Russ Green City Soul

Russ Green
City Soul
Cleopatra Records

Russ Green is a name that I remember as one of the players on the Chicago Blues Harmonica Project albums. This Chicago native has an interesting career that has seen him becoming involved in film production as well as music. His harmonica playing shows the influence of Sugar Blue and Billy Branch and on this debut album he wrote all of the songs (one in collaboration with Eric Bibb). He is backed by a band that includes Giles Corey on guitar, Marvin Little on bass, Ricky Nelson on drums, Vince Agwada on slide guitar and Joe Munroe on the Hammond B3, with Eric Bibb singing an adding acoustic guitar on one selection.

There is some hot music to be heard here, starting with the hyper-kinetic boogie, "First Thing Smokin'" with Agwada's slide guitar adding to a near frantic pace. Green certainly has no problem with the tempo whether his blazing harp playing and his soulful singing and one is struck by the clarity of his phrasing. "Believe in Love" has a more relaxed, reggae-tinged groove as again he impresses with his singing as well as his horn-like harp playing, set against a crisp, low-key backing. The longest track here is "The Edge," a funky blues that opens with his wet, full-bodied harp before his sings about empty bottles on the table and floor with his mind shaking dealing with poverty and staying on the edge with a razor blade and no shoes on his feet.

Eric Bibb joins on "Goin' Down South," where the two share the vocal to see where their people come from, where they live the blues, and see the ghost of ole Jim Crow. Green's harp playing here is a bit more down-home, owing a more to Billy Branch here, while Bibb takes an acoustic guitar solo. Munroe is more prominent on the funky blues "Lover Man," with more fat-toned harp playing, while a stark bass figure underlies the topical "Train of Pain." There is a bluesy rock flavor to "Somethin' New," with some slide guitar adding to the mood here, while the closing "Love to Give," has more of a soul groover on

There is plenty to impress the listener on "City Soul" from Green's very modern blues harp, his relaxed baritone vocals and the solid studio band. Add to the fine playing here,  striking original material and one has a memorable debut album.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Russ Green's recording of "Believe in Love."

Chicago Blues Harmonica Diamonds In the Rough

Severn Records has just issued Diamonds in the Rough a collection of lesser known blues harp players from Chicago called the Chicago Blues Harmonica Project with the intent of showing that down home classic style Chicago blues harp can still be heard today. Of the six harp players, Dusty Brown, Omar Coleman, Russ Green, Larry Cox, Harmonica Khan #1 and Little Addison, only Brown and Cox had been recorded previously. Brown in fact recorded a classic He Don’t Love You for the Parrot label 50 years ago which he reprised here while Cox recorded with Phil Guy on an lp. The six mostly show traditional blues roots including the influences of Little Walter, Big Walter and the two Sonny Boy Williamsons although Russ Green was influenced by the innovative modern blues harp wiz, Sugar Blue.


The backing band of guitarists Rick Kreher & Little Frank, pianist Mark Brumbach, bassist Pat McKeever and drummer Twist Turner provide the solid backing that allows the performers to shine without drawing attention to themselves. Nothing fancy or original as they are generally blues traditionalists. Dusty Brown does a solid take at Little Walter’s I Got to Go along with his own number while Larry Cox handles Walter’s Mean Old World although playing in the style of Sonny Boy Williamson II. Harmonica Khan had recently returned to the blues scene when he recorded Jimmy Reed’s Baby What You Want Me to Do and Junior Parker’s Next Time You See Me backed solely by his harp and bones playing, whooping and hollering on these very enjoyable performances. Unfortunately he passed away shortly thereafter.


Little Addison updates Look on Yonder’s Wall with a pleading vocal and some chromatic harp while Omar Coleman takes a more modern blues theme on Jody’s Got You Gal and Gone as well as doing a nice take on Little Walter’s Everything’s Gonna Be Alright with a strong soulful vocal and some real fine playing, and Larry Cox handles Jimmy Reed’s Going to New York. This is a really nicely put together cd that displays some real enjoyable blues artists that may not be major names but certainly bring plenty of heart to their recordings.

This review was written back in 2005 and published in the May-June 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 282). I received my review copy from Severn Records. I have reviewed the second volume of this series, More Rare Gems and posted it on September 28, 2009 which I have linked. I received my review copy from Severn records.

Chicago Blues Harmonica Project showcases Rare Blues Gems

This review appeared in Jazz & Blues Report (July 2009, Issue 318). I have made a few minor wording changes.

Severn Records has followed up its prior release of lesser known Chicago Blues Harmonica Players, Chicago Blues Harmonica Project: Diamonds in the Rough with "More Rare Gems.” Its another collection of lively performances by a variety of lesser known harp players who continue to ply their trade in the clubs and bars of the Windy City. Once again the backing band is The Chicago Blues Masters: guitarists Rick Kreher and Illinois Slim; pianist Mark Brumbach; bassist E.G.McDaniel and drummer Twist Turner who provide solid idiomatic traditionally oriented backing throughout.

Seven performers are heard on this collection, some who come off stronger than others but all are entertaining. Reginald Cooper opens with a strong vocal on his rendition of a Z.Z. Hill recording, “Shade Tree Mechanic,” with a simple harp solo that rides the disc out. His other performance reworks Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Give Me Back That Wig,” with the band giving the song a Muddy Waters styled flavor with more harp.He is a particularly expressive vocalist and his harp adds solid flavoring to these performances. Charlie Love really tears into his harp at the beginning of the extroverted and rollicking shuffle rendition of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Ooh Baby, Hold Me.” His vocal perhaps is a bit melodramatic on the cover of Elmore James’ “Twelve Year Old Boy,” although the track sports more fine harp. What is interesting is that Love is known as a guitarist so he likely could put together an interesting album.

Harmonica Hinds has recorded with Koko Taylor several years and has several self-produced albums. His harp playing is his strength as displayed on his original, “Kill That Mouse,” but his gruff vocals suffers from a somewhat stiff delivery despite his obvious enthusiasm, The instrumental shuffle, “Sunday Morning Blues,” displays his musical strengths. The recordings by the late Little Arthur Duncan, perhaps the best known of those heard here, were his last and he turns in capable performances of “Can’t Stand It No More,” derived from Little Walter’s “Hate to See You Go,” and Muddy Waters’ “Gone to Main Street.”

Jeff Taylor handles the vocal on “Gangster of Love,” derived from a funkier uptempo spin that Johnny Guitar Watson gave the number from the seventies on. Russ Green’s superb harp accompaniment helps make this performance one of the top ones here. Taylor takes up the harp for his rendition of Jimmy Reed’s “Honest I Do,” with his effective playing evoking Reed’s simple harp style and kudos for whichever guitarist is adding the nice fills. Big D is in his 20s, but his rendition of Slim Harpo’s “I’ve Got to Be With You Tonight,” shows a maturity in his relaxed vocal and smooth playing. It rounds a generally second sampling of lesser known Chicago harp players who have plenty to offer fans of Chicago and harmonica blues.