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April
2009
Rachelle
Van Zanten
Where Your Garden Grows RVZ
Rachelle Van Zanten may not be very well known to you but she will be and soon. She’s from Burns Lake, in the interior of BC, two hours north of Prince George, and now has a log cabin there. She’s part of a younger generation of players, who counts as her influences slide guitarist Lester Quitzau and Sue Foley. Like Foley she too left home to grow & develop, Foley to Texas and Rachelle to Edmonton & England. In Edmonton, she spent ten years as the co-leader of the award-winning rock group Painted Daisies, with four acclaimed albums and a hectic international touring schedule. With their demise, she jumped at the chance to go solo. Her first CD, Back To Francois, led to her joining Foley on the 2007 Guitar Women Tour with Ellen McIlwaine and Roxanne Potvin that brought her to the attention of many more new fans and a feature article in England’s Blues Matters magazine. Her new CD and her set at The Silver Dollar Room for Canadian Music Week were her introduction to me. The Painted Daisies experience has certainly stayed with her as these CDs are very much from a rock aesthetic - rarely have albums reviewed in this column benefited from such lavish use of a modern recording studio. Joby Baker is the producer, a creative force to be reckoned with. I found the songs featuring her slide playing to be the strongest, with the opener, “Showerhead” just excellent. As those of us at the Dollar discovered, the snare drum is really the lead instrument on this song! “Figure It Out” is not far behind. Some of the other songs seem to take their inspiration from English folk songs, the electric versions popularized by bands like Fairport Convention. Her songs are often intensely personal, delivered in a strong, almost husky voice that makes the multi-tracked vocals a creative tool rather than a necessity. “Take Me Right Back (to Francois)”, “Got to Let Go” & the experimental “Bannister Man” are my favourites from the first CD. If your taste runs to more contemporary sounds and you like artists who defy labels, this one’s for you. Her web site is www.rachellevanzanten.com, you can check that out and also check out a couple of her shows, both solo & with Guitar Women, archived at www.cbc.ca.
Blackburn
Brotherhood Make
It Real
These brothers have a musical heritage in Toronto that few can match, let alone better. Father and keyboard player Bobby Dean Blackburn began performing as Bobby Dean and The Gems between movies at the Gem Theatre in the west end in 1956 as Rock & Roll hit the radio. He and his B3 also had a long residency at the Zanzibar Tavern on Yonge Street, a residency that lasted well into the seventies and that became a magnet for visiting musicians. His sons have gradually joined him in the music business and they performed together at the Harbourfront Centre’s Great Canadian Blues Festival on a bill with another Toronto legend Curley Bridges, in 1999. The sons, calling themselves just Blackburn, have continued to perform, releasing a CD, Soul Searching, in 1997. There was a very good CD Release Party at the late, lamented Bamboo Club, as I recall. Brooke Blackburn played on Shakura S’Aida’s first, informal, CD Out There and Lovin’ It. But mostly they’ve managed to stay under the radar. Duane is the lead vocalist and plays the B3 & piano, Brooke is on guitar & vocals and Cory is on drums. Cousin Mark Ayee plays bass and adds vocals. And it’s just them, live in the studio, as Make It Real Records prefers. From the opening notes of “Movin’”, it feels like you’ve been transported to the Orbit Room on a hot night. Duane is a powerful, emotive singer and recording the vocals live adds that extra excitement. Little Willie John’s famous “Fever” gets a totally new, and bluesy, arrangement. Another highlight is “Four Brothers”, a delightful song about the brothers growing up together. “Talk To Me” is a jazzy workout with a bit of the family history, having come here on the Underground Railroad. The Bobby Bland hit, “Further On Up The Road” also gets a jazzy update. Being ready to record live means you sometimes capture something totally unexpected like Duane sitting solo at the piano and turning in a stunning performance of the traditional gospel song, “Hush” – simply magnificent. The Neville Brothers’ “Sister Rosa” picks up the tempo before a Brooke Blackburn-composed instrumental called “Back To The Zanzibar”. Brooke also wrote “Survival”, returning to the civil rights theme, and more of the family’s history. The CD comes to a solid blues conclusion with a classy version of “The Thrill Is Gone” and then a ten minutes plus version of Champion Jack Dupree’s “Junker Blues” with Brooke on vocals this time and he shows he knows how to sing blues. The CD release party is skedded for May at the Lula Lounge. The showcase they performed was one of the highlights of the Blues Summit, now you have another chance to help them out from under the radar. Their web site is www.myspace.com/blackburnbrothers.
Sab
Flyin’ High & Livin’ Free
Sabco
Ronnie Hawkins calls Peter ‘Sab’ Sabourin ‘The King of the North’ while he styles himself as the ‘Original Rock & Roll Outlaw’. He performs throughout Northern Ontario in his trademark top hat with his long hair and snakeskin boots. He has a flair for outrageous comedy and his new CD once again reflects all of this. His band is excellent, often performing in the style of their mentors, the Downchild Blues Band and indeed Michael Fonfara contributes piano throughout. The rousing opener, “Hey” is a perfect example. It has a fine harp solo from Little Lisa Gibson who gamefully poses with the guys in the topless photo in the booklet. Not unexpectedly, there’s a mix of country along with the rock and blues, but the slow blues “You Were Gone” is a beauty. Sab is in Dutch Mason vocal mode and David Rotundo takes the harp solo. Another highlight is the Terry McLeish country song, “That’s What I Call The Blues” along with Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally”. The rest of the songs are Sab originals, led by the anthemic title song. His Tom Waits-like singing takes a little getting used to but this is a fine party CD. He came down for the Southside Shuffle last year, I hope he comes back soon.
Groove Corporation Record Prophets Groove Corporation
Board
member & webmistress Lily Sazz,
the former Music Director of the
Women’s Blues Revue Band and still its keyboard player, has for
several years now been spending her free time with this eight-piece, horn-led
funk/R&B band. Its members are mostly from southwestern Ontario and they get
together in Hamilton to rehearse and record. Her fellow front line members,
veterans all, are Kim Campagnaro,
lead vocals & percussion and Alex
MacDougall, guitar. Steve
Hilbert on bass and Frank
Vignanello on drums make up the rhythm section, and
Cole G. Benjamin,
Peter McFarland, and
Rob Gellner are the horn
section. They have some strong originals, with “Blind Man With A Cigarette”
being the best of them. “Diggin’ Vinyl” and “Chasin’ Shadows” are almost as good
and they hold up well in the company of the funk classics that make up the bulk
of the program. Kool & The Gang’s
hit “Jungle Boogie”, Teddy Pendergrass’s
“Get Up Get Down Get Funky Get Loose”,
Sly & The Family Stone’s “Thank You Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Again” to
mention just three of them. Robert Cray’s
“Nothin’ But A Woman” isn’t quite as funky a performance but at this tempo,
it’ll keep the dancers moving too.
Colin James’ “Surely (I Love You)” is a
Little Big Band song and seems
a little out of place, fine version though it is. A couple of slow originals
might make for a more balanced set list but if you want dancing, this’ll work.
The performances and the recording are masterful, MacDougall’s experience at
production really shows here. The horn arrangements deserve special mention. In
Hamilton they gather at the Corktown Tavern, 175 Young Street and the CD release
party is there on April 4th. The band’s web site is
www.groovecorporation.com.
Billy Boy Arnold/John Primer/Billy Branch/Lurrie Bell Chicago Blues: A Living History Raisin Music
There are more CDs labeled ‘Chicago Blues’ than one can count but this one is, I believe, the first one to systematically deal with that tag. The 21 song, 2 CD project begins with the Bluebird Beat and presents songs by artists who’ve had a impact on the blues associated with the city on up to the present, from Sonny Boy Williamson’s “My Little Machine” to Buddy Guy’s “Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues”. The four singers, along with special guests Carlos Johnson & Mike Avery, are each backed by a band as well suited to the task as they are. The Living History Band is Matthew Skoller, harp, Billy Flynn, guitar, Johnny Iguana, keys, Felton Crews, bass and Kenny Smith, drums. Especially impressive is their ability to play in the required style while avoiding slavish copying, all the songs sound amazingly fresh.
This seems to be a French production, with many of the photo credits going to Soul Bag magazine. These photos are included in a lavish booklet included with the set, with an introduction by producer Larry Skoller, brief histories of the major figures in Chicago blues and biographies of the performers. We cannot go back to 1940 and re-create the recording of “My Little Machine” but when you pop disc one in your player and hear Billy Boy Arnold and Johnny Iguana at the piano, you’ll realize this may be the next best thing.
You don’t have to take my word for it though, the web site www.chicagoalivinghistory.com has audio samples and a lot more information.
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
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