Tony Holiday Porch Sessions

Tony Holiday
Porch Sessions
VizzTone

I am not familiar with harmonica player Holiday and guitarist Landon Stone, but the two have been traveling around the country, playing with and recording with a variety of blues folks. With Kid Andersen adding his bass, they ended up with this enjoyable recording with 13 tracks. They hook up on this recording with such artists as Charlie Musselwhite, James Harmon, John Nemeth, John Primer, Bob Corritore, Kid Andersen, Aki Kumar, Rockin’ Johnny Burgin, Kid Ramos, and Mitch Kashmar for a collection of enjoyable, informal blues performances.

Holiday is on harmonica on these tracks but is glad to have others take the spotlight starting with James Harman's whose amusing shuffle "Pickpocket Fingers," has a fine vocal and Kid Ramos adds his guitar. Holiday takes the harmonica chair on Harman's excellent vocal on "Special Friend," while he and Holiday both are heard on a nice country blues styled shuffle, "Goin' To Court." Bob Corritore adds harp behind John Primer's superb Muddy Waters' styled blues "They Call Me John Primer," with a terrific vocal and slide guitar in the vein of Waters with whom Primer played with. Primer also sounds terrific on Howlin' Wolf's "Tell Me Baby" with Corritore wailing on harmonica. Jake Friel sings gruffly on "A Woman Named Trouble" with John Nemeth adding harmonica along with Holiday. Nemeth takes a strong vocal on "Blues Hit Big Town," with Holiday's harmonica taking the tune out.

Aki Kumar sings on "That's All Right" with Charlie Musselwhite and Holiday also on harmonica. Rockin' Johnny adds his guitar on this entertaining, informal jam of a blues classic. It's like the other performances, fun and very entertaining if not classic. Holiday is an able singer as displayed on "Three Way Party" where the third person at the party is a bottle of Jim Beam with Mitch Kashmar and Ronnie Shellist both adding harmonica accompaniment and solos. Rockin' Johnny adds atmospheric guitar behind Holiday on "Coin Operated Woman," a nicely sung humorous lyric. "Hip To It" is a harmonica trio with some intriguing interplay between Kashmar, Shellist and Holiday.

While most of the recording is of Chicago styled blues, the closing track is a small group rendition of an old Bobby Bland number, "This Time I’m Gone For Good," that the late Johnny Adams recorded on his final album. William G. Kidd, a blue-eyed soul-blues singer, who is originally from Virginia, is excellent on this with Ronnie Shellist on harmonica. It is the highpoint of this CD along with the Primer tracks, but the level of these informal recordings is high. One does wish that the packaging provided more detailed information on who was doing what on each selection, and also that Holiday showcased himself up front a bit more, but few will listen to this and not be highly entertained.

I received my review copy from VizzTone. Here is one of several videos from Tony Holiday's Front Porch Sessions, Ali Kumar singing "That's All Right" with Charlie Musselwhite and others on Musselwhite's Front Porch.

 

Mitch Kashmar West Coast Toast

Mitch Kashmar
West Coast Toast
Delta Groove

Scott Dirks, in his brief liner notes to the new Mitch Kashmar album "West Coast Toast," observes that if Chicago was home and proving ground for many legends of blues harmonica, the move to the West Coast of pioneer George 'Harmonica' Smith led to his presence influencing a whole generation and new off-shoot of the blues harmonica sound. The result was the 'West Coast Sound,' which he describes as "a hard-swinging, sophisticated and distinctly different offshoot of the amplified harp sounds familiar in Chicago." Kashmar is described as one of the handful of masters of this California sound, bringing his unique voice as a harpist and a soulful singer, on a release tipping his hat to the West Coast blues legacy with select covers mixed in with his originals.

An opening instrumental, "East of 82nd Street," establishes Kashmar's fat tone and imaginative playing in this tradition, along with the solid studio band of Junior Watson on guitar, Fred Kaplan on keyboards, Bill Stuve on the bass and Marty Dodson on drums. Watson gets to showcase his chops as well in a short break and his comping under the leader's dynamic playing. Kashmar's abilities as a vocalist are established by a cover of Willie Dixon's "Too Many Cooks" (some will be familiar from Robert Cray's cover more than Jesse Fortune's original), with Kaplan laying down an intriguing solo. It is followed by a capable rendition of an old Little Willie John recording, "Young Girl," with a backing and harp evocative of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me."

The tempo picks up on the topical original, "The Petroleum Blues," a rocking performance where he sings about "how much money are we gonna lose," and then slows down on "Mood Indica," with his fat, juicy playing set against Kaplan pounding the 88s, who along with Watson get to take choice solos while Stuve and Dodson push the groove forward. The is an appealing shuffle rendition of Billy Boy Arnold's "Don't Stay Out All Night," while Kashmar on "My Lil' Stumptown Shack," shows he able to construct an original that captures the flavor of classic 50's Chicago blues.

Kashmar's interpretation of John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson's "Alcohol Blues," is nicely played and followed by an easy rocking version of lesser known Lowell Fulson song, "Love Grows Cold," with explosive guitar by Watson. The jazz-tinged instrumental "Canoodlin'," has a late night feel to it and closes a set of strong blues performances.

I received my review copy from Delta Groove. Here is a promotional video for this recording.

The Insomniacs Hard Hitting Blues and Swing

I had not heard of The Insomniacs, a band from Portland, Oregon, until I received their new Delta Groove disc, At Least I’m Not With You. They have cultivated quite a following up there with their hard-hitting mix of Chicago blues and West Coast Swing and developed fans from the likes of Junior Watson’s who describes them accurately as “a tough sounding band.”


The band consists of Vyasa Dodson on vocals and guitar (a well as writer of the seven originals here); Alex Shakeri on piano and Hammond B-3; Dean Mueller on bass; and Dave Melyan on drums. For this collection of 13 tunes they are joined by Harmonica players Al Blake and Mitch Kashmar (for a track each); Joel Patterson on pedal steel guitar on one track and Jeff Turmes on saxophones on four tracks. The guest are additional musical seasoning for the quartet who certainly can fill out the tracks on their own without overplaying or bombast.


Dodson is a terrific guitarist in the vein of a Junior Watson, hard slashing attack with a sizzling tone and a very good singer who never forces his vocals, ably delivering a nice cover of Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson’s Broke and Lonely, with some dazzling guitar while Patterson’s pedal steel adds to the atmosphere. Dodson also does a nice job of delivering Little Richard’s Directly From My Heart to You, with Turmes being a one-man horn section.


The instrumental Root Beer Float, allows both Dodson and Shakeri to show off and Shakeri’s rollicking piano is part of the foundation on the rocking original She Can Talk, as well as on the cover of the Five Royales Baby Don’t Do It. Delta Groove’s chief honcho, Randy Chortkoff, plays the harp on the strong rendition of Junior Wells’ Hoodoo Man Blues. Another number, Angry Surfer, is a hot dance number as Dodson asks his babe to lets try again with his guitar accompaniment owing as much to Duane Eddy and the Ventures with Shakeri pounding the ivories before Dodson takes a rocking solo mixing surf guitar with Freddie King. 20/20 is a relaxed shuffle with Shakeri handling the B-3 leading into Insomniacs Boogie, that ends this disc on a rocking groove.


As Watson observes in the liner notes, this is one tight band, that is beautifully recorded here on a solid group of performances.

The review copy was provided by publicists for Delta Groove. This review originally appeared in the September 2009 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 320).

Kashmar & the Pontiax Sound Solid Blue Two Decades Later

I was not familiar with Mitch Kashmar until his fine recent Delta Groove releases. But he has been playing and singing the blues for several decades and Delta Groove has just issued Mitch Kashmar & the Pontiax’s 1989 LP “100 Miles To Go,” that shows he was no overnight sensation. In the notes he states that there were three versions of the Pontiax, but the trio of guitarist, Jon Lawton, bassist ,Jack Kennedy and drummer, Tom Lackner were in all versions while guitarist and saxophonist Bill Flores joined for this band which took the group on the road. With the original ten songs, two new ones have been recorded minus Lawton. The liner booklet quotes both William Clarke and Kim Wilson from 1989, and this writer makes the assumption the quotes were on the original vinyl release and listening to this recording.


Certainly one can understand the enthusiasm Clarke and Wilson had about this band and recording. Kashmar & the Pontiax, based on this recording were turning out strong blues in the vein of Clarke, Wilson, Rod Piazza, James Harman and Mark Hummel. Kashmar’s music perhaps bears the strongest similarity with the robustness of his vocals and his harp playing, and his band was, and is, terrific. From the opening notes of the jumping “Night Creeper,” where Kashmar sings about his partying ways to the closing notes of his topical “The Petroleum Blues,” the music is of a high level with good songs and great playing. Two instrumentals showcase Kashmar’s ample harp chops, with William Clarke’s “Horn of Plenty,” being a choice harp duet as Clarke guests here. Kashmar’s interpretation of “Long As I Have You,” a Willie Dixon song, stands up to Little Walter’s original to indicate how good the music can be. Fans of Kashmar’s earlier discs will wonder why it took him so long to get established, but in any event, just enjoy.


For FTC purposes, the review copy of this was sent by a publicity firm for Delta Groove.