Memphis Slim

This is a review that I wrote in Fall 2006 and published in the November-December 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 288). I will be posting other reviews from this every few days in next couple weeks.

Universal Music on the Verve label has released the second batch of CDs in its series, The Sonet Blues Story. These sides make available albums from the 1970s that were issued in Europe on the Sonet label although some were imported in the United States and some were even issued in the US, as GNP-Crescendo issued The Legacy of the Blues recordings stateside. This latest batch includes more from that series along with other albums that Samuel Charters had produced for Sonet. I will be posting these reviews every few days.

Memphis Slim, real name Peter Chapman, was another Chicago blues giant who became an expatriate, moving to Paris in 1962. Clyde Otis recorded him in New York in 1967 during a US tour with a band that included the great Billy Butler on guitar and Eddie Chamblee on tenor saxophone for a session that would not have been out of place on the Prestige-Bluesville catalog and was in The Legacy of the Blues series.

The set opens with a nice reworking of Everyday I Have the Blues and closes with Sassy Mae, completely reworked from his original which was built upon the Dust My Broom riff. Highlights include the peppy A Long Time Gone, where he sings about it being a long time since his baby called with Chamblee soaring with his solo as Slim plays his rock solid piano under him. I Feel Like Ballin’ the Jack is a retitled version of Big Bill’s Feel So Good, confidently sung. Slim’s considerable prowess on the piano is evident on Broadway Boogie, a storming instrumental with Chamblee and Butler taking crisp solos while Gambler’s Blues has him lament that “Last night I lost the best friend I ever had; I lost all my money, too bad, people how sad.” Sassy Mae which sports a larger (uncredited) horn section completes this welcome reissue.

I likely received my review copy from Jazz & Blues Report. Here is Memphis Slim performing "Slim's Boogie."

Blues Time Machine Takes Us Back to November 1976

This is my blues column from the November 1976 Buffalo Jazz Report which had Dexter Gordon on the cover to promote his appearance at the Tralfamadore Cafe in November. As I 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.

Albert King is one of the best known contemporary guitarist-singers in the blues and his new Utopia album Albert (BULI- 1731) is an attempt to present a commercially successful album. Albert King's recordings have always manifested a funkiness and when he was with Stax he had Booker T., and the Stax crew providing sometimes sympathetic and sometimes ridiculous music (Albert King sings Elvis). Despite disco touches on some tracks, and a girl chorus on others this is pretty direct music, and blues with a funky touch. 
 
Albert sings and plays straight forwardly, but is burdened by overkill in the back up as he is drowned in a large band setting. The music isn't bad or slick, just too busy. Also a couple of Willie Dixon tunes I'm Ready and My Babe suffer from the arrangements and the fact that Albert can't convey the aggressiveness of Muddy Waters on I'm Ready, nor the Iittle boy charm of LittIe Walter on My Babe. Stoll its not a bad album as Albert does play with fire, but better material and a more laid back playing would lead to a more satisfying session of blues. But would a more satisfying set sell better? I don't know. 

The Finest of Folk Bluesmen is a mistitled anthology as only the John Lee Hooker tracks on this Bethlehem (BCP-6017) anthology are country blues, the rest being mostly urban and jazz oriented performances. Among those included are Eddie 'Cieanhead' Vinson, Jimmy Rushing, Lonnie Johnson and Memphis Slim and this is a very enJoyable set of mostly uptown music from the late 1940s and the early 1950s. 

Great Bluesmen/Newport (Vanguard VSD 17/78) is a collection of country blues recorded lve at various Newport Folk Festivals and is recommended especially for those who don't have many blues records as it provides idroduction to a number of fine artists including Robert Pete Williams, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, and Skip James. John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins are not heard at their best though Robert Pete WiIIiams' Levee Camp Blues, Skip James' Hard Time Killing Floor Blues and Son Souse's Son's Blues are especially compelling.

 

French Boogie Blues and Zydeco Releases

There is a myth that there was very little new blues of note recorded in the 1970s. The fact is labels like Alligator, Delmark and Blind Pig produced fine albums, and labels like Stax and Jewel produced strong modern urban blues. Also, there were a number of recordings released in Europe, usually by touring American musicians, on labels like Isabel and Black & Blue. Three reissues from Barclay’s Maison de Blues series caught my attention when issued three decades ago, and these new CD releases allow me to replace my worn vinyl LPs. Memphis Slim & Buddy Guy, Southside Reunion, was recorded when Buddy Guy and Junior Wells were touring Europe in September 1970. This 35 year old session brought together the expatriate Slim with the Buddy Guy-Junior Wells Band for what was a terrific session mixing Slim’s rolling barrelhouse piano, urbane singing and the tough sound Guy and Wells put together with one of the great blues bands of all time. Guy and Wells had Phil Guy on rhythm guitar, Ernest Johnson on bass, A.C. reed and Jim Conley on sax and Roosevelt ‘Snake’ Shaw on drums. When Slim kicks off a duet with Buddy on the opening When Buddy Comes to Town, the music takes off on a cooking shuffle that I doubt Buddy could come close to matching today with his more hard rock approach, and how many modern rhythm sections could handle the shuffle groove or settle in so able behind Slim on Leroy Carr’s classic, How Long Blues? Guy also handles the vocal on You’re the One while Wells ably supports on harp throughout. An alternate take of You’re the One, and Jamming at the Castle are bonus tracks and come across as worthy companions for a really magnificent reissue. Professor Longhair was at the beginning of his re-emergence as a performer when he recorded the 1974 release Rock’n’Roll Gumbo, which was reissued on George Winston’s Dancing Cat label in 1985 with horns added to the reworking of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The Maison de Blues reissue is musically the same as the Dancing Cat and had Fess pared with Gatemouth Brown on guitar (and fiddle for Jambalaya,) with a rhythm section of Julius Farmer on bass, drummer Sheba Kimbrough, who recently (October 2005) passed away, and Alfred ‘Uganda Roberts on congas. The music is marvelous as the empathy between Brown and Fess is obvious throughout whether on remaking Hey Now Baby and Tipitina or bringing a fresh take to Junco Partner, Ray Charles’ Mess Around, Stag-O-Lee, and Mean Ol’ World. After the mix of funk and blues grooves, the album closes with just Fess at the piano taking care of business on (They Call Me) Dr. Professor Longhair. This is perhaps my favorite Longhair album, and interestingly Rhino took seven songs from this when they did their two-CD Professor Longhair anthology. The third reissue is Clifton Chenier’s Frenchin’ the Boogie, recorded at a time when Stanley ‘Buckwheat’ Duval was part of the band on keyboards. The Frenchin’ in the title refers to the fact that Chenier sings a number of blues and rhythm and blues classics in Creole French. There are several nods to Louis Jordan, Caledonia, Choo-Choo Ch’Boogie, and Laissez Les Bon Tons Roulet (a retitled Let the Good Times Roll) along with versions of Shake Rattle and Roll and Going Down Slow mixed with a waltz. Chenier was in peak form for this 1976 session, singing ebulliently and soulfully, putting as much soul in his piano accordion as Jimmy Smith on the organ and the Red Hot Louisiana Band rocking as hard as any band ever did. Like the other two releases, this is spectacular stuff. The above was a relatively recent (March-April 2006) review from Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 280) of some reissues of blues recordings from Europe. They are still available (although perhaps easier to get as downloads than hard physical copies). I likely received review copies from Jazz & Blues Report.

Piano Boogie Woogie and Blues From Smithsonian Folkways

Smithsonian Institution’s acquisition of the legendary Folkways catalog served music lovers well by preserving and keeping available the rich trove of music that label had recorded. it also has served as a vehicle for the Smithsonian to issue new recordings of diverse musical traditions from around the world including live performances recorded at Smithsonian Folklife Festivals and programs. Included is the production of compilations drawn from the thousands of recordings in their catalog and in their archive. One such compilation is Classic Piano Blues that brings together recordings by Memphis Slim, Speckled Red, Victoria Spivey, Meade Lux Lewis, Roosevelt Sykes, Little Brother Montgomery, Lead Belly, and James P. Johnson from Folkways albums with efforts by Booker T. Laury from the 1990s “Folk Masters” series of concerts and radio broadcasts and a 1976 Folklife Festival performance of Dices Blues by Big ‘Chief’ Ellis (with John Cephas and Phil Wiggins accompanying him).

Jeff Place has compiled an interesting mix of material that is a credible introduction to the piano blues tradition although some might suggest that there are some curious choices of material. The opening Memphis Slim Tribute to Pete Johnson,” is a rousing boogie woogie as is Meade Lux Lewis’ Medium Blues, a strong medium tempo variation on Yancey Special, with a strong left hand bass. Booker T. Laury was heavily influenced by Roosevelt Sykes as his vigorous rendition of Early in the Morning,” that some may be more familiar from Junior Wells’ recordings of this Walter Roland number. I am surprised that a rendition of The Dirty Dozens by Speckled Red was not included, but this barrelhouse player is heard on a solid How Long, attributed by Red to St. Louis pianist Walter Davis. Red’s barrelhouse rendition of Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie, follows the more ragtime-tinged rendition by Little Brother Montgomery, and the contrasts in style is fascinating. Little Brother is good here and on his own No Special Rider Blues, but this listener has heard stronger recordings by him.

Champion Jack Dupree’s Black Wolf Blues, is a European small group recording of Texas guitarist-vocalist, J.T. ‘Funny Paper’ Smith’s Howling Wolf. Big Chief Ellis (he was part Black Creek Indian) originally recorded Dices Blues for a small New York label, and reprised it here displaying the influence of the afore-mentioned Walter Davis in his bittersweet approach. Lead Belly’s Big Fat Woman is more interesting for his mix of traditional lyrics than his unusual piano style. Sam Price’s instrumental, Parlour Blues, is another performance from the Folk Masters series and captures the famed pianist and talent scout in one of his last performances. While the booklet credits this to a performance at the Barns of Wolf Trap, I wonder if this was from the first season of Folk masters which I believe was held at Carnegie Hall.

Little Drops of Water, bring together the Deep Morgan (St. Louis piano of Henry Brown with vocalist Edith Johnson, both of whom recorded in the heyday of blues recordings in the twenties. Another St. Louis pianist is Henry Townsend who does a sober rendition of Roosevelt Sykes All My Money Gone” in an approach that suggest Walter Davis’ influence (Townsend played guitar on many Davis recordings). Sykes is represented by a solo version of Sweet Old Chicago, which he had recorded in New Orleans for Imperial. This is a variant of Sweet Home Chicago, but in any case Robert johnson’s recording itself is derived from Kokomo Blues and Sykes includes a verse not in Johnson’s recording. Sykes takes a boogie solo here, unlike his Imperial recording that featured a hot guitar solo, but was wondering why one of his more famous numbers were not included. Stride pianist James P. Johnson is heard with a small group for Hesitation Blues, as well as backs Katherine Handy Lewis on her father’s Yellow Dog Blues, where she wonders where her “easy rider has gone.” These are fine performances, although I am not sure they are classic piano blues.

As indicated, this serves as an introduction of the piano blues that can be heard on Smithsonian Folkways. There is some marvelous music here and even what I might consider curious selections is entertaining. It comes with a booklet that includes Jeff Place’s overview on piano blues and a discussion of the tracks as well as a biography and a list of pertinent Smithsonian piano blues releases. You can access the Smithsonian/Folkways catalog through the Smithsonian’s website, www.si.edu. The Folkways link is http://www.folkways.si.edu/index.aspx, and you can order or purchase as downloads there.

I purchased this CD.

Big Joe Duskin Rides Again

Looking back on my hard drive I came across this review of an album by pianist Big Joe Duskin. Never having the pleasure to see Duskin, I have only been able to enjoy his recordings. I am sharing this 2004 review with you. To my knowledge this recording is still in print.  


Born in Alabama in 1921, Big Joe Duskin has resided in Cincinnati for a number of years. A formidable pianist who was influenced by the great Memphis Slim and Roosevelt Sykes, Duskin actually abstained from performing blues in public to honor a promise to his father, a preacher that he would not play in public until his father passed away (and his dad lived to 105). It was not until the 1970s that this veteran started playing again in earnest leading to albums for Arhoolie and the Austrian Wolf labels. Now, one of the last of the original Cincinnati blues artists, he has a new album, Big Joe Jumps Again!, on the Yellow Dog label produced Willie Lee Ellis, a conservatory singer who met Duskin in the 80s and among those who has championed his music. Bassist Ed Conley and Philip Paul both did numerous sessions for King records (Paul was on Freddie King’s classic Hide Away). Guests also appear on several tracks including rocker Peter Frampton who is heard on two selections including Every Day I Have the Blues. Frampton now lives in Cincinnati and met Duskin at a benefit after 9/11. With the sympathetic trip backing, Duskin delivers his piano blues shouting out his lyrics in a fashion that evokes the great Sykes. Songs include Sykes’ Miss Ida B. (also a staple of Pinetop Perkins repertoire), Lowell Fulson’s You’re Gonna Miss Me, Memphis Slim’s Every Day and Beer Drinking Woman, and the boogie woogie standard Down the Road a Piece. There is even a rendition of North to Alaska before the album closes with a short rendition of Just a Closer Walk With Thee. We may never know just how good Duskin was in his prime as he kept his promise to his father, but he is still in his eighties a solid blues pianist and vocalist who is among the last of his generation of blues pianists and we should be thankful for this splendid release.

After I posted this review, Yellow Dog Records added the comment that it is print and provided a link for you to hear the music. 
 http://music.yellowdogrecords.com/bigjoeduskin. 
The link is in the comment they made, but I believe would be easier to have the link in the body of the review, so added it now.

For FTC purposes I likely received a review copy from Yellow Dog records or its publicity firm.

A Totally Captivating Piano Blues Recording

My purchase of Carl Sonny Leyland’s “A Chicago Session” (Ventrella) was an impulse based in part on the description of the disc on the new release web page of BlueBeat Music’s website. It was one of several releases featuring Joel Patterson, and I was familiar with the blues and boogie woogie piano of Leyland so sound unheard it was in a recent order, and its simple delights have captivated me since first giving it a listen.

Leyland, a British native who has since relocated to Southern California, has immersed himself in the piano blues tradition and (to these ears) incorporates elements from such diverse artists as Memphis Slim, Art Hodes, Albert Ammons, and Piano Red with some jazz seasoning (a dash of Teddy Wilson and Mary Lou Williams), delivering such a strong, yet relaxed sound and is a more than a competent vocalist who delivers in a natural genial manner without sounding bland. In addition to the swinging, jazzy playing of Patterson, he is backed by bassist Beau Sample and drummer Alex Hall, who provide crisp, yet understated, support that embellishes Leyland’s wonderful playing and Patterson’s crisp comping and single note excursions.

There is a nice range of material from his straight-forward delivery of Roosevelt Sykes’ “BVD Blues,” and his exuberant rendition of Piano Red’s “Rockin’ With Red,” with his bouncy piano complemented by a deft Patterson solo. Speckled Red’s classic “Dirty Dozens’ is done as a wistful instrumental, while the sprite rendition of “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” is an unusual, if delightful performance, “Up the Lazy River,” is a feature for the playing of Patterson followed by a nice “Careless Love.” This is a totally captivating recording of piano blues, and I certainly will be investigating Leyland's past catalog for similar gems.

Here is a link to Carl's website, where one can purchase this and others ion his lengthy discography. Bluebeat Music has the CD while amazon and itunes have it available for download.