Alligator Records--50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music

Various - Alligator Records--50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music- Alligator Records

Alligator Records is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year and, as it has in past years, compiled, 40th Anniversary Collection, a three-CD compilation of 58 recordings from the label since it released Genuine Houserockin' Music by Hound Dog Taylor, which label founder Bruce Iglauer says is the mantra that still governs the label. However, he notes the label no longer just records blues, even if the artists are deeply rooted in the blues tradition. There is also a double LP vinyl edition with twenty-four selections.

Given the diversity of contents and the purpose of this collection, it is not my intent to review the contents here. I suspect folks will find selections they don't like and others they think are timeless. Besides celebrating Alligator Records history, this compilation hopefully will introduce some of the artists and recordings that some may be unfamiliar with. There are vintage selections from Koko Taylor, Hound Dog Taylor, Son Seals, Fenton Robinson, and Albert Collins. Also, there are contemporary acts like Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Shemekia Copeland, and Selwyn Birchwood. 

There is a selection from the Grammy Award-winning collaboration between Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, and Robert Cray, a track from Professor Longhair, a live Luther Allison track, a selection from Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women, and a duet between Corey Harris and Henry Butler. Other performers represented here include Guitar Shorty, Billy Branch, Joe Louis Walker, Janiva Magness, JJ Grey & Mofro, Tinsley Ellis, and Coco Montoya. Also, many of the recent albums on Alligator are represented, including tracks from Chris Cain, The Cash Box Kings, Curtis Salgado, The Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling, Toronto Cannon, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite, and Roomful of Blues.

In addition to his overview of Alligator's history, label head Bruce Iglauer provides short bios of the various acts. I believe his concluding comments to the liner notes states things very well, 

"Today, after 50 years, Alligator remains proudly independent and still 100% dedicated to Genuine Houserockin' Music. With a roster that includes beloved veterans like Marcia Ball, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, Elvin Bishop and Roomful Of Blues, rising stars like Selwyn Birchwood and Toronzo Cannon, and the 22-year-old sensation Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, we are committed to the past, present and future of the tradition. Now that illegal downloading has been replaced by digital streaming services reaching around the globe, Alligator's music can be heard in China, India, and across Africa, and in other countries where it was never available in physical form. Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers would be amazed to see what happened to the tiny record label, now with over 350 releases, that was created to bring their music to the world. They'd be thrilled to know that billions of people can now discover the joyous houserockin' blues that they played every Sunday at Florence's Lounge."

"Alligator Records-- 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music" is a vibrant celebration of the impressive (and still growing) body of music produced by Alligator Records and Bruce Iglauer.

Alligator Records provided a download to review.

Vanthology

Various Artists
Vanthology
Evidence

With an overabundance of blues artists recording tributes to rock icons, "Vanthology" stands out. One reason that this tribute to Van Morrison works is that producer Jon Tiven has collected a number of blues and soul legends to perform songs associated with the legendary Irishman, setting this apart from many similar concept discs which seem to have an overabundance of blues-rock guitar pounders.

The performers here include Little Milton, Freddie Scott, William Bell, Bettye Lavette, Eddie Floyd, Sir Mack Rice, Syl Johnson, Otis Clay, Son Seals, Ellis Hooks, Chuck Jackson, Henry Butler, and Bobby Patterson. The producer deliberately did not use horns on this to distinguish these interpretations from Morrison’s originals. The studio band is anchored by Butler with Tiven on guitar, wife Sally Tiven on bass and Simon Kirke on drums who provide funky, sympathetic backing for the awesome vocal talent here. Highpoints among the exceptional performances here include Little Milton’s rendering of "Tupelo Honey," William Bell’s rendition of "Have I Told You Lately," Freddie Scott’s "Brown-Eyed Girl," Bettye pleading vocal on "Real Real Gone." and Eddie Floyd’s Crazy Love. It is a special treat to her Sir Mack Rice, writer of that overplayed staple of blues bar bands "Mustang Sally," take up Morrison’s own bar band classic, "Gloria."

Morrison has been heavily influenced by blues and soul artists, a debt he has freely acknowledged in developing his own distinctive body of music, and some of these the artists pay tribute in this very fine release.

I likely received a review copy from Evidence Records. This review originally appeared in the May-June 2004 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 268). Here is Sir Mack Rice doing "Gloria."

Claude Williams Always Was Swinging The Blues

Claude Williams' Swinging the Blues on Bullseye Blues & Jazz, is certainly a release for loves of blues-laced, swinging jazz. Williams' recording career goes back to the twenties when he was with Andy Kirk's Clouds of Joys. A member of Count Basie's Band when Basie left Kansas City, he was replaced as guitarist by Freddie Greene. He can be heard on some radio airchecks of the Basie Band. 

In more recent years, his recordings with Jay MacShann on a Canadian album, The Man From Muskogee, helped lead to a revival in his career. Today he no longer doubles on guitar and fiddle, sticking to the latter, and in recent years he has produced a number of highly regarded albums for Progressive and Arhoolie, among other labels. He also was a recipient of a Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Swinging the Blues finds him backed by a terrific band that includes pianist Henry Butler and the great  bassist Keter Betts. They play a wonderful collection of ballads and blues including Duke Ellington's blues Things Ain't What They Used to Be, the classic Kansas City rearranging of You're Driving Me Crazy - Moten Swing, the classic blues ballad, Gee Baby Ain't I Good to you along with a wonderful rendition of These Foolish Things. 

Over 90, Claude Williams shows no signs of slowing down, and with the terrific combo here, has produced a delightful recording. 

I likely received a review copy from Rounder Records and the review likely appeared in the DC Blues Calendar back in 2000. Here he is in performance.

New Orleans Social Club Sings Its Way Home

In April 2006 I wrote reviews on several post-Katrina benefit albums. This is the third and last review of those I am posting. Here is the first which originally appeared in the April 2006 (issue 281) of Jazz & Blues Report as well as the April 2006 DC Blues Calendar, then the DC Blues Society’s newsletter. I likely received a review copy, not sure if from the record company, a publicist or Jazz & Blues Report. There is also a live recording of them from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival that is available from jazzfestlive.com. Sadly some acts including Willie Tee have passed on.

The New Orleans Social Club’s Sing Me Back Home (Burgundy Records) is a collection of performances Cut last October in Austin. Dr. John and Irma Thomas (here with Marcia Ball) are the only performers on the Nonesuch disc, Our New Orleans, that are here.

Cyril Neville opens with the Impressions’ protest ballad, This is My Country, followed by Ivan Neville (Aaron’s son) funk reworking of Fortunate Son, with the lyrics about the “millionaire’s son” and “I ain’t no fortunate one,” reverberating with a once again timely message. Somewhere from “West Side Story,” takes a new meaning in light of Katrina as Henry Butler sings “There’s a place for us.” Irma Thomas & Marcia Ball sing about keeping a smile and a sense of things being better on Look Up, while Dr. John, with band, revisits Bobby Charles’ Walking to New Orleans (originally Fats Domino’s hit), although this time with a funk groove and not as gloomy as the take he did that closed one of the televised Katrina benefits.

Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews, a threat on both trumpet and trombone, gets the spotlight on Hey Troy' Your Mama's Callin' You, a lively Caribbean-flavored instrumental. The Mighty Clouds of Joy contribute a gospel number while the Subdudes take on Earl King’s Make a Better World. New Orleans legend, Willie Tee contributes First Taste of Hurt, while the Sixth Ward All-Star Brass Band Revue featuring Charles Neville do Where Y’at, a medley of songs associated with Brass bands including Jesus is on the Mainline, I’m Walkin’, and (When) The Saints Go Marching In).

Big Chief Monk Boudreaux’s Chase is set to a reggae grove with its lyric questioning why one wants to send him away from home. Singer John Boutté closes with the moving ballad by Annie Lennox, Why, which is an amazing performance to close another album of terrific music.

Jeff Golub's Tribute to Three Blues Kings

Veteran of tours with Rod Stewart, and Billy Squier as well as spending time in the James Montgomery band, Jeff Golub has distinguished in recent years as a jazz guitarist. His most recent album has him heading back to the blues with a tribute recording The Three Kings (Entertainment One), a tribute to Albert, B.B., and Freddie King. As he states, "When you look at the modern blues and rock vocabulary, it's almost impossible for anyone to play something that doesn't reflect their influence somehow. Featured on this disc is Henry Butler on keyboards and vocals, who co-produced it with Golub, Andy Hess on bass, and Josh Dion on drums, percussion and vocals. Special guests include Sonny Landreth and Robben Ford, while others in the studio include Chris Palmaro on Hammond B3, and horns and synth strings are heard as well.

There is a mix of covers and some originals that make for an entertaining collection of performances. Butler helps things start with the opening rendition of Let The Good Times Roll, and Born Under a Bad Sign, both solidly sung by Butler, but modeled on the recordings by B.B. and Albert respectively. Golub's instrumental "I Plain Sight, enables him to escape the shadows of both while also allowing Landreth to add a sharp slide guitar solo. Help the Poor, is not an overly familiar part of B.B.'s repertoire and Dion takes a fine vocal with a fresh arrangement. It is followed by Freddie King's instrumental Side Tracked, with Robben Ford adding a solo on a nice rendition with some nice twists in the backing.


Oh Pretty Woman, sounds slowed down slightly from Albert King's original and has a fine vocal from Butler with solid guitar and followed by a hot shuffle rendition Every Day I Have the Blues, with Dion taking another fine vocal. After Golub's hot solo, Butler takes a rollicking piano solo. Then a couple more of Freddie King's songs are tackled with Butler singing Have You Loved a Woman, and Dion on I'm Tore Up. with Golub's hard-edged guitar sounding like a mix of Freddie and Albert in his very solid playing."Freddie's Midnite Dream, a Sonny Thompson penned instrumental from his Cotillion recordings follows, and its lazy feel contrasts with many of King's better known instrumentals with Golub varying in intensity against the light background.


Stumblin' Home is an original instrumental based on The Stumble with nice use of the lower range. Butler wrote the original Three Kings with his celebration of Albert, Freddie and B.B., with a slight New Orleans funk rhythm and punchy horns to support Golub's driving guitar. The disc closes with an instrumental rendition of The Thrill Is Gone, but one is surprised to see that B.B. is credited as composer of the Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins penned classic (and Hawkins 1951 original made the R&B charts). Golub's playing is pretty solid with judicious use of sustain along with Butler’s jazzy piano.


The Three Kings is a very enjoyable collection of blues performances. While most of the disc is comprised of covers, they are not slavish copies although most will be overshadowed by the originals. Drummer Josh Dion was a revelation as a vocalist on his three selections and the originals stand out in the set of solid blues performances.

My review copy was provided by a publicist.

Henry Butler To Play For Marva Wright

Henry Butler 2005 NOJF 6
Originally uploaded by NoVARon

Henry Butler, shown at the 2005 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, will be performing at Washington DC's Blues Alley, the evening of Thursday, August 20. Henry will have shows at 8 and 10 PM. This show will be in part a benefit for the Queen of New Orleans Blues, Marva Wright who has been having health issues, the most recent being a severe stroke suffered on June 6. Part of the proceeds for Henry Butler will go towards Marva.

The following is a press release emailed from Kandy Collins

NEW ORLEANS PIANO LEGEND HENRY BUTLER RELOCATES TO NYC

East Coast Performances Include an August 20 Solo Performance at Washington DC's Blues Alley and a Fundraising Effort for Fellow New Orleans Blues Artist Marva Wright

Washington, D.C. -- August 12, 2009 -- After living away from New York for two decades, powerhouse performer Henry Butler once again makes Brooklyn his home and schedules appearances at prestigious East Coast venues. At Blues Alley on August 20, Butler will showcase his unique blend of New Orleans Funk, Blues and R&B that is enthralling audiences world-wide and earning him a reputation as one of the world’s most versatile and entertaining performers. He will also recognize fellow Crescent City artist and Blues Alley favorite, Marva Wright, who is recovering in New Orleans from a severe stroke suffered there on June 6. Just two days before an All-Star benefit for Marva at the iconic Tipitina’s, Butler will donate a portion of his proceeds toward her recovery efforts.

Traversing the jazz and blues worlds with great finesse, Butler has graced the stages of the Library of Congress, The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and The Apollo Theatre. He has recorded with the likes of Odetta, jazz bassist Charlie Haden and 2007 MacArthur Foundation Fellow Corey Harris. He has released ten records under the MCA, Windham Hill, Blacktop and Basin Street Labels. George Winston, who produced Butler’s most recent work,“Pianola Live,”says of him, “Henry is the pianist I have been studying the most since I first heard him in 1985…he has taken R&B piano to its pinnacle, and he is the only pianist I know who plays the deep Blues and R&B and mainstream jazz. You need to see him live to fully experience his music.”

An eight-time W.C. Handy “Best Blues Instrumentalist – Piano” award nominee, Butler knows no limitations. Although blinded by glaucoma since birth, Butler is a world class photographer who will be featured in an HBO documentary on blind photographers to be broadcast this fall. “You don’t have to be bound by anyone else’s limitations on you,” says Butler, “Where there’s a will there are ways to overcome anything.” This message is the centerpiece to the many programs Butler, who holds a Masters Degree in Vocal Music from Michigan State University, has designed for blind and visually impaired students.

Butler’s return to New York is partially motivated by the number of established facilities in the region dedicated to working with the blind and visually impaired and his desire to restart, on the East Coast, a jazz camp he began in 1994 at the Missouri State School for the Blind and last held at the University of New Orleans two weeks prior to Katrina. Butler’s Creative Music Jazz Camp for Blind and Visually Impaired Teenage Musicians gives participants ways of writing and reading music independent of any sighted assistance. “And achieving independence,” says Butler, “is the key to building confidence and self-esteem. “

There will be two shows at 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $25. Reservations are suggested.

Blues Alley
1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 337-4141

Mr Butler's extraordinary piano blues

The are few musicians that I would call astonishing. New Orleans pianist Henry Butler qualifies to my ears. I remember the first recording of his that I listened to, the marvelous For All Seasons on Atlantic. Mostly backed by a trio that included David Holland on bass and Herman Jackson on drums (Steve Turre plays trombone on one track), the album generally is a strong hard bop piano set, but the highpoint is his solo rendition of W.C. Handy’s St. Louis Blues, on which his musical explorations bring a truly fresh take on this classic song. After this disc, his recordings have become less jazz-oriented and more blues-r’n’b focused.

His newest recording is PianoNOLA on Basin Street Records. Co-produced by George Winston, who produced Butler’s Orleans Inspiration, this disc is a collection of live solo performances that include several instrumentals as well his renditions of several blues and R&B classics. The strength of this recording is his piano playing especially on the marvelous renditions of Basin Street Blues, his own tour de force Orleans Inspiration, and the late Alvin Batiste’s North American Idiosyncrasies. As a vocalist, Butler sometimes come off as a bit melodramatic to these ears, but even on such a well-known number as Professor Longhair’s Tipitina, he radically reworks it in his stunning original solo and the piano and a wordless vocal part lifts up his rendition of the Ernie K-Doe classic, Mother-in-Law. While the overwrought vocal on Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, is perhaps the low point, the rollicking Let It Roll,’ (originally heard on the marvelous VU-DU-Menz album with Corey Harris) picks things up. If this reviewer finds this uneven, there is no question that there are many inspired moments throughout this disc. Maybe his wonderful Orleans Inspiration will get reissued.