Jimmy Dawkins Kant Sheck Dees Bluze

Felix Wohrstein’s liner notes to Dawkins’ new Earwig recording, Kant Shek Dees Bluze, state that “there are no Jimmy Dawkins imitators.” If not generating imitators, Dawkins has certainly influenced at least one artist, Bobby Radcliffe, who similarly employs a driving attack, “combining piercing sustain and staccato.” 

Dawkins' first album Fast Fingers, is one of the few blues albums to win the Grand Prix of the Hot Club of France and he was voted by Downbeat critics as rock/pop/blues act deserving wider recognition. Despite this critical acclaim, his career never sustained the level of public recognition as other, probably lesser artists. Perhaps it was due to his serious “all for business” nature and his music. No flashy theatrics, just a heavy dose of straight blues. 

While he has continued to record overseas, Kant Sheck Dees Bluze is only his second U.S. album in over 15 years. Earwig has brought together a solid studio band that includes “Professor” Eddie Lusk on keyboards, Billy Flynn on rhythm guitar, Johnny B. Gayden on bass and Ray Scott on drums. Two of the vocals here feature singer Nora Jean Wallace who sounds as a promising talent, but the bulk of the vocals are delivered by Dawkins who may have a limited range, but invests his vocals with much feeling. 

The songs are all originals, although one can hear allusions to Sonny Boy Williamson’s Help Me on the title track (as he sings that he can’t shake these blues) or Magic Sam’s All Your Love on Wes Cide Bluze. The lyrical themes are typical of Dawkins, as he sings about the troubles of everyday, not simply those between a man and a woman, but also the economic and social problems of poverty. 

While the lyrics of the topical Made the Hard Way may be superseded by events, its not an untypical Dawkins theme, nor are his sentiments that life is a struggle, but people must keep struggling and holding on to keep their dreams and hopes alive, as expressed in the religious song, Gotta Hold On, that closes the record. Dawkins offers plenty of searing guitar, with his backing of Nora Jean Wallace’s My Man Loves Me being particularly effective, however, some of his playing is busier than on earlier recordings. 

While there is a generous 65 minutes, and like other Dawkins recordings there is the flavor of a club jam. Some performances would have benefited by being shorter and more focused. No question however that Jimmy Dawkins remains one of modern blues’ major talents, and this is a most welcome release.

This 20 year old review originally appeared in the July 1992 Jazz and Blues Report (Issue 172) and I likely received my review copy from the label.  Here is Jimmy performing in 1991.

Lucky Peterson Made the Right Moves

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.