John Mayall - A Special Life

John Mayall returns with his first album in 5 years, “A Special Life” (Forty Below Records) with Rocky Athas on guitar; Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums with C.J. Chenier singing on two tracks and playing accordion on one. There are three new Mayall originals along with one of his older compositions and one by Rzab, to go along with covers of songs from Clifton Chenier, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Sonny Landreth, Albert King, and Jimmy McCracklin.

While one might be hard-pressed to call myself a Mayall follower, I found this recording enjoyable with several real fine performances here. The CD opens with C.J. joining Mayall on a solid rendition of Clifton Chenier’s blues Where Did You Go Last Night.  C.J. plays his piano accordion to go  with Mayall’s piano  on this performance played at such a nice tempo. The rendition of Sonny Landreth’s Speak of the Devil is more in the vein of blues-rock in its execution and Athas’ guitar playing although crisply played is in this vein. Mayall’s cover of Jimmy Rogers classic That’s All Right is taken a bit faster than normal (although not rushed or frantic). Mayall's  harmonica and Athas’ guitar accompaniment are effective in its simplicity and restraint. World Gone Crazy is an original about the madness we experience throughout the world as we are “guilty living in our crazy times.”

Mayall is on lead guitar (and contributes the organ backing) on a cover of Albert King’s Floodin’ In California, and takes a nice solo, if somewhat generic sounding one. He picks up the harmonica as well lay down some rollicking piano on a reworking of Eddie Taylor’s recording of Big Town Playboy (Little Johnny Jones had recorded it first) that is one of the best selections here with its peppy (not frenzied) shuffle groove. The title track is a reflective look back at the good fortune he has enjoyed with a refreshingly understated backing. C.J. Chenier joins to help on the vocal for McCracklin’s I Want To Know. Like a Fool by Athas and Rzab is a nice slow original with Mayall singing that it ain’t right his woman toys with his affections and left him feeling like a fool.

The closing Just a Memory is a wistful Mayall original reflecting about a past love and closes this release on an enjoyable note. John Mayall’s music might not make my best of 2014 list, but there are more than enough pleasures to enjoy in A Special Life.
I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is the opening track Where Did You Go Last Night. The youtube post includes a link to purchase this on amazon.

Pennsylvania Blues Festival Celebates 23 Years Of Pocono Blues

James Cotton at 2007 Western Maryland Blues Festival - Photo © Ron Weinstock

The 4th Pennsylvania Blues Festival celebrates 23 years of blues in the Pocono Mountains, July 25-27 at Blue Mountain Ski Area & Resort's Valley - at the base of Blue Mountain with 1 wide spectrum of real blues acts two covered stages. Headlining this year’s festival are Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters; The James Cotton Blues Band and C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Lousiana Band.

The Festival starts on Friday night with PA Blues Fest Showcase with The BC COMBO featuring Bev Conklin, Slam Allen, Mikey Junior, Joe Mac & Lonnie Shields. Bev Conklin and her band anchored last year’s showcase and it will be a treat to hear this year’s group that features the Mississippi born Lonnie Shields bringing his distinctive touch along with harmonica wizard Mikey Jr., and Slam Allen who was part of James Cotton’s Band for many years.

Barbara Carr at 2010 Pocono Blues Festival. Photo © Ron Weinstock

Saturday, July 26, the Festival will open with Tad Robinson performing on the Main Tent Stage while Rip Lee Pryor (son of the legendary Snooky Pryor who recently had his first recording issued on Electro-Fi) will open the Adventure Center for the first of two stages. Also appearing at the Adventure Center Stage will be Ursula Ricks for two sets. After Tad Robinson, there will be sets on the Main Tent Stage by Shawn Holt and the Teardrops (Shawn is son of Morris ‘Magic Slim’’ Holt); the great soul-blues vocalist Barbara Carr; the magical guitar of Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters;  and the legendary James Cotton Blues Band will close that night. After the main performances there will be Saturday Night Jam in the Adventure Center featuring Dave Weld & The Imperial Flames.

Warner Williams of Little Bit of Blues.

Sunday, July 27 will open with VIP Sunday Brunch with The Murali Coryell Band with Special Guest - Dave Keyes. The Main Stage opens with the marvelous gospel harmonies of The Como Mamas; Following the Como Mamas will be The Jarekus Singleton Band featuring the young Mississippi bluesman who recently signed with Alligator and will soon have his debut album for the label. Little Bit of Blues, a Washington DC trio that features the amazing guitar and vocals of Warner Williams will be at the Adventure Center for the first of two sets and followed there by Super Chickan, also playing two sets there. Other main stage acts include the Chris Cain Band, featuring the wonderful, if highly underrated West Coast singer and guitarist; the Heritage Blues Quintet; with C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Lousiana Band closing the main stage with some les bon temps roulet zydeco. The Jarekus Singleton Band will close out the Adventure Center stage.

CJ Chenier at 2010 Pocono Blues Festival

Once again Michael Cloeren has put together a line-up that captures a wide range of blues styles and includes some artists making rare East Coast appearances. Blue Mountain Ski Area is in Palmerton PA. For more information on the Festival, including information on tickets, and other matters visit http://www.skibluemt.com/seasonal-activities/pa-blues-festival.

I have added links to reviews I have posted of a number of the performers. Just click on their names (which will be in blue) and it should take you to my review of that artist. This links will be updated as I add additional reviews.

Wood & Fraher's Texas Zydeco Excellent Book On Creole Music

If you are looking for a holiday present for the blues and/or zydeco fan, then the superb, Texas Zydeco is a book that should be considered. It combines authoritative writing with some beautiful photography.

Texas Zydeco
by Roger Wood & James Fraher (photographer)
University of Texas 2006


Zydeco music is usually associated with Louisiana, but historically Texas, and especially the city of Houston has been central to the growth and development of the idiom from the more traditional la la music of the creole population that is concentrated in southwestern Louisiana and neighboring portions of Texas that include House. The place of Texas in the rise and evolution of zydeco is the subject of Texas Zydeco, the latest collaboration between writer Roger Woof and photographer James Fraher, who previously collaborated in Down in Houston: Blues in Bayou City, the superb book on Houston’s blues scene.


Like the previous volume on Houston Blues, Wood does more than simply provide sketches of the history of the music. He takes us into the world of the zydeco as his first chapter introduces us to the various venues for zydeco and the audience and musicians there ranging from the clubs and church dances to the all day festivals at a rodeo arena. The history of the music as it was transformed from la la to zydeco and some of the pioneering figures and recordings are presented and the fact that some of the recordings were made in Houston including a rare Lightnin’ Hopkins recording on organ, Zologo. Folklorist Mack McCormick was responsible for the spelling of zydeco, but it was not until a Clifton Chenier recording used that spelling, that this spelling received the credibility until it became the established way to spell the term


A chapter is devoted to Chenier and his influence. Chenier’s mix of traditional creole music with rhythm and blues as well as his use of the piano accordion led to the emergence of zydeco as a musical genre and through interviews with some of Clifton’s contemporaries as well as some of the musicians who played with him, including his son C.J, and guitarists Philip Walker and Sherman Washington who recall their experiences with Clifton and how he was a mentor to them which they recognize even today the value of his lessons for them. Clifton was a remarkable person. Chenier invented the frottoir (rubboard) which replaced the washboards that had been used previously, having the first frottoirs fabricated and Wood spends some pages with the individuals that crafted these instruments for use.


Another chapter discusses some of the post-Chenier performers in the world of Texas zydeco, noting that many, but not all, have adopted the button accordion as opposed to the chromatic piano accordion, and provides an overview of these new breed performers including Corey Ledet, Dora and the Zydeco Bad Boyz, J. Paul and Skip Riteau, and in showing their individual maturation as artists how Texas remains a fertile ground for zydeco to continue to evolve.


James Fraher, certainly one of the most outstanding blues photographers alive, contributes some stunning photography. It is unfortunate that Wood and Fraher did not include some actual photographs of Chenier and other masters that Fraher never was able to document, as a photograph of a old Zodico poster for Chenier is not quite the same thing. But this is only a quibble as this book brings the world of zydeco, not simply reciting the lives of major figures, and joins Down in Houston as an important and engrossing book on African-American vernacular music traditions.


This review originally appeared in the November/December 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 288). I likely received a review copy from the publisher.

20080625-2008_Smithsonian_Folklife_Festival-1085

20080625-2008_Smithsonian_Folklife_Festival-1085
Originally uploaded by NoVARon

Texas, along with Bhutan and NASA (yes NASA) are featured at the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which is held on the National Mall between Congress and the Washington Monument. A wide range of Texas music is featured including country and swing from the likes of Guy Clark and Jody Nix and The Texas Cowboys, Conjuncto from accordionist Mingo Saldivar, gospel from the Jones Family singers, zydeco from C.J. Chenier and older creole style music from Les Amis Creole, Augie Myers, Joe Ely, blues from Texas Johnny Brown (this week thru June 29) and Tutu Jones (next week July 2 through July 6). Also appearing will be Marcia Ball and Tutu Jones. There are two main stages for music at the Texas Exhibit, the Texas Opry House and the Texas Music Hall. It is this latter stage at which I caught Texas Johnny Brown performing today. Brown, who turned 80 in February, remains vigorous and was terrific with his urbane modern blues. He first recorded nearly 60 years ago, toured with Amos Milburn, Junior Parker, wrote Bobby Bland's "Two Steps From the Blues." Roger Wood, author of the essential books on Houston blues and Texas Zydeco was a presenter.