Paul Oscher Cool Cat

Paul Oscher
Cool Cat
Blues Fidelity

In his liner notes to "Cool Cat," Paul Oscher notes his long friendship with the late James Cotton including unexpectedly moving three doors down from him when Oscher moved to Austin from Los Angeles in 2012. After mainly doing out of town gigs, he tells how he started playing with his neck rack, guitar, and mic at a BBQ place, but after several months the property the place was on was sold to a developer. Then he started playing at another club, and after trying his solo gig, he started playing with a five-piece band that included Mike Keller on guitar, Corey Keller on drums, Sarah Brown on bass, and Tommy Robinson on sax. They are heard behind Oscher, except for Corey Keller, on this new release. Others heard include bassist Johnny Ace, drummer Russell Lee, guitarist Mike Schermer, Tomas Ramirez on tenor sax, Russell Lee and Lavelle White on vocals, Kid Andersen on bass and June Core on drums.

Oscher is mostly heard playing piano but also heard on guitar and harmonica in addition to his singing and contributed an intriguing set of originals except for a cover of "Rollin' and Tumblin'" credited to Muddy Waters. It is a well-played mixed set of performances opening with a bit of New Orleans flavor, "Money Makin' Woman," where he displays his piano chops and ability as a singer. "Blues and Trouble" is a strong, slow blues that displays the influence of Otis Spann on his piano (and vocal) with Mike Schermer contributing solid guitar fills, while "Hide Out Baby," is a rocking shuffle with him playing guitar and neck rack harmonica with interplay between his guitar and that of Schermer and then a strong harmonica solo. "Work That Stuff" finds his harmonica in a Sonny Boy Williamson II mode with a spare, effective backing.

He does a monologue (some amusing storytelling) that is a prologue to the title track that leads into a jazz quartet performance of the title track with saxophonist Ramirez standing out on a diverting performance. This group is also present for the brief "On the Edge," where Ramirez again stands out. Russell Lee recites Oscher's poem "Mississippi Poem," before Lee's spoken vocal "Ain't That a Man," Oscher's tribute to James Cotton backed by Oscher's guitar and Keller's bass line. Lee also sings strongly on "Poor Man Blues." Miss Lavelle White is featured on "Dirty Dealin' Mama," set to a "Hootchie Kootchie Man" groove, authoritatively belting out the lyric.

A more extended, R&B rendition of the title track showcases Robinson's gritty sax closes an entertaining recording by a very cool blues cat.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review appeared in the January-February 2018 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 382). Here is Paul on slide guitar performing Muddy Waters' "Honey Bee."

Seth Walker's Appealing Blues

Originally from North Carolina, but based in Austin, Texas, Seth Walker has developed into a blues performer of some interest. The Pacific Blues label has recently issued the eponymously title, Seth Walker, a very appealing collection of performances soulfully handled. More than an able guitarist, Walker’s band of Stefano Intelisano on keyboards, Lindsay Greene on bass and Mark Hays on drums is a solid group augmented on a few selections by Kim Wilson on harp, Floyd Domino on piano, Mike Keller on guitar and Ephraim Owens on trumpet. 

Most of the 11 selections are penned in whole or part by Walker, but he also interprets Dave Bartholomew’s By the Water, Jimmy Reed’s I Know Its a Sin, James Hunter’s Kick It Around, and Tom Waits’ Picture in a Frame. The last number, with just Intelisano’s piano probably best illustrates how he can caress a lyric in his delivery and certainly closes the disc on a very strong reflective vein. 

The rest of this album suggests comparisons to Delbert McLinton and Tommy Castro in his mix of blues, soul, and a tinge of country and rock, although blues comes across as more to the core of his music. What is refreshing is his unforced vocal delivery, the solid, clean guitar playing and the strong ensemble playing over a variety of material. No one is overplaying and the result is that the music, in a sense, breathes. 

This is a strong release and Seth Walker is new artist of note that these ears was delighted to discover.

This review was written in 2007, but I am uncertain whether it was published. I likely received a review copy from a publication or publicist. Here is Seth in performance.

Milton Hopkins and Jewel Brown Have The Houston Blues

A new release on the Texas Dialtone label is the eponymously titled released by guitarist Milton Hopkins and vocalist Jewel Brown. Hopkins, a cousin of Lightnin’ Hopkins, is a fleet guitarist with a clean tone and jazzy attack that is in the same vein as fellow Houstonians Texas Johnny Brown and the late Clarence Hollimon. He was in fact second guitarist for B.B. King from around 1971 to 1980. Brown made one recording for Don Robey’s Duke label, later moving out to the West Coast and spent a number of years in the 1960s performing with Louis Armstrong. after retiring from music for a number of years, she has returned to performing a few years back.

Producer Eddie Stout put together a solid band to back the two including Mike Keller on rhythm guitar; Corey Keller or Jason Moeller on drums; Nick Connolly on piano, Johnny Bradley on bass and Kaz Kazanoff on saxophones. They provide solid, swinging backing behind Brown’s vocals and Hopkins’ imaginative single note fretwork. Material is pretty straight-forward with the least familiar material perhaps having the biggest impact.

The opening Jerry is a nice uptempo number, while Can’t Get Enough Of You is a slow blues which she delivers with much feeling. While the years may have taken a toll on her range and vocal tone, on such material she shines while Hopkins lays in some stinging guitar fills behind her vocal. She also capably covers Ruth Brown’s hit, Daddy Daddy, and the band sparkles in accompanying her with Hopkins shining on his solo. It is followed by a surprising cover of J.B. Lenoir’s retelling of the Jonah story, The Whale Has Swallowed Me, with Hopkins on acoustic guitar. It is followed by jazzy instrumental showcase for Hopkins, Evening Breeze, that mixes flair and restraint.

There’s a Light is a nice gospel performance but followed by a decent, but hardly remarkable cover of Esther Phillips’ Cry Me A River, with the arrangement based on the one King Curtis engrafted behind Esther Phillips’s live performance (on Esther’s terrific “Burnin’ album) but Brown’s vocal certainly does not approach that of Phillips, nor is the band on the level of Phillips’ trio that was augmented by Curtis in the studio. Hopkins does take a couple nice guitar breaks, but overall a weak performance. Brown does better with her a cover of Little Willie John’s I’m Shakin’.

Another Hopkins’ instrumental, Back To The Shimmy, has a New Orleans flavor and has Hopkins’ playing off Kazanoff’s tenor sax. Another acoustic performance is the rendition of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “I’m Leaving You Now,” as Milton channels his cousin’s guitar style, although Brown’s vocal sounds harsh at spots. After the rollicking gospel of How Can I Lose, the album closes with a jaunty instrumental Texas shuffle, Tater Tots.

The collaboration between Milton Hopkins and Jewel Brown is a mixed affair. Hopkins is among the last of the blues guitarists still playing in this sophisticated, jazz-tinged approach and he is terrific throughout. One wonders how much the years have affected Brown’s voice and she is uneven here. Several performances are very good, but others are relatively lackluster. While there are some faults here, overall the merits outweigh them.

I purchased this CD. Here is a short video clip of the two.