Trix Blues From Muse Records

Trix Blues Reissues

Here are four more releases from the reactivated Trix label. The albums by Big Chief Ellis, Honeyboy Edwards and Willie Trice are reissues of the original albums with producer Pete Lowry adding an update to the original liner notes. While these are straight reissues of the vinyl albums, the Trix albums were generous with their playing times. The Big Chief Ellis is close to an hour while Willie Trice’s album is about 53 minutes. Trix has also issued a splendid new Homesick James recording. ( I had reviewed several other Trix reissues in prior issues of Jazz & Blues Report. One might need to check eBay or sellers of out-of-print recordings for availability).

It was releases like the Big Chief Ellis (Trix 3316) album that made Trix such a singular label back in the seventies. Ellis, a strong pianist, played and sang introspectively, so his blues often are reminiscent of Walter Davis. His performances here are all at slow or moderate tempos and marked by a firm, rumbling left-hand bass that creates a somber cast to the performances. Often playing simple accompaniments he sometimes throws in hesitating sounding right-hand runs and fills while delivering the lyrics with a smoky, gritty voice. He eschews playing any showcase boogies here. Playing it as a minor-key slow blues, Chief transforms the well-known Sweet Home Chicago into what sounds like a totally different song. While all the songs are credited to Ellis, several are piano blues classics that suit his pensive approach, including Leroy Carr’s Prison Bound and How Long Blues, and Walter Davis’ Come Back, Baby, (here titled Let’s Talk It Over). Brownie McGhee, who shares the vocal on Come Back, Baby, makes his presence felt on the terrific gambling blues, Dices # 2, a remake of one of Ellis’ few fifties’ recordings. In addition to McGhee, the late Tarheel Slim is heard on guitar on a couple tracks, as is John Cephas (on what may be his first issued recordings) who is present on four selections. Some may be put off by the lack of fast-tempoed piano romps and might find difficulty listening to this in one sitting. However, all of these performances are tasty gems of blues piano, and for discerning listeners make a refreshing change from some of the hyper-kinetic recordings that pass for blues today.  (I discovered this blog post from Peter Lowry on this recording, https://peterblowry.com/2015/06/11/trix-3316-big-chief-ellis/).

Blue and Rag’d (Trix 3305) features Willie Trice, a Carolina bluesman who lived all his life near Durham and was associated with such legendary figures as Gary Davis, Floyd Council and Blind Boy Fuller. Like his brother Richard, Willie Trice recorded for Decca in 1937, but whereas Richard moved north and recorded in 1949 as Little Fuller, Willie Trice remained in Durham holding a variety of day jobs
and only playing outside the tobacco warehouses occasionally - unlike Fuller and the rest. While he stopped playing by the mid- sixties, after losing his legs to diabetes, he started playing again and Pete Lowry recorded him several times between 1971 and 1973 for the recordings issued here. He also recorded later for Lowry and others. Trice’s music is in the classic mode of Fuller and others. His National steel guitar provides a slightly clipped sound to his playing, but (despite his serious illness) his playing only occasionally sounds rusty. His vocals are also generally robust, although his range is obviously not what it once must have been. Included are original adaptations of songs associated with Blind Blake (New Diddey Wah Diddey) and Blind Boy Fuller (New Careless Love), along with his adaptations of traditional themes. For example, Shine On is a bouncy performance using the Crow Jane/ Red River Blues melody. Fuller’s music is also suggested by a number of other tracks, including the slow Fuller styled blues, You Have Treated Me and I’ve Had Troubled, with moving vocals. I Love You, Sweet Baby sports a bouncy accompaniment, while he adds a recitation behind his good-time fingerpicking on Good Time Boogie. It is too bad that we don’t have more recordings of Willie Trice in his prime. However, even though it was recorded while he was recuperating from a serious hospital illness, Blue and Rag’d provides a generous set of classic Piedmont blues performances and there are few recordings in this vein as good as these being made any more.

David “Honeyboy” Edwards’ disc, I’ve Been Around (Trix 3319), was the first American album by the Mississippi born blues artist who will have turned 80 by the time this review appears. One of the last links to such Mississippi blues greats as Charlie Patton, Big Joe Williams, Tommy Johnson and Robert Johnson, Edwards has been of interest to blues fans as much for his recollections of these artists as his music. In the company of Walter Horton (on four tracks) and guitarist Eddie El (on three), Honeyboy sings songs associated with Patton - Pony Blues, and Banty Rooster, Howlin’ Wolf - Ride With Me Tonight, and Tommy Johnson - Big Fat Mama, and Big Road Blues. Also, he renders his own songs Sad & Lonesome and I Feel Good So Today. Playing a rhythmic guitar style reminiscent of his main mentor, Big Joe Williams, Honeyboy displays a unique sense of time. While he sings in a sometimes hesitant, brittle voice, Edwards provides a distinct tint on these musical indigos, although his performances may lack the charisma of those by his mentors. I’ve Been Around stands well up compared his other recent recordings. When featured, Walter Horton adds some strong harp that sympathetically supports Edwards without overpowering him. It is valuable to have this available again, and stacks up against most of Honeyboy’s other albums, although | would recommend the Earwig album containing Honeyboy’s Library of Congress recordings first.

Like Honeyboy Edwards, Homesick James Williamson is noted for an unusual sense of time, but on his fourth new recording in the past few years, he shows that his music possesses plenty of vitality. On Got to Move (Trix 3320) he is given steadfast support by a band that includes guitarist Ron Thompson (formerly with John Lee Hooker and part of Mick Fleetwood’s Blue Whale). Homesick James renders solid versions of songs by his famous cousin, Elmore James (Baby Please Set a Date, Hawaiian Boogie and Got to Move), and by Arthur Crudup (That's All Right), and Bob Geddins’ Tin Pan Alley, along with several originals. His broomdusting and his gravelly vocals are crisply delivered, if not as upfront as the recordings by his famous cousin. There are three solo tracks, including a fresh sounding Dust My Broom, in addition to the solid band performances. While several songs are ones Homesick James has recorded before, he does not give any of them a run of the mill performance making for a collection of particularly vital performances.

This review originally appeared in 1995 in Issue 201 of Jazz & Blues Report. I received review copies from the record label or a distributor. I note that this review appeared in a slightly different form in the May 1995 DC Blues Calendar. In that review I note about the four selections in the Big Chief Ellis album with John Cephas, that they were produced by Joe Wilson and Dick Spottswood and were the best recorded sides on the album. "The interplay between Ellis and Cephas on the closing Blues For Moot is worth noting.

1994 Roots N'Blues Reissues - Columbia / Legacy

 Roots N'Blues Reissues - Columbia / Legacy

The latest batch of Columbia/Legacy's Roots N'Blues reissues maintain the level of the earlier issues. Double disc releases by Blind Willie McTell and Brownie McGhee are of particular interest.

The Blind Willie McTell set is entitled "The Definitive," which is not completely accurate as it omits such essential McTell recordings as Statesboro Blues, which was recorded for Victor. Still, the forty-one selections, some with Ruth Willis on vocals, and others with Curley Weaver or Buddy Moss on second guitar, are magnificent sides. There's the exuberant "Georgia Rag," a brisk reworking of a Blind Blake number, the jaunty "Stomp Down Rider" and "Broke Down Engine." Whether playing a bottleneck or not, McTell displays considerable fluidity on the 12-string guitar and sang convincingly with warmth and feeling. This has all of McTell's Columbia Vocalion, and Okeh recordings, and the booklet has an essay by David Evans that will be the standard source for information on McTell in the future. If not definitive, this is essential.

Two discs collect "The Complete Brownie McGhee." Despite his celebrity, in part a result of his long partnership with Sonny Terry, many blues fans are unaware of his commercial recordings for the African-American, then rhythm and blues market. This collection compiles 47 recordings originally waxed for Columbia's Okeh subsidiary, and while some have been reissued overseas, much of this has never been issued. The Kentucky-born McGhee had moved to the rich blues territory of North Carolina when he was discovered by talent scout, J.B. Long. Between August 1940 and October 1941, McGhee recorded the 47 sides (some alternate takes) included here. While distinct from Fuller, McGhee's recordings with Jordan Webb's harp, and either Bull City Red or Washboard Slim ón washboard carried some of the same flavor. Reworking "Digging My Potatoes" as "Picking My Tomatoes," doing "Step It Up and Go," memorializing Fuller in "Death of Blind Boy Fuller," or an early version of "Key to the Highway," these recordings are marked by McGhee's clean articulated vocals, fluid guitar playing and relaxed group swing. Highly recommended.

A single disc of Bukka White's complete Columbia, Okeh and Vocalion recordings is available on "The Complete Bukka White." One of the major Delta blues artists, White's hoarsely shouted vocals were backed by his percussive, barrelhouse bottleneck guitar. Also, White was a blues lyricist of considerable power whose songs often reflected his own experiences. A dozen of these 14 titles were recorded in 1940 after he was released from Parchman Farm, and the time he spent there is echoed in the intense imagery of "When Can I Change My Clothes" (referring to his prison uniform). The sessions also produced "Fixin' to Die Blues," with its morbid imagery, the barrelhouse dance number, Bukka's "Jitterbug Swing," and "Special Streamline," a half-spoken, half-sung train blues with a suggestive slide accompaniment. Prior to being imprisoned, Bukka recorded "Shake 'Em On Down," another classic that became a delta blues standard. These recordings were discussed at length by Sam Charters in his book "The Bluesmen" over 25 years ago, and they stand up as a cornerstone of a country blues collection. Incidentally, all of these titles were previously issued on Ip and cd, but this is newly mastered.

Tampa Red, "The Guitar Wizard," is a single disc with 17 early recordings by one of the most prolific and important early blues artists. One cannot exaggerate the importance or influence of Hudson 'Tampa Red' Whittaker. One would be hard-pressed to name any blues guitarist (particularly slide) who doesn't bear his imprint, nor has one of his songs in his repertoire. While most of his recording career was spent with Victor, this exemplary collection derives from recordings for Okeh and Vocalion. A number of them include Georgia Tom Dorsey on the piano including an accompaniment to "Papa Too Sweet," on a version of "It's Tight Light That." In addition, there are several fine blues presaging his later recordings and influence, including two versions of "Sugar Mama," and his reworking of Lucille Bogan's "Sweet Black Angel." The fact of Bogan's earlier recording is not mentioned in Mark Humphrey's otherwise informative annotation. The music is first-rate, with plenty of Tampa Red's clean, precise slide and bittersweet vocals. Highly recommended.

"Cajun Dance Party • Fais Do Do" is the second collection of vintage cajun music recordings Larry Cohn has compiled for this series. Covering the years 1929 to 1934, this collection is oriented to the recordings of cajun accordion pioneers such as Amédée Breaux, Amédée Ardoin, Dewey Segura and Joseph Falcon. It opens with Amédée Breaux's "Ma Blonde est Partié," the earliest recording of what would be known as "Jolie Blonde." This set is important for its inclusion of six recordings by the pioneer creole accordionist, Ardoin, who influenced both cajun and creole musicians. "Jolie Blonde" is not the only cajun classic whose first recording is collected here. While the musical form here is basically two steps and waltzes, the use of the diatonic accordion and cajun fiddle, along with the high lonesome, crying vocals have a bluesy tonality. While the lyrics may be incomprehensible to many, the soulfulness of this music, which is far removed from the more country-influenced cajun, or R&B flavored zydeco music of today, the music here is quite powerful, although some may find it difficult to listen to this complete in one sitting. But when the accordion gets rocking on a riff and the violin waxes over it, the music can be mesmerizing.

Part of the Contemporary Blues Masters series in Roots N'Blues, a new album, "Stompin' at the Penny," reissues a rare Canadian album of Lonnie Johnson with Jim McHarg's Metro Stompers. This album captures the legendary blues guitarist and vocalist at Toronto's Half Penny backed by a spirited "trad' band. There's a mix of songs associated with Johnson's fellow New Orleans' native, Louis Armstrong, "Dippermouth Blues" and "West End Blues," with Johnson taking a sprite solo on the latter. In fact, his electric guitar playing on this number, the relaxed R&B flavored "Bring It On Home Mama," or the rocking "Go Go Swing," illustrate the continuity between his innovative playing in the twenties and the modern electric guitar style most associated with B.B. King, who acknowledged Johnson as an influence. "Go Go Swing" is particularly fascinating as the Metro Stompers riff like a hot R&B band horn section. This is mostly instrumental and the vocals here show as often as not Johnson's predilection for ballads ("My Mother's Eyes"), a fact not often appreciated by Johnson's blues admirers. Still, this is a highly entertaining collection that is, in all honestly, of most interest to trad jazz enthusiasts but having enough of Johnson's playing to make it of wider interest.

I likely received review copies from Columbia Records. This review appeared in Jazz & Blues Report in 1994. I note that these should be available in some form, including from Amazon.

Classic Piedmont Blues From Smithsonian Folkways

Various
Classic Piedmont Blues From Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways

A new acoustic blues compilation from Smithsonian Folkways delves in the archives for the selections on this. Piedmont blues has an easy flow played in a finger-picking style where the guitarist, according to the late John Cephas, uses "thumb and fingers with an alternating thumb and finger style. I keep a constant bass line going with my thumb, and on the treble strings I pick out the melody or the words of the song I'm singing." Cephas is quoted in the cogent booklet with liner notes on the Piedmont blues, and the specific songs included (along with artist biographies), by Barry Lee Pearson.

From the opening John Jackson performance of "Truckin' Little Woman," the delightful Warner Williams performance, "Hey Bartender There's a Big Bug in My Beer" with Kentucky flatpicker Eddie Pennington, several performances of Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, Baby Tate's wonderful "If I Could Holler Like a Mountain Jack," along with the incomparable Rev. Gary Davis' instrumental "Mountain Jack," John Cephas and Phil Wiggins' rendition of Blind Boy Fuller's "Mamie," Elizabeth Cotton's "Going Down The Road Feeling Bad," Pink Anderson's "Meet Me in the Bottom," to the closing tribute by Archie Edwards to his friend  Mississippi John Hurt, "The Road Is Rough and Rocky," this is marvelously played music by some of the style's  finest artists.

There are also included a few performances by old-time music artists such as Hobart Smith, Doc Watson and Roscoe Holcomb, and as Pearson notes there was plenty of musical interaction between such a artists with Black artists. One of my finest memories of John Jackson was him playing old-time string band music with former musical students of him and it is unfortunate that none of the performances he and Doc Watson performed together at The Smithsonian Folklife Festival have been issued as they would have made this wonderful collection even better.

I do note that the Archie Edwards performance had been previously issued on the similarly theme Smithsonian-Folkways collection "Classic Appalachian Blues" and it is unfortunate another performance by him was not chosen. Still this is a first-rate collection of this blues style.

I purchased this recording. Here is the late John Jackson performing.

Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi Sonny & Brownie's Last Train

Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi
Sonny & Brownie's Last Train
M.C. Records

Guy Davis' latest release, with his partner harmonica player Fabrizio Poggi is a tribute to the legendary duo of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. While Terry & McGhee were among the leading exponents of the Piedmont blues style, Davis' approach is most assuredly his own. For example on "Shortnin' Bread," his guitar style employing a repeated riff is more akin to the Mississippi Delta and Memphis artists than heard in Carolina tobacco towns. Similarly, Davis' guitar accompaniment of "Baby Please Don't Go Back To New Orleans," evokes Mississippi Fred McDowell and Leadbelly. This is not a criticism but an observation. There are times they do play in the easy flowing Piedmont style as in the cover of Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train," although Davis modeled his playing here on Cotten's original (as he observes in his liner notes). This is not a criticism as Davis and Poggi deliver this performance in their own manner, and not as simple revivalists.

The album opens with Davis' title track, an affectionate tribute to the pair. The remainder are songs to some extent associated with Terry & McGhee, even if from other sources and several are probably more associated with Leadbelly such as "Shortnin' Bread," "Take This Hammer" and "The Midnight Special." "Take This Hammer," is an interesting performance with the accompaniment suggesting the gospel tune, "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah."

Among the performances rendered in the Piedmont style are the afore-mentioned "Freight Train," the superb "Hooray, Hooray These Women Is Killing Me," and "Step It Up and Go," associated with Josh White and Blind Boy Fuller, which Davis has recorded before. There is a strong rendition of "Walk On," one of the songs most associated with Terry & McGhee. If the rendition of St. Louis Jimmy's "Going Down Slow," is similar to the somewhat generic treatment Terry & McGhee gave it, Davis and Poggi are more in a Delta Blues style for Johnny Temple's "Louise, Louise" as opposed to the Broonzy cover that influenced Terry and McGhee.

Regardless of the manner specific songs are performed, there is plenty to enjoy on "Sonny & Brownie's Last Train." If Davis' somewhat gruff singing lacks some of the easy flowing quality of particularly Brownie McGhee, the interplay between him and Poggi is in its own manner as marvelous and Terry and McGhee. In his liner notes, Davis provides a written appreciation of Terry and McGhee and in an insert provides notes on the songs (although the notes on "Louise, Louise" fail to mention Johnny Temple's original) along with lyrics. This is an intriguing and welcome release, and one I suspect Terry and McGhee would appreciate if they still were with us.

I received my review copy from the record company. Here Guy and Fabrizio perform the title track. 

 

Taking the Blues Time Machine Back to June 1977

This is my blues column from the June 1977 Buffalo Jazz Report which had Dizzy Gillespie on the cover. I have noted the first 58 issues of Buffalo Jazz Report (now Jazz & Blues Report) have been digitized and can be downloaded from the University of Buffalo Library system. The website for these archived issues is: http://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/BuffJazz. This column is devoted to live performances as well as reviews of reissues by John Lee Hooker and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. These albums were reissued by Fantasy I believe and may be available today.

The Belle Starr out in Colden, NY continued to bring blues acts to the Buffalo area. Early May saw Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. I caught their opening act and wasn’tt oo impressed with their new back-up band. When both Philip Guy and Buddy started to take the spotlight things got better and things were going well till Buddy broke a string during Junior Wells stint. Buddy wasn't able to get back in tune and it was a little disappointing. Others told me that other nights went much better.
 

Son Seals' debut at the Belle Starr, and first Buffalo area appearance in a couple years, was one of the finest blues acts I've seen in awhile. Son is an acidic singer and fiery guitarist and accompanied by a tough and tight band, including the aptly named Harry 'Snapper' Mitchum on bass, Pete Allen on guitar and Tony Gooden on drums, that provided quite a full sound. Son played quite a varied set doing hot versions of I Wonder Why, Sweet Angel Child, Why I Sing the Blues as well as tunes from his two Alligator albums such as Ray Charles' I Believe, Junior Parker's Telephone Angel and his own No, No Baby and Down on My Knees. Your Love is Like a Cancer is my own favorite taken at a rocking tempo with its stinging lyrics and guitar work. Son, on the basis of his records and his live performances deserves to be better known. If you are near where he is playing, do check him out.

As far as records go Fantasy has a twofer series of blues reissues. John Lee Hooker's Black Snake (F-24722) is reissued from two sets on Riverside. Hooker is solo on one record and on the other side bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes accompany on most of the material. There is better John Lee Hooker available, but their is also a lot worse stuff to listen to by him.

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee are one of the blues most celebrated duos delighting audiences for many years. Midnight Special (Fantasy F-24721) captures Sonny's exuberant harp playing and Brownie's fluid guitar. While this isn't down home country music but rather music for a white folk audience these 960 sides show that their professional approach doesn't mean the music lacks warmth or spirit. There mastery of the rural blues tradition shines and this set provides ample testimony to their contribution to American music.

Finally the Belle Starr continues to bring blues acts to the area. June 23-26 blues singer and guitarist Mighty Joe Young will be out at Holland-Glenwood Road. Mighty Joe Young is one of Chicago's finest musicians, a fact readily seen by his being in demand as a session man. He has recorded behind the late Magic Sam, Jimmy Dawkins, Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Fenton Robinson, Tyrone Davis among others. He has four albums out including the fine Blues With a Touch of Soul on Delmark, an album on GNP-Crescendo and two sets on Ovation. Joe is a mellow singer with a clean fluid guitar attack. This will be my first chance to see him in about six years. Hope to see you there.
 

Smithsonian Folkways' Classic Appalachian Blues

As Jeff Place, who with Barry Lee Pearson compiled Classic Appalachian Blues (Smithsonian-Folkways) states, the ‘Classic’ series on Smithsonian Folkways aims to draw attention to significant recordings from the Folkways and Smithsonian collections. Classic Appalachian Blues “features musicians from the region known as the Southern Appalachians. It includes musicians from deep in the mountains as well as from the foothills leading up to them.” The Folkways label had a number of fine recordings in its catalog of performers in this tradition by the likes of Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry and Pink Anderson and adding recordings from the Folklife Festival collection by John Jackson, Big Chief Ellis and others makes this a particularly valuable collection.

Tracks by Stick McGhee, whose voice and guitar is joined by the harmonica of Sonny Terry and J.C. Burris, open and close this CD. McGhee is heard on the upbeat My Baby’s Gone, as well as a spirited reprise of his hit recording Wine Blues (Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee). There is a fine performance by Stick’s brother, Brownie McGhee, on a 1945 recording Pawnshop Blues, an adaptation of a Blind Boy Fuller number. At the time of these recordings both had relocated to New York as had Reverend Gary Davis, certainly amongst the greatest acoustic blues guitarists, he is represented here by a stunning 1957 instrumental rendition of Hesitation Blues. Another Piedmont legend who established himself was Josh White who had gone from a singing evangelist and Piedmont Tom to Cafe Society by the time he performed the solid Move to the Outskirts of Town heard here.

Not all of the Appalachian masters moved to New York. Pink Anderson stayed in South Carolina and is heard on a fine You Don’t Know My Mind. Sonny Terry’s nephew, J.C. Burris moved to California . He is heard on Blues Around My Bed, with just his harp (sounding like his uncle) accompanying his strong vocal. Arhoolie issued a full album of his music. The lovely One Dime Blues is from a 1992 Barns of Wolf Trap performance by Etta Baker who charmed so many with her agile guitar picking and warm manner. Baby Tate, who was friends with Pink Anderson, was another artist influenced by Blind Boy Fuller, and his rendition of See What You Done Done, echoes Red River Blues and Crow Jane, in its accompaniment that is part of a first-rate performance.

The Washington DC area was a destination for many folks. Phil Wiggins and the late John Cephas met through Alabama pianist Big Chief Ellis who formed the Barrelhouse Rockers and back backing pianist Big Chief Ellis on Louise Blues, from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1976 with Wiggins driving harp accompaniment contrasting with Ellis’ understated boogie piano. John Jackson was prominent in the Washington DC area for the last four decades of his life and is heard on a fine rendition of the bad-man ballad Railroad Bill. The late Archie Edwards was another Washington DC area treasure, and is represented by a 1978 Folklife Festival rendition of his signature song, My Road Is Rough and Rocky, his tribute to Mississippi John Hurt, his boyhood idol and later good friend. It is a performance with an affable vocal and wonderful rolling guitar.

The Appalachian area was one where there was considerable interaction between Black and White musicians despite the fact of segregation and Doc Watson is heard on a lively Sitting On Top of the World, taken at a bit brisker tempo than usual. I have fond memories of Watson and John Jackson playing at Folklife Festivals. Another performance crossing racial lines is Roscoe Holcomb who brings a mountain guitar approach to Mississippi Heavy Water Blues, originally recorded by Atlanta bluesman Barbecue Bob. Then there is E.C. Ball from Rugby, Virginia and mentor of guitarist (and luthier) Wayne Henderson. Ball is a marvelous player and heard on Blues in the Morning His cited influences include Riley Puckett, Chet Atkins, Sam McGee and Maybelle Carter.

John Jackson was among the greatest of the finger style guitarists along with Blind Blake and Reverend Gary Davis. Another on that level was Bill Williams, born in Richmond, Virginia but who moved to Kentucky and who actually teamed up with Blind Blake in Bristol, Tennessee. Williams was briefly ‘rediscovered’ and made some recordings (some for Yazoo’s Blue Goose subsidiary). His 1971 Folklife Festival, performance Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down, is a song that crossed racial lines, with Williams providing a driving accompaniment here. In contrast to many solo performances here, is a fine string band performance by Martin, Bogan and Armstrong with Carl Martin’s mandolin and vocal and Howard Armstrong’s violin standing out in their string band blues, Hoodoo Blues. 

Others heard on this include Leslie Riddle, who is best known as having been a friend of the Carter Family (Mother Maybelle Carter learned her guitar style from him). He is heard from 1976 on the Appalachian blues standard Red River Blues, with steady guitar and vocal. Also from 1976, was the veteran medicine show performer Peg Leg Jackson with just his vocal and harmonica on a spirited Walking Cane. The Foddrell Brothers, Marvin and Turner, were from Stuart, Virginia and were wonderful traditional blues performers as illustrated by their 1977 Folklife Festival rendition of I Got a Woman. Also from 1977 comes a nice performance from John Tinsley, Girl Dressed in Green. 

With twenty-one performances and about 66 minutes of music, Classic Appalachian Blues offers considerable value as well much excellent music. Inclusion of many artists who made few recordings which are often hard-to-find as well as a generous selection of performances from the Smithsonian’s Folklife Archives adds to the value as does the excellent and informative booklet by compilers Jeff Place and Barry Lee Pearson.

I was provided a download of a review copy from Smithsonian-Folkways from whom one can purchase this (as well as the booklet I refer to).

Chris Barber's Memorable Musical Journey

In celebration of Chris Barber’s 80th Birthday, Proper Records has compiled a double CD compilation of performances, Memories Of My Trip, that display how central a figure on the English music scene for six decades. The performances give a suggestion of the breadth of his musical interests which are centered around jazz, blues and skiffle. While several years ago there was a three CD series of primarily blues recordings from the 50s and 60s, the present compilation is more of a retrospective of some the many legendary and contemporary performers in performance with him. Barber himself provides recollections of the performers and the songs heard herein.

Opening is a Brownie McGhee recording from a Folkways recording of McGhee, that provides this compilation with its title, presenting McGhee’s fond recollections of his European travels with Chris and his traditional jazz band. McGhee, and his partner Sonny Terry, are heard on two selections with the traditional gospel number Do Lord, Do Remember Me. It is a spirited ensemble performance with Ottilie Patterson, Barber’s regular vocalist sharing the lead with Brownie. Weeping Willow is a recording of Barber on trombone with Eric Clapton taking the vocal and playing guitar. Muddy Waters and Pinetop Perkins can be heard on an enthusiastic rendition of Kansas City, with Muddy vigorously calling out for Chris. It is followed by a nice James Cotton performance backed by Alexis Korner on guitar and Chris on bass.

Rory Gallagher is heard playing slide and singing Muddy’s Can’t Be Satisfied, with just Barber’s bass and this is followed by Lonnie Donegan doing a raucous Diggin’ My Potatoes, backed by a full band. Barber traveled to Canada to play with Jeff Healey and His Jazz Wizards for a atmospheric blues Goin’ Up The River, with Barber singing and playing nice tailgate trombone along with the able support of Healey’s restrained guitar and trumpet. Van Morrison is heard on two nicely sung blues performances from a 1998 performance and a somewhat over-the-top vocal on Oh Didn’t He Ramble, from 1976 on a session that also included Dr. John. Ottilie Patterson herself was featured on Lonesome Road, while gospel legend Alex Bradford takes the lead on Couldn’t Keep To Myself where Chris and other band members provided the backing vocal chorus.

Traditional jazz with a New Orleans flavor is represented by selections by such important artists of the time as clarinetist Edmond Hall with a nice medley that included St. Louis Blues, and a brilliant version of the New Orleans jazz staple, High Society. Keith Emerson would be better known as a member of Emerson Lake and Palmer, but when he recorded Rock Candy in 1966, he was playing organ in the vein of Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff. Barber’s trombone spices up to this funky blues instrumental. A couple of selections feature former members of Louis Armstrong’s All Stars as Trummy Young brings his vocal and trombone (in addition to that of Chris) for Georgia On My Mind. Clarinetist Joe Darensbourg is heard on an intimate small group recording of a swing staple, “Rose Room.”

Another New Orleans clarinetist, Albert Nicholas, is spotlighted on the Ellington staple, “C-Jam Blues,” with lovely guitar from John Slaughter while Stu Morrison’s jangly banjo adds a clipped rhythmic flavor behind Nicholas’ very fluid playing. Eddie Durham was arranger for Count Basie and other bands, and one of the first jazz electric guitarists to record. He was also a trombonist of considerable capability and is featured on a blues that was called “Jack Teagarden Blues” after that famous trombonist.

After “Tailgate Boogie,” featuring the piano of Sammy Price, the CDs close with performances with Jools Holland and Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits fame). Holland’s rendition of Jelly Roll Morton’s “Winin’ Boy Blues” is a marvelous rendition of this classic. Knopfler is on an appealing low-key rendition of The Delmore Brothers’ “Blues Stay Away From Me,“ with some lovely trombone from Barber along with a lovely updating of the Dallas String Band’s ”Dallas Rag” that opens with some nice picking from Knopfler. Pat Halcox’s trumpet is also quite nice here. These are very amiable performances that conclude a varied and entertaining release. Memories Of My Trip is Chris Barber’s own musical capsule of a musical life well lived.

My review copy was provided by a publicist for the recording. Here is a video of Chris Barber.

Chris Barber's Blues Legacy Lost and Found

Trombonist Chris Barber has been a mainstay of the British trad jazz scene for over five decades. With Lonnie Donegan he helped lunch the skittle music scene with ‘Rock Island Line,’ while his own band backed numerous legends including some from the world of blues and gospel. Not long ago he came across some old 1/4 inch magnetic tapes of some of the legendary blues artists he brought over to England in the 50 and 60s. The result are three volumes, Chris Barber Presents The Blues Legacy: Lost and Found Series (MVD Audio).

Volume 1 opens with Barber introducing Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the legendary gospel singer and guitarist. When she arrived in England with her arrangements from her days with Lucky Millender’s Big Band, Barber and his combo was flustered, but were able to back her on a variety of her classic sacred repertoire including Every Time I Feel the Spirit, Didn’t It Rain, Up Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air, and Old Time Religion, with the backing provided by barber and his band matching the exuberance of her performance if the overall sound of the performances occasionally sounds messy and chaotic. This Train, is performed solo with some fine guitar featured and her effectively dramatic vocal. Vocalist Ottilie Patterson joins her for one of two renditions of Old Time Religion, and When the Saints Go Marching In. The rest of this volume is devoted to performances by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee who mostly perform without a band and are in typical form for the two opening with Midnight Special, Climbin’ on Top of the Hill (a reworking of Sitting on Top of the World), the remarkable harmonica feature Fox Chase, How Long How Long Blues, another harp solo Callin’ Mama Blues, and Betty and Dupree. While the repertoire will be familiar, these concert performances are strong ones. Also included is an joyous duo version of When the Saints Go Marching In, followed by Little Light of Mine, on which Barber and band and accompaniment although playing somewhat more restrained here. Chris Barber and Band close with another gospel number with Ottilie Patterson taking the front stage.

Volume 2 opens with Chris Barber’s contemporary recollections of the 1958 recordings by Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry that open this volume. There is a nice duo of Poor Man Blues, while Ottilie Patterson takes lead on the vocal backed by Barber and the duo on When Things Go Wrong, and How Long Blues. Barber provides another spoken introduction to the performances by Muddy Waters with Otis Spann presented here, which he noted was an amazing experience. Muddy and Spann were terrific and Barber’s band does a credible job in support although the drummer on several tracks is a bit stiff and tad heavy handed. Repertoire played included Hootchie Kootchie Man, Blow Wind Blow, Baby Please Don’t Go, Long Distance Call, I Can’t Be Satisfied,Blues Before Sunrise (an interesting to hear Muddy refer to this as originally made by a friend of his before he died), and Walking Through the Park. Muddy goes solo on ‘Rolling Stone,’ and revisits ‘Feel Like Going Home.’ Spann is exceptional while Barber and the band try to be unobtrusive in supporting Muddy, who certainly sounds fine here. Perhaps not indispensable, these tracks are a nice addition to Muddy’s discography in any event Next up are fine three tracks by Champion Jack Dupree including a nice Christmas blues, a humorous lament about his mother-in-law, and his own very distinctive rendition of Tampa Red’s When Things Go Wrong. The disc closes with a 1962 performance by the great Louis Jordan with whom Barber’s traditional jazz band provides nice support for a nice duet between the saxophonist-vocalist Jordan and Ottilie Patterson on T’aint Nobody’s Business. There is a nice mix of performers and some genuinely good performances on this volume.

Sonny Boy Williamson opens the final volume, Volume 3, with some performances from 1964. Barber mentions the great shows presented by Lippman and Rau which led to his performance that opens with United Blues/ Help Me as the band plays the melody before Williamson enters with his harp and launches into the song. Then Barber recalls some of the performances of him including some jazz songs like ‘C-Jam Blues,’ as well as staples of his repertoire as So Sad to Be Lonesome, his reworking of Robert Lockwood’s Take a Little Walk With Me, Bye Bye Bird, Your Funeral, My Trial, and Pontiac Blues. Like Brownie and Sonny, he closes his set with some gospel songs, Saints, and This Little Light of Mine, with Ottilie Patterson sharing the vocal.’ The music does get a bit chaotic but still remains fun with the joyful sound and Sonny Boy’s harp blends well with the trad jazz backing. Jimmy Witherspoon came over in 1964 and played at a festival Barber helped organize, and Spoon sounds terrific on his first trio of tunes, although the backing remains a bit rough on Times Getting Tougher Than Tough, and Roll ‘Em Pete. The backing behind Howlin’ Wolf with Hubert Sumlin seems a bit tighter as Wolf howls through Howlin’ For My Darling, Dust My Broom, and May I have a Talk With You. Sumlin sounds really good if a bit underamplified while Wolf’s vocals are ferocious, and the backing band almost sounds like a urban blues band as opposed to a Dixieland group. Jimmy Witherspoon has five more vocals to close this set, and the backing is a bit more together here as he reprised Everyday I Have the Blues, and When I’ve Been Drinkin’.

There are some very good performances on all three volumes although I give the nod to those on the latter two volumes. One would be hard-pressed to call any of these essential but fans of Muddy, Sonny Boy, Wolf and Spoon will especially find performances that may merit their consideration.

I recently received a double CD in commemoration of Chris Barber’s 80th Birthday which I hope to write-up shortly. I noticed that I had never posted this review of three blues-related CDs by this important English musician and music evangelist. This review originally appeared in the July 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 306). I likely received my review copy from a publicist.