The Phantom Blues Band Is Still Cookin'

The Phantom Blues Band
Still Cookin'
VizzTone

Coming to prominence with their collaboration with Taj Mahal, the Phantom Blues Band can still be depended on for some strong blues, rock and soul performances. The band has remained pretty stable in personnel for the past decade or so. Members include Tony Braunagel on drums, Mike Finnigan on keyboards and vocals, Larry Fulcher on bass and vocals, Johnny Lee Schell on guitar and vocals, Joe Sublett on tenor saxophone and Les Lovitt on trombone. I believe Lovitt is a recent addition to the band replacing Darrell Leonard who adds his trumpet to two tracks. Lenny Castro adds percussion.

Those familiar with their music from their performances or recordings certainly will not be disappointed by their latest CD which is a mix of covers of lesser-known tunes and choice originals with Finnigan, Fulcher, and Schell sharing the vocals. Things start off on a funky number with a cover of a Wilson Pickett grinder "Don't Fight It," with Sublett taking a rousing sax solo. Jeff Paris contributed "Stop Runnin'" on which he adds Wurlitzer piano behind Fulcher's fervent vocal. Schell handles the vocal on the swampy funk groove of "Wingin' My Way," where he plays some crying slide guitar. Finnigan takes the groove down into the alley on the heartfelt rendition of David Egan's "Blues How They Linger." "Shine On" is a refreshing change of pace with Fulcher and Finnigan trading verses against a reggae groove.

The horns are featured in the Spanish-tinged instrumental "Tequila Con Yerba," with the band interjecting shouts of the song title. Sublett, Lovitt, and Finnigan each add grease and spice. Other tracks of note include Finnigan's "Bad Blood," with a terrific vocal and Schell's stinging guitar, followed by Schell's soulful "Fess On Up," with its lyrics that one better fess up to one's baby to make things right. Schell sings the solid shuffle "I'm Just Your Fool." This is a fine shuffle performance that sounds based on Little Walter's recording and features a booting sax solo.

Given how long The Phantom Blues Band has been together, one should not be surprised how tight a group they are as well as how excellent the music here is. With first-rate material, they have produced another outstanding recording. Indeed after all these years, The Phantom Blues Band is still cooking.

I received my review copy from Vizztone. Here is The Phantom Blues Festival from a 2019 Festival appearance in Panama.

Annika Chambers Kiss My Sass

Annika Chambers
Kiss My Sass
VizzTone

About Annika Chambers' 2014 debut album "Making My Mark," I wrote about this excellent debut, "Annika Chambers may possess a powerful voice but she also is a marvelous singer whose timing, phrasing and her sense of dynamics is quite impressive, and one awaits more funky blues and soul from her in the future." In the interim, she won the 2019 Blues Music Award for Female Soul-Blues Artist. This is her third album and produced by Richard Cagle and Larry Fulcher who produced her debut album with drummer Tony Braunagel co-producing two selections he plays drums on. Fulcher is the bassist on this with a variety of other musicians including guitarists The Might Org, David Carter, and James Wilhite. One track is a duet with Canadian guitarist Paul DesLauriers.

There is a nice mix of songs from a variety of sources opening with the "Let the Sass Out," where after a workweek is over and she no longer has to take crap she can let her sass out. Her impressive vocal is set against an insistent groove, and there is some hot guitar. As strong as that vocal is, she is perhaps even more commanding on "That's What You Made Me," singing about what her cheating man has made her. She commands the listener's attention with her articulation, dynamics, phrasing, and passion in her singing.

Her singing is superb throughout, and the backing is first-rate. A few more of the stand-out tracks include Mack Rice's "What Your Thing," where Ruthie Foster adds background vocals and on which the Mighty Org lays down pedal steel guitar in the backing. Then there is a marvelous rendition of Angela Strehli's "Two-Bit Texas Town" celebrating listening to the blues over the radio and Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins, and others making them want to dance. Barry Sellen's Hammond B-3 adds grease to this spirited performance. Chambers and Fulcher wrote "A Brand New Day," a terrific blues where her heartfelt singing is backed just by the Mighty Org's nuanced guitar, Randy Wall's keyboards and Fulcher's bass. Perhaps no performance better displays the emotion and soulfulness she sings with than a Carolyn Wonderland blues-ballad, "Stay." Then there is a marvelous cover of the Sugar Pie DeSanto-Etta James classic "In The Basement."

The album closes with Chris Smither's "I Feel So Same," where Canadian blues wizard Paul DesLauriers whose provides the steel guitar slide accompaniment as well as adds vocal responses to Chambers vocal. It is another moving performance on an excellent album.

I received my review copy from VizzTone. I will be posting my review of "Making My Mark" shortly. This review appeared in the September-October 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 386), although I made minor stylistic changes. Here is a recent performance of "Kiss My Sass."

Lisa Biales The Beauty of My Heart

Lisa Biales
The Beauty of My Heart
Big Song Music

A new album from the singer, Lisa Biales, brings together some terrific covers and backing from members of The Phantom Blues Band, drummer Tony Braunagel (who produced this); guitarist Johnny Lee Schell (who engineered this); bassist Larry Fulcher; trumpeter Darrell Leonard and saxophonist Joe Sublett; along with keyboardist Jim Pugh; bassist Larry Taylor; bassist Chuck Berghofer (member of The Wrecking Crew); trumpeter Lee Thornberg; and others. The result is a very appealing recording.

The performances here include the jump blues revival of Mabel Scott's "Disgusted" with a terrific Joe Sublett tenor sax solo; a solid New Orleans funk reworking of Allen Toussaint's "I Don't Wanna Hear It" originally waxed by Betty Harris; a smoldering cover of Nina Simone's "Be My Husband"; a jazzy rendition of Lil Green's "Romance in the Dark" with the legendary Chuck Berghofer on acoustic bass; a moving rendition of Eric Bibb's "Don't Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down" with brief solos by Jim Pugh and Johnny Lee Schell adding to its smokey atmosphere; and a spirited gospel performance of Alex Bradford's "Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody." She may have quite the voice of an Aretha but she puts everything in her delivery of this latter song's simple message affirming one's faith.

This is just an overview of some of the very enjoyable performances on this. One song of special note is "Crying Over You." This song has special significance for Biales, as it recorded in 1947 by her mother Alberta Rogers who also wrote it. The performance opens with the first verse of her mother's recording before Biales completes the performance as she sings yearning for her phone to ring as she is crying for her love. Chuck Berghofer is on double bass and Lee Thornberg plays a delightful trumpet solo behind Biales' charming vocal.

Lisa Biales has proven to be a real fine interpreter of blues and roots with her honeyed voice and natural, unforced delivery. She enchants here and, with superb backing, has produced another gem.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the March-April 2017 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 371). Here is Lisa performing "Romance in the Dark."

D.A. Foster The Real Thing

D.A. Foster
The Real Thing
VizzTone

The Shaboo Inn was a fabled Connecticut club of the 70s and D.A. Foster was among those running it. He also has been singing music even prior to the Shaboo Inn and in recent years has been leading the Shaboo All Stars. Foster has a new CD out on Vizztone, “The Real Thing” that was produced by drummer Tony Braunagel and keyboardist Mike Finnigan of the Phamton Blues Band and has Foster backed The Phantom Blues Band (Larry Fulcher on bass; Johnny Lee Schell on guitar; Lenny Castro on percussion; Darrell Leonard on trumpet and Joe Sublett on saxophone) with backing vocalists.

Foster’s deep-throated vocals covers a fairly diverse group of jump blues and urban blues starting with a strong soulful take Dave Steen’s “Good Man Bad Thing.” The Phantom Blues Band’s backing provides a very different tenor to Foster’s rendition from the more guitar centered version by the late Michael Burks. It also quickly displays Foster’s virtues as a singer with his phrasing and dynamics. The title track is a roadhouse blues rocker that suggest the bluesier side of Delbert McLinton with rollicking piano and an energetic guitar solo.

Foster does justice with his renditions of a couple of songs associated with the late Bobby Bland, “Ain’t Doing Too Bad,” and “This Time I'm Gone For Good.” The former number sports a nice funky groove with Foster’s raspy vocal very appealing. On the latter number, Schell employs a jazzier tone that along with the backing lends a 3:00AM in the morning feel behind Foster’s marvelous singing. Foster updates Eddie Hinton’s “Super Lover” as a funky dance number, while doing justice to a rocking and swinging treatment of the classic penned by Jesse Stone (as Charles Calhoun) “Smack Dab in the Middle” with a booting tenor sax solo,” along with a nice version the classic Andy Razaf-Don Redman ballad, “Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You.”

There is a wistful rendition of Bill Withers’ “You Just Can’t Smile It Away.” The album closes with “Down Home Blues,” that is solidly performed but not very distinctive. But even an ordinary closing performance does not lessen the fact that “The Real Thing” is full of choice musical performances. Wonderfully backed by The Phantom Blues band, D.A. Foster brings a fresh approach to some well known material and sings with a soulful authority that the years of performing bring.

I received my review copy from VizzTone. This review appeared in the March-April 2015  Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 359). Foster has a new album out that I have not heard. Here is a clip of D.A. Foster in performance.

 

Curtis Salgado The Beautiful Lowdown

Curtis Salgado
The Beautiful Lowdown
Alligator Records

The latest recording from veteran singer-songwriter and harmonica player Curtis Salgado, "The Beautiful Lowdown" is a solid collection of soul and blues numbers. It was co-produced with Marlon McClain and Tony Braunagel who helps him weave together a range of moods and settings from the driving Memphis Soul feel of the opening "Hard To Feel The Same About Love,"  the North Mississippi Hill Country one-chord groove (and brash slide guitar backing) of "I Know A Good Thing," to the reggae groove of "Simple Enough." Braunagel and some of his fellow Phantom Blues Band members, Johnny Lee Schell, Mike Finnigan and Larry Fulcher are among the players supporting Salgado along with Jim Pugh, and others.

I must confess often being less enamored with lyrics like "Walk A Mile In My Blues," but his tale of losing a brother to the needle and his girl to his best friend makes it powerful with punching horns and simple hard-edged guitar riffs and runs is a very strong musical statement which contrasts with the folk-soul feel of "Healing Love," with acoustic guitar and understated organ backing. "I'm Not Made That Way" is a solid blues performance with biting guitar and an insistent quality in his vocal followed by the a powerful, and very soulful, duet with Danielle Schnebelen, "Is There Something I Should Know." "Ring Telephone Ring" is a bouncy West Coast styled shuffle with Igor Prado's guitar and riffing horns. The album closes with Johnny Guitar Watson's love song "Hook Me Up," with some nice harp on a Watson number that is not often covered by blues acts. Salgado pulls it off.

Salgado explains how the album title came about. , "During a recent show, I turned to my guitarist and said, 'Play something lowdown. But make it beautiful.' Then I thought, 'Keep that.'" he not only kept that but certainly made a recording that lives up to its title "The Beautiful Lowdown."

I received my review copy from Alligator. This review originally appeared in the May-June 2016 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 366). Here is Curtis Salgado performing "Walk A Mile In My Blues."

Phantom Blues Band's Deep Footprints

The Phantom Blues Band has returned with a new disc full of bluesy old school sounds, Footprints (Delta Groove). First attracting notice for their work with Taj Mahal, there Delta Groove debut, Out of the Shadows, drew further attention, while the band’s members are in demand for various touring acts and recordings, so that guitarist Denny Freeman, now part of Bob Dylan’s touring band) only appears on several of tracks here. The rest, Mike Finnigan, vocals and keyboards; Johnny Lee Schell, vocals and guitar; Larry Fulcher, vocals and bass; Joe Sublett, saxophone; Darrell Leonard, trumpet; and Tony Braunagel, drums, are such a strong unit even without Freeman’s fine playing.

The rhythm section lay down the groove, the horns mix taut riffs and the soloists keep things fresh and concise. Despite the name, this band mixes in southern soul along with straight blues. It opens with Finnigan covering Howard Tate’s Look at Granny Run, while displaying his versatility on the classic ballad, Cottage For Sale. His rendition of Ray Charles’ classic blues, A Fool For You, is nicely done although not far removed from Charles’ original. He shows himself to be quite a good interpreter of Charles here.

Schell reworks Freddy King’s See See Baby as well as a nice bit of Rufus Thomas funk, Fried Chicken, although he is not as strong a singer here. Exceptional is his vocal on Darrell Leonard’s A Very Blue Day, with a nice trumpet solo and an evocative melody that evokes Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock. Fulcher treats us to Earl Randle’s deep soul ballad, Leave Home Girl and his reggae-flavored When the Music Changes is a stunning closer.

Not a poor truck and some exceptional ones by a band that sounds incapable of putting out anything but solid recordings.

This review was written for Jazz & Blues Report although I do not believe it ran. I believe I received a review copy from a publicist. I posted my review of Out of the Shadows on December 31, 2011. Here is a video of them.

Phantom Blues Band Comes Out of the Shadows

Best known as the band that backed Taj Mahal on several award-winning recordings, The Phantom Blues Band finally has a handsome disc of its own, Out of the Shadows (Delta Groove) that will certainly will make even more aware of this superb group.

The seven members of the band have a wealth of experience playing with a who’s who of pop and rock music ranging from keyboard whiz-vocalist Mike Finnigan who was on Hendrix's Electric Ladyland album and toured with Dave Mason to guitarist Denny Freeman who was share guitar duties with Stevie Ray Vaughan before being part of the Antone’s House band and currently is in Bob Dylan’s touring group. Saxophonist Joe Sublett and trumpeter Darrell Leonard are known as the Texacali Horns, guitarist-vocalist Johnny Lee Schell had a lengthy tenure with Bonnie Raitt starting in the late seventies, bassist-vocalist Larry Fulcher had stints with Smokey Robinson and the Crusaders as well as reggae groups Third World and Andrew Tosh while drummer Tony Braunagel has too many credits as a producer to list.

Producer John Porter has let them wax a number of classic R&B numbers with a dash of reggae added that should go down easy. From the opening funk groove of The Meters’ Do the Dirt, the Memphis Hi Records groove of I Only Have Love, the rocking reworking of Don & Dewey’s Big Boy Pete, a fresh reworking of Chuck Berry’s Havana Moon, Fulcher’s handling of a reggae classic, Book of Rules, and solid takes of blues from Jimmy McCracklin, Bobby bland and Ray Charles. Finnigan especially is a terrific vocalist and Schell and Fulcher are very good with some terrific playing (listen to Freeman solo on Part Time Love).

Perhaps the only shortcoming is that this album is the prevalence of covers, although few acts can perform the range of material they do sand at the same time inject the band’s personality into the material. Few will be disappointed in this recording of solid blues and rhythm numbers masterfully played.

This review originally appeared in the May-June 2007 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 293) and I have made some corrections to the published review. I received my review copy from either Delta Groove Records or a publicist for the label.

Here is the Phantom Blues Band doing "Part Time Love" from the 2008 Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise.

And here they are with Taj Mahal