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October 2007
Jack de Keyzer Blues Thing Blue Star
Last summer’s Silver Blues was a most-illuminating career retrospective, making this the first CD of new songs in four years. In the intervening time, Jack has written a whole batch of them. With some new band members providing sterling support, he’s made it worth the wait. “Music is the Food of Love” is the remarkable opener, with spot-on lyrics set to a lush, Powder Blues-styled sound. It sets the stage for a rich and varied program. Longtime members Chris Murphy, sax; Dave Dunlop, trumpet; and Alan Duffy, bass & co-production chores are joined by Michael Fonfara on keys, Dave Colter on drums and Richard Thornton on congas. “Blues Thing” would be an appropriate reference to the whole album but it’s actually a tough-as-nails lyric set to a ferocious Albert King groove. No wonder it was chosen as the title. B.B. King gets the tip of the hat on “That’s the Only Time”, with its “Thrill is Gone” vibe. This one has an especially great lyric with some attractive percussion from Thornton. As you heard in the Silver Blues DVD, Jack is becoming increasingly interested in jazz and mentions Grant Green as an influence. “That’s Your Love” is the first of several examples here of that direction, it’s an exciting jazz-funk workout with a guitar part that sounds as though it’s all he’s ever played. “Good Life”, “Merciless Beauty” and “That’s How Much” round out the jazz portion. “Bills” is a subject we can all relate to and Jack captures it well, especially in the second verse when he sings about his tools of the trade. “We Go Together” brings to mind Chuck Berry, with its chugging rhythm and pungent sax solo from Chris Murphy. I’ve always considered Jack to be one of our better songwriters and the songs here are the best he’s written, whether the setting is blues, rock or jazz. The downtown Toronto CD release is at Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse on Saturday, October 13, the web site is www.jackdekeyzer.com where there are sound clips available plus touring info. You should also check out www.myspace.com/jackdekeyzer.
Harrison Kennedy High Country Blues Electro-Fi/Festival
After his Chairmen of the Board days, Harrison returned to Hamilton, putting his chemistry degree to work. 2003’s Sweet Taste got him back into music in a big way with a blues JUNO nomination. A European tour resulted in a wonderful CD for the Dutch Black & Tan label, Voice + Story (available here through SRI). This is the album that began his contemporary blues troubadour sound that has reached a dramatic peak here with High Country Blues. Harrison plays acoustic guitar & harmonica, singing strikingly original songs. He’s assisted here by Keith “Nappy” Lindsay on keyboards, Justin Dunlop on bass and Brian Griffith on occasional electric guitar. “Run-A-Round Blues” should have 78 rpm noises swishing around it, it sounds as if it should be part of a Kokomo Arnold or Black Ace compilation. Several more songs here are of a deeper variety than the troubadour label might imply. “I Got Your Number”, for instance, with a biting electric guitar part and burbling organ. Or the achingly slow blues, “Luv Work”. Or “The Jones’”. “Scratching Time” goes back uptempo in fine fashion with an accordion, electric guitar and rubboard. “Blues From A Bottle” features, if I can use the term, a kazoo solo. I’m sure some people will like it. Otherwise it’s a fine song. He has quite a remarkable falsetto voice, which he solos with on “Don’t Set Your Mind to Worryin’” and duets with on the closing, a capella “Gonna Be Alright”. There are 16 songs here and there isn’t a weak one in the bunch. I hope he’ll get to play a goodly number of them at the Electro-Fi 10th Anniversary Party at the Silver Dollar on Nov. 3. This album isn’t at www.harrisonkennedy.ca yet but lots of other info is and you can also go to www.electrofi.com for more info.
Michael Jerome Browne Double Borealis/Koch
Double because it is two discs: the first is Live at Main Hall (in Montreal) and the second a reissue of his first solo CD, his hard-to-find, self-titled, acoustic one, originally released on Disques Bros in 1998. Browne’s last CD extended his mastery of blues styles to that of the string bands, whose sole purpose was playing for dances between the wars and usually included guitars, fiddles, a jug, an acoustic bass or a washtub one. This disc finds Browne going back to the blues and often the kind of blues he played while with the Stephen Barry Band, a couple of whose members join him for the show. He opens solo with a delightful “Play a Little While”, a little-known J.B. Lenoir song. That he has deep blues on his mind this night soon becomes apparent when, with Stephen Barry on bass, he turns in a stunning performance of Johnny Shines’ “Rambling Blues”. Sue Foley comes up to sit in on guitar with Bharath Rajakumar on harp and John McColgan on drums for a middle set of tough Chicago Blues: Otis Rush’s “Sit Down Baby”, Bo Diddley’s “Dearest Darling”, J.B. Hutto’s “Please Help” and Big Mama Thornton’s “Ball and Chain”. This last with Browne on vocal, not the usual way it’s heard! The guests quietly leave and he’s solo for the closing traditional “Don’t Hang my Clothes on no Barbed Wire Line”. Beautiful. The second disc is a must have, with original songs, guest appearances by Susie Arioli and the late great Vann ‘Piano Man’ Walls. He also introduces his homemade banjo/gourd as it would have been heard in the late 1800’s, at the birth of the blues. This instrument has become a feature of his live shows and he plays it on “Sugar Baby” near the beginning of the live disc. The local CD release is at St. Nicholas Anglican Church in Scarborough on October 8th.
Sab and The Family Band Live 2006 Longshot
“The Original Rock & Roll Outlaw” is how he bills himself and nothing much happens in blues and rock & roll in Northern Ontario without Peter Sabourin, “The Wild Man of the North”, involved. This CD is a document of his live show, recorded at various festivals and clubs across Central & Northern Ontario. The music is as raucous as you might expect: high energy & fun: “All Night Long” & “I’m Your Man” are thinly disguised blues standards and perennial crowd pleasers. There is some Dylan (“Rolling Stone”), The Animals (“House of the Rising Sun”), some originals, (“Northern Boys”), written with Matt Minglewood and a nod to Downchild (“Little Band”). “Chain of Fools” is a feature for his harp player/vocalist, Little Lisa Gibson. The CD proves that Sab is a master entertainer. He says there is a DVD in the works and it should more fully capture the excitement of the show. This is the first release on Longshot Records, run by Jon Long of Long & McQuade and may it be the first of many. Sab has been the Music Director of the Porquis Blues Festival since its inception ten years ago and they are celebrating with a compilation CD containing music provided by artists who’ve played the Festival. Go to www.sabrocks.com to find out more about both CDs.
Mike Goudreau & The Boppin’ Blues Band Boppin’ 15 PMG
They’re celebrating fifteen years of swing blues in the Eastern Townships and Boppin’ 15 programs four new songs along with highlights drawn from their earlier CDs, some of the earliest ones re-recorded. The quality of the material and the performances here explains the band’s longevity dramatically. The lineup has been consistent as well. The result is exactly what one wants from a retrospective: the best songs in one place. All but one of the earlier albums are available at www.mikegoudreau.com should you need them (bless the internet!). So get this one and enjoy a superb selection of swing blues with stops at New Orleans R&B and western swing.
Leon Stevenson Unwanted Memories Self
Leon Stevenson is the drummer in Danny Marks’ band and this is his first solo effort. He was also the lead vocalist for the Extras. I have to admit that the first part of the CD slipped right by me, being mostly pop songs. But with “Stormy Warning”, when Pat Rush kicks in on guitar, my interest picked up noticeably. “When We’re Gone” nods to New Orleans and “Twilight Time” is a very nice slow blues with Martin Aucoin on piano. Michael St. Clair of Jacksoul is on guitar here and “Isax” is very effective. “Walk Alone” is a pretty good pop song, with some of the loops and percussion becoming obvious. T.J. Stevenson is credited with ‘soundscape’ on the last song, “Trip the Light”. Stones Place on Queen Street will be hosting the CD Release Party on October 25th.
Bobby Rush Raw Deep Rush
Bobby Rush has one of the best live shows in the business and he has a shelf full of awards to prove it. If you want your own proof, get his new DVD, Live at Ground Zero Blues Club - that’s Morgan Freeman’s club at the ‘ground zero’ of the blues in Clarksdale, MS. He isn’t as well known up here though and what is also not so well known is that our own Shawn Kellerman has been his guitarist of choice for many years now. This new CD, his 19th according to the All Music Guide, is his first acoustic one and Shawn is featured on dobro on three of the songs. Rush started performing in Chicago in the early fifties and knows as much or more about the blues than any of the names in your record collection. His live show notwithstanding, this disc shows him to be a downhome bluesman of the first rank. Whether it’s a newly written song or a re-worked classic, his performances are masterful. He does play harmonica during shows but never guitar. His playing here shows a lot of time on the back porch between shows playing the blues. You may think that albums like this are a thing of the past, never to be witnessed again, well, get this one any way you can. One way is through his full service web site,
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
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