Studebaker John's Maxwell Street Kings Kingsville Jukin'

Studebaker John's Maxwell Street Kings is back with his gritty, grungy blues on a new CD on Delmark, Kingsville Jukin'. John Grimaldi on vocals, guitars and harmonica, is joined here by guitarist Rick Kreher, bassist Bob Halaj and drummer Steve Cushing on 16 songs that range from driving rockers like the opening Mississippi Blues to the closing evocation of Elmore James (and Hound Dog Taylor and J.B. Hutto) Bad Gasoline, performed without band.

There is some Jimmy Reed styled harmonica against a lazy shuffle groove on When They Played The Real Blues in which he proclaims "doesn't it make feel good when you hear that simple low-down groove." There is some tough harp on She's Allright, with its insistent beat, although the lyric is not much more than him proclaim she's all right with him. The Rest Is Up To You is a hot shuffle with hot amplified harp followed by an affectionate salute to one of his inspirations, Hound Dog Taylor on I Am the Houserocker, with some grungy sounding slide that would make Hound Dog smile. It in turn is followed by an evocation of Howlin' Wolf on Howlin' in the Moonlight. 

Kingsville Jukin'is a showcase for John's harmonica and might be viewed as a slower musical cousin to Little Walter's Roller Coaster, with the Kings providing somewhat skeletal backing on this although it seems to end somewhat suddenly. Cold Black Night is a nice, moody atmospherical slow blues where he proclaims he follows this road to the end and if he had it to do over he would travel it again. Stop-time is effectively employed on Mojo Hand, an original of him wanting to find a mojo because she is a voodoo woman and he wants to be her man with him playing another solid harmonica solo.

John's gravelly vocals are supported throughout by dirty, fuzzy toned backing. I did find enjoying this more by listening to several selections at a time as opposed to listening to this album in one sitting. At the same time, I have no fault with any specific performance. The result is the simple, direct house rocking blues found on Kingsville Jukin'.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is a short clip of Studebaker John.

Little Arthur Duncan Live at Rosa’s Blues Lounge

Mississippi native Arthur Duncan has been up in Chicago since the 1950s when he came north with Earl Hooker. Mentored by the legendary Little Walter, he has been part of the blues scene for most of the intervening five decades as a performer and as a club owner while working as a construction worker. Delmark previously issued his disc, Singing With the Sun, and now has a live performance on CD as well as on DVD (with a couple of extra songs included), Live at Rosa’s Blues Lounge. 

This is an unpretentious set of somewhat raw, downhome flavored Chicago harp blues as Duncan mixes some originals with interesting covers. Duncan’s enthusiasm for performing is evident as he opens with an original Leaving Mississippi, before reworking Eugene Church’s Pretty Girl’s Everywhere, employing Slim Harpo’s Scratch My Back groove (and he also is seen/heard on that tune here). Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Slim Harpo and Howling Wolf covers mix in with Duncan’s Bad Reputation and Blues I Got to Leave You. 

As entertaining as Duncan comes off, his harp playing is not on the level of a Little Walter or Carey Bell, and his earnest vocals perhaps lack the charisma of his influences, but still the performances are engaging aided by the solid backing of guitarists Rick Kreher and Illinois Slim, bassist Michael Azzi and drummer Twist Turner, who provide steady backing behind Duncan. Guest Little Al Thomas handles the vocal on Dr. Clayton’s I Got to Find My Baby. 

The video on the DVD is really well done, keeping its focus on Duncan and his band as he sits and belts out his vocals and lays down his harp as well as captures his forays into the audience, encouraging the dancers and leading everybody on what was clearly a good time. Delmark continues to build its impressive catalog of live DVDs with this entertaining disc.

This review appeared originally in the February 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 301). I received a review copy from Delmark Records. Here is a video trailer for this DVD.

Willie Buck Is a Rockin Cell Phone Man

There are few singers in Chicago with roots in the classic blues style heard in the Windy City in the 1950s. Vocalist Willie Buck is one and with The Rockin’ Johnny Band has a new album on Delmark, Cell Phone Man. Buck’s sound is heavily shaped by that of Muddy Waters classic fifties band and he is ably supported by the Rockin’ Johnny Band with Johnny’s guitar, the guitar of Rick Kreher, the bass of John Sefner and the drums of Steve Bass. They are augmented by Barrelhouse Chuck on piano and the harmonicas of Martin Lang and Bharath Rjakumar. 

In Scott Dirks liner notes, he observes Muddy Waters influence but also observes Buck has a style that is really more typical of the Chicago style of the fifties. Still when one has a recording that includes a number of songs associated with Waters like Two Trains Running (done acoustically), Going Down Main Street, Streamline Woman, Memphis Minnie’s What’s the Matter With the Mill (Can’t Get No Grinding), My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble, and Blow Wind Blow, the comparison is unavoidable. Willie certainly acquits himself in these performances. 

Buck’s strong rendition of Muddy’s Strange Woman, employs the Help Me bass line and in addition to some outstanding guitar (suggestive of Jimmy Dawkins with Carey Bell), displays the considerable harmonica skills of Bharath Rjakumar’s harmonica playing. While credited to Buck, Two Women Talking, sounds like the song Big Moose John Walker recorded as Baby Talk four decades ago for Bluesway. It is a solid performance which fortunately lacks the amplified wah-wah saxophone which did detract from Big Moose’s earlier recording. The title track is a strong Muddy styled original as he asks his woman to let Willie be her cell phone man, she won’t have to worry about a thing with biting guitar and Bharath acoustic harp standing out.

In addition to the steady rhythm provided by the Rockin’ Johnny Band (and fine guitar work from Johnny and Kreher), Barrelhouse Chuck is consistently outstanding and the harmonica work of both Martin Lang and Bharath Rjakumar also is top notch. Willie Buck is not Muddy’s equal, but who alive is. His vocals exhibit some of the same expressive qualities and with the strong backing here (which at times suggests some of the outstanding Delmark albums of the late sixties and seventies) has produced a strong recording of real-deal Chicago blues. 

Bill I was provided a review copy from Delmark. Here is a video of Willie with Rockin' Johnny doing some Muddy Waters.

Rockin' Johnny Has A Date With The Grim Reaper

Rockin' Johnny Burgin has been playing the blues for a couple decades, having a regular residency on Monday nights at a Chicago club while also honing his skills playing with a variety of blues folks such as Pinetop Perkins, Tail Dragger, Jimmy Burns, Sam Lay and Billy Boy Arnold. Delmark has just issued Grim Reaper, the second album by the Rockin' Johnny Band. The band is comprised of Rick Kreher on rhythm guitar; John Sefner on bass; Steve Bass on drums and Big D on harmonica with Kenny Anderson, Dudley Owens and Jerry DiMuzzio adding horns on occasion.

Comprised of several originals and interpretations of generally blues that have not been overly covered, Rockin’ Johnny has put together a solid album of Chicago blues. One can hear a variety of influences in his approach. On guitar, the West Side styling of Magic Sam and Eddie C. Campbell can be heard while Billy Boy Arnold’s low-power singing (to use Johnny’s characterization) is a strong influence on his vocals.

The title track is an original, co-authored with Ken Kemawshima, is a solid West Side Chicago styled blues with plenty of nice guitar and his earnest singing. It also displays his approach which is to not overplay and let the silences speak as much as what he plays. The band provides the appropriate support without laying down things too heavy. Johnny’s Window To Your Soul channels a bit of Magic Sam with a more low-key vocal and impressive, imaginative fretwork. On I Was Fooled, he channels Billy Boy Arnold vocally on a Jody Williams number that Arnold recorded for Vee-Jay. A swamp blues feel marks Lousy Dimes as he worries about his money problems and on which Big D takes a strong solo with Johnny adding chords and jazzy fills.

The venerable Rollin’ and Tumblin’ is given an understated treatment in a performance that owes as much to Sleepy John Estes (singing about of the river was whiskey and I was a diving duck) as Muddy Waters. Its Expensive To Be Broke is a laid back urban blues with the horn section, while the cover of Otis Rush’s My Baby Is a Good ‘Un, is taken a very leisurely tempo. He takes out the slide for some broom dusting on My Sweet Baby, where DiMuzzio adds his baritone sax behind Rockin’ Johnny’s vocal and guitar and then channels Fenton Robinson in a nice rendition of Robinson’s Somebody Loan Me a Dime with some nice guitar and a heartfelt vocal. Shoe Leather and Tire Rubber is about wearing out shoes and tires looking for some blues gigs as Big D contributes another solid harmonica solo.

Rockin’ Johnny is an engaging, low-key singer as well as a consistently imaginative and tasty guitarist backed by a sympathetic band. With a nice varied collection of songs he has produced a very appealing album.

Delmark provided me with a review copy. He he performs Fenton Robinson's I Hear Some Blues Upstairs.

Mud Morganfield Is The Son of the Seventh Son

The eldest son of the legendary Muddy Waters, Mud Morganfield was originally given a drum set by his father when he was 7, and began singing in the early 1980s, but it was not until 2005 when Mary lane coaxed him on stage that he started treated music as his profession in a serious fashion. Appearing at the 2007 Chicago Blues Festival led to interest in him similar top that of his younger brother Big Bill Morganfield. He has had some earlier recordings, but now he has a new recording, Son of the Seventh Son, produced by Bob Corritore on Severn Records that should help take his recognition and career to the next level.

Backing Morganfield’s vocals are guitarists Rick Kreher and Billy Flynn, pianist Barrelhouse Chuck (Goering); bassist E.G. McDaniel with Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith on drums. Producer Corritore and Harmonica Hinds share the harmonica duties for these February 2011 recordings. With the exception of a couple covers of Muddy Waters recordings and originals by Studebaker John Grimaldi and Billy Flynn, Mud Morganfield contributed originals and the performances are pretty much in his father’s style.

From the opening notes of the reworking of J.T. Brown’s Short Dress Woman, to his own Blues In My Shoes, celebrating his father’s legacy, Mud Morganfield evokes his legendary father. The performances are solid blues in the style of his father and the backing band does a solid job or evoking the Muddy Waters Band sound of the mid-sixties through the end of Waters’ celebrated career. This is a solid band that sounds so at home playing in the style of Waters.

Mud may not quite match his father’s style, but he comes close. The level of the performances are solid throughout although several stand out including the opening reworking of his father’s recording of Short Dress Woman, Studebaker John’s Son of the Seventh Son, the amusing Catfishing, (where he goes all the way to the bottom because that’s where all the fat cats go) on which Barrelhouse Chuck is on organ and Harmonica Hinds is on harp, and Health on which Corritore shines in his harp accompaniment as Mud strongly sings about having money and fame don’t mean anything if one does not have good health. The playing is strong throughout and certainly captures the flavor of Muddy Waters recordings from the seventies. I am not sure who takes the guitar solo on Loco Motor, but the guitarist does a good job of evoking Jimmy ‘Fast Finger’ Dawkins in his guitar solo.

As suggested, Mud does a strong job of conjuring up his late father’s blues and the backing band certainly contributes to the overall feel of this band. Certainly if there can be “Blues Brothers” tribute bands, the eldest son of one of the greatest blues artists can do his part in keeping his father’s sound alive, especially when he contributes a number of strong originals that he ably performs. While he may not be an original performer, Mud Morganfield certainly is keeping his legendary father’s sound alive, supported by an excellent band. The result is a release sure to interest fans of his father’s classic Chicago blues.

I received my review copy from Severn Records. Here Mud plays his father's Mannish Boy.