Keb' Mo' Moonlight, Mistletoe & You

Keb' Mo'
Moonlight, Mistletoe & You
Concord Records

 In his 25 years as recording as Keb' Mo', the award-winning blues and roots performer, has not recorded a holiday music album. "Moonlight, Mistletoe & You" remedies that. This album is a collection of some seasonal favorites and originals in a similar vein. Produced by Keb' himself and recorded by Zach Allen at Stu Stu Studio in Franklin, Tennessee, the malleable artist provides five new songs sprinkled with five covers. There are a variety of musicians backing Keb' Mo' and his guitar, including David Rogers and Phil Madeira on keyboards, Akil Thompson on electric guitar, Steve Mackey, Joe Reed, or Reggie McBride on bass, and Marcus Finnie or Chester Thompson on drums. There are appearances from Gerald Albright, a string section, Melissa Manchester, pianist Shelley Berg, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Steve Jordan.

The backing on this CD ranges from spare, some songs with a string section giving a lush sound, to a straight electric blues setting. This provides musical variety that showcases the warmth of Keb' Mo' on a musical stew that owes as much to classic soul and roots music as blues. The fun starts with a fresh take on Charles Brown's "Please Come Home For Christmas," followed by the original title song with its reflective vocal cushioned by strings and featuring Gerald Albright's saxophone solo. Another original is the buoyant and optimistic "Better Everyday," with punchy riffing horns. "Santa Claus, Santa Claus" is rendered more forcefully than Louis Jordan's original recording. It is a superb modern blues performance. It is followed by "Christmas Is Annoying," where Keb' Mo' sings that now being grown up, that the things he loved as a kid no longer have the same charm while his credit cards get maxed.

After more blues on a cover of Koko Taylor's cheerful Christmas blues, "Merry, Merry Christmas," there is a delightful duet with Melissa Manchester on IrvingBerlin's "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." It has a jazzy feel, and the opening evokes Mama Cass' recording of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" There is much to delight in the charming vocal duet on this song with strings and horns adding to the performance's mood. There is almost a jug band/hokum flavor to the rendition of Charlie Jordan's "Santa Claus Blues." This is a more relaxed, acoustic blues performance than the Louis Jordan number. Keb' Mo' and Mac Davis collaborated on "When the Children Song" with a message of warm holiday feelings and Christmas spirit. On this, his voice and acoustic guitar are joined by a Children's Choir. As the song goes, "When the children sing, it puts a smile on your face." It put a smile on this listener's face.

The final selection, "One More Year With You," has a jazzy tinge with Shelley Berg's grand piano, Christian McBride's bass, and David Rogers'' horn arrangement contributing along with the string section which is not credited on this selection. It concludes a holiday album with fresh new songs and covers of mostly unfamiliar material. Marvelously sung, the alluring performances here will certainly delight blues and roots listeners.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is the audio for "Santa Claus, Santa Claus."

Lauren Mitchell Desire

Lauren Mitchell
Desire
Self-Produced

Florida based singer Lauren Mitchell went out to the West Coast to record this new release of hers where she got Tony Braunagel to produce this and drum on it. Some of Tony's associates with the Phantom Blues Band are here as well including Johnny Lee Schell on guitar, Joe Sublett on saxophone, and Darrell Leonard on their trumpet along with Reggie McBride on bass, Jim Pugh on keyboards and Lennie Castro on percussion.

The recording has a mix of choice covers and idiomatic originals that showcase her very strong singing, starting with a tough rendition of an Etta James deep soul recording, "(I Don't Need Nobody To Tell Me) How To Treat My Man." She has a husky voice like James which she employs in a nuanced fashion. She can belt out a song with authority and without screaming or sounding shrill. It is followed by the sweet soul groove of her original "Soul Music" with its beach music groove as she sings about no other man can satisfy her and hear that soul music like her daddy used to play. The joy in her vocal is supported by the excellent backing and punching horns. The title track has a swampy soul feel followed by her strong, sultry take of another song associated with Etta James, "Jump Into My Fire."

With Schell's bluesy guitar and Pugh's piano, she ably tackles an Aretha soul-blues, "Good To Me As I Am To You," as well as an early Bettye Lavette recording "Stand Up Like a Man." Contrasting her tough vocals on those tunes, she displays a tender side on the ballad "Today." There is plenty of sass in her revival of Diana Ross' "I Ain't Been (Licked Yet)," followed by the sensuous reworking Betty Davis' "Anti-Love Song," with backing adapted from Davis' original. A jaunty gospel performance, "Bridge of Dreams," is followed by an original lament, "Lead Me On," that sounds like it might have come out of Muscle Shoals decades ago.

The album closes with "Brown Liquor," with a funky groove and a tough lyric about waking up in Vegas with a hangover and a man in her bed as she does not remember anything after that Maker's Mark. Her forceful, vocal is backed by the terrific studio band closing this very impressive CD of soul with a blues touch.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the March-April Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 371), although a few typos in the published review have been corrected. Here she is seen performing "Soul Music" from this CD.

Deb Callahan Sweet Soul

This writer had the pleasure to see the Philadelphia based singer Deb Callahan several years back and its been way too long since I have seen her perform. In any event, this very talented vocalist has a new recording "Sweet Soul" on Blue Pearl Records. Producer by drummer Tony Braunagel, Callahan and her guitarist Allen James are joined by Braunagel, bassist Reggie McBride, keyboard wizard Mike Finnigan, and harmonica player Jimmy Powers. Johnny Lee Schell engineered this as well as added slide guitar to one selection. Callahan with either Chris Arms or Allen James wrote 8 of the 13 tunes on this with covers from Candi Staton and Clarence Carter; Tom Waits; David Egan & Buddy Flett; Rice Miller and Dr. John.

While I have sen her compared to Bonnie Raitt, only one selection "Shackin' Up," with Schell's slide guitar and a funky-rock groove suggests Ms. Raitt. Her natural and soulful delivery is more in line with say, Tracy Nelson, and she is able to fill a room, yet never sounds harsh or mannered. The Staton-Carter "Sweet Feeling" is a terrific southern soul vocal that sounds like it could have been recorded in Muscle Shoals, and "Born to Love You," an original by Callahan and Arms is a similar strong deep soul performance. "Seven States Away," is a rocking shuffle by her and James as she sings about having to drive home to Philadelphia for sweet baby and being so many states away. James lead jazzy guitar and Finnigan's greasy organ supports her honey-drenched heart-felt vocals.

Certainly having this terrific band helps make her cover of Waits' "Way Down in the Hole," with Powers on harmonica. The band's dynamics in backing her, Braunagel's touch and groove and Callahan's nuanced singing contributes to the delivery of the gospel lyric. Then there is her handling the Egan-Flett "You Don't Know Your Mind," with James contributing nifty guitar (he is such a refreshing change from so many guitar bangers out there). "Crazy About You Baby," credited to Sonny Boy Williamson is probably best known from Little Walter's recording. Ike and Tina did a marvelous rendition on the "Outta Season" album, and that is the source for her first-rate rendition here, some spicy guitar from James.

"Sweet Soul" is a marvelous recording with excellent material (both new and covers of lesser known numbers), terrific production and playing, and Deb Callahan's superb singing. Let folks compare her to Bonnie and Tracy. After listening to her, folks will be comparing other singers to her.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review appeared in the November-December Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 363) (downloadable at jazz-blues.com) although I have made a few stylistic edits from the review that appeared there. Here is a video about the making of this recording.

New Orleans' Icon Grandpa Elliott's Sweet Street Blues

This review is several months old, but during the broadcast on NBC of the NFL season opener between the saints and the Vikings, at one point they showed Trombone Shorty and Grandpa Elliott jamming in the French Quarter. This review originally appeared in the May 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 324) and the review copy was provided by a publicist for the record label.



Playing for Change, according to its website (http://www.playingforchange.com), began a decade ago, the brainchild of Grammy-winning music producer and engineer Mark Johnson. Utilizing innovative mobile audio/video techniques, it records musicians outdoors in cities and townships worldwide. 


For ten years, Johnson and his team traveled the globe, with a single-minded passion to record little-known musicians for what would become Playing for Change - its name evoking the coins thrown to street musicians as well as the transformation their music inspires. They have had a documentary on public television try to bring peace and positive change through music. Through Timeless Media they have an arrangement with Concord Music Group to issue some of the music they document from South Africa to Santa Monica to New Orleans, in the case of their newest release by Grandpa Elliott “Sugar Sweet,” (Playing For Change).


In September, 2006, they came to New Orleans as that city was in the beginning of its recovery from Hurricane Katrina to find Grandpa Elliott. Grandpa Elliott is a fixture of the French Quarter scene, regularly seen singing and playing harmonica on the street at the corner of Royal and Toulouse. While much of what Playing For Change does brings the studio to the street, in this case they did a studio recording session with the Playing For Change Band in Spring 2009 which was led by Reggie McBride on bass and included musicians from around the world with the guitars of Louis Mhlanga andJason Tamba, the keyboards of Michael Thompson, the drums of Peter Bunetta and the djembe of Mohammad Alidu worth notting. There are also guest appearances from Keb’ ‘Mo, Joe Krown and Kirk Joseph.


Elliott has a wonderful voice as he sings a variety of mostly blues & R&B classics including Bobby Bland’s “Ain’t Nothing You Can Do,” Jimmy Reed’s “Baby What You Want Me To Do,” Little Milton’s “We Gonna Make It,” and Sam Cooke’s “Another Saturday Night.” While Bland sings the opening song as someone suffering heartbreak, Elliott’s warm, rich vocal, set against an Afro-Caribbean groove is reassuring in tone, which also falls into the mood of the lyric of “Share Your Love,” another song from the Bland songbook as well as his wonderful reading of “We’re Gonna Make It,” with a soulful country tinge and a nice harmonica solo that owes as much to jazz players as Little Walter. “Sugar Is Sweet,” is a Caribbean a slightly saccharine love song that gives this disc its title. 


There is a spirited live club recording of Buster Brown’s “Fannie Mae,” followed by a rendition of Charles Brown’s “Please Come Home For Christmas,” backed by Joe Krown on Wurlitzer piano and Kirk joseph on tuba that concludes this somewhat short (37 and a half minutes) but thoroughly engaging recording.