Delbert McClinton Tall Dark & Handsome

Delbert McClinton and Self-Made Men + Dana
Tall Dark & Handsome
Hot Shot Records

"Tall Dark & Handsome" is the 26th album from Delbert McClinton and is another collection of his roadhouse roots stew mixing blues, jazz, Americana, honky-tonk country, rhythm and blues, and more. Delbert, his long-time keyboard player Kevin McKendree and his guitarist Bob Britt co-produced this recording. It was recorded at the Rock House in Franklin, Tennessee that is owned and operated by Kevin McKendree. Kevin, Britt, and Kevin's son, Yates, were the engineers. Kevin and Britt did the mixing.

Delbert was involved in the writing of all 14 selections, many with Britt, McKendree or bassist Michael Joyce of Delbert's band. Delbert's current band of Dana Robbins (saxophone), Jack Bruno (drums), Mike Joyce (bass), Bob Britt (guitar), James Pennebaker (guitar), Quentin Ware (trumpet), Dennis Wage (keyboards) plays on this. However, on most of this McKendree and Britt are joined by Joe Maher on drums and Glenn Worf on bass with Jim Hoke on reeds and leading a horn section.

Now 78 one should not be surprised that Delbert is not quite as robust a singer as he was some years ago. If he doesn't project as powerfully and reach certain notes, he more than compensates by his timing, phrasing, and sometimes employing a  more conversational style. There is little that detracts from the pleasures to heard here. There are strong originals like the opening jump blues "Mr. Smith" where McClinton shouts about a hot band in a performance that the late Big Joe Turner might applaud. Then there is the honky-tonk flavored "If I Hock My Guitar" with Britt's stinging guitar. Stuart Duncan's fiddle adds a western swing accent to the bouncy "No Chicken on the Bone," while there is a Tex-Max accent on "Gone to Mexico." Hoke adds norteno flavored accordion along with with his sax, and Dana Robbins' sax.

Both "Lulu," and "Ruby & Jules," exhibit a sophisticated flavor with jazz-accented backing. In contrast, "Loud Mouth"  a rocking blues shuffle on which Britt's guitar channels B.B. King. "Any Other Way" is a late-night sounding saloon blues with a thoughtful, vocal. It is followed by "A Fool Like Me" a rocker with a New Orleans second-line groove. One lyric that stands up is "Can't Get Up," where he remembers his younger days but now realizes he can't get up to get down as he did before. McKendree, who is outstanding on the B-3 here, is superb throughout, as are the rest of the backing musicians here. With excellent original material, excellent production and McClinton's heartfelt vocals, "Tall Dark & Handsome" will have the roadhouse jukeboxes rocking tonight.

Received from my review copy from a publicist. Here Delbert performs "No Chicken on the Bone."

Big Joe and the Dynaflows Rockhouse Party

Big Joe and the Dynaflows
Rockhouse Party
Severn Records

"Rockhouse Party" is a surprise recording by Big Joe Maher. It has been several years since the DMV drummer, jump blues singer and bandleader has had a new recording. His last album "You Can’t Keep a Big Man Down," was issued in 2011. Recorded in Franklin Tennessee, Maher is reunited with Kevin McKendree, the original Dynaflow keyboard player. He and McKendree co-produced this, and others heard here are young prodigy Yates McKendree on guitar, Robert Frahm on guitar, and Tom "Mookie" Brill on bass and vocals. On one track another guitar prodigy, Erin Coburn guests. Engineering the music is Evan Sarli, son of the late Jeff Sarli, who was the original bassist with the Dynaflows.

There is a nice mix of material that might be labeled urban blues as much as jump blues starting with a rendition of "Driving Wheel." While patterned after the Junior Parker recording, this is no copy and Maher delivers a relaxed heartfelt vocal strongly backed with the organ helping lay down a musical foundation, and there are terrific guitar solos displaying the contrasting attacks of Yates and Frahm. Brill has not previously been featured as a vocalist. I recall him doing a solid Howlin' Wolf styled vocal, but was not prepared for his soulful singing on Little Milton's "So Mean To Me," and O.V. Wight's "8 Men 4 Women," again with some strong backing.

Maher has always had an affinity for Smiley Lewis recordings and does a credible rendition of "Go On Fool" while laying down a solid second-line groove while Kevin McKendree plays driving boogie-woogie inflected piano. It is followed by an excellent Maher original "World Gone Wrong," with atmospheric accompaniment, and well-considered solos, to go with the topical lyrics. Brill sings a rollicking shuffle interpretation of an old Nappy Brown recording, "If You Need Some Lovin,'" on which Maher and Erin Coburn provide backing vocals. There is a cover by Brill of Fenton Robinson's "Tennessee Woman," that has a rockabilly flavor but comes off as a bit frantic. His other vocal is a solid rendition of Mack Self's 1958 Sun rockabilly recording, "Vibrate."

Maher's "Go With The Flow" is a strong original jump blues celebrating his new Dynaflow automobile, followed by another original "I'm a Country Boy," that sounds like it came from a Snooks Eaglin session for Imperial with Erin Coburn adding her solid fretwork. Two instrumentals, "Overdrive" and "Sleepy Joe" showcase the two guitarists. The two wrote the latter number with its ingratiating lazy groove. Percy Mayfield's "Two Years of Torture" closes this album with a superb 'three o'clock in the morning' flavored performance.

There are no surprises here for those familiar with Joe Maher on an excellent recording full of fine vocals, marvelous playing and a nice variety of blues songs.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the January-February 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 382). Here is a video from a few years back of Big Joe Maher with Anson Funderburgh on guitar.

Joe Stanley - DC Saxophone Legend

 

The late saxophonist Joe Stanley was a major force on the rock and roll and blues scenes in Washington DC from the 1960s until his passing in 2007. Stanley played with a who's who of music luminaries including Link Wray, Charlie Daniels, Roy Clark, Bill Black's Combo, and his legendary band, The Saxons, helped such pivotal figures as Danny Gatton and Billy Hancock get their start. This writer saw Stanley numerous times with the DC area band, Big Joe and the Dynaflows, whose leader Joe Maher, has produced a new double CD of Stanley "Legend" on EllerSoul Records of previously unissued recordings.

The first of the two CDs has, in addition to Stanley and his sax and solos, Maher on drums, John Cocuzzi on organ; John Previti on bass and Rudy Turner on guitar where heard. Stanley's big tone will evoke Plas Johnson, Earl Bostic, Sil Austin and Red Prystock. With a heavy vibrato he launches into the mid-tempo latin-flavored "Blue Moon" that illustrates his driving, full-throated attack backed by the solid combo with Cocuzzi's greasy organ adding to the appeal. Stanley's rendition of "Flamingo" also certainly will appeal to fans of honking sax. Stanley was an affable crooner as heard on the standard, "The Nearness of You," and then picks up sax for the funky "Ode to Billy Joe." His vibrato on "September Song" might evoke Ben Webster, while he tears into Horace Silver's "The Preacher," with nice guitar in the backing.

The first disc was recorded in a studio, while the second disc comes from a variety of live recordings. Stanley, Previti, Cocuzzi (also on piano) and Maher are all present (although several tracks feature the late Jeff Sarli on bass); with Ivan Appelrouth on guitar, Frank Cocuzzi subbing on drums on one selection and Chris Watling adding baritone sax to one selection. With Cocuzzi on piano, Stanley digs into "Deep Purple," before the swinging "A Foggy Day in London Town," with a robust vocal and more brawny sax. There are a couple of lively renditions each of "Jambalaya" and "Just a Gigolo." Maher takes the vocal on "Let's Get High," with Stanley robustly soloing. After a marvelous "Walking With Mr. Lee," there are two versions of "You're Cheating Heart." The sound is uneven on these, but at worst is quite acceptable.

The closing track on each disc is Big Joe Maher interviewing Billy Hancock for his recollections of Stanley and for those simply wanting the music, can easily be bypassed. For those interested in the history of the Washington DC music scene, these interview selections will be of great interest. Marty Bauman designed the attractive CD package and wrote the liner notes. The only quibble would be with the personnel listings on the back cover that are incomplete and refer to tracks that do not exist. Otherwise this is a recording that fans of rock and roll saxophone and blues honkers will love. It is a wonderful tribute to a person, whose music, like him was always full of life.

Received my copy from EllerSoul.  Here Joe can be heard with Big Joe Maher and the Dynaflows doing a Wyonnie Harris classic. 

A Few Blues Shows Coming to DC of Note

Photo © Ron Weinstock

Jody Williams, pictured above at the 2007 Pocono Blues Festival, is one of the treasures of real deal blues artists who are still with us. A member of Bo Diddley's Band for a period, as well as making some pioneering recordings, we are fortunate that he resumed playing after several decades away from music in part because of the bitterness relating the song Love Is Strange. He has two truly wonderful blues albums out on Evidence that blues fans need to own. Anyway Jody is part of a tour, Blues At The Crossroads II: Muddy & The Wolf which also will include the Fabulous Thunderbirds featuring Kim Wilson, Tinsley Ellis, James Cotton and Bob Margolin. It is at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Monday February 18. Visit www.birchmere.com for more information.

Memphis Gold and Charlie Sayles will each be performing at JVs this week. Photo © Ron Weinstock

JV's in Annandale, Virginia is celebrating its anniversary and has some great shows this week. Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 12, Charlie Sayles will be leading a band with Clarence 'The Bluesman' Turner on guitar while on Wednesday, February 13, Memphis Gold will have a special show with some special guests including keyboards and saxophone. Friday, February 15 The Mac Arnold Band will be appearing. Mac Arnold is a former bass player who worked with John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters while on Sunday, February 17, the early afternoon show will be a great group including Big Joe Maher, Marty Baumann and Bill Heid. Catfish Hodge  will be coming to JVs on Saturday March 2.

Incidentally, Memphis Gold is at the Westminster Presbyterian Church (401 I Street SW, Washington DC), as part of its Blue Monday series tonight, February 11, and next Monday (February 18), Little Royal will perform. There is a shuttle from the Waterfront Metro stop.

Can't Keep Big Joe Maher Down

I remember when the DC Blues Society was putting on our third DC Blues Festival (I was on the Society’s Board at the time) that we needed to put together a band to back the legendary blues shouter, Nappy Brown, the late Nap Turner was enthusiastic that Big Joe Maher anchor the backing band. In the booklet accompanying the new recording on Severn by Big Joe & the Dynaflows, “You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down,” it mentions some of the folk that Joe has shared the stage including Earl King and James ‘Thunderbird’ Davis. Lots of acts make similar claims, but few can match Joe in not simply sharing the stage but playing drums and organizing the backing band for these performers. For several decades, Joe Maher has been an in demand drummer, vocalist and bandleader whose musical forte is swing and jump blues. When he rocks, the music rolls and when he sings, he love for the great blues shouters like Big Joe Turner and Smiley Lewis is obvious.

You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down has big Joe backed by a version of the Dynaflows that is comprised by members of Delbert McClinton’s backing band led by keyboardist Kevin McKendree. Others include Bill Campbell on bass, Rob McNelly on guitar and the late Dennis Taylor on saxophones. If memory serves me correctly, McKendree and Maher go back to Powerhouse, Tom Principato’s DC area jump blues band he reformed in the early 1990’s and after Principato returned again to showcase his sizzling guitar playing, Maher formed the Dynaflows whose original line-up included the then still prodigic talent of McKendree. McKendree subsequently left to play with Leroy Parnell and now Delbert McClinton while in the past several years establishing himself as a producer of blues and roots recordings. The two are re-united here for this disc which they co-produced in Tennessee, and the band just cooks behind Joe’s strong vocals.

The title track opens with the rollicking title song with some strong piano with Maher declaring you can try what you want, but can’t keep him down as McNelly rips off a terrific guitar solo. A nice cover of B.B. King’s “Bad Case of Love,” is followed by Maher’s solid “Evangeline,” a reworked rendition of King Karl’s swamp pop classic “Irene,” with McNelly evoking Earl King-Guitar Slim in his solo as Taylor’s saxophones add to the performance’s mood. Atlanta shouter Billy Wright penned “Whatcha Gonna Do,” that is a jumping shuffle with Maher in fine form and McNelly standing out some more against Taylor’s riffing saxophones in the background. The bittersweet blue-ballad “Someday,” takes the temperature down with McKendree’s accompaniment standing out here.

Jay McShann’s classic “Confessin’ the Blues” benefits from its spirited tempo as Maher belts out the lyrics as McKendree pounds on the ivories while McNelly plays another tough solo. “Supercharger” is a rocking shuffle instrumental where Maher sets just the right tempo (as he does throughout) that provides more space for McNelly fluid and imaginative playing. “Nothing But Trouble,” is a fine late night, slow blues by Maher with McNelly evoking T-Bone Walker as Maher convinces us about the heartache and trouble he sees. After a cover of Jimmy McCracklin’s “I’m To Blame,” the disc closes with McKendree playing some strong boogie woogie piano to kick off “What the Hell Were You Thinkin’?” which he composed with Delbert McClinton and Tom Hambridge,” and he adds a solid boogie woogie piano for this lively conclusion to this strong release.

Maher sounds very strong throughout here, even a bit more youthful sounding as a singer than this writer recalls. McKendree has placed in the context of a terrific band that sounds like they all have been playing for years. The tempos are right, the groove is consistently in the pocket, and the material is strong leading to a fabulous recording of blues that may be the best that Maher has produced.


The review copy of this release was provided by a publicist.

Nappy Brown returns

Its been a decade since Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp, better known as Nappy Brown, last had a new recording out. Thanks to producer Scott Cable, Brown has a terrific new recording available on Blind Pig, Long Time Coming. Helping on this new recording is a terrific band that includes guitarists Bob Margolin, Junior Watson and Sean Costello, keyboardist Jim Pugh, bassist Mookie Brill, saxophonist and harpist John Nemeth, and drummer Big Joe Maher. There is a mix of new versions of some of the songs most associated with Nappy Brown (Don’t Be Angry and The Right Time (which Ray Charles made famous as Night Time is the Right Time) along with a nice selection of material that range from hot jump blues like the opening Keep On Pleasin’ You to the more downhome feel of Walter 'Lightning Bug' Rhodes Aw Shucks Baby, You Were a Long Time Coming and the Little Walter classic Who. Aw Shucks Baby is the one track not from this session as it was from a performance at the Phoenix, Arizona club, The Rhythm Room. Brown's voice sounds like he has lost little over the years, comparing his renditions of Aw Shucks Baby and The Right Time with renditions on a 1991 Ichiban album by him. The new versions benefit from a much crisper band that adds more punch to the proceedings. I know Margolin has performed with Nappy over the years, but special mention must be made of Big Joe Maher’s drumming. Maher anchored the band that backed Nappy Brown in 1991 DC Blues Festival, and besides his own swing based jump blues, has been a sought after drummer for touring acts as diverse as Earl King, Johnny Adams, James ‘Thunderbird’ Davis, and Jimmy ‘T-99’ Nelson. Maher’s playing playing is consistently in the pocket. The foundation of Maher's drums and the electric bass of Mookie Brill is one reason the music here sounds so crisp and vigorous. There is plenty of terrific guitar throughout and Nappy is in real good voice, whether employing a stuttering shouting vocal on Don’t Be Angry, handling a ballad, Give Me Your Love, or singing with faith on the closing, Take Care of Me. One would be hard pressed to find any recording by Nappy as good as this one since his classic Savoy recordings. Highly recommended. For those in the Washington DC area, Nappy Brown appears at the State Theatre in Falls Church, November 2.