Tomislav Goluban Chicago Rambler

Tomislav Goluban
Chicago Rambler
Spona

I recently reviewed a fascinating recording by the Croatian harmonica player Tomislav Goluban with the keyboards of Toni Starešinić which resulted in some fascinating sonic explorations. The present CD is more in the vein of Chicago styled blues and was produced in a Chicago studio with a band consisting of Eric Noden on guitar; E.G. McDaniel on bass; and Kenny 'Beedy Eyes' Smith on drums with Joe Filisko adding harmonica on two songs. Goluban wrote eleven of the twelve songs. The other song is a traditional Croatian song.

Goluban’s nickname is ‘Little Pigeon’ and the album kicks off with a hard-rocking instrumental that displays his by full-bodied harmonica style, “Pigeon Swing.” It is followed by “Locked Heart,” a charming performance in the manner of Slim Harpo with a low-key vocal and harp and suggests Slim Harpo’s “Raining in My Heart.” Goluban may not be the most expressive singer, but his soft-spoken vocals do display a genuineness. This makes his original “Jerry Ricks on My Mind,” a moving remembrance set to a rhumba groove as he sings “Hey Mister Jerry would you play a song for me …,” with Noden playing atmospheric slide guitar. This is also performed acoustically with the guitarist evoking Ricks finger-style approach.

Besides his appealing singing, the backing adds to the charm of these performances whether the driving shuffle of “Bag Full of Troubles,” with some spectacular harmonica from Filisko or the moody slow blues “Can’t Find Myself,” with a marvelous harp solo that adds to the song’s feel. Then there is “One Way Ticket” which opens as an unaccompanied harmonica train solo before morphing into small group train blues. “Do the Right Thing,” is an original using the Bo Diddley beat, followed by the autobiographical “Little Pigeon” with Filisko on harp set against a classic Muddy Waters styled backing.

An easy rocking rendition of a traditional Croatian song “Išem budem v kleticu (I’ll Go to My Cottage),” closes a surprisingly engaging recording that delights with each listening.

I received a review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the March-April 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 383). Here is a video of "Locked Heart."

Hail to The Cash Box Kings

The Cash Box Kings
Hail to the Kings
Alligator

The new recording by the Chicago based Cash Box Kings is a terrific CD of traditionally rooted Chicago blues. Take the excellent rhythm section of bassist John Lauter and drummer Kenny 'Beedy Eyes' Smith with Queen Lee Kanehira guesting on keyboards and Little Frank Krakowski on rhythm guitar; have a real, real, real good singer in Oscar Wilson; and add superb guitar and harmonica from Billy Flynn and Joe Nosek respectfully, and one has one fabulous band. Shemekia Copeland guests on one song, Xavier Lynn adds lead guitar to two, Derek Hendrickson takes over the drum chair on two, and Alex Hill adds percussion to two. Nosek and Wilson collaborated on nine of the 13 tracks (with John Hahn on one), Nosek wrote two by himself, and there are two novel covers.

One has to be impressed by how tight, and in the pocket, Lauter and Smith are throughout the shifting tempos and material. Flynn is superb whether channeling B.B. King on the opening shuffle "Ain't No Fun (When the Rabbit Has the Gun)," the Freddy King of King's Federal recordings on "'Take Anything I Can" with its boogaloo groove (think King's instrumental "Texas Oil"); and Jimmy Rogers crossed with Blue Smitty on "Smoked Jowl Blues." With Nosek full-bodied harp backing and solos, they provide first-rate support for Wilson's robust and nuanced singing. Wilson sounds comfortable handling a hot shuffle like the opening "Ain't No Fun," a Jimmy Rogers' styled performance on "Smoked Jowl," and the Muddy Waters' styled "Poison in My Whiskey." With Flynn's slide guitar evoking Earl Hooker, the Cash Box Kings recast Mercy Dee's "Sugar Daddy" into a terrific Chicago blues. The closing "The Wrong Number" is ebullient Bluebeat Beat styled performance in the manner of Washboard Sam and Jazz Gillum.

The songs are marvelous, idiomatic blues laced with irony and humor, including the highly amusing duet between Wilson and Shemekia Copeland, "The Wine Talkin'." Nosek handles a couple vocals including "Back Off," and is an adequate vocal but lacks Wilson's authority. Nosek and Wilson team up for the humorous duet "Joe, You Ain't From Chicago," where Joe starts off naming a place to get Italian Beef but it is in Elmwood Park, and Wilson states that isn't in Chicago. Against a Bo Diddley groove, Nosek sings about going to Maxwell Street, riding the redline after dark and seeing Smokey Smothers, while Wilson sings Joe doesn't know the Loop from Cabrini Green.

The highpoint may be "Bluesman Next Door," about people who say they like the blues, but don't want Wilson living next door. He sings about folks saying he is the top singing up on stage, but if they see him in the neighborhood, they would probably call a cop. Besides Wilson's terrific singing, Xavier Lynn plays the first-rate solo. This song stands out among the consistently excellent music heard on this superb CD.

I received my review copy from Alligator. Here is Alligator's promotional video for "Ain't No Fun (When the Rabbit Has the Gun)."

The Cash Box Kings Royal Mint

The Cash Box Kings
Royal Mint
Alligator Records

Those wanting some house party, rocking real deal blues need go no further than The Cash Box Kings' new disc, the first for Alligator. With the strong singing from Oscar Wilson and harmonica and occasional vocals from Joe Nosek, guitar from Billy Flynn and/or Joel Patterson, drums from Kenny 'Beedy Eyes' Smith or Mark Haynes, keyboards from Lee Kanehira, this is one straight shot of Chicago blues mixed with a dose of jump blues and a touch of rockabilly.

The rollicking reworking of Amos Milburn's hit, "House Party," certainly kicks this off on the right start and one takes notice of Wilson's strong singing along with Nosek's full toned harmonica. It is followed by a solid rendition of Jimmy Reed's "I'm Gonna Get My Baby," with strong singing and harp and a terrific shuffle groove. It is on cover of a lesser known Muddy Waters number, "Flood," that Wilson's vocals evokes the legendary Chicago giant while Flynn's slide guitar suggests Waters' guitar style and Kanehira is equally solid. An acoustic rendition of Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues," set to the "Rollin' and Tumblin'" music and the cover of "Sugar Sweet" additionally showcase how strongly Wilson and company evoke Waters' classic sound. On Junior Wells' "I'm a Stranger," Kanehira lays down greasy organ under the vocal while Flynn's slide is in Robert Nighthawk vein

As a singer Nosek  is less impressive, although a honest, unforced and straight-forward vocalist.  His topical original, "Build That Wall," which is set to a Tex-Mex rockabilly backing, is a delightful with a Chuck Berry flavored guitar break. "Blues For ChiRag," is a strong urban, topical blues about violence in Chicago today, and the humorous shuffle "If You Got A Jealous Woman Facebook Ain't Your Friend," with some terrific guitar from both Flynn and Patterson besides Wilson's full-bodied singing. Another party song is the rendition of Clifton Chenier's rocker "All Night Long," with solid horns, a terrific piano break and solid horns along with a terrific Flynn solo. Nosek's easy going singing and harp delights on the raggy, closing number, "Don't Let Life Tether You Down."

"Royal Mint" is chock full of some exceptional performances, and the level of the music is never less than very entertaining. Listening to this, it is easy to see why they have a strong fan base, one that is certain to expand.

I received a review copy from Alligator. Here The Cash Box Kings perform Muddy Waters' "Blow, Wind, Blow."

Mississippi Heat Sends Out A Warning Shot

Pierre Lacocque's Mississippi Heat have a new release on Delmark, Warning Shot, that will be welcomed by the band's fans and likely make new fans from listeners. Lacocque’s leadership along with his songwriting and marvelous harmonica playing (Charlie Musselwhite is quoted calling it tasty and brilliant) is joined by one of the most underrated vocalists in the blues, Inetta Visor; vocals and guitar from Michael Dotson; guitar from Giles Corey; bass from Brian Quinn; and a vocal from Kenny Smith who shares the drum chair with Andrew Thomas. Former band member Carl Weathersby is on guitar on a couple tracks, Neal O’Hara is on keyboards, Ruben Alvarez is on percussion and Sax Gordon handles the saxophones.

The opening Sweet Poison is an imaginative original, built upon the Elmore James broom dusting riff with Lacocque's fine harp riding over Dotson’s crisp slide playing. The band pushes the groove behind a superb vocal from Visor. Years ago she might have been described as a moaner as opposed to a  shouter, but her nuanced singing is thoroughly a delight. You get a sense of the vivacious quality of her performances listening to her, but the joy she has singing is evident when one sees Heat live (or on the band’s Live DVD “One Eye Open, Live at Rosa’s” on Delmark). Sweet Poison is followed by the rollicking “Alley Cat Boogie” with pumping piano from O’Hara and an exuberant vocal from Visor.

An original Come To Mama sports Caribbean rhythms (handled by Thomas) while Corey takes the guitar lead sounding like he’s playing through a Leslie amp. Gordon takes a tough tenor sax solo, while Lacocque’s solo suggests some of Walter Horton’s playing (thinking of Horton’s take La Cucaracha). More terrific harp along with Corey’s jazzy guitar is heard behind Visor’s moving singing on a reworking of a Ruth Brown recording, I Don’t Know. Dotson takes a capable vocal on Yeah Now Baby with its North Hills Country meets Muddy Waters rhythms.   

Birthday Song, is a funky, buoyant original that provides blues and soul revival bands with an alternative to the standard birthday song. Corey is in a Santana mode here with Gordon and Lacocque riffing in support. Dotson’s guitar lead on his bouncy rocker, Swingy Dingy Baby evokes the late Texas guitarist Cal Valentine. Too Sad To Wipe Way The Tears has a low-key backing with terrific Lacocque’s harp in a Sonny Boy Williamson II manner. Dotson’s restrained slide playing is exceptional. 

Set against a crisp shuffle groove and Gordon’s one-man sax section, the instrumental rendition of Your Cheating Heart  showcases Lacocque’s wonderful harp. Gordon takes a booting solo on this. A Part of Special a funky Visor original whose  backing vocal chorus, the horn arrangements (and a sax solo that would have King Curtis smiling) and a terrific vocal suggests some classic 70s Aretha Franklin (she is really good here). 

The terrific Warning Shot features tight ensemble playing (one of the things that Lacocque has always focused on with this band), excellent new original material, interpretations of songs that have not been recorded a zillion times, strong solos and the wonderful blues and soul vocals of Inetta Visor. 

I received my review copy from Delmark Records. For those near Washington DC, Mississippi Heat is at Madam's Organ on Friday October 17. Here is a video of Mississippi Heat performing.

 

Celebrating Father’s Day - Some Fatherly Influences on Today’s Blues Performers

Shemekia Copeland at 2005 Hot August Blues

The first time I saw Shemekia Copeland sing the blues, she was with her father, the late Johnny Copeland. Even as a teenager opening for her very proud father, Shemekia had a presence, poise and maturity as a singer and as Bill Wax commented that evening at Tornado Alley in Wheaton, MD, that Shemekia reminded him of a young Irma Thomas. After her father’s untimely passing, Shemekia emerged on her own as a major blues talent. She is among the most prominent women blues performers of today and the late Koko Taylor’s family were among those who anointed her as successor to Koko, a Queen of the Blues. Being a woman and solely a vocalist, Shemekia perhaps benefited from not being in her father’s musical shadow. Yet, her father was an important part of her personal and music development, and Johnny Copeland’s Ghetto Child remains a signature part of her live performances. Shemekia (who will be at the Tinner Hill Blues Festival on Friday, June 13 at the State Theatre) now records for Telarc. However, her first four recordings were for Alligator, and the compilation Deluxe Edition is a fine retrospective of the music Shemekia Copeland recorded for Alligator and serves as a welcome starting point to her powerful blues. 

 
Two sons of the legendary Muddy Waters, Big Bill Morganfield and Mud Morganfield, have established themselves as blues artists. In contrast to Shemekia, their musical performances reflect the music of their father, Muddy Waters. Also in contrast to Shemekia’s father, Muddy played a less significant role as they were growing up. In an interview with Ben Lazarus of the British newspaper The Telegraph (May 7, 2014 issue), Waters’ oldest son, Larry ‘Mud’ Morganfield noted that Muddy Waters was on the road often when he was growing up, and after his parents split up, his mother’s brothers played a great role in Mud’s upbringing. As Lazarus observed, Mud initially ran from the blues “go[ing] to business school and driv[ing] trucks to make a living, but he realized he wanted to leave his own legacy and not just live in the shadow of his father.” He has established himself as a strong performer of blues in the manner of his famous dad. The relationship was reflected in the title of his 2011 Severn Records release, Son of the Seventh Son. 

About Son of the Seventh Son, I wrote (in my review), “Mud does a strong job of conjuring up his late father’s blues and the backing band certainly contributes to the overall feel of this band. Certainly if there can be “Blues Brothers” tribute bands, the eldest son of one of the greatest blues artists can do his part in keeping his father’s sound alive, especially when he contributes a number of strong originals that he ably performs. While he may not be an original performer, Mud Morganfield certain- ly is keeping his legendary father’s sound alive, supported by an excellent band.” 

Eddie Taylor Jr at 2006 Pocono Blues Fest

Shemekia Copeland and Mud Morganfield provide two different examples of children of blues artists today playing the blues. Not all children front bands. Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith is the son of the late Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, who anchored the drum chair for Muddy Waters for a couple decades and then anchored the Legendary Blues Band. In his later years, Willie took up harmonica, with his son Kenny taking up his father’s drum chair. Kenny is among the most in demand drummers for straight Chicago blues recordings, having recorded with his father, Lurrie Bell, the Heritage Blues Orchestra (scheduled for the Pennsylvania Blues Festival), bassist Bob Stroger, Chris Harper, and Mississippi Heat (with whom he regularly plays and who will be at the Tinner Hill Blues Festival). 

Kenny Smith is not the only blues drummer son of a famous blues artist. Tim Taylor is another drummer who has made his mark in the blues world. Tim is the son of legendary blues singer and guitarist Eddie Taylor (best known for playing with Jimmy Reed) and along with his brother Eddie Jr, half-brother Larry, and sister Demetria, Tim has carried on the tradition of the Chicago blues. Tim has recorded with brother Eddie Jr., who plays the Delta-rooted Chicago blues style for which his father was known. Of one of Eddie Taylor, Jr.’s albums I opined, “This is a solid, traditionally oriented blues recording. He sings from the heart and plays the old school style of Chicago blues guitar that fewer and fewer still play.” Eddie Jr. brings his solid approach while playing behind Demetria on her Delmark album Bad Girl, which has a nice mix of blues songs that indicates a bit of the influence of the unrelated Koko Taylor. 

Teeny Tucker at 2009 DC Blues Festival

Like Shemekia Copeland, Teeny Tucker is the daughter of a blues legend. Her father was Tommy Tucker of Hi-Heel Sneakers fame, although he passed away in 1982, long before Teeny started singing professionally. While growing up singing in church choirs, in the past two decades she has become one of the finest vocalists in the blues world, possessing a forceful and expressive voice that exhibits not simply her power as a singer, but her phrasing, vocal dynamics and controlled pitch. Listening to her, one hears a wide range of influences including such legendary figures as Koko Taylor, Christine Kittrell, Lavern Baker and Big Maybelle, but like them she has developed into her own compelling sound. Her most recent album, Voodoo to Do You, is a strong collection of performances that includes her renditions of songs associated with Koko Taylor - Voodoo Woman, Howlin’ Wolf - Commit a Crime, and Christine Kittrell -a marvelous rendition of Lieber & Stoller’s I’m a Woman (many know this from Peggy Lee, but Kittrell first recorded this). In addition to Voodoo Woman, several songs (but not all) have a voodoo theme, including Love Spell, and Is Your Voodoo Workin’. The album also includes strong acoustic performances of Skip James’ Hard Time Killing Floor Blues and Rev. Gary Davis’ Death Have No Mercy. Both are wonderfully sung and enhanced by the playing of guitarist Robert Hughes. Teeny headlines the Saturday afternoon performances at the Tinner Hill Blues Festival in Falls Church. 
 

Billy Branch and Lurrie Bell at 2012 Pennsylvania Blues Festival

Lurrie Bell, son of harmonica legend Carey Bell, first emerged in a group, Sons of the Blues, that also included Willie Dixon’s son Freddie Dixon and harmonica wizard Billy Branch. Playing a different instrument from his father enabled Lurrie to develop his own musical persona, which has been exhibited on a number of excellent blues albums that included collaborations with his late father.
Bernard Allison also had some collaborations with his father, Luther. Since Luther passed away, Bernard plays and sings in the same high energy, rocking style of his father and has incorporated several of his father’s songs in his performances. Ronnie Baker Brooks and Wayne Baker Brooks both spent time playing with their father, Lonnie Brooks (Baker is Lonnie’s real last name).

While they continue to perform with their father (who has limited his performances in recent years), they both have started their own careers with their own approaches rooted in their father’s music. One also cannot forget Eddie ‘Vaan’ Shaw, son of saxophonist Eddie Shaw. Magic Sam and Hubert Sumlin, Vaan’s guitar became a mainstay of his father’s band and has been for many years.  Vaan has recorded two albums on hisown for the Austrian Wolf label and can be heard on the recordings of his Blues Hall of Fame father. 

Vann and Eddie Shaw at 2013 Pennsylvania Blues Festival

There are, of course, more sons and daughters of the blues. In Chicago, Elmore James, Jr., plays a mix of straight Chicago blues and some of his father’s slide guitar blues, although his slide playing and vocals owes a bit to Elmore's cousin, Homesick James. In New Orleans, one can hear, Guitar Slim Jr. who also brings a personal approach to his legendary father’s songs as well as other blues tunes. Shawn Holt, son of the late Magic Slim, recently won the Blues Music Award for Best Debut album, Daddy Told Me. This is a strong recording, very much in the vein of his father, with driving medium tempo shuffles and slow-drag, bump and grind blues. On this CD, Shawn is perpetuating Magic Slim’s legacy and also shows he is, himself, a significant voice for today’s blues. In the Northern Mississippi hill country, Shardé Turner leads the fife and drum band her grandfather Otha Turner led for many years, while the children and grandchildren of Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside continue playing music extending this deep blues tradition.

One other blues child to mention is harmonica player Rip Lee Pryor. Rip Lee is the son of Snooky Pryor, who was amongst the first post-war Chicago blues artists to record. Rip played guitar with his father, but has become a harmonica player whose style is similar to his father’s. Oddly, Rip Lee’s interest in blues started in a period when Snooky had withdrawn from the music business. Rip Lee’s recent debut recording Nobody But Me, on Electro-Fi, displays a pretty straight-forward approach to the blues as he plays harmonica on a rack and lays down simple guitar backing. Significant influences on his music include his father and John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson. As Scott Bock observes in his liner notes to the release, Rip Lee has a pretty stripped down sound resulting in a straight dose of classic Chicago blues. (Rip Lee Pryor and Shawn Holt will be appearing at the Pennsylvania Blues Festival at Pennsylvania’s Blue Mountain Ski Resort in late July.)


This post has appeared in the June 2014 Capital Blues Messenger, the DC Blues Society's newsletter.

John Primer and Bob Corritore are Knockin’ Around These Blues

The fact that John Primer and Bob Corritore share the billing on a new Delta Groove release, Knockin’ Around These Blues, is certain to be welcome to fans of real deal blues. Primer, a member of Muddy Waters last band and a long time member of Magic Slim’s Band, has deservedly acquired a reputation as among the finest living ‘old school’ Chicago blues artists still with us. The fact that Bob Corritore (who produced this) has teamed up with Primer for this new release is doubly welcome as his recent collaborations have been generally outstanding. The album was recorded in two sessions. One session in Phoenix with Chris James on guitar, Patrick Rynn on bass and Brian Fahey on drums. The other session was in Chicago with Billy Flynn on guitar, Bob Stroger on bass and Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith on drums. Pianist Barrelhouse Chuck is on both sessions. 

The personnel listing should give a sense of what to expect, and indeed this is a recording that fans of classic Chicago blues will savor. While most of the album are covers, the songs covered such as the opening rollicking rendition of Jimmy Reed’s The Clock, will be fresh and even the most familiar songs, Little Walter’s Blue and Lonesome (with some real nice slide guitar), and Robert Lockwood Jr.’s Little Boy Blue (sounding as if Muddy Waters had recorded), are reworked so they sound new. Primer sings and plays strong, Corritore wails and Barrelhouse Chuck pounds the 88s. 

The originals are Primer’s When I Get Lonely, which has the feeling of some of Eddie Taylor’s fifties recordings and Corritore’s Harmonica Joyride, a rollicking feature for him. Other highlight’s include Primer’s take on Artie White’s Leanin’ Tree, taking that soulful blues to Pepper’s Lounge, Lil Son Jackson’s Cairo Blues, transformed into a Chicago blues shuffle and a rendition of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ Going Back Home sounding as Muddy Waters might have done it back in the sixties. 

Bob Corritore has to be thanked for his efforts to bring deserving blues performers into the spotlight. John Primer should have been a household name amongst blues lovers for several years, and if there is any justice, the stellar Knockin’ Around These Blues will elevate him to this status. He is among today's finest blues performers.

I received my review copy from Delta Groove. John Primer will be performing at the Chicago Blues Festival, the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, the Pennsylvania Blues Festival, the Riverfront Blues Festival and other blues events this summer. Here is John performing They Call Me John Primer from a few years back.

Incidentally here is a link to my blog entry where I reviewed several of John's earlier albums.

Lurrie Bell Knows That The Devil Ain’t Got No Music

A new Lurrie Bell recording, The Devil Ain’t Got No Music (Aria B.G. Records), represents a double departure from Bell’s prior recordings. First of all the album focuses on the sacred side of Lurrie’s repertoire and secondly the performances are rendered in a stripped down vein, mostly acoustically. Part of its origins was the years growing up as a child with his grandparents in the South that Lurrie spent playing and singing in church. After moving North, where he become known for his blues guitar and vocals, Bell would sing and play many of the songs heard on this new release around his home. The Devil Ain’t Got No Music was produced by Matthew Skoller and in addition to Bell, has guests Joe Louis Walker, Billy Branch, Josef Ben Israel, Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith, and Bill Sims, Jr.

Its a bit more informal sounding than Lurrie’s electric blues recordings with producer Skoller presenting the performances in a variety of settings ranging from the opening Swing Low, Lurrie’s personalized interpretation of Swing Low Sweet Chariot, where his guitar and vocals are backed by Smith’s percussion and Sims’ hand claps as he vocally riffs on “swing low.” Joe Louis Walker contributes slide guitar and backing vocal to It’s a Blessing, while Lurrie’s vocals and guitar are joined by backing vocal on Thomas Dorsey’s Search Me Lord. Don’t Let the Devil Ride is one of several songs on the theme of stay away from the devil with Lurrie’s trebly guitar evocative of Magic Sam with Kenny Smith’s supportive drumming. On Muddy Waters’ Why Don’t You Live So God Can Use You, Lurrie’s self-accompaniment channels Lay My Burden Down.

The title track was written by producer Skoller and based on a quote from Mavis Staples. With a small combo (with Skoller on harp) Bell notes the devil has fire, horns and a tail but the devil has no music so that’s why his home is hell. On Thomas Dorsey’s “Peace of the Valley” Bell adds string slapping while Joe Louis Walker adds whining slide accents to the fervent vocal. Smith’s percussion and Cynthia Butts background vocals are the stark backing for Bell’s delivery of Tom Waits’ Way Down In The Hole, which is where you want to keep the devil.

Bill Sims adds second guitar as well as provides the arrangement to Lo and Beyond, while Joe Louis Walker and Sims add their clapping and enthusiasm as Lurrie shouts I’ll Get To Heaven On My Own, which Walker wrote. Billy Branch is part of the unplugged small Chicago blues styled backing on Trouble In My Way, with Mike Avery and James Teague adding their backing voices.

The Devil Ain’t Got No Music concludes with a lengthy, solo rendition of Reverend Gary Davis’ Death Have No Mercy. As noted, it presents a definite different musical side of Bell. Bell sings with passion while the emphatic, percussive manner of his guitar style is evident. The unusual twists and turns his guitar playing often take is less prevalent but still it is certainly a release that is well worth checking out.

I received a review copy from a publicist for this release.

Mud Morganfield Is The Son of the Seventh Son

The eldest son of the legendary Muddy Waters, Mud Morganfield was originally given a drum set by his father when he was 7, and began singing in the early 1980s, but it was not until 2005 when Mary lane coaxed him on stage that he started treated music as his profession in a serious fashion. Appearing at the 2007 Chicago Blues Festival led to interest in him similar top that of his younger brother Big Bill Morganfield. He has had some earlier recordings, but now he has a new recording, Son of the Seventh Son, produced by Bob Corritore on Severn Records that should help take his recognition and career to the next level.

Backing Morganfield’s vocals are guitarists Rick Kreher and Billy Flynn, pianist Barrelhouse Chuck (Goering); bassist E.G. McDaniel with Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith on drums. Producer Corritore and Harmonica Hinds share the harmonica duties for these February 2011 recordings. With the exception of a couple covers of Muddy Waters recordings and originals by Studebaker John Grimaldi and Billy Flynn, Mud Morganfield contributed originals and the performances are pretty much in his father’s style.

From the opening notes of the reworking of J.T. Brown’s Short Dress Woman, to his own Blues In My Shoes, celebrating his father’s legacy, Mud Morganfield evokes his legendary father. The performances are solid blues in the style of his father and the backing band does a solid job or evoking the Muddy Waters Band sound of the mid-sixties through the end of Waters’ celebrated career. This is a solid band that sounds so at home playing in the style of Waters.

Mud may not quite match his father’s style, but he comes close. The level of the performances are solid throughout although several stand out including the opening reworking of his father’s recording of Short Dress Woman, Studebaker John’s Son of the Seventh Son, the amusing Catfishing, (where he goes all the way to the bottom because that’s where all the fat cats go) on which Barrelhouse Chuck is on organ and Harmonica Hinds is on harp, and Health on which Corritore shines in his harp accompaniment as Mud strongly sings about having money and fame don’t mean anything if one does not have good health. The playing is strong throughout and certainly captures the flavor of Muddy Waters recordings from the seventies. I am not sure who takes the guitar solo on Loco Motor, but the guitarist does a good job of evoking Jimmy ‘Fast Finger’ Dawkins in his guitar solo.

As suggested, Mud does a strong job of conjuring up his late father’s blues and the backing band certainly contributes to the overall feel of this band. Certainly if there can be “Blues Brothers” tribute bands, the eldest son of one of the greatest blues artists can do his part in keeping his father’s sound alive, especially when he contributes a number of strong originals that he ably performs. While he may not be an original performer, Mud Morganfield certainly is keeping his legendary father’s sound alive, supported by an excellent band. The result is a release sure to interest fans of his father’s classic Chicago blues.

I received my review copy from Severn Records. Here Mud plays his father's Mannish Boy.

Heritage Blues Orchestra Is Still Rising

At the last Pocono Blues Festival, one of the acts was Bill Sims Jr. and his daughter Chaney doing a variety of material rooted in deep acoustic blues, spirituals and field hollers. Sims was a marvelous guitarist and vocalist and his daughter sang marvelously as well. It was to my delight that a new recording by a new group, Heritage Blues Orchestra, And Still I Rise (Raisin’ Music) featured them along with Junior Mack in a collection of blues, hollers and spirituals that bring a sophistication to them while preserving the rawness of the source material. This album by “H.B.O.” is produced by Larry Skoller, also includes the harmonica of Vincent Bucher (Matthew Skoller on one track), the drums and percussion of Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith, and a horn section led by Bruno Wilhelm that provides fresh settings for some of these songs.

As Smith emphatically laying down the rhythm, Bucher wails on harmonica, and Mack and Sims lay down a delta-flavored guitar accompaniment, Mack delivers a strong vocal on Son House’s Clarksdale Moan, with horns added during the performance. Chaney takes a vocal on C-Line Woman with Mack and Sims providing a response as Kenny Smith provides the second-line rhythms and Clark Gayton provides a bass line on his sousaphone/tuba. I believe it is Mack that handles the vocal on Big Legged Woman, with the horn section adding musical coloring.

The horns are more prominent as is Bucher’s energetic harmonica on a hot shuffle rendition of Catfish Blues, with Bill Sims strongly delivering the lyrics with some interesting interplay between harmonica and the horns. The interplay between the vocals and horns marks Leadbelly’s Go Down Hannah, with a lovely vocal on this dirge by Chaney Sims. I believe it is Junior Mack that plays the driving slide guitar behind the three-part harmonies on the spiritual Get Right Church, as Smith emphatically lays down the groove.

The remainder of this release is equally stirring and moving. The playing by Sims, Mack, Bucher and Smith is terrific throughout. Smith’s ability to play in very contrasting and different rhythmic styles is noteworthy. The horns certainly are interesting, add rhythmic punch to these recordings even if not always seamlessly integrated into the performances. The horns stand out during In the Morning, and the closing Hard Times. The latter traditional blues is transformed into a three-movement performance, opening with a stirring vocal by Chaney that hints at Skip James, followed by a mournful horn interlude, and concluding with Junior Mack taking a vocal chorus to kick off a brief funky jam that fades out during Wilhelm’s fervent tenor sax solo.

The foundation of the Heritage Blues Orchestra are the voices of Junior Mack, Bill Sims, Jr., and Chaney Sims who bring such a range of moods and emotions in the marvelous vocals here. This trio could do a recording without instrumental accompaniment and be as compelling as they are here. And I Shall Rise is an compelling, contemporary exploration of African-American musical roots.

This is scheduled for release on February 28. I received a review copy from a publicist. And here is a promotional bit for this release.