Coco Montoya Coming in Hot

Coco Montoya
Coming in Hot
Alligator Records

"Coming In Hot" is the latest Alligator release from blues-rocker and powerhouse guitarist Coco Montoya. Like his prior recording, "Hard Truth," this is produced by drummer Tony Braunagel and recorded by Johnny Lee Schell, who plays rhythm guitar on wight of the 11 tracks. Others on this recording include Mike Finnigan on keyboards, Billy Watts on rhythm guitar on three songs, and Bob Glaub or Mile Menell on bass. Jon Cleary plays piano on one selection.

Montoya's searing guitar and forceful vocals continue to impress those who like a solid blues-rock mix. He certainly puts so much into his singing as on "Good Man Gone." The title track has a catchy, rhythmic groove as he tells his woman to get her fire burning as he is coming in hot tonight with a stunning guitar solo. He channels Albert Collins on Collins' classic slow blues, "Lights Are On But Nobody's Home," with terrific guitar and one of his most compelling vocals here. Warren Haynes' ballad, "What Am I?" is a nice change of pace with his relaxed vocal and the somewhat restrained backing, although he takes a fiery solo. There is a cover of a less-known Bobby Bland recording, "Ain't it a Good Thing." Shaun Murphy shares the vocal on this splendid performance with some terrific blues guitar from Montoya.

A rocking shuffle "Water to Wine" closes this album with Montoya celebrating this woman who can do almost anything such as change 'water to wine.'" It closes another CD of varied, nicely paced, and played performances. Coco Montoya continues to deliver the goods for those who like their blues with a rock-edge.

I received my review copy from Alligator. This review appeared in the September-October 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 386), although I made minor stylistic changes. Here is a relatively recent performance by Coco Montoya.

Coco Montoya Hard Truth

Coco Montoya
Hard Truth
Alligator Records

Blues-rocker and powerhouse guitarist Coco Montoya returns to Alligator Records with this new release. Produced by drummer Tony Braunagel and recorded by Johnny Lee Schell (who plays rhythm guitar on several tracks and slide on one) with Mike Finnigan on keyboards and Bob Glaub on bass with Lee Roy Parnell adding slide guitar on one track, this is a nice mix of songs from the likes of Warren Haynes, John Hiatt, Gwen Collins, and Homer Banks & Allen Jones, Jr.

Montoya played with Albert Collins for five years and Collins' influence can be felt and heard throughout starting from the opening "Before the Bullets Fly," from Haynes and others, as well as Collins' "The Moon Is Full," where his shouted vocals is matched by his fiery fretwork. Then there is the gospel feel of the Steve Gomes-Ronnie Earl Horvarth penned "I Want to Shout About It," where his celebration of his woman is matched by his blistering playing with Finnigan's organ helping this rocking performance. Parnell's slide adds to the juggernaut feel of "Lost in the Bottle," as whiskey is talking as his eyes are burning red, while his judicious use of sustain and tone embellishes his more low-key vocal on "Old Habits to Break."

The underlying groove of "I'll Find Someone Who Will" is suggestive the Al Green-Syl Johnson classic "Take Me To The River," while the insistent blues-rock "Hard As Hell" evokes some of the Leon Russell produced Freddie King recordings. The Banks-Jones penned "Where Can a Man Go From Here?" is perhaps the outstanding straight blues performance here with a strong vocal as well as his forceful guitar. Even when he rocks things hard, these performances are nicely paced and do not sound rushed or frenzied. With the terrific backing Coca Montoya receives, the varied, fresh-sounding material and Montoya's powerful guitar and heartfelt vocals, the "Hard Truth" is another release to delight those who like blues with a bit of a rock edge.

I received my review copy from Alligator. This review originally appeared in the March-April 2017  Jazz & Blues Report  (Issue 371). Here Coco Montoya performing "Truth Be Told."

Robert Ealey If You Need Me

Robert Ealey
If You Need Me
Topcat

Robert Ealey is somewhat of a legend around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and has made several recordings before this. Backed by a variety of Dallas area musicians (including Mike Morgan, Sumter Bruton and Tone Somner) and special guests (Coco Montoya), he has produced a set of blues that covers a wide range of stylistic bases, from Chicago blues to Texas jump, and even a Tex-Mex flavored number. 

Ealey is an appealing vocalist with a slightly slurred diction. He can put forth a nice Chicago shuffle, as on the opening Turn Out the Lights, or the slow I Had a Dream, both with Hash Brown’s full-bodied harp, and the jump-flavored groove on She’s a Rocket works well (perhaps attributable to Bruton’s T-Bone Walker flavored guitar that kicks it off and Johnny Reno’s booting sax). Also appealing is the Tex-Mex flavored Tica. The title tune is a soulful ballad with Reno ripping off a tough sax break, but one can imagine another vocalist handling this a bit more forcefully. The small group instrumentation gives a novel flavor to The River, a thinly disguised reworking of Percy Mayfield’s River Invitation, but Ealey is not convincing here, and the backing falls apart. 

Certainly an engaging album which makes accessible a stalwart of the Dallas region’s blues scene, but Ealey comes off as only a workmanlike vocalist on this.

This review originally appeared in the March 1995 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 199). Robert Ealey passed away in 2001. I likely received a review copy from the recording copy, a publicist or the publication. Here is Robert Ealey in performance.

Coco Montoya Songs From the Road

 

The latest in Ruf Records “Songs From the Road” series is by Coco Montoya. The series of live recordings seeks to capture typical performances and in this case Montoya was recorded over two-nights at Seattle’s Triple Door with Jim Gaines in the house to produce it. Montoya is supported by Brant Leeper on keyboards, Nathan Brown on bass and Rena Beavers on drums. Leeper and Beavers also contribute backing vocals.

14 sons are spread over the two CDs clocking in at just under 2 hours and provide a retrospective of his career. Fans of Montoya undoubtedly will enjoy this with his husky singing and guitar playing. There is a fair amount of Albert Collins’ influence heard whether on the opening song, Collins’ “I Got a Mind To Travel” or Montoya’s original “Love Jail” that he wrote for Collins but Collins never recorded. Leeper’s keyboards contributes to this flavor and he certain adds both support and additional musical coloring (as well as provides several strong solos) while the rhythm section of Brown and Beavers kept a nice relaxed groove going.

One strength of the recording is the pace of the performance. The musical never sounds hurried or frenzied and the groove is solid whether handling a slow blues, a blues-infused rock song or the driving rendition of “Fannie Mae.” While having a somewhat limited vocal range, Montoya sings well and delivers his vocals with a lot of heart. The only fault might be the length of some of the performances which might not sustain interest listening at home as much as they pleased the Triple Door crowd. That is inherent in the nature of Ruf’s documentation of these performances which serves to capture Coco Montoya on a representative performance. Coco Montoya’s “Songs From the Road" certainly accomplishes this purpose quite well.

I received from Ruf Records or a publicist. I have made a few minor changes from the review which appeared in the January-Fenruary 2015 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 358). Here is a video of Coco performing I Got a Mind To Travel.”