Big Time Sarah and the Blues Women of Chicago

Big Time Sarah (Streeter) with her band, the BTS Express, has a new album, Blues In The Year One-D-One (Delmark), which should appeal to straight ahead Chicago blues fans. A shouter who strongly suggests Koko Taylor, although not quite on the level of Chicago’s blues Queen, Big Time Sarah succeeds on this entertaining set with the range of material she handles, including some nice remakes of Hound Dog (given a fresh arrangement), Ain’t Nobody’s Business, Steal Away, Chicken Heads and Down Home Blues. On the latter number, her keyboard player, Tony Llorens, opens with some classical sounding piano which Sarah interrupts saying she doesn’t want to hear that, she wants to hear the downhome blues. Among the remakes is her first recording, Long Tall Daddy that she made years ago with Sunnyland Slim on piano (and I believe Magic Slim on guitar). The guitarist on this session, Emery Williams passed away while the album was being readied for release, and is featured on Bouncin’ and Breakin’, an instrumental takeoff on B.B. King’s Woke Up This Morning, which Sarah capably performs. The wide range of material is engagingly performed, and while Big Time Sarah may not be at the top echelon of blues singers, she has more than capably succeeded with this solid session. A recent Delmark album that I missed reviewing when it was released is Women of Blue Chicago which brings together some recordings by Big Time Sarah, Karen Carroll and Bonnie Lee along with tasty performances by Lynne Jordan, Shirley Johnson and Katherine Davis. Lynne Jordan casts a wide net with little Willie John’s R&B rocker, I’m Shakin’, along with a vaudeville blues classic that Ruth Brown has revived, If I Can’t Sell It, while Shirley Johnson is backed by Johnny Moore on a tasty As the Years Go Passing By, and It Hurts Me Too (with Moore adding nice slide). This collection can be safely recommended. The above review appeared in the October 1996 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 215) and I likely received review copies from Delmark. Here is a DVD of a more recent performance of Big Time Sarah.

Big Time Sarah Lays It On 'Em Girls

Big Time Sarah is another blues woman from Chicago who has never received the acclaim her talents merit. The following review appeared in the September 1993 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 184) to which I made minor stylistic changes. Lay It On ‘Em Girls is the first of three albums she recorded for Delmark. I will be posting in a week or so a 1996 review of another Delmark CD by her. This CD is still available. A woman blues singer with a strong release is Big Time Sarah with her brand new release on Delmark, Lay It On ‘Em Girls. One-time a protege of Sunnyland Slim, she is one of a number of tough women Chicago blues singers (others include Bonnie Lee and Zora Young) . I’ve been told that live, Big Time Sarah is an especially bawdy performer. She previously recorded in France on an album shared with Zora Young and Bonnie Lee, and later had an album out on the Blues R&B label. Delmark has issued the nicely produced album with a good mix of material which includes several Willie Dixon numbers (I Make Love, Hootchie Kootchie Woman, Lay It On ‘Em Girls, and Every Man I See), and unusual material such as Summertime, and Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine. She possesses a husky voice, and sings in a somewhat dry fashion, although she growls on occasion like on Evil Gal Blues. Her performances of the Dixon songs are first rate, perhaps being the high points of the set with the opening I Make Love and the title cut being especially sassy performances. Other performances are entertaining although her Evil Gal Blues and Summertime, while refreshing choices, are less successful. Her band, The BTS Express, is excellent and adds a jazz and funk sensibility to its blues playing. Guitarist Rico McFarland impresses with his fleet, jazzy attack and imaginative soloing while Rodney Brown’s tenor sax work is especially tasty. Certainly another blues woman to be reckoned with.

Demetria Taylor's Bad Girl Entertaining Debut

Delmark brings us another new CD by a Chicago blues woman, this time one whose family has deep blues roots. Demetria Taylor is the daughter of the late Eddie Taylor and her brothers Eddie Jr., Larry and Tim have previously established themselves in the blues world. With the release of her “Bad Girl,” Demetria is set to make her mark on this world as well. She is joined by her brother Eddie Jr. and Shun Kibuta on guitars; Roosevelt Purifoy on keyboards; Greg McDaniel on bass and Pookie Styx (great name) on drums with guest appearances from Big Time Sarah, Billy Branch and Eddie Shaw.

For her first album there is a pretty diverse set of tunes but is in part a homage to the folks she was raised on. In certain cases like her medley of I’m a Woman w/ “Hootchie Coochie Woman, and Voodoo Woman (with Eddie Shaw adding his growling sax), her indebtedness to Koko Taylor is clear although she doesn’t project as strongly as the late Chicago blues queen did. Her raspy voice really suits Magic Sam’s All Your Love, with her brother adding some nice guitar, while both Shaw’s sax and Branch’s harmonica (terrific solo in the Walter Horton vein) contribute to the title track, a nice swinging shuffle remake of her father’s Bad Boy, with once Eddie Jr. shining in his solo.


When You Leave, Don’t Take Nothing, taken from an Artie ‘Blues Boy” White recording, is a solid slow blues where she tells her man who has his suitcase and about to leave because not a damn thing belongs to him with terrific sax and Shaw adding some atmosphere with his sax. Its followed by a terrific rendition of Nora Jean Bruso’s shuffle Goin’ Back To Mississippi, with more strong playing from Eddie Jr., Shaw and Purifoy on piano. The band really cooks on this track.

Billy Branch returns to add his harp to Big Boss Man, with the tempo taken a bit too fast, but with Shaw back she turns a superb vocal on Luther Allison’s Cherry Red Wine, as she worries about her baby, caressing the lyric. I dare say her vocal may top Allison’s original while her brother is stellar. Eddie Jr. contributed I Can’t Take It No More, a derivation of Messin’ With the Kid, followed by a remake of Trying To Make a Living. While these are well played, Demetria Taylor doesn’t have as much vocal presence on these songs. The album closes with two Willie Dixon songs, Little Red Rooster and Wang Dang Doodle, which she shares with Big Time Sarah. These are enjoyable, although not remarkable, performances, with Billy Branch contributing some nice harmonica and Eddie doing a nice Hubert Sumlin imitation on the latter number.

Demetria Taylor’s Bad Girl has excellent performances along with some that show her potential. She states she intends to do originals on her next album and display a bit more versatility on her next recording, and after this promising debut will have many waiting to see how it turns out.

I received my review copy from Delmark.