January/February 2005 • Issue 272

January/February 2005Issue 272Free

30th Anniversary Yearwww.jazz-blues.com

INSIDE...

CD REVIEWS FROM THE VAULT

Son SealsSon SealsSon SealsSon SealsSon Seals1942-20041942-20041942-20041942-20041942-2004

January/February 2005 • Issue 272PAGE TWO

Published by Martin WahlCommunications

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ContributorsMichael Braxton, Mark Cole,Chris Hovan, Nancy Ann Lee,David McPherson, Tim Murrett,Peanuts, Mark Smith, DuaneVerh and Ron Weinstock.

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Son Seals1942-2004

The blues world lost another starwhen W.C. Handy Award-winning andGrammy-nominated master Chicagobluesman Son Seals, 62, died Mon-day, December 20 in Chicago, IL ofcomlications with diabetes. The criti-cally acclaimed, younger generationguitarist, vocalist and songwriter –credited with redefining Chicago bluesfor a new audience in the 1970s – wasknown for his intense, razor-sharp gui-tar work, gruff singing style and hischarismatic stage presence. Accord-ing to Guitar World,“Seals carves guitarlicks like a chainsaw through solidoak and sings likea grainy-voicedavenging angel.”Seals released 11albums during his30-year recordingcareer and touredworldwide. Over thecourse of his career,Seals was hailed asone of Chicago’s great bluesmen andone of the city’s most powerful live per-formers. Musician stated, “Seals de-livers performances of the most pro-found emotion – one of the genre’smost soulful exorcists.” His most re-cent recording was an AlligatorRecords career retrospective, “DeluxeEdition,” in 2002. Among his manyaccolades, Seals won three W.C. HandyBlues Awards, one each in 1985, 1987and 2001, and was nominated for aGrammy Award in 1980 for his partici-pation in the live compilation, “BluesDeluxe.”

Frank “Son” Seals was born inOsceola, Arkansas on August 14,1942. He became an accomplisheddrummer by the time he was 13. Bythe age of 18, Son had put down thedrumsticks and was leading his ownband as a guitarist. He moved to Chi-cago in 1971 and began playing regu-lar weekend gigs at The ExpresswayLounge and other clubs on Chicago’sSouth Side, regularly jamming with leg-ends like Hound Dog Taylor, JuniorWells and Buddy Guy.

Son’s 1973 debut recording, “TheSon Seals Blues Band,” on the fledgingAlligator Records label, established himas a blazing, original blues performer andcomposer. Son’s audience base grew ashe toured extensively, playing colleges,clubs and festivals throughout the coun-try. The New York Times called him “themost exciting young blues guitarist andsinger in years.” His 1977 follow-up,“Midnight Son,” received widespread ac-claim from every major music publica-tion. Rolling Stone called it ~one of the

most significant bluesalbums of the decade.”

On the strength of“Midnight Son,” Sealsbegan touring Europeregularly, and even ap-peared in an Olympiabeer commercial. Astrong series of six moresuccessful Alligator re-leases followed throughthe 1980s and 1990s(Seals also recordedtwo albums for other la-

bels during this time), growing Seals’ au-dience all over the world. Seals sharedstages with a wide variety of blues stars,including B.B. King and Johnny Winter.Even the popular rock band Phish rec-ognized Seals’ talent and power, cover-ing his song “Funky Bitch” on record andinviting Seals to join them on stage atmany of their tour dates.

Seals played his last live perfor-mances in October 2004 in California.Survivors include a sister, Katherine Simsof Chicago, and 14 children.

Son Seals Discography:The Son Seals Blues Band (1973) Alliga-torMidnight Son (1976) AlligatorLive And Burning (1978) AlligatorChicago Fire (1980) AlligatorBad Axe (1984) AlligatorLiving In The Danger Zone (1991) Alliga-torNothing But The Truth (1994) AlligatorLive-Spontaneous Combustion (1996) Al-ligatorDeluxe Edition (2002) AlligatorLettin’ Go (2002) Telarc

January/February 2005 • Issue 272 PAGE THREE

CJO Plays Kenny Wheeler’sMusic for Large Ensembles

The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra,Cleveland’s highly-acclaimed big band,performs composer Kenny Wheeler’s cre-ative and challenging Music for Large En-sembles Saturday night, January 29, at 8p.m. at the Fairmount Temple Auditorium,23737 Fairmount Boulevard, Beachwood.It will be the fourth concert in the CJO’s2004-2005 World Class subscription se-ries.

Born in Toronto 75 years ago, Wheelerhas been composing and playing in En-gland for the past 52 years. His composi-tions, which some critics have hailed as“amazing,” feature complex harmonies,changing times and rhythms, and vary instyle from straight-head swing to totallyfree. As a trumpeter, Wheeler has recordedwith such artists as Anthony Braxton, DaveHolland, George Russell, Keith Jarrett andMichael Breeker. As both a performer anda composer, his work has been describedas “unpredictable and dynamic.”

The CJO will play compositions fromWheeler’s 1990 recording Music for LargeEnsembles. Featuring nuance, depth andcolor, Wheeler’s music is not the traditionalbig band sound of Count Basie and WoodyHerman; it is more closely related to thepioneering works of Gil Evans and MariaSchneider. The concert is part of whatCleveland Jazz Orchestra Music DirectorJack Schantz calls the CJO’s efforts to“present the entire spectrum of the bigband idiom.”

On March 26 the CJO will performGeorge Russell’s New York, New York and“Jazz for the Space Age. On May 14 theCleveland band plays Bob Curnow’s bigband arrangements of the music of PatMetheny and Lyle Mays. Both concerts willalso be at the Fairmount Temple Audito-rium

Tickets for individual concerts areavailable by phone at (440) 9429525,online at www.ClevelandJazz.org, and bymail at Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, P.O. Box810, Willoughby, Ohio 44096. Tickets atthe door are $28 for adults, $25 for se-niors and $5 for students. There is a $2discount for tickets purchased prior to theconcert.

The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra re-ceives financial support from the Ohio ArtsCouncil, the George Gund Foundation, theKulas Foundation, McDonald Hopkins Co.,and many individuals, plus promotionalsupport from WCPN/90.3 and WKHR/91.5.

Wilbert’s Celebrates MardiGras during February

Cajun Music and Cajun FoodHighlight the Month

Wilbert’s Food and Music indowntown Cleveland announced thatit will be celebrating Mardi Gras dur-ing the month of February with NewOrleans style music, as well as menuspecials.

Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chaskick things off on February 3, followedby Lil Brian and the Zydeco Travelerson February 10 and C.J. Chenier andhis Red Hot Louisiana Band on Febru-ary 11.

About the Food:The daily menu specials through-

out the entire month are: Monday-smotheredpork chops w/

red beans and rice, Tuesday-cajunshepherd’s Pie,Wednesday-jambalaya,Thursday-chicken and andouillegumbo, and Friday-shrimpetouffee.

About the Music:Thurs., Feb 3: Nathan & the Zydeco

Cha Chas - $10/$12, 8:30 p.m.-NathanWilliams is different. While the rest ofthe Zydeco nation wrestles over whowill be crowned the next king— orprince or duke — of Zydeco, Nathanhas given himself the decidedly un-royal sounding moniker, “The ZydecoHog,” and continued to focus on themusic for which he is renowned.

Thurs., Feb 10: Lil Brian & theZydeco Traveler - $10, 9 p.m. - “Lil’Brian — a trailblazer in the spirit ofClifton Chenier and BuckwheatZydeco— revs up his mighty sound on FUNKYNATION. This is great music, hard-driving and irresistible.” — MichaelTisserand, author of The Kingdom ofZydeco and Editor of New OrleansGambit Weekly

Fri., Feb. 11: C. J. Chenier and theRed Hot Louisiana Band-$12, 9:30p.m. - “Whether he and his band ofred hots burn on rocking contempo-rary or simmer on -traditional coun-try waltzes, C. J. Chenier is poised tobe Zydeco’s new torch bearer.”—BluesRevue

All shows are all ages, and doorsopen two hours before showtime.Dinnerreservations are suggested aftertickets have been purchased.

For more information or to pur-chase tickets, please visitwww.wilbertsmusic.com.

By Mark Smith

Happy New Year!!!.... Here’s a fewnew discs to start out your year.

New Release blues... Hubert Sumlin( with special guests including EricClapton, Keith Richards, David Johansen,James Cotton, Bob Margolin,, LevonHlem , Paul Oscher, David Maxwell)-About Them Shoes; Sean Costello- SeanCostello; Precious Bryant- The Truth;Junior Kimbrough-Sunday Nights: TheSongs of Junior Kimbrough; RoscoeGordon- No Dark in America; JohnHammond- In Your Arms Again; TheBluerunners- Honey Slides; Downchild-Come On In; Roomful of Blues- Stand-ing Room Only; Corky Siegel- TravelingChamber Blues; Sonny Landreth- GrantStreet; The Five Blind Boys from Ala-bama-The Legacy; Elmore James- Bestof the Modern Years; Etta James- Best ofthe Modern Years; Johnny “Guitar”Watson- Best of the Modern Years; T-Bone Walker- Best of the Black & WhiteYears; Ann Rabson (Saffire, the UppityBlueswomen)- In a Family Way: WillieKing- Jukin’ At Betty’s... New PigBlues.... Blind Pig Records has an-nounced the signing of its first interna-tional artist, Australian harmonica vir-tuoso/didgeridoo performer/singerHarper. The first CD under the threerecord pact is scheduled to be releasedin May, 2005. The multi-award winningartist plans to re-locate to Michigan inearly 2005 and begin a six month tour ofthe US after the release of the new al-bum. Harper is currently recording hisnew CD in Melbourne, Australia. Accord-ing to Blinds Pig’s press release, Harperhas been the recipient of a number ofawards recently, including “Male Vocalistof the Year” and “Song of the Year” fromthe 2004 Australian Blues Music Awards.He also received an Australian CollegeCampus award for “Acoustic Act of theYear.” He won three awards from the lead-ing American harmonica magazine,Guide to The Best of The Blues Harmoni-cas & Beyond: “Album of the Year” forhis 2003 release Way Down Deep Inside,“The Sweet Harmonica Award” and “The

January/February 2005 • Issue 272PAGE FOUR

Nasty Harmonica Award.” .... KBAblues.... In other Pig related news, TheBlues Foundation has announced thatBlind Pig Records will receive the 2005Keeping the Blues Alive Award in therecord label category. The Keeping theBlues Alive (KBA) awards honor the men,women and organizations who preserve,celebrate and support blues music. Pre-sented in 17 categories, the KBAs areawarded to non-performers strictly on thebasis of merit by a select panel of Bluesprofessionals. Noted educator, author,journalist, and KBA Chairman Art Tipaldinotes, “The KBA is awarded for therecipient’s lifetime body of work; we don’tview the recipient as the winner of a “bestof the year” category.” Blind Pig Records,one of the leading independent blues la-bels in the world, got its start in 1977 inthe basement blues club of the Blind PigCafe in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The BluesFoundation said in its announcement ofthe award, “What co-founders EdwardChmelewski and Jerry Del Giudice beganin 1977 has grown into one of the mostwell known blues labels in the world. Fromthe very first Blind Pig artist, BoogieWoogie Red, to first generation blues menlike Johnny Shines and Jimmy Rogers tothe most recent recordings by Rod Piazzaand Magic Slim, consumers will never gowrong with any Blind Pig product.”TheKeeping the Blues Alive (KBA) Awardsceremony will take place Saturday, Feb-ruary 5 in Memphis, Tennessee, held inconjunction with the International BluesChallenge (IBC).....Handy Blues.... TheBlues Foundation has also recently an-nounced this year’s W.C. Handy nominees.The Handy awards — the most prestigiousin the blues business — will be presentedMay 5 at the Cook Convention Center inMemphis. Blues Foundation membersvote on the winners The New York-bredtrio the Holmes Brothers lead the nomi-nees for the 2005 Awards with six groupand individual nominations. Harmonicaplayer Paul Oscher, a veteran of MuddyWaters’ band, received four nominations.Soul blues legend Bobby Rush, pianistPinetop Perkins, singer-guitarist W.C.Clark, harp players Rod Piazza, JamesHarman, Kim Wilson and CharlieMusselwhite and vocalist Mavis Staplesreceived three nominations each. Singer/guitarist B.B. King, Bobby Rush, KimWilson, Pinetop Perkins and vocalistSolomon Burke are in the running for bluesentertainer of the year. A full list of thenominees is included elsewhere in thisnewsletter.... RIP BLUES.... We end this

month on a sad note with the report of thepassing of legendary guitarist Son Sealson Monday, December 20th in Chicago, Illat the age of 62. The critically acclaimed,younger generation guitarist, vocalist andsongwriter - credited with redefining Chi-cago blues for a new audience in the 1970s— was known for his intense, razor-sharpguitar work, gruff singing style and hischarismatic stage presence. According to“Guitar World,” “Seals carves guitar lickslike a chain saw through solid oak andsings like a grainy-voiced avenging an-gel.” Seals released 11 albums during his30-year recording career and touredworldwide. His most recent recording wasan Alligator Records career retrospective,“Deluxe Edition,” in 2002. Among hismany accolades, Seals won three W.C.Handy Blues Awards, one each in 1985,1987 and 2001, and was nominated for aGrammy Award in 1980 for his participa-tion in the live compilation, “Blues De-luxe.” Seals played his last live perfor-mances in October 2004 in California.Survivors include a sister, Katherine Simsof Chicago, and 14 children.... Also of sadnote is the fact that Lyn Dykes, wife ofOmar “Kent” Dykes (Omar & The Howl-ers)† passed away December 13, 2004at the Austin Hospice Christopher House.†The family requests, in lieu of flowers thatdonations be made to the Jake Dykes trustfund c/o at any Bank One and the LynDykes Foundation to help defer the medi-cal expenses. That’s it for this month. Seeya!

Unsung creators of rock’n’roll, r&b,rockabilly, blues and swamp pop — oneswho made influential vintage recordings,perhaps scored a hit, and have been longforgotten by today’s pop mainstream – willbe once again celebrated as PonderosaStomp announces the lineup for its fourthannual music festival.

The two-night music festival, sched-uled for April 26-27, 2005, again will takeplace on two stages at the legendary MidCity Rock’N’Bowl Lanes in New Orleansfrom 5 p.m. until 2 a.m. each night. Tick-ets sell for $35 per night through thefestival’s web site, http://www.ponderosastomp.com <http://www.ponderosastomp.com/> and at thedoor. Prospective attendees are advisedto purchase tickets well in advance as bothnights are expected to sell out. The twonights of Ponderosa Stomp are book-

Ponderosa Stom pRoot Romp is April 26-27

in New Orleans

ended by the two weekends of JazzFestso thousands of music fans will fill theCrescent City.

This year’s lineup represents Ponde-rosa Stomp’s most ambitious assemblageof American roots legends yet. Scheduledto appear are The Bad Roads, ClassieBallou, Archie Bell, Eddie Bo, Blowfly,Lonnie Brooks as Guitar Junior, The CarterBrothers, Jay Chevalier, Joe Clay, LarryDe Riuex, Deke Dickerson & theEccofonics, Skip Easterling, NokieEdwards (of the Ventures), Johnny Farina(of Santo & Johnny), H Bomb Ferguson,Henry Gray, Betty Harris, Dale Hawkins,Roy Head, Al Johnson, Johnny Jones,Little Freddy King, Eddie Kirkland, LadyBo, Lazy Lester, Robert Jr. Lockwood, MattLucas, Barbara Lynn, Mando & the ChiliPeppers, Nathaniel Mayer, Scotty Moore,Phil Phillips, Freddie Roulette, Lil’ BuckSenegal & the Top Cats with Stanley“Buckwheat Zydeco” Dural on HammondB3 organ, Ray Sharpe, Warren Storm,Willie Tee, Travis Wammack, BarrenceWhitfield, Brenton Wood and Link Wray.

Ponderosa Stomp is presented by theMystic Knights of the Mau-Mau, a groupof rock’n’roll fanatics who are obsessedwith celebrating the overlooked pioneersof blues, country, swamp pop, jazz, souland New Orleans r&b. In the past threeyears, the Mystic Knights have presentedmore than 40 shows featuring a combinedroster of more than 200 musical legendswhich reads like an impossible dreamlineup of American roots music.

Ponderosa Stomp has won numerouscitations in the media. The New YorkTimes’ Jon Pareles wrote, “The PonderosaStomp plunges into the obscure bywaysof rock’n’roll past…regional hits and eclec-tic combinations…a dream!” Added Gam-bit magazine, “For roots aficionados, theStomp was nirvana; you almost had topinch yourself to make sure it wasn’t adream.” And CNN, advancing the event,proclaimed, “History will be in the mak-ing at the Stomp.” In addition, the festivalhas been covered by MSNBC, AssociatedPress, Mojo, Christian Science Monitor,Offbeat, Living Blues, High Times andmore.

Where else can you shake and groovefor over 24 hours of pure rock’n’roll in-sanity in the land in rock’n’roll was born.Throw in the fact that it takes place in a1950s bowling alley. Nowhere else couldthis take place other than New Orleans.Grab your back cat bone and monkeypaws, throw your goofer dust on the floorand do whatever’s necessary to get here!”

January/February 2005 • Issue 272 PAGE FIVE

JAZZ, THE AUCTIONA Remarkable Collection of Extraordinary Items

from Legendary Names in JazzOn Sunday, February 20th at New

York City’s fabulous Frederick P. RoseHall (the new home of Jazz at LincolnCenter), Guernsey’s will be conductingthe most momentous auction ever heldfocusing on the great names of Jazz. Nota sale of simple memorabilia, this auc-tion will contain such important objectsas the saxophones of Charlie Parker,John Coltrane and Gerry Mulligan, DizzyGillespie’s and Clark Terry’s trumpets,J.J. Johnson’s trombones and BennyGoodman’s clarinet. Imagine the oppor-tunity of owning handwritten composi-tions and arrangements by Coltrane orThelonious Monk, or the unreleased taperecordings of Bird (tapes of music no onehas heard in half a century) and one be-gins to get a sense of the magnitude ofthis auction.

Although obviously the hundreds ofauction items can’t all be listed here,consider the colorful(!) language usedby Louis Armstrong in an uproarioustwenty-seven page letter as just one ofmany documents relating to Satchmo’slandmark career. Given early recogni-tion as a Jazz vocalist, the auction evenincludes material from the beginning ofBarbra Streisand’s career. The Jazz Mu-rals of Franz Kline, paintings of MilesDavis and original Hirschfeld caricaturesdepict Jazz in art while the smokingjacket of Monk and the tails of Bennyadd style. Indeed, among the many dis-coveries this event is bringing to lightare John Coltrane’s early writings lead-ing to his masterpiece A Love Supreme.

Working directly with the families ofthese wonderful artists, the vast major-

ity of items in the auction will be soldwithout minimum reserve while substan-tial portions of the proceeds will be go-ing to several worthy Jazz-related foun-dations. February 18th and 19th arepublic preview days at the stunning newRose Hall on NYC’s revamped Colum-bus Circle. Guernsey’s has produced acomprehensive auction catalogue withhundreds of images of the objects beingsold along with historic Jazz photos. Inits effort to produce the finest book pos-sible, the auction house has enlisted theaide of several Jazz historians includingPhil Schaap and Barry Kernfeld. Cata-logues are available from Guernsey’s($36 in U.S., $50 int’l... 212-794-2280,www.guernseys.com orauctions@guernseys.com). For thoseunable to attend what certainly will be amemorable event in person, absenteebidding will be available by telephone orthrough eBay Live Auctions.

Auction highlightsCHARLIE PARKER- saxophoneJOHN COLTRANE- tenor saxo-

phoneJOHN COLTRANE - original music

of “A Love Supreme”, considered to beColtrane’s masterpiece work (and ap-proximately 75 other hand-writtensheets of music)

BENNY GOODMAN - clarinet, andhis tails too

LOUIS ARMSTRONG - hand-written27-page letter

DIZZY GILLESPIE - trumpetTHELONIOUS MONK - signature

stage-worn smoking jacket, and highschool essays

CHARLIE PARKER - audio tape oflargely unknown unissued performanceat the Symphony Ballroom in Boston c.1951, believed to be the original record-ing (one of approximately 20 lots ofParker tapes many of which have unis-

WaterburyCoach Housein Lakewood

Wednesday Nights 6-10 PM

sued material)G E R R Y

MULLIGAN - bari-tone saxophone

PEGGY LEE -stage-worn (“Fever”)gown

CLARK TERRY -trumpet

FRANZ KLINE -“The Jazz Murals”, aseries of 5 early paint-ings on wood panelsby one of the mostimportant artists ofthe 20th century

January/February 2005 • Issue 272PAGE SIX

REVIEWS FROMTHE VAULT

Since very little in terms of new re-leases comes out at this time of year,we have decided to do some cleaningin our vault. Well over 100 CD reviewswhich have never been published werefound. We thank Tim Murrett, left, whoventured underground into our vaultin Buffalo, N.Y. to dust off and send usthe reviews. The year of the release islisted after the record company in theheading. Enjoy your winter!

DEBBIE DAVIESLove the GameSHANACHIE 2001

Debbie Davies has certainly developedas a singer-guitarist since her days work-ing with the late Albert Collins. The proof ison this album, which shows her to be asplendid guitarist, more than able to keepher on line with Coco Montoya and pro-ducer Duke Robillard in the instrumentalFired Up. She has also developed into astrong, confident singer and is backed bya brawny studio group that includes gui-tarists Montoya and Robillard on severaltracks, and also Bruce Katz on keyboards,who plays superbly and really helps fill outthe sound. Several tracks also include SaxBeadle and Doug James on horns.

Comprised entirely of new materialpenned by either Davies or drummer DomCastagno, the material runs the gamut oflyrical themes ranging from “one shouldlove life and live it that way” on the titletrack, to a cautionary lyric to the mistreat-ing man that She’s Taking Notes. Was YaBlue is an acoustic number with Katzpounding away on the piano, and Daviestakes a nice short solo, with a melody lineslightly evocative of Key to the Highway,and the full group gets into a New Orleansgroove on Funky Little Teapot, with a sillylyric about finding this teapot and makingthe acquaintance of Mr. Earl Gray.

This disc shows Debbie Davies has cer-tainly matured as a performer becomingmore than a guitar slinger.

Ron Weinstock

GARY BURTONFor Hamp, Red, Bags and Cal

CONCORD 2001Introduced in the U.S. around 1916

as a “steel marimba,” the vibraphone be-come popular as a jazz instrument in theearly 1930s after written accounts hadbeen documenting attempts to electrify axylophone as early as 1925. Thus, thisdate by vibraphonist Gary Burton cel-ebrates roughly the 75th anniversary ofthe invention of the vibes and featurestunes by some of Burton’s favorite play-ers: Lionel Hampton, Red Norvo, Milt(“Bags”) Jackson and Cal Tjader.

Burton’s at his scintillating best on the12 tracks, working with three different all-star teams including a quartet with pianistMulgrew Miller, bassist Christian McBrideand drummer Lewis Nash; a quintet withpianist Danilo Perez, bassist JohnPatitucci, drummer Horatio Hernandez,and percussionist Luis Quintero; and an-other trio on three tracks with guitaristRussell Malone and McBride. The final twotracks feature Burton and long-time as-sociate, pianist Makoto Ozone.

Burton’s versatility allows him to fullyfeature the instrument. Expressive at anytempo, with two mallets or four, Burton’sartistry radiates through as he (and hiscrews) interpret all-time favorites. Thequartet polishes off a bluesy version of“Bag’s Groove,” a hard-swinging take on“Flying Home,” an uptempo “Django,” andHamp’s “Midnight Sun.” The Latin-jazzquintet makes easy work of the bluesy

“Afro Blue,” a swaying take on “Body andSoul,” and the perky “Joao.” With Maloneand McBride, Burton races with precisionthrough “Move” (a tune Norvo’s trioplayed), and Burton’s soft approach,McBride’s arco playing and Malone’schops make delightful fare of the swing-ing “Back Home Again In Indiana.”

Burton plays his way through the his-tory of the vibraphone on this respectful,varicolored tribute to his predecessors.This is a benchmark CD that shows howwell the vibes fit into any jazz style or groupsetting. Nancy Ann Lee

JOHN WESTONI Tried To Hide From The Blues

FEDORA RECORDS 2001The simplicity of John Weston’s ap-

proach to the blues is in his solo perfor-mance. Sitting there ready to play hisacoustic guitar, with the harmonicaracked and hanging from his neck, isreminiscent of old Delta street perform-ers. Weston was born in rural Arkansas,where he grew up in his grandmother’shome listening to country, jazz, and bigband music that was newly popular dur-ing his upbringing John watched and lis-tened as he grew to appreciate the mu-sic of Memphis Minnie, Junior Parker,and Big Arthur Crudup. He traveledwidely spending short stints in Califor-nia, Ohio, and Arizona, as well, beforesettling in Chicago.

Learning to play the blues in Chi-

January/February 2005 • Issue 272 PAGE SEVEN

Gerry Mulligan Concert Band, Sarah Vaughan, Django Reinhardt,Hank Mobley, Woody Herman and over 40 more Boxed Sets“Since its founding in 1983, MosaicRecords has established a worldwide reputation among knowledgeable jazz fansas the best reissue label in the business.Mosaic’s limited edition boxed sets are collections of significant jazz recordingspackaged in a way that showsgreat respect for the music,the musicians, and the musiclover.”- Robert Derwae,

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Limited Edition Jazz Collections!

www.mosaicrecords.com

Call For A Free Brochure: (203)327-7111

REMASTERED TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS

cago, John soon returned to Arkansaswhere he ran a small jute joint into theseventies when he joined a countryband. Soon thereafter he was concen-trating on harp accompaniment whenhe was helped out by harpist WillieCombs. Since then, Weston has beencharming audiences and record execswith his own solitary retreat to the blues.On this release John is joined by DaveRiley on bass guitar, and Carla Robinsonon the drums and vocals. John takeson a myriad of chores as he covers theacoustic axe, harmonica, bass drum,and lead vocals.

Weston’s smooth brand of bluesdraws its strength from the acousticDelta tradition, with active gospel, Ap-palachian, and country music leanings.Check out “Blinded Fool” and Big BillBroonzy’s “Key To The Highway” torealize his church-filled childhood. Heputs his subtle folk/blue hat on for tuneslike “Monkey On My Back”, I’m NotYour Junkman”, and the late boogyin’“A Man Down There”. You can addition-ally find John’s lyricism just as honestlyrevealing on slabs like”You’re TheSame”, “Phony Woman”, and “Mama, ILove Her”.

Thirteen tunes on this platter arepenned by Weston, along with the afore-mentioned cover, you get a strong andlong set of slow and easy Weston blues.Weston blows a fine harp, portrays hisveteran vocals proudly, and is foundhere supported simply and superbly.‘Less is more’ surely applies to thedown-home avenue where you may findJohn Weston. His music comes forthwithout frills, electronic gadgetry, orcommercialization; contained hereinyou’ll find little short of straight-forwardsolid acoustic blues material.

Mark A. Cole

JOHN PIZZARELLI WITH

THE GEORGE SHEARINGQUINTET

The Rare Delight of YouTELARC 2003

Vocalist John Pizzarelli fronts thehistoric-sounding George ShearingQuintet for a 15-tune mixture of mid-tempo swingers and ballads. PianistShearing’s crew—Ted Piltzecker (vibra-phone), Reg Schwager (rhythm guitar),Neil Swainson (bass) and DennisMackrel (drums)—tidily backs thesinger and contributes tip-top collective

and solo moments.Pizzarelli’s boy-next-door style (and

tender Chet Baker vocal sound) graceschestnuts such as “Everything HappensTo Me,” “Lulu’s Back In Town,” “Some-thing To Remember You By,” “The RareDelight of You,” “September In the Rain,”and more. His sense of swing has beendocumented on previous recordings but,with Shearing’s musicians, he outshinesearlier sessions with soft, subtle expres-siveness that leaves plenty of space formusician interplay.

Shearing’s quintet, an elegant swing-ing unit, makes delights of mid-temposwingers such as the catchy BobbyTroupe tune, “Lemon Twist” and JayLeonhart’s “Problem” and brings out thebeauty of romantic ballads, making thisan enjoyable, relaxed listen from start tofinish. Nancy Ann Lee

BLUES HARP MELTDOWNMOUNTAIN TOP RECORDS 2001Mountain Top has issued this double

cd of performances from a tour of harpplayers that Mark Hummel organizeseach year. In addition to Hummel him-self, there are two or three performancesby RJ Mischio, Gary Smith, Billy Branch,James Harman, Rick Estrin and KimWilson. They are provided with a solidbacking group anchored by Jr. Watsonon guitar, with Wilson’s guitarist KirkFletcher joining in on Wilson’s two tracks.Many of the performances are classic

harmonica blues or other classic blues.Mischio does a take of Sam Myers’Sleepin’ in the Ground, while GarySmith handles Sonny Boy WilliamsonI’s Elevate Me Mama and Little Walter’sYou’re So Fine and Mark Hummel trans-lates Buddy Johnson’s They Don’t WantMe to Rock into a harmonica blues. Therepertoire of Rice Miller (Sonny BoyWilliamson II) is mined by Branch (Eye-sight to the Blind), Rick Estrin (WorkWith Me) and Kim Wilson (Don’t LoseYour Eye).

There are some strong vocals, par-ticularly from Wilson, Harman andHummel, and consistently strong har-monica playing by all. The band swingsand Watson gets plenty of space toshowcase his chops. It is hard to con-sider any blues harp fan not digging thiscollection of performances.

Ron Weinstock

ANDY NARELLLive In South Africa

HEADS UP 2001Steel pan virtuoso Andy Narell has

released several studio recordings thatestablish his talents as performer andcomposer, but quite none so appealingas this two-disc (enhanced CD) set.Captured at his first ever live-recordedperformance, Narell collaborates withSouth African musicians at a two-nightBlues Room gig in Johannesburg dur-ing his second visit to South Africa in 18

January/February 2005 • Issue 272PAGE EIGHT

months. Narell had initially thrilled amass of South African fans (estimatedat between 60-80 thousand) in concertat a September 1999 government-spon-sored Arts Alive festival.

On six lengthy tracks of each disc,Narell delivers inspired, energetic per-formances exploring multi-culturalgrooves heightened by his talented sidemusicians: guitarist Louis Malanga (Zim-babwe); keyboardist Andile Yenana(eastern Cape); bassist Denny Lalouette(island of Mauritius); drummer RobWatson (Bloemfontein); and percussion-ist Basi Mahlasela (Soweto). Musicianshave plenty of space to improvise onNarell’s attractive original melodies.

Underpinned with lively rhythms,best tunes on disc one include the funky,upbeat “Out of the Blue,” a 10-minutetour-de-force. But there’s plenty of ear-appeal in the mid-tempo pretty melodyof “Coffee Street,” the briskly-pacedpercussive delight, “Hannibal’s Re-venge,” and others. Disc two kicks offwith the perky “Sugar Street,” followedby other tunes featuring popular SouthAfrican rhythms and funky Americanthemes.

Laced with attractive melodies,modern beats and comfortable, liberatedimprovisations, Live In South Africamay be Narell’s best-to-date recording,further expanding Narell’s global influ-ence. Nancy Ann Lee

HAMILTON LOOMISKickin’ It

BLIND PIG 2003On his Blind Pig Records debut, gui-

tarist/vocalist Hamilton Loomis treadsbetween the twangy roadhouse blues ofDelbert McClinton and the blooze rockof the Black Crowes with a pinch ofTower of Power thrown in for spice. TheMcClinton side of his personality showsup on the sultry soul blues of

Get My Blues On and No, No, Nowhile the Black Crowes side of things isevident in the harmonica fueled 99 Milesand the low key lament about toughtimes and the hope of better days ahead,Something’s Gonna Come My Way.Elsewhere, Loomis digs into horn heavyfunk blues, Be Mine Anyway and jazzygrooves, Better Man and the biting Takea Number (stand in line) where he real-izes that he’s not the first to get burnedby the woman who just gave him the kissoff. With a voice that often recallsTommy Castro as much as it does

McClinton and the Black Crowes’ ChrisRobinson, Loomis can handle a broadrange of vocal material. His guitar chopsare equally versatile evoking Santanaone moment and Albert King the next.As befitting his Texan roots, Loomis fol-lows Jimmie Vaughan’s less is moreapproach with economical fills andleads. While his press kit is heavy withraves about him being the next guitargod, I’m not sure there’s anything uniqueenough here to merit such accolades.That being said, this is nevertheless anenjoyable effort that deserves some at-tention. Mark Smith

VARIOUS ARTISTSNorman Granz’s J.A.T.P./

Carnegie Hall, 1949PABLO 2001

From its start in 1946, NormanGranz’s Jazz At The Philharmonic hascome to be revered for some of the bestspontaneous live-recorded jazz and thispreviously unreleased collection cap-tures top innovators in characteristicconcert-stage jam sessions.

Featured in eight colossal jams re-corded at New York City’s Carnegie Hallon November 2, 1949 are two groups.Group one includes alto saxophonistsCharlie Parker and Sonny Criss, tenorsaxophonist Flip Phillips, trumpeter FatsNavarro, trombonist Tommy Turk, pia-nist Hank Jones, bassist Ray Brown anddrummer Shelly Manne. Group two fea-tures tenor saxophonist ColemanHawkins, Navarro, and the same rhythmteam. This is the only J.A.T.P. recordingfeaturing Navarro and Manne.

The Parker-Criss led group navi-gates lengthy, fulfilling jams (11–15 min-utes) on the Nat King Cole’s “Leap Here”and the classics “Indiana (Back HomeAgain In),” and “Lover Come Back toMe.” To the quintet he fronts withNavarro, Coleman contributes two livelyoriginals, “Rifftide” and “Stuffy.” Besttracks, however, are their ballad render-ings of Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady”featuring Coleman’s smoky solo, and theStyne-Cahn classic “The Things We DidLast Summer” spotlighting Navarro’selegant elliptical-toned melody head andsolo.

With sound quality that’s been en-hanced by 24-bit technology, perfor-mances on this CD rank right up therewith previous J.A.T.P. recordings, mak-ing you wish you’d been there.

Nancy AnnLee

ETTA JAMESLove Songs

MCA RECORDS 2001Blues and R & B diva, Etta James;

is well respected for the amassed hitsunder her career belts. She has and con-tinues to flatten audiences with her sul-try, snappy, and self-respecting stageand vocal presences. While stackingvolumes of works, she has also becomeone of the most noted of romantic bal-lad singers. With work culled from earlyArgo and Chess sides, and even laterwork from the seventies; this compila-tion brings out her most well-known lovesongs along with a lately, and hitherto,released “Never My Love” from the re-cently released Etta box set on the samelabel.

With the Riley Hampton Orchestra,Etta’s hits “At Last”, “A Sunday Kind OfLove”, “My Dearest Darling”, “Trust InMe”, “If I Can’t Have You”, Someone ToWatch Over Me”, “I Want To Be Loved(But Only By You)” are here. On a coupleother selections, “How Do You Speak ToAn Angel” and “Again”, she was backedby the orchestra of Al Poskonka on.Under other producers and other studiosshe also came up with “Lovin” Arms”,“Lovin’ You More Every Day”, “The LoveOf My Man”, and ‘t Must Be Your Love”.They don’t get any better; a compiler’sdream—you can’t go wrong!

Better have the table set, drinkspoured, and be ready for some lovin’after ploppin’ this down. There is nothin’more intense, few singers so soothing,and the literal wall-to-wall romance spill-ing from this platter! Those with weakhearts may want to avoid this.

Mark A. Cole

OSCAR BROWN JR.Live Every MinuteMINOR MUSIC 2003

This may be one of the best releasesfor vocalist Oscar Brown Jr. (born 1926in Chicago) since the 1960s and 1970swhen he recorded several classic albumsfor Columbia and Atlantic. Backed hereby both the NDR-Big Band (arrange-ments by Steve Gray) and smallergroups, Brown proves he’s still in topform.

A dramatic singer-composer-lyricistwho can croon ballads (“It’s October,”“World Full of Gray”), sing baby talk(“Dat Dere”) or deliver kicking, upbeatper formances (“Mr. Kicks,” “TheSnake”), Brown is the everlasting enter-

January/February 2005 • Issue 272 PAGE NINE

tainer on this 11-tune session featuringillustrious guest ar tists StanleyTurrentine (tenor sax), Pee Wee Ellis(tenor & soprano saxes), and AaronGraves (piano). His original “Haven’t ILoved You Somewhere,” given a nicesamba treatment, gets high marks forromanticism and a style that brings tomind hints of Billy Eckstine and JoeWilliams. You should get a kick out hisnaughty (though hilarious) lyrics on thehead-nodding, blues band number withthe big beat, “Hazel’s Hips” and hisequally risque interpretation of CharlieParker’s “Billie’s Bounce,” a tune en-hanced by Ellis’ creative tenor saxisms.

Life has taken Brown in many di-rections. In addition to his career as aprofessional songwriter who’s writtentunes recorded by others, Brown haswritten plays, acted on a regular networkradio soap opera, appeared as MC onthe tv series Jazz Scene USA, and un-dertaken a wide variety of careers (realestate, public relations and advertising).He took a long hiatus from recordingbetween 1975 and 1994, when he re-turned with the Weasel release, “Then &Now.”

His style and delivery on this disc

are reminiscent of his exhilarating liveconcerts. A 12-page liner booklet in-cludes lyrics so you can see how cleverare his words and social commentary.

Nancy Ann Lee

STEVE FREUNDIll Be Your MuleDELMARK 2001

This follow up to his successful 1999Delmark release, C For Chicago, findsguitarist Steve Freund working the sameChicago blues vein that yielded so manygems last time around. This is good oldfashioned Chicago blues with straightforward shuffles and upbeat boogies thatgive the musicians plenty of room tothrow their chops around. Which is agood thing when you have the likes ofMr. B manning the piano, Bob Strogeron bass, Kenny Smith on drums and ahost of horn players adding punch hereand there. Freund is a B.B. King styleguitarist with an easy vocal delivery.While a few covers found their way ontothe disc, Freund wrote more than half ofthe songs including You Were A GoodOld Ride, a politically incorrect ode tohigh maintenance mates, A Dollar AMile, a shuffle blues about the drag of

driving long distances to gigs, and MyLife Is Changing, a lowdown blues thatis as mournful musically as it is opti-mistic in its sentiment. A solid disc.

Mark Smith

RICHIE BEIRACH,GREGOR HUEBNER,

GEORGE MRAZRound About Monteverdi

ACT MUSIC 2004Pianist Richie Beirach, violinist

Gregor Huebner and bassist George Mrazcollaborate on music from the early Ba-roque. Composer Claudio Monteverdi isthe main focus among the 13 pieces, butother composers are featured. This al-bum is part of the trio’s series that in-cludes ACT albums “Round AboutBartok” and “Round About FedericoMompou.”

Both potent jazz expressionists,Beirach and Mraz have frequently tee-tered on the edge of European Classicalin their jazz recordings as leaders.Huebner shows talent but seems moreentrenched in Classical. The trio takeseach piece, usually states as originallywritten, then delivers jazz improvisations

January/February 2005 • Issue 272PAGE TEN

on the melody before returning to the main theme. One of thejazzier tunes is the trio’s swinging interpretation of “Eja materfons amoris” from “Stabat Mater” by Giovanni BattistaPergolesi.

There aren’t a lot of high points. While these musiciansmake pretty music together, the somber fare may not suityour tastes if you’re hankering for purely Third Stream orstraight-ahead jazz or even a better blend of the two genres.Many of the tunes are so similar in tone and tempo, you maynot notice when one ends and the next begins. Despite theappealing concept of improvisation on Baroque, there’s justnot enough jazz embraced to enliven things. It’s more likelythis album would appeal to Contemporary Classical fans.

Nancy Ann Lee

ROSARIO GULIANILuggage

DREYFUS JAZZ 2001One of Italy’s hidden treasures, 34-year old alto saxo-

phonist Rosario Giuliani leads a vibrant quartet on Luggage,a CD that demonstrates his prowess on 10 tunes, half of themoriginals. Giuliani has done his woodshedding and is expres-sive at any tempo, even on ballads such as the standard “Por-trait of Jenny” and his original “Love for My Mother.” But heseems best at explosive pace on his bopping originals, suchas “Luggage” and “Dear Tucci.” A versatile, lyrical playerwho’s been both sideman and leader on the stages and in thestudios of Italy and has recorded previously for small labels,the inspired saxophonist is poised for widest exposure withthis international release. Nancy Ann Lee

JOHN KAYHeretics and Privateers

CANNONBALL RECORDS 2001Known as the singer and leader of the sixties rock band

Steppenwolf, John Kay was actually a country blues performerbefore first running into some of the singer-songwriters of thetime. Shortly thereafter he emerged with the popular rockband.

His new Cannonball album in some sense marks his re-turn to his blues and folk roots. Kay may not be as extrava-gant a singer as on his Steppenwolf recordings, but he stillsings powerfully, with just a bit of rasp. More importantly, hewrites some very strong songs. Several make direct use ofcountry blues melodies like Don’t Waste My Time, set to the

melody of Walking Blues, with Kay playing strong percussiveslide guitar with his lyric about all the meaningless things thatkeep us waiting.

The Ice Age is another acoustic blues with Jimmy Hallcontributing some tasty harmonica behind Kay’s powerful lyricabout the increasingly cold relationships in our daily lives.Kay sings about those who have been tossed aside by societyas the millworker who gets laid off or the dutiful wife whoyearns for a life of her own in the title track on the title trackabout a woman who gave her teacher private lessons morethan once and who men found amazing on the bluesy, She’sGot The Goods. For the Women in My Life is a marvelous song(suggestive of some of John Mellancamp’s recordings) abouthow the women in his life made him a better man, even if hewas not all he should have been for them. The closing TheBack Page, with some nicely played resophonic guitar, has awistful flavor reminiscent of Bob Dylan.

The album grows on one with repeated listening. It is byno means a pure blues record, but Kay mixes in blues themesand melodies along with other roots music with some verytelling and perceptive observations of the human conditiontoday. His perspective is one that many will be able to identifywith. Ron Weinstock

ERVIN CHARLESGreyhound Blues

DIALTONE 2001Those who have Alligator’s collaboration of Lonnie

Brooks, Long John Hunter and Phillip Walker may be awareof two tracks with Ervin Charles, the longtime mentor of thePort Arthur, Texas blues scene. Charles passed away last year,but not after finally recording his only album, Greyhound Blues,on Dialtone. In addition to his gritty guitar playing Charlesshares the vocal spotlight with Richard Earl whose more soul-inflected style contrasts with Charles’ somewhat raspy vocalstyling. Nothing particularly fancy about the music here asthe walking tempo shuffle, Jumpin’ With Ervin displays hiscontrolled instrumental style with just a touch of tremolo asdrummer Uncle John Turner keeps the nice groove going. SoMean to Me is a nice rendition of I Wonder Why, and Parl Ortaadds some very nice harp here. Charles’ stinging guitar be-hind Earl’s pleading vocal on the My Love is Real is mademore effective by his mixing bursts of notes with some breaksof silence. The title track is a nicely delivered slow blues witha bit of down home flavor. He reworks Everyday I Have the

January/February 2005 • Issue 272 PAGE ELEVEN

Blues into the slow blues that the tunewas when recorded by Memphis Slimand Lowell Fulson, and Orta wails on hissolo before Charles’ crackling solo anddelivery of the final verse. A nice perfor-mance and I guess someone else mightplay it flashier or with more pyrotech-nics, but miss the feeling that Charlesbrings here and throughout the disc.Ervin Charles left his mark on a numberof blues artists, and fortunately was ableto record this gem of an album thatserves as his recorded legacy, whichprobably only hints what he was capableof. This will be available at better storesor you might try the mail order placesthat specialize in blues. Ron Weinstock

DEREK SMITHHIGH ENERGY

ARBORS JAZZ 2003London-born pianist Derek Smith

leads a sparkling trio set with bassistNicki Parrott and drummer Joe Ascione.

Smith got his start in jazz with JohnDankworth’s famed British big band andcame to the USA in 1957 at age 26. Twoweeks later he recorded with the Mod-ern Jazz Quartet. After gigging aroundNew York awhile, he landed a spot withDoc Severinson’s Tonight Show band forseven years. Among many others, he’salso performed, toured and recordedwith Benny Goodman.

Leading his own trio here, Smithshows off his versatility, inventiveness,lyricism and pristine technique at anytempo. Before proceeding his attack on“Fools Rush In” with racing nimbleness,his dreamy intro is characteristic of hispassion and depth. Irving Berlin’s “HowDeep Is the Ocean?” is given a mid-tempo trio reading full of swinging sen-sibility. Smith and crew also raise thenotch with their classy takes on stan-dards such as “On Green DolphinStreet,” “Alone Together,” “Here’s ThatRainy Day,” “Let’s Fall In Love,” “TeachMe Tonight,” and more. Parrott freelysupports and imaginatively solos but it’sAscione’s smartly crafted timekeepingthat adds listener-appeal to this out-standing piano trio album.

Nancy Ann Lee

ERIC CLAPTONMe & Mr. JohnsonWARNER BROS. 2004

With all the hoopla this CD has re-ceived, one is astonished by the abso-lute nonsense of some of the rock crit-ics who rave about it. Much of this col-lection of performances of songs thatRobert Johnson recorded is on the levelof a bar band doing Robert Johnson.None of Clapton’s renditions of thesesongs match those by Robert Lockwood,Johnny Shines, Honeyboy Edwards, Big

Joe Williams, Junior Wells, Eddie Tay-lor, Boyd Gilmore, Muddy Waters andothers who have taken Johnson’s songsand produced recordings that are morepassionately and personally performed.Clapton is too reverent to these songsand the lyrics, which is strange for anhomage to Johnson Check out LeroyCarr’s “In the Evening” before listeningto Robert Johnson’s “Love in Vain,”which Clapton reworks here. Clapton’srendition even suffers compared to theStones’ cover of it three decades ago.Both Junior Wells and Eddie Taylor hadstandout recordings of “Stop Breakin’”Down that makes Clapton’s renditionhere sound not very distinguished.

Call Clapton a rock guitar god allyou want and a great popularizer of theblues, but for those who have listenedto not only Johnson’s music but also theother great bluesmen of the past fiftyyears, one questions the qualificationsof various rock writers who rave aboutthis disc as a ‘blues’ recording.

One other point was that I was notenamored by the studio band. There aresome great players (and Mr. Portnoy isa great harp player), but the rhythmsection does not swing and the bandcomes off as second-rate compared tothe classic Chicago bands of the sixtiesand seventies.

Ron Weinstock

FRI 28 .....MADISON CRAWLSAT 29.....DAVE C & THE SHARPTONES

FRI 4 .......SAM GETZ BANDSAT 6 .......COLIN DUSSAULT’S BLUES PROJECTFRI 11 .....MR. STRESS BLUES BANDSAT 12.....MIKE MILLIGAN & STEAM SHOVELFRI 18 .....FRANKIE STARR BANDSAT 19.....ACES & EIGHTSFRI 25 .....ARMSTRONG BEARCAT BANDSAT 26.....TRAVIS HADDIX BAND

January

February

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9 ANTHONY GOOMES NASHVILLE BLUES

16 FOREVER RHYTHM & BLUES

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THURSDAYS

January/February 2005 • Issue 272PAGE TWELVE

JOE LOUIS WALKERRidin’ High—Live

HIGHTONE RECORDS 2003Joe Louis Walker is ridin’ high; a inter-generational blues

artist. He is too young to Muddy Waters generation, yet tooold for Johnny Lang’s.

Walker and Bruce Bromberg produced the disc, whichhas three unpublished ballads; ‘Alligator’, Prove Your Love’,and ‘Personal Baby’. Angela Strehli belts a duet on ‘Don’tMess Up A Good Thing,’ and Huey Lewis blows the harp on‘Bit By Bit (Little By Little)’.

The band is comprised of Walker (axe, slide axe, and vox),Carl Schumacher (piano, organ, and vocals), Henry Oden(bass), Paul Revelli (drums and vox), Tim Devine (alto & tenorsax, percussion, and vocals), and Jeff Lewis (trumpet, per-cussion, and vox). Walker is a devine songster and a dyna-mite six-stringer.

Eleven songs and blue cries to moan and bedazzle you.This is a volume of the Heritage of the Blues series, put out byHightone Records. Mark A. Cole

RICHARD GALLIANOGallianissimo!: The Best of Richard Galliano

DREYFUS JAZZ 2001On this compilation, accordionist Richard Galliano per-

forms in the “new musette” style forged by Astor Piazzolla.The album launches with “New York Tango” (from the albumof the same name) featuring guitarist Bireli Lagrene, drum-

mer Al Foster and bassist George Mraz. Toots Thielemansand others join the accordionist on the title tune from the al-bum Laurita. Various other players are featured on the re-maining 13 tunes extracted from seven albums, including tan-gos, bossas, straight-ahead jazz, jazz waltzes and more.Equally skilled as composer and performer, Galliano’s abun-dant musical gifts glitter on these tunes and his creativity,expressiveness, and technical virtuosity will make you wantto search for and own his other recordings. Nancy Ann Lee

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LOUISIANA REDDriftin’

EARWIG MUSIC 2001This is the third release on the Earwig label for Louisiana

Red (Iverson Minter). His previous outings have been tremen-dously successful following his casual repatriation to theAmerican blues scene. Touring Europe while also livingabroad, Red gained a huge international following, that is onlyexcited to hear of his new issue. By playing his solitaire brandof acoustic blues at festivals and gigs here and there, Redbecame a hot commodity in the newly-found blues apprecia-tion that is so rampant today. On this release he reassembledthe cardinal cast of Chicago’s finest sidemen.

Red is backed by the same band that supported his lastEarwig effort, Millennium Blues. Dave Jefferson is poundingthe skins, and Willie Kent is fingering the bass strings. AllenBatts is working the ivories on the piano, and Willie ‘Big Eyes’Smith turns in the harmonica chores. Brian Bisesi supportson the rhythm axe chair, as Red weaves his lead guitar pat-terns and digs deeply for his vocal responses.

Minter is a performer who relives his experiences in song.Tunes like “In The Garden”, “Getting Weaker By The Day”,Hard Hard Time”, and many of the others speak of Red’s lifeand times, and often of the injustices he has passed along theway. With his heads-up Chicago crew though, Red is muchmore concerned with the essences of his music as you hearfrom the opening title tune, “Driftin’”. Loaded with Chicagoflavorings, Red still reaches within to pull out exemplary singin’and stringin’. Get loaded on Red’s slide activity on “Hard HardTime”, his economy on Lightnin’ Hopkins “Bring Me SomeWater”, or his boogied attack on “Leaving Grandma”. “Pow-der Room Blues” can’t be beat, either!

Whatever way you look at or listen to it, Louisiana Redmeasures up; with dues paid long ago. Red’s chameleonicunderstanding finds him at his electric, rockin’ best on “TheDay I Met B.B. King”, championing work song remains in“Keep Your Hands On The Plow”, or issuing a reverent pointon the traditional “He Will See You Through”. Louisiana Red’sbody of work here is varied, versatile, and vibrant; check themovin’ “Chankity Chank Chank” with Red’s haunting guitarlicks and seering vox. Hard finding anything to complain abouthere; well, suppose we jump up and down for more. Wouldthat work? Mark A. Cole

January/February 2005 • Issue 272 PAGE THIRTEEN

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MARTIN SIMPSONRighteousness & HumidityRED HOUSE RECORDS 2003Some musicians see each new re-

cording as the opportunity to stake newstylistic ground. But Martin Simpson isn’tinterested in going further. His missionis to go deeper.

Although his musical vocabulary –whether finger-style or bottleneck, sa-cred or secular, African-American orAnglo-Irish – has been with him from theoutset, the British-born guitarist hassharpened his craft and vision to thepoint where his music reaches an almostunbearable intensity. Righteousness &Humidity is a jaw-dropping display ofchops, but this is the kind of virtuositythat laughs in the face of the countlessslingers for whom the blues has becomea vehicle for pyrotechnics.

The controlled fury of “John Hardy,”the taut resignation of “Georgie,” ancientmelodies both, draw in equal measurefrom Son House and Doc Boggs, yetSimpson takes us way back. Thoughinspired by the plight of North-Ameri-can natives, his “Ghost in The Pines,”performed on banjo, evokes the legacyof Malian griots, an apt reminder of theinstrument’s African origins.

By invoking the ghosts of the Deltain the context of his own heritage, theguitarist offers an idiosyncratic take onGreil Marcus’ “old, weird America”. He’snot the first to do so, of course, as thesuccess of O Brother, Where Art Thou?has sent many a musician on the questfor ancestral truths. But there again,Simpson beats them to the punch.“Maybe it’s the weather”, he muses inthe words of his friend Gallivan Burwell,“But the Devil is partial to the South”. Itwould be hard to find a better explana-tion for all the murder, mystery andmusic that keep drawing us in its vor-tex. Dominique Denis

STOP!Readers who have interest in jazzonly may stop here. We had moreblues than jazz in this first batchfrom the vault. So our normal al-ternating blues and jazz reviewshas ended. For blues readers, andthose into both...by all means con-tinue on!

HENRY GRAYPlays Chicago Blues

HIGHTONE 2001Since he moved back to Louisiana

a few decades ago, former Howlin’ Wolfpianist Henry Gray has kept playing buthas never enjoyed the level of recogni-tion that contemporaries, such asPinetop Perkins, have received. Besidesbeing in Wolf’s band for an extendedperiod, Gray did a fair amount of ses-sion work, recording with Jimmy Rogers,Little Walter, Billy Boy Arnold and JimmyReed, as well as making his own record-ing for Chess. The biggest influence onGray’s style is Big Maceo, and like thatgreat master, he is a strong, two-handedplayer and he certainly sings with a defi-nite sense of urgency. Gray did recordsome swamp-blues flavored sides for anArhoolie anthology, and some singles forsmall Louisiana labels, an album forAntone’s which I believe is long out-of-print, and a live album for Lucky Cat.

His new Hightone CD has himbacked by guitarists Bob Margolin andKid Ramos, fellow Wolf alumni ChicoChism on drums and Bob Corritore onharmonica. My promo cd does not pro-vide any more detailed information, butthese are from various sessions thatCorritore produced over several years.It’s a nice mix of material including cov-ers of classic Chicago blues including acouple of songs associated with ElmoreJames, It Hurts Me Too and I Held MyBaby Last Night, as well as Wolf’s HowMany More Years. The Maceo influenceis quite evident on the slow moodyTrouble Blues and It Hurts Me Too, whileHenry’s Houserocker is a strong, rollick-ing instrumental.

There is nothing fancy about thismusic but it strikes this writer as the bestcurrently available disc of Henry Gray’smusic. Ron Weinstock

DON COVAY & FRIENDSAdLib

CANNONBALL RECORDS 1999Surely one of America’s premier

soulsters and songwriters, Don Covayhas enough real hits to be considereda heavyweight in the songwriting busi-ness.

Songs like “Long Tall Shorty”,“Chain of Fools”, “Mercy Mercy”,“Come Back & Take This Hurt Off Me”and “Three Time Loser” punctuate hiscareer. On the cover testifying to theimportance of Covay on their respec-

Thursday, Feb. 3: NATHAN & THE ZYDECO

CHA CHAS $10/$12Nathan Williams is different. While therest of the zydeco nation wrestles overwho will be crowned the next king—

or prince or duke — of zydeco, Nathanhas given himself the decidedly un-

royal sounding moniker, “The ZydecoHog,” and continued to focus on the

music for which he is renowned.

Thursday 10LIL BRIAN & THE ZYDECO

TRAVELERS $10 9pm“Lil’ Brian — a trailblazer in the spirit

of Clifton Chenier and BuckwheatZydeco — revs up his mighty sound

on FUNKY NATION. This is greatmusic, hard-driving and irresistible.”— Michael Tisserand, author of The

Kingdom of Zydeco and Editor of NewOrleans Gambit Weekly

Friday 11 C.J. CHENIER AND THE REDHOT LOUISIANA BAND $12

“Whether he and his band of red hotsburn on rocking contemporary or

simmer on -traditional country waltzes,C. J. Chenier is poised to be Zydeco’s

new torch bearer.”—Blues Revue

Friday, Feb. 25JIMMY THACKERY AND THE

DRIVERS W/SPECIAL GUESTNORMAN NARDINI - $12, 9pm start

Singer, songwriter, and guitarvirtuoso Jimmy Thackery has

carved an enviable niche for himselfin the world of electric blues

Wilbert’s Celebrates Mardi

Gras during February

Cajun Music and Cajun Food

Highlight the Month

January/February 2005 • Issue 272PAGE FOURTEEN

tive careers are Mick Jagger, KeithRichards, Van Morrison, and BonnieRaitt. Teamed with friend, songwriter,and producer of this disc, Jon Tiven,Covay has gathered a star-studded ar-ray of friends to help him with thisnow, well-regarded tribute to the songsand songwriter.

Helping out is the bare-bones sup-port of Jon Tiven on guitar and organ;Jon’s wife Sally Tiven on the bass;Paul Shaffer (Dave Letterman Show)on piano, organ, and synthesizer; andthe rockin’ Anton Fig on the drum kit.Guest instrumentalists are SimonKirke on electric piano and Robert‘Butch’ Johnson sharing the axe on“Victims”; Lee Konitz and his alto saxhelping out on “Chill Factory”; MasonCasey on the harp for four tracks, PaulBrown adding his Hammond B-3 linesto “Chain Of Fools” and KimSimmonds offering to lay out the gui-tar action on “Don Covay Boogie[Slight Reprise]”. Background vocal-ists are Kirke, Casey, Ptah Brown,Audley Freed, Yuko Ichioka, EllisHooks, and Julia Schell.

Guest vocalists include soul part-ner Wilson Pickett singing “NineTimes A Man” and “Three TimeLoser”; Huey Lewis and FrederickKnight teaming up on the newly com-posed “Red Comb Song”; PaulRodgers putting his vocal touch to“Mercy Mercy”; Ann Peebles puttingit on “Chain Of Fools”, Syl Johnsonchanting on “Victims”, Otis Clay giv-ing up the soul-packed voice on “HeDon’t Know”, and Memphis songwriterDan Penn with Shaffer adding a spo-ken intro to “Hall Of Fame”.

Few albums can boast such an il-lustrious crew or such an impressivesonglist. Even the newer tunes co-written with the likes of both Tivens,Spooner Oldham, Pickett, and RonnieMiler shine like new stars in Covay’sfirmament. Covay’s legendary pres-ence on the songwriting front contin-ues as he strikes out on the way tomining more gold and/or platinum.

Catch Don’s contemporary adlibs,his carved accultured vocal charac-ter, and his near-godly writing abili-ties. His friends and band memberssurely also contribute to the talentpool on this release.

Deep soul, rockin’ renditions, andmore involved compositions markthis obvious tribute compilation.

Mark A. Cole

JOHNNY WINTERThe Best of Johnny Winter

COLUMBIA/LEGACY 2002This collection dates to Winter’s

material culled from his ColumbiaRecords and Blue Sky Records eras, re-spectively 1969-74 and 1974-79. Youfind early material with his trio format,collaborations with Rick Derringer, andrecorded efforts including his brotherEdgar helping on various instruments.This time represented Johnny’s matureblues rooted evolution into the blues androck phenom that was and remains re-spected across both genres. Johnny cutfive critical albums for Columbia; all arerepresented here.

You’ll find Johnny blazing on all gui-tar tracks with overdubbing and somehelp from friends like Rick Derringer,who also co-produced some of this origi-nal material. Tommy Shannon is herelaying down the fervent bass lines (be-fore Double Trouble days) with someexceptions, and Uncle John Turnerhandles most of the percussive duties,also with noticeable help all around.Noted help comes from brother EdgarWinter on the piano, organ, alto sax,andharpsichord. Jeremy Steig also providesa daunting flute interaction with Johnnyon Robert Johnson’s “Come On In MyKitchen”. A host of other musicians in-cluding numerous horn players helpedto give Johnny the tremendous breathof styles shown in this collection.

Two fired up Derringer composi-tions, including the opening “Rock AndR4oll, Hoochie Koo”, and the later vis-ited “Still Alive And Well” grace this set.The former sounds cleanly Johnny withblistering slide and lead guitar linesdubbed atop each other. Edgar playsstrong keyboard lines alongsideJohnny’s axe on Chuck Berry’s “JohnnyB. Goode” and the Ray Charles hit “I’llDrown In My Own Tears” (written byHenry Glover). The rippin’ delivery of“Rollin’ And Tumblin’” additionallysteams with an undaunting pace intoDylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited”, a ver-sion which still ranks high in rock his-tory charts.

With other choice cuts like LittleRichard’s “Miss Ann”, and B.B.’s “It’s MyOwn Fault” (the only live cut) and “BeCareful With A Fool”, allows Winter toset the blues alight with incendiary gui-tar, be it fast or slow! His slide talentsabound throughout this platter, and thecareful studio layering of axe tracks

takes on a beautiful sculptured effect,much more noticeable with remasteringfound on this plate. Resounding hornslay a firm bedrock response to Johnny’scutting. All and all, it’s hard to find anyfaults here; making this truly a best-of-collection. Johnny’s fretwork and fingermanipulations are always excitinglyfresh and reactive; and his scratchy vo-cal character shines through as well. Thisis power-packed music that neversounded so clean and fresh; and it’s astartling retake on the blues roots of aclassic rocker. Mark A. Cole

MICROWAVE DAVEWouldn’t Lay My Guitar Down

DUCK TAPE 2001Taking a brief break from his gig as

band leader of the Nukes, MicrowaveDave Gallaher rips and slashes his waythrough 12 cuts of high voltage electricblues. Even though he can slow thingsdown as evidenced by Bobby “Blue”Bland’s Soon As The Weather Breaks,this disc mostly features hot-wired elec-tric guitar blues.

While many three piece blues bandssweeten up their discs with horns andkeys, Dave lays down the same stuff inthe studio as he features in his show: gui-tar, bass and drums plugged in andlocked into a tight groove. Avoiding theeasy temptation of blues-rock, Gallahersticks pretty close to the blues anddoesn’t visit Stevie Ray Vaughan boule-vard.

With a sense of humor as evidencedby I Want My Rib Back mixed with a bitof social commentary as reflected byDon’t Throw My Baby Away, and evena stab at the big band classic, Sentimen-tal Journey, Gallaher mostly steers clearof blues cliché land. Overall, an enjoy-able disc. Mark Smith

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN &DOUBLE TROUBLE

Live At Montreaux 1982 & 1985EPIC RECORDS 2002Two career-building per for-

mances at Switzerland’s renownMontreaux Jazz and International MusicFestival in 1982 and 1985 by Stevie RayVaughan and Double Trouble are foundon this double-CD release. Bits andpieces of this material have been previ-ously released, most notably five tracksfrom Live Alive , but there are elevenheretofore unreleased songs. The nine-

January/February 2005 • Issue 272 PAGE FIFTEEN

teen slabs here include the entire eight song 1982 set that wasraucously booed by an under interested audience; and the re-maining eleven making up most of their victoriously sold-outand more appreciated return in ‘85.

Stevie’s incomparable rock-toned blues guitar was backedby Tommy Shannon on the bass and Chris Layton on thedrumkit. They played both sets, joined in 1985 by organistReese Wynans. Johnny Copeland also joined Stevie at the ‘85show for the stroll down the thirteen-minute “Tin Pan Alley”(previously issued on Blues At Sunrise), with complementaryguitar and his intriguing vocal profile.

This set is fluent and complete in presenting commentsfrom Layton and Shannon, along with timely quotes from Stevieand David Bowie, who was amongst the audience and few ad-mirers at the ‘82 gig. The show led to Vaughan touring withBowie and a recording opportunity at Jackson Browne’s (an-other floored fan at the ‘82 show) studio later on. Photos andcomments from Darrell Pitt (official festival photographer andfriend to SRV) are also included.

From the SRV songbook are: “Rude Mood”, “Pride AndJoy” (two versions), “Love Struck Baby”, Dirty Pool”, “Collins’Shuffle”, Scuttle Buttin’”,”Say What”, “Ain’t Gone N’ Give UpOn Love”, “Life Without You”, and “Couldn’t Stand TheWeather”. Others include Hendrix’ “Voodoo Child”, Buddy Guy’s“Mary Had A Little Lamb”, Hound Dog Taylor’s “Give Me BackMy Wig”, and Stevie’s anthem “Texas Flood” (two versionsalso) written by Davis and Scott.

Mighty blues rock throughout this biscuit with excitingrootsy digs into stone blues material. Vaughan and DoubleTrouble were on top of their free form amalgamation of the twogenre, and that attitude is heard straight through these twoperformances.The gritty, gutsy phrasings and tones sound goodon this remastered double-CD live retrospective; don’t missthis ultimately awesome SRV material. Mark A. Cole

ROBERT CRAYShoulda Been Home

RYKODISC 2001This release for R & B king Robert Cray comes in a decid-

edly different feel. The overall musical sensibility here is soulballadry. In a manner much more reserved than his previousrockin’ R & B stylings, Cray and company exercise with an olderMemphis and Motown heaviness and a deep blues fever. Whilethere is little lack of his usual guitar emphasis, Robert Cray alsodecidedly works out a new vocal character for this release.

The Robert Cray band is Robert Cray on vocals and guitars,Jim Pugh on the keyboards, Karl Severeid on bass, and KevinHayes on the drums. They are joined by guests Andrew Love ontenor sax, Jack Hale on trombone, and Ben Cauley on trumpetfor two tracks each. Willie Weeks provides the bass on one track,and multi-instrumentalist Steve Jordan contributes on seventunes playing guitar, drums, or percussion, and adds his back-ground vocals as well. Jordan can also be found at the produc-tion seat on this flight.

Cray has self-penned five new tunes for this release. Pughcontributes two selections including the brilliant nine-minute plus“Out Of Eden”; and the band carries out blues justice with twocovers from M.R. London: “Cry For Me Baby” (an Elmore JamesStax classic) and “The 12 Year Old Boy”.

Cray has been a very prolific writer, performer, and stylist.With this effort he takes a strong step into soul-based blues andestablishes yet another facet of his multi-talented skills. His vo-

cals lift each composition into the soulful realm he’s after, andhis reserved guitar action helps to support such. He finds favor-ably-soulfilled company with his squeaky tight rhythm sectionand the keyboard work of Pugh. Mark A. Cole

SAVOY BROWNSTRANGE DREAMS

BLIND PIG 2003On the thirty discs it has cut since it turned heads as a British

blues band in the late 60s, Savoy Brown has covered everythingfrom acoustic blues to straight out rock and roll. With countlesschanges in direction and personnel, the band has been able tokeep things fresh without finding itself mired on the oldies circuitrehashing its dusty hits (and it has had plenty including I’m Tired,Tell Mama, Street Corner Talking and All I Can do Is Cry) for glaze-eyed fans looking to recapture youthful glory.

On this, its debut on the Blind Pig label, the band lays down a70s era blues-rock groove that focuses on atmosphere more thanpyrotechnics. Leader Kim Simmonds’ earthy vocals and light,almost jazzy, touch on the guitar keep the 10 cuts collected herefrom straying too close to the blooze and boogie graveyard wheremost blues rock tunes are mercifully buried. Think Robert Crayon guitar and Dave Mason on vocals and you’ll be in the rightballpark as to how this sounds. The only real shortcoming withthis disc is the pacing of the songs. With nearly all of the cutslocking into an unhurried, mid- tempo pace they tend to run to-gether over the course of the disc. A couple of real change ups intempo or style would have made this a more compelling listen.Overall, though, a solid effort. Mark Smith

January/February 2005 • Issue 272