Gregg Martinez MacDaddy Mojeaux

Gregg Martinez
MacDaddy Mojeaux
Nola Blue Records

Trumpeter and vocalist Gregg Martinez (pronounced MartNEZ with the I silent) has been a part of the Louisiana music scene for five deuces as the leader of such groups as the King Fish, The Boogie Kings and more recently Gregg Martinez and the Delta Kings. While some of his inspirations come from New Orleans R&B and the soul end of Swamp pop, he is a first-rate blue-eyed soul singer with influences from Sam Cooke and Donny Hathaway to G.G. Shinn, Luther Kent, and Johnny Adams. Mac Daddy is a nickname he earned decades ago, while Mojeaux is a spelling of 'maqereau,' a man Creoles believe has an unusual power over women.

Produced by Martinez and Tony Daigle, Martinez's singing is supported by a stellar cast of musicians that include drummer Tim Courville, guitarists Tony Ardoin and Tony Goulas, bassist Lee Allen Zeno, B-3 organist Charles Ventre, and saxophonist Ronnie Eades. One song features slide guitarist Sonny Landreth, accordionist Anthony Dopsie, and rubboard player Rockin' Dopsie Jr. On the final selection, Lawrence Sieberth[ contributes piano and string arrangement. Between them, Martinez and Goulas provide four originals to go with the nine covers.

On a rendition of Ray Charles' "I Believe To My Soul," Martinez establishes just how superb a soul singer he is. It is an arrangement based on Donny Hathaway's recording and illustrates the strength of his singing. Following this song is a robust reading of Don Nix's "Same Old Blues" with the guitarist channeling Freddie King. Other strong covers include the deep soul classic, "You Left the Water Running," the Clarence Carter recording, "Snatching It Back," and Tyrone Davis' immortal "Can I Change Your Mind." Charlene Howard joins Martinez on a Stax-influenced interpretation of Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds' "Don't Pull Your Love."

Of the originals, Guolas collaborated with Martinez on the soul groover, "This House," that sounds like an unissued Muscle Shoals soul recording. Guolas also wrote the ballad "Just Stay Gone" with a superlative vocal that evokes the late Johnny Adams. Then there is Martinez's "Eva Zelle," with Landreth's slide guitar, Anthony Dopsie's accordion, and Rocking' Dopsie's rubboard adding a zydeco flavor for a rollicking performance. A passionate cover of Randy Newman's "Marie," with only piano and strings, concludes an outstanding recording showcasing Gregg Martinez's superb singing.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a video for his performance of "I Believe To My Soul."

Chris Daniels And The Kings (together with Freddi Gowdy Blues With Horns Vol 1

Chris Daniels And The Kings (together with Freddi Gowdy
Blues With Horns Vol 1
Moon Voyage Records

The Colorado based Chris Daniels And The Kings brings together a touch of rock to their soul-blues mix. Both guitarist and vocalist King and vocalist Gowdy are cancer survivors, but still bringing it decades after they first started. The Kings are in their 33rd year while Gowdy's career goes back to the 1960's. The mood of this is funky, horn driven rhythm and blues as a cross between Memphis and New Orleans.

One of King's influences is Little Feet and its evident on the opening "Sweet Memphis" with guest Sonny Landreth's slide guitar (Calvin 'Bones' Jones takes most of the lead guitar on this album). The next number, a homage to age-old juke joints and down-home blues, "Fried Food/Hard Liquor," has Gowdy's authoritatively joining in the vocal after the instrumental breaks from harp (Clay Kirkland who is not credited on the album), guitar runs and sax on a performance with an arrangement that evokes Steely Dan. Gowdy himself co-penned the James Brown styled, "Get Off the Funk," and takes the terrific vocal on Sam Cooke's "Soothe Me," followed another strong performance on the Bobby Bland classic "Wouldn't Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me)." There are a couple of solid Johnny 'Guitar' Watson covers ably sung by Daniels, "Baby's In Love With The Radio," and "You Can Stay But That Noise Must Go," with the latter influenced by Walter 'Wolfman' Washington's rendition. Daniels captures the humor of Elvin Bishop's "Can't Even Do Wrong Right," while Gowdy channels Buddy Miles on a blues-rock take on Miles' classic "Them Changes," with everybody joining in on this jam.

The Subdudes' John Magnie on piano joins King on acoustic guitar and harpist Kirkland on the closing "Rain Check," with a back door porch feel. This low-key number contrasts to the strong, horn-driven, soul-funk-blues of the rest of this recording.

Strong vocals, first-rate material and an excellent backing make for some fine listening.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the November-December 2017 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 375). Here they are performing.

 

Jeff Golub's Tribute to Three Blues Kings

Veteran of tours with Rod Stewart, and Billy Squier as well as spending time in the James Montgomery band, Jeff Golub has distinguished in recent years as a jazz guitarist. His most recent album has him heading back to the blues with a tribute recording The Three Kings (Entertainment One), a tribute to Albert, B.B., and Freddie King. As he states, "When you look at the modern blues and rock vocabulary, it's almost impossible for anyone to play something that doesn't reflect their influence somehow. Featured on this disc is Henry Butler on keyboards and vocals, who co-produced it with Golub, Andy Hess on bass, and Josh Dion on drums, percussion and vocals. Special guests include Sonny Landreth and Robben Ford, while others in the studio include Chris Palmaro on Hammond B3, and horns and synth strings are heard as well.

There is a mix of covers and some originals that make for an entertaining collection of performances. Butler helps things start with the opening rendition of Let The Good Times Roll, and Born Under a Bad Sign, both solidly sung by Butler, but modeled on the recordings by B.B. and Albert respectively. Golub's instrumental "I Plain Sight, enables him to escape the shadows of both while also allowing Landreth to add a sharp slide guitar solo. Help the Poor, is not an overly familiar part of B.B.'s repertoire and Dion takes a fine vocal with a fresh arrangement. It is followed by Freddie King's instrumental Side Tracked, with Robben Ford adding a solo on a nice rendition with some nice twists in the backing.


Oh Pretty Woman, sounds slowed down slightly from Albert King's original and has a fine vocal from Butler with solid guitar and followed by a hot shuffle rendition Every Day I Have the Blues, with Dion taking another fine vocal. After Golub's hot solo, Butler takes a rollicking piano solo. Then a couple more of Freddie King's songs are tackled with Butler singing Have You Loved a Woman, and Dion on I'm Tore Up. with Golub's hard-edged guitar sounding like a mix of Freddie and Albert in his very solid playing."Freddie's Midnite Dream, a Sonny Thompson penned instrumental from his Cotillion recordings follows, and its lazy feel contrasts with many of King's better known instrumentals with Golub varying in intensity against the light background.


Stumblin' Home is an original instrumental based on The Stumble with nice use of the lower range. Butler wrote the original Three Kings with his celebration of Albert, Freddie and B.B., with a slight New Orleans funk rhythm and punchy horns to support Golub's driving guitar. The disc closes with an instrumental rendition of The Thrill Is Gone, but one is surprised to see that B.B. is credited as composer of the Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins penned classic (and Hawkins 1951 original made the R&B charts). Golub's playing is pretty solid with judicious use of sustain along with Butler’s jazzy piano.


The Three Kings is a very enjoyable collection of blues performances. While most of the disc is comprised of covers, they are not slavish copies although most will be overshadowed by the originals. Drummer Josh Dion was a revelation as a vocalist on his three selections and the originals stand out in the set of solid blues performances.

My review copy was provided by a publicist.

Tom Principato's Potent Blues-Roots Mix

For several decades, a mainstay of the blues and roots rock scene around Washington, DC, Tom Principato has been known for his guitar playing with his distinctive mix of swing jazz, rockabilly, blues and rock and roll. He has over several decades mesmerized audiences with his fiery guitar, yet he is also more than a simply capable vocalist and he can play rock and roll, unlike some hard rock players out there. He has shared stages with other legendary guitarists such as Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan, and showed he was their equal. And while his music often shows rock edges, he is capable of conjuring T-Bone mixed with Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson on a straight blues of great originality while adding a dose of Chuck Berry and James Burton when he is in the mood to rock. He plays fluidity with imagination and a searing tone that grabs the listeners attention.

His latest CD on his own Powerhouse label is “A Part of Me,” a release that at least is dedicated to his family as the collage of family photos of a young Tom and his parents makes up the cover. He brings some special guests on this including Sonny Landreth on slide guitar, Chuck Leavell and Brian Auger on keyboards and Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns on drummer. Among DC area musicians assisting Tom here are Tommy Lepson, mostly on backing vocals, and Steve Wolf on bass.

The eight originals by Principato include three instrumental tracks. The opening “Don’t Wanna Do It,” with a simple message about not wanting to but having to let his woman go but she wouldn’t listen, features crying slide guitar from Landreth to support Tom’s gritty vocal. “Sweet Angel” is a celebration of the higher power that helps guide Tom through good and bad times with a lovely melody and some crisp, biting guitar and a very appealing heartfelt vocal with Leavell standing out on the B3 organ. “Part of Me,” is a bluesy ballad with horns as Tom reflects about someone who was part of his life and now is gone with Tommy Lepson on the Hammond here as well as adding a harmony vocal to a real soulful vocal by Principato in addition to some stunning guitar.

Brian Auger is on organ from the instrumental “Down the Road” with its lazy tempo and wonderful guitar from Principato whose fluidity, use of sustain as well as space is noteworthy. One of the numbers that Tom does in performance that is among this writer’s favorites is Sonny Landreth’s “Congo Square.” Tom’s celebration here of New Orleans, Congo Square, the second line and brass bands, “Down in Louisiana,” is a similar exhilarating rock and roll gem that surely will become a staple of his performances although his vocal sounds slightly stilted. Kudos to Steve Wolf on bass and Joe Wells on drums from the crisp groove here. “Back Again & Gone” is a lovely sonic exploration with some swing jazz guitar flavoring while “Stranger’s Eyes,” again with Tommy Lepson on organ is another song about relationships changes as he looks as someone now through “Stranger’s Eyes.” The album ends on an instrumental take of “Stranger’s Eyes,” that cranks things up a notch.

“A Part of Me” is a typically strong album by Tom Principato with a varied collection of material, superbly and imaginatively performed and sung straight from Tom’s heart. For more information on this release and Tom Principato, check out Tom’s website, http://www.tomprincipato.com.


For purposes of FTC regulations, I was sent a review copy by the publicist for this release.