May
2003
Chris
Whiteley While I'm Here HTA 14074
It is a rare John's Blues Picks indeed that does not mention Mr. Whiteley's name but over the 150 or so recordings in some 25 years on which he appears only a handful are under his name. Unlike Blues Party, which featured Chris as part of a couple of different bands, this one has the spotlight focussed sharply on himself. He does have some friends along to help out: John Sheard on piano & co-production, Victor Bateman on bass, Mark Mariash on drums & shaker and John Deehan on tenor sax. If the last one was a swing album, this is small vocal group jazz with Chris on trumpet, flugelhorn, harmonica & guitar. As with such albums, the focus is on listening, not on partying and he has come up with nine originals to go along with three covers. He starts with a very moving and tender tribute to Mr. Dressup, Ernie Coombs, who passed away the week of September 11, 2001. The lyrics to "The Week That Ernie Died" will help remember an event that would otherwise be forever overshadowed. "Jeanette" and "You Left Me Nothin' But the Blues" are the kind of jazzy blues Chris excels at, with some fine soloing on flugelhorn and guitar and clever rhymes. "I've Got The World on a String" highlights the importance of musical mentor Blind John Davis. "For a Long, Long Time" features Chris on chromatic harmonica on an original that, like many others here, should get more exposure. Of all his many talents, his songwriting seems curiously unrecognized. "Some Musician Was To Blame", for instance, beautifully evokes the R&B sounds of the late `40's with its witty historical references. Chris' warm, unpretentious vocals are a perfect match for his lyrics, you feel as though you've been invited to a performance at an intimate gathering, right in your listening room. And in fact, you can go to the CD launch at the small, intimate Hugh's Room on May 16. You'll be able to get your copy of the CD there too.
Bill Bourne Voodoo King Second Storey SSR 2002/Festival
Tri
Continental Let's Play Tradition & Moderne T&M 024/Festival
Bourne, Lester Quitzau and Madagascar Slim clearly have formed a most creative team. Tri Continental, on that first CD, claimed to blend folk, celtic and world musics in a blues pot. It was less of a blend than it claimed to be but the interaction has since proved bountiful indeed. Bourne is the most prolific songwriter of the three but the contributions of Slim & Quitzau have now blurred the distinctions between his solo career and that of the trio. OnVoodoo King, his solo folk songs are combined with songs featuring Quitzau's Very Electric Trio and three more are studio versions of songs featured on Tri Continental's Live, all without damaging any sense of unity. Bourne originals like "Voodoo King" or "Holy Holy" also show how intently he has listened to the heritage of Madagascar Slim. On this CD, "Portland", with Quitzau's Trio, is especially blues friendly. The new Trio CD, recorded a few months after the Voodoo King sessions ended, reveals that there is now a group style: original lyrics delivered over longer, African, melody lines with lilting rhythms over bluesy often-electric slide over new member Ramesh Shotham's percussion wizardry. Slim's "Hilalao (Let's Play)" is the opener and best example of this on the CD. Quitzau's "Keep On Walking" shows how effectively this style works with a blues song, albeit not a 12-bar one. He also contributes a dobro-led gospel song, "Here and Gone" and a bluesy "Miss Mae" with some beautiful interlocking guitar picking. Slim's "Kapoy", from his Omnisource, gets the new treatment here but the melody, a highlight of that CD, remains wonderfully intact. Bourne's "Six Billion" is a duet with Slim and along with his closing instrumental "Tibetan Rose" show that if they wanted to, they could easily jam for as long as the Grateful Dead. They don't here. According to this little scenario, solo albums from Quitzau and Slim are due next and for me it can't be too soon. This is exciting stuff. There are lyrics and more at www.billbourne.com.
The Radio Kings The Radio Kings Dark Skippy D56-2
This is an Ottawa-based western swing band, not the American band little heard from recently. Mike O'Reilly, Al Bragg & Steve Pitico play very authentically with their many guests although there is rather more western than swing for my liking. You might like it though. There are bios and sound samples at www.darkskippyrecords.com.
Various
Artists Last of the Mississippi Jukes Sanctuary 84596/EMI
This is the soundtrack to the newest documentary from Robert Mugge, the noted director of Deep Blues and Hellhounds on My Trail, The Afterlife of Robert Johnson. This time he heads for the famous Subway Lounge in Jackson, MS which is in the Summers Hotel (slated for demolition-hence the title), and to actor Morgan Freeman's new club, Ground Zero, in Clarksdale. An evening at each was filmed and the audio highlights are presented on this CD. Alvin Youngblood Hart gets things off to a rousing start with his Elmore James-ish "Joe Friday" and Chris Thomas King contributes his "John Law Burned the Liquor Sto'" but the local acts that are the staple of the blues scene in the Delta are the meat of this CD. Bobby Rush, Vasti Jackson, The King Edward Blues Band, Patrice Muncell, Lucille, Abdul Rasheed & Jimmy King all turn in excellent performances. Musically, you get the hits: "Garbage Man", "Strokin'", "Hole in the Wall", "Blues is Alright", "Members Only" and, yes, "Stormy Monday". This has also probably the best sound ever accorded a juke joint recording, with the latest in surround sound technology. As Mugge discovered, the blues is alive and well in Mississippi. Get yours quickly on both CD and DVD. Deep Blues was only intermittently, and expensively, available and its soundtrack CD was deleted almost immediately.
Maria
Muldaur A Woman Alone with the Blues Telarc 83568/Universal
Subtitled Remembering Peggy Lee, this might seem an unusual choice for Ms. Muldaur but she has always been very good at jazzy, sophisticated songs and Peggy Lee can meet her more than half way with some of the fine R&B efforts recorded during her long and varied career. This is also one of the few tributes to a great singer who passed away in relative obscurity and without the recognition that her passing should have generated. Charles Brown's longtime guitarist, Danny Caron, leads a stellar band (Harry Connick Jr.'s) through twelve of Ms. Lee's recordings. According to Ms. Muldaur's notes, five of these were written or co-written by her (although two do not list her in the writing credits for some reason) making her one of the very first singer-songwriters. "Fever" is here, as is "Black Coffee" and a wonderful (and prescient) "Everything Is Moving Too Fast". The title song is an excellent blues ballad, it and the co-written with Duke Ellington uptempo closer, "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'", are highlights worthy of the word. Ms. Muldaur is in fine voice throughout, never merely copying Ms. Lee. The only odd choice for me is "Winter Weather" which from its instrumentation, seems to come from the Benny Goodman era. In any event, not much of Peggy Lee's large catalogue is available at the moment and thanks to Ms. Muldaur's research, some gems are now presented here for the first time for many new fans. This is a fine tribute indeed and one of the best of Ms. Muldaur's career so far.
Marcia
Ball So Many Rivers Alligator ALCD 4891/Fusion III
Her second for Alligator looks set to continue the successes generated by Presumed Innocent, the best-selling album of her career. The biggest changes are the large horn section & background vocalists on most of the songs. This gives the CD an orchestral palette that producer Stephen Bruton uses to full effect. There is still room, though, for those Louisiana touches that make it a Marcia Ball disc, such as Wayne Toups guesting on accordion & vocals on one of the album's highlights, "Honeypie" and Johnny Nicholas on harmonica on the Jimmy Reed-flavoured "Give It Up (Give In)". And her two-fisted piano stays front and center. As usual, the song selection is very strong, fourteen originals, six of them by Ball. "Three Hundred Pounds of Hungry" by Donnie Fritts & Eddie Hinton, is as funny as its title and an Arthur Alexander soul song, "If Its Really Got To Be This Way" are just two more highlights.
Doyle Bramhall Fitchburg Street Yep Roc YEP 2045/Outside Music
Bramhall Sr. has been a fixture of the Dallas & Austin, TX blues scene since the `60's, being a member of the same early bands as Jimmy and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He's a drummer, vocalist and songwriter and grew up on Fitchburg Street in West Dallas and wanted to celebrate the music he grew up with - sort of a "HEAR Music" disc but with performances by the artist instead of by the originals. This is a much better CD than that description might imply, though. The version of "That's How Strong My Love Is' is very good indeed as are the two Howling Wolf tunes, "Forty Four" & "Sugar". "Life By The Drop" had been written by Bramhall and his wife and subsequently recorded by Stevie Ray without their knowledge. Bramhall decided to record it himself right after Stevie Ray died. This performance had been thought unusable but modern technology has retreived it. There's some fine Texas blues to be had here to go along with his previous CD, Bird Nest on the Ground, still Antone's Records' biggest seller.
Junior Watson If I had a Genie Heart & Soul 10799
A veteran of countless West Coast bands, not least Rod Piazza's Mighty Flyers and Canned Heat, Watson is a first-call guitar man who seldom records as a leader, let alone as a vocalist. The reason primarily seems to be a lack of faith in the recording process, that it simply cannot replace a live-in-the-club feel. A studio in Austin, TX and a good band has now persuaded him otherwise. He fronts a trio of Kedar Roy on acoustic bass, Jimmy Mulleniux on drums and Barron Shul on tenor & baritone saxes plus Gene Taylor's piano. The song selection here provides a thumbnail sketch of West Coast blues, from Johnny Otis' "If I Had a Genie", to Boogie Jake's "Early in the Morning" to Pee Wee Crayton's "Blues After Hours" to Peppermint Harris' "It's You". He's not a strong singer, but stays within his limits and mixes in a goodly helping of instrumentals. Having a powerhouse band behind you helps a great deal as well. But few will be at the Dollar on May 10 for his vocals and his guitar playing here certainly doesn't disappoint. He has invention to spare and there is nary a wasted note anywhere-everything is there to support the song. Especially worthy are the comedic "Something's Wrong" by Woo Woo Moore with its honking sax work and the original instrumental "Spring Roll". Check out for yourself what all the excitement is about and get a good blues CD while your there!
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
Toronto Blues Society Copyright _ 2003