JAMES HARMAN Mo’ Napkins Please: ...Strictly the Blues... Vol.2

Sad to hear about James Harman's passing. Here is a review from 2000 that I have not previously posted.

JAMES HARMAN

Mo’ Napkins Please: ...Strictly the Blues... Vol.2 

CANNONBALL (2000)

James Harman has built a well-deserved following with his strong blues vocals, harp playing, and songwriting. Cannonball has just issued this new album of recordings from the 80s, that come from the same 1984-1987 sessions that produced Strictly the Blues...Extra Napkins: Vol. 1. These sessions reunited him with some alumni of his band as well as other top-rated West Coast performers including guitarists Hollywood Fats, Junior Watson, and Kid Ramos; pianists Gene Taylor and Fred Kaplan; bassists Willie J. Campbell and Larry Taylor; and drummer Jimi Bott. 

The tunes are a collection of classics and originals that are modeled on classic blues recordings. The title track is a hot shuffle with some Little Walter-styled harp as Junior Watson rips off a Willie Johnson-inspired solo as the tune evokes Howlin’ Wolf’s Memphis recordings. "Annalee", dedicated to Tommy Johnson and Robert Nighthawk, is a Harman original lyric with Kid Ramos’ guitar adding some Texas flavor to the number. "Too Much Family," a rocking lament about his in-laws overcrowding the house features some terrific Hollywood Fats guitar, also in a Willie Johnson mode, who trades eights with drummer Stephen Taylor Hodges. "Icepick’s Pawnshop Blues," based on the "Forty Four Blues," has Harman lay down harp and his vocal is accompanied only by Fred Kaplan’s piano and Hodges on drums. Mix in these distinctive Harman originals with first-rate covers of The Five Royales’ "(Feel Like) Messin’ Up," Champion Jack Dupree’s "Shim Sham Shimmy," Gatemouth Brown’s "Dirty Work at the Crossroads," and Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Jake-Head Boogie." The latter tune finds him backed only by Kid Ramos’ guitar evoking the King of Dowling Street’s memory quite effectively. Gene Taylor has a boogie-woogie feature, "The Falcon’s Nest," that showcases his ability to tickle the ivories.

By the time the album closes with an acoustic reprisal of the title track, one is satiated with the musical delights here.

This review is from the May-June 2000 Jazz & Blues Report. I likely received a review copy from Cannonball Records or a publicist. I have made minor grammatical edits to the original review. Here he performs "Extra Napkins."

Mitch Kashmar West Coast Toast

Mitch Kashmar
West Coast Toast
Delta Groove

Scott Dirks, in his brief liner notes to the new Mitch Kashmar album "West Coast Toast," observes that if Chicago was home and proving ground for many legends of blues harmonica, the move to the West Coast of pioneer George 'Harmonica' Smith led to his presence influencing a whole generation and new off-shoot of the blues harmonica sound. The result was the 'West Coast Sound,' which he describes as "a hard-swinging, sophisticated and distinctly different offshoot of the amplified harp sounds familiar in Chicago." Kashmar is described as one of the handful of masters of this California sound, bringing his unique voice as a harpist and a soulful singer, on a release tipping his hat to the West Coast blues legacy with select covers mixed in with his originals.

An opening instrumental, "East of 82nd Street," establishes Kashmar's fat tone and imaginative playing in this tradition, along with the solid studio band of Junior Watson on guitar, Fred Kaplan on keyboards, Bill Stuve on the bass and Marty Dodson on drums. Watson gets to showcase his chops as well in a short break and his comping under the leader's dynamic playing. Kashmar's abilities as a vocalist are established by a cover of Willie Dixon's "Too Many Cooks" (some will be familiar from Robert Cray's cover more than Jesse Fortune's original), with Kaplan laying down an intriguing solo. It is followed by a capable rendition of an old Little Willie John recording, "Young Girl," with a backing and harp evocative of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me."

The tempo picks up on the topical original, "The Petroleum Blues," a rocking performance where he sings about "how much money are we gonna lose," and then slows down on "Mood Indica," with his fat, juicy playing set against Kaplan pounding the 88s, who along with Watson get to take choice solos while Stuve and Dodson push the groove forward. The is an appealing shuffle rendition of Billy Boy Arnold's "Don't Stay Out All Night," while Kashmar on "My Lil' Stumptown Shack," shows he able to construct an original that captures the flavor of classic 50's Chicago blues.

Kashmar's interpretation of John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson's "Alcohol Blues," is nicely played and followed by an easy rocking version of lesser known Lowell Fulson song, "Love Grows Cold," with explosive guitar by Watson. The jazz-tinged instrumental "Canoodlin'," has a late night feel to it and closes a set of strong blues performances.

I received my review copy from Delta Groove. Here is a promotional video for this recording.

John Long Stand Your Ground

John Long 
Stand Your Ground
Delta Groove Music

It took John Long decades or so before this old school country blues musician recorded a full album, the 2006 Delta Groove release Lost & Found. I wrote a decade ago that it was "comprised of originals that sound like remakes of classic country blues recordings from the pre-World War 11 era. He sounds as if he has channeled Son House, Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Lonnie Johnson and others." It reflected his being mentored by Homesick James Williamson among others along with his love for these older blues artists and recordings.

It is appropriate he opens his new album with a small group rendition of Homesick James' "Please Set a Date," taken at a relaxed tempo with the type of restrained slide attack that contrasts with say Hound Dog Taylor. As good as it may be, it is followed by the stunning "Red Hawk," where he channels Johnny Shines and Robert Johnson in a stunning reworking of "Terraplane/Dynafow Blues" melody with his original lyrics. The following "Things Can't Be Down Always," has him adding harmonica for a solid one-man blues band performance while the title track is a peppy slide number with a message as Bill Stuve on bass and Washington Rucker on drums add adept backing, while he evokes Joe Hill Louis on "Welcome Mat," another one-man band performance. 

There seems to be several selections where Long may be reflecting about his own mortality. "No Flowers For Me," is a topical blues where he sings that he has been shaking, and asks folks to remember him, but don't spend money on flowers, but rather find a cure for that Parkinson's Disease. His slide, on the rendition of "I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole," conjures up Mississippi Fred McDowell. There is a reflective feel to his fresh interpretation of Blind Willie McTell's "Climbing High Mountains (Trying To Get Home)," and athevery moving "Precious Lord," with bass and drums backing that has an ambience of some of Sonny Boy Williamson's European recordings.

The closing "Suitcase Stomp" is a brisk, brief one-man band number where Long sings about leaving St. Louis and just doing what he wants, doing the suitcase stomp. Ten years ago I said "Long comes off as a real contemporary master of acoustic blues." It has taken ten years for John Long to follow up that recording, and that evaluation still is appropriate. The wait was definitely worthwhile with this terrific recording.

I received my review copy from Delta Groove. Here is a video of John in performance.

Bob Corritore's Taboo Harp Feast

Bob Corritore has a new album of blues harmonica instrumentals, Taboo on Delta Groove. Corritore, a Chicago native who moved to the Phoenix area in the 1980s, has been a significant figure in the blues world as a radio host (his excellent “Those Lowdown Blues” on KJZZ on Sunday evenings), a recording producer, a promoter who created a thriving blues scene in Phoenix and a superb harmonica player.

Corritore has lent his considerable talents to terrific recordings by such folks as Henry Grey, Dave Riley, Louisiana Red, Big Pete Pearson and John Primer. He has had several albums under his own name, but these have often been compilations mostly of his work with a variety of blues performers. Taboo is an album of 12 blues instrumentals that feature Corritore’s swinging and fat toned harp playing backed by a crackerjack combo of guitars Junior Watson, keyboardist Fred Kaplan, bassist Kedar Roy and drummer Richard Innes. Two of the twelve selections have guitarist Jimmy Vaughan and organist Papa John DeFrancesco on which saxophonist Doug James also plays (he plays on one other number.

On the album cover, Charlie Musselwhite observes” Not many people can do an all instrumental harp CD and keep it interesting all the way through.” Having some dream backing musicians certainly helps as does a nice array of grooves and feels. Corritore is a player not simply possessing a big harp tone, but also one who displays a nuanced phrasing and a strong sense of swing that is heard on the somewhat exotic sounding title track as well as the driving Harp Blast, a hot shuffle in the vein of Little Walter, while another harp feature, Ruckus Rhythm evoked the brilliance of the late Jerry McCain’s classic Steady. Fabuloco (For Kid) is a nice salute to Kid Ramos with a Tex-Mex groove.”

Mr. Tate’s Advice is one of the two selections with organist DeFrancesco and Vaughan but Corritore’s unison playing with saxophonist James is also noteworthy on this jazzy performance. His unamplified chromatic playing on Fifth Position Plea contrasts with the fat atmospheric amplified sound on Many a Devil’s Night that would make Little Walker and George ‘Harmonica’ Smith proud. There is more outstanding chromatic on another Little Walter inspired instrumental, Bob’s Late Hours. On all three selections, Watson’s guitar is the perfect foil for the leader.

The terrific rhythm section provides such backing throughout while keeping the groove at a nice, relaxed tempo. Taboo is a marvelously performed, recorded and programmed CD of blues harmonica instrumentals. To paraphrase Charlie Musselwhite, it is a dandy of a CD.

I received my review copy from Delta Groove. Here Bob Corritore is seen with Bob Margolin at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix.

Jumpin' With Junior Watson

Among the most respected blues and roots guitarists associated with the West Coast swing and jump blues scene is Junior Watson. Bharath Rajakumar and Wally Herson have produced his most recent recording, Jumpin’ With Junior (Royal Regal Records). Watson is joined by long-time collaborator Fred Kaplan on piano and different rhythm sections. This CD was recorded in Montreal and Pasadena. Bharath plays harmonica on 2 of the 8 Montreal selections, while Gordon Beadle adds sax to two of the 7 Pasadena recordings.

There is plenty of attention to tone and atmosphere on the recordings starting with the hot Butter Top. Watson's affection for the Memphis guitar stylings of Floyd Murphy, Willie Johnson and Pat Hare is evident on his twisting lines on Knee High Boogie. Watson is adequate as a vocalist on Floyd Jones’ Stockyard Blues, as Bharath channels Snooky Pryor and Walter Horton. Watson’s playing here on this in an Eddie Taylor vein. No one is going to purchase this for Watson’s singing, but the vocals do provide a change of pace.

Bo-Nanza is an interpretation of the theme of the classic TV show as if it had been recorded by Bo Diddley. Another take on a TV theme songs is Beverly’s Hillbilly, with a reggae groove. These tracks contrast with the late night, jazzy tinge of Velvet Mood. Happy Hoppy is a bouncy salute to Houston steel guitarist Hop Wilson on which Watson playd some taut steel. Dragnet Blues was originally recoded by Johnny Moore’s Blazers with Frankie Ervin soning on a Charles Brown styled performance. Watson’s vocal is pretty effective on a moody performance.

The title track is a hot instrumental with driving single note runs accented by slashing chords. His slide guitar rendition of One Night With You may conjure up Earl Hooker, while There’ll Be a Day (with nice harmonica added) is a nice cover of a lesser known Jimmy Reed number. Mr. Downtime is an atmospheric late night cocktail blues instrumental while Boppish provides an interesting contrast between Watson’s jazz-accented blues style and Beadle’s tenor sax that channels Illinois Jacquet and Wardell Gray on this while on the closing The Barn Burner, Beadle plays more in the honking style of Big Jay McNeely. 

Junior Watson rarely records under his own name and that is enough reason for many to be interested in this. There is plenty of intriguing and imaginative playing throughout that makes for fun listening.

I purchased this although it may be hard to fine. Here is a video of Junior Watson. 

The acoustic side of Smokin’ Joe Kubek and B’Nois King

For their latest recording (and Delta Groove debut) Close To The Bone, Smokin’ Joe Kubek and B’Nois King unplug themselves for an album of acoustic performances. The two are supported on this recording by a variety of individuals over the course of the 14 that include Randy Chortkoff, Bob Corritore, Pieter 'Big Pete' van der Plijim, and Lynwood Slim on harmonica; Kirk Fletcher, Shawn Pittman and Paul Size on guitar; Fred Kaplan on piano; Willie J. Campbell on bass; and Jimi Bott on drums. Most of 14 selections are originals with a couple of the songs adaptations of recordings from the Texas blues tradition.

This does present a different side of the two. While they both play quite vigorously on this album, their contrasting guitar attacks much more effectively play each other when amplified. While they play acoustically, neither is adept at early blues guitar style, so their rendition of a Ramblin’ Thomas or Texas Alexander song has a distinctly different flavor than the original country blues recording. This is not to complain about the music contained here, but to make you aware of what one will not hear.

The music is quite well played. B’Nois King is such an appealing singer and they have some quite appealing songs. A lively rendition of Ramblin’ Thomas’ Poor Boy Blues opens this album with some nice guitar interplay as King sings about rambling from Louisiana to Texas. My Best Friend has a wistful lyric about not having listened to this lady who told him slow down and not grow up too fast. Shawn Pittman contributes a slide guitar solo that adds to the feel here. Keep Her Around is a lively shuffle with a with a strong King vocal and a harmonica trio (Chortkoff, Corritore and Big Pete) that is part of the driving small group. She Got Rid Of Me, is a tale about a high school lover who King supported through college. When she finished her schooling she schooled him, getting on her feet and kicking him out to the street, making big dough and telling B’Nois he had to go.

While songs like Yankin’ My Chain, and She Got Rid Of Me, explore typical blues themes of the relations between the sexes, there are a couple of very strong topical blues, Drowning in Red Ink, and Ordinary Man. “Drowning” is a small group performance with a melody that suggests Charles Brown’s I Want To Go Home with Fred Kaplan adding piano while King sings about holding on to his job, his confidence being shot and just holding on till the next pay day as they are cutting back on everyone’s pay while the boss gives himself a raise. Ordinary Man (another small group performance with Kirk Fletcher added on guitar although Kubek and King solo) lambastes politicians who put on a suit and wave old glory while playing games with folks lives. Lynwood Slim adds some very nice harmonica to the duo’s rearrangement of Texas Alexander’s Bad Luck Child, an effective performance that tames the field holler qualities of Alexander’s original.

Close To The Bone is a welcome addition to the Kubek-King discography. While I would recommend other of their recordings prior to this one, their fans will likely, as I did, enjoy this change of pace.

I received my review copy from Delta Groove.

William Clarke Was Rockin' The Boat

Watchdog Records has just reissued Rockin’ the Boat, a live performance by the late William Clarke that was recorded at the Starboard Attitude in April 1987 and originally issued on Rivera Records. It has Clarke backed by an excellent band of Joel Foy on guitar; Willie Brinlee on the acoustic bass; Fred Kaplan on piano; and Eddie ‘Lips’ Clark on drums with Leonardo Watkins singing on one of the eight selections here.

The William Clarke Blues Band sounded pretty solid this evening opening with Clarke’s Deal The Cards, an original shuffle that sports Clarke’s convincing vocals and big-tone on the harmonica with the band solidly behind him and Foy takes an incisive solo. Clarke and Band reworks Sonny Boy Williamson’s Keep It To Yourself, setting it to the Help Me/ Green Onions, melody with Foy blasting off on a tough solo. It is followed by a feature for Foy on Jimmy McGriff’s All About My Girl, that will be familiar from Albert Collins recording of it. Foy displays considerable technique and imagination in his driving guitar workout.

St. Louis Jimmy’s I Had My Fun (aka Going Down Slow) is taken at a nice medium pace opening with Clarke ‘s vigorous vocal and dynamic harmonica and Kaplan comping behind the vocal before taking a solo. It is followed by Watkins singing a medley of Jimi Hendrix’s Red House and B.B. King’s Just a Little Bit of Love. It is taken as a shuffle with Clarke adding some solid saxophone-like harmonica playing. A lengthy rendition of Iodine In My Coffee follows with swinging and rocking solos from Clarke (telling everybody “let me play my harmonica”) and Kaplan, while Foy adds fills and chords to help push the performance on.

Clarke lays out for the atmospheric After Hours that puts the spotlight Kaplan with his late night piano feel before launching into the closing feverish jump blues,Boogie Woogie Woman, with Foy channeling Willie Johnson and Joe Willie Wilkins in his accompaniment. Its a rocking conclusion to a welcome Clarke reissue. Clarke would grow and mature as a performer and songwriter in the years following this performance, but there is nothing immature about the music heard here. He may have been rocking the boat that April night, but the music still will rock most any house today.

I purchased this from bluebeatmusic.com. I note the CD is not listed as available from amazon but it is available as mp3 files.

William Clarke and Junior Watson Are Double Dealin'

Double Dealin’ (Bluebeat Music), by William Clarke and Junior Watson) releases material recorded in 1983 at the same time as Clarke’s Rivera label debut Can’t You Hear Me Calling. This recording came after a cross-country US and Canadian tour Clake made with George ‘Harmonica’ Smith and is being issued with the cooperation of Jeanette Clarke-Lodovici. In addition to Clarke’s harmonica and vocals and Watson’s guitar, the band here is Fred Kaplan on piano, Willie Brinlee on bass and Jerry Monte on drums.


I have not heard Can’t You Hear Me Calling, but the reviews on the internet talk about him not sounding as confident as he would on later recordings. I presume that those folks would probably say the same about these contemporaneous recordings. Even if these relatively early sides (his Alligator debut would be 7 years later) may not be as striking as his latter sides, they stand up fairly well to a lot of what passes for blues today. There is plenty of solid harp along with Clarke’s very solid singing. Add Watson’s guitar which comes across as a cross between Willie Johnson’s somewhat wild Sun studio style players like Robert Lockwood and Luther Tucker who played countless sessions with the likes of Little Walter. Kaplan was, and is, a fine two-handed piano player and the rhythm section is solid.


There is a very nice choice of material including an early version of Musta Been Jelly, that he would win a Handy for in 1991, and a tasty cover of Mercy Dee’s One Room Country Shack. Kaplan is featured on the instrumental boogie Groovin’ With Mr. K, while Junior’s Jump features some nice harp along with Watson ripping off a tough guitar solo in which he interpolates melodies from big band jump numbers into his solo.


While no revelation here, fans of William Clarke, post-war harmonica blues, and the comntemporary West Coast blues style will find much to their liking. For more information on this, check out www.bluebeatmusic.com.


I received a review copy from Bluebeat Music.

Hollywood Fats Legacy Burns Brightly Today

Decades after his death, the legacy of Michael “Hollywood Fats” Mann and the Hollywood Fats Band looms large. The members of the Hollywood Fats Band, Al Blake, vocals and harmonica; Fred Kaplan, piano; Larry Taylor, bass; and Richard Innes, drums, are still active and with guitarists Junior Watson, one of the more significant guitarists to model his own playing after that of Fats as well as Kirk Fletcher who was mentored by Watson form the Hollywood Blue Flames that plays in the same approach as Fats. Fats embraced the post-war blues guitar tradition and excelled in the post B.B. King style of playing but his ears made him so skilled that Muddy Waters recruited him after he had toured with the likes of J.B. Hutto, Jimmy Witherspoon and Albert King (the latter allegedly firing Fats because he was jealous of the attention Fats was receiving). The Hollywood Fats band recorded only one album which became a cult release in its initial vinyl release before Black Top issued it on CD.

Delta Groove issued a double CD a few years back, pairing new recordings by The Hollywood Blue Flames with previously unissued locations recordings by Fats. It has just issued a second double CD collection featuring the Hollywood Blue Flames “Deep in America" and more location recordings by the Fats Band “Larger Than Life Volume 2.” Vocalist Blake has become the dominant person in this and, handling all the vocals and on several tracks, he is heard solo playing guitar as well as harmonica) or primarily backed by Kaplan’s piano. Guitarist Watson or Fletcher are heard on 9 of the 14 selections on “Deep in America,” both contributing strong, swing straight-ahead contemporary blues guitar that shows no hard rock influences.

Most of the tunes on “Deep in America,” are Blake penned originals, but it opens with a nice take on L.C. McKinley’s “Nit Wit,” followed by a nice slow blues “Rambler and a Rollin’ Stone,” with some Sweet Charles Brown influenced piano, sizzling Watson guitar and great harp from Blake. Fletcher’s fretwork is spotlighted along with rollicking piano on “Crescent City Rock,” while Blake amuses with “My National Enquirer Baby,” about a lady who has low down ways and treats poor Al so mean which Watson guitar capturing the lyrics sting. Blake plays acoustic guitar and harp on “Music Man,” on of a couple performances that shows him a more than credible Delta Blues guitar stylist (the other being “Hip-Hoppin’ Toad”), as he employs the “Forty four Blues” riff. He is joined by Kaplan for “Leavin’ California, a nice duet as he sings about this rat race and tomorrow morning being south of the border bound. “

“Jalopy to Drive” is a nice rendition of a Sonny Boy Williamson that others would handle in a frenzied fashion, while “Bad Boy Blues,” is a nice classic Chicago Blues styled performance while Blake with Kaplan and Innes does a suitably morose rendition of Jimmy McCracklin’s “I Don’t Care.” Fletcher lends his fretwork to the rocking “Rocky mountain Blues,” with Kaplan’s boogie inflected piano standing out again. Among the other enjoyable performances is Kaplan’s piano feature, “Hushpuppy.”

It would be easy to recommend the new recordings based on their own merits. But as good as these get, but even better twelve live recordings from 1979 and 1980 by the Hollywood Fats Band for “Larger Than Life, Volume 2,” make this package extremely valuable. These are location recordings and the sound occasionally isn’t as vibrant on the more contemporary studio recordings. Tampa red’s “She’s Dynamite,’ is a strong feature for Blake and Kaplan (pounding on the ivories) before Fats takes his strong rocking solo during the second break in the song as the rhythm section (Taylor and Innes) cook. Listening to his playing here, one can understand why Muddy Waters invited Fats to join Muddy’s Band. “Blue and Lonesome” is the Memphis Slim number, again with some really terrific piano from Blake. Fats is featured on a nice “Hideaway,” and is prominent on the jaunty version of “Kansas City,” before turning it up a notch on a set closing jazzy instrumental, “Half Steppin’,” one of several extended guitar improvisations that never are lacking in drive or imagination. Perhaps the high point of these performances are three from Palo Alto’s Keystone from 1979. “Read About My Baby,” sounds like the model for “My National Enquirer Baby,’ with Fats evoking magic Sam with his driving, slashing attack. Its followed by an incendiary rendition of “Nit Wit,” that is taken at a somewhat frenetic tempo, but the band’s hard rocking groove never comes across as frenzied with some more blistering guitar. The last of this trio of selections is a marvelous “Blues After Hours, with a Blake vocal in addition to more dazzling guitar from Fats. One other instrumental, “Jumpin’ With Duncan,” is a tour de force for Fats with Al Duncan (the legendary Chicago drummer I believe) taking over the drum chair for this selection. With the close of the rock until the dawn’s light rendition of “Baby, Let’s Play House,” one simply wants to hear more of what was a great band.

The latest Hollywood Blue Flames release thus helps keep the torch alive for this legendary band, but also makes available more previously unissued and compelling sides that helps one understand the band’s reputation. Thanks to Delta Groove for this release.

For purposes of FTC regulations, I received the review copy from the folks doing publicity for the label. My review originally appeared in Jazz & Blues Report #324 (March 1-April 15, 2010).