July
2002
Bill King's Saturday Nite Fish Fry Jump, Shout-Rock the
House Radioland RACD 10021/Universal
"The Fry" is a performing sideline for one of our most important industry movers and shakers. King is the jazz pianist/composer (and photographer) who publishes the Jazz Report magazine with its National Jazz Awards program, is the Artistic Director for the Beaches Jazz Festival and runs his own Radioland Recording company. In his spare time (!), he leads this magnificent R&B band. Long hours of late night radio during his American mid-west upbringing form the inspiration for the band and its first CD, long hours that later paid off in work in rock & R&B bands at night that covered the bills for the formal classical and jazz education by day. The band's lineup reflects the four horns and four rhythm composition of the great R&B bands of the late forties and early fifties, with John Johnson on alto sax, Bob Brough on tenor, Chris Gale on baritone and Alexis Baro on trumpet. The back line has Neil Chapman on guitar; Artie Roth, bass; either Rick Gratton or Ted Warren, drums and King on piano. But the songs are anything but slavish copies of tired standards. Just listen to this version of Howling Wolf's "Riding in the Moonlight" _ perhaps an unlikely choice for this lineup until you hear the horn charts based on Wolf's rhythm guitar licks. Innovative contributions abound on songs by Professor Longhair, Ray Charles, Jay McShann, Charles Brown and the band's main source, Louis Jordan. Three King originals add to the contemporary sound. Catch the band at the Louisiana Weekend at Downtown Jazz, Saturday June 29 or at the Beaches International Jazz Festival July 18-21 but catch them you must, they're the real thing. You can access Bill King's activities through www.ejazznews.com.
Laura Hubert My Girlish Days Girlish Days 41782
Seeing Ms. Hubert's name in listings for Downtown Jazz and the Toronto International BBQ & Blues Festivals prompted me to chase down her CD, which came out last year, I think. You may recall her as being one of the Leslie Spit Trio, a band whose re-creation of early Jefferson Airplane sound was uncanny. They had four albums, one of which won a Juno. After that band broke up, it seems Hubert wanted to go back to singing standards she grew up with and choosing Chris Whiteley to help out here was inspired. The songs fall exactly into that boundary-less era of the Twenties and Thirties that he knows so well. The two straight-ahead blues here are the title song, made famous by Memphis Minnie and "Down in the Dumps", by Bessie Smith. They show a singer of power and spirit. Two honourable mentions go to "Lonesome Shack" and "River Stay Away From My Door", which show she can be subtle as well. Various members of Swing Gang horns show up as necessary with pianist Peter Hill, Whiteley on the usual assortment of instruments, Victor Bateman, bass and Al Cross, drums. One exception to the repertoire is "Different Drum", the Michael Nesmith song made famous by Linda Ronstadt as a Stone Pony. In this context, it is simply unlistenable -fortunately it's at the end. The CD is available at Sam the Record Man and through her website, www.laurahubert.com.
David Gogo Skeleton Key Cordova Bay CBR-0262D/Festival
If power trio blues is your bag, this Nanaimo, BC-based axeman continues to fill the bill. This one, his fifth, is not as over the top as some of his earlier efforts, primarily because he has chosen or written a couple of excellent slow tunes. There is a huge sound to this disc, with two keyboard players, Brendan Hedley and Rick Hopkins adding to Gogo's guitars, Todd Sacerty's bass and Billy Hicks' drums & percussion. Gary Barnum blows harp on several of the songs as well and the slow tunes feature a well-arranged horn section. CD highlights include the rocking "Stay Away From My Home" with its harp solo, the excellent Stax-like original "Skeleton Key" and a fine new arrangement of "Reap What You Sow" a song that was written by Paul Butterfield & Nick Gravenites for Otis Rush on his Mourning in the Morning album. There's also a storming take on Albert Collins' "Backstroke" and Willie Dixon's "It Don't Make Sense (That You Can't Make Peace)" that is certainly no less timely now. Less valuable are Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" which is the first single (good thing I don't listen to pop radio) and a not-so-successful version of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered". There is a limited-edition digipak version of this album with two extra songs and some spoken commentary which should be worth acquiring, especially for his version of Curtis Mayfield's "Fool For You" with more of those horns. His tour dates don't list any eastern Canada gigs yet but keep checking www.davidgogo.org.
Jordan Cook Transitions Indie
Very nearly the winner at last year's Talent Search, Cook returns from Saskatoon for the Labatt's Blues Festival on the Sunday afternoon. Perhaps he'll have some copies of this five song EP with him should you want to acquire one as it doesn't appear to be available in stores. This is a power trio with Dave Berry on bass and Daniel White on drums behind Cook on guitar & lead vocals and the songs are much closer to rock than to blues. The songs are all originals with the opener, "Help Me", being pretty bluesy. "This Time" has rock radio written all over it. If you leave the last track playing, you get to hear Cook's electric guitar and vocal of the national anthem. Check out www.jordancook.com.
Various Artists The Number 1 Blues
Album Verve 583 263/Universal
You may have noticed a series of CD's that proudly announce they're The Number 1… Album. This is a marketing concept for an introduction to the field in question and thanks to CKLN's Steve Gash and Universal's Scott Morin there's now one for blues. There are 17 songs that run for almost 65 minutes and cover post-war blues and blues rock styles from the Universal catalogue. I'm sure in looking at the titles you'll come up with your own "better" selection, but this one seems quite acceptable for the purpose. Little Milton's "Grits Ain't Groceries" isn't normally heard in this context and it sure sounds good here. Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign" would seem an obvious choice as would Muddy's "Mannish Boy". Eric Clapton is represented with Duane Allman doing "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" from Layla and the Allmans themselves with "One Way Out" from The Fillmore Concerts. Tina Turner isn't usually considered a blues singer but for their Blue Thumb LP's Ike & Tina jumped on the blues wagon with class. "I've Been Loving You Too Long" is excerpted here from an album that featured Albert Collins on guitar. The list goes on: Elmore, Wolf, Etta, Bobby Bland, Buddy Guy on Chess and ending with B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone". Steve Gash's informative notes are in French as well and this is recommended for anyone who needs an introduction to what we enjoy so much.
James Cotton 35th Anniversary
Jam Telarc 83550/Universal
The anniversary number refers to his departure from the Muddy Waters Blues Band and the start of his solo career. His long-standing quartet of David Maxwell, piano; Rico McFarland, guitar and Darrell Nulisch, vocals gets altered for the celebration as Nulisch and McFarland sit out. A rhythm section of Noel Neal, his bassist from previous bands and Per Hanson, drums, best known for his work with Ronnie Earl is added along with an impressive array of vocalists and guitarists. Koko Taylor sings "I've Got A Feeling", and Lucky Peterson, "Cotton Crop Blues", which goes back to Memphis before Cotton joined Muddy and gets almost as good a workout. Bobby Rush sings "Fatuation", which may be a new song by Cotton as could "How Long Can A Fool Go Wrong" with a strong vocal by Shemekia Copeland. Syl Johnson delivers on "Rocket 88" and Kim Wilson on Percy Mayfield's "River's Invitation". G. E. Smith stretches out with some excellent soloing on the instrumental "Blues in my Sleep". Maria Muldaur gets the vocal on Cotton's "All Walks of Life" and Ronnie Hawkins is slightly out of his range on "Hold Me Baby". Jimmy Vaughan adds guitar on three tracks, "Blues for the Hook", being a tribute to John Lee. Cotton is in marvelous form throughout and this would be a fine celebration were it not for the odd choice of some of the guests. At the Chicago Blues Festival, Michael Coleman, Cotton's longtime guitarist, bandleader and arranger, and thus with perhaps more reason than many to be on this disc, joined the quartet plus Hanson & Neal and a couple of horns on stage. It was a much more satisfying tribute. Cotton was also presented that night with the prestigious Howling Wolf Award by the Blues Foundation. We get to add our thanks at the Horseshoe on July 26th.
Louisiana Red A Different Shade of Red Severn 16
Iverson Minter has had a long recording career, beginning as Playboy Fuller copying his idol, Muddy Waters, in the early fifties. His latest finds him in a very august company indeed. Subtitled The Woodstock Sessions, producer/guitarist Jimmy Vivino has assembled a large cast led by locals Levon Helm & Garth Hudson. In fact, in a 50-year career recording 22 albums, I believe this is the first with a full horn section. Red rises to the occasion with some impassioned vocals and good songs, Vivino keeps the traffic under control and the focus on Red and the result is one of the very best of these kind of albums I've heard-no "London Sessions" here. There are two very nice small group acoustic songs: "Laundromat Blues" and "Phillipa", with Red on National, Vivino on mandolin, David Maxwell on piano, Steve Gomes on bass and Helm on harmonica. Of the band songs, the rocking "Alabama Train" is alone worth the price of the album while "Blues 2001" sets a trademark stream-of-consciousness lyric to a powerful groove and "Sleep Little Robert" closes out the CD with some fine R&B. You probably don't need all of Red's 22 albums but this one will sit nicely next to The Lowdown Back Porch Blues on Roulette and Millennium Blues on Earwig.
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2002