking at cotton,the cotton that grows in the fields and theCotton that blows one-of-a-kind harmonica.

Sometimes, sadly, the true measure of aperson is only realized after he or she passesaway. Such was the case of Willie “Big Eyes”Smith for me. Though I’ve watched him per-form at festivals and clubs for nearly 20 years,I did not have an off-stage relationship withhim. It was through the poignant tributes thatoccurred over and over during the King Bis-cuit weekend that I truly understood what I’dmissed by not befriending Willie as he lived.At every show, performers invoked his mem-ory. And the legions of fans responded. Therewere two beautiful tributes to Smith featuringBob Margolin, Bob Corritore, Bob Stroger,and Kenny Smith, Willie’s highly talented son.To hear Kenny sing was like hearing Willie allover again.

Last summer, Kenny and Willie werestarting on a Knee To Knee feature for BR.Here is one of Willie’s lessons to Kenny.

Kenny: What was the most importantthing you wanted me to know about being adrummer?

Willie: I wanted you to know that youplay a very important part in the band. Youare the timekeeper and you and the bassplayer sets the tone for the entire band. Thatcan make or break the band. Remember youain’t gotta emulate nobody – just play theblues from your heart and your soul and it’sgonna come together.

“Let the music keep our spirits high.”

“I saw Sonny Boy’s spirit onFrank’s face/when heavencame to Helena”


NEWSPHILLY HONORS SISTER ROSETTA

On Monday October 24, Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973), the pioneeringgospel musician, was honored by the Pennsylvania Historical and MuseumCommission with the dedication of an Historical Marker at 1102 Master St., herformer North Philadelphia home. Speaking at the event were Mark Carpentierifrom M.C. Records who released Shout Sister Shout, A Tribute To Sister RosettaTharpe, Karen Galle of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission,Beth Warshaw-Duncan of Girls Rock Philly, and Gayle Wald of George Washing-ton University, who wrote the liner notes on the M.C. Records release. Tharpe’sinfluence on American music began in the 1930s when she was a pioneeringgospel musician. Then in the 1940s she took her sanctified music to the masses,laying the groundwork for the rock and roll guitar that soon followed. Her final 15years were spent living at her Master St. home until her 1973 death from compli-cations due to diabetes. In 1998, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in herhonor. She is a member of the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame and theBlues Hall of Fame. Sister Rosetta Tharpe rests today at Northwood Cemetery inPhiladelphia. There is a new documentary on the blues and gospel pioneer bydirector Mark Csaky titled The Godmother of Rock & Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe.Girls Rock Philly (GRP), a local music and mentoring non-profit organization,and The Friends of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the committee responsible for fundingthe Historical Marker, sponsored these events.

FEAR NOTHINGIt’s always about a voice, and BeverlyMcClellan has one. In 2011, McClellan took afriend’s dare and submitted a video to theNBC show, The Voice. Within weeks, McClel-lan was brought on the show as a contestantwho the judges were fighting over. In theend, she was mentored by Christina Aguileraand provided the opportunity to sing duetswith Aguilera.

But the real story is McClellan’s loveand devotion to the blues and other Ameri-can music. Born in East Tennessee andraised in Virginia, McClellan already has four

solo CDs to her credit, has years of touringtiny clubs under her belt, plays more thenten instruments, and writes her own material.

On this national debut, McClellan hasenlisted the production help of David Z(and Keb’ Mo’ on “A Way Out”), the musicalbacking of Tony Braunagal, Hutch Hutchin-son, Jim Pugh, Josh Sklair, and her ownlongtime guitarist, Billy Vazquez. That’s quitea studio punch.

But it is her songs of joy and celebra-tion delivered by a voice that is both power-ful and nuanced that connects. Her onlycover, Blind Willie Johnson’s “Nobody’sFault But Mine,” is as authentic as any bluescould be. Let’s hope the blues world goesbeyond appearances and welcomesMcClellan to its stage.

HOUSE OF BLUESRADIO MAKEOVERThe House of Blues Radio has launchedits newly redesigned online blues website.TheBluesMobile.com is the companionwebsite to the House of Blues Radio Hourhosted by Dan Aykroyd (Elwood Blues).

Now music fans have easy and exclu-sive access to “Elwood’s Briefcase Full ofBlues” that features The House of BluesRadio Hour audio stream, set lists and sneakpreviews. TheBluesMobile.com includesoriginal blues music, the Top 15 Blues Chart,

the Blues Breaker, and Elwood’s new song ofthe week. The site also contains blues pho-tos, podcasts, videos, interviews, merchan-dise, and contests.

Producer Ben Manilla says, “For over19 years, Dan Aykroyd and I have been col-laborating on The House of Blues RadioHour, the longest running syndicated bluesseries in U.S. history. TheBluesMobile.comis an active extension of the radio show andplugs into the vast library of video andaudio we have amassed and still gather.We feel the new website is a continuationof our mission to celebrate this greatAmerican music.”

Beginning in February 2012, they willbe changing the name of The House ofBlues Radio Hour to Elwood’s BluesMobile.Look for our talk with Aykroyd about thisand other blues matters in the upcomingBR#133.

WINNERS OF OUR 12-PACK CD GIVEAWAY

BLUES REVUE WINNERS

Stephen Mislyan of Sarasota, FLGary Lamoureaux of Gresham, OR

Catherine Frook of Kincardine, ON, Canada

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ROBERT CRAY

PHOTOGRAPHY © MIKE SHEA

BLUES REVUE 9

AMODERN

VOICEby Tim Parsons

obert Cray usually goes on stage as the end-of-showheadliner but that was no solace to him during last spring’sBlues Foundation’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.He was nervous, and his trepidation grew with each speaker

who preceded him to the dais. Afterward, he was self-deprecatingabout his oratory performance when his moment finally arrived.

“I had stuff written out, and after listening to everybody elseand how funny they were, it just made mine look like toilet paper,”Cray said. “I got up there and it just started stumbling out thewrong way. I couldn’t wait to get off the stage. “I am not comfort-able with the speaking thing. I’m better when I have a guitar in myhand and the guys backing me up, but put me on stage by myselfand it doesn’t work.”

Guitar in hand, Cray’s music, however, speaks eloquence,capturing the attention of listeners who lean closer when he makeshis guitar whisper. The rhythm is engaging, the stories compelling.It’s like being in a groovy conversation.

A shining career no doubt was envisioned by the conventionalwisdom in the blues community after Cray gained national promi-nence with the breakthrough 1986 album, Strong Persuader. Buthis path to greatness has a unique set of footprints that the bluesworld is happy to embrace.

“Do you want me to give you a handle?” asked Jim Pugh,the Robert Cray Band keyboard player since 1989. “Robert singslike Johnnie Taylor, plays like B.B. King, writes songs like he’sElvis Costello, and he looks like Sidney Poitier.”

Blues aficionados took notice of Cray’s voice in 1983 with therelease of the second album, Bad Influence, which sold amillion copies. The record opened with a song Albert King notonly covered, he used its opening verse for an album title. Crayemerged from “Phone Booth” as a blues superman.

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“Oh my God, Robert has a golden voice,” said Roy Rogers, wholater put Cray and John Lee Hooker together in the studio. “Yourguitar style mimics your voice. His guitar goes perfectly with hisvocal chops, the way he sings. It’s kind of a call and response inhis own way.”

Cray’s lifelong friend and band member Richard Cousinscalled Cray his favorite singer in the world. “You could argue forPrince or all kinds of people, but Robert’s my favorite because ofhis taste and restraint and not just (doing) things for braggadocio.It has to mean something for him to play or sing.”

“Robert Cray,” Keb’ Mo’ said, “as far as the blues singers,I think of the new blues singers of the last generation after JuniorWells and all those guys, I think he’s the best one.”

“Being able to open your mouth and make a noise like that iswhat separates him from a lot of people,” Pugh said. “Singing likethat is a gift, and I worked for 10 years with Etta James.”

But in the 1980s to the less arcane, listeners did not clamorfor another Bobby “Blue” Bland. They wanted and anticipatedanother Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Cray’s guitar playing was singularly superb, but not in the samefashion of aggressive lead players like Buddy Guy, Albert Collins,and B.B. King. Nevertheless, that was a presumed path. He wassupposed to be a gunslinger, like all the others who transcendedthe genre to attain mainstream recognition and Grammy Awards.

“That’s (because of where) everything was going,” Cray said.“Stevie Ray had had his major label debuts before we did, so Ithink that was where it was trying to go. But we had always beendifferent from word one because we did the R&B thing as well.”

Cray’s guitar tone is instantly recognizable. With stronghands, he works the strings so hard they must be retuned afterevery song. That’s why he performs with two guitars.

“I guess it’s one person’s touch on the neck,” Cray explained.“My thing is, I started playing Stratocasters in ’79, and before Iplayed on Gibsons. But I liked the Stratocaster’s sound andI always used a bright tone and I think that was because I wasalways a big Albert Collins fan and he had the strong attack.I didn’t like 12-inch speakers, which to me sound a little bit slowin delivering the punch. So I used 10-inch speakers. Maybethat gives me a little bit brighter sound.”

His sound is the envy of some of today’s greatest play-ers. “If you ask me what I would like to do, I would like tobe able to have phrasing so well developed like RobertCray, Albert Collins, Ronnie Earl,” said Europe’s AnaPopovic. “When you hear them, you can always say,“This is Robert or Albert or Ronnie playing. What onlythe greatest of guitar players have is their uniquephrasing. He stayed true to his style, tone andphrasing from the beginning, which is fabulous.”

Rogers, a slide guitarist, produced the song“Baby Lee,” with Cray and Hooker. “Robert’s a pocketplayer, not just a lead player,” he said. “He has that classicStrat tone. He’s just in the pocket with his rhythm chops. Greatrhythm as well as lead. He’s got the chunk. He can put thatgroove down. He’s one of those guitar players who establishes hisown groove. It’s soulful but it’s bluesy.”

Cray inspired a teenaged Davy Knowles, who has relocatedfrom the United Kingdom to Chicago and is a rising star amongesoteric guitar fans. His band that captured international attentionwas called Back Door Slam, in honor of a Blind Blake tune,arranged by former Cray drummer Kevin Hayes and his sisterBonnie and released on Cray’s Time Will Tell album in 2003.

“My dad took me to see Robert Cray when I was 16 and heplayed that song, and that was one of the moments that stood outfor me,” Knowles said “I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I need to bedoing this.’ ”

Another ascending guitarist, Trampled Under Foot’s NickSchnebelen, said, “Every time I see him, I walk away with newideas. He plays stuff that you can understand and it sounds great.It’s really blues and then he’s got these real sophisticated rhythm

THE GUITAR

PHOTOGRAPHY © JOSEPH A. ROSEN

New Orleans, 1991

BLUES REVUE 11

parts that he puts together that are rhythmically interesting aswell and melodic and very fun to listen to, and I notice his guitarparts really meld with the keyboard parts.”

Cray’s words are as integral to his music as his guitar and voice.“There’s a story,” he said. “I think I picked up a lot of that fromDennis Walker (who produced, wrote and co-wrote songs withCray from the 1980 debut Who’s Been Talkin’ through 1992’s IWas Warned). His songs are very visual.”

Cray has continuously recorded albums for more than 30years. The record Take Your Shoes Off captured a 2000 GrammyAward for Best Contemporary BluesAlbum, one of five for Cray.

Cray’s songwriting has evolved,Pugh said. “He has stretched out intoother styles with a slight nod toCaribbean, salsa, reggae every oncein a while, slightly jazz,” he said.

Cousins described the blueprint.“It was always our thing to makeblues more than the stereotype,” hesaid. “We always wanted to make theblues itself a song-orientated genre.Not guitar-oriented or piano-orientedor harmonica-orientated. Of course,we were all influenced by the greatplayers of the idiom but we were alltrying to enforce the idea of expand-ing it by song.”

Cray said his songwriting hasmatured and he’s losing enthusiasmfor guitar solos. “It’s changed,” hesaid. “You grow older and, likeRichard said, it’s been about thesongs and the stories, and I think asyou get older the stories mean moreto you. It’s the song that’s the mostimportant thing and, it’s like you saidhere, it is not right away the guitarsjumping in your face. To me it’s notthe best way to deliver a story. Youhave to have a story and you have to have the vehicle to carrythe story and the solo is just an added bonus. And sometimes,you don’t really need a solo.”

Cray and Cousins became friends in 1969, meeting, Cousinssaid, “at some silly, park hippie jam.” They had commonalties.Cray’s father was in the Army, Cousins’ the Air Force. After highschool, they moved to Eugene, OR. and started a band. Singer-harp player Curtis Salgado found out about them and joined thegroup for a few years.

“A saxophone player said there are these two young blackguys in town and they play the blues and they’re pretty good,”

ROBERT’S MAKING SOME MOVES,” the caller said. “Keep yourmouth shut; don’t say anything. Are you interested?”

Tony Braunagel was intrigued. But he certainly was plenty busy produc-ing albums, recording in the studio and playing with the Phantom Blues Band.

“I didn’t want to sound blasé but I was happy with not being on the roadtoo much, and I was making a very fair good living in town,” the drummer said.

The phone rang again a couple of months later. “Look man, you don’twant to lose this opportunity.” A month later, Braunagel called bassist

Richard Cousins back and said yes, he wouldjoin the Robert Cray Band.

Braunagel’s trepidation doubtless wasbecause of what he knows about himself. Hewill give 100 percent to anything he takes onbecause he is a self-described perfectionist.And he recently produced albums for CurtisSalgado, Trampled Under Foot, Eric Burdon,and Billy Thompson. But for someone asvigorous as Braunagel, why not take onanother major project?

“I am driven,” he said. “I have tons ofenergy. I cannot sit still. It’s difficult for me totake a vacation. I have such a passion for whatI do I can’t stop thinking about it.” So in 2008Braunagel and Cousins joined Cray and JimPugh, Cray’s keyboard player since 1989, andsomeone who Braunagel played with for EttaJames in the 1980s on Monday nights at theVine Street Bar and Grill in Los Angeles.

“Tony’s got more energy than anybodyin the combo,” said Pugh said.

“Tony’s a very exuberant and veryenthusiastic,” Cousins added. “Tony takes itpersonally. He’s personally involved. He’s notphoning it in. He’s not doing it so he can get astick named after him. He’s got a stick.”

When Cray told him he could hire hisrhythm section partner, Cousins consideredonly Braunagel. “We’d always been boys and

seen eye to eye about (music),” Cousins said. “I didn’t want to have an L.A.audition. I wanted a made guy that I knew understood me.”

Braunagel has plenty of experience in high-profile bands, seven yearswith Bonnie Raitt, more than a decade with Taj Mahal, living five years inEngland when he was with Backstreet Crawler and later Crawler. He alsoperformed and recorded with players like Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker,Otis Rush, and Lightnin’ Hopkins.

“Nothing can feel better than when somebody wants you for what youdo,” Braunagel said. “That means that you get to go in there and you get tobe yourself. And that’s what this band is about. It’s a good fit. We all havebackgrounds that were similar in what we’d learned and listened to when wewere kids: blues R&B, gospel, The Beatles.”

Braunagel only used part of his arsenal on the record – 18 snaredrums, two drum kits, three bass drums, and about 30 cymbals. “I’m com-pletely nuts,” he confessed. “But they all have a voice and once I get to know

Tony Braunagel’sWorkaholic Ethic

CRAY AND BRAUNAGEL

THE SONGS

THE BAND

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Salgado said. “I said really? They’re young? They’re black?Question mark. This is like 1974 or ’75, right? Young and blackguys into the blues, unheard of, especially in Eugene, OR.”

During a 2007 fundraiser concert for Salgado, who played onCray’s debut album, Cray reunited with Cousins, who had beenout of the band for many years. The drummer was the PhantomBlues Band’s Tony Braunagel. “Braunagel and I were able to holdit to something less than chaos,” Cousins said.

Cray said, “I noticed Richard pushing and driving the rhythmsection which is something he used to do when he and I playedtogether. It was a great opportunity to jam and once again see howRichard was running things. And I got a real close look at Tony.”Soon after, Cray sought a new rhythm section.

Cousins returned and he selected drummer Braunagel, a topsession player and producer who was used to performing with thebest: Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, and Etta James. “Richard bringsback that solid chemistry that’s been there all the years,” Craysaid. “Tony brings in a whole new dynamic. He’s a veteran. He’sgot years of experience playing this kind of music and other kindsof music so it’s a refreshing flavor to add to Jim Pugh who’s beenwith the band since ’89. It’s pretty cool.”

“Robert’s really somebody who encourages people to followtheir muse and really let it out and be who you are,” Pugh said.“There’s a lot of reasons I’ve been here for 22 years.”

“What’s the plot?” Braunagel asked. “The plot is this reallygreat singer-songwriter-guitar player. Make him sound good, yetenjoy and express yourself as well. And interchange with every-body else, and this band plays really well off of each other. Youcan play around and express yourself and you can sneak up andsay something musically, and no one turns around and puts theirhands up and says, ‘Oh no, don’t do that!’ ”

All of the members contributed to writing This Time, releasedin August 2009. Another album is expected to be recorded thiswinter and released by August, Cray said.

Blues Revue was able to catch the Robert Cray Band on consecu-tive weekends in August for concerts in Truckee and MammothLakes, where Cray stepped on stage at noon on a Sunday.

“I’d sure love to say good evening,” Cray quipped, confidentin the company of his guitar and quartet. “I would wear shades butit affects my hearing.” When a beach ball bounced from the crowd,Cray with his left foot playfully booted it back. “I’m having a ball,”he said. “This twelve o’clock start ain’t so bad. Where am I again?”

The lunchtime performance allowed for a timely introductionof “Chicken In The Kitchen” from the latest record, one of a hand-ful of songs repeated at the two concerts. “Poor Johnny” was thesecond song played at both shows, perhaps warming up hishands with an intricate solo. “Phone Booth” was also a staple, giv-ing the singer a chance to personalize each venue: “I’m new toMammoth Lakes ... ”

To avoid complacency, “we don’t have a set list,” Cray saidafterward. “We have a master list and are always trying to add to it.We go on stage and we just call them. We’ve been doing that for awhile. It’s a work in progress.”

The band members sometimes work on learning materialfrom a vast library of tracks during indoor sound checks. “I came

that voice it means something to me. It makes me play a certain way. AndI hear that when I record.”

“He’s a genius,” Pugh said. “He’s the master of Americana music,but on rhythm and blues in particular he really is sort of an authority, andit’s really an honor to play with him.”

In 2000, Braunagel produced Taj Mahal and the Phantom BluesBand’s Grammy winning, Best Contemporary Blues Album, Shoutin’ inKey, and he has played on three other Grammy winners.

Salgado hired Braunagel to co-produce with Marlon McClain the2008 album, Clean Getaway, titled for the singer’s cancer battle. “Youwalk into a room and everybody is into the exact same music you are,”Salgado said, referring to Braunagel and the other Phantom Blue Bandmembers who appear on the CD. “These guys really understand the idiomvery well. It’s singer-songwriter stuff with that big brush stroke of greaseright down the middle of it.

“So we made a record where I’ve never had a better experience inmy entire life,” Salgado said. “We were either laughing or recording and itjust came together. Tony’s just easy to work with and he coordinates thestuff,” Salgado said. “He’s open-minded and for me we think the exactsame thing. He understands the idiom.”

As a producer, Braunagel has worked with every kind of musician,from a hall of famer like Burdon to youngsters like the Schnebelen siblingsfrom Trampled Under Foot. “Everybody is a different situation and youcan’t treat any of them completely the same,” Braunagel said. “Peoplewho are newer at it. People who are younger. And Billy [Thompson] whois in his mid-50s. He’s not really touchy. But everybody’s touchy. It’s hisart and everybody’s touchy on certain levels.”

Braunagel occasionally uses the “executive disease” technique.“Sometimes with certain people, when you get to know them, you justbring up an idea and you don’t say anything else about it,” he said. “Aweek later they call up and say, ‘I’ve got a really great idea.’ And you go,‘Well, that sounds great, let’s do it.’ ”

Drummer Kris Schnebelen said he was nervous to work with Brau-nagel, who produced 2011’s Wrong Side Of The Blues. “I don’t get stagefright often any more, but it is intimidating,” he said. “I did a good job ofputting myself in his hands, and it made me a much better drummer. Hehas elevated us. It’s just that simple.”

Danielle Schnebelen said Braunagel improved her song writing andthe lessons she learned in the studio she now uses on the stage. “It’seasy when you are playing 200 shows a year, at least, to just get set inyour ways,” she said. “Since recording with him, I really try and keep itfresh and make every delivery, every word, mean 100 percent in not onlythe way that you feel it, but in the way that you sing it. You have to beconfident in what you’re saying or you will sound unsure. It’s a whole dif-ferent side of the coin now when I perform.”

Braunagel first played with Danielle Schnebelen during a 2009 Leg-endary Rhythm & Blues Cruise on a jam with Bob Margolin and DebbieDavies. When cruise organizer Roger Nabor requested “I’d Rather GoBlind,” Danielle, a huge Etta James fan, took charge of the arrangement.

“I had no idea that Tony had played with Etta quiet a bit and had herto his house and stuff,” she said. “I was telling him how the song goesand he was really sweet about it. He didn’t say anything. When we went torecord later he was telling me stories about Etta James, and I thought, ‘Ohmy god, I’m such a dork.’

Add humility the list of Braunagel’s qualities.– Tim Parsons

THE PERFORMANCE

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BLUES REVUE 13

back in the band in 2008 and they did 10 albums I didn’t do,” Cousinssaid. “Tony and I were able to pick from all these songs from a giantbook of 200 songs. It’s just insane.” Cousins, who jokes he was hiredfor his good hair, is the band’s most animated performer. He willmarch with the anthems, creep around as a song’s story unfolds, andwag his finger to a punch line.

Cray’s rapport with the audience does not include histrionics.After nearly every song he simply says, “Thank you very much,” andgrabs a freshly tuned guitar. And if the crowd wants to boogie, Crayjust might have another plan.

“Leave the boogie to the Boogeyman,” Braunagel said. “There’sall those people out there and they’re in the party mode and Robertwill do this very arresting ballad and you see people just not movingat first, and you go, ‘Have we got them?’ And then you see them startto shake their heads and then you go ‘Yes, we got ’em.’ That’s power-ful, man, in front of 10,000 people.”

Yet a man with such power with fans and reverence from peersis painfully shy. Or is he?

“Robert Cray is a personal hero of mine,” said Tinsley Ellis, the Georgiablues rocker. “I toured with him as opening act in ’95, and met him in’86 when we were all much younger – and wilder. Great guy. Kind ofshy at times.”

Keb’ Mo’ fondly recalled recording “Bring It On Home” with Crayfor a tour. “I basically bugged him for years to do that tour with me. Ikind of stalked him. I used to think he was evasive, but when I really gotto know him, he’s just really protective because he’s a really nice guy.

However, Cousins said Cray is neither bashful nor vulnerable.“I don’t think Robert is ever taken advantage of, and Robert actuallyisn’t even shy,” Cousins said. “It’s just sort of like he can’t be both-ered with some silly shit. He doesn’t have (anything) to prove. If youcan’t figure out what’s up with him, he doesn’t feel he has to shout itat you. Robert Cray is a very intelligent person. Very confident andvery competent.”

Cray may be a reluctant speaker, but he is accessible. A reporterneeds to be prepared because Cray will address any topic he’s askedabout but won’t necessarily volunteer new information or even correcta misconception.

“I’ve never really been a people person,” Cray said. “I don’thang out and have no desire to be out there. I’m kind of awkwardbeing around people for a long period of time outside of the hellosand everything like that. I’ll sit and have a conversation with them andthen it’s time for me to go. I need my space.”

Perhaps the best way to know Cray is to know his music. Pughsaid, “He’s definitely somebody who likes his privacy but I think he’svery revealing on stage. He gives that both lyrically and emotionallyand the way that he sings and he plays. It’s kind of hard to talk abouthis personality because he’s a little bit of an enigma to a lot of people,even people who know him.”

THE MAN


LIKE MANY OF HER GENERATION,Rory Block has a story to tell. It’s a storythat opens in the Greenwich Village folkrevival of the early sixties. There were oldmasters like Mississippi John Hurt,Skip James, Son House, Mississippi FredMcDowell, Rev. Gary Davis, and others tolearn the blues from. At the same timeyounger personalities like Bob Dylan,Maria Muldaur, Stefan Grossman, JohnSebastian, Jim Kweskin, John Hammond,and so many others were spearheadingthe folk blues craze.

As a 14 year old in 1964, Block sat inher father’s Greenwich Village sandal shopas the music came to her. “The messagewas passion, passion, passion alert, redlight, red light, passion alert,” says Block.“First of all, everybody there would havebeen a complete enthusiast. The energywas exceptionally high. People werehungry for music. Everybody there was amusic fanatic. Whether it was the bluegrasspeople or the country blues people or thefolk people, everybody was deeply intothe music.

“Because the energy level was sohuge, you had to stand back for each per-son. Here comes Steve Mandell and EricWeissberg, the guys who played the Deliv-erance soundtrack, they’re standing therein my father’s sandal shop and they startdoing their thing. Then Maria [Muldaur]would come in with her fiddle and youthought ‘this woman is totally into this play-ing’ and her style was so awesome.

“Then John Sebastian would comealong and start playing harmonica. JohnHammond was doing the country bluesbefore most of us were. John was the firstperson I knew of who was already playingthe country blues of Robert Johnson.

“There was an intensely passionatefeeling about the music that people played.People weren’t doing the music because itwas mainstream, they were not playing itbecause they thought they were gonnamake money, they were playing it becauseit sounded so good and they loved it somuch that they had no choice. That waswhere I was coming from too.

“I spent all my time walking from placeto place and thinking or endlessly strum-ming my Galiano guitar that my mother had

acquired at a garage sale for all of $4.Music had become the absolute center ofmy being, and nothing mattered more. Theguitar was an instrument of wonder and joy,a best friend.

“At 14, I became part of the Sundayjam sessions in Washington Square Park.People stood around in clusters, pressingtogether to watch incredible musiciansplaying styles largely unheard of up Northplaying ragtime, blues, swing, and earlybarrel house jazz.”

At the same time, Block was exposedto the real life country blues masters whohad been rediscovered. No longer merevoices on dusty sounding recordings,legends like Son House, Mississippi JohnHurt, Skip James, Rev. Gary Davis, andothers now played in person for theteenage Block.

“When I first heard the blues, therewas no other choice. The music resonatedinside me, felt real, beautiful, spoke to whatwas in my heart, and moved my soul.

“Sitting with many of the older countryblues players made a major difference inhow I play the music. Watching Son Houseplay, I felt this aura around him. The powerof the music, the story, the passion, and theessence of the music were all in that auraaround Son House. More than music, thedeepest thing I was learning were the spiri-tual aspects of the music. To me that wasthe essence of the music.”

But that’s only part of the story. Mostlythe story is about her life deep in the blues.It’s about the uncertainty of this calling, thelessons of the miles and years that fly by,the personal relationships that can be sofleeting, and the answers that a song canprovide a troubled soul. Almost 30 criticallyacclaimed records attest to her journey’sups and downs.

In 2006, a new project took hold ofBlock. She embarked on her Mentor pro-ject, to record albums that celebrate theblues masters she’s had the privilege ofknowing personally.

“It feels like coming full circle,” saysBlock. “The first 50 years of life seems likea taking experience where we are some-times very focused on taking care of num-ber one. We race from place to place andthen we ultimately reach a point where we

RORYBLOCKHONORINGHERTEACHERS

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think that this has got to be about givingback. I feel, personally for myself, that fromhere forward, dedicating the second half-century to giving back. So the Mentor seriesis definitely a thank you series.”

Instead of looking for the easy artisticlife, Block’s most recent recordings havebeen an exercise in leaving one’s comfortzone for the unknown. “Therecould be nothing that pushesme harder,” reveals Block. “If Iwas just doing my own originals,I would be happy and havingfun, but I would not be learningas much about the guitar andmyself as I am through this pro-ject. This project is the most eye-opening, shocking realization.Listening again, my eyes areabsolutely wide open as I’m say-ing, ‘How did they do that?’”

“That was really good forwhat I could do then. When Ilisten back to the reissues of myearlier music, I think that I wasonly 15 and that I was prettygood. I can hear that I had thefeel for it. I thought I had crackedthe code, and I was content withit then. But now when I listenagain to the originals I can hearthere are many other layers that Ineed to learn. I’m not happy withglossing over what I have toknow. I’m obsessed with thenote for note detail. That is myapproach.”

From there, Block beginsthe arduous process involvedwith each tribute. For her, therewas no debating who should befirst, Robert Johnson. “Each one has beena stretch for me. Robert Johnson waskiller. Then I thought Son House would beeasier then Johnson. It wasn’t. Son Housewas a big stretch for me too. He also wasway over my head when I first starteddoing that recording. I had homonigized ita little in my mind and ears, but taken notefor note, I found it so much more complex.Then I thought Fred McDowell wouldcertainly be easier then Son House andit wasn’t.

Though her latest record, Shake ‘EmOn Down, was recorded in 2011, theprocess for Block began well before sheentered a studio. It was a total immersioninto all things McDowell. “Because I neverreally played Fred McDowell, I assembled

as much as I could of his full compliment ofmusic. Then I just start jumping through it. Ileap from song to song and make a note ofwhich songs jump out at me. I hone the listdown to about 15-20 songs and I start work-ing on those songs. I pick the most excitingsong that grabs me that day. I leap in andstart working on cracking the code.

The listening process involves Blocklistening to and watching McDowell asclosely as possible. Each listen providedBlock with a new layer that helped her striphis musical approach to its roots.

“When I listened, I’ll hear him using athumb pick and think, ‘I don’t use a thumbpick. What am I gonna do now?’ Then I

have to try and get the right thumb pick andre-adjust my playing. I saw him play thissong in person, I’ve listened to it manytimes, but I never realized how much thehand has too go all over the keyboard to doit right. That’s when I think, ‘It’s muchharder then I thought.’

“And I have to start practicing. By thetime I’m ready to do the secondsong, it is, to that extent, a tinybit easier, because I’m alreadyusing a thumb pick and I’vealready figured out somethingabout the intensity of the style.But each song is so different.Every time I did one of Fred’ssongs, I was finding that it wasmuch harder then I realized. Ihad the sound in my head andthought it was very straightahead. But then I played it andfound that it wasn’t straightahead. That his music was veryinvolved.”

Her next project, the oneshe was working on when wespoke, offers even more tests.“If I make it thought Rev. GaryDavis, it will be a miracle,”laughs Block. “As I was doing allthe Mississippi styles more thanthe finger picking styles, his isnot one of the styles I focusedon. But as I started listeningagain, some of his style iscoming back.

“It’s come back to me that Idid play this style in my own way.I was also around when Stefan[Grossman] was learning it. So Ifound that I had far more memo-

ries coming back to me about how it wasdone. So I wasn’t trying to get into Davis in avacuum like I thought it was gonna be.”

Block’s other recent revelation wasmeeting the son and grand children ofRobert Johnson. One of her guitar studentscalled Block to say that Johnson’s grand-son, Steven, wanted to talk to Block. “It was

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“When I first heard the blues, there was noother choice. The music resonated inside me,

felt real, beautiful, spoke to what wasin my heart, and moved my soul.”


an absolute shocker. I was shaking withemotion. To me, it was like speaking to alegend, even the grandson. Here was avoice [Steven Johnson, Robert’s grandson]that came on the phone, and we connectedright away. We went to Claud’s [Robert’sson] house and heard stories about how hewas separated from his father. To meetRobert Johnson’s son was beyond amazing.When I met them, I said it felt like I wasmeeting long, lost kin.”

Her 2006 tribute record, The Lady AndMr. Johnson, contains pictures and the storyof that initial meeting. Of Johnson’s continu-ing importance in this year of the centennialof his birth, Block says, “When I teach‘Rambling On My Mind,’ I say that this for-mat Johnson was playing in the ‘30s is theexact same format that we are still using intoday’s rock blues. Since we’re still usingthe exact same format and nobody’s felt theneed to change it, that says to me thatRobert Johnson was at the creative heightof perfection. If we could have made it bet-ter, why are we still using it as the prototypefor exciting music.”

Often when people attend a show ofacoustic, country blues, they feel they are ata museum and need to show reverence.Block wants you to remember this music wascreated at rural jukes as party music. “Somepeople say that they like the way I make thetraditional country blues have relevantmeaning today in the way I present it to audi-ences.” Eyes closed, head weaving, fingersflying, strings pulled at, not plucked, and feetstomping all turn any Block performance intoa back country jukin’ reincarnation of thismusic.

In an interesting twist and role reversal,the child who was student to the mastershas a half-century later become the mentorto a modern breed of pre-war, country bluesdisciples. Armed with their newly purchasedguitars and computers to watch YouTubeguitar lessons, many of these devoteescredit Block for her string mentoring.

“It is touching when younger playerstell me that I am an influence. But more thenever, I’m hearing it from older people, say 50and older, who say, ‘Because of your music,I’ve gone back to my guitar. I’m so inspired.’That means a lot to me that they have a lotof joy in getting back into their instrumentand they were inspired through my music.So it isn’t just young people, but also peoplewho thought the guitar was only part of theirpast and never thought they would get backinto the guitar. That is really rewarding.”

BLUES REVUE 17

HOUSE-ROCKIN’ FORMORE THAN 25YEARS

&THE BLUESIMPERIALS

il’ Ed Williams is holed up in a motel inFoxboro, MA. peering through the windowat a group of people outside to let themknow he’s in there. He’s not sure why

they’re outside, and he’s not all that keen onthe quality of the hotel. It’s just part of life on the roadfor one of the blues world’s hardest working musicians.

At 56, Williams andhis Blues Imperials are stillout there playing nearly150 shows a year in theStates, overseas, and oncruise ships. That meansthe guitarist who spinsaround the floor like aguitar-playing top – as ifhis killer slide guitar wasn’tenough to keep audiencesenthralled – has to keep inshape. It’s the same senseof drive and passion thatleads Williams to cut hismusic in the studio with therawness and urgency thatfirst earned the Imperials a

shot at recording an entire album for Alligator Recordsin 1986 after they initially were tapped to contribute afew tracks for a compilation of up-and-coming artists.

These days, Williams doesn’t do duck walksaround the studio the way he did the first time heimpressed Alligator Records founder Bruce Iglauer.

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LIL’ED


And he’s building a gym in his garage to keep inshape when he’s not touring. But he keeps theenergy level high, and he still likes to keep Iglauerentertained.

“The way our studio is set up now, I’m in thecontrol room singing, and my amp is outside, but I’mstill playing and singing,” Williams says. “The guythat is controlling the board says it gives us a littleexcitement to see me in there. I start moving a little bit and shakingmy guitar.”

That’s just a hint of what Williams does when he gets onstage.These days, as the title of his most recent release, from 2008, sug-gests, he likes to go Full Tilt from the get-go, as he does on the disc’sleadoff track, the slide-heavy house rocker “Hold That Train.”

“I’m starting out stuff like B.B. (King) would,” says Williams, on aday he was scheduled to share a stage with fellow guitar slingerPopa Chubby. “I’m coming out strong, hitting hard, and heavy. Notsitting back, not trying to work into the music. Just come out doing itright then and there. My guys, when I first started doing it, theyweren’t used to that. Because it was always, ‘we’ll work up to thecrowd. We’ll play moderate and really kill them dead at the end of theshow.’ Now it’s ‘let’s grab them right now and squeeze them hard.’And they look at me and go, ‘Ed’s gone.’”

For a few years in the ’90s Williams really was gone, taking abreak from the road to readjust his life and his priorities after years of

hard living on the road were taking their toll. He recorded a pair ofalbums, one with his early guitar partner, Dave Weld, and one bassplayer Willie Kent. His band members found ways to work the roadon their own.

“Before I took that time off, I used to think I knew it all. Because Iwas excited, the people were fun. Drinking, smoking, whatever youwanted to do. Have a good time, and you thought you had it. But youreally didn’t have it,” says Williams, who summed up some of thoseyears in Full Tilt’s “Dying To Live.” When Williams was ready to return,marked by the release of the band’s first album in seven years,1999’s Get Wild, he had a newfound energy and attitude.

“I didn’t really feel my music until I stopped everything. It wasamazing,” says the Chicago native, who has released three morealbums with the Imperials since Get Wild and will be working onanother one to be released in 2012. “Since I quit smoking, I’ve beenable to reach levels that I could never reach back in the day. Brucehas told me this, ‘You’re getting better; you’re not getting worse.’ Ithought the older I would get, the worse I would get. He said, ‘No,you’re getting better. Your body is broken in now. You’re at yourprime.’”

Williams doesn’t need any more convincing. He can feel it. “I lis-tened to some of my old stuff, and I think, ‘Why didn’t I sing that thisway?’ I couldn’t sing it that way because I didn’t know how. I thank mysavior for the love because he gave me that second chance. I couldhave lost everything. I could have folded. I didn’t have to come back.I could have gotten a day job and worked. But it wasn’t for me to dothat. It was for me to come back and enjoy my fans and enjoy thepeople and to show the people the music that I can bring to them.”

The band’s schedule is somewhat less daunting than the earlydays, when the Imperials used to log close to 200 shows a year. ButWilliams and his band mates, his half-brother, James “Pookie” Youngon bass; Michael Garrett on guitar, and Kelly Littleton on drums, stillspend a lot of time crisscrossing the globe and are playing to someof their biggest crowds ever, especially in Europe.

“We went over to Turkey, and we played for 4,000 people. Thatwas awesome,” Williams says. “I only thought people like B.B. Kingwould have an audience like that. You get on a festival, and you getthese types of audiences that just blow your mind.”

European audiences have a special respect for the blues, hesays. “There are lots of places in this country where people really,really love the blues. You look at all the blues society people. They allreally, really love the blues because they are dedicated to it. Butwhen you go overseas it’s a whole different feel. You get a lot of goodtreatment over there. They really respect the blues. It’s respect morethan anything.”

Not all the audiences just sit there and listen with reverence,however. “You might have an audience that just likes to sit down andlisten, and then give you applause when you’re done. And then youhave the audience that just wants to go crazy. Most of the time whenI go over there, that’s what I get. I get those crazy audiences. It’sreally a good thing.”

“ I was always fascinated with that slide...with the way it sounded, and the way it

shimmied in the darkness.”

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BLUES REVUE 19

Williams first learned about how toget crazy from watching his uncle, bluesguitarist J.B. Hutto, walk on top of garbagecans and garbage can lids while performing,the kind of antics that inspired the youngWilliams to want to be a showman. But itwas Hutto’s slide that really got himintrigued. When his uncle would entertain atthe family home, the young Williams wouldpeep around the living room curtains tocatch a glimpse of Hutto running that shinycylinder across the freeboard to tease awailing sound out of his guitar.

“Back then you didn’t have but a40-watt bulb. At night time it as kind of gloomyin the house,” says Williams, recalling thedays as an 8-year-old when he watched theadults having a blues party. “I was always fas-cinated with that slide. I couldn’t see nothingtoo much in the room but that slide. I wasalways fascinated with the way it sounded,and the way it shimmied in the darkness.”

A few years later, when Williams was 12, his uncle started givinghim guitar lessons, teaching him just enough to practice until Huttoreturned from the road to see what he learned and teach him somemore. “One day he looked at me and said, ‘You want to play thatthing, don’t you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’ and he said,’ Let me show you

something.’ And then he showed me a riff,one riff, and he said, ‘Learn that.’”

When Hutto returned from a tour amonth later, the young Williams had learnedthe riff – well, half of one. “He came backfrom out of town, and I ran over to him andsaid, ‘Uncle Jamie, I can do it, I can do it.’ Iran over to him and I did it. And he lookedat me and said, ‘Ha! Ha!’” Williams says.“Then he put the second half to it. Thatreally messed me up. He taught me in areal special way, I think. He made me takemy time, and I had no idea I was taking mytime. I thought I was doing this in a hurry,you know? But when he’d show me some-thing, he’d leave. He wouldn’t come backfor 30 days.”

What Hutto showed Williams more thanfour decades ago now infuses his soul. It’swho Williams is and what drives him to keepplaying and writing music. “I write for a rea-son because it’s part of me. It’s my heart.

It’s my life,” he says. “It’s what I feel, what I see, what I speak. It’s somuch of me. When I’m singing it, I feel everything that I’m singing.So if I’m singing a really slow tune, that’s something that reallyaffects me. You’ll know it. If I’m playing something fast, it reallyexcites me.”

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HE DID NOT KNOW HE COULD NOT FLY,so he did,” sings Eric Bibb on his May 2011CD release Troubadour Live on Telarc.Although this song “The Cape” is one of thefew songs on this record and in his reper-toire that he did not write – it was written byAmericana artist Guy Clark and SusannaClark – it most assuredly is autobiographi-cal. “The Cape” first appeared on hisFriends and Songs LP in 2004, and it is astaple of his live repertoire often beginninghis set, but Bibb had never really thoughtmuch about “The Cape” as a defining song.It was his fans who gravitated toward it.

“The thing that really got me for keep-ing it on the set list was people’s response toit. I think everybody really feels that desire totrust his or her cape and fly. So many of usare inhibited by all kinds of things, and thatnatural gene to take off and fly is slowly butsurely stamped on and suppressed throughthe years. So that song starts with an eight-year-old boy, and people can relate to that.

“They either were that boy, or theyknew somebody like that boy. I rememberactually being up on garage roofs. I wasn’ttrying to fly off with a cape, but I was tryingto jump to the next garage that was across alittle alley that was junk strewn. I had somedaredevil friends. I was never really that way,but once or twice I did that. The things kidsdo believing in their own immortality is reallyamazing.”

Bibb’s dad is Leon Bibb, a would beopera singer who found as an African Ameri-can that he was unable to make advances inthat all-white culture of the late ’50s andearly ’60s. Instead, he made a name for him-self as a folk singer, musical theater singer,and TV personality. By age 10 in 1961 Ericfound himself playing lead guitar on dad’sSomeone New TV show in New York.

“I was hired as the guitarist for hishouse band for a time totally unprepared forthe job. I was surrounded by Ron Carterplaying bass sometimes. Seldon Powell, theguy who played on Aretha Franklin albums,played saxophone. I mean heavy duty NewYork musicians, and I was struggling to readvery simple charts, but my dad kind of threwme into the deep end wisely.” Bibb did notknow he could fly, so he did.

“I saw Son House in 1965. I was 14,just the fact that I actually remembered andcould tell people that I’d seen Dylan. I metDylan, I met Gary Davis, seen Son House.That filled me with a feeling of not exclusivityso much as empowerment just because Ididn’t think or don’t think it was an accident.

“I feel like who I am and what I do hassomething to do with the fact that thosepeople were in my path. Just like thatmeaning of Booker’s Guitar (his last albumthat took first place in the 2010 DownbeatCritic’s Poll). That happened to other peo-ple. Mark Knofler has played that guitar (aNational Steel guitar once owned byBooker White) and other people.

“Still, I felt there was a real reason thatmy experiences kind of had drawn me tothat experience of “meeting” Booker’s gui-tar. I felt like there was almost an equationinvolved, you know? Two plus two equalsfour. And it encourages me, man. It justmakes me feel like there is logic to this uni-verse. Energy is a pretty exact business.What you passionately pursue you attract toyou, and you get the kind of nutrition youneed on your journey. So trust the cape,you know?”

Bibb donned his cape and moved toParis at age 19. He’s enjoyed a much higherprofile in Europe, has lived for decades inSweden, but with Booker’s Guitar reaching

number one of the Billboard Album charts in2010, a Grammy nomination of “Shakin’ ATailfeather” and nine Blues Music Awardnominations, his profile as a creative,acoustic folk blues artist is growing everlarger in the United States.

In that growth process Bibb has devel-oped a rapport with his audience that’salmost more intense than the old-fashionedcall and response best captured in B.B.King’s Live At The Regal LP from the mid-1960s. So when he includes a false start ashe begins his homage to B.B. King, “TellRiley” on Troubadour Live, he is making astatement as significant as on “The Cape”about his comfort with his audience.

“When I listened back to it I realized ofcourse I could just chop this out. Nobodywould ever notice the difference, I wouldhave a seamless record, and people wouldthink that’s how professional I am. But thereality is that my performances are not pris-tine, and I just wanted a dose of reality, andit was a little bit boastful actually saying, ‘I’mcompetent to include a false start,’ becausewhat it does is it tells people not only thatI’m not that vain, that I need to appear infalli-ble. It also lets people know that I have acertain connection with my audience.

“If I can do that, laugh about it, and theycan laugh about it, too, and it doesn’tbecome an embarrassing moment, if I canrecover because I am comfortable in front ofmy audience the way I did, then maybe that’ssomething worth sharing, too. It’s not allabout just showing you’re a good musician.”

But it is about Bibb’s remembering thatfeeling of invulnerability he had as an eightyear old, putting on that same cape andbelieving in his ability to fly. “I think if wewere aware of all the things our kids do orremembered what we’d really do, we wouldrealize that something about our trust innature, trusting nature is in itself protection,and I think that vibe, that feeling, is some-thing worth holding onto because I think itwould really serve you all through life. Forsome reason that song, without my beingreally conscious of it, became a mainstay ofmy repertoire. And I’m really comfortable,especially when people really understandthe words. And I think it’s for all audiences,whether Italian, Swedish, or whatever.

ERIC BIBBDONNING“THE CAPE”AND FLYING

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by Don Wilcock

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“There was no problem, and peopleget it. And I like the fact they get it. They’renot only responding to the first song of myset. If I open with it, they’re not onlyresponding to a musical performance theylike, they’re responding to a story that Ididn’t write, but they’re responding to some-thing. It’s like they’re saying, ‘Yay for thatguy.’ But they’re really saying, yay for them-selves. So, it’s a real connection.

“You know, it does get easier. The moreyou think, ‘Well, I’ve done this before andusually things work out good.’ So, it’s notsomething you consciously think about, butsomewhere in your cell memory you remem-ber that it actually works. You can actually fly.It’s thrilling to actually feel your own wingsand do stuff that – gosh, it doesn’t take muchfor me.

“Every time I pass a musician whobusks in the street, I make a point to putmoney in the case because I did that[busking], and it wasn’t that long ago. Iremember busking in the early ‘80s outsideof a bank in Sheridan Square in New York.I’d come back from Sweden; I was reallystruggling. I remember a guy came up tome, he looked like a musician, and he said,‘Man, I just want to tell you one thing. Don’tstop! Don’t quit! You got something, and Ihear it. And it’s going to work for you. Justkeep going.’ And it turned out it wasG.E. Smith, the guitar player.”

Wearing that cape does require a cer-tain amount of dexterity, and that was some-thing Bibb learned from his dad who beatback the winds of prejudice to make his wayand act as a mentor to his son. Leon Bibbwas and still is a studied singer, almostoperatic in his style, but when he realizedthat as an African American he couldn’t getthe favored roles on Broadway, he chosefolk singing as an alternative.

Mentioned in one 1969 biography in thesame breath as Burl Ives and Theodore Bikel,Leon Bibb still faced challenges in his careerwhen he was blacklisted for his ties with leftwing groups and causes. To make mattersworse, he was often vilified by journalists ofthe day who felt that his near perfect dictionand cultured voice were inappropriate to the

cliché of the black sharecropper in overallsthey’d come to expect in the aftermath ofLead Belly’s success.

“To be an African American of mydad’s generation and to be accomplishedand successful and not bitter is a huge,huge victory, and I really feel empowered bywhat my dad has been able to do and passon to me. So, yeah, you kind of just have toforge ahead.

“When you feel weighted down by achallenge or an uncomfortable situation, it’sbasically trust “The Cape” thing. You gottaface your fears. You actually have to takethat leap of faith knowing that the actual leapis what will protect you. It’s like teetering onthe edge. If you can just accumulate fearsand anxieties, somehow actually decideyou’re supported. I’m doing a good thinghere, and despite all appearances some-times there’s something more powerful in allthese appearances that support a coura-geous good move. So you go ahead with it.”

Troubadour Live is the follow up toBooker’s Guitar. Booker White was calledBukka, a pejorative term for the stereotypeAfrican American bluesman in overalls. EricBibb had an “encounter” with Booker’s1930s vintage Resophonic guitar whichinspired the CD. Like his father, Bibb

appreciates holding the instrument Bookercalled “Hard Rock” with its heart-shapedcharm adhered to the headstock and handwritten set list Scotch taped to the guitar’sside. He was presented with that opportunityby a fan who approached Bibb at a CD sign-ing during a tour of the UK. White gave thisfan the guitar when they met in England atthe American Folk Blues Festival.

“I have a lot of energy in a lot of shows,but generally my approach is a lot closer tosomebody like John Hurt unless I’m inpreaching mode, but then I really felt a kin-ship to Bukka White, that whole being drawnto both the street side of the blues and thesensual side but also the fact that he wasbasically a spiritual singer, too, and there wasdefinitely a fiery preacher in him. And he hadsides out from his earliest recordings thatreflected that, that desire to really sing spiri-tual material, but there’s something aboutBukka White that just – and particularly afterplaying his guitar and feeling that energy.

“This is some instrument that he heldclose to his heart for decades, man, andthere I am holding it, playing songs on it,writing a song about that guitar. It was justlike, whoa, it really took my breath away,and I thought the most important thing wasfor me to just testify to how he had inspiredme in his guitar in my hands and inspiredme, and I really wanted to make a personalstatement that was derived from all of theyears of listening to that music.”

The blues world is replete with greatartists who fly because they refuse to buyinto others’ beliefs that they can’t. Eric Bibbis a prime example.

“ You gotta face your fears. You actually have totake that leap of faith knowing that the leap is

what will protect you.”

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Beth Hart was first in the spotlight onStar Search, the 1990s precursor to theAmerican Idol craze. She released a debutrecord, Immortal, in the States in 1996 onAtlantic and a follow-up, Screamin’ For MySupper, in 1999 to critical acclaim, but wasnever asked to record another. Her solutionwas to record Leave The Light On for theKOCH Records in 2003 and tour Europe tobuild-up her European fan base. That strat-egy has worked as Hart brings out legionsof fans from Norway to Germany to Den-mark. Her shows and recordings touch lis-teners of all ages. The frenzied energy shecaptures on each word makes her music anintense cathartic purge. As she bares hersoul in song after song, listeners easilybecome captive to her art, either joyful orpainful. Her most personal songs producechills and tears; her most raw makes oneimagine seeing Janis in a tiny HaightAshbury dive throw herself to the world.Since 2003’s Leave The Light On, Hart hasreleased a CD and DVD, Live At Paradiso,37 Days, and My California. But it is herduet album with Joe Bonamassa, Don’tExplain, that should reintroduce Hart toAmerican audiences that have eitherforgotten her or never heard this talentedartist. (Read the review of Don’t Explainin BR#131.)

How did this partnership and CD withJoe come about?I ran into Joe a few times on the road.I didn’t know much about him other thanthat so many people told me how amazinghe was. After we did a small show inLondon, I heard that he was at the show.I was really surprised to hear that he wasat my gig. I heard that one of the songs healways played on his Sunday radio showwas “Face Forward” off my 37 Daysalbum. I was sad that I didn’t get to meethim. Months and months later, I got a callfrom his management saying that Joewanted to do a soul record with me. Ithought that meant that I’d be doing back-ground vocals. I thought that might be fun,but he said that he wanted me doing all

the lead vocals. I couldn’t believe it. Thenhe said that I could also choose whateversongs I wanted. That was an unbelievableopportunity for me.

So I choose quite a few songs, KevinShirley and Joe also choose some. I had alist of everything I wanted to do. Kevin issuch a brilliant producer because he helpsyou decide on songs based on the phras-ing in your voice. I’ve never had a producerdo it in that way. He would send me tracksto listen to. It was so great because I got tohear new singers I’d never heard beforeand fantastic songs I’d never heard before.It was so great because it was so challeng-ing. I was so nervous. Swear to God, I got

hives the first day we recorded, and I’venever broken out before.

Sounds like you were pushed a little?I always want to be comfortable whenI’m singing or recording. But sometimesthere’s a courage that comes up likewhen you’re a kid and you want to go forsomething even if it means you’re gonnafall flat on your face, you go for it. Thatpushed me.

How would you describe your voice withhis guitar on the record?The thing that amazes me about him is thathe’s got so many mixes in him. I hear a lot

Beth HartQ withA&

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BLUES REVUE 23

of Jeff Beck in what he does. Oneof the things I love the most aboutwhat he did on this record is howhe mixed emotional improv on hisguitar with real melody. Sometimesyou can watch a singer who totallysticks to a song’s melody. It’s nice,but it can get a bit boring becauseyou want to hear the improv. Thenother times you hear a singer whoriffs the whole time and you think,just sing some melody. But Joedoes both.

What would he say about what yourvoice adds to the songs?I hope he’d say nice things.

What would you tell people who are newto Beth Hart?If I were to tell someone what I do, Iwouldn’t totally call myself blues artist. I’m amix, there’s soul, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, but I’dnever take offense if someone were todescribe me as a blues artist. I would take it

as a fantastic compliment. In my life rightnow, I’m going through this huge jazz thing.I’m getting ready to record a jazz record inHolland with a full-blown jazz orchestra. Itwill be covers of songs from decades fromthe twenties to the fifties. It will be interest-ing to see if I have anything to offer in thatarea. I think it’s gonna take a lot of listeningon my part and respecting the best of whodid this music. It reminds me of being veryyoung and it reminds me of my mother. Aswe both get older, I want to feel that time

again and listening to that greatmusic takes me there.

On this soul project with Joe, wehear a totally different vocal BethHart then what we are used tobecause these vocal approacheshave that powerful restraint.That’s one of the things I loveabout it. It’s the opposite of rock ‘n’roll. Instead of screaming to showthat feeling, this music is all aboutholding back and seeing if you can

emote that feeling within the phrasing. Andthat is so interesting to me. I love Billie Holi-day. I think though her music was jazzmusic, her emotion and life are blues. I reallylove Dinah Washington, too. I’ve been listen-ing to a lot of Ella Fitzgerald lately. I listen towhat she’s done and think that I could neverdo that. And I love LaVern Baker. I justbecame aware of her a few years back andgot everything we could. Whenever I cook,I listen to Etta James and LaVern Baker.– Art Tipaldi

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BLUES REVUE 25

Like many blues fansI first encountered Otis Spann as thebrilliant pianist on countless recordingsby the Four Horsemen of Chess Records(i.e., Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, SonnyBoy Williamson, and Little Walter). Had heonly recorded on those sessions, OtisSpann would still be a legend.

However, it’s the dozen or so albumshe recorded in the 1960s under his namethat sealed his reputation as the greatestblues pianist of all time. I’ve been in theblues business for over 40 years and noone I’ve talked to has ever disputed hispreeminent stature. I was fortunate to seeOtis Spann once; he was with MuddyWaters at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, PA(just west of Philadelphia) on a frigid week-night in January of 1969. He sat back inthe corner and was hard to see; he wasplaying a keyboard that wasn’t muchbigger than a suitcase.

Other than really enjoying the music, Iremember little else except that Muddy hadthree guitarists that night (Sammy Lawhorn,Pee Wee Madison, and Luther “GeorgiaBoy” Johnson – not be confused withLuther “Guitar Junior” Johnson); it was also

the first time I saw Paul Oscher. The twoalbums he recorded in August of 1960 forrenowned jazz critic Nat Hentoff’s Candidlabel (Otis Spann Is the Blues and Walkin’the Blues) are quintessential Otis Spann.Spann is joined by guitarist Robert Jr. Lock-wood, who sings on four tracks, and theirold friend St. Louis Jimmy Oden (composerof “Goin’ Down Slow”) vocalizes in his dry,laconic style on half a dozen tracks.

The depth and breadth of Spann’s key-board artistry is on full display: thunderousboogies, rollicking shuffles, smoldering slowblues, and dark autobiographical laments.These two albums were my constant com-panions during the last three semesters ofcollege when I was writing various term

papers. They have left an indelible impres-sion on my soul as much for his smoky,relaxed, yet deeply soulful vocals as for hisvirtuoso playing. To this day, Spann soundslike he is in the room playing just for me.Really can’t say that about a lot of otheralbums. His death in 1970 at age 40 is onethe greatest tragedies in the blues.

In closing, Spann only released acouple of singles. The oddest was “Bluesfor Hippies,” a posthumous release (b/w“Bloody Murder”) on Excello. I only knowof three blues songs with “hippie” in thetitle; the others are Junior Wells’ “TheHippies Are Trying” and Bob Margolin’s“Maybe The Hippies Were Right.”– Thomas J. Cullen III

The Blues Walking: An Appreciation of Otis Spann

“I played classical piano growing up, but never intended to go on playing professionally...until I heard Otis Spann. That’s the day that changed my life forever. There never was,

nor will be, a blues piano player with more talent and soul. He is a one-of-a-kind Americantreasure who is loved by the whole world of blues lovers. The joy he has brought me withhis playing is indescribable. Since the first time I heard him, 40 years ago, he’s been in

my heart each and every night I play. I’d like to think that he’s looking down from heavensaying, ‘You’ve done a good job. I’m proud of you.’” – Honey Piazza

OTIS SPANN Select Discography

Otis Spann Is The Blues (Candid)

Walking The Blues (Candid)

Otis Spann: Blues Masters (Storyville)

Otis Spann’s Chicago Blues (Testament)

The Blues Never Die (Prestige)

Best Of The Vanguard Years (Vanguard)

Down To Earth: The Bluesway Recordings (MCA)

The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (Sony)

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Dave Maxwell talkswith Blues Revue aboutOtis Spann

BR: You were so lucky to have known OtisSpann and to be a direct link to him. What wasyour initial impression of Spann’s music uponfirst hearing? What is your most lasting impres-sion of the man and his music?DM: I first heard Spann [live] inParis in 1963. He was part ofthe Blues Caravan that touredEurope. I was completelyknocked out hearing his soloperformance of “Going DownSlow.” Later, I heard him at Club47 in Cambridge, Massachu-setts. I got to know him andeventually started sitting in withMuddy’s band. Spann, to me, isamong the deepest and mostsoulful of all the Chicago bluespianists. To me, he is at the top.BR: Many fans consider Spannthe greatest blues pianist of all time. Whatseparates him from other greats like PinetopPerkins, Sunnyland Slim, Memphis Slim, et al?DM: Spann had a range of expressive capabil-ities that was truly extraordinary. Pinetop had awonderful presence and was an inspiration tome for so many years. Memphis Slim I knewpersonally; he was so prolific and powerfuland quite the entertainer. Sunnyland, whom Iknew quite well, led the way for many playerswho came to Chicago. Sunnyland was deepand powerful, a rugged player with so muchforce. Sometimes it’s hard to choose. For me,hearing Spann was to penetrate the very heartof the blues.BR: For many fans, Spann’s Candid sessionsare the alpha and omega of blues piano. Whatled you to choose the songs to duet on?DM: Well, we chose four songs that I thought

had enough space for me to have the “conver-sation.” I didn’t want to wear out the novelty ofit all. Also, I chose solo tunes of mine, whichwere directly influenced by Spann. Somesongs are duplicated in a dovetailing way toillustrate this point.BR: What is most difficult aspect of Spann’sstyle to master?DM: Touch and phrasing. One can get thelicks more or less, but it is Spann’s dynamics

and he puts things that makehim the master he is.BR: What were some of thechallenges you faced whenrecording the duets?DM: The main challenge wasto complement Spann withoutgetting in the way of the flow ofthe piece. At times, the densitymight be off putting, but if onehears it on an objective level asa sound piece, this might notbe a problem. In other words,enjoy the “conversations.”BR: Although Conversations in

Blue is an instrumental album, I always lovedSpann’s vocals – deep, soulful, amazinglymature for a man in his thirties. What are someof your favorite Spann vocals?DM: I love just about anything that Spannsang; the solo album originally recorded inDenmark for Storyville (Good Morning Blues,1963) all those songs. The Prestige album(1964) The Blues Never Die. There’s one onthere with a “44” feeling. I think it’s “AfterAwhile” maybe. So down, so deep. The wayhe sang “Nobody’s Business”...wow. Some ofthe songs on Testament for Pete Welding. Imean there are so many and I know I’m leav-ing out a lot. The Chicago/The Blues/Today!series on Vanguard (1966), Spann told me hedidn’t like those sessions because he had acold. Imagine that.– Tom Cullen III

“I spent a lot of time with Spann. Willie Dixon would bring the lyrics over to Muddy’s house.I lived on the second floor of Muddy’s building and Spann lived in the basement. I’d go to thebasement and Spann and I would arrange Dixon’s songs for Muddy. Spann was the best blues

piano player I’ve ever heard and a very good guy.” – James Cotton

“In the [Muddy Waters] band Otis was a tower of strength. Never obtrusive, he was the perfectaccompanist and ensemble player and every note he played seemed just right.”

– Mike Rowe in Chicago Breakdown

“As for piano players, there’s Otis Spann and everybody else. Spann was a real good friend.To me, he was the personification of the blues; the way he walked, the way he talked, his whole

attitude, everything he said, he was the blues alive and walking.” – Charlie Musselwhite

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BLUES REVUE 27

On the surface of things,making a blues movie – or any documen-tary film, for that matter – seems like aneasy thing. You get a camera and a micro-phone; you head out into the world you’retrying to capture; and you press “record.”I wish.

As I write this, Broke & HungryRecords’ Jeff Konkel and I are putting thefinal touches on our second major Missis-sippi blues movie, along with our talentedproduction team – Damien Blaylock, LouBopp, and Bill Abel. The forthcoming filmis our better-late-than-never follow-up tothe 2008 award winner M For Mississippi:A Road Trip Through The Birthplace OfThe Blues (www.mformississippi.com).

WHAT’S THE NEXT MOVIE ABOUT?

Good question. The blues music documen-tary field is seemingly a narrow one – par-ticularly if you always plan to film inMississippi. How many stories, how manycharacters, how many songs could therepossibly be? Fortunately, the answer is,“A lot.” Though it’s an answer with a farfrom certain future.

The new, forthcoming project wasactually born during our last days of filmingM For Mississippi. The title and the subjectmatter were inspired by the words ofClarksdale juke joint owner Red Paden,who said to us, “We juke up in here. We gobeyond the call of duty!”

In that simple statement, Paden saida lot. As we move forward into the seconddecade of the 21st century, traditionalblues music is less and less of a vital artform for local Delta audiences and theAfrican-American community it originallyserved. It is a music from another time andplace. It is a music played by livingdinosaurs, and just like these archaicmusicians, the venues which have sup-ported the music for a century or morehave become anachronistic.

The simple truth is that in this modernage of casinos, strip malls, MP3s, and

manufactured authenticity, there reallyshouldn’t still be such a thing as a down-and-dirty juke joint. From an economicperspective alone, this quasi-legal houseparty should have crumbled into the shad-ows years ago.

Fortunately, no one bothered to telljuke owners like Paden or his crazy collec-tion of old-school bluesmen. We Juke Up InHere: Mississippi’s Juke Joint Culture At TheCrossroads (www.wejukeupinhere.com)seeks to explore this current state of jukesin Mississippi while capturing memorableperformances by a few of the Delta blues-men who still prefer to play them.

HOW TO MAKE A BLUES MOVIEAND NOT DIE TRYING?

When I talk with young filmmakers aboutstarting new projects, the first and fore-most question that always comes up is:“How do you pay for it” Well, if you pray,then start with that. Besides divine inter-vention, I suggest saving up enough cashto shoot a three-minute preview trailerbefore even thinking about production ofthe actual film. Once you have your trailer,post it on YouTube and set up a simpleweb site with your trailer, a description ofyour film project, and a mockup of your

M For Mississippi“So if you aresitting with yourarm around awoman who isnot your wife,you may want toget up and move!”

Jeff Konkel and I pose while Damien Blaylock films in the bucket truck

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movie poster (or DVD cover art). The idea isto give the illusion, er… idea… that youknow what you’re doing, you are activelydoing it, and it’s going to look professional.

Of course, then you need to actually doit. A missed release or premiere deadline isnot acceptable in this scenario. Assumingthat you can reliably accomplish the planabove, then you should use that trailer andweb site to help convince potential investorsof your project’s viability and start pre-salesof your DVD product (if that is your mer-chandise goal).

In the case of our latest film, we wereable to identify a main marketing sponsorand distribution partner early on – the Roots& Blues Association of Parma, Italy. Clearlyillustrating what our new project was goingto be about (and actually look like) definitelyhelped convince sponsors and partners likeour friends in Parma to come aboard.

ASSEMBLING THE IDEALPRODUCTION CREW

For documentary film work, I firmly believethat the smaller the crew and the lighter the“footprint,” the better. Living in blues-centricClarksdale, I have seen far too many film andTV crews come to town with loud, disruptivecrews. Such crews change everything.People act differently, interviewees clam up(or “tell tales”), normal audiences thin out and“hanger on” audiences suddenly appear.At that point, you are absolutely only docu-menting the fact that you are making a docu-mentary. (A couple cases in point this summer

included American Pickers and Young, Broke& Beautiful – two large TV productions thatcame slamming into town; allegedly “realityTV,” the results were far from it.)

As with M For Mississippi, we favor afive-person team. It’s a micro crew by Holly-wood standards, but we feel it allows us tocapture a more natural, authentic look andfeel by not overwhelming the local musi-cians, venues and audiences with a biggroup of film folks and equipment.

Speaking of equipment, we absolutelyrecommend as little lighting as you can getaway with, when shooting juke joint scenes.Ever been to a well-lit juke? Neither have I.‘Nuff said.

REMEMBER: THE AUDIENCEIS PART OF THE FILM

Filming a night at an authentic juke joint iscrazy, fun, and potentially risky. There is a lotof chaos built in to such a venue – from thereal-deal blues musicians to the “you can’t tellme what to do” audience. On top of that,there’s always a colorful owner at juke venues– in this case, the man behind the dark lenseswho is really running the show, Red Paden.

One rule filmmakers need to follow(especially in a juke joint environment) tostay legal and ethical: You must notify youraudience that they may well end up in yourfilm. We do it both visually with posted flyersand verbally with on-mic statementsbetween musical sets – usually ending theofficial statement with something like, “So ifyou are sitting with your arm around awoman who is not your wife, you may wantto get up and move!”

Most folks just laugh at this laststatement; a few get up and move.

WE JUKE UP IN HERE PREMIERESAT JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL

There is still nothin’ like a Mississippi jukejoint. If you haven’t been to one yet, thenstart planning your Delta visit today. A goodtime to come is in April for Clarksdale’s JukeJoint Festival (www.jukejointfestival.com).It’s April 14th in 2012, and We Juke Up InHere appropriately premieres at DeltaCinema the night before. It’s gonna be ablast, y’all!

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Bluesman Terry “Harmonica” Bean performs with drummer Frank Vick at Red’s Lounge

Red Paden runs the bar at the legendary Red’s Lounge

BLUES REVUE 29

Fate messes with us.In February, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith andPinetop Perkins won the 2011 GrammyAward for Traditional Blues Album. After thatgratifying honor, both of them have left thebuilding before the end of this year. Pinetopwas 97 and the miracle of his survival had toend sometime. Willie “Big Eyes” Smith wasonly 75. He didn’t look it; he was fit,strong, full of life, and at the peak of hisconsiderable musical powers until justlast spring. Then he faced bone cancer,had pain in his hip, and lost weight,and yet didn’t miss any gigs until nearthe end. Chemotherapy weakenedWillie. A stroke took him at home inChicago on September 16, 2011.

Most blues fans who saw Willielast summer didn’t know there wasanything seriously wrong. He mightlimp to the stage, but then he wouldlead his band and strut around whenthe music got good to him. His harpplaying was focused and his singingwas strong. Offstage, his illness had toquietly take a back seat in his gray Fordvan while Willie drove hundreds ofmiles at a time, as he had done thou-sands of times for more than 50 yearson the road. I rode shotgun andwatched him drive from Toronto toGravenhurst, Ontario, Canada just lastAugust 11. I was worried about him, but Ithought that if anyone could get past thishealth challenge it would be Willie. He wasa strong, strong man.

Still, I had a sign of the seriousness ofWillie’s illness on July 23 at the RaumaBlues Festival in Finland. Willie and his bandleft at 4 a.m. after the show to fly home. Iwas leaving later so I was up, partying withAmerican and Finnish Blues bands andfans. Willie came over to me before he leftand said, “I have your money.” I told himkeep it, I had my own separate contract andhad already been paid. Willie put the moneyback in his pocket and his band later toldme he divided it with them. But then hehugged me and kissed me on the cheek.He had never done anything like that

before. It’s possible that Willie alreadybelieved his time wasn’t long.

It is a monumental tribute to Willie thatat his funeral the name “Muddy Waters” wasnot even mentioned except in the writtenobituary, and only as one of the musiciansWillie had played with. “Grammy” is a big-ger name than “Muddy,” even for a

bluesman. Willie was honored for himselfrather than for his long-ago deep associa-tion with Muddy.

Willie was one of the all-time greatblues drummers. He played drums inMuddy’s band for part of every decade fromthe 1950s to the ‘80s. As with PinetopPerkins’ distinctive voice and piano, Williehad an instantly recognizable style of drum-ming. He always swung; he bent time to hisown emotional take on the song in themoment and the band followed. Willie was alefty who played a right-handed kit. Watch-ing him propel a band was as exciting asfeeling that groove.

Over the next two years I met Muddyand his band when I did guest sets onMuddy shows with former Muddy guitarist

Luther “Georgia Boy” “Snake” Johnson andlater opening Muddy shows with The BostonBlues Band. Muddy was very encouragingto me because I was trying to play what hecalled “Old School” Chicago Blues.

The first thing Muddy did when hehired me to play guitar in his band in August1974 was to summon Willie. He introducedus, “Willie is my bandleader, Bob is going toplay guitar in the band.” Willie smiled andshook my hand and said one of the nicestand most important things anyone ever saidto me, “Welcome to the club.”

It chills me that time has taken all of theothers in that August 1973 Muddy band:Muddy, Hollywood Fats, Fuzz Jones, Pine-top, Willie, and now Mojo Buford as I writethis. In November 1973, Luther “Guitar Jr.”Johnson replaced Hollywood Fats and inMarch 1974, Jerry Portnoy replaced Mojo.Those two and I are now the survivors ofMuddy’s band from 1974-’80. Our friendsand band-mates live on every time we playblues.

Muddy called Willie the “bandleader”because he was paid extra for his driving androad managing. But on the bandstand,Willie’s drum groove led everyone, includingMuddy. I find it ironic that at his own shows,Willie often sang Jimmy Reed’s classic “BigBoss Man.” Willie never had a boss man,even when he was employed by Muddy. Ifthe song “My Way” was a blues song, thatwould have fit Willie much better. He dideverything his own way, regardless of author-ity or reason. Willie was such a great playerand kind, friendly soul that everyone lovedhim and accepted him on his own terms.

Willie admired Muddy long before hebecame Muddy’s drummer and closefriend, but sometimes they would get intoarguments after shows. I could hear themyelling at each other a few hotel roomsaway. Then I’d hear a door slam as Willie leftMuddy’s room. I’d put my hand on thephone and it would ring and Muddy wouldcuss and say, “Find me a new drummer inthe morning.” In the morning I’d wake upand put my hand on the phone. It wouldring and Muddy would cuss and tell mehe’d keep Willie. Muddy loved him.

One time they were arguing in a vanwhile Willie was driving. Muddy was making

Goodnight, Willie“Big Eyes”Smith

Willie enjoying giving a workshop at theColorado Blues Festival – Greeley, Colorado, 2007

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sense, but Willie would say anything ornothing rather than accede to Muddy. Muddysuddenly stopped fighting and looked at hisfriend with genuine concern and amazementand observed, “You psychotic!” But Willie wasnot crazy, just very stubborn. In frustration,Muddy once complained poetically to Willie,“The more I teach you, the dumber I get.”

In 1980, Willie, Pinetop, Fuzz Jones,and Jerry Portnoy formed The LegendaryBlues Band. Eventually one original memberat a time dropped out until the late ‘90swhen Willie was the only one still on the roadunder that name. It became “The Willie ‘BigEyes’ Smith Blues Band” after the band wasWillie plus whoever he brought.

In 2002, I called on Willie to do moreshows with me and some of our Chicagoblues friends in The Bob Margolin All-StarBlues Jam. We did smaller trio gigs withgreat bassist/harp player/singer Mookie Brilltoo. But the biggest step for Willie’s careerwas when he started to be managed by PatMorgan, who was already turning PinetopPerkins into a modern blues star after Pine-top had scuffled all his long life.

Pat advised Willie to come out frombehind the drums to sing and play harp. Hehad already accomplished everything ablues drummer could do. Willie’s visibilitydid indeed grow and when Pat arranged forWillie and Pinetop to record Joined At TheHip together, the Grammy Award they wonfor it this year was the peak of both of theirlong, bluesy, hard-working careers.

Still, Willie’s music, friendliness, andstubborn independence were not his biggest

achievement; that was his family. At hisfuneral, the preacher asked his children torise. There were twelve of them; two morehad “preceded Willie in death.” Then dozensof grandchildren and great-grandchildrenrose. There were a lot of people of all ages atthat funeral who looked like Willie.

Willie’s funeral was also attended byhundreds of his friends, neighbors, andChicago blues players. All were stunned andin shock. Everyone thought he would prevailand come back strong. We were also stillreeling from this year’s passing of Pinetopand Honeyboy Edwards.

I was going to write this personal tributeto Willie as soon as I heard the bad news.

I decided to wait until after the funeral. Then Iwaited until after the King Biscuit Festival,both because I just didn’t want to write aboutWillie dead and because I felt that the storywas not complete.

Willie’s 37-year-old son, Kenny “BeedyEyes” Smith, has been the busiest drummerin Chicago since 1994. He canceled hisgigs and came down to the King Biscuitweekend in early October to fill in for Willieat a Bob Corritore showcase, the festival, ata street festival in El Dorado, Arkansas thenext day, and back at the Pinetop Home-coming in Clarksdale on the Sunday. Kennyinherited his father’s drum skills, work ethic,charm, smile, and tone of voice. For himselfand for all of us, he showed us that Willie“Big Eyes” Smith will be alive as long asKenny is, and as long as we listen to Willie’srecorded music and remember him andsmile for him.

Willie drumming with the Muddy Waters Band at The Jazz Workshop in Boston, Massachusetts,1971(L-R: Willie “Big Eyes”Smith, Muddy Waters, Paul Oscher, and Pee Wee Madison)

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BLUES REVUE 31

Let’s get right to the point...I don’t know you personally, but I can confi-dently say that most likely you’re not a goodlistener. Musicians are used to putting on arecording and playing along to learn. Mostlikely you’ve heard the old adage, “How canyou listen if you’re busy talking?” Let’s changethis for our purpose to, “How can you listen ifyou’re busy playing?” By immediately playingalong with a recording, you’re guarantied tomiss notes, rhythms, textures, dynamics, andmost other subtleties that great musicians uti-lize in the performance of their phrases.

Want to change this? Sure you do! Letme share with you the method I teach my stu-dents for the learning of music.

The first step in the learning process is tobreak down a song into its digestible pieces.This is called “chunking.” The full song is firstcut up into choruses (each complete timethrough the twelve bar blues). Each chorus isthen cut into its individual licks – one at a timeuntil the song is learned. So, our main focus ison the ideal practice habits for learning a lick.Here we go.

Step 1 – Set A Loop And Slow It DownUse a software program like the AmazingSlow Downer (www.ronimusic.com) to loopthe lick you’re trying to learn (a loop is whereyou set a start and end point for a lick and thesoftware automatically repeats the lick). Setthe start loop early enough so that you cantap your foot and anticipate the start of yourlick. Set the end point far enough out so thatthe return of the loop doesn’t feel abrupt. Slowdown the lick until you can clearly hear all ofthe notes and the inflections used to presentthem. Speed is the enemy of the learningprocess.

Step 2 – Listen Once, Sing OnceNow that your loop is set, listen to the lickonce, focusing on the contour of the melody(where notes go up, stay the same, or godown) as well as the rhythm and dynamicsused to present them. Then sing the lick once.If you can, sing the actual pitches. If yoursinging sends young children away crying,just do your best to follow the contour of the

melody, don’t worry about hitting the exactpitches – and close the door for goodnesssake so nobody can hear you!

Listen once. Sing once. Listen once. Singonce. Repeat this process, each time gettingcloser to what’s on the recording. DO NOTSING EVERY TIME. While listening, yourmind is deeply focused on what you’re hear-ing and calculating what needs to beadjusted in order to fix the errors from yourlast singing. We speak about building musclememory often in the world of technique, butit’s really your brain sending impulsesthrough your neural pathways to instruct yourmuscles when to fire, how hard to fire, andfor how long. It’s your mind we’re training,not your muscles. If the lick you’re learningcontains a new technique for you, then it willof course take some time for your muscles toget accustomed to the new movement. Oth-erwise, it’s your mind we’re training for thenew lick. Realizing this is key to reaching thehighest levels of practice efficiency and ulti-mately great musicianship.

Step 3 – Stop The Music And PracticeYou’re reading this, so you’re obviously inter-ested in bettering your skills. With this in mindyou’re most likely working with me at Blue-sharmonica.com where I have study songs tohelp students develop their skill sets. Ormaybe you’re working from a lesson or tran-scription book. Now that you have the lick inyour head, stop the music and work from theharmonica tablature – working the notes,movement, breath patterns, and techniquesspecific to that lick. Basically, you are focusingon the mechanical elements required to playthis lick on your machine. This part of theprocess can go very quickly or slowly, alldepending on how much of that lick involvesnew technique for you.

Step 4 – Listen Once, Play OnceThis process is the same as Step 2, but withactually playing on your instrument. Tradition-ally this has been the point where we wouldplay along with the recording over and over,so the modification here is to have the disci-pline to listen between each play. It’s challeng-ing not to play each time, but the reward isfaster and more accurate learning.

Step 4.5 – Don’t Stop Yet!Once you feel like you’ve dialed the lick in,don’t stop; you’re not playing music yet, justnotes in rhythm. Listen to how the performer’sdynamics (we’re basically speaking of volumechanges here). Once you have that dialed in,listen to their use of tremolo and vibrato. Onceyou have that dialed in, listen to any otherarticulations and inflections in the perfor-mance that made that lick so cool – whatmade YOU want to learn it in the first place.Once you have all of those elements you’renow playing music!

Step 5 – Apply The Chorus FormsAt this point, place that lick into the context ofwhat we know to be good phrasing, ChorusForms. Play the lick as an A A A, A A B, Af AfAt, Af Af Bt, and A B/A C Chorus Form. Play itup an octave, down an octave, add two-notecombinations, shakes, slaps, octaves, flutters,side-flutters, pulls, and any other appropriatetechniques to present that lick in as many dif-ferent ways as possible. By improvising withthis lick, and surrounding it with your currentvocabulary, you’re vastly enhancing thechances it will show up in your improvising.If you’re not familiar with the Chorus Formprocess, work with the Improvising Study 1lesson at Bluesharmonica.com or mybook/CD, Improvising Blues Harmonica byMel Bay Publications.

After working on each lick in a given chorus, tryplaying the entire chorus at a slow speed (noneed to listen once and play once any more)until you can play the chorus all the waythrough with minimal errors. Do this for eachchorus in the song until you can play the entiresong at a slow speed. Build up speed until youcan play the song at tempo. Before hitting thebandstand, make sure to practice performingthe song to a jam track. This is a great way toget one step closer to the real experience ofplaying the song live. Make sure to practiceyour intro speech (key, groove, where the bandcomes in, count-in, etc. ) and all hand signals(breaks and ending) needed for the song.

Once you get used to the process, you’ll findno match for how quickly you can learn asong and how musical the end result is.Good luck and have fun!

Lesson books, CDs, and videosby author David Barrett

can be found atwww.harmonicamasterclass.com

Are You Listening?


THE 21st running of the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival owes some of itssuccess to its open-minded definition of musical genres. Although ithangs its hat on blues and jazz, organizers hold tight to their belief thatpeople love all sorts of music – acknowledging that much of it fits betweenthese tightly knit categories. How perfect that an artist of the stature of TajMahal can partake of its jubilant, enlightened audience, reflecting thesame adventurous spirit as has his personal musical odyssey? He is, infact, the perfect fit. Taj Mahal performed twice with his Trio – Kester Smith,drums and Bill Rich, bass – one performance in the polished, soft-seat

Playhouse and the other in a packed, enormous weatherproof tent. As Tajand company mounted the Playhouse stage he, decked out in a colorfulHawaiian shirt, white slacks, and fedora, appeared somewhat uncomfort-able playing before a seated, somewhat reserved audience whom hecouldn’t really see. Not that this stopped him from being his usual, highly-animated self – hips gyrating, rocking his body to the music.

The following day’s performance found the band confronted by aboisterous, full house in the Blues Tent. As Taj and his Trio worked each

song from his extensive catalogue, his rhythm section followed his everylead. He was soaked, but happy and definitely at home. The crowd lappedit up as Mahal spun through new material and classics alike: “Fishin’Blues,” “Annie Mae,” “TV Mama,” “The Blues Is Alright,” “Diving DuckBlues,” “Zanzibar,” and “Slow Drag.” Delivered with gusto at 69 and, for the

audience, a rare opportunity to see an icon upclose on this, his second coming – now that therest of the world has finally caught up to him.

In the 40 years since Henry St. Clair Freder-icks released his self-titled debut, making sizeablewaves as Taj Mahal, much has happened. Tajsingle-handedly made his name on the revival andpreservation of age-old traditional blues at a timewhen everyone else was trying something new.But, a restless musical traveler, he couldn’t staythere for long. He was looking for more and seek-ing to define his ethnicity by drinking in the bluesfrom a world music perspective – long before alater wave of groundbreakers like Keb’ Mo’, GuyDavis, and Corey Harris made this popular. In notime this modern-day bluesman ran afoul of bluespurists with forays into Caribbean sounds, NewOrleans music, reggae, and Hawaiian music.

Yet – unbelievably – it all made sense in Taj’shands and voice. Seeing him deliver this music inperson was more than a history lesson. It becamesomething far more precious and special. His slide

playing was masterful and his abilities on guitar, harmonica and banjo werejaw-dropping as Mahal attacked each song like an enthusiastic kid. His is acelebration of music for those who love music. It’s something that only amaster who has lived the music first can do. He doesn’t borrow. He creates,all the more original for having a firm grasp on all the ingredients that camebefore. There’s really only one Taj Mahal and it was special for the twoaudiences to get the chance to partake of this legend.– Eric Thom

TAJ MAHAL TRIO21st Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival

Fredericton, New Brunswick, CanadaSeptember 16-17, 2011

AT 77 years old, John Mayall is showing little sign of slowing down.Mayall recently returned home to the UK for a 25-date tour in October andNovember. Joining him was fast-rising British guitarist Oli Brown and hisband, one of a crop of young European blues musicians on Ruf Records.Brown has already built a great reputation in the UK with his band winningbest live act in the 2011 British Blues Awards and his most recent releaseHeads I Win Tails You Lose picking up best album. Brown’s latest album,his second, was produced by Blues Horizon founder Mike Vernon. Some45 years ago Vernon was in the producer’s chair for John Mayall’s Beanoalbum, and Brown hopes that Vernon’s influence can give his career thesame push that it gave the young Eric Clapton featured in that line up ofthe Bluesbreakers. “Mike’s name is on the production credits for most ofthe CDs I have at home,” said Brown. “Writing songs with him made me

more aware of what I should be listening for when I am composing.I learned a lot from Mike.”

In much the same way as Clapton learned his trade as a sideman,Brown attributes much to his own mentors. At the age of 17, Brownwas invited to tour with BlindDog Smokin’ and he credits the Wyomingbased band for much of his development. “I would never have beena singer or led my own band. They helped me develop my stage

JOHN MAYALL & OLI BROWNBristol Colston Hall, United Kingdom

November 1, 2011

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presence and technique. I wouldn’t be the musician I am today if itwasn’t for them.”

Brown clearly listened and learned well. His performance exudedconfidence and he managed to make a near 2,000-seat hall seem morelike an intimate club gig. Backed by a tight and funky rhythm section ofBritish Blues Drummer of the Year Wayne Proctor and bassist Ron Sayer,

Brown played tracks from his first two releases and previewedsongs from his forthcoming 2012 release Here I Am. Definitely atthe rockier end of blues, the six song set showed great variety,from the laid back “Complicated,” during which Brown sangunamplified, to the heads down rock of “Evil Soul,” The setclosed with a re-work of Blackstreet and Dr. Dre’s “No Diggity,”with Brown superbly turning hip hop into blues.

At only 21 years old Brown has already been invited on major concerttours with Walter Trout and now John Mayall, has toured the USA andCanada and throughout Europe, is getting airplay on national radio in the

UK, and made the top ten blues albums of 2010 in Mojo magazine withHeads I Win Tails You Lose. Next year will see him headline a UK tour thatmoves him to bigger venues and takes Brown to a much wider audiencewithin and beyond the blues community.

Headliner Mayall started with a solo version of “Bye Bye Bird” beforebeing joined on stage by his band for a 90 minute set drawn from his

massive back catalogue. Most of the song choices for this gigwere drawn from his 1960’s releases, including “All Your Love,”“The Bear,” “Mail Order Mystics,” “Parchman Farm,” “All MyLife,” “Ridin’ On The L&N,” a jazzy “Long Gone Midnight,” and afunky “Nature’s Disappearing,” introduced by Mayall as his songabout conservation “before conservation became popular.”

Mayall’s current band doesn’t includeany up and coming guitarist, it simply oozesexperience and features Texan Rocky Athason guitar and a rhythm section made inChicago, drummer Jay Davenport andbassist Greg Rzab. The almost motionlessRzab is surely a contender for the coolestbass player on the planet, quietly and unob-trusively laying down the groove beforebursting into life for his solos, first on “MailOrder Mystics” and a full on assault on“Room To Move,” the stand out song of thenight which at one point had Rzab andMayall trading licks on bass and harmonica.

It is hard to believe that John Mayall hasbeen gigging for half a century. Songs thatare over 40 years old sound like they werewritten yesterday and Mayall looks more likesomeone who is enjoying his first tour than

someone who has clocked up thousands of gigs. There is most definitelya place for the likes of Oli Brown on the circuit, but the older generationsuch as Mayall and Buddy Guy are in no mood to move over just yet.– Chris Kerslake

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KEB’ MO’ will be the first to admit that his latest record, The Reflection,is not a blues record. Try telling that to the capacity crowd that filled theCalvin Theater who came super psyched to party with whatever music Keb’and his all-star band played.

Keb’ understands the deep placewhere the blues comes from and heunderstands that media needs to labelartists, but he also knows that any suc-cessful artist must shatter those labels.The Reflection and this tour move Keb’away from the label Keb’ Mo’, bluesman,and into the territory of “no appropriatelabel.”

Ultimately the night belonged tosongs and personality. From the secondsong, when Keb’ sat at the edge of thestage high-fivin’ fans, to his genuinewarmth in sharing his lyrical visions, thisnight flowed in a joyous performer/audience give and take.

What was nice about the evening isthat Keb’ didn’t hammer the audienceover the head with one new song after

another. Instead he cleverly sprinkled a handful of fresh songsthroughout a set of 20 songs. The night’s two hour set effort-lessly moved from fresh arrangements of Keb’ Mo’ classics like“Perpetual Blues Machine,” “More Than One Way Home,” and“Muddy Water” to an unveiling of songs from The Reflectionlike “The Whole Enchlida” (which you can get as your ringtoneon your Iphone), “We Don’t Need It,” and “All The Way.”

With the synthesizer splash of Michael B. Hicks, Keb’turned “Gimme What You Got” into a booty shakin’ songyou’d hear from Bobby Rush in a chitlin’ circuit club. Theloudest roar of approval came for his “Shave Yo’ Legs.” Asthe women stood at the unconditional acceptance the lineprofesses, I wondered if I too could have also gone“unshaven” to the show.

The quietest moment of the night was Keb’s delivery of thetimely “We Don’t Need It,” a poignant look at what unemploy-ment does to families on the edge. A daughter who wants a

KEB’ MO’Calvin Theater, Northampton, MA

September 22, 2011

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THOUGH the talent line-up at the 2011 Biscuit was a who’s who ofthe blues, featuring many Arkansas and Mississippi artists, Larry Garnerentertained the crowd on the levee with a combination of wit and charm.

For blues fans, it’s a joy to see Garner healthy, touring, and writingagain. “I had triple bypass surgery in 2007 and was treated for hep Ctoo,” said Garner. “I started treatment before Kenny Neal. I told him whatI was taking and how it was gonna feel. He stopped working and stayedin California; I never stopped working. Those meds had me so tired.I couldn’t play as hard as I used to. It was like taking chemo. I was stilldriving to the gigs and the guys in the band said that they’d alwaysrespected me, but my hat’s off to you after this.”

Garner addressed his health on the slow blues update of St. LouisJimmy’s “Goin’ Down Slow.” Here Garnervisits a doctor who advises Garner tostop his bad health habits. Garneranswers, “I’ve had some fun and if y’allcan’t get me well, I’m goin’ down slow.”

As always, each song came with astory rapped in the middle or end whereGarner personalized the message. “TheRoad Of Life” was his song to the menwith broken hearts. At the end, headvised taking hold of that broken heartand “throwin’ it away.” For rock solid,Chicago blues, Garner delivered “RaisedIn The Country,” chiding the audience onthe levee to join him in the sing-alongchorus.

Always gracious, Garner turnedover the stage to his keyboard guest,Sam Joyner, who performed “StormyMonday.” While all this was going on,Sugar Blue was standing off-stage.When Garner saw his friend, Blue wasinvited up to add his high-end harmonicaand vocals to Joyner’s tune. Those areKing Biscuit moments that happen upand down Cherry Street.

Garner isn’t all wit. Garner’s con-temporary blues grow out of our need tomake sense of the problems and difficul-ties in today’s world. He has a keen eye

to watch the world and then universalize it in song. Oddly, songs writtena decade ago still hold truth and meaning today. His “No Free Rides,”written in the early ‘90s, still holds its relevance.

“I’m finding that my songs are as relevant today as when I wrotethem,” said Garner after the performance. “When I sing my songs andtell people they are all original tunes, their reaction is always, ‘I can’t

believe you wrote them all!’ That’s anice feeling, but an even better feelingis when I go places where people whoown my CDs come out, request thesongs, and then sing along with me,that’s euphoric.”

The finale, “Keep Singing TheBlues,” was classic Garner. Over aswampy rhythm and personal testi-mony to his lifelong blues commitment,Garner told the hilarious story of hisencounter with a bass thumpin’, jeandroppin’, kid sittin’ in a vibratingHonda. Garner’s story ends with himrappin’ verse after verse of 2PAC’s“Bury Me A G” to show the kid Larry’ship too. From there, Garner gives agentle music education that ends withhim givin’ the kid permission to goback to the start of rap with IsaacHayes’ “Shaft.”

“From my standpoint, there’s some-thing about the music that makes youwant to do your best. Even when youlisten to the blues on the radio, theblues puts a whole different vibe on thework you’re doing.” That artistic philoso-phy is what keeps Larry Garner strivingto entertain on many levels.– Art Tipaldi

dress, a son who needs new sneakers are answered with “We don’t needit.” It hits especially hard when the children offer their meager savings toalleviate some of the financial stress. Keb’ told me he wrote that songthree years ago at the start of America’s economic woes. It was amoment musicians and audience considered personal and nationaleconomic woes.

The band assembled for this tour was all-star caliber. Not only areeach an expert musician, but Jeff Paris, Kevin So, and Hicks are excellentvocalists, so the harmonies they blended behind Keb’ throughout the showwere gorgeous. When he closed the show with “The Door,” he gave eachof the vocalists the chance to shine individually on the chorus. Then Keb’called out his guitar tech, Casey Wasner, and gave the stage to him. Fourexpressive vocalists had the crowd standing. But Keb’ wasn’t finished. Heinvited two locals from the audience, backed off, and let them hold court.Each took the mic and gave the vocal performance worthy of this stage.

When Keb’ and the band returned for the encore, he knew hisdancin’ ladies in the audience were still waiting. The opening notes of“She Just Wants To Dance” brought every woman in the house to herfeet with arms waving and hips swaying. In Solomon Burke fashion, Keb’pointed out two gyrating ladies in the front row, invited them on-stage,backed off, and let them live the song’s message as the rest of the housesang it out.

Guitarist Sunny War opened the evening for Keb’. Part folk, partblues, part new age, her alternating bass line coupled with intricate, origi-nal picking style makes me think of Mississippi John Hurt’s thumb meetsVieux Farka Touré’s fingers. Her 30 minute set featured a stunning, finger-style tribute to Libba Cotton on “Freight Train” along with some intricate,West African guitar phrasing on originals like “Driftin’ and “Tiny Town.”Definitely a unique voice to watch.– Art Tipaldi

LARRY GARNERKing Biscuit Festival – Helena, AR

October 6-8, 2011

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ReviewsReviews When submitting CDs for review, please send two copies to

Blues Revue, P.O. Box 42306, Urbandale, IA, 50323

MARQUISE KNOXHere I AmAPO Records

Listening to blues guitarist Marquise Knox playon Here I Am, his third album, you can imaginewhat it was like first hearing B.B. King back inthe early 1950s. The young bluesman – Knox isonly 20 years old, 19 when he recorded Here IAm – has already garnered an impressive num-ber of award nominations, as well as a LivingBlues Award for his 2009 debut, Man Child. He has toured withblues giants like King, Pinetop Perkins, and David “Honeyboy”Edwards, and at an age where Knox isn’t even old enough todrink legally.

Knox straddles a fine line on Here I Am, masterfully balanc-ing Chicago-styled blues with the strong flavor of his hometownSt. Louis R&B, throwing just enough Mississippi blues influencesinto the gumbo pot to dirty up his sound and keep it from becom-ing too slick. Knox’s performances here transcend the notion of“contemporary,” fusing past with present to create a sound thatis pure blues heaven, creating a deserving buzz around thesix-string prodigy.

Here I Am features nine Knox originalsand a trio of songs from one of the guitarist’sidols, Muddy Waters. Knox’s self-pennedsongs are impressive, strongly in the bluestradition with his gruff, soulful vocals andthick guitar licks ladled in on top. Thealbum’s title cut is a mid-tempo jump-bluesnumber sans horns, with a fluid groove andKnox’s emotional vocals sounding a lot olderthan he actually is. With keyboardist WayneSharp laying down some haunting HammondB-3 riffs on “Tears Feel Like Rain,” Knox

delivers a powerful vocal performance punctuated by hisstinging fretwork.

“Can A Young Man Play The Blues?” answers itself with aresounding “yes,” Knox sounding remarkably like a youthful B.B.while imbuing the song with his own personality. Of the threeWaters songs, the Chicago blues legend’s signature “I Can’t BeSatisfied” is probably the best, Knox bringing his Mississippi rootsto the fore with an astounding performance that is as raw and realas the blues gets. A guitarist of extraordinary skill, tone, and phras-ing as well as a strong, emotionally powerful vocalist, MarquiseKnox is a bluesman you’re going to want to keep an eye on.– Rev. Keith A. Gordon

STEVE CROPPERDedicated492 Records

Steve Cropper, the legendary guitarist ofBooker T. & the MG’s, makes no bonesabout it: “5” Royales lead axeman Low-man Pauling was Cropper’s principalinfluence when he was just starting out.Not only for Pauling’s biting, anarchiclicks, revolutionary for their time, but evenfor his extra-long strap, which the youngCropper copied after seeing the Royalestear up the Tropicana nightclub in Crop-per’s Memphis hometown. Lowman wasa showman of the first order in addition tobeing a blistering, boundlessly innovativeguitarist.

Cropper pays his hero back in fullwith this all-star salute, which he co-pro-duced with Jon Tiven. He revives 15Royales songs from their 1950s heyday onthe Apollo and King labels, all but threewritten by the prolific Pauling, the group’schief songsmith. The Royales were one ofthe first R&B acts to heavily incorporategospel influences into their sound, sochoosing the right vocalists to front theCropper-led band here (which includesbassist David Hood and keyboardistSpooner Oldham) was crucial.

For the most part, they chose wisely.Apart from instrumental treatments of“Think” and the blues-soaked “Help MeSomebody,” Cropper is just as self-effac-ing as he was when he was Stax/Volt’sinvaluable session axeman during the

‘60s, content to lay back and push thegrooves with his immaculate licks whilethrowing in a concise solo when needed.

The selections that connect the hard-est happen to be the fieriest, in keepingwith the Royales’ original gospel-perme-ated mindset: Sharon Jones’ “Messin’ Up,”

MARQUISE KNOX has recorded a wonderful bluesrecord that harkens back to the Golden Age ofbig city blues. And he’s only 19.


Bettye LaVette’s “Say It” (neat idea to pairher with her old friend, ex-Royal Jokers leadsinger Willie Jones, for a duet rendition of“Don’t Be Ashamed”), and somewhat sur-prisingly, John Popper’s take on “My SugarSugar.” Old pros Delbert McClinton (a romp-ing “Right Around The Corner”), Steve Win-wood (“Thirty Second Lover”), and DanPenn (the moving ballad “Someone MadeYou For Me”) are predictably solid, whileB.B. King and Shemekia Copeland team upfor a tasteful if a tad subdued “Baby Don’tDo It.” Lucinda Williams’ excessively man-nered delivery on the Royales’ masterpiece“Dedicated To The One I Love” and the clos-ing “When I Get Like This,” on the otherhand, must be an acquired taste that I’vesomehow yet to acquire.

Here’s hoping Cropper’s heartfelt trib-ute to Pauling and his catalog results inheightened interest in the quintet’s legacy.There hasn’t been a comprehensive “5”Royales CD compilation come along in awhile now, and a complete boxed set oftheir seminal sides would be a dream cometrue. I’ll bet Steve Cropper might be one ofthe first in line to purchase it.– Bill Dahl

MARY FLOWERMisery Loves Company

Yellow Dog Records

Mary Flower sure makes an impression.Her creamy contralto voice alone could beone of the best advertisements for the ruralcountry blues today. When she sings, sheeffectively swaths a listener in naturalwarmth and comfort whether conveyingimages of healing and joyful release, orhardship and even death. Combine thatwith her soulful finger-style expertise onguitar and heads definitely turn. In fact,when she’s not entertaining, Flower can be

found teaching aspiring students herragtime-inflected technique privately in herPortland, Oregon, home studio, via SKYPE,or at a variety of music camps the worldover.

Misery Loves Company is her eighthalbum; its real blues themes of social andeconomic woes are about as kick-in-the-gutrelevant as ever right now. The set comesalive on a vigorous stream of guitar andcheery harp by Flower and guest CurtisSalgado. A minute in, though, and aninspired tempo change brings it on downto Muddy Waters’ early “Hard Day Blues,”Salgado moaning and Flower intoningabout a particularly solitary existence. Inher version of Son House’s “Death Letter,”the timbre of Flower’s guitar, and even themelody of it in places, is right out of GreggAllman’s “Midnight Rider.” Or is it viceversa? Regardless, it’s an interesting twist,intentional or not, and a unique version ofthe oft-covered classic. LaRhonda Steele’smarvelous gospel background vocal helpsto place the Rev. Gary Davis’ “Goin’ To SitOn The Banks Of The River” in a chapeljust this side of that riverbank. On the otherside of the coin, Flower’s original instru-mental “Devil’s Punchbowl” features cellistGideon Freudmann keeping pace with hergreat guitar display, but hanging back per-fectly with his strange compliments. ForElizabeth Cotton’s “Shake Sugaree,” thevocal and the groove are suitably airy andcarefree. This lady is a treasure.– Tom Clarke

CANDYE KANESister Vagabond

Delta Groove Music

California entertainer Candye Kane, aprominent player in the Southern Californiaroots music scene since the 1980s, has inrecent years had to face down opinionatedignoramuses with public platforms, bandpersonnel issues, and grave challenges toher health. Improbably, she has, at thesame time, marked an undeniable careerpeak, achieving new highs in national andinternational acclaim, staging a successfulmusical, carrying messages of determina-tion, optimism, and inspiration to her audi-ences, and releasing top-notch recordings– first Superhero! and now Sister Vagabond– with startling regularity.

What a spirit, and what an album.Kane and her band, which here includessuch stellar payers as James Harman(harp), Johnny V (sax), Thomas Yearsleyand Kennan Shaw (bass), StephenHodges and Paul Fasulo (drums), andLaura Chavez and Nathan James (guitar),confidently handle a range of material.Cherry-picked songs by Steve White (theminor key, acoustic “Down With TheBlues”), Johnny “Guitar” Watson, andBrenda Lee (with a junkyard dog meanreimagining of “Sweet Nothin’s”) reflect theexcellence of the Kane-Chavez originals,numbering among them two slow, minornumbers (the splendid Hurricane Katrinasong “You Can’t Take It Back From Here”and the harrowing “Walkin’, Talkin’Haunted House”), the jumping “Side Dish,”the “Fever”-ish “Hard Knock Gal,” aLouisiana-inspired tune or two, and theunexpected sweet soul romp, “Love Insur-ance.” Top to bottom, it’s a superb set,arranged and played with dynamics andfinesse, and sung fabulously.

Without minimizing Kane’s remarkableachievements, her successes of late havecome, as she regularly points out, with help.There is her association with the DeltaGroove label, but only shocking negligenceor willful perversity could omit a discussionof the legend, prominently displayed on theCD cover, that reads “Featuring LauraChavez.” Chavez is Kane’s onstage foil, co-producer, songwriting partner, and a keyelement of Sista Vagabond. Her guitar work,marked by tasteful intuition and intelligence,is, by turns, tough as nails and melodic,flashy and economical, haunting and sweet– in a word, brilliant. Keep your eyes (rather,your ears) on this genuinely deep new tal-ent. Candye Kane herself has beendemanding, and keeping, our attention foryears. May she long continue to do so.(read Candye and Laura’s Knee to Kneetalk in BR#125)– Tom Hyslop

BLUES REVUE 37

WATERMELON SLIM& SUPER CHIKANOkiesippi Blues

Northern Blues

These two Clarksdale, Mississippi, musi-cians are clearly having a good time enjoy-ing each other’s company and trading lickson this intimate album, which pairs twolarger-than-life blues personalities. On“Trucking Blues,” the two put you inside thetruck with them as they make jive talkingcomments about passersby, all the whileSuper Chikan is playing a boogie rhythmon electric guitar while Watermelon Slim

adds some blues harp here and there. “IDon’t Wear No Sunglasses” offers a spot-light for Slim to play his trademark slideguitar. Like much of this record, the lyricsare tongue in cheek, as Slim talks abouthow he doesn’t like to take long solos orwear sunglasses when he performs. Like-wise, Chikan’s “The Trip” sounds like atruthful lament from someone who spendsa lot of his time on the road.

To kick off “You Might Know,” Chikanplays a short blues riff on an acoustic gui-tar and Slim joins in on harmonica a fewseconds later just before Chikan prettysums up the theme of the album: “Sittingon my front porch talking with WatermelonSlim, trading them ’ol Delta blues stories.”It’s hard not to crack up when you hear“I’m A Little Fish,” which you’ll either thinkis hilarious or the dumbest thing you’veever heard. The background vocals aloneare hysterical. Just voices, guitars, andhandclaps. Slim’s spoken-word story onthe next track, “Northwest Regional,”about his first trip to Clarksdale from Okla-homa, is a much darker tale. Chikan punc-tuates the story with bluesy moans andhumming.

There’s plenty of variety here: “Diddley-Bo Jam” is just the two men wailing away formore than seven minutes on electric did-dley-bos, with the only trappings about thewailing slides is the sound of a shaker;“Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning” isa full-fledged gospel barn burner; “WithinYou Without You/Dinde” is a kalimba instru-mental performed by Slim. With OkiesippiBlues, Watermelon Slim and Super Chikanhave created an address all their own.– Michael Cote

MARIA MULDAURSteady Love

Stony Plain Records

Strangers to the 1960s Greenwich Villagefolk scene first heard Maria Muldaur’s capti-vating and playful voice on the pop hit,“Midnight At The Oasis,” followed by theanthemic, “I’m A Woman.” Since then,much has been added to Muldaur’sdiscography and performing history inblues, jazz, gospel, and folk than thisreview can possibly hold.

As a teen, Muldaur started out record-ing regional roots musicians with theFriends of Old Timey Music. She soonbecame a major presence in the Villagefolk scene with pals including John Sebast-ian, Paul Butterfield, and ex-husband JeffMuldaur, with whom she performed in theJim Kweskin and Even Dozen jug bands.The two albums she recorded with Muldaur– Pottery Pie and Sweet Potatoes – remaincult classics.

After nearly 50 years, it’s fair to saythat Ms. Muldaur has become beloved byfans who have followed her sideways jour-ney through American music. Consistently,she has chosen the material best suited toher voice and singing style. She also

chooses to work with talented peers whoshare her vision of American roots music.

Her current release, Steady Love, wasrecorded in New Orleans and exemplifiesher soulful reinvention within traditions shehas always loved – blues, jazz, folk, pop,spirituals. The 13-track CD features someof the best Fat City musicians includingShane Theriot on guitar, keyboardist DaveTorkanowsky, bassist Johnny Allen, anddrummer Kenny Blevins.

Gospel highlights are the classic, “AsAn Eagle Stirreth In Her Nest,” along withEric Bibb’s “Don’t Ever Let Nobody DragYour Spirit Down.” Very moving is thealbum’s slide guitarist Rick Vito’s “I Am NotAlone.” Her blues and R&B tracks are wellchosen and superbly performed. Her takeon Sugar Pie DeSanto’s “Soulful Dress” isenjoyable as much for the performance asfor the fact that Muldaur chose to honor alesser-known blues/R&B performer whodeserves the spotlight.

Her soulful voice has probablydropped an octave since the Sixties, but it’sgotten grittier and darker and morenuanced. In some ways, Muldaur displayssimilarities to Mavis Staples, who likewiseshared the folk scene, and who’s got thesame soulful blues/gospel delivery andstage presence.– Michael Cala

MARK HUMMELUnplugged: Back Porch Music

Mountain Top

On this 16-track album, Mark Hummelgathers some of his friends to play somedown-home blues. Hummel’s count-off atthe beginning of “Have You Ever Been InLove” sets the tone for the laid-back livefeel of this album, which also featuresRusty Zinn on guitar and vocals, RWGrigsby on upright bass, and Bob Welshon guitar and piano. Note the absence ofdrums; this is “back porch” music, after all.

Although it’s mostly a collection ofcovers, the harmonica player has chosenones that have deep meaning to him, eitherfrom when he first heard them or from theplayers who have inspired him over theyears. High on that list is Sonny BoyWilliamson. Actually, both of them. Hummelkicks off the set with “Have You Ever BeenIn Love,” a song written by Rice Miller (aka


Sonny Boy Williamson II). Hummel’s harpplaying echoes that moan and wail conver-sational style of Williamson. And his singingcaptures the hint of menace that was pres-ence in Williamson’s singing. Hummel alsooffers a version of Miller’s “Love In Vain.”(For harp enthusiasts, Hummel providesdetail: “I start in cross harp and switch tofirst in the middle solo.”)

Songs originated by the first SonnyBoy Williamson include Hummel’s takes on“My Little Machine” – an early double-entendre blues classic – “Shake Your Boo-gie” and “Step Back Baby.” Hummelsalutes Little Walter with “I Just Keep Lov-ing Her” and the more obscure “Can’t HoldOut Much Longer” (originally the B-side ofWalter’s instrumental smash hit, “Juke”).

Hummel also revisits a few of his ownsongs, including “Ease My Mind,” a songhe first recorded in 1986 and was alsorecorded by Brownie McGhee, to whomHummel pays tribute with a cover ofMcGhee’s shuffle ballad “Living With TheBlues.” He also dusts off “Learned My Les-son (Changed My Ways),” a song Hummelsays he wrote after he got sober in 1984. Inthe liner notes, Hummel mentions that heand Zinn perform the song at rehab centers– a piece of news that epitomizes the per-sonal, intimate nature of these recordings.– Michael Cote

DIUNNA GREENLEAFTrying To Hold On

VizzTone Records

A powerhouse blues singer from Houston,Texas, Diunna Greenleaf pours soul andpassion into the excellent songs on her lat-est CD, all but two of which she wrote orco-wrote. She rails against “Sunny DayFriends,” then is heartbreakingly resignedon “Growing Up And Growing Old,”

assisted by the hot guitar licks of AnsonFunderburgh on the first and Bob Margolinand slide player John Rapp on the second.She dreams of fun in heaven on “BeautifulHat,” with the joyful mandolin by Rich DelGrosso, then rocks hard in the moment onthe breakneck “I Can’t Wait,” with Margolinand bassist Mookie Brill tearing it upalongside.

Her deep bench of collaborating musi-cians – including drummer Chuck Cottonon many songs, guitarists Smokin’ JoeKubek, Josh Preslar, and John Del ToroRichardson, who has been her guitar foil formany years, and harp players Billy Branchand Bob Corritore – shine up every trackwith skill and economy, never crowding herperformance, but punctuating her lines withexactly the right touch at the right time.Another standout, “Tryin’ To Hold On,” cat-alogues the trials of a modern-day touringblues band trying to keep the music alive inthese hard times, ending with the refrain:“Trying to hold on to something/That’salready gone.”

As excellent as the rest of the CDproved to be, it is surpassed, in my opin-ion, by a pair of renditions of the traditionalhymn “He Is Everything To Me,” the first

sung by Greenleaf’s late grandmother,Sylvie Travis, who was 102 years old whenthe recording was made. Although hervoice is quivery, Travis attacks each linewith spellbinding conviction, clearlydemonstrating how such a spiritual shouldbe delivered. On Greenleaf’s version thatfollows, she sounds like Marion Andersonback from beyond. The transformation ofher powerful blues shout into an instrumentof deep faith and endless comfort is trulyawe-inspiring and a thrill to listen to againand again. (Disclosure: Trying To Hold On isissued by the VizzTone Label Group, co-owned by Blues Revue’s parent company,Visionation.)– Kay Cordtz

OLLABELLENeon Blue Bird

Thirty Tigers

Ollabelle’s self-titled debut in 2004 was aremarkable album on several counts. It wasproduced by Grammy Award-recidivistT Bone Burnett hot off his O Brother, WhereAre Thou? success, it was released throughmajor label Sony, and it featured hip, youngwhite musicians playing mostly blackgospel songs, infused with a bit of bluesand rock, and playing them very well.

Their first disc included songs by Mis-sissippi Fred McDowell, Bessie Jones & theGeorgia Sea Island Singers, Mahalia Jack-son, Blind Willie Johnson, and, for change-ups, Mick Jagger-Keith Richards and theCarter Family. Of course the album didn’tmove the number of units expected by amajor label, but it found an audience suffi-cient for Verve Forecast to put out a secondalbum, Riverside Battle Songs, and for rocklabel Yep Roc to issue a live disc.

The group, named for early countrysinger Ola Belle Reed, features vocalistsAmy Helm (daughter of The Band’s LevonHelm) and Fiona McBain, Tony Leone ondrums, keyboardist Glenn Patscha, andbassist Byron Isaacs, along with some-times member Jimi Zhivago on guitar.Their latest effort, Neon Blue Bird, findsthem off the majors and out on their own,producing themselves and releasingthrough an indie Americana label, ThirtyTigers. It’s a good move.

Neon Blue Bird offers five originals,two traditional songs, and a wide-eyedrange of covers from Taj Mahal, resonatorguitarist Chris Whitley, and Aussie folk-rocker Paul Kelly. The angelic voices ofHelm and McBain, blended or separate,remain Ollabelle’s major attribute, particu-

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larly on stand-out tracks such as “Be YourWoman,” and “Butcher Boy,” but their maleband mates get to step to the microphoneon “One More Time,” Taj’s “Lovin’ In MyBaby’s Eyes” and Whitley’s “Dirt Floor.” Thelast would have fit comfortably on any ofThe Band’s best albums.

The standout item though is anabsolutely lovely, lilting rethinking of “Swa-nee River.” Yes, the song by the late, verygreat Stephen Foster, the early Americantunesmith who wrote “Camptown Races,”“My Old Kentucky Home,” and “Jeanie WithThe Light Brown Hair.” Also known as “OldFolks At Home,” “Swanee River” is for mymoney his greatest achievement, written in1851, a few years before he died an impov-erished death in Lower Manhattan, not farfrom where Ollabelle first came togetherplaying at a neighborhood club. It’s the finalsong on this fine album and a fitting tribute.– Bill Wasserzieher

ERIC LINDELL West County Drifter

M.C. Records

California native Eric Lindell has spentmore than a decade soaking up the delec-table sounds of the Crescent City and con-tinuing to more naturally incorporate theminto his soulful, genre-hopping material. OnWest County Drifter, his first album for M.C.Records following a successful three-albumrun on the famed Alligator label, the singer,songwriter, guitarist, and producer adroitlytaps into various roots styles with one footalways lingering near the clubs of French-men Street.

For instance, on the poignant track“Cazadero,” about a romance that spansfrom New Orleans to Sonoma County, Lin-dell smartly gooses the breezy, acoustic-based melody riding on a Golden Statesensibility with clarinet playing that recallsthe Big Easy. Similar stylistic crossbreedingworks throughout. Baritone and tenor saxsweeten the lighthearted blues of “BowWow” and Nick Ellman’s choice clarinetwork returns for the rollicking title track,which also unites Lindell with his native andadopted homes for a reunion filled with rev-elry. “When I get to California, I’m gonnacall you on the phone,” goes the openingline. “Bring your slide trombone, yeah, we’llget this bad bitch going.”

Lindell shows off his singing chopswith a commendable cover of the CurtisMayfield gem “I Ain’t Supposed To,” whichthe Impressions included on their 1964album Keep On Pushing. Lindell’s warmvocals benefit significantly by the inclusionof organ and lap steel. On “Bodega,”another song set in Sonoma County, Lin-dell takes his best melody as well as mostcompelling lyrics and judiciously surroundshimself with an all-star lineup including IvanNeville on electric piano and slide guitarace Thomas Johnson.

The only perplexing aspect of WestCounty Drifter is its release as a doublealbum. Both discs clock in at less than 60minutes. A CD holds 80 minutes. Huh?– Wade Tatangelo

BERNIE PEARLSittin’ On The Right Side

Of The BluesMajor Label Recordings

Bluesman Bernie Pearl is virtually unknownoutside of the West Coast, and ‘tis more thepity. A talented guitarist, Pearl learned hiscraft at the feet of artists performing at thelegendary Ash Grove club in Los Angelesrun by his brother Ed. Giants like Missis-sippi Fred McDowell, Brownie McGhee,and especially Mance Lipscomb and

Lightnin’ Hopkins schooled the youngguitarist in the ways of the blues.

Better than four decades later, Pearlstill plays with the energy and fury of muchyounger artists, and through the years he’sput his own spin on the lessons he learnedfrom the blues legends he played with dur-ing the 1960s and ‘70s. Pearl’s Sittin’ OnThe Right Side Of The Blues is a portrait ofthe present-day bluesman, recorded live atBoulevard Music in Culver City, California,with just upright bassist Mike Barry accom-panying the guitarist in an intimate setting.You’ll find no instrumental overdubs or ProTools tinkering here, just a raw, spirited per-formance heard exactly as the audienceoriginally experienced it in February 2011.

A 15-track collection of well-worn andbeloved blues covers interspersed with ahandful of original songs, Sittin’ On TheRight Side Of The Blues is not only a fineshowcase for Pearl’s skills with an acousticguitar but also a welcome reminder of thesimple country roots of the blues. “Jail-house Blues,” for instance, offers Pearl’stake on the Lightnin’ Hopkins’ classic, theguitarist’s haunting vocals accompanied byintricate, elegant fretwork.

The autobiographical title track isbased on Pearl’s personal interaction withhis mentors, its boogie framework pep-pered with some fine licks. A cover of SonHouse’s “Shetland Pony Blues,” while lack-ing the Delta bluesman’s tortured vocals,nevertheless nails the complex and emo-tional soundtrack of the song. The originalinstrumental “I Ain’t Hurt” is influenced byMississippi John Hurt, but it’s all BerniePearl and a lively slice of country-blues atthat. Mance Lipscomb, Fred McDowell, andMuddy Waters, among others, all receive areverent treatment from Pearl, a gifted artistripe for rediscovery.– Rev. Keith A. Gordon

MCCRARY SISTERSOur Journey

MCC Records

The daughters of the late Rev. SamuelMcCrary of the original Fairfield Four, Ann,Deborah, Regina, and Alfreda McCrary wereblessed with angelic voices and raised onthe outskirts of Music City in a house full ofspiritual harmony. Regina’s enjoyed thelimelight since age seven, and recorded and


toured with everyone from Elvis to Dylan. Annworked with a who’s who of contemporarygospel greats, and Alfreda applied her gifts tomusic ministry before the trio finally bandedtogether. Deborah, meanwhile, pursued acareer as nurse. Mike Farris, the former singerfor rockers the Screamin’ Cheetah Wheeliesand the unlikeliest bundle of volts and sparks,began featuring the McCrary’s in 2008 in hiscrackling gospel-rockin’ soul revue atNashville’s Station Inn. Those incendiary per-formances, several YouTube videos, and twoFarris albums resulted in awards for the sis-ters in 2008 and 2010, and prepared themwell for this very personal debut, with Deborahnow on board.

Beginning the album with “Blowin’ In TheWind” was a courageous move, but thankfullythe ladies’ slinky, sultry, and ultimately soul-fired reading rises high above the norm. Del-bert McClinton pianist Kevin McKendree playswith verve throughout the set, and is the manbehind the swinging, hands-in-the-air surging“Bible Study,” presided over by Regina. JulieMiller’s “Broken Pieces” is sung tenderly byAlfreda, and set to a lovely arrangement bythe author’s husband, the Alt. country star andfine guitarist, Buddy Miller. Ann McCrary’s low-down “Know My Name” has the sisters in afield hollerin’ mode, Farris accentuating theirdepiction of pain as it’s transformed intocleansing devotion. Deborah takes the leadamong the four on the traditional “Dig A LittleDeeper,” no instruments otherwise, just gildednotes from a palace of voices. And there’sone roughhouse blues called “Other Side OfThe Blues (Since I Met You),” a duet betweenRegina and McClinton, co-written and pro-duced by McKendree, and featuring somepointed leads by guitarist Rob McNelley.

All in all, the seamless flow of diversity onthe album is testament not only to the sisters’immense talent and storehouse of influences,but to the distinct and admiring touch of thevarious producers and players on hand. Uplift-ing, and promising, by any measure.– Tom Clarke

BIG PETEChoice Cuts

Delta Groove Music

Dutch bluesman Pieter van der Pluijm, knownas “Big Pete” to his friends and fans, is hotstuff in Europe, and for good reason. The tal-ented singer and harpist pursues a vision ofthe blues that is more traditional than con-temporary, more likely to recall the Chicagoblues of Little Walter or the West Coast styleof William Clarke than many of today’s morerock-oriented harp slingers.

Big Pete’s throwback sound, illustratedon this U.S. debut, comes as somewhat of asurprise considering that he readily names thelate roots-rocker Lester Butler (The Red Dev-ils, 13) as his main influence. While Butler wasknown to fly off on tangents that many bluespurists during the 1990s considered a bittoo…shall we say, “avant garde”…Pluijmtakes a more conventional tack with ChoiceCuts, preferring to breathe new life andenergy into a tried-and-true blues format.

Delta Groove has loaded down ChoiceCuts with studio guests that represent a veri-table “who’s who” of contemporary blues tal-ent, from guitarists Kirk Fletcher, Kid Ramos,and Shawn Pittman to fellow harp playersKim Wilson and Paul Oscher, among others.While this was probably done to enhance BigPete’s status stateside, the truth is, Petedoesn’t seem to need much help. From theopening harmonica riffs on Butler’s “Driftin’,”recorded in tribute to his idol, one sensesthat this guy is something special.

With Choice Cuts, Pluijm tackles a set ofclassic and obscure blues gems with enthusi-asm and inspiration. He delivers a stellar vocalperformance on Albert King’s “Can’t You SeeWhat You’re Doin’ To Me.” Little Walter’s “JustYour Fool” is delivered reverently, but withPete’s red-hot harp riffing leading the way,

while Howlin’ Wolf’s “Rockin’ Daddy” is aslow-burn blues jam with plenty o’ soul.William Clarke’s “Chromatic Crumbs” displaysthe full range of Big Pete’s talent, the perfor-mance swinging and sizzling like a dance flooron Friday night.

Big Pete is the real deal, a singer in thevein of the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ Wilson,even sharing some of Wilson’s vocal phras-ing. It’s his harp play, however, that standsout. Pluijm is a gifted young performer whohas absorbed six decades of the blues andput his own unique spin on the music.– Rev. Keith A. Gordon

SAMANTHA FISHRunawayRuf Records

Runaway isn’t exactly a debut album forSamantha Fish, but, coming on the heels ofGirls with Guitars with band mates CassieTaylor and Dani Wilde, it’s her first solo studioouting. Fish has had a busy year, spending agood deal of time on the road with RufRecords’ Blues Caravan tour. On this effort,Fish delivers a bluesy album that veerstoward country and classic rock, and itcashes out much better than the gimmick ofGirls with Guitars.

Working hard and still honing her craft,Fish is neither virtuoso nor prodigy. On theother hand, she hits the trifecta of singing,playing, and songwriting that makes her asolid player on the contemporary bluesscene. The fact that she’s a cute twenty-something doesn’t hurt, but that’s far fromthe main attraction. She skirts the line ofbeing sultry and provocative at times (partic-ularly on “Today’s My Day” and the smokycloser “Feelin’ Alright”), but mostly the disc isfull of energetic strut.

The lineup for Runaway includes Cassie

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Taylor on bass and some backing vocalsand Jamie Little on drums. The trio kicksout a fat sound, enhanced by the additionof Mike Zito, who produced and contributesthe stellar slide work on the disc. The groupis tight; Taylor’s bass is subtle and support-ive; Fish’s powerful vocals are crystal clear.

Much to her credit, Fish penned allbut one of the tracks, a cover of TomPetty’s “Louisiana Rain” that catches thebayou vibe better than the original. Rang-ing from driving boogie-woogie to swampyDelta blues to the jazz-inflected closer, Fishis adept at grabbing a theme and running itout. For her first offering, there aren’t manytracks that sound terribly similar, and eventhe more pedestrian tracks are bolstered byFish’s angelic pipes.

Fish cites influences as diverse asSheryl Crow and Tab Benoit, and they defi-nitely come through. Given the pedigree,it’s hard not to compare this album withGirls with Guitars, but it’s a favorable com-parison: I was pleasantly surprised to findsomething delicate and bluesy instead of arock & roll assault.– Eric Wrisley

LLOYD JONESHighway Bound

Underworld

On Highway Bound, Lloyd Jones offersinterpretations of some classic countryblues songs and gives the country bluestreatment to some tunes that didn’t start outthat way. The purity and the quiet power ofa single man’s voice and guitar is a truepleasure. Jones, who hails from Portland,OR., aims to recapture the vibe he first wit-nessed in the late ’60s, when such bluesicons as Big Walter, Sonny Terry, BrownieMcGhee, and Charlie Musselwhite camethrough his hometown. And he notes howthe musicians took the time to share theirmusical knowledge with the locals.

“Travelin,’” among the handful of Jonesoriginals, kicks off the album. It’s the kind offast-paced country blues songs that makesyou conjure the movement of a freight train,thanks to Jones’ bare fingers against thestrings and his warm, smoky voice. Mussel-

white, who gives Jones props on the backcover of the album, plays his Sonny Terry toJones’ McGhee on John Brim’s “Ice CreamMan,” weaving his harmonica within thesong’s vocal line and taking a brief, tastefulsolo. At a mere two minutes and 21 sec-onds, it’s one of those performances thatleave you wanting more. And that’s true ofHighway Bound in general. Many of the 16cuts clock in at less three minutes; Joneswastes nothing here, giving the songs theirdue and moving on to the next one. Thatsense of subtly and restraint gives therecord much of its power. Robert Johnson’s“Last Fair Deal Gone Down” is among the


pair of songs on which Jones plugs in, play-ing a Danelectro guitar through “the mightyRed Plate amp.” Jones gives the song arockabilly feel, creating a toe-tapping houseparty tune that has more brightness thanyou would normally associate with a John-son tune. Jones bookends his own “NoMore Crying” with Big Bill Broonzy’s “South-bound Train” and Mississippi John Hurt’s“Don’t Want Me Baby,” a trio of gentle, lone-some country blues that best illustrate High-way Bound’s mostly mellow groove. CurtisSalgado sits in on the album closer, addinghis harmonica to the Hoagy Carmichael/Johnny Mercy standard “Lazy Bones.”– Michael Cote

JOHNNY SANSONEThe Lord Is WaitingAnd The Devil Is Too

Short Stack Records

Well kick my ass with a bottle of ‘shine ona log at the edge of the bog – JohnnySansone is back in the house and he’s

hotter than a blazing oil drum stove.Recorded at Dockside Studio smack dabin the Louisiana bayou, The Lord Is Wait-ing And The Devil Is Too explodes with tal-ent, monster beats, and hoodoo-voodoowild-ass charm. Sansone may have beenborn and raised in New Jersey playing saxand digging the guitar on Jimmy Reed 8-tracks, but damn, you’d never know it.Even his years playing harp with John LeeHooker and Ronnie Earl, and his initialCrescent City-style solo records on theKingsnake and Rounder labels couldn’thave prepared fans for this.

Here, with his Voice of the Wetlandsband mate Anders Osborne on guitar and in

the producer’s chair, and Galactic’s earth-shattering Stanton Moore on drums, he’s aharp hurricane and a wicked raconteur. As atrio, these guys slink and gnash and laydown some of the best swamp-shroudedblues since the last good John Mooney orC.C. Adcock album. In fact, even Sansone’ssinging voice may at times calls to mindMooney. His defiance in the face of crushingodds (romance? economy?) in “SinkingShip” is palpable, spitting volumes with theline “You don’t have to walk the plank on asinking ship.” In the blistering “You KnowWho,” equal parts contempt, resignation,and guarded hope drip from his nasal cavityand singe the floor.

But it’s his mile-thick, mind-blowingharp tone that makes these songs withoutoverwhelming them. From that standpoint,this is a harp album with dynamic class.Sansone took inspiration and techniquefrom the giants like Wells and the Walters,and spews their traditions while markingnew territory. Listen to his rhythm within theinsistent beat of the instrumental, “CornWhiskey,” and know he’s become a har-monica player to be reckoned with. He evenplays it all Charlie Musselwhite-smooth and

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spooky, in tempo, tone, and topicality, dur-ing his fascinating account of the tossed-aside called “Invisible.” That little numberreally draws a line from the South throughChicago and back around again. There’re amillion hooks to pin a listener in place onthis album – sure to make many best-of-the-year lists in just a listen or two.– Tom Clarke

POPA CHUBBYBack To New York City

Provogue

This is a script-flipped blues rock record,with a plugged-in emphasis on the rockpart. Back To New York City, in many ways,is as loud as it is brash, a thunderingrestatement of Popa Chubby’s outsizedpersona and even outer-sized personality.But peel away the scalding licks and thestomping rhythms and the braying vocals,

and you find, like a beautiful wildflowerpushing up through the cracks in a ruggedcity sidewalk, moments of touching, real-world lyricism.

Chubby, whose real name is TedHorowitz, embraces the contradictions.“People look at me,” he has said, “andexpect a certain thing. They don’t realizethere’s more behind the picture. They see abig, burly guy with tattoos and they expectto get beat over the head.” Here, hepauses, then adds, “And you will get beatover the head, but you’ll also get rocked tosleep, and there’ll be poetry in there, too.”

Chubby is just as adept at the searingelectrified Texas shuffle of “She LovesEverybody But Me” (a nod, it seems, toStevie Ray Vaughan) as he is the pleadingalbum-rock wail of “A Love That Will NotDie.” Switching gears, he’s as apt to tearinto a wall shaking groovier like “WarriorGod” (a nod, it seems, to Motorhead) as he

is a slow-cooked take on Bach’s “Jesus,Joy Of Man’s Desiring.”

Throw in punk rock, too. A fan of thelate-1970s CBGB scenesters, Chubby even-tually worked as a sideman with RichardHell whose band the Voidoids, along withcontemporaries like the Ramones and theCramps, added an element of danger thathad been missing in rock music for sometime. Chubby aims to do the same with theblues, and he’s been largely successful atthat, notably on 1995’s Booty and the Beast,the Tom Dowd-produced gem that includedthe radio hit “Sweet Goddess Of Love AndBeer”; and during a burst of activity adecade later that included the three-discJimi Hendrix-tribute Electric Chubbyland

Along the way, Chubby also saw hiswriting mature. That continues with BackTo New York City, as Chubby balancesthese many disparate musical influenceswith confidence and grace. More interest-ingly perhaps, the album connects on avisceral level too, as Chubby makes anumber of telling, note-perfect commentson every-day life.– Nick DeRiso

JOHN CAMPBELLJOHNCeltic Blues

Nood Records/Pepper Cake

Having recently seen John Campbelljohn’sstrong band performance at this year’s(2011) edition of the Mont Tremblant BluesFestival, I was really looking forward to hislatest release. This solid and masterful soloperformance was recorded live in Ham-burg, Germany, and features sixteen songs,eleven originals and five covers, aug-mented by outstanding sound quality.

This performance opens with twostrong originals “No Philosopher” and “NonConformist Blues” then shifts to a creativecover of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen.”The title track comes in two flavors: “PartOne,” referred to as (Toni’s Brook), is a glo-rious bit of instrumental storytelling. “PartTwo” of the title track (The Big Dig) issomewhat similar to “Part One” in that it’sanother gorgeous instrumental.

“Sonny Sky Slide” is another evoca-tive, original instrumental that featuresCampbelljohn’s whistling which easilyconvinces the crowd to join in. It’s obviousthat Campbelljohn knows how to workthe crowd well, even making comical

references to Woodstock, which the atten-tive audience loved. Things grow darkerand less whimsical on Campbelljohn’s“Knocked Down,” that segues nicely toRory Gallagher’s “Going To My Home-town,” and then it’s onto Robert Johnson’s“Steady Rolling Man.” Willie Dixon’s “LittleRed Rooster” shows off Campbelljohn’sstrong vocals and adds howling choruses.Chuck Berry’s “Don’t You Lie To Me” isanother crowd pleaser with somesparkling slide. The closing original “Auto-bahn John” is a seemingly appropriatenod to the German audience, and itmotors like a fine-tuned six-cylinder BMW.

Campbelljohn is more than worthwhileto research and digest. He’s clever, inven-tive, powerful, entertaining, and unique.He’s definitely a musician who is far moreworthy of wider notoriety, an artist who’s arare gem.– Bob Putignano

LAURIE MORVANBreathe Deep

Screaming Lizard Records

One can anticipate the music to be enthu-siastic and lively before hearing the firstnote on Laurie Morvan’s fifth release,because that’s how Morvan albums havebegun in the past. This one is no differentin that respect. The lively opening song,


“No Working During Drinking Hours,”immediately sets the stage for a festiveatmosphere. The upbeat blues songbegins with a catchy riff sequence per-formed by Morvan with Stratocaster flam-boyance. The appealing dual vocalscomplete the signature Morvan sound andgroove.

Morvan’s music stresses fine melody,polished musicianship, and catchy vocalharmony yet again. Along with her sultryvoice, at times reminiscent of ChristineMcVie, Lisa Grubbs’ tasteful accompani-ment gives it an Andrews Sisters’ harmonicflair. It becomes threefold on two songswhen Carolyn Kelley joins in. The rest of theband deserves credit too, as the piano,bass, and drums are watertight. Butalthough the vocals are a huge part of themusic, Morvan’s guitar playing is what theexcitement is all about. Her dazzling chopsand fluid licks have that buttery texture attimes, heard when a torrent of notes floweffortless about the frets.

The funky “Back Up The Train” and“Thelma And Louise” contain catchy riffhooks that are the backbone of the songs.The band gets downright moody in slowblues mode in “It Only Hurts When IBreathe” and “Long Time ‘til I’m Gone.”The interesting lyrics in “Saved By TheBlues,” in which she searches for Jesusand meets Robert Johnson down at thecrossroads (what a twist), are augmentedby a swaying melody and wah-wahinduced lead guitar trails. “I’ve HadEnough” starts in a mellow blues manner,but slowly transforms into rock mode. Therhythm section pours it on in the chorus,the rhythm guitar gets downright potent,and Morvan’s lead scorches. Other songsin this upbeat groove are “Mojo Mama” and“Beat Up From The Feet Up.”

Laurie Morvan’s known for tastefulcontemporary songs as well, and hasproved in the past that she can go off in dif-ferent directions musically. But she appearsto be completely covered in the blueslately, and she’s wearing it well. Thoughthere are many talented blues guitarwomen on the scene, Morvan’s stayingpower and undeniable brilliance make hera prime example. She’s got the guitar fire aplayer acquires after playing hours on enddaily, when the instrument becomes sec-ond nature. And she appears to be gettingbetter with each CD release.– Brian D. Holland

SHANE DWIGHTA Hundred White Lies

R-Tist Records

Many of us keep our heartbreaks to our-selves, or at the very least, dole them outcryptically. Shane Dwight’s seventh studioalbum, A Hundred White Lies, reads like theanatomy of a breakup, chronicling his mar-riage through long stints of separation, pastmistrust and bitterness, and ultimately to itsdemise. The insider’s view is painful towatch, as, even in moments of rage, Dwightshows his most vulnerable and tender self.

Luckily for us, Dwight aims his anger at hisguitar, delivering outstanding work through-out the disc.

In a departure from his usual pen-chant for stripped down, old school record-ing, Dwight has handed the productionduties to Kevin McKendree, freeing himselfto simply play the songs. The album wasrecorded mostly live with Dick50, DelbertMcClinton’s longtime touring outfit. Toround things out, the McCrary Sisters addgospel harmonies that saturate many of thetunes, and Bekka Bramlett joins Dwight onseveral tracks. One of Nashville’s favoritestudio vocalists, Bramlett’s smooth, sultryvoice plays counterpoint to Dwight’s weath-ered timbre.

One thing Dwight can’t be is pigeon-holed, moving easily between classic rock,soul, blues, and country. The disc kicks offwith a contemporary soul number, “CallMe,” echoing Stevie Wonder, only slightlyless funky. “She Struts 22” is a modernrocker that warns about the perils of hotwomen. A metal-tinged blues grind, the titletrack serves as a prologue to the story thedisc sets out to tell. The country ballad“True Love Is Gone” deserves mainstream

airplay, buoyed by stellar slide work andthe McCrary girls’ perfect backing“aaaaahs.” Channeling the likes of Big JoeTurner, the twin closers shift lyrical gearsand boogie-woogie from a broken heart toa hopeful future.

Above all else, on A Hundred WhiteLies, Dwight is telling a story truthfully,employing every available means to makehis point. To supplement his own modernrock sensibilities, he’s reached back to theearliest days of rock & roll, added deepDelta stylings, and soaked in the countrymusic of his transplanted hometown ofNashville. The result is something far moredowntown than down home. To a greatextent, it’s this ability to assimilate form andstyle into his own repertoire that’s makingShane Dwight a perennial favorite at festi-vals and clubs around the country. But it’shis vulnerability as a storyteller that makeshim approachable, regardless of the genre.– Eric Wrisley

JJ GREY AND MOFROBrighter DaysAlligator Records

Florida born roots/blues artist JJ Grey isone of Bruce Iglauer’s more inspired sign-ings to his esteemed Alligator Recordslabel. Over the course of five albums,including three for Alligator, Grey hashoned his near-perfect amalgam of muddy,Delta-inspired blues, Southern soul, andtwangy roots-rock to a dangerous edge.While Grey’s gruff vocals have always car-ried their weight in a performance, hisstory-telling chops have developed to thepoint where Grey is one of the better song-writers in the blues at this time.

Brighter Days is the culmination of adecade of hard touring and recording, an

BLUES REVUE 45

electrifying two-disc CD/DVD set that cap-tures a January 2011 performance by JJGrey and Mofro in Atlanta, Georgia. Theaudio portion of Brighter Days offers up 12inspired and wired performances by thecharismatic singer/songwriter, backedhere by a red-hot and ready-to-roll six-piece version of Mofro complete with akeyboardist and a pair of horn players.

The album’s tracklist rolls throughoutthe entirety of Grey’s career so far, kickingoff with the Southern-fried swamp-rock of“Country Ghetto,” melding seamlesslyinto the joyous beauty of the uplifting titletrack, and rocking furiously on the muscu-lar, guitar-driven “War.” The star-crossedromance of “Orange Blossoms” features asolid, mesmerizing riff while “Ho Cake” isboth brilliantly humorous and get-downfunky. The talented band supports Grey

well, but the singer definitely holds thespotlight.

The DVD concert film of BrighterDays offers up three additional tracks,including “Hide & Seek” and “King Hum-mingbird,” and the performance times forseveral songs vary from the audio docu-mentary, edited down to fit on CD. Whilewatching Grey lead his band through itspaces is entertaining, the real highlight ofthe Brighter Days DVD is found in Grey’sintelligent and thoughtful commentary,his stories alone worth the price of admis-sion. A big “thank you” to his growinglegion of fans, Brighter Days also pro-vides a great introduction to the talentedJJ Grey, setting the stage for the nextdecade of what is certain to be a lengthyand illustrious career.– Rev. Keith A. Gordon

MIKE SPONZAEuropean Blues convention

Sonic Shapes

On the surface, the idea sounds easy:gather as many European blues musiciansas you can and record the blues. However,putting the idea into reality was muchharder to fulfill. It took Italian guitarist MikeSponza three years to gather 33 musiciansfrom 12 different countries to accomplishhis unique mission. This double CD, con-taining 19 songs, is the culmination ofSponza’s dream. Instead of rehashing“Sweet Home Chicago” European style,Sponza and his musicians have set theirmusical sights on a meaty slab of originals.

Get Yer Ya-Yas Out! It’s been decades since BILL WYMAN hasbeen a Rolling Stone, but in that time, he’s devoted himself toa musical odyssey that covers the finest musical genres.

BILL WYMAN’S RHYTHM KINGSCollector’s Edition Boxed Set

Ripple Records Ltd.

Though Bill Wyman has achieved lasting fame as the rock solidbass player in the Rolling Stones, it is his life long dedication toand love of all forms of American blues that personally rewardshim each day. To that end, Wyman’s postStones band, the Rhythm Kings, has beenpumping out wonderful music for nearly 15years. This five CD anthology collects musicfrom the Rhythm Kings’ four records between1998 and 2001. The 66 tracks are not blues, butrather an assortment of styles and genres per-formed by a fluid, all-star cast of friends.

Musical highlights with his friends includethe Jagger-Richards song “Melody” and “GeeBaby Ain’t I Good To You” with Eric Clapton,Georgie Fame, and Graham Bond, “TobaccoRoad” and “Any Way The Wind Blows,” withPeter Frampton on guitar, Willie Dixon’s “Too Late” with AndyFairweather-Low on guitar and Jerry Portnoy on harmonica,“Can’t Get My Rest At Night” with Mick Taylor on guitar, and per-haps the final recordings of George Harrison (“Love Letters”) andNicky Hopkins (“Gonna Find Me A New Love”).

Throughout most of the tracks, the guitar chores are han-dled by Albert Lee or Martin Taylor, the piano keys are manned

mostly by Gary Booker or Dave Hartley, and Georgie Fame doesmost of the organ work and vocals.

The songwriting fluctuates between classics from the firsthalf of the twentieth century and originals penned by Wyman andothers. Thus, this collected works package plays like a musicalslot machine, spinning a variety of blues, soul, R&B, gospel, pop,earthy rock and roll, and jump and swing music. Blues standardsinclude J.B. Lenior’s “Mojo Boogie,” Willie Mabon’s “I’m Mad,”

and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put A SpellOn You.” More contemporary tunes giventhe Rhythm Kings’ treatment include JohnFogerty’s “Green River,” J.J. Cale’s “AnyWay The Wind Blows,” 1967’s “Spooky,”The Young Rascal’s “Groovin’,” JohnSebastian’s “Daydream,” Dan Hicks’“Where’s The Money,” and Mose Allison’s“Days Like These” delivered crooner styleby Fame.

Throughout these five exceptional CDs,Wyman and his unique blend of worldclass musicians breath fresh life into all

aspects of American music. This is the kind of music to playwhen friends come over to live it up.

Spoiler alert. Though Mark Knopfler is listed on the cover,publicists have advised that he is not on the record. (Personally Ithink that’s Knopfler’s guitar sound, not Frampton’s on “Any WayThe Wind Blows.” What do your ears tell you?)– Art Tipaldi


Musicians from all corners of thecontinent answered the call. In a landwhere every border crossing means adifferent language, these personalitiesSponza enlisted all speak the same lan-guage, the blues. So when you put anItalian, German, Fin, Czech, and Spaniardtogether, the musical conversation thatensues needs no Google translations.Blues Revue readers will be familiar with anumber of Sponza’s invitees: Nico WayneToussaint (France, harmonica and vocal-ist), Erja Lyytinen (Finland, slide guitar),Andreas Arlt (Germany, guitar), MichaelArlt (Germany, harmonica and vocalist),Thornbjorn Risager (Denmark, guitar),and Dana Gillespie (United Kingdom,vocals). The other 27, though not asimmediately recognizable, clearly are asproficient as any American blues artist.

The first disc kicks off the Europeanblues party with the beer and boogie“Sugar Rush” led by the husky voice ofToussaint and Sponza’s thick toned Gib-son. Later highlights include Gillespie’sslow blues “Take It Off Slowly” showing offher torchy, saloon delivery, Sponza’s tight,sax and B-3 “Continental Shuffle,” and Hun-gary’s Matays Pribojszki funky harmonicaon “Here I Am.”

The second disc highlights include asmoky, “Rather Than Being Free” whichfeatures Sponza’s vibrating guitar tonesstitched with Italy’s Lumen HarmonicunString Trio and France’s Greg Zlap’svocals and chromatic harmonica. The ArltBrothers from B.B. And The Blues Shacksrip it up on the roots rockin’ “It’s Hard ToBe On The Road.” Danish R&B guitaristRisager takes a hard look at the goings ofthe world in “SGW.” Slovenia’s Lara B.belts “Steady Rollin’ Guy” over the mas-sive B-3 tones of Italy’s Michele Bonivento.And Croatia’s Tomislav Goluban and Fin-land’s Lyytinen demonstrate a Europeanunderstanding of harmonica and slideguitar dynamics.

This is a very ambitious project thatsucceeds on many levels, expert musi-cianship, professional songwriting, and aEuropean willingness to come together inthe blues.– Art Tipaldi

IAN SIEGAL ANDTHE YOUNGEST SONS

The SkinnyNugene Records

Alright, here’s the skinny on The Skinny:English guy teams with American bluesmento make an authentic blues recording.Sound familiar? When the Stones, Yard-birds, and Fleetwood Mac took the BritishInvasion the next logical step by actuallyrecording with the artists they emulated, themusic may not have been revolutionary, but

it sure did sizzle and dazzle. It’s the samehere. England’s Ian Siegal, who’s been at itfor more than half his 40 years, is a tremen-dously creative, avowed Muddy Watersfanatic. What distinguishes these songsbeyond their being the very particular NorthMississippi blues – about as far removedfrom Muddy as the hill country is fromChicago – is their accessibility.

The requisite monster-throbbinggrooves and repetitious hooks of the styleare all present, but always in strict serviceto a great song. Siegel wrote the lion’sshare, sings them in a hoodoo-scratchyvoice, and plays a mean slide guitar. Totop it off, he travelled to the late, legendaryJim Dickinson’s Zebra Ranch to recordwith an illustrious cast of locals he’sdubbed The Youngest Sons. Drummer/bassist/producer Cody Dickinson (theNorth Mississippi Allstars’ son of Jim),bassist/guitarist Garry Burnside (son ofR.L.), guitarist Robert Kimbrough (son of

Junior), and drummer Rodd Bland (son ofBobby “Blue”) make quite an inspiredracket behind him, which is no surprisegiven their pioneering pedigrees. And onemore thing: the hip-hop that the youngguns seem compelled to apply to thismusic these days is almost entirely absent.Thus, the title track about the lowdown realdeal is an especially apt way to begin.Siegel dresses that tortured melody, as hedoes throughout the album, with somedownturned, controlled shrieking on guitar,and guest Alvin Youngblood Hart followshim at the end with a nice snake-bitten runof his own. Tony Joe White’s self-evident“Stud Spider” makes a perfect home here,all at once fuzzy, funky, and swamp-drenched. “Hound Dog In The Manger” isominous like a spell, and as contagious asa bad disease. An old guy obsessed withyoung babe, it’s a subject that demandsthat kind of deal. There’s a loping acousticditty called “Better Than Myself” about aguy resigned to his dismal existence, andwhat sounds like a fife and drum field daysmack dab on the blast-furnace blacktopof Bourbon Street in “Devil’s In The Detail.”Vast talent, historical reverence, and for-ward thinking make The Skinny absolutelyplump with excellence.– Tom Clarke

ANDREAS ARLTAll Time Favorites

CrossCut Records

From the creamy horn arrangement andtwisting, T-Bone Walker guitar phrasing thatopens “Street Walking Woman,” AndreasArlt shows that he’s deeply locked into thestyle of an era. Arlt is the guitar playingco-founder of Germany’s top blues band,B.B. And The Blues Shacks. After 22 yearsof touring with the Blues Shacks and eleven


records, Arlt felt the time was right to recorda solo album honoring his favorite bluessongs. Arlt calls Walker his ultimate guitarinfluence and early big band his favorite for-mat. Both are the heart of this recording.Like a juke box in a Southern tavern, Arlt’ssong choices flip through styles andapproaches that are both nostalgic and hip.

Instead of wrapping himself in the com-fort of the Blues Shacks, Arlt enlisted a freshgroup of musicians that could challenge himto revive these classics. Thought Americanblues fans may not be familiar with the play-ers, Frank “Pepe” Peters (vocals), AndreasSobczyk (piano and organ), Dani Gugolz(bass), Peter Müller (drums), and a hornsection of Tom Müller, Martin Grünzweig,and Stefan Gössinger, after one listen theirtalented approach makes this an outstand-ing collection of songs.

The 15 songs Arlt has chosen torecord offer an intimate look into the musicone studies on this musical journey. Arltreplicates Clarence Hollimon’s lines onBobby “Blue” Bland’s “You’ve Got Bad

Intentions,” fires off Freddie King riffs on“She’s The One,” and caresses a rich B.B.King tone on Earl Hooker’s “I Wonder Why.”Make no mistake; this isn’t a self-indulgent,guitar playing record. Brassy R&B hornslead the ‘50’s rockers “Shooty Booty” and“It’s You I Love,” while big band brass pow-ers the instrumental “High Low.” At the sametime, Sobczyk’s piano playing is the essen-tial foil for Arlt’s guitar approaches on songslike Leroy Carr’s seminal “In The Evening(When The Sun Goes Down).” On this tune,Arlt recreates Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s gui-tar style from his 1962 King recording. Arltalso pays his six-string reverence to AlbertCollins on “Sno-Cone Part II,” Texas guitaristGoree Carter on “Hoy Hoy,” and Guitar Slimon “It Hurts To Love Someone.”

Because Arlt’s talents are with strings,“Pepe” Peters handles all the vocals. Hiselastic voice effortlessly moves from bluesshouter to ballad builder to first-rate belterto elegant crooner. Definitely a CD of com-fort food for starved blues souls.– Art Tipaldi

THE CASH BOX KINGSHoller and Stomp

Blind Pig Records

When Muddy Waters electrified the crude,idiomatic blues being played by Blackmusicians along the Mississippi Delta andtook it north to Chicago in 1943, hecouldn’t have envisioned his transformativeinnovation spawning countless legions of

SUGAR RAY AND THE BLUETONES have crafted oneof the finest traditional blues albums of the year

SUGAR RAY AND THE BLUETONESEvening

Severn Records

It’s time for celebration each time Sugar Ray Norcia releases a CD.You can be assured it will be first-class material being handled byfirst-class musicians. And, it’s always a textbook example of whatthe blues should be. Norcia may be one of the last great bluessingers. He is relaxed and controlled with every phrase, allowingspace where it’s needed to accent the tone. With nine originalshere, Norcia is holding to tradition, yet infusing it with his band’sown leanings. The music is tasteful at every turn, never trite orworn, and shines through with a vibrancy of its own.

Here, he concentrates on old-school Chicago blues with anemphasis on the bounce and rhythms that marked the music of Lit-tle Walter, Big Walter, and others. In typical fashion, Sugar Ray andhis Bluetones force nothing. Norcia glides through songs, backedby some extraordinary players such as Monster Mike Welch on gui-tar, Anthony Geraci on keyboards, Neil Gouvin on drums, andMichael “Mudcat” Ward on drums.

The molasses-moving “Too Many Rules And Regulations,” isan atmospheric wonder. It’s one of those songs you really hearwhen you are sitting on the last barstool and the night has alreadypassed by and a small crowd is gathered to hear the band play its

final song. Welch playspoignant but subdued riffsunder it all, never betrayingthe song’s understated gait.Geraci’s piano leads theway for Norcia’s mournfulharmonica and ramblingspoken-word wisdoms likesome kind of modern-dayPercy Mayfield song.

Throughout the CD,Welch’s guitar is a model of

restraint. He plays only the necessary notes and never forces theminto or over the song. Norcia had a long association with guitar mas-ter Ronnie Earl, and Welch’s sensitivity with his instrument followsthat Earl’s less-is-more blueprint.

The most rambunctious number here is Johnny Young’s “I’mHaving A Ball,” which in the hands of lesser musicians couldbecome a runaway wall of sound. Yet, Norcia, Welch, and Geracikeep the song in line, never allowing it to become a sonic avalanche.

With two Grammy nominations and several Blues Music Awardnominations, Norcia is creating music that younger musiciansshould play close attention to. This is a man that knows the bluesand is not about to let it spin out of control.– Michael Kinsman

BLUES REVUE 51

aspiring blues acolytes to take up theirrespective instruments in his honor. Amongtheir number reside the Cash Box Kings.

It’s only fitting that on the band’s newrelease, Holler and Stomp, the Kings coverone of Muddy’s earliest recordings. “Feel LikeGoing Home” initially appeared on the Aristo-crat label (a predecessor to Chess Records)and reached number 11 on the Billboard R&BChart in 1948. The track evinces CBK founderand co-vocalist, Joel Nosek’s long-held fasci-nation with the epochal sounds produced inthe aftermath of WWII by the likes of Lightnin’Hopkins, Little Walter, and Fred McDowell,who cut records for Sun, Imperial, Vee-Jayand the aforementioned, Chess labels.

In the context of this album, “Feel LikeGoing Home” is noteworthy for the stellar per-formance turned in by new addition to theKings’ line-up, Oscar Wilson, who affectsMuddy’s expectorated vocal delivery withuncanny precision. Crooning abilities aside,Wilson’s inestimable presence lends Hollerand Stomp its playful expressiveness, theessence of which figures prominently in histwo original compositions, “That’s My Gal,”and “Barnyard Pimp.” On these tracks, thesinger’s self-deprecating brand of humorimbues both his lyric writing as well as thespirit of the sessions themselves.

While the album’s liner notes indicate arevolving cast of band members (Joel Pater-son, guitar, Jimmy Sutton, bass, and KennySmith, drums) and contributing musicians(Billy Flynn, Barrelhouse Chuck), the Kings’current incarnation maintains a cohesive-ness that defies even the most outspokencritic’s view that a band in flux isn’t quite upto scratch. Happily, this is not the case. Andthough Holler and Stomp contains little in theway of virtuoso performances, its rhythmicsparseness and stripped-down productioncreate a low-impact charm that should res-onate with casual listeners and avowedblues enthusiasts alike.– Tony Del Rey

GREG NAGYFell Toward None

VizzTone

Greg Nagy has enjoyed a nice helping ofhype in recent years. His 2009 release WalkThat Fine Line earned a Best New ArtistDebut nomination from the Blues Founda-tion’s Blues Music Awards, positive reviews,

and sizeable Sirius/XM airplay. Its follow-up,Fell Toward None, continues, on balance, toreward listeners with a mix of highly rhythmicblues-rock and brass-backed soul.

It’s also an album steeped in Stevie RayVaughan six-string licks and vocal phrasing,especially on the up-tempo numbers. Nagyfires off solid, albeit far from groundbreaking,guitar solos, and sings with varied emotiondepending on the number. He’s solid enoughplaying the songs required to keep boozed-up blues club attendees dancing until lastcall. But Nagy’s artistry peaks on the slowburning breakup ballad “I’ll Know I’m Ready.”Over churchy keyboards played by Nagy’sco-producer and chief songwriter Jim Alfred-son, the singer intones, “ain’t it a shame.”Nagy’s in top form again on “Still Means TheWorld To Me,” which Alfredson also wrote. Inaddition to the lived-in vocals, Nagy delivers arichly subtle guitar solo.

The singer/guitarist stumbles, though,as a songwriter. Nagy’s biggest blunderbeing “Facebook Mama.” Over a forgettablemelody he delivers a pitiful double-entendre,reinforcing the rule that tech lingo has noplace in the blues.

Nagy ends the disc on a high note,though, with his only other self-penned song,the title track. It’s a gorgeously moody slab ofsweet nostalgia that finds him singing everyline with gripping conviction. A few more suchtracks in place of the prosaic shuffles and the

social networking silliness would greatlybenefit Fell Toward None. As it stands, Nagy’ssophomore release is solid, with plenty ofmeaningful material that hints at somethingtruly special in the near future. He’ll mostlikely continue to improve, but this albummakes for a fine starting point for those inter-ested in one of the blues world’s best new-comers of recent years. (Disclosure: FellToward None by Greg Nagy is issued byVizzTone Label Group, co-owned by BluesRevue’s parent company, Visionation.)– Wade Tatangelo

MARK NOMADTorch Tones

Blue Star Records

The Western Massachusetts based MarkNomad is no stranger to the national bluesscene. With seven albums hanging from hisgun belt, Nomad has long been a well-known entity among lovers of the blues. Onhis latest offering, the twelve-song, TorchTones, Nomad boasts powerful vocals andguitar prowess as well as some imaginativecontemporary blues song crafting.

Torch Tones opens with the grooveheavy “Love U Truly,” a song wrought withtremolo driven guitar and Nomad’s matter-of-fact vocal delivery. On “Don’t Say It,”Nomad’s cadence continues in a funky,down-and-dirty kinda way. This song oozeswith an infectious swagger that just won’tlet go. “Gemini Blues” suggests a cleverlyexecuted key change as Nomad pulls outthe bottleneck for some testifyin’ blues fret-work. This song will remain in your psychelong after the CD player has retired. Fuzz-laden electric slide drives the melody onthe swampy “Poetry In Motion” thenNomad shifts back to the resonator for asweet taste of country blues on “The Wait-ing.” This is a hauntingly beautiful track andone of the best songs Nomad has evercreated.

“The Real Thing” bumps and grindswith some qualified horn lines courtesy ofsaxophonist, Doug Jones, then the melan-choly “Cactus Flower” kicks in with full bandaccompaniment that features keyboardistDan Fontanella, bassist John O’Boyle, anddrummer Sturgis Cunningham. Nomad tog-gles electric and acoustic guitars on thejivin’ “Chinese Checkers.” Singer SusanDuncan weighs in with some soulful backingvocals on this number. “Took More Than


You Gave” is stark and plaintive as Nomadlets his guitar do the talking.

Nomad and company gets back in tofull swing on the Magic Sam cover “WhatHave I Done Wrong.” This time around, thetasteful drumming of Dale Monette alongwith the pumping bass lines of Peter King,and the saxophone blasts of Doug Jonesround out the lineup. Nomad turns up theheat on “I Got Over You” and pulls out theelectrics for some nasty tones and gritty gut-bucket vocals. Shades of old-time recordingtechniques shine throughout this number.

Nomad closes out this finely craftedalbum with his lone voice and acoustic gui-tar on “All One.” An acoustic classic thatfades gently into aural oblivion. Whetherwrangling a slide or letting his fingers dothe talking, Nomad proves again to be aconsummate singer, songwriter, and playerand a qualified bluesman of the highestorder on his latest recording, Torch Tones.– Brian Owens

MATT SCHOFIELDAnything But Time

Nugene Records

On a path of excellence in the area ofguitar technique and showmanship, MattSchofield is comparable to the likes ofRobben Ford and Mike Stern in places.With a handful of praiseworthy releasessince 2005, he’s proving to everyone listen-ing that he’s a modern blues performerdeserving of respect and recognition. Withvelvety guitar tone and dazzling fretboardmastery, garnished with balanced phrasingand just the right amount of sustain, hedeparts blues parameters only periodicallyto shake things up in a contemporary yetunique manner.

Schofield’s unbridled yet perfectlyexecuted notes soar about generously andtastefully in the title track. The drive issmooth and suave. The addictive melodyand fluid excursion is coerced alongnicely by the incredible rhythm section ofex-Robert Cray drummer Kevin Hayes andthe keyboard wizardry of Jonny Hender-son, who also keys in the bass linesthroughout the CD.

In a straightforward blues manner,“See Me Through” is highlighted bySchofield’s vocal ability, which gets down-right sweaty and emotional in slow blues

mode. With fluid guitar notes reminiscent ofStevie Ray and Otis Rush, the smoky bar-room progression is intensified by Hender-son’s swimmy B-3 and by the bluesy pianoadditives of special guest Jon Cleary.

Schofield gets diverse and unpre-dictable with interesting chord changes andmelody in “Where Do I Have To Stand,” andthen downright funky in a near hip-hop wayin “One Look (And I’m Hooked).” The funkdoesn’t stop there, as he takes it in anotherdirection in Steve Winwood’s “At Times WeDo Forget.” He shows respect and adora-tion for the blues in Albert King’s “WrappedUp In Love,” with brawny notes that conjureimages of the King himself, Albert Collins’frosty bite as well. The surreal melody androbust tone in “Dreaming Of You” pos-sesses a ‘70s air that will appeal to fans ofHendrix and Robin Trower, especially thelatter, as the fat tone and weepy notes aredead on in that area.

Anything But Time was recorded underthe supervision of producer John Porter atthe Music Shed in New Orleans. Eight of thealbum’s tens songs were written bySchofield and Dorothy Whittick. It’s a nicefollow-up to his 2009 award winning releaseHeads, Tails, And Aces, as well as the exhil-arating 2010 live excursion Live From TheArchive, matching both in taste and quality.– Brian D. Holland

RY COODERPull Up Some Dust

And Sit DownNonesuch Records

Leave it to genre-hopping guitar great,expert bandleader, accomplished producer,and champion singer/songwriter RyCooder to deliver one of the best bluessongs of the year. Titled, “John Lee HookerFor President,” it features Cooder solo on

his six-string doing a loving, by turnssomber and humorous, impersonation ofthe man who gave the world such chest-nuts as “Boogie Chillen,” “Boom Boom,”and “Crawling King Snake.” Cooder deliv-ers a six-minute stump speech in Hooker’strademark talking blues styles over the Mis-sissippi master’s most famous guitar licks.Hooker has selected Jimmy Reed as hisvice president and Little Johnny Taylor forsecretary of state. “Don’t be fooled by theRepublican, don’t pity the Democratic, voteJohn Lee Hooker and everything gone bemellow, knocked out, copastatic,” is thecandidate’s closing remark.

Cooder has been successfully explor-ing various musical styles domestic andabroad for decades. He continues that fan-tastic journey on his latest, self-producedalbum Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down.Though “John Lee Hooker For President” isthe lone song that fits neatly into the bluesbox, the entire album has the blues in itsheart as Cooder performs self-pennedsongs for and about the same laborers,outlaws, and poison lovers that have beenpart of the great American musical formsince the days of Charley Patton.

The disc opens with the rollicking pro-letariat anthem “No Banker Left Behind.”The cheerful melody shrewdly juxtaposedwith biting lines such as “Champagne andshrimp cocktails and that’s not all you’llfind/There’s a billion dollar bonus and nobanker left behind.” Cooder smartly uses asimilar approach on a couple other stand-outs. “Christmas Time This Year” features abouncy beat goosed by Tejano hero FlacoJimenez’s uplifting accordion work. Play itin a Starbucks and corporate drones mighttap their toes. But to the discerning listenerthe message is strikingly grave. “Our chil-dren will be coming home in plastic bags Ifear / Then we’ll know it’s Christmas timethis year.” Cooder rocks out, even givinglisteners a taste of his famed slide guitar

BLUES REVUE 53

playing on “If There’s A God;” all the whilelambasting the Republicans who have nopity for the poor and “changed the lock onheaven’s door.” There have been manypolitical albums released during thesetumultuous times, but few work as well asPull Up Some Dust And Sit Down, an essen-tial purchase for Cooder fans and a fineplace to start for the uninitiated.– Wade Tatangelo

SENA EHRHARDT BANDLeave The Light On

Blind Pig Records

Hailing from Rochester, Minnesota, theSena Ehrhardt Band features singer-song-writer Sena Ehrhardt and her father, EdEhrhardt on guitars, along with bassistSteve Hansen and drummer Tim Hasler.Growing up in a musical household,Ehrhardt was exposed to music at an earlyage by her dad and now she has emergedas one of the newest voices of the blues inthe national arena.

On her debut album, Leave The LightOn, Ehrhardt proves without question thatshe’s deserving of all the hype by boastinga smoky, soul-filled voice and inventive,emotionally charged word crafting. Coupleher obvious gifts to Ed’s soul drenched gui-tar work and a backing band that rivals anyon the circuit today, and you’ve got themakings of one of the hottest new bluesoutfits in the country.

Leave The Light On opens with theslinky guitar rhythms of “My Bad” punctu-ated by Ehrhardt’s considerable vocalprowess. This opening number establishesgood things to come from this superbdebut disc. Next up, the album’s title track“Leave The Light On” oozes a heart-wrenching lament as Ehrhardt pleads to

her lover to “leave the light on” as she’srealized her mistake in leaving. After onelisten, I guarantee there won’t be a listeneron any coast denying Ehrhardt’s wishes.

From track to track, Ehrhardt estab-lishes that she’s capable of crooning softlyor wailing with the best of them as is evi-denced on her vocal workout in “The BestThing.” Ed’s playing is dark, rich, andinspired on this track. This song is a bluesradio staple for sure. When the lights godown, Ehrhardt and the band roll out thebluesy crawl of “Last Chance.” This six anda half minute ode to toeing the line isEhrhardt’s last warning to her man to getyour act together, and she means business.

The Sena Ehrhardt Band are going tomake a lot of waves in the blues world andher new album, Leave The Light On, is justthe first ripple in a widening ocean of bluesfrom this fine band.– Brian M. Owens

THE 44’SFEATURING KID RAMOS

Boogie DiseaseRip Cat Records

THE MIGHTY MOJO PROPHETSRip Cat Records

These two retro-sounding albums areamong the first five to be released by thefledgling Rip Cat Records of Los Angeles.Rip Cat was founded by Scott Abeyta, gui-tarist for Whiteboy James & the BluesExpress (who also record for Rip Cat).According to Abeyta the “Rip Cat Sound” is“a cross between Chicago blues and WestCoast swing...a modern take on the LAblues scene of the 1980s and 1990s whenJames Harman, William Clarke, RobertLucas’ Luke & the Locomotives, and affili-ated luminaries ruled.” The 44’s (Johnny

Main guitar and vocals, Tex Nakamura, for-merly of War, harmonica, Mike Turturrobass, and J.R. Lozano drums; co-producerKid Ramos plays guitar on four of the ninetracks) draw their inspiration from the lateWilliam Clarke and the late harpist/vocalistLester Butler of the Red Devils. As a tribute,they cover Butler’s “Goin’ To Church” and“So Low Down,” and Clarke’s signatureinstrumental, the harmonica hurricano“Blowin’ Like Hell” with gusto; they alsocover Howlin’ Wolf’s “Commit A Crime,”Willie Love’s “Automatic,” and Magic Sam’s“Take It Easy” (penned by Willie Dixon) withequal vigor. Two originals come from theband, a mid-tempo shuffle of romanticmanipulation with “Pull My Strings” and thegrinding title track. Kid Ramos contributedthe rumba-rockin’ instrumental “JohnnyCochino.” This is a solid debut, but it coulduse a few more tunes; perhaps anotherClarke nugget or a Harman or Lucas tune.With Nakamura blowin’ up a storm on dia-tonic and chromatic and Main’s vibrant,piercing solos and gritty vocals, whichevoke William Clarke (at times), the band isone to watch.

The Mighty Mojo Prophets (vocalistTom “Big Son” Eliff, guitarist Mitch Dow,bassist Scott Lambert, drummer JohnnyMinguez, and harpist Alex “Lil A” Wood-son) hail from Long Beach and, like the44’s, were formed in 2007. Their epony-mous release is comprised of 12 Eliff andDow originals and one by WhiteboyJames, who vocalizes on his snappy callto the dance floor “Boogie WoogieRhythm.” As there are four more tunes,there is more depth and variety to theirlabel debut than the 44’s. Eliff and Dow’stunes don’t break any new ground and aremainly inspired by either classic Chicagoblues (“Evil Sometimes,” “Night Train,”and “Hoodoo Lover”) or by the R&B of T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner, and WynonieHarris et al (“Friday Night Phone Call,”“Life’s A Hurt’N Thing,” and “My Baby”).


Eliff is an unpretentious vocalist, seem-ingly more inspired by R&B than Chicagoblues, yet equally confident in either style.Dow complements Eliff’s vocals with bigsplashes of glistening chords and somedazzling solos that recall T-Bone Walkerand Albert Collins. Woodson is a force onharmonica and deserves more space ontheir next album. Kudos and good luck toRip Cat for shining the light on this newbreed of West Coast blues bands.– Thomas J. Cullen III

THE MIKE REILLY BANDReilly’s Road

Atlas Records

Mike Reilly, a Southern California guitaristand singer, is making up for lost time withthis recording. Reilly has been a mainstayon the West Coast for 25 years, playingblues in a variety of assemblages, butalways in a band that knew precisely howthe music should be played. His music isgood-time, party blues. Reilly also hasbeen tragically overlooked and some ofthese recordings, which date back to 1985,never saw the light of day.

Best known for his work as a slideguitarist for the bands of Elvin Bishop andGregg Allman, Reilly displays his muscularguitar playing, clever songwriting, vocalskills, and arranging here. And, make nomistake, he doesn’t suffer musical foolswhen it comes to sidemen. His band matesread like the liner notes from a Hall of Fameclass recording. Joining him on guitar arenames like Bishop, Bill Champlin, TajMahal, Kid Ramos, Johnny Lee Schell, andDangerous Dan Toler. Keyboard playersinclude Mike Finnigan, Garth Hudson,Champlin, and Allman, while bassistsinclude George “Chocolate” Perry, Gerald

Johnson, and Larry Fulcher and the inim-itable Tony Braunagel on drums.

The songs are agreeable and themusic leans mostly toward the HammondB-3-driven-guitar interplay in the vein of theAllman Brothers. In fact, too often this CDsounds like an audition for the Allmans.The live version of “Hot Lanta” here fea-tures two drummers, Allman’s organ, andthe slashing guitars of Toler and Reilly inwhat can only be described as a knock-offof the original.

That’s not say Reilly doesn’t have hismoments. His self-penned “Caught In TheAct” features him singing like Delbert McClin-ton if he happened into a Little Feat concert.Though the 17 songs here have heavySouthern rock leanings, you have to admireReilly as a singer, guitarist, and bandleaderwho skillfully capitalizes on the genrethrough his sheer enthusiasm and talent.– Michael Kinsman

SARAH JANE NELSONWild Women Don’t Get

The BluesSarah Jane Nelson Music

For those in New York theatrical circles,Sarah Jane Nelson may be well known asan actress, but she’s not exactly a house-hold name in the world of blues music. Nel-son, raised in Monroe, Louisiana, cameacross the Robert Johnson boxed set whilein high school, bought the discs, and hadher revelation.

So, you ask, what are her blues cre-dentials? As an actress, Nelson was cast in“It Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues” at the PrinceMusic Theater in Philadelphia. A year later,she performed in an off-Broadway produc-tion of “El Paso Blue.” Both theatrical pro-jects required her to sing the blues, so thisalbum is a natural extension of that work.

Wild Women Don’t Get The Blues isone of her first attempts at recording and ithas a laid-back, living room feel, as she’saccompanied by acoustic bluesmanMichael “Hawkeye” Herman. All the trackshere were recorded live, after manyrehearsals, one presumes, at FreemanSound in Ashland, Oregon. To accommo-date Herman’s guitar stylings, light percus-sion accompaniment from Tom Freeman,and harmonica treatments from Big IrvLubliner, the production is deliberatelyno-frills.

If you appreciate classic blues tunesrendered acoustically, you’ll find somethingto latch onto with this album, as Nelsoncovers well-known blues standards like thetitle track, “Nobody Knows You WhenYou’re Down And Out,” “St. Louis Blues,”“Sweet Home Chicago,” “I Put A Spell OnYou,” Leiber and Stoller’s “Hound Dog,”and Jimmy Reed’s “Baby What You WantMe To Do.”

She includes just one original, “LongAs I Got You,” and it’s good enough thatwe wonder if her next project will be a pro-ject of her own tunes, maybe even ren-dered with electric guitars and amplifiers.– Richard J. Skelly

DAVE KELLERWhere I’m Coming From

Tastee-Tone Records

With three CDs of original songs to hiscredit, blues singer and guitarist DaveKeller wasn’t looking to record someoneelse’s songs until producer Bob Perry sug-gested he tackle some deep soul numbers.Perry, an urban music producer who estab-lished himself working with Wu-Tang Clan,Foxy Brown, Brian McKnight, and 50 Cent,sensed that Keller’s guitar and vocal skillswould be stand out surrounded by someclassic soul songs.

The result is the stunning Where I’mComing From that pays tribute to ‘60s and‘70s soul tunes that barely were heard out-side of soul radio stations in the South.Names like George Jackson, J.J. Barnes,and Syl Johnson barely made a ripple onthe larger music scene, but within the soulworld they were mighty respected.

Keller has a knack for singing impas-sioned vocals without resorting to vocalgymnastics like some singers straining for

BLUES REVUE 55

authenticity. His smooth delivery of BobbyWomack’s “More Than I Can Stand” iseffortless, seamless and punctuatedby horns, backing vocals and Keller’sguitar fills.

Keller has recorded with Ronnie Earland Johnny Rawls, which doubtlessly hasdisciplined him to let songs stand on theirown merit. But he also appreciates thewarmth and caressing sounds of gospelthat he’s learned from Al Green, Otis Clay,and Mighty Sam McClain. He understandsthat when he sings about a pained heart,he must sing from his soul for the song tohave an honesty that can’t be mitigated. It’s

a style derived from the studios ofHi Records in Memphis and FameRecording in Muscle Shoals where rawsoul made its way to vinyl.

Keller’s duet with Tre’ Williams onPercy Sledge’s “That’s The Way I Want ToLife My Life” stirs up images of Sam & Daveat their soulful best. Keller’s vocals possessan unswerving commitment to the lyricsthat vow he will live the way his baby wantsto live. And, like good soul music shouldbe, Keller’s interpretations are fueled byinfectious beats that prevent them frombeing burdened by the weight of the lyrics.On the J.J. Barnes/Don Davis song “BabyPlease Come Back Home,” his pleasassure his woman that their future is full ofoptimism.

The best-known tracks here comefrom the likes of James Carr, O.V. Wright,and Arthur Alexander. On Alexander’sremorseful “If It Really Got To Be This Way,”Keller’s voice is filled with the resignation ofman who has given in. As it turns out, pro-ducer Perry made a wise choice to recoversome great lost soul music.– Michael Kinsman

WYNTON MARSALISAND ERIC CLAPTON

Play The BluesLive From Lincoln Center

Reprise/Rhino Records

For those who haven’t attended any of themany great concerts put on by the folks atJazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, here’sthe next best thing: a CD/DVD set that pairsguitar great Eric Clapton with WyntonMarsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln CenterOrchestra.

Clapton, Marsalis, and companytackle well-known blues fare, like “Forty-Four,” “Careless Love,” and “Stagger Lee,”but they also run through an inventive ren-dition of one of Clapton’s biggest blues-rock hits, “Layla,” and touch on anotherbranch of the same tree with a gospelhymn associated with Marsalis’ native NewOrleans, “Just A Closer Walk With Thee.”

The sound here is impeccable andfull, as it should be for any world-class jazz


orchestra. Clapton and Marsalis areaccompanied by Clapton’s longtime key-boardist Chris Stainton as well as LCJOmembers like Ali Jackson on drums, VictorGoines on clarinet, Don Vappie on banjo,and Carlos Henriques on bass.

The results are generally superb, andwhile the mostly acoustic nature of thisconcert may not be every blues-rock fan’scup of tea, Taj Mahal accompanies them forthe album’s three closing tracks, “Just ACloser Walk With Thee,” “Corrine, Corrina,”and “Stagger Lee.”

This CD/DVD set makes a nice addi-tion to any blues fan’s collection. I would liketo suggest to programming folks for Jazz atLincoln Center to always remember whatWynton Marsalis taught me many yearsago: “You can’t play good traditional jazz ifyou don’t know the blues.” Suitably enough,this fall they had Shemekia Copeland per-form there, so at least we know they’re notignoring the contributions of talented bluespeople at Jazz at Lincoln Center.– Richard J. Skelly

GREGG MARTINEZSouth Of The Parish Line

Magnolia Records

Louisiana-based Gregg Martinez presentsa soul-lifting blend of blues, swamp pop,and soul, powered in no small way by hiscanny choice of cover tunes. Some are in-the-pocket classics, others simply offbeatdelights. But each, in its own way, givesMartinez’s new South Of The Parish Linethis keen edge and weight. For instance,Martinez – once pitched to record execs inthe early 1980s as a kind of blue-eyedTeddy Pendergrass – simply blows througha rollicking take on Chuck Berry’s 1964composition “C’est La Vie,” with a brawnybrass punctuation. Less expected is “Sign

Your Name,” a Top Five U.S. hit in 1988 forpop-soul singer Terence Trent D’Arby,which Martinez plucks out of obscurity thenreanimates with a soulful insistence.

Even when Martinez steps away fromthese brilliant interpretive successes, heremains a strong, daring presence; heart-felt when others are boastful, soulful whenothers simply shout. That’s best heard onhis own “What Was I Thinking,” a devastat-ing, regret-filled cry for redemption. Else-where Martinez, who returned from his briefflirtation with the national spotlight to earnLouisiana Music Hall of Fame honors as amember of the Boogie Kings, brilliantlyrecreates two tracks from the underratedsong stylist David Egan. First, there’s themid-tempo rambler “Blueblooded Girl” (anew song about an every-day guy in lovewith someone above his station) and thenthe emotional ballad “Please No More”(outlining the final moments of a difficultrelationship). There’s also a rollicking sec-ond-line joy to “Going Back To Louisiana,”originally composed by Bobby Osborneand later covered by Delbert McClinton,Bugs Henderson, and Clarence “Gate-mouth” Brown, among others.

Taking another sudden left turn,Martinez includes R. Kelly’s “When AWoman Loves,” from 2010’s Love Letter,and it too somehow works. The 1974Al Green classic “Take Me To The River”sounds less like a gospel-infused churchnumber in Martinez’s hands than a pleas-ingly uncautious R&B wailer. Martinez thenadds new blues tinges, and real emotion,to the crushing lament “At This Moment,” aNo.1 U.S. hit for Billy Vera in 1987 and acapstone moment here. In the end, SouthOf The Parish Line, with its belly-rubbingR&B, rangy grooves, and fearless attitudeabout song selection, is that rare bluesoffering that’s both individualistic and con-nective to the music’s history. A real find.– Nick DeRiso

GEORGE “HARMONICA” SMITHTeardrops Are Falling

Electro-Fi

Subtitled “Live in 1983 with Buddy Reedand the Rocket 88’s,” this ten-song setwas recorded before an enthusiasticcrowd at Chuy’s in Tempe, Arizona, a fewmonths before Smith’s death at age 59.Having a new recording by the progenitorof West Coast harmonica blues, the kingof the chromatic, and friend and mentorto Rod Piazza and the late William Clarkefilled me with anticipation. Guitarist Buddy

Reed played with Smith in Bacon Fat andrecorded several albums with him in theearly Seventies, so it made sense to backSmith with a sympathetic band like theRocket 88’s (drummer Roger Rotoli,bassist Jerry Smith, and harpist “Bullet”Bill Tarsia who is heard on half thetracks).

Smith’s glorious chromatic is onlyheard on the somber title track that startsthe set; he sticks with the diatonic afterthat. “Teardrops Are Falling” is an originalslow blues with sonorous, craggy vocals,and a piercing extended solo by Reedwho really cuts loose with Smith’s encour-agement. Unfortunately, what followsdoesn’t match the intensity of the leadtrack. Most of the tunes are standards:“I’m A Man,” “Woke Up This Mornin’,”“Big Boss Man,” and an anomalousupbeat version of “Going Down Slow.” Lit-tle Walter is the source for “Juke,” “Key tothe Highway,” and “Crazy ‘bout You Baby”– not sure what Little Walter tune he wasreferencing with “Crazy,” which soundslike any number of LW’s slow blues.Strangely enough, Smith claims that henever met Little Walter or heard any of hisrecords. This from an artist who recorded


a Little Walter tribute album and some-times billed himself as Little Walter, Jr.

There are other dubious aspects. Thesound is adequate, but often cavernousand distant with intermittently excessivereverb on the vocals. During his stage pat-ter the affable Smith mentions problemswith his eyesight and fatigue; I’m in favor ofkeeping it real, but their inclusion is ques-tionable. Lastly, a few signature tunes like

“Telephone Blues,” “Oopin’ Doopin’Doopin’,” or “Blues In The Dark” wouldmake for a more satisfying set. Smith com-pletists will most want this album and hope-fully it will pique further interest in Smith sothat some label will reissue two of his bestalbums on CD, 1971’s Arkansas Trap(Deram) and 1969’s Of The Blues(ABC/Bluesway).– Thomas J. Cullen III

JOHN MAYSI Found A Love

Electro-Fi

John Mays has the voice to deliver thegoods. That voice is so good that Mays hassix Juno Awards as Canada’s Male Vocalistof the Year. At 70 years old, Mays’s voicecan travel up the range from a growl tofalsetto. Born in the US (the same year andSouthern town as Otis Redding), Maystoday calls Canada his home and Fatheadhis Canadian group of choice.

Throughout the recording, Mays singsa dozen soul classics from bygone eras.There’s the late-sixties guitar sax funk onAretha’s “Think” that’s reminiscent ofJames Brown. Mays treatment of “99 And AHalf” has a late-sixties boogaloo dancegroove. With a musical arrangement of har-monica and organ instead of horns, KingFloyd’s 1970 “Groove Me” is every bit aseffective as the original (there’s even period“sock it to me” references). Fathead’sTeddy Leonard adds gorgeous soul guitarriffs to Mays’ punctuatin’ growls on O.V.Wright’s “You’re Gonna Make Me Cry.”Mays’ relaxed delivery of Tyrone Davis’ feelgood “Can I Change My Mind” recalls thedays when this soul anthem blared fromcar radios. Remember when Wilson Pick-ett’s yells led the Orioles’ “I Found A Love”?So does Mays who approximates Pickettwhile the backing vocals of his Fatheadmates become the Orioles. As Leonardsmoothes out Robert Ward’s staccato gui-tar lines, Mays’ raspy signifying blurs thegospel/soul line so Saturday nightbecomes hand waving Sunday morning.

Mays’ gospel roots (he began hissinging career as a child in Southern gospelgroups) shine on his treatment of “Jesus OnThe Mainline.” With a Blind Boys-styled

BLUES REVUE 59

choral response to his testifyin’ calls,Mays tackles this hand clappin’ anthemwith a mid-tempo vocal restraint thatbuilds into an infectious sing-along. Anall-star cast backs Mays’ on the Domino’s1950’s classic doo-wop “Have MercyBaby.” Bob Stroger (bass), Willie “BigEyes” Smith (drums), Michael Fonfara(piano), and Jack DeKeyzer and LittleFrank Krakowski (guitars) give Mays alively shuffle that injects a 21st centuryatmosphere into this jukebox staple.

This is the perfect record for anyonewho has never traveled north and experi-enced Fathead. Throughout these 12songs, Mays demonstrates what Cana-dian music lovers have long known, thisis a formidable singer who fronts a highlytalented band of musicians.– Art Tipaldi

DAVID GOGOSoul-Bender

Cordova Bay Records

I first saw Western Canadian bluesguitarist and singer-songwriter DavidGogo at the excellently programmedWindsor Blues Festival in Canada a fewsummers back. He made a good impres-sion as a live performer then, and hemakes an even better impression nowon Soul Bender, his 11th release

This album includes just four of hisoriginal songs, but the guitar playing andsinging throughout is top-shelf. To besure, Gogo, who may not be a familiarname to some U.S. blues fans, has paid

his dues and then some, traveling acrossCanada from his native British Columbiato Nova Scotia and all points in between.

He does a terrific job with his origi-nals. “Slow It Down,” “Time Is Killing Me,”“Getting Old,” and “Do You Know How ItFeels?” will please the most cynical ofblues and blues-rock fans. Interestingly,

BUDDY and JUNIOR in 1965 playing thefuture of the blues. This record is a mustin your blues collection.

JUNIOR WELLSHoodoo Man Blues

Delmark Records

Elegant in its bandstand-tested, stripped-down attack and shotthrough with the cocksure, soulful swagger that defined JuniorWells’ public persona until the day he died, Hoodoo Man Blues isone of the truly seminal electric blues albumsof the 1960s.

It marked one of the first times a workingblues band was allowed to lay their nightlyrepertoire onto tape for posterity as an albumrather than working toward a hit single (oftenwith the singer backed by a studio band).Delmark boss Bob Koester brought Wells andhis trio (Buddy Guy on guitar, bassist JackMyers, and drummer Billy Warren, who allbacked him regularly at Theresa’s onChicago’s South Side) into Sound Studios fortwo days in September of ’65 and let Juniorcount off one edgy number after another without intruding.The result was a landmark of modern blues.

Wells had made great records before, beginning with his1953-54 sides for the States label and proceeding through hisclassics “Little By Little” and “Messing With The Kid” for producerMel London at the dawn of the ‘60s. By the time he waxedHoodoo Man, he’d polished his R&B-tinged sound to a razor-sharp toughness, his handpicked rhythm section percolating to

funky perfection. Wells blew sinewy harp through a cheap micand snarled streetwise vocals on the sizzling “Snatch It Back AndHold It,” “You Don’t Love Me,” and the after-hours gem “Ships OnThe Ocean,” a combination that remains devastating to this day.

The quartet’s gutsy arrangement of Kenny Burrell’s jazzyinstrumental “Chitlins Con Carne” has been copped by countlessblues bands ever since; even “Hound Dog” was invigorated inJunior’s hands. The sessions weren’t without their difficulties.

When Guy’s amp blew at one point, engi-neer Stu Black routed him through aLeslie organ speaker, giving Buddy’sfleet-fingered interjections an unusualwatery tone reminiscent of Robert Wardon a few selections.

Delmark’s deluxe reissue is a markedimprovement on its predecessor. Its digi-pak housing sports updated notes fromKoester as well as his original essay andvintage photos from the sessions, whilethe track list has been expanded to a gen-erous 19 songs plus some amusing stu-

dio chatter. The previously unreleased cooker “I Ain’t Stranded” isa major find; the other additions are alternate takes of familiar titles(several early attempts at “Yonder Wall” and the studio chatter inbetween make it clear this one didn’t come easy for the band).

If you don’t already own Hoodoo Man Blues, there’s neverbeen a better time to pick it up. Even if you do, the enhancedpresentation may well make it worth a purchase all over again.– Bill Dahl


he and his stellar backup band offer up ahorn-heavy cover of the late Michael Jack-son’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” thatyou can see going over well in a blues fes-tival setting, even without the complementof horns on the recording.

If you weren’t a convert to DavidGogo’s great talents as a singer, song-writer, guitarist, and bandleader before,you will be after listening to Soul Bender.One wishes more U.S. blues festival book-ers were hip to him.– Richard J. Skelly

BILLY C. FARLOWAlabama Swamp Stomp

Crosscut

This CD moves Billy C. Farlow two clicks tothe right on the continuum between rogueand dirty old man when he sings, “Honey,stop a-suckin’ them catfish bones and putyour greasy mouth where it belongs…onmy lips,” on “Drive Me Like A Mule.”

Back at a time when there wasn’tjust a line in the sand, but rather a dan-gerous chasm between the country ofMerle Haggard’s “Oakie From Musko-gee” and the bell bottomed raunch of BigBrother and The Holding Company, anovereducated band of artistes from AnnArbor calling themselves CommanderCody’s Lost Planet Airmen moved to Cal-ifornia and leaped over that abyss withcovers of country staples like “Hot RodLincoln,” combining them with originals“Too Much Fun,” “Seeds And Stems,”and “Lost In The Ozone” – each writtenby Farlow. These anthems announced toall the bubbas of the southland that theAllman Brothers, and other bands with aSouthern connection, were not mis-placed anomalies and that hippies couldtwang, too.

Four decades later, the good Com-mander is fronting the 4563rd version ofthe Lost Planet Airmen for Saratoga Race-way audiences in the Northeast and pub-lishing books of his art; guitarist JohnTichy is heading the mechanical engineer-ing department at Rensselaer PolytechnicInstitute; and Farlow is still making up forthe rest of the band in maintaining a repu-tation for being a scallywag.

If, like me, you’re still hoping thatlightning strikes twice and that Farlow isgoing to rewrite the book on the hybridamalgam of rockabilly/country andswampy blues, don’t exhale just yet.Although Farlow wrote all 14 of thesesongs, “Tennessee Saturday Night” is fun-damentally a reworking of every Bo Did-dley classic delivered with GeorgeThorogood attitude. All the cuts here arebacked by a French trio called Mercy thatturns in performance better than paint bynumbers, but they can’t live up to the rawcrunch of Farlow’s early mentors JohnLee Hooker and Big Joe Williams or evensome of his latter day buds like D. J.Fontana, Elvis Presley’s drummer.

The rest of the songs with titles like“My Name Is Trouble,” “Alligator Crawl,”and my favorite, “Snake Eyes,” deliverwhat the cover promises, sweaty, swampySouthern rockabilly/blues from an artistwho wears dark glasses and looks likesomeone you’d report to the police if yousaw him in the park near your kids: gooddirty fun but no new barriers crossed.– Don Wilcock

THE BRIDGENational Bohemian

Woodberry Records

National Bohemian is one of the bestrecords of the year. And ‘bridge’ is whatthey do – their blues-based rock provinga coat of many colors making them diffi-cult to pin down stylistically. The bandare, musically, the bohemians of thealbum title, eleven originals backing thisup in spades. Add in the productiongenius and musical contributions of LosLobos’ Steve Berlin (vibes, strings andsynth effects) and you’ve got a solid 4threlease (after ‘08’s criminally overlookedBlind Man’s Hill). The players, CrisJacobs (vocals, guitar), Kenny Liner

(vocals, mandolin), Patrick Rainey (saxo-phones), Marc Brown (keyboards), DaveMarkowitz (bass, backup vocals), andMike Gambone (drums), recall the ani-mated spirit of Little Feat, if not AtlantaRhythm Section, Delbert McClinton, andKing Crimson. Crimson? Cue the giganticwall of sound in the kick-off track, “Sanc-tuary,” as Rainey’s sax and Berlin’s vibescreate a distinctive Crimson King-esquesound that takes the track somewhereyou’ve not been before.

Jacobs’ rough-hewn vocal conjuresthe ghost of Lowell George (with a slightSouthern accent), his guitar whipping intoovertime. Take the oddly surrealintro/outro to the hyperactive “Chavez”and call them nothing less than adventur-ous. The finger-tapped percussive effecton “Big Wheel” gives no hint to what fol-lows, as Jacob’s whiskey-cured vocaltakes a soulful turn, the funk element setto high. Liner’s lead vocal on the gentle,mandolin-fired “Moonlight Mission”quickly establishes his strengths. “Geral-dine” sounds recorded in a party atmos-phere as if The Band joined The Neville’sin their basement, as sax and guitar brewa Nawlins effect. Highlights are many –including the powerfully addictive “LongWay To Climb,” a song that simply won’tgo out of your head, sending a shiverdown your back as if Lowell himself wasinvolved. The Feat-like “Rosie” features aband with maximum compression fromall eight cylinders thanks to Gambone’spropulsive drumming. The seductivepower of Jacobs’ vocals in “Stranger InMy Home” displays an entirely differentstrength as a band. Likewise, the beautyof their simple, acoustic treatment of“Dirt On My Hands” proves The Bridgehave much to offer and so many placesto go, creatively. Regardless of catego-rization, these guys are too good to beoverlooked.– Eric Thom

BLUES REVUE 61

J.P. SOARSMore Bees With HoneySoars High Productions

In 2009, J.P. Soars not onlytook first place in the bandcompetition, he also coppedthe award as the competition’sbest overall guitarist. Thatnight, his ten-minute slowblues was one of the event’shighlights. Since then, Soarshas toured the country playingin a trio format. Here, however, Soars expands the band sound withkeyboards, harmonica, and the twin tenors of Terry Hanck and SaxGordon Beadle. In addition, unlike his 2008 cover filled Back Of MyMind, Soars penned 10 of the 13 songs here, giving him the opportu-nity to sing and arrange his own compositions. The disc opens on abittersweet note; the late Robin Rogers and Soars trade vocals asHanck and Beadle wail on this Memphis soul stew. From there, Soarscooks up a musical stew showing off blues styles. His Howlin’ Wolfvocals accent the Chicago-styled “K.Y.N.O.M.B.,” and “Chasin’Whiskey With Whiskey.” Travis Colby and Soars recreate T-BoneWalker on “The Hustle (Is On),” then Colby and Soars throw down abarrage of ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll on “Twitchin’.” Colby adds Hammondorgan to Soars’ torrid slow blues “So Many Times.” Soars’ playful wah-wah on “Doggin’” and his slide expertise on his homemade two-stringcigar box guitar (Soars makes and sells these custom items too.) on“They’ll Do It Every Time,” and the disc closer, “Where’d You Stay LastNight” offer proof of Soar’s expansive guitar techniques.

GRADY CHAMPIONDreamin’Grady Shady Music

As the night’s final performer often, Grady Champion walkedinto the Orpheum audience,crowed “My Rooster Is King,”and took home 2010 first placehonors. Since that win, Cham-pion has taken that validation ona one man, cross-country bluesblitz. If you’ve seen the liveshow, you know Champion takes the role very seriously. Here, Cham-pion records ten originals (two by Champion and eight he co-writes)that showcase the musical diversity Champion has always embracedsince his debut in the mid-90s. Though Champion’s a fine harmonica

player, the record’s harp accents are mostly downplayed. Instead,Champion’s vocals, ranging from an after hours Mississippi juke jointto a dressed up Mississippi casino, are on-stage. There’s the gritty,Bobby Rush-styled opener, “My Rooster Is King,” where Championstruts his cock-a-doodle-dos, the Rush-like sexual innuendos on “MakeThat Monkey Jump,” the soul blues title cut, the creamy R&B in themodernesque ballad “Weight Of The World,” and Champion’s use ofhis back-up singers’ call and response chorus on “Cross That Bridge.”The final three songs, all written by Champion, co-producer and gui-tarist Zac Harmon, and keyboard player Christopher Troy, are the blue-siest and show a stylistic continuity. At times, Champion’s genrejumping can feel like someone slipped in a new record when youweren’t paying attention. Because there are so many approachesChampion embraces, he shows them all off on record and live. In ashow, that diversity works; on record, it can be somewhat genre jarring.

GEORG SCHROETER AND MARC BREITFELDERLive At BluesBalticaAnaloghus

The most recent IBC winners,2011 Solo/Duo winners GeorgSchroeter and Marc Breitfelderare no newcomers to music orthe blues. They’ve been playingpiano and harmonica together innortheast Germany for over 22years. Schroeter told me aboutthe two years it took him to learnone left handed boogie pattern; Breitfelder told of the five years he hadnothing but Paul Butterfield in his head. But that was years ago. Today,these two have crafted a unique voice that IBC judges took note of.Schroeter’s piano style is classic American blues styles, but augmentedwith European classical accents sprinkled in; Breitfelder’s harmonicasound is also based on American blues masters, but his own studies inviolin and flute seep into his reed work. His harmonica’s low, rumbleapproximates those deep tones from an orchestra’s brass instruments,while his high end blasts are less John Popper frantic, more Mussel-white. Their songs include covers of Elmore James’ “Sunnyland,”Muddy’s “Can’t Be Satisfied,” and Big Joe Williams’ “Shake YourBoogie” alongside Clapton’s “Running On Faith” and John Fogerty’s“Long As I Can See The Light.” Their six originals include “All NightLong,” an instrumental locked in the “Help Me” groove, “Little Piece OfPaper,” where Breitfelder shows why the harmonica is called the Missis-sippi saxophone, and “Talk To Me,” Breitfelder’s slow blues, high endworkout. The live set closes with “Rock ‘N’ Roll Queenie,” featuringSchroeter’s boogie-woogie chops. The blend of American blues withtheir classical European training makes this a very enjoyable outing.– Art Tipaldi

Three INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE winners have recently released new CDs. Band competitionstars J.P. Soars (2009) and Grady Champion (2011) along with 2011 Solo/Duo winners Georg Schroeter andMarc Breitfelder, who were the first Europeans to win in Memphis, have recorded albums to highlight theirtalents and diversity. I’ve seen each of these performers perform in Memphis as they won their respectivetitles, I have seen each perform since, and I can attest to the fact that they all carry their title with respectfor the music and display a constant growth as musical artists.


RUFF KUTT BLUES BANDMill Block BluesKaty Mae Productions

Although Mill Block Blues is one of the best – and, in several ways,most significant – releases of the year, you shouldn’t feel self-conscious if the artist rings no bells in your memory: its defiantly low-key presentation is seemingly anonymous by design. Early versions,in fact, included no liner notes, and the outer packaging barely indi-cated the participation of producer and guitarist Anson Funder-burgh, who has been absent from the recording and national touringscenes since the release of the final Rockets’ CD in 2003. That’s along drought by any standard, and in particular for a multiple W.C.Handy Award (since rechristened the Blues Music Awards) winner,making his overdue return highly noteworthy. What’s more, a portionof the proceeds from CD sales will help defray the costs of medicaland dental care, and funeral expenses, for blues musicians, via theBlues Foundation’s Handy Artist Relief Trust.

Mill Block, the brainchild of bassist and songwriter JamesGoode, is a song cycle framed around a working class neighbor-hood, but this is probably the least precious (and pretentious) con-cept album in history. Truthfully, the listener might not notice, asthese 13 compositions explore such typical blues subjects as hardliving, hard times, and hard loving. The music offers a cross-sec-tion of Texas and other contemporary blues styles. Veteran Dallassinger/harmonica player Dempsey Crenshaw sings four numbers,

including the funky, slow-grinding blues “StoneCold Woman” and theuptempo, good-timeshuffle “This Is ThePlace.” Drummer SteveRichardson handles theR&B-style ballad “LivingWithout You,” with beauti-ful saxophone courtesy ofRon Jones and smoothguitar chording by

Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones. Always the model of laid-back cool, Jonessings the funky “She’s Gone,” and delivers a magnificently under-stated vocal on the wry slow blues “Now You See Me,” alsonotable for Christian Dozzler’s accordion backing. Elsewhere,ShuRhonda Kemp is fine on the gospelish “Oh Lord Please,” andMichael Schaefer turns in several soulful vocals, especially on thetitle cut, a minor key blues à la Otis Rush.

Along with Goode, the primary musicians include John Street(keyboards), who arranged the set; Brian “Hash Brown” Calway(harmonica); Wes Starr (drums); and Funderburgh, whose guitarwork retains every bit of the tone and crisp, inventive attack thatmade his reputation. His fills and solos, in particular on the jumpinginstrumental “Fowler Street Stumble,” make this a must-hear forRockets fans – as it is for blues fans and supporters in general.– Tom Hyslop

BLUES FROM THE HEARTThus far, the RUFF KUTT BLUES BAND’S Mill Block Blues projecthas donated over $10,000 to the Blues Foundation’s Hart Fund forailing musicians. Do your part and purchase it today.

PETER NOVELLISelf-TitledChalet Music

Guitarist Peter Novelli’s music seems tostrut through a New Orleans neighbor-hood, dance at a fais-do-do, and relax withthe blues along a country levee all in thesame sweep. About a decade ago, theSyracuse, N.Y., native relocated toLouisiana where he fell in love with notonly the music, but with the people’srespect for their environment. That movehas had a profound influence and hismusic, a combination of blues and R&Bwith elements of funk and country.

Novelli’s handled this well on hisdebut CD, creating songs that seem tobreathe with the tempo of the region.

His guitar solos are crisp and direct, alwaysaccenting the song and never overrunningthe intent. The grace of his approach is evi-dent in the self-penned “Since The Hurri-cane,” which sounds like it should havebeen written by Randy Newman and fea-tures Novelli’s tasty guitar with a tremen-dously agile piano solo by Dr. John.

Notables such as Little Feat’s PaulBarrere on slide, Joe Krown on B-3,

Fingers Taylor on harmonica, andTex-Mex rocker Augie Meyers all add tothe flavor of this rich CD. Eight of thesongs were written or co-written by Nov-elli, with covers gleaned from the works ofDelbert McClinton/Gary Nicholson,Rusty Kershaw, and John Hiatt.

The New Orleans influence is heavy,with funky touches to the blues and songsthat match the city’s offbeat spirit and per-spective. When Novelli sings, “She maynot be a lady, but she’s woman enoughto be my baby,” he may just as wellhave been serenading the quirkiness ofNew Orleans.

There’s also a historical element tothis CD as Novelli includes interviews withSlim Harpo’s friends James Johnson andRaful Neal and drummer “Big” JohnnyThomassie, who explains how drummersplay the distinctive second-line beat.Novelli joins them and Dr. John for a fine

BLUES REVUE 63

version of “Te-Ni-Ne-Ni-Nu” and thensubs Neal on harmonica and Meyers for Dr.John on keyboard for a version of “ScratchMy Back.” Although enlightening, however,these tracks seem to out of place on this CD.– Michael Kinsman

TIM GARTLANDLooking In To The Sun

Taste Good Music

Boston’s own singer-songwriter-harmonicaplayer Tim Gartland has been an integralpart of two of the area’s most popularbands over the years, Walk That Walk and,more recently, The Porchrockers. His vet-eran vocals and precision harp work canbe compared to that of the great bluesmanCharlie Musselwhite as he wields a mightymusical axe throughout his new solo CD.

Enlisting local Boston producer, Chris Rivalof Middleville Studio to oversee the ses-sions, Gartland was joined by notableBaystate players Kevin Barry on guitar andlap steel, Tom West on piano and Ham-mond B-3, Paul Justice on acoustic andelectric bass, Alan Waters on drums, andMark Earley on saxophone to produce anuplifting album of contemporary swing,jazz, and soul filled R&B.

From the cleverly penned funky albumopener “615 West Park Drive,” to the lamplighting “If I Can’t Do Right,” to the instru-mental harp and B-3 swirl of “Blues For Mr.Bryant,” to the harmonica workout of“Staxed” and the honky tonk two step of“Mr. Wade’s Plus One,” Gartland and com-pany never miss a beat. His spot-on harpnuances and unwavering vocal signifyingsells each and every one of these songs atthe list price marked. This is good timemusic at its very best.– Brian Owens

MATTHEW CURRY & THE FURYIf I Don’t Got You

Self-release

It’s getting so it’s nothing new to hear ofanother young guitar prodigy on the musicscene. It’s certainly a recurrent scenariowe’ve grown accustomed to over the years.However, in reality, it’s irrelevant whetherthe performer is a youngster or a matureman or woman, because the songs and themusicianship are what it’s all about. But inMatthew Curry’s case, it’s truly remarkable

to hear a 15-year-old who can write andperform so passionately, with fiery guitarlicks that are as runny as soft butter on hotbread. His style is exhilarating and emo-tional, and although he’s reminiscent ofJonny Lang at times, that similarity disap-pears after a few listens. It’s not that there’sanything wrong with that comparison, it’sjust that they truly are different.

In the opening title song, “If I Don’tGot You,” Curry’s blues sound gets an R&Binjection with the addition of a fine hornsection. His passionate vocals and fluidlymelodic licks stand out immediately. Thelyrical sentiment of heartbreak and loneli-ness in “New York Blues” is highlighted byhis grainy, emotional voice. “Walk Out ThatDoor” and “Dancing To The Blues” arehard-driving blues numbers that push thelimits from start to finish. His scorching leadguitar work is augmented by a fine wah-wah effect in the latter.

His strong instrumental sense is elec-trifying in the instrumental “Storms A-Brew-ing,” as well as in a cover of CharleyPatton’s “High Water Everywhere.” The fin-ger work of Sonny Landreth and Eric John-son come to mind in both, as well as thepassion of Joe Bonamassa in the second.Curry shows a fluid dexterity and melody

with picking, fretting, and slide work. Hecloses the album with a passionate coverof Warren Haynes’ “Soulshine.”

For someone so young, Curry’s voiceand guitar licks sound weathered and prac-ticed, like someone who’s been throughthe ringer of life’s experiences for years.And his music is truly diverse and wellgroomed. It’s all about passion and goodsongs here, and Curry’s got the fury goingon in this self-released, debut CD.– Brian D. Holland

DON “SUGAR CANE” HARRISCup Full of Dreams

Promising Music

Violinist “Sugar Cane” Harris is fired upduring this 1973 studio session for MPS(now available for the first time on CD.)Harris’s career started as the guitar playinghalf of the 1950s rock duo Don & Dewey.He’s also toured and/or recorded with JohnLee Hooker, Frank Zappa, Johnny Otis,Harvey Mandel, John Mayall, and the shortlived Pure Food & Drug Act. Drug abuse

fueled his battles with pulmonary disease,and, at 61 years old, he was found dead inhis Los Angeles home in 1999. GuitaristHarvey Mandel, Dewey Terry, Larry Taylor,Paul Lagos, Randy Resnick, Victor ConteJr., and Richard Aplan on sax aids the fiveinstrumental tunes.

“Runnin’ Away” finds Harris’s openingnotes furious and intense. “Hattie’s Bathtub”is gorgeous and wild; Harris’s playing isdynamic, Mandel’s sharp with his guitar solowith guitar tapping, closing with Harris andMandel frantically riffing off each other’ssolos. “Bad Feet” bubbles with creativity– Lagos’ drumming percolates with Conte’sbass, Harris drives hard, and Mandel’sguitar offers scrumptious fills and leads.


BRavo!BRavo!

BRavo!

The following are the most listened-torecordings in Blues Revue’s offices

during the making of this issue:

MARQUISE KNOXHere I Am

APO Records

BIG PETEChoice Cuts

Delta Groove Music

DIUNNA GREENLEAFTrying To Hold On

VizzTone Records

BERNIE PEARLSittin’ On The Right Side

Of The BluesMajor Label Recordings

BEVERLY McCLELLANFear Nothing

Junk Drawer Records

IAN SIEGAL& THE YOUNGEST SONS

The SkinnyNugene Records

ERIC LINDELL West County Drifter

M.C. Records

SHARRIE WILLIAMSOut Of The Dark

Electro-Fi

LAZY LESTERYou Better Listen

Bluestown

RUFF KUTT BLUES BANDMill Block Blues

Katy Mae Productions

The title track starts with a beautiful introduc-tion, slowly begins to broil, then lifts off intothe stratosphere. The finale “Generation OfVipers” is a funky jam that features uniquerhythm playing from Harris’s violin andMandel’s dissonance sounding much like hedid on his groundbreaking “Shangrenade”recording.– Bob Putignano

STERLING KOCHSlide RulerFull Force Music

Even if the playing on Sterling Koch’s SlideRuler wasn’t so good, the artist’s oddballselection of some powerful cover tunes is awelcome surprise. For example, the last timewe heard steel guitar duo Santo and JohnnyFarina’s mesmerizing instrumental lapslide/Gibson 6-string “Sleepwalk,” was prob-ably around 1959. Good news: On track 5,Koch, on MSA Superslide lap steel guitar,with help from former Doobie Brothers

drummer Chet McCracken, renders an evenmore hypnotic version than the original.

If that weren’t enough, the trackbefore “Sleepwalk” is “Driving Wheel,”Junior Parker’s seminal 1950s recording ofRoosevelt Sykes’ composition that jettisonedParker’s brief career beyond even “MysteryTrain.” Nobody should cover a quirky R&Bicon like Parker, IMO, but Koch’s arrange-ment, fuzzy lap slide effects, and vocals,plus McCracken’s dynamic rhythm add ajuiced-up “now” feel to an already fine tune.

The band’s cover of Otis Rush’s “Dou-ble Trouble” begins more on the beat thanthe other covers, but by the time Koch takes

the song home, it’s all his. And John LeeHooker’s “Dimples” feels hotter here than onthe original.

But it’s a real coin flip over Koch’scover of the Elmore James/Sonny BoyWilliamson II “One Way Out.” This song,also recorded as “It’s A Man Down There,” isso strongly identified with the Allman Broth-ers that it’s like covering “Hey Jude.” Whilestrong and even insistent, who can beatDickey Betts’s edgy boogie line and Gregg’spanicky vocals on the Allman version?

Three songs on this CD are Koch com-positions, including the fine title track/diskopener. The tune is an insistent lap-slidemeditation on the blues, opening like abrooding Ry Cooder circa “Paris, Texas,” thensteadily morphs into a frenzied not-quite-but-almost-shredding reminiscent of sacred steelgospel bands like the Campbell Brothers.

Koch really is a very appealing lap-slideplayer. By the time the band is ready for lastcall on track 12, Koch’s slow blues, “TheSun Will Shine,” becomes a fitting coda toan excellent evening’s worth of masterfulblues playing of some really fine tunes.– Michael Cala

BLUES REVUE 65

Reviews in Brief

Blues BitesBlues Bites – Tom Hyslop

Brandon Santini, who was frontman for the fineMemphis group Delta Highway, steps out soloon Songs of Love, Money, and Misery, a set of11 new songs performed with suppleness, sub-tlety, and splendid tone on harmonica, andpanache backed up with conviction on thevocals. The outstanding supporting castincludes The Evil One (bass, Tinsley Ellis), VictorWainwright (keys, the Wildroots), and Elliot Sow-ell (guitar, Los Carnales). St. Louis-based Sow-ell, a graduate of Brian “Hash Brown” Calway’son-the-job academy for aspiring Dallas gui-tarists, serves as a hip, tasteful secret weaponon a setlist that spans Little Walter-ish swingleavened with Grant Green, chugging Gulf Coastrockers, funky grinds, Elmore James slide work-outs, Texas shuffles, hard-charging, ’50s-styleMemphis boogies, New Orleans rumba-blues,and minor lopes. Great stuff!

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British blues-rock guitarist Mick Clarke, who hasbeen performing since the 1960s, takes arefreshingly informal approach to his latestalbum. Cutting tracks nearly impromptu withdrummer Russell Chaney, Clarke plays stripped-down blues on much of The Rambunctious BluesExperiment: there’s no bombast behind “Cheap”or the sittin’-on-top-of-the-world slow blues “PoorDay.” Greasy, low-fi tones give the shuffle “IWanna Do” and the slow blues “20 Miles” extrakick, “Groundhog Man” rolls a Bo Diddleyesquegroove, and “Slipaway” practically detours intoWhite Stripes territory. Disappointments: DaveNewman’s overdubbed harp is so much high-end noodling; “Woodsman” is generic boogie,and “Go Go Freddie” never touches on the KingI expected to hear referenced.

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Recent buzz in the Twin Cities surroundsDavina and the Vagabonds, a quintet with ajazz-combo lineup (trumpet-trombone-drums-bass-piano) and a quirky variety of arrange-ments. With a stylistic range that dips intopre-war jazz, English-music-hall-inflected, early’70s pop (“Disappears”), New Orleans-style funk(“Pocket”), rollicking piano boogie (“Lipstickand-chrome”), and crystalline, Band-like Americana(“Sugar Moon”), the new CD is a trip. Song-writer-pianist-vocalist Davina Sowers is very likelystar material, but her highly mannered deliverymay irk listeners who don’t ordinarily spin Broad-way musicals for pleasure. Black Cloud(Roustabout) is intriguing, to say the least.

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New Zealand’s Darren Watson has crafted abeautiful album in Saint Hilda’s Faithless Boy(Red Rocks Records), a set of backward-look-ing (but by no means retro) blues recorded witha bracing, contemporary sonic treatment. Wat-son pops his guitar strings like Johnny “Guitar”Watson on “She Got It All,” mines soulful,Robert Cray territory in “Love Is An Ocean,” andchannels Howlin’ Wolf in full, stomping intensityon “A Desperate Man.” Dig the swampy roots-rocker “He Don’t Love You,” the serpentine “Bit-ter Suite,” and the acoustic slide reading of “MyLove Will Never Die” – leagues from Otis Rush’soriginal stylistically, right there emotionally. Wat-son’s hearty vocal approach sounds utterlyhonest. The supporting cast is superb.

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Blues On The Ceiling (Rowdy Blues), byacoustic guitarists Glen Collins, Sandy Morris,and Peter Narvaez (harmonica and voice also),cannily avoids the tiger trap practically guaran-teed by the collective’s name – Superpickers! –which threatens a certain level of soul-numbingvirtuosity. No gratuitous displays of chops here,just deep blues, well played, with a few tastyexcursions into country and singer-songwriter-style material. I really like Narvaez’s singing,which conveys humor, ennui, pathos, and morein a very natural style. The disc blends unex-pected covers (Fred Neil, Amos Milburn, AlbertKing, Johnny Cash, Memphis Minnie) with a raftof affecting Narvaez compositions.

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Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze hits a career peakon the tough Live In Germany. On this largelyuptempo set, Wally “Sweet Daddy” Greaney issinging better than ever; the lone slow number,Casey Bill Weldon’s blues ballad “Outskirts OfTown,” reveals no vocal deficiencies beyond aquestionable instinct to leap at random intofalsetto. His harmonica breaks are generally strongin tone and dramatic construction. The band –Thomas Lipps (bass), Peter Perfido (drums), andUwe Herr (guitar) – is rock-solid, playing with aclear awareness of dynamics and taste. Herrdeserves special mention for his fine, clean Fendertones, crafty note choice, fresh phrasing, and,especially, for his solo choruses in “DrivingWheel,” played via tuning peg manipulation.

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Medicine presents 10 songs recorded in refresh-ingly minimalist format, mainly guitars anddrums. Solomon King hits a Bo Diddley grind

on “Baby Does Me Good,” lays down ElmoreJames slide on “Don’t You Love Me No More,”strikes an interesting roots/post-modern sonicbalance on “Bucket,” “Closer,” and “CinnamonRose,” and plays “Trouble,” the title track, andthe Ronettes’ immortal “Be My Baby” as near-eerie dirges. At the least, Medicine is an interest-ing listen; it could serve as the right soundtrackfor a voodoo-infused fever dream.

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Harp player Big Joe Shelton is back andtougher than before, despite the wry title of hislatest CD, The Older I Get The Better I Was (Alt 45Records). His fond look back at vanished youth isonly one example of Shelton’s perceptive, oftenwitty, songcraft: “What Else Can It Be” is narratedby the man who’s pretty sure he has been kissedoff; in “Psychoanalyst Voodoo Queen,” a NewOrleans radio show hostess captures the singer’sfancy; “Hole In Yo Soul” is part anthem, part man-ifesto; and “They Can’t Be Satisfied” fearlesslycalls out the questionable motives of PresidentObama’s detractors. Shelton delivers boogies,slow blues, shuffles, country blues, R&B ballads,and even a Latin number in a gruff, gritty mannermuch like Omar Dykes’. Highly recommended.

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Headlights (don’t get caught in the glare), the lat-est album from Lou DeAdder, tries on a variety ofgenres without committing to any. The Canadianguitarist plays with confidence across boundaries– Jeff Beck-style funk, hot-rodded modern coun-try, irritatingly heavy rock, pop, and folk – but hislightweight singing detracts from even the other-wise strong songs. “You Can Count On Me,” theclosest thing here to blues, barely qualifies, andthe immaturity evinced in an instrumental called“Kick ’Em In The Balls” and in the title cut’sslangy reference to breasts is unexpected in thework of an artist who has been working, accord-ing to his liner notes, since the ’70s.

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The first solo disc from guitarist Tommy Mora isessentially a blues-free zone, hence likely to dis-appoint the purist. But Keep On Movin’ (RMCRecords) is not without rewards for listeners withslightly more open ears. Although his mostlyromantic lyrics are trite, Mora wears his chiefmusical influence – Jimi Hendrix – on his sleeve.Sometimes the resemblance is overt, as on rock-ers “High (On You),” “Freedom (Of Love)” and“Going Down To The Border” (with its Santana-esque interlude); elsewhere, as on the pure


power pop of “Gimme Your Love” and “You GotMe Running,” the echoes are sublimated. Farmore interesting are such cuts as the very con-temporary, Tex-Mex/R&B mashup “Tell Me” or thegorgeous brown-eyed Latino soul numbers“Keep On Movin’” and “Una Razon.”

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While Let It Rain, a new album from Oregon’sTommy Hogan Band, stakes out a more tradi-tional blues territory, its arrangements seem pro-duced by rote, with generic boogies, watered-down West Side blues, strummed shuffles, RobertJohnson rip-offs, and big-leg funk colored entirelyas if by numbers. Even here, closer to the basics,there are straight-ahead rock ballads (“Won’t YouTake Me”), and the shadow of Hendrix casts apall, on “Voodoo Queen” (a tired title to be sure).Though a bit anemic, the rootsy rocker “Oh SoFine” has its moments, but it’s discouraging if thisis what the blues is coming to.

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In contrast, Come On If You’re Comin’ (Big L)offers a vital, present-day incarnation of pre-waracoustic music. Recording as the Blue RhythmBoys, guitarists Tom Mitchell and Jim Stephanson– with added trumpet, violin, Dobro, and bass –nail blues, hokum, country, hot jazz, Westernswing, and other flavors. Tempos tend to be fastbut the Boys sound equally fine when they slowdown the proceedings, as on “DenominationBlues” and “Prisoner Of Love” (yes, the very bal-lad immortalized by James Brown); their readingof “Mean Old World” can’t top T-Bone Walker’s,but is perfectly listenable, and scores points fororiginality and a stuttering, playful rhythm. Lovely.

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Drinkin’ With The Harp Girls is the latest CD fromveteran Amherst, Massachusetts, blues-rockersThe Wildcat O’Halloran Band. O’Halloranshamelessly borrows melodies from “SloppyDrunk” and “I Want To Be Loved” (to cite twoexamples), but his writing is slightly redeemedby unpretentious humor, as in “If God Can MakeThat (No Wonder He’s In Charge)” and the last-call epic “Crunch Time.” But the unsubtle rockarrangements are not helped by the relentlesslyunimaginative buzzsaw of Nate Dana’s lead gui-tar, and the cover of a Stax classic by WilliamBell demonstrates, painfully, that the pitch-challenged O’Halloran should either stick to hisusual shouting or invest in Auto-Tune.

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Strictly Whatever (Stony Plain, 2011) has undeni-able appeal, based in the husky vocals of song-writer-guitarists Harry Manx & Kevin Breit, anedgy palette of tones and instruments (from bari-tone guitar to National steel, banjo to mohanveena), and approaches (imaginative guitar stylescourtesy of Jeff Beck and David Lindley; the

atmospheric sonics of Daniel Lanois, songwritingreferencing The Beatles and Mark Knopfler). It alsohas truth in labeling: “Whatever” fairly describes itsessence, but whatever it is, it ain’t blues. In truth,it’s barely bluesy, with the exception of “Mr. Lucky”and the guitar boogie shuffle “Dance With Delilah.”Favorite tracks include “There Was A Girl” and theopening trifecta “Nothing I Can Do,” “Looking ForA Brand New World,” and a startlingly sober takeon Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny.”

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Lisa Sheppard, a songwriter with a refreshinglylow-key, slightly flat, yet surprisingly powerfuldelivery, has crafted an appealing new album. Theproject has a strong Americana feel, shading TomPetty with the great Dave Alvin, and the playing isimmaculate, in particular the fine work of RichMcKulley (guitar) and Carl Byron (keyboards).Still, however fine its rewards, Neon Lights is notso much blues as solid roots rock. Exceptionsinclude the R&B-inflected ballad “Once I LeaveL.A.” and the loping boogie “You’ve Got YourFreedom.” Both the sweet, Gram Parsons-esquecountry of “Blue Tonight” and the raw, garage-rocking “Come On In” click deeply.

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On Lazy Star, French veterans Big Dez provethat they don’t need to hire American studiosand players. Bandleader Phil Fernandez deliversthe goods across a spectrum of contemporaryblues, roots rock, and soul, with his ferventvocals and indelible Stratocaster tone in front ofBala Pradal’s superb piano and Hammond B-3and a supple rhythm section. Rodolphe Dumontis the other excellent guitarist. A sampling ofhighlights must include rowdy rockers (“HerOwn Way,” “Lucky Devil”), smooth ballads (“TopOf Your Game”), dramatic soul (“Another Ride”),sly funk (“The Rewind”), and Jimmy Reed-inflected shuffles (“Take Me To South Carolina”).Recommended.

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Adventuresome listeners will find much to like inthe raw blues of solo artist Mickey Pantelous,who performs on guitar, drums, harmonica, andhorns as Dr. Albert Flipout’s One Can Band. Oncuts like the title track, I Can’t Find My Pills, and“There Goes Jack,” Pantelous’s imaginative rantsrecall the warped outlook and carnival-barkerdelivery of Tom Waits; his music splits the differ-ence between Waits’s curious delicacy (“Let’s GoFor A Dance”) and sublime weirdness (“The Mad-house’s On Fire”), and the punk-edged assault ofthe White Stripes (“People Talk About You Baby”updates “Seven Nation Army”), with touches ofDelta and Hill Country blues. Thumbs up.

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All Night Long, a Clarksdale, Mississippi, bandwho take their name from Junior Kimbrough’s

genre-defining song, are dedicated to the HillCountry blues. Sean Apple (guitar, vocals) andMartin Grant (harmonica, vocals) succeed, play-ing the style correctly and passionately. Ain’tGonna Stop presents 11 original compositions,ranging from the archaic fife-and-drum pastiche“Ode To Otha” to such stomping, hypnotic juke-joint numbers as “Still On This Side Of The Dirt,”“You Gots Ta Shake Your Rump,” and front-porch explorations like “Take And Take SomeMo’” and “Mighty Mississippi.” Deep bluesindeed.

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Rock My Soul (Feelin’ Good Records, 2011)finds the South Side Chicago chanteuse VivianVance Kelly (daughter of soulful bluesmanVance Kelly) in good voice, singing a wide-rang-ing set with confident phrasing, power, and emo-tional expressiveness. The opening trio sets thetone for the playlist: Bobby “Blue” Bland’s dri-ving “Love Of Mine” sits nicely between a churn-ing, uptempo reading of Al Green’s “Love AndHappiness” and a Windy City shuffle interpreta-tion of Hank Williams’s “You Win Again.” Familiarthough the selections may be, as supple soulalternates with blues and soul-blues standards,Kelly’s singing and the Italian band’s sure-footedperformances are absolutely enjoyable.

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Alex Ross (vocals, guitars) fronts the Oxford-based Mississippi Cadillac Blues Band.Bolstered by Billy Earhart’s fat, funky keyboardsand a gritty but not overpowering rock feel, thegroup has potential, with swaggering roadhousetunes (“Cheatin’ Ways” and “Beauty Operator”)and slinky R&B (“Six Months Ago”) rubbingagainst well-played covers (Otis Spann’s “HomeTo Mississippi” and the Butterfield Blues Band’s“Our Love Is Driftin’”). Ross’s one-speed-fits-all,shouted vocal approach, however, has a limitedappeal, and the guitar playing sometimes over-powers the arrangements on Stone Cold.

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Memphis Jewel (Catfood Records, 2011) offers asmooth showcase for singer Jackie Johnsonwithout abandoning classic R&B roots. Where“Rain” is a laid-back, soul-inflected rocker, andbassist Bob Trenchard’s originals have a moderngospel feel, Johnson’s “Do Ya” – a lovely mid-tempo number that is more Sade than Ann Pee-bles – is followed by a faithful but obviouslyupdated cover of Smokey Robinson’s “Tears OfA Clown.” Label mate Johnny Rawls duets on histypically excellent soul blues, “Love You Still,”and any cover of Betty Wright’s irresistible“Clean Up Woman” is welcome at Blues Bites.Hats off to Jim Gaines, whose production givesthe set a lush, classy sonic sheen, uncharacteris-tically light on guitar (supplied here by LanceKeltner and Johnny McGhee).

BLUES REVUE 67

Hubert SumlinOn Sunday, December 4, 2011, the music world lost one of its trueoriginators. Hubert Sumlin passed away peacefully in his sleep inSt. Joseph’s Hospital in Wayne, New Jersey. Though Howlin’ Wolfand Muddy Waters dueled it out nightly in the ‘50s in SouthsideChicago clubs, often it was the visionary musician behind thesegiants who pushed the urban blues envelope. It was Hubert Sumlin’speerless guitar work supporting Wolf that forged the distinctivesound associated with Wolf.

Sumlin was born in 1931 in Greenwood, Mississippi, but wasraised across the river in Hughes, Arkansas. The family took much ofits musical direction from Sumlin’s mother who put all the offspringinto the Baptist church. When his older brother moved to a realguitar, Hubert began to learn the rudiments of a guitar from the onestring nailed to the wall. “When I was seven or eight, my mother sawme crying and bought me a guitar just like his. She paid a wholeweek’s salary, $8 for it. I watched what he did, where he placed hisfingers until I got it together. That’s how I learned,” Hubert told me.

Sumlin first saw a 40-year-old Wolf in 1948 at an Arkansas jukejoint called Silkhairs. “I was still a boy, maybe 11 or 12 years old. Hewas called “Big Foot Chester”then. They didn’t allow no childrenin that club because there wasbooze and gambling in there.I heard so much music that night,I couldn’t believe it. When he tookme home in his car, he told mymomma, ‘Don’t punish him, he justwants to hear the music.’ I followedthe Wolf ever since,” said Sumlin.From then, the relationshipbetween Howlin’ Wolf and Sumlinbecame like father and son.

In 1953, Wolf sent to Memphisfor Sumlin to join him in Chicago,but Sumlin still had the rough, backcountry musical edges from hisself-taught style. However, it was apersonal frustration with playing tooclose to the sounds off records thatled Sumlin to his major musicalepiphany. “I got tired of hearing thatstyle and wanted to be me. I was never able to find myself being B.B.or Albert King. I worked with a pick since I began and I could play sofast, but I was leaving my own self behind. I did some serious prayingand it come to me all at once, throw the pick away and be yourself. Iended up playing with my fingers and doing stuff I never did before.That’s when I discovered I had a tone of my own. I was missing noteswith my pick, but I didn’t miss with my fingers.”

Except for a one year stint with Muddy Waters in 1954, Sumlin’s23 year association with Wolf until his death in 1976 stands as one ofthe most important musical partnerships in creating cutting edgeexplorations. “I was closer to Wolf than any other musicians were. I got

to where I knew what he wanted before he asked for it because I couldfeel the man,” Sumlin said. His ultra-modern, jagged edge guitarphrasing became synonymous with the Chess sound of Howlin’ Wolfsongs like “Smokestack Lightnin’,” “Spoonful,” “Little Red Rooster,”and “Shake For Me.” At first listen, Wolf’s raw voice will send shiversthroughout the bodies of neophyte listeners, but deeper investigationswill reveal it was the talented unsung guitarist Sumlin

and his unconventional, slashing guitar expressions thatetched an urgent, modern sound on Wolf’s music. His hiplicks are a joy for every fan to feed on.

When Wolf died in 1976, Sumlin laid the guitar downfor three months. “I couldn’t imagine going on withouthim. Every time I’d look at my guitar, I’d think of him.There just wasn’t any getting over that man.” He hooked

up with Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang from 1977 to 1984, and hascontinued touring and recording solo since 1984. His most recentrecordings include Hubert Sumlin’s Blues Party (1987), Heart & Soul(1989), Healing Feeling (1990) Blues Guitar Boss (1991), Bill’s Blues,a 1994 collaboration with Muddy’s former guitarist, Jimmy Rogers,I Know You (1998), Wake Up Call (1998) Pinetop Perkins and HubertSumlin: Legends (1999) and About Them Shoes (2004).

In addition, Sumlin has been featured in may other recordingsand DVDs such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s 10 Days Out, EricClapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, and Martin Scorsese’s TheBlues. Most recently, Sumlin can be seen as the iconic guitarist in

Sumlin – Manchester, England, 1964

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Banks, SpurlingJune 28, 1949 – August 27, 2011 – Spurling Banks was a Chicago bassplayer who made his name with many of Chicago’s blues and soulbands. He first played with Jimmy Johnson as the house band in thecity’s popular blues clubs in the late 1960s. In 2004, he became a fulltime member of Mississippi Heat. Most recently, he recorded onMississippi Heat’s Live At Rosa’s record.

Bramhall, DoyleFebruary 17, 1949 – November 12, 2011 – Texas blues force Doyle Bramhalldied suddenly in his sleep at his home in Alpine, Texas. Bramhall wasmost famous for his work with both Vaughan brothers in the early daysof Austin’s music scene. He began his music career as a member ofThe Chessmen in the late 1960s. Jimmie Vaughan eventually joinedthat band. Then in 1970 he formed The Nightcrawlers with Marc Bennoand a kid named Stevie Ray Vaughan. As the in-demand drummer,Bramhall was a heavy hitter, but he also grew to be an in-demand pro-ducer and songwriter. As a songwriter, he wrote or co-wrote manysongs recorded by SRV, including the autobiographical “Life By TheDrop,” “The House Is Rockin’,” “Tightrope,” “Hard To Be,” “The Tele-phone Song,” “Long Way From Home,” and others. Bramhall’s owndiscography includes Bird Nest On The Ground from 1994, FitchburgStreet from 2003, and Is It News in 2007. His music and spirit lives onin his talented son, guitarist Doyle Bramhall II. For more information,read the 2007 Blues Revue cover story in issue #110.

Buford, Georgeaka Mojo BufordNovember 29, 1929 – October 11, 2011 – Mojo Buford was best known asMuddy Waters’ off and on harmonica player throughout four decades,beginning in 1959and ending in 1980.In addition to appear-ing on Muddy’srecordings, Bufordalso recorded hisown records withBlue Loon, Fedora,JSP, P-Vine, andothers. In his lateryears, Mojo could befound touring withBob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, and Calvin“Fuzz” Jones to recreate the music of Muddy.

Gilliam, EarlJanuary 13, 1939 – October 19, 2011 – Blues legend Earl Gilliam diedpeacefully at his home in Tomball, Texas. By the age of 10, he was

playing the organ in his town’sBaptist church. At the age of 17,Gilliam moved to Houston’s FifthWard, landed a gig with Clarence“Gatemouth” Brown, andbecame the creator of the GulfCoast blues organ sound. Eitherwith his own band or as side-man, Gilliam played with nearlyevery Texas blues star: Lightnin’Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, AlbertCollins, Johnny Copeland, JoeHughes, Big Mama Thornton,Katie Webster, and others. Healso backed Big Joe Turner, RoyBrown, Nappy Brown, Albert

King, Grady Gaines, Esther Phillips, Trudy Lynn, Bobby “Blue” Bland,and many others. More recently, Gilliam could be found leading thehouse band at The Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club in Houston.

Jansch, BertNovember 3, 1943 – October 5, 2011 – Born in Glasgow, Scotland, BertJansch was a leading figure in the British folk revival. Jansch listedseeing Big Bill Broonzy and Brownie McGhee in 1960 as the turningpoint in his life. In the early sixties, Jansch was often referred to as theBritish Bob Dylan. In 1967, he formed the band, Pentangle. In 2001,he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at BBC radio’s FolkAwards. In 2011, his final performances were reunion performanceswith Pentangle. (Read the review of his DVD The Guitar Artistry ofBert Jansch in BR#130).

Leiber, JerryApril 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011 – Along with Mike Stoller, Jerry Leiberwrote many of the most important songs in early rock ‘n’ roll.“Jailhouse Rock,” “Hound Dog,” “Stand By Me,” “Young Blood,”“Love Potion Number 9,” and “Yakety-Yak” are only some of the hitsco-written by Leiber for African-American singers like Big MamaThornton, Jimmy Witherspoon, Wilbert Harrison, and Willie Littlefield.It was the success of Elvis Presley’s cover of “Hound Dog” that putLeiber and Stoller’s names in the pop culture. They were inductedinto the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

the feature film, The Perfect Age Of Rock ‘n’ Roll, with the recentlydeceased Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith.

Hubert’s story is eloquently told in the 2005 biography, IncurableBlues: The Troubles And Triumph Of Blues Legend Hubert Sumlin byformer Blues Revue contributor Will Romano. Romano’s annotateddiscography offers 17 pages of detailed Sumlin recordings up to 2004.Sumlin is also covered at length in James Segrest and Mark Hoffman’s2005 Moanin’ At Midnight, The Life And Times Of Howlin’ Wolf.

Notoriety has recently come to Sumlin in his later years. Duringthe past decade, he was nominated for four Grammy Awards, ten

Blues Music Awards, and he was five-time BMA winner as Guitarist ofthe Year (2007 and 2006), Traditional Blues Artist (2008) and Tradi-tional Album of the Year, About Them Shoes (2006).

And in 2008, Sumlin was elected to the Blues Foundation’s Hallof Fame.

Few blues guitarists have explored the creative possibilities ofthe guitar as eloquently as Sumlin. For all he has given the worldmusically and personally, Hubert Sumlin deserves the respectaccorded a music legend.– Art Tipaldi

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BLUES REVUE 69

Mason, John-AlexNovember 30, 1975 – October 19, 2011 – Guitarist John-Alex Mason, one ofthe brightest young talents in the blues, passed away following compli-cations after outpatient surgery.Mason was best known as a fiery,one-man band who took countryblues into exciting new directions.Mason first hit you with a voice thatcame from another time and place.On record, it’s a mature, smokycurl that jumps off the record witha density many singers spendyears trying to achieve. In 2001, hewon the Telluride Acoustic Bluescompetition. Then, in 2004, hecopped the prestigious ArkansasBlues And Heritage Blues Festi-val’s Most Promising emergingArtist Award. In 2008, John-Alexcompeted in the Blues Foundation’s IBC and made it to the event’sfinals. His sixth and last record, Juke Joint Thunderclap, was reviewedin BR#129.

Ragovoy, JerrySeptember 4, 1930 – July 13, 2011 – Jerry Ragnvoy was one of the greatsongwriters in American soul music during the 1960s. Some of his hitsincluded “Cry Baby” for Garnett Mimms, “Get It While You Can”recorded by Howard Tate, “Time Is On My Side,” recorded by theRolling Stones and Irma Thomas, and “Piece Of My Heart” recordedby Janis Joplin and others. Ragovoy founded the Hit Factory recordingstudio in New York in 1969. In 2003, he reunited with Howard Tate towrite and produce Howard Tate Rediscovered.

Robicheaux, CocoOctober 25, 1947 – November 25, 2011 – New Orleans’ hoodoo musicianCoco Robicheaux collapsed in the Apple Barrel on Frenchman Streetand was pronounced dead at the Tulane Medical Center. GuitaristRobicheaux entertained listeners here and abroad with his uniquevision of swamp-styled New Orleans blues. Over the past two decades,he’d released several albums, performed often throughout the French-man Street clubs, and was a mainstay at many Louisiana festivalsincluding the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In 2009,Robicheaux was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Alsoa visual artist, Robicheaux also created the bronze bust of ProfessorLonghair that stands near Tipitina’s.

Sanjek, DavidSeptember 3, 1952 – November 29, 2011 – David Sanjek was a well-respected music educator and, for 16 years, director of the BMIArchives in New York. An authority on music archiving, Sanjek was anadvisor to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, the Rhythm & Blues Foun-dation, the Experience Music Project, and was a 12 year member ofthe Blues Foundation’s Board of Directors. In 2007, he was appointedProfessor of Music and Director of the Centre for Popular Music at theUniversity of Salford, U.K.

Smith, Willie “Big Eyes”January 19, 1936 – September 16, 2011 – Born in Helena, Arkansas, andraised by sharecropper parents, Willie Smith became one of the pre-mier drummers in the blues. In 1959, Smith began his long associationwith Muddy Waters, appearing on Waters’ 1960 record, Sings Big BillBroonzy. He remained with Waters until 1980 when he and PinetopPerkins founded the Legendary Blues Band. Smith recorded his firstsolo album Bag Full of Blues in 1995, followed by Nothin’ But TheBlues Y’all four years later. Since 2000, Smith recorded Blues From TheHeart in 2000, Bluesin’ It in 2004, Way Back in 2006, and Born InArkansas in 2008, where he augments his singing and drum talentswith his expert harmonica playing. His most well received project wasthe 2010 Grammy and Blues Music Award winning Joined At The Hip,recorded with Perkins. Smith, the Blues Music Award winning drummer12 times between 1996 and 2010, leaves the sticks, brushes, and voiceto his talented son, Kenny. (Read Bob Margolin’s highly personalmemories of Smith on page 29.)

Tate, HowardAugust 14, 1939 – December 2, 2011 – Like so many soul legends of the1960s, Howard Tate began singing gospel in his teens. In the early

1960s, Tate was intro-duced to JerryRagovoy, who beganrecording Tate forVerve records. Herecorded a series ofsongs and albumsbetween 1966 and1968. Songs included“Ain’t Nobody Home,”and “Stop” whichcharted in the Top 20

on the R&B charts. After a brief stint with Epic Records, Tate retired frommusic in the late 1970s. He returned to the stage in 2001 and releasedRediscovered in 2003. Two other Tate recordings, Howard Tate Live(2006) and the Jon Tiven produced Blue Day (2007) furthered his soul-drenched status to new listeners. As a vastly underappreciated singerwho blended soul, gospel, blues, and R&B as well as any singer,Howard Tate enjoyed great success in the decade since his rediscovery.

Williams, Lee “Shot”May 21, 1938 – November 25, 2011 – Henry Lee Williams grew up in thecountry close to his cousin and fellow blues man, Little Smokey Smoth-ers. He got the nickname “Shot” from his mother at a young age, owingto his fondness for wearing suits and dressing up as a “big shot.”Williams moved to Chicago in 1958, joined Smothers there, and begansinging with Smokey’s band in 1960. A few years later, he joined MagicSam’s band as a vocalist. His 1964 recording “Welcome To The Club”was a hit in Chicago, so much so that it was later covered by guitarist/singer Little Milton for Checker Records in 1965. One of his most well-known CDs, Cold Shot, was released in 1995 on the Black Magic labeland was voted the Best Blues Album of 1995 in the Living Blues read-ers’ poll. From 2000 to 2008, he recorded eight records for the Mem-phis-based Ecko Records. In 2008, Williams signed with CDS Recordsand released I’m The Man For The Job and The First Rule Of Cheating.

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COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUENo one closes a show like Rod Piazza. His blues performances, with his wife Honey and band, the Mighty Flyers, continuesto enliven audiences around the world. Read Tom Cullen III’s talk with Rod and Honey. In addition, Bill Dahl sits withOtis Clay, the last of America’s great soul singers. There are also profiles of Chicago guitarist John Primer and Texas blueswarriors Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King.

#133

Classifieds cost $2 per word, 20 word minimum and 500 word maximum.Send classified text that is to run in the next issue to [email protected].

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To advertise in Blues Revue contact Jack Sullivan, call (866) 702-7778

BLUES REVUE 71

Blues Revue has assembled a short list of some essential books, DVDs, and boxed sets that every blues fanshould read, watch, or listen to. No more driving from store to store on a frustrating media search or askingbaffled store clerks where the blues section is. On-line shopping and on-line auctions make finding thesesatisfying treats as easy as point, click, and ship. And we’d love to hear back what you thought or what aresome others that our readers would dig.

CD Boxed Sets

1. OKEH Rhythm & Blues Story (Okeh/Legacy)

2. Hooker (Shout Factory)

3. Lightnin’ Hopkins – Complete Prestige/Bluesville Recordings

4. Freddie King – Taking Care Of Business 1956-1973 (Bear Family)

5. Complete Recordings Of T-Bone Walker 1940-1954 (Mosaic)

6. Hi Records – Royal Memphis Soul (Demon Records)

DVDs

1. Antone’s Home Of The Blues

2. Crossroad’s Guitar Festival 2004, 2007, 2010

3. Bill Wyman’s Blues Odyssey

4. Lightnin’ In A Bottle

5. Last Of The Mississippi Jukes

Books

1. Chicago Blues Photographs of Raeburn Flerlage (ECW Press)

2. Chasin’ That Devil Music, Gayle Dean Wardlow (Miller Freeman Books)

3. Chicago Blues, David Whiteis (University of Illinois Press)

4. Looking Up At Down, William Barlow (Temple University Press)

5. Big Road Blues, David Evans (Da Capo)

6. Between Midnight And Day, Dick Waterman (Thunder’s Mouth Press)


Blues Revue 132

Documents

Transcript of Blues Revue 132