This is one of several reissues of classic New Orleans music put together by Aaron Fuchs and Tuff City Records and associated labels. It is available on vinyl (although with only 10 of 15 tracks). Led by Willie Tee (noted for the hit Teasin’ You) and including drummer Larry Penia, Irvin Charles on bass and June Ray on guitar, there are comparisons to be made with the better known Meters, particularly given that both groups put out riff based funk grooves, although The Gators were perhaps more vocally oriented when these sides were made around 1970.
A portion of this is comprised of funk grooves, often built around a bass figure from Irvin Charles, like on the opening Booger Man or Gator Bait. Tee’s vocals are featured both on dance numbers like Funky Funky Twist or other songs that seem somewhat influenced by the Commodores and similar acts (one song on the compact disc version is I’m Gonna Make You Love Me). A dance number Get Up, with a girl chorus taking the vocal lead features, has some nice saxophone, possibly by Willie Tee’s brother, Earl Turbington.
Among the additional tracks on the compact disc is a fine soul-blues, One Thrill Fool,with noteworthy guitar from Ray. A significant omission in this interesting collection is the lack of liner notes. Still, fans of New Orleans music and seventies funk may likely wish to check this out. Coming out on the sister Night Train International label is New Orleans Twist Party, a compilation from Rip Records that will have rare cuts by Eddie Bo, Professor Longhair, Bobby Mitchell and others.
I likely purchased this and this review originally appeared in September 1995 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 204). Here is The Gaturs performing Wasted.
Johnny Guitar Watson At Uncle Pö's Carnegie Hall, Hamburg 1976 Jazzline
This is a live 1976 German radio broadcast of Johnny 'Guitar' Watson from Hamburg that has just been made available on CD and download. Watson is backed by his Watsonian Institute comprised of Peter Martin, trumpet; Tommy Robertson - trombone; Paul Dunmall - sax; Gil Noble - piano, synthesizer; Bobby Howard - bass and Emry Thomas - drums, and the recording was made around the time of the "Ain't That A Bitch" album but the songs here range beyond the dance funk blues of that recording.
I have several videos and recordings of a number of Watson's live performances, but these are mostly later and the repertoire is somewhat different here. It opens with a cover of the Grover Washington hit "Mister Magic" on which Watson unleashes some pretty solid guitar, followed by the title track of one of his underrated Fantasy albums, "I Don't Want To Be a Lone Ranger," with more electrifying guitar on this song where he sings no one wants to be a lonely one, but Johnny wants to be the lady's only one. In addition to his seductive singing, one should note the horn arrangements as well as the jazzy guitar runs. It's follow wed by a terrific slow rendition of "Stormy Monday" in which he incorporates a bit of the lyrics of Jimmy Reed as well as some spectacular blues guitar. A strong funky "Superman Lover," is followed by the bravado of "Gangster of Love," the funky, topical trying to make ends meet of "Ain't That a Bitch," and then his rock and roll ballad "Cuttin' In." Watson was in first-rate form this evening and his band provides tight, crisp support.
A jam on the sensuous "I Need It," allows him to introduce and showcase his band members before a short closing instrumental closes nearly an hour of exceptional Johnny 'Guitar' Watson. I purchased this as a bargain priced download with digital booklet on iTunes for about $5 and believe the hard copy is bargain priced (although not that cheap). This would be highly recommended even if it was not so inexpensive, and at that price, any JGW fan needs this.
I purchased this as a download. Here is a live performance of Johnny doing "Gangster of Love."
Walter “Wolfman” Washington Blue Moon Risin’ 4 Tunes Records
After years working with Johnny Adams and making some recordings for small New Orleans labels, Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington emerged as an important blues voice in his own right with several albums for Rounder, and then one for PointBlank that evidenced his emergence as one of the true major voices in contemporary blues. Now with Blue Moon Risin’, currently only available as an import, he has produced an absolutely stunning album that seamlessly integrates soul and funk elements into Washington’s blues gumbo.
Washington’s band, the Roadmasters (not to be confused with Ronnie Earl’s band of the same name), has a rhythm section of Jack Cruz on bass, Wilbert Arnold on drums and Brian Mitchel on keyboards that is as good as they get. While the regular Roadmasters horns are only present on two tracks, ten of the twelve tracks have the J.B. Horns (Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis).
Wolfman’s mix of funk and blues is perfect for the J.B. Horns, whose crisp playing matches up with the hard funk groove of the Roadmasters on the strutting remake of Bill Withers’ “Use Me” and showcase Wolfman’s solo on “Fever.” Still the disc’s highest points are the originals by Wolfman and Jack Cruz, such as the opening “Stop and Think” (to which keyboard player Mitchel also contributed), the title track (with its opening line “There’s a blue moon risin’, in my heart & in my soul, passion and pain lying on everything I known”), and “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You,” a terrific driving updating on Otis Redding’s “Can’t Cut You Loose.”
“Cadillac Woman” may be the closest thing to a straight blues shuffle, but it has an interesting turn in the melody. And while his guitar is showcased, mixing in bits of George Benson and Kenny Burrell to the gulf coast blues guitar stew, his fervid singing is just as central to these performances. He’ll employ a strangulated falsetto for emphasis, or stretch out a syllable as necessary before cutting loose with a concise guitar solo as the horns riff in support.
I’ve listened to this repeatedly since buying it at the Louisiana Music Factory in New Orleans. Wolfman has made fine records before, but this is one of the best new albums in a very long time.
This review originally appeared in the July-August 1995 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 203). This is available as downloads from amazon, iTunes and other sources, as well as used. Here he is performing the title track more recently.
Purported to be a tribute to Louis Armstrong, Dr. John’s new Concord Records album even reflects that in its title, She-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit Of Satch. Listening to this I find it more satisfying as listening to this as simply a Dr. John album with songs somehow associated with Louis Armstrong. With arrangements primarily by his trombonist Sarah Morrow and the good Doctor, the music is more in the spirit of Dr. John and for a tribute to a gentleman whose legacy might be summed up by a title he recorded, Swing That Music, there is little swing but plenty of funk. This is despite the presence of such marvelous guests as Nicholas Payton, Terence Blanchard, Wendell Brunious, James Andrews, the Five Blind Boys, Ledisi, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, the Dirty Dozen and Arturo Sandoval along with Reginald Veal, Herlin Riley, Pancho Sanchez and Ed Petersen among those playing on these sessions.
One does notice the omission of anyone with direct ties to Louis Armstrong here such as Jewel Brown who was a member of Armstrong’s touring band for years, and Catherine Russell, daughter of Luis Russell, the leader Louis Armstrong’s big band for years before in disbanded. Russell herself has revived a number of Armstrong songs on her wonderful recent recordings (and most definitely in the spirit of Satchmo) and would have made as wonderful a participant as anybody here.
Looking at the material, there are only a few numbers that have a strong connection with Armstrong and core to his performance while several core songs of Armstrong’s music including When It’s Sleepy Time Down South (Armstrong’s theme song) and When the Saints Go Marching In (Armstrong’s recording with his big band popularized a number that has become overplayed perhaps). That’s My Home is a musical cousin to Sleepy Time, and one can understand Dr. John being uncomfortable with the its lyrics. While Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child was performed by Armstrong, and is a nice vehicle for singer Anthony Hamilton, there is nothing about this song or performance that makes one think of Armstrong. The same can be said with Sweet Hunk O’Trash that Armstrong performed with Billie Holiday in a movie and seems to be chosen as a vehicle for a duet with Copeland. Armstrong played on the original Trouble in Mind, and one wonders that a more inspired vehicle for Copeland might have been this with simply Dr. John and just Nicholas Payton on trumpet.
There is a lovely rendition of What a Wonderful World (although hardly a core part of Armstrong’s repertoire when he was alive) with the Five Blind Boys to open this album and there is a fresh, funk and hip-hop rendition of “Mack the Knife” with Mike Ladd adding a rap. Also Tight Like That, with Arturo Sandoval’s trumpet is totally reworked into a Latin number. The duet with Bonnie Raitt on I’ve Got the World on a String is nice but the only thing Dr. John’s “Gut Bucket Blues” has in common with Armstrong’s Hot Five recording is its title. The performance bears little resemblance to Armstrong’s original although Payton is brilliant here and it is a nice blues vocal and performance. Despite some bombast in the arrangement, Dippermouth Blues is also far removed from King Oliver’s original or the various renditions (including under the name Sugarfoot Stomp, and becomes rollicking New Orleans funk with James Andrews (Trombone Shorty’s brother) playing hot trumpet while Doctor John sings some scat phrases he wrote (including the title of this album), That’s My Home is one of the songs here that most evokes Armstrong’s music as does Memories of You with some outstanding playing from trumpeter Sandoval.
The closing When You’re Smiling, with the Dirty Dozen, has a lively Afro-Cuban groove and a solid vocal from the good Doctor. And there is certainly nothing to fault Dr. John’s performances here. The problem is the subtitle of the album, The Spirit of Satch. If you simply called this Ske-Dat-De-Dat, I suspect few would make a connection with Louis Armstrong from listening to it other than observe several songs were associated with Armstrong. At the same time, viewed as a Dr. John album it certainly will appeal to his many fans and on that basis I have no problem recommending this.
I received a review copy from Concord Records. Here is the song Gutbucket Blues as performed by Dr. John followed by the Armstrong Hot Five recording, Gutbucket Blues.
Few folk have had as much influence in the worlds of blues soul and funk than Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson. As David Ritz notes in the liner notes of the two disc, The Funk Anthology, Watson lends a long shadow over hip hop, with the track It’s About the Dollar Bill exemplifying this best, although rappers have long sampled his grooves and Snoop Doggy Dogg lifted a trademark phrase from Watson’s Bow Wow (Which Watson in performance referred to as the dog song). He was a major influence on folks as varied as Etta James (“He’s my model. He taught me to sing blues. He taught me to sing ballads....”), Jimi Hendrix, The Vaughan Brothers (who linked him with Freddie, Albert and B.B. King of guitarists they admired... “He made magic,” according to Jimi), Prince and too many others to list as well as being admired by so many others like Marvin Gaye, the Neville Brothers and Lightnin’ Hopkins (“The blues gets all over everything. Watson is all over the blues and the blues is all over him.”).
When he collapsed on stage in Japan during the second verse of Super-man Lover, it ended a four-decade career that took him from Houston to the world and transformed Young John Watson into the Gangster of Love and Superman Lover. He was a pianist who could rock the boogie like Amos Milburn and a guitarist who wowed Frank Zappa with tracks like Three Hours Past Midnight . Then there is the incredible guitar showpiece from the mid-fifties space guitar plus his originals of Gangster of Love. I suspect Watson’s recording of One Room Country Shack inspired Buddy Guy to do that number. Then there were his acclaimed piano album, the duets with Larry Williams which probably did not catch the mood of the audience turning to Motown, the two superb albums for Fantasy which anticipated his maturation and his funkster era for DJM in the seventies.
The Funk Anthology has two and a half hours of Watson’s music from his seven DJM albums From Ain’t it a Bitch in 1976 to Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson and the Family Clone (1981), as well as his last album in 1994, Bow Wow for Bellmark). There is at least one album that Watson did in the interim not represented, but this compilation made by his children certainly is full with some terrific music, some of which has become staples of blues and funk bands today, like A Real Motha For Ya, Superman Lover, You Can Stay But the Noise Must Go and Bow Wow.
There also is the humorous post-Watergate I Don’t Want to Be President that Watson co-authored with Percy Mayfield (and on whose Atlantic recording by Mayfield of this Watson played). I Want to Ta-Ta You Baby has to be as sexy a love song as one is gonna hear anywhere and with the mix of his soulful and bluesy vocals, modern funk feel the other songs like Ain’t It a Bitch, the humorous Telephone Bill (where he sings about calling his woman after 9:00PM when the rates go down), the closing Johnny G is Back, although of course he never left and he does revisit and funkify Gangster of Love.
I am sure that some of those who complain about ‘purists’ in the blues will also dismiss this as funk and not blues, but the simple fact is for the 70s through the 90s this was as contemporary as the blues got. Shout Factory will be reissuing the eight albums collected here separately, so this also serves as an introduction to those releases. These two discs will certainly keep things funked up quite nicely.
This review originally appeared in the December 2005 DC Blues Calendar and in a slightly abridged form in the February 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 279) and I likely received my review copy from either the label directly or from Jazz & Blues Report. Here is Johnny from 1997 performingI Want to Ta-Ta You Baby in Germany.
With JazzFest having concluded this past weekend, it is worth looking back at an album the Dirty Dozen, one of the pioneering bands of the modern Brass Band scene issued after Hurricane Katrina with their interpretation of a classic Marvin Gaye album. This review originally appeared in the October 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 287). I purchased the CD.
Like others from their home city of New Orleans, the members of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band have been greatly affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. With some friends they have their new album, What’s Going On, (Shout Factory), which reinterprets the classic Marvin Gaye album on a recording that is very relevant in light of the catastrophic events of last year in which the band members, like so many, lost their homes, and so much more.
More than their homes, they were distressed about the loss of their communities and personal treasures; photo albums and mementos of their travels were all destroyed. “I’m not talking about clothes and shoes and material things, but family albums,” says Roger Lewis. “I have a 7-year-old daughter. I had pictures of myself as a child, but I can’t share them with her because they were destroyed. All she’s really going to know is her dad as a 64-year-old man.”
The album opens with Chuck D rapping on the title track with a justified bitterness as the Dozen provides a sobering backing with Revert Andrews contributing a strong trombone solo. This followed by Betty Lavette take on What’s Happening Brother as she sings “Are things really getting better like the newspaper says … I just don’t understand what’s going on in this land … will the Tigers win the pennant, do they stand a chance …” with the tenor sax reaching to the higher registers behind her. Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky), is taken at a medium tempo with a rather nice rendering of it before the tempo picks up as the members chant “Help Me Somebody,” with some nice spirited playing as the tune rides out. Nice trumpet leads Save the Children which also includes some nice sax work including Roger Lewis’ baritone, original member Kirk Joseph provides a foundation on the sousaphone and Jamie Mclean’s guitar brings African flavoring and rhythm. Ivan Neville guests on God Is Love, as Joseph and Lewis add the deep bottom behind his vocal as the brass punctuate the lyrics. G. Love raps the lyrics Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) with the Dozen providing a sharp funk groove before the Dozen get a groove going on Right On, as Revert Andrews takes the lead on trombone prior to Kevin Harris’ tenor sax. The last instrumental, Wholy Holy, is rendered almost as a funeral dirge before they conclude with Guru rapping on Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler), concluding a very thoughtful and moving recording.
A portion of the proceeds from this CD will be donated to the Tiptina’s Foundation, benefiting the musical community of New Orleans.
The keyboards of Bruce Katz has been a most welcome to a variety of performers recordings, including in recent years, Duke Robillard and Joe Louis Walker. With his current band of guitarist Chris Vitarello; bassist Rod Carey; and drummer Ralph Rosen, he has a new disc on his own Brown Dog label (distributed by VizzTone), Live! at the Firefly, recorded at the Ann Arbor, Michigan club in April 2008.
Live! at the Firefly is a collection of chicken-licking blues and jazz instrumentals that fans of Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff will love. Opening with a straight blues groove on Deep Pockets, Katz and Vitarello both display their chops and musical sense. An unusual choice is Charles Mingus’ Better Get It In Your Soul, and ambitious attempt with plenty of Katz’s greasy Hammond B-3 to start things off with everybody swinging hard. Carey and Rosen certainly merit praise here, before a nicely paced solo from Vitarello.
Katz switches to piano on a late night slow blues, The Blue Lamp, that lets him rumble down in the alley as well as lets Vitarello a chance to show his electric blues chops. Jump Start, is a funky groover with twangy guitar; Ice Cream Man, is a playful funky blues; while the solo piano Southern Route, has a country-tinge. Marshall Country, evokes West Side Chicago to these ears, and Crew of Two, is a ebullient shuffle.
Norton’s Boogie Woogie, has blistering boogie piano, a rocking guitar solo followed by sizzling solo piano interlude with the full quartet taking it out in jumping fashion. Its followed by the atmospheric Victoria, with Katz on piano and this joyous disc concludes with Brother Stevie. This walking shuffle closes Live! at the Firefly on the high level that characterizes this entire recording.
This review originally appeared in the February 2009 Jazz and Blues Report (Issue 313), although I made a few minor stylistic changes. Here is the Bruce Katz Band performing in Norway a few months after recording this album.
Its been nearly two decades since Fleck and the original line-up of The Flecktones, with pianist/harmonica player Howard Levy back in the fold alongside Fleck, bassist Victor Wooten, and percussionist/ Drumitarist Roy "Futureman" Wooten, have been in a studio. Rocket Science (Entertainment One Music) Fleck has taken the banjo far from his bluegrass roots in such bands as The New Grass Revival with the Flecktones, who are equally innovative. Levy’s piano roams from hard bop to a Keith Jarrett romanticism while also playing his innovative harmonica with a technique has cast a spell on a wide range of musicians from blues to jazz. Wooten perhaps eschews bass effects here, but lays down some of the funkiest bass one os likely to have heard in some time, while Futureman unleashes here Drumitar, his MIDI-based device that allows him to trigger samples using his fingers and which replaces the original which was on its last legs after two decades.
There are two many joys to be experienced on the performances heard here. Prickly Pair mixes in bluesy guitar sounding playing from Fleck (on an electric Deering Crossfire set against Levy’s harp as Wooten adding a funk bass and Futureman sets out a shuffle beat, with a brief interlude of ragged stride piano (sampled from a recording?). Levy and Fleck collaborated on a suite, Joyful Spring and Life In Eleven, that makes use of the odd time signature of the Bulgarian dance rhythm called Gankino. Levy’s piano has a classicist touch and the performance almost suggests a waltz before Levy kicks off a blistering tempo with his harp on Life in Eleven. The seamless transitions in tempo, themes and mood can be mesmerizing within and between performances. Falling Forward has a lyricism between Levy’s piano, Fleck’s jazzy solo and Wooten’s bass counterpoint that might make a Ron Carter smile.
The fusion of jazz, blues, funk, world, folk, bluegrass and other elements helped establish Bela Fleck & the Flecktones two decades ago as a breath of musical fresh air. They continue to defy categorization and Rocket Science shows that listening to them is as exhilarating as ever.
Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson was one of the most versatile, innovative performers of the past five decades. A multi-instrumentalist who first recorded as a rollicking Amos Milburn styled pianist before picking up from the late Guitar Slim to become a highly influential guitarist and showman whose impact was evident on the likes of Jimi Hendrix and even Etta James (listen to some of her vocals and Watson’s vocal on his single, “Cuttin’ In.’). Besides hard blues classics like “Three Hours Past Midnight,” and “Too Hot,” he recorded jazz piano for Chess, duets with Larry Williams for Okeh, and then his proto-type rap and funk records that got labeled Disco-blues in the seventies and inspired and got sampled by many hip hop artists. His last studio album “Bow Wow” was even nominated for a Grammy, and at last he had started performing in venues like the House of Blues.
He had been touring overseas in Europe through the good times and bad, and was died while performing in Japan. Shout Factory’s relatively recent reissue of his DJM recordings fortunately has led to a recognition of the fact that continued to stay contemporary.
There have previously been a couple of fine DVDs of his European performances (from TV shows) available. The British Charly Films has just issued “Live in Concert -1993,” centered on his North Sea Jazz Festival performance. Its a performance not that different from the other DVDs I have seen by him. This is Watson the funkster whose blues roots are always evident. The ban kicks off with a funk number “Booty Ooty” before bringing him up for “Strike on Computers,” mistitled here as “Jam,” with his complaints how computers are replacing human beings even in the musical realm.
I suspect that those expecting to see him rip things up on guitar will be disappointed, as he only plays guitar at length on a couple numbers as well as on keyboards, focusing on his singing and interacting with the audience. The songs included are typical including “I Need It,” “Superman Lover,” “Ain’t It a Bitch,” and the long extended “A Real Mother For Ya.” His funky version of “Gangster of Love,” displays how his music evolved from the original recordings which adapted the “Hootchie Kootchie Man”/ “I’m a Man” melody, whereas “Three Hours Past Midnight” is his longest exploration in the blues here, with his playing focusing as much on musical textures as on blistering guitar runs. And he plays the band like he plays guitar, evoking sounds from them, bringing up his saxophone player to wail or play some harp and letting his keyboard players loose.
What sets this apart from the other Watson DVDs are the included extras. These include three numbers from a 1996 German blues festival including a marvelous blues “Wrong Doing Woman” which incorporates “Three Hours Past Midnight”; a 14 odd minute memoriam from German TV that includes interviews with Watson a clip of him performing “Bow Wow,” as well clips of the video he did to promote that song; a radio interview from 1987; footage of a young Watson on British TV including a snippet of his wild guitar, a piano boogie and playing rhythm guitar behind Bo Diddley; another video performance, this time from 1980 and a biography and discography.
Bill Dahl provides a concise overview of his life in the booklet that accompanies this which includes a listing of his recordings and recordings he appeared on including those with Larry Williams, George Duke, Frank Zappa, Frankie Lee and Herb Albert. These extras are as valuable as the North Sea Jazz Festival performance and make this clearly the Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson DVD to pick up.
This DVD was originally reviewed in the October 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 309) at page 24.
I likely received a review copy of the DVD from Jazz & Blues Report.
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue at 2009 Duke Ellington (now DC) Jazz Festival
Since emerging nationally as a member of Lenny Kravitz’s Band, and his appearance on a nationally televised Hurricane Katrina, Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews has emerged as a favorite band on touring and festival circuits with his blend of funk, Brass Band riffs and some hip-hop & soul seasonings. He is a member of a musical family as his older brother James was a founder of the New Birth Brass band and recorded a brassy al;bum that was produced by Allen Toussaint. Another brother, trumpeter James helped mentor him and Troy’s grandfather was the late Jessie Hill who had a major hit with the New Orleans R&B classic “Ooh Poo Pah Doo.”
Busy beyond his years, Troy has recorded a CD with his brother, and a previous CD with his band Orleans Avenue along with plenty of studio work. Now he has a new release, “Backatown” (Verve Forecast), that seems destined to increase his fan base even more. Also there are recordings available of his New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival sets (from 2004 and 2006-2008) that can be found at JazzFestLive.com.
The title of this album refers to the area of New Orleans that includes Tremé, the historic neighborhood where so many great musicians came from and which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Produced by Galactic’s Ben Ellman, Troy’s band, Orleans Avenue (Mike Ballard on bass, Pete Murano on guitar, Joey Peebles on drums, Dwayne Williams on percussion and Dan Oestreicher on baritone sax) is the core behind him with special guests that include Allen Toussaint, Kravitz, Marc Broussard and Charles Smith (Orleans Avenue’s original drummer playing synth bass). Troy wrote all except one of the 14 numbers on this.
The tune is set with the opening “Hurricane Katrina,” with its hip hop rhythm mixed with a funked up brass band sound, followed by Allen Toussaint’s “On Your Way Down,” where the legendary pianist plays as Troy delivers the message the folks you see on the way up are the ones you will pass on the way down. After another funked up instrumental, Kravitz joins on guitar and backing vocal on “Something Beautiful,” as he asks “Can You Show Me Something Beautiful,” which is quite catchy. The title track opens with some dark sounding synth bass from Smith before Troy enters with some buzzing trombone with some ripping baritone from Oestreicher as the horns weave around each other. Broussard adds a vocal to “Right to Complain,” wLith a message about all make a complain but no one wants to do anything. The instrumental “Neph,” has an mesmerizing cowbell-ish groove before Troy on trumpet conjures up a strong spanish tinge with stirring interludes of his trumpet soaring over the percussion. “Suburbia,” opens with some metal-ish guitar before Troy adds some trombone and trumpet playing that suggest a call to arms. The groove of “In the 6th,” with the baritone helping set the funk riff, sounds like a homage to the Dirty Dozen and other modern New Orleans Brass Bands that his music is rooted in. “Where Y’At,” is a composition that originated in some onstage jamming with “new ideas coalescing out of improvised sections of existing pieces.” Troy credits Marvin Gaye as inspiration for the ballad “Fallin’.”
Anyone who has seen Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue know how electric the performances can be. A studio recording can only go so far in capturing this aspect of his music, but “Backatown,” is a recording that undoubtedly will increase his growing visibility (his appearances on the HBO series “Tremé,” also contribute to this) and certainly please his many fans.
This review also appeared in the July, 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 327) at page 15 although I have added a few bits like the reference to the availability of his Jazz Fest sets. It should be readily available.
For purposes of FTC regulations, I received a review copy from a publicist for the label.
A little over a couple weeks ago (October 14), I posted about Lucky Peterson’s latest CD, “You Can Always Turn Around,” and stated that I thought his Verve-Gitanes recordings were amongst the best of the 1990s. Recently I was able to locate my review of his CD, Move, that appeared in the April 1998 Jazz & Blues Report (No. 230) which provides my reaction to that recording when it was issued along with comments on the previous “Lifetime” CD. Here it is for your edification.
Lucky Peterson certainly has matured since being a child prodigy. Having first recorded when he was five, and playing with his father James as he grew up, Lucky has emerged as one of the most important talents in the blues world. A superb keyboard player, Lucky is also a guitarist of considerable ability and one of the blues most underrated singers.
When so much of ‘contemporary’ blues is nothing more than rehashed rock-oriented blues rock, Lucky brings to his music strong soul and funk seasoning. His previous album, Lifetime, was one of the best records of the past few years with terrific remakes of Earth Wind and Fire’s Shining Star, and Sam Cooke’s Change is Gonna Come, along with Bad Condition, one of the finest blues set to a reggae groove. At a time when the latest teenage guitar phenom is heralded by some ‘as the music’s future, Lifetime has never gotten its due as among the most forward looking blues albums of the nineties.
Lucky’s newest album, Move, continues with a similar musical synthesis, although with stripped down backing of Butch Bonner’s rhythm guitar, ex-Iceman Johnny B. Gayden on bass, and Dennis Chambers on drums. There are new blues like the title track and the opening You’re the One For Me, and a cover of Robert Cray’s Don’t You Ever Care, that Lucky sings with considerable heat. Lucky also tackles the old Ashford and Simpson classic that Ray Charles made famous, Let’s Go Get Stoned, the Isley Brother’s classic It’s Your Thing, and Prince’s Purple Rain, providing a fertile musical stew. An instrumental, Pickin’ , shows his appreciation to Albert Collins, yet never lapses into imitation, and he takes Tin Pan Alley and provides a strong vocal to go along with his guitar playing. He has absorbed much from Hendrix, Prince, the various Kings and Albert Collins, and others, yet plays with a clarity and articulation in his solos that some of the emerging players in blues today might take a lesson from. Move is another reason Lucky Peterson is among the most important blues artists today.
Rereading these words, it is sort of bittersweet, since Lucky had the chance to establish himself as one of the premier touring artists. Unfortunately for a variety of reasons, this did not happen. Even if I do not find his newest recording to be on the level of Lifetime and Move, here’s hoping with his demons behind him he can bring the same mojo to his performances that made this recordings so compelling. One may have to shop around to find CD copies, either new or used. The music on these is available as downloads.
I do not recall if I received review copies or whether I purchased one or both.
Johnny Moeller may be best known as guitarist with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, but this Dallas Texas area native has been turning heads with his raw, soul-funk blues guitar playing that comes across as a wild blend of Freddie King, Jimmy Nolan, John Lee Hooker and Frankie Lee Sims. Having an eclectic taste (the title of one of his early recordings was a homage to an Ohio Players recording “Funky Worm), he has shown this on his prior recordings. Now Severn Records has issued his latest recording as a leader album, BlooGaLoo. Severn has used his guitar playing on many of recent recordings by Darrell Nulisch, Lou pride and Steve Guyger. “BlooGaLoo” was recorded over four years and includes some originals along with covers. The backing band is Matt Farrell’s keyboards, Steve Gomes on bass and Rob Stupka on drums with appearances by Shawn Pittman, Kim Wilson and Lou Ann Barton on vocals (Wilson on harp too), along with horns, background vocals, hollering and percussion.
The opening track opens with a Jimmy Nolan-ish riff before turning into an instrumental that could have been an unreleased Freddie King instrumental with plenty of funky, nasty guitar. Pittman handles the vocal for the funky, “I’m Movin’ On Up,” with a chugging rhythm before Pittman encourages the number one guitar player in the land with some searing playing. Moeller may not be a great singer, but he certainly puts plenty into his vocal on Earl KIng’s “Trick Bag,” with a hyper kinetic rhythm section and imagination use of a tape loop of a baby and taking a hot, brief break. Matt Farrell’s organ is really strong here as well as lends it a greasy flavor. Kim Wilson handles the vocal on the racing shuffle rendition of Jesse Anderson’s “I Got a Feelin’,” with Wilson playing some Sonny Boy Williamson-ish harp and Moeller rocks out on his break. Lou Ann Barton adds her voice behind Moeller on a nice funky duet, “I’m Stuck on you,” and takes the lead on the slow blue ballad “Everybody’s Got to Cry Sometime,’ where Moeller rips off single note runs that creates tension with the emphatic slow-drag rhythm here. “Theme From the One-Armed Swordsman,” is a moody instrumental with plenty of hard chords mixed with single note bursts against a walking tempo. Wilson takes a nice vocal, Wilson telling his woman he is leaving her on the uptempo the shuffle “Well Goodbye Baby,” with another hot solo. “Shufflin’ Along,” is a medium tempo-ed guitar rocker followed by the surprising closing performance, a strong cover of an early John Lee Hooker recording, “Teasin’ Baby,” where he certainly evokes the great, early solo boogies recorded by the late great bluesman six decades ago.
Fans of raunchy blues guitar mixed with heavy doses of funk, and rock’n’roll will certainly find this latest effort by Johnny Moeller much to their taste. He certainly has shown himself as a distinctive, and strong guitarist as a sideman, and this release will certainly enhance that reputation and add to the fact he is a credible vocalist.
This review originally appeared in the June 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 326). Severn Records sent this writer the review copy.
Born in Galveston, Texas, and yet another important talent to come from the Lone Star State, Hamilton Loomis is an artist whose music is deeply rooted in blues with strong elements of soul and funk thrown in. This paragraph from his publicist’s website says this succinctly. “Whereas similar aged acts like Black Keys, Robert Randolph and White Stripes play American rock music with heavy blues influences, Loomis plays the inverse. His is an undeniably blues based artist escalating into what All Music Guide calls ‘…a mixed bag of modern blues, modern funk, and slick soul.’“
He was influenced and mentored by a variety of Texas blues legends such as Joe Hughes, Johnny Copeland, Gatemouth Brown and Albert Collins who schooled Loomis early on in the finer points of the music. Bo Diddley also took the young man under his wing with Loomis joining the late rock pioneer on stage when only 16 and who played on Loomis’ most recent Blind Pig CD. Loomis has matured into a exciting live performer which is evident on his most recent release, “Live in England” (Ham-Bone Music).
Recorded at the Famous Monday Blues Club in Oxford, England as well as the Liverpool (England) Marina, Loomis with vocals, guitar and harmonica is backed by saxophonist Stratton Doyle; bassist Kent Beatty and drummer Jamie Little. The music kicks off with a funk instrumental “Pull Strings,” with some greasy sax from Doyle as well as some impressive string-bending from Loomis. “Workin’ Real Hard,” is some road-house rock with a Stevie Ray Vaughan blues-rock groove as Loomis sings about working real hard at playing his guitar but sleeping all day before taking off with his guitar break. Loomis’ soulful vocals are as striking as his searing guitar solos, standing apart from the rasping growls of some of his less capable contemporaries. Bassist Beatty helps establish the funk groove for “Legendary,” while Loomis adds harp to “What It Is,” which evokes New Orleans in its flavor while Doyle quotes “Mercy Mercy” in starting his tenor sax solo.
“Best Worst Day” may be the best of Loomis’ originals with strutting guitar and his strong delivery of the ironic lyrics. Also noteworthy is how he paces his solo before Stratton blasts his solo. Loomis’ big ears is evident by his straight-forward cover of what the late Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson would introduce as the dog song, “Bow Wow.” Loomis mixes some playing more suggestive of Watson with other that is more frenetic blues-rock and guitar oriented with a nice jam solo. Also included is an rocking tribute to his late friend, Bo Diddley This medley of “Bo Diddley” and “Who Do You Love,” starts with the Bo Diddley Beat before shifting gears for some hard Texas funk near the end. The CD closes with a lively bonus track, “Turnin’ Heads,” about a fine looking lady who causes the men to turn heads with a solo break that has Doyle and the group quoting of the “Second Line” before conjuring up some other blues and rock grooves.
The appeal of Hamilton Loomis’ music isn’t simply for those who want rocking blues or bluesy rock. A fine songwriter who also brings his own touch to songs he interprets, Loomis also sings soulfully and can rock out as a guitarist yet also swings. As someone whose tastes are perhaps more traditionally rooted, this listener was suitably impressed by all aspects of the music on “Live in England” from Hamilton Loomis and his exceptional band.
For FTC regulations purposes, this CD was received from the publicity firm handling this CD. This review originally appealed in Jazz & Blues Report Issue 324 (March 1 - April 15 2010).
John A. Bigham jammed on guitar and keyboard for the pioneering rock-funk-ska band Fishbone for eight years and toured and recorded with artists as acclaimed and diverse as Miles Davis, Eminem, Dr. Dré, Nikka Costa, Bruce Hornsby and Everlast. Recently he has adopted the persona of The Soul of John Black and has fused blues, soul, funk, hip hop, pop with field hollers, spirituals and work songs resulting in some compelling, music with a steady groove and mesmerizing quality to the performance. On his last album, “The Good Girl Blues” (Yellow Dog), the focus seemed to be on blues material with “The Hole,” being a modernized field holler. His most recent release on the Delta Groove affiliate Eclecto Groove, “Black John,” shifts its focus for a blues to soul-funk foundation for another intriguing effort that opens with the title track, with its bad ass hero in the vein of "Railroad Bill," "Stagolee" and other outlaw heroes followed by “Billie Jean,” an intriguing song about being sweet on “Billie Jean,” who he’s been trying to meet, but she is like a dream. On both his band lays down a funk groove and his soulful vocals engaging in a call and response with the backing vocal as he also lays down some stinging guitar as appropriate. His slide guitar kicks off “Last Forever,” as he tells a story about a Sunday Morning and forgot his prayer as his woman stayed out all night but was like a bad cell phone, you know she liked to roam. The fact he is a terrific singer and guitarist does not hurt. “I Knew a Lady,” conjures up Leadbelly tune before he mixes a lyric about a dancing lady with a chorus that sounds like a rap based on a children’s rhythm about “all the Lord’s children needs to feel good,” whereas, on “White Dress,” he celebrates sexuality and how his woman looks in her white dress and black drawers dancing in the sun. The mood shifts to a bit of country soul on “Better Babe,” and the remainder of this is equally fresh sounding. The Soul of John Black is a breath of fresh air in contemporary vernacular music and with “Black John,” has provided us with yet another stunning release. This review originally appeared in Jazz & Blues Report and (For FTC regulations purposes) my review copy was probably sent to me by the frecording label)
Trumpeter, slide-trumpeter, arranger and composer, Steven Bernstein, is most famous for his band Sex Mob, with the Millennial Territory Orchestra being another of his musical aggregations. Its a spirited big little band with nine members (Doug Wamble guests on guitar and banjo on two tracks), which mixes a variety of influences, hot swing, New Orleans brass with some modernistic tinges. Their new recording, “We Are MTO” (MOWO), displays the fascinating mix of old and new sounds.
The disc opens with the dirge-like, swampy rhythm of the title track with the violin of Charles Burnham’s violin setting the mood before the trio of reeds state the melody that hints at “Stormy Weather followed by the exuberance of “in the Corner,” a slightly surreal take of a Charleston styled number with Clark Gayton’s tailgating trombone soloing over the riffing reeds. An old Floyd Tillman & Jimmie Davis country song “It Makes No Difference” (recorded by Ernest Tubb, Ray Charles and others) is given a blues-tinged reworking with Matt Munisteri’s single note guitar runs with Gayton’s trombone providing the bass bottom while Burnham’s violin provides a running musical commentary with a New Orleans brass tinge added. It is followed by a similarly original reinvention of the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love,” which opens with Burnham’s violin before the Doug Wieselman states the melody on his clarinet with Bernstein’s imaginative orchestration of the other horns and Burnham’s violin in the back ground (and the brass providing a further contrast in musical colors). MTO opens Don Redman’s “Paducah,” with some free-jazz sounding riffing before Wieselman takes center-stage against moaning horns followed by Bernstein’s open trumpet backed against more stately horn riffs, before bassist Ben Allison takes a bass solo where he walks the bass with some slapping of the bass mixed in. The two guitars of Munisteri and Doug Wamble, and the slightly frantic tempo, give Dickie’s Dream,” a distinctive and rollicking flavor, with perhaps the highpoint being Erik Lawrence’s baritone sax solo. The two guitarists share a vocal duet on Fats Waller’s “Viper Song,” with its lazy tempo as Bernstein’s imaginative arrangements again add spice behind the vocals and solos as different instrumentalists come in to provide the main accompaniment behind the vocals. The final number is Preston Jackson’s “It’s Tight Jim,” again having varying tempos and contrasting musical settings with the accompaniments, ending this kaleidoscope of sounds on an a mesmerizing note.
Johnny 'Guitar' Watson was a musical giant who is still unappreciated over a decade after his death. His influence as a guitarist, singer, composer and performer is not acknowledged. The fact that he is still not in the rock and roll Hall of Fame says something about the sorry state of rock music criticism. He was arguably the biggest single influence on Jimi Hendrix and his pioneering funk extension of blues included the precursor of Rap, a fact acknowledged by the Hip Hop acts that have sampled his music. Listening to his "Three Hours Past Midnight," led Frank Zappa to take up guitar and listen to Etta James sing ballads and then Watson sing "Cuttin' In."
Watson's music and life is the subject of a self-published volume "The Gangster of Love: Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Performer, Preacher, Pimp" by Vincent Bakker, a Dutch author whose prior books have been about economic affairs and admits his limited knowledge about music. Given Watson's importance, and that no one else had written about Watson, he undertook to write this book. As others have commented, his English is not perfect but he does communicate things well. He uses published sources on Johnny as well as interviews with those who grew up and/or played with him (Hank Redd, Tovia Bradley, Andre Lewis,Obie Jesse (Young Jesse), Emry Thomas, Eddie 'Gip' Noble, Rudy Copeland), were fans of his (Chuck Brown), or the women in his life (Susan Maier Watson).
Bakker explores what life was like touring with Watson, his music and the way he dealt with people, some good and some bad (Gip Noble and Emry Thomas bring some of Johnny's selfish, egotistical side to light) as well go from his early days in Texas, hitching up in California with Chuck Higgins and starting his recording career and his various recordings, taking through his Modern and Federal days, a stint on Keen Records, touting England with Larry Williams and the partnership they had for a couple years. Then he signs with fantasy before Dick James signs him to DJM Records where he enjoys arguably his greatest success. And there are stories of his women (the sub-title provides a backdrop for this) as well as the fact one constant in his home-life was his mother, who lived with him. Despite having extended relationships with three women, Johnny never married and had no will when he passed away (keeling over while performing), leading to a lengthy legal battle over his estate.
Bakker does not really understand the independent record business that Watson operated in and it leads to a few major gaffes. For example on page 69, he discusses the Crown reissue "2 In Blues," as if it was a new recording of Watson along with new recordings by bobby Bland. A little research would have helped him avoid this gaffe as Crown was a budget lp line that Modern/RPM set up to reissue vintage recordings. "2 In Blues," was a reissue of previously issued recordings by Watson and Bland from those labels.The Bland recordings were likely recorded by Joe Bihari with the assistance of Ike Turner or Sam Phillips and most definitely were not newly recorded by Watson.
With the differing views of Watson presented throughput, a sense of his personality does come across. This is profusely illustrated although the reproduction of many is fair at best. Could there be a better bio of him. of course. But none is on the horizon, and this will have to do until a better book comes along. 3 1/2 stars out of 5.
This review appeared in substantially the same form on amazon.com which is where this book can be purchased.
Its been way too long since I had the pleasure of seeing Charles 'Big Daddy' Stallings and his band live, so when I got the word that he would be appearing in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia at the 219 Restaurant's Bayou Room, I made plans to attend and after fighting the brutal traffic on King Street I made it there just as they started playing.
Stallings has a fine band led by saxophonist Joe Thomas and includes Steve Levine, a harmonica player who has really developed over the years. I apologize for not having the names of the other players. Opening up with the Hugh Maskela classic 'Grazing in the Grass," the band opened with several soul instrumentals with the horn line of sax, trumpet and harmonica being very effective. Then a couple instrumentals featured Levine who channeled his inner Walter Horton, "Easy" and the Duke Ellington standard, "Don't Get Around No More."
The it was time for Big Daddy to get out of his chair and take the vocal mike opening with a pair of Louis Jordan numbers "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie," and "Caldonia," before tackling his own originals. Stallings has a down home vocal approach, yet is as much as home with a Jimmy Reed groove as when his band gets into a funk groove. His down home style helps invest such songs as his "4 X 4 Woman," with quite a bit of their charm as well as his lively "I've Got the Blues," set to a "Hootchie Kootchie Man" groove. Enlivening songs with his solos as well as some of Thomas, Levine and the excellent trumpet player, when they closed the set to Archie Bell's "Tighten Up," with the band getting introduced, it was quite an enjoyable set and well worth the drive.
Coming to the Pocono Blues Festival on Sunday, June 27, with two sets, one outside and one inside. Here is an excerpt of my review from their Duke Ellington Jazz Festival performance on June 14.
"Troy ”Trombone Shorty” Andrews is a double threat on trombone and trumpet and comes from a musical family. Brother James had stints with the Tréme Brass Band and was original leader of the New Birth Brass Band besides recording “Satchmo of the Ghetto for Allen Toussaint’s NYNO label. Troy, who had broad experience in his hometown, came to notice in one of the Katrina benefit television broadcast. His own band Orleans Avenue is one of several groups that take the modern brass band as inspiration for a riveting mix of traditional jazz, funk, and soul with a touch of hip hop. He opened up with a brass band favorite that his brother James has recorded, ”I Want My Money Back,” with guitarist Pete Murano using an effective hard rock riff while saxophonist Trixie wailed. Introducing “Rats and Roaches Around My Home,,” Andrews alluded to DC’s Go Go Beat while Big D added some interesting accents on congas. A nice change of pace was the rendition of “It’s a Wonderful World,” just be Andrews and guitarist Murano. The set closed with his own take on “The Saints” which opens with a modern trumpet styled reading of the theme before they funked it up with Shorty walking into the crowd and then the band members all switched instruments as guitarist Murano ended up on sax and Shorty on drums. What a rousing set of music that just tore things up and really got the crowd up and dancing."
Word came out today that Eddie Bo, yet another New Orleans piano playing funk pioneer passed away on Wednesday, March 18. Bo is among the last pianists from the age of classic New Orleans rhythm and blues where he had some big hits as well as wrote a number of songs that became classics for others. His career spanned the boogie influenced jump blues to the more modern funk.
His website biography summarized his career succinctly: "In a career that spans well over five decades, Eddie Bo has made more 45’s than any artist has in New Orleans other than Fats Domino. He has produced records for Irma Thomas, Robert Parker, Art Neville, Chris Kenner, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson and the late Johnny Adams. Bo is a prolific songwriter, having penned several timeless songs: "Check Mr. Popeye", "It Must Be Love", "I’m Wise" (made famous by Little Richard under the name "Slippin' and Slidin'") and the hit recorded by Etta James, "My Dearest Darling". He also wrote Tommy Ridgely's "In The Same Old Way" and further demonstrates genius in the realm of contemporary New Orleans funk on the highly creative works, "Hook and Sling" and "Pass the Hatchet.""
I had the pleasure of first seeing him perform at one of the Ponderosa Stomps performing solo, and at several JazzFests with a tight, funky band where he always did some of his favorites. Rounder reissued some of his funky R&B that included the popular dance number "Check Mr. Popeye," after all Olive Oyl was in the danger zone. A favorite CD of his was "New Orleans Solo Piano" on Night Train. His death, coming shortly after the death of SnooksEaglin, is a terrible loss to fans of New Orleans music. I join the many world-wide, who mourn this great artist.
The picture is from April 26, 2008 at the Fais Do Do Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & heritage Festival
One of the real pleasant surprises of the 2006 Pocono Blues Festival was the performance by Big James and the Chicago Playboys. James Montgomery is a big man and he has a presence as a singer and when playing his trombone as well as is backed by his fine band which adds a heafty dose of soul and funk to his blues stew. At the festival I purchased Now You Know, which was his third CD (self-released and included nice recordings of some of the songs he performed including the title track, "Chicago Is Da' Home 4 Da' Blues", "Hustler's Paradise," and Albert King's "Angel of Mercy." What a nice soulful vocal delivery he has, and his trombone along with the guitarist and other bandmembers play some interesting and funky stuff. More recently he issued Thank God I Got the Blues, that is a similarly fine effort, celebrating the blues with plenty of heart of soul.
Yesterday (August 25), I got an email from Blind Pig announcing they signed Big James. "Blind Pig Records has announced the signing of Big James & the Chicago Playboys, a brass band that combines blues, soul, R&B and funk into a rollicking, horn-drenched stage party.
The bandleader and trombone player, Big James Montgomery, who also serves as singer, songwriter, and producer for the group, sports a voice as big as his girth. This year he received his second Blues Music Award nomination as “Horn Instrumentalist” and the title track from his last solo effort, Thank God I Got The Blues, will be featured in the upcoming movie Cleaner, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Mendes."
The press release also notes that Big James Montgomery is a three time winner of Living Blues magazine’s Critic’s Choice Award for “Most Outstanding Horn Player and that he will start working ona new album in November.
While I would not use the term brass band to describe his sound, I agree his horn-led band mixes blues, soul and funk for a rollicking, horn-drenched stage party that is unique in the blues today. For those in the Baltimore-Washington area he is appearing at the Baltimore Blues Society's Alonzo Memorial Picnic on Sunday August 31 at the Rosedale MD American Legion Hall. For information on that event visit the BBS website. His CDs, Thank God I Got The Bluesand Thank God I Got The Blues are available at cdbaby.com.
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