Taking the Blues Time Machine Back to January 1977

This is my blues column from the January 1977 Buffalo Jazz Report which had Lee Konitz on the cover. The column had my review of the best blues releases of 1976, and there were not nearly as many back then as today so it was a bit more manageable as well as hoping for more live blues to actually be brought to Buffalo. There would be no column for February issue as the Blizzard of 1977 would paralyze the city around the time the issue came out. I have noted the first 58 issues of Buffalo Jazz Report (now Jazz & Blues Report) have been digitized and can be downloaded from the University of Buffalo Library system. The website for these archived issues is: http://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/BuffJazz. Note that the Living Blues mailing address has not been valid for many years, and the vinyl LPS I mention are no longer in print (with the exception of Sweet Blood Call as an expanded CD).

For this column I'd like to first go over what I consider the best blues albums of 1976. The best was perhaps Robert Jr. Lockwood and the Aces, Blues Live in Japan (Advent 2807) featuring Lockwood's stunning jazz-blues guitar and enthusiastic readings of blues standards. Mr. Johnson's Blues (Mamlish 3807) is the first American lp devoted to reissuing the classic and innovating work of Lonnie Johnson whose place in blues and jazz history is underappreciated. The best album by a previously unrecorded artist is Good Rockin' Charles (Mr. Blues MB 7601). This a fine set of Chicago blues with relaxed yet gritty singing and harp from Charles.

Honorable mentions for outstanding albums go to the two Joe Turner albums Nobody in Mind and In the Evenin' (Pablo). Otis Rush Cold Day in Hell (Delmark), When Women Sang the Blues (Blues Classics), Windy City Blues:The Transition and Detroit Ghetto Blues (Nighthawk), and Louisiana Red Sweet Blood Call (Blue Labor). As can be seen most of the finest al-bums were on small collectors labels (the major exception being the Joe Turners on Pablo). The big names in blues turned out either disco blues, Albert King with a pleasant album on Utopia, empty endless boogie, the Iive James Cotton album, or a Iive jam which never really ignited (B.B. King and Bqbby Bland). The small labels can turn out more interesting music perhaps because they don't expect to sell a gold album and don't compromise the music for sales. And the blues can progress as Jimmy Dawkins' has proved without losing its identity in a disco or funk setting.

1977 could be a year of some very fine recordings. Alligator records promises a Son Seals album, Delmark has re-issues of early Junior Wells among others ready, RCA's Utopia subsidiary has a Clifton Chenier in the can, Trix has Robert Jr.· Lockwood playing twelve-string coming soon and hopefully much more. Of course I will let you know what is available, and what it sounds like. 

Other items of interest. Living Blues continues to be a source of interesting informative articles, reviews and interviews. The Record Runner carries current issues and a years subscription (6 issues) costs $4.00 sent to Living Blues Publications, 2615 N. Wilton Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60614. 

It is possible that live blues may soon be coming to Buffalo in a format similar to the Tralfjazz series with perhaps comparable prices (depending on the act). for the entire night, etc. I would be curious about reader response.as any indication of support for this before it is undertaken is important. Artists being contemplated include Robert Jr. Lockwood, Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon, Otis Rush, JohnnyShinesand others. Please write me in care of the BJR with your comments and suggestions. There has been Iittle Iive blues brought to Buffalo in the past few years and such places where blues was typically booked, an example being the Coffeenouse series at UB, haven't had blues in a year and a half. Imagine a series on American folk music which ignored the most basic American folk music. Blues can be brought and brought in an imaginative fashion. WBFO's David Benders, when head of the Coffeehouse, brought in not only folk blues but also a working Chicago Band, Son Seals, who played in the Rathskellar. It is to be hoped that the Coffeehouse committee at UB shows more imagination this year (1977) than in the past year and a half and brings blues both as pari of the Coffeehouse Circuit and as more than token representatives at the folk festival. I am willing to assist any organization that brings live blues to Buffalo and can be reached at either WBFO or the BJR. (David Benders incidentally hosts. Codfish Every Friday on WBFO at 10 PM to 11 PM which has blues featured about once a month.

A Time Machine Looking at Blues From September 1976

Back in the Time Machine to my blues column from the September 1976  Buffalo Jazz Report. I was at the B.B. King show I mention which was theater in the round so the stage rotated during the show. My comment on B.B.'s guitar playing may raise some eyebrows but I recall that there was a shift on the Live and Well album that was the first to mark his playing being a bit less fluid. Note the plug to Living Blues which since moved from Chicago to the University of Mississippi, so that subscription infomation is outdated The issue I referred to had the first of two very lengthy interviews with Charles Brown that appeared in Living Blues.

By the time you read this B.B. King will have been at Melody Fair, and James Cotton and Muddy Waters will have been at the Outside Inn in Angola so that August was a pretty good month for Buffalo as far as bringing in blues from out of town. Bobby Bland will be at Kleinhans September 13 and you should check him out even though I find his latest recording with B.B. King Together Again ... Live (ABC Impulse ASD-9317) somewhat of a disappointment. There are good moments, but the music lacks focus and sometimes drags, especially on Feel So Bad One other complaint is B.S.'s guitar work which I haven't really liked since the late 60s when his playing became choppy. These two are among the major blues art1sts of today but I would suggest you seek out there earlier recordings if you don't have them. It is nice, though, that this is a straight blues set, with no 'disco' touches. 

Mr. Blues is a new small label and its initial release by Good Rockin' Charles Edwards (MB 7601) is a fine one. Marred by somewhat sloppy backing, Charles is a fine relaxed singer and harp player who turns in a set of convincing performances. The songs include a couple of originals as well as songs from Little Walter, Jinmy Rogers and both Sonny Boy Williamsons. 

I will, from time to time, survey the releases of small labels that have been out for awhile, but may not be familiar to you. Trix is one of those labels and have issued a number of fine albums with a country blues orientation. Front and Center (3301) by Eddie Kirkland, one time sideman with John Lee Hooker (and Otis Redding) displays his country blues talents. Eddie's Boogie Chillen is a fine reworking of John Lee's classic and Jerdine features chilling bottleneck. Frank Edwards is an eccentric guitarist whose Done Some Travelin' (3303) includes a stunningly original, When the Saints Go Marching In, taken at a very slow tempo with bottleneck accompaniment . 
 
Robert Jr. Lockwood's Contrasts (3307) show him in a country blues setting as well as with his own jazz-oriented group with Maurice Reedus on tenor . The dominant influence on his country sides are his stepfather Robert Johnson. The band sides range from the mellow Forever on My Mind to the boppish instrumental Majors. Minors & Ninths.

Finally for those interested in reading about the blues I recommend Living Blues. It contains articles, news, interviews (the latest issue has a great one with Charles Brown) and an extensive review section . Subscriptions. which cost $4.00 for 6 issues, should be sent to Living Blues Publications, 2615 N. Wilton Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60614. Locally the Record Runner will be carrying current issues.