William Clarke Was Rockin' The Boat

Watchdog Records has just reissued Rockin’ the Boat, a live performance by the late William Clarke that was recorded at the Starboard Attitude in April 1987 and originally issued on Rivera Records. It has Clarke backed by an excellent band of Joel Foy on guitar; Willie Brinlee on the acoustic bass; Fred Kaplan on piano; and Eddie ‘Lips’ Clark on drums with Leonardo Watkins singing on one of the eight selections here.

The William Clarke Blues Band sounded pretty solid this evening opening with Clarke’s Deal The Cards, an original shuffle that sports Clarke’s convincing vocals and big-tone on the harmonica with the band solidly behind him and Foy takes an incisive solo. Clarke and Band reworks Sonny Boy Williamson’s Keep It To Yourself, setting it to the Help Me/ Green Onions, melody with Foy blasting off on a tough solo. It is followed by a feature for Foy on Jimmy McGriff’s All About My Girl, that will be familiar from Albert Collins recording of it. Foy displays considerable technique and imagination in his driving guitar workout.

St. Louis Jimmy’s I Had My Fun (aka Going Down Slow) is taken at a nice medium pace opening with Clarke ‘s vigorous vocal and dynamic harmonica and Kaplan comping behind the vocal before taking a solo. It is followed by Watkins singing a medley of Jimi Hendrix’s Red House and B.B. King’s Just a Little Bit of Love. It is taken as a shuffle with Clarke adding some solid saxophone-like harmonica playing. A lengthy rendition of Iodine In My Coffee follows with swinging and rocking solos from Clarke (telling everybody “let me play my harmonica”) and Kaplan, while Foy adds fills and chords to help push the performance on.

Clarke lays out for the atmospheric After Hours that puts the spotlight Kaplan with his late night piano feel before launching into the closing feverish jump blues,Boogie Woogie Woman, with Foy channeling Willie Johnson and Joe Willie Wilkins in his accompaniment. Its a rocking conclusion to a welcome Clarke reissue. Clarke would grow and mature as a performer and songwriter in the years following this performance, but there is nothing immature about the music heard here. He may have been rocking the boat that April night, but the music still will rock most any house today.

I purchased this from bluebeatmusic.com. I note the CD is not listed as available from amazon but it is available as mp3 files.

WIlliam Clarke Live In Germany

The late William Clarke is still greatly missed by those who knew him since he passed over a decade and a half ago. One of the first posthumous new releases of his music was Live in Germany. The following review appeared back in the February 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 279). I purchased this recording. The late William Clarke had established himself as among the premiere harmonica players and performers in blues when he passed in 1996. His widow, Jeanette Clarke Lodovici, has previously issued some unreleased studio recordings for Clarke’s many fans and has just produced a new CD, Live in Germany, (Watch Dog) that should be welcome by Clarke fans and those who love great blues harp. From the opening notes of Blown’ Like Hell, a torrid instrumental showcasing his strong driving play and full tone, to the closing moments of Lollipop Mama, Clarke was in top form. He was backed by a terrific band that included on guitar (and vocal on Charles Brown’s I Cried Last Night), Willie Brittle on bass and Eddie Clark on drums. Most of the performances are interpretations of some terrific, but not over-recorded numbers from Muddy Waters, Walter Horton and Mercy Dee Walton. Clarke’s strength as a singer is such that he can make a classic like One Room Country Shack, his own. New releases of Clarke are very welcome, but it’s a bonus that the music is as good as it is here.

Strong Recorded Memories of William Clarke's Early Years

The following review appeared in the September/October 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 286) and is another of older reviews (slightly revised) that I believe is forth sharing several years later. William Clarke was one of my favorite blues performers and person. I had a chance to talk and chat with him pretty much every time I saw him perform and he loved talking about blues as much as playing it. He was also someone who sounded different every time I saw him depending on his mood and what inspired him that day. We should be grateful for his widow Jeannette Clarke-Lodovici who still continue to keep his legacy alive. I recommend his Alligator releases of course, but the previously unissued and reissued Watchdog releases are generally excellent as well. I had purchased these and they are still available. It’s been way too long since William Clarke passed away. While his Alligator recordings are central to his recorded legacy, his widow, Jeannette Clarke-Lodovici continues to supplement that body of music with previously unissued recordings. Two volumes of Clarke’s The Early Years, have been issued on Watchdog Records, and will certainly be of considerable interest to fans of Clarke, modern blues harp and the West Coast mix of jump and Chicago blues. Clarke certainly sang with as much authority and conviction as he played the harmonica with his big fat tone (on regular harp as well as on chromatic harmonica), showing the influence of his mentor, the late George ‘Harmonica’ Smith. Smith is heard on both of the two volumes with playing on a terrific untitled slow blues on Volume 2, while Clarke’s harp is heard behind Smith’s vocal on Teenage Girl on Volume 1. Others who make guest appearances here include Smokey Wilson on Fine Little Mama on Volume 1 and Johnny Dyer on Volume 2. A bonus on Volume 1 is the presence of Hollywood Fats on six tracks including Clarke’s easy rocking instrumental in the vein of Off the Wall, Hittin’ Heavy, the slow midnight after hours feel of a feature for his chromatic playing, Blues Afterwhile, as well as the imaginative rearrangement of Sonny Boy Williamson II’s Keep It To Yourself, set to the Help Me/Green Onions melody. Volume 2 sports his interpretation of Louis Jordan’s Early in the Morning, and his strong singing on The Feeling’s Gone, and Bloody Tears on My Pillow. Clarke was superb, not simply as a singer and harp player, but also was a fabulous songwriter. These latest two posthumous discs are more than welcome additions to the available recordings by Clarke. The both contain a number of superb performances. The only quibble is the CD packaging could be printed a bit more sharply, but the music is wonderful. This is available from bluebeatmusic.com as well as amazon.com and other mail order specialists. Here is a little clip of William Clarke performing.

William Clarke and Junior Watson Are Double Dealin'

Double Dealin’ (Bluebeat Music), by William Clarke and Junior Watson) releases material recorded in 1983 at the same time as Clarke’s Rivera label debut Can’t You Hear Me Calling. This recording came after a cross-country US and Canadian tour Clake made with George ‘Harmonica’ Smith and is being issued with the cooperation of Jeanette Clarke-Lodovici. In addition to Clarke’s harmonica and vocals and Watson’s guitar, the band here is Fred Kaplan on piano, Willie Brinlee on bass and Jerry Monte on drums.


I have not heard Can’t You Hear Me Calling, but the reviews on the internet talk about him not sounding as confident as he would on later recordings. I presume that those folks would probably say the same about these contemporaneous recordings. Even if these relatively early sides (his Alligator debut would be 7 years later) may not be as striking as his latter sides, they stand up fairly well to a lot of what passes for blues today. There is plenty of solid harp along with Clarke’s very solid singing. Add Watson’s guitar which comes across as a cross between Willie Johnson’s somewhat wild Sun studio style players like Robert Lockwood and Luther Tucker who played countless sessions with the likes of Little Walter. Kaplan was, and is, a fine two-handed piano player and the rhythm section is solid.


There is a very nice choice of material including an early version of Musta Been Jelly, that he would win a Handy for in 1991, and a tasty cover of Mercy Dee’s One Room Country Shack. Kaplan is featured on the instrumental boogie Groovin’ With Mr. K, while Junior’s Jump features some nice harp along with Watson ripping off a tough guitar solo in which he interpolates melodies from big band jump numbers into his solo.


While no revelation here, fans of William Clarke, post-war harmonica blues, and the comntemporary West Coast blues style will find much to their liking. For more information on this, check out www.bluebeatmusic.com.


I received a review copy from Bluebeat Music.

Congratulations For Alligator's 40 Years of HouseRockin' Music

Alligator Records is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year and as it has in past years, compiled, 40th Anniversary Collection, a two-CD compilation of 38 recordings from the label since it released Genuine Houserockin’ Music by Hound Dog Taylor, which label founder Bruce Iglauer says is the mantra that still governs the label, although he notes the label no longer just records blues, even if the artists are deeply rooted in the blues tradition.

Given the diversity of contents and the purpose of the CD it is not my intent to review the contents here. I suspect folks will find selections they don’t like and others they think are timeless. Besides celebrating Alligator Records, this compilation will hopefully introduce some of the artists and recordings that some may be unfamiliar with whether it is some vintage Koko Taylor and Albert Collins, or more contemporary acts like Michael Burks, Tommy Castro and Anders Osborne. There is a selection from the Grammy Award winning collaboration between Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland and Robert Cray as well as William Clarke’s reworking of Jimmy Witherspoon’s Daddy Pinnochio along with selections from current recordings by Roomful of Blues and Marcia Ball.

For each selection, Bruce includes comments on the artist and the particular recording, and at the booklet’s end he notes some of those performers he could not include which is a mini Blues Who Who in itself. I remember Bruce driving out to Buffalo in the mid-seventies in the middle of a snow storm trying to promote this young guitarist and singer by the name of Son Seals, and while he now has employees, he still is heavily involved at Alligator. The 40th Anniversary Collection is a vibrant celebration of the impressive (and still growing) body of Alligator Records and Bruce Iglauer

Alligator Records sent me my review copy.

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.

Smokey Wilson's Blues For Big Town Still Rocks

Ace Records (UK) put out a reissue of some early Smokey Wilson recordings which in my blog I listed as among the best blues of 2006 and this review was carried in the January-February 2007 Jazz & Blues Report and accessible on the web site if you do a search of the reviews. Anyway, Smokey had some health issues, (I remember a stroke) and believe he never has fully resumed playing music, which is a shame because his gritty delta rooted blues is certainly missed today. Anyway, here is my review

Until the early 1990s when he was signed by Bullseye Blues, Smokey Wilson was one of the best blues secrets out on the West Coast. The albums recorded for the Bihari Brothers for Big Town that have been culled for the Ace (UK) CD, Round Like an Apple, The Big Town Recordings 1977-1978 along with recordings made with Rod Piazza and William Clarke indicated what a talent this gentleman who operated the Pioneer Club in Watts was. A Mississippi native, he moved to Los Angeles and established himself on the West Coast. The Big Town Recordings display his powerful straight no-holds barred style that would have been at home at a Little Rock juke as it would a West Side Chicago guitar as Wilson sang with a gritty, gravelly voice that suggested Wolf, as well as played strong guitar whether driving modern single style or slide. Few can match his ability to handle Howlin Wolf’s material like How Many More Years, or remake Night Time is The Right Time into a scorching rocker. The way he tears into a vocal like Johnny Copeland’s I Wish I Was Single, or Low Rider (Deuce & A Quarter) similarly shines. His reworking of Lowell Fulson’s Tramp is marvelous as is the title track with its relentless boogie groove, and the driving Blues For Big Town. These recordings have been unavailable for so long and their reissue is very welcome. One might hope that this sells enough so that Wilson’s other Big Town sides are also made available.

Mark Hummel's Rocking Blues Parties

Mark Hummel has been playing the blues for decades and with his Blues Survivors, has shared the stages as well as backed numerous blues legends. In more recent years, he has been known for his tours of Blues Harmonica Blowouts, with recent tours being documented on disc on compilations on the Mountain top label. Now we have the good fortune to have new new compilations that go back to the vaults that help celebrate the blues. Electro-Fi, Hummel's current label has just issued Mark Hummel's Blues Harmonica Blowouts, subtitled "'Still Here and Gone' 1993-2007," while Mountain Top has released Mark Hummel's Chicago Blues Party subtitled "Recorded Live! 1980-1992."

For those who are fans of the Blues Harmonica Blowouts, the new double disc collects recordings by a variety of highly regarded players, some who are no longer with us. The focus on harp allows the presence of Magic Dick whose vocal talents nowhere approach his instrumental skills, as well as the brilliant Lee Oskar, who turns in a stunning instrumental rendition of Duke Ellington's In a Sentimental Mood. Hummel turns in his usual solid playing, rooted in the classic playing of Little Walter and Big Walter (a nice rendition of Hard Hearted Woman, along with the set's closing Summertime). There are nice representative performances from Lazy Lester, Sugar Coated Love; Carey Bell, I Got to Go; Billy Boy Arnold, Sugar Gal; Johnny Dyer, and Rick Estrin. Of special note are performances by several not with us: two by Paul deLay, Can't Stand Your Evil Ways; two by Sam Myers with Anson Funderburgh on guitar, especially I Done Quit Getting Sloppy Drunk; and three brilliant performances by William Clarke, including Stretch My Money and the instrumental Chrome Jumpin'. Rusty Zinn are on these selections while Junior Watson graces the James Harman and Paul deLay selections. The harp playing is high and most of the vocals are strong on a set with broad appeal.

Chicago Blues Party is even better with previously unissued performances spotlightling a number of now deceased blues legends: Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Mississippi Johnny Waters, and Luther Tucker. The disc opens with five 1992 performances by the great Jimmy rogers backed by Hummel and a band that included Rusty Zinn on guitar from Slim's in San Francisco. Over a decade and a half later it is a delight listening to Rogers redo You're the One and Ludella with Hummel's harp embellishing the vocals so well. Less familiar Rogers songs like Tricky Woman, standout along with a rendition of Jimmy Reed's Big Boss Man. The late Eddie's set lacks reworkings of some of his better known recordings like Bad Boy and Big Town Playboy. Instead he focuses on reworkings of Wolf's Smokestack Lightning, Muddy Waters' Trouble No More, and Charles Brown's Sunny Road. Despite the familiarity of the material, Taylor is in good form. On Taylor's set, Mississippi Johnny Waters is on rhythm guitar and takes the lead vocal as well as plays some strong slide guitar for Dust My Broom. Waters, real name Johnny Sandifer, was a strong traditionally oriented Mississippi bluesman who Hummel played with for several years from 1977 on and there are two performances by Waters with guitarist Sonny Lane from the 1980 San Francisco Blues Festival including solid renditions of Wolf's Shake For Me and J.B. Lenoir's How Much More Long. These performances display strong vocals backed by a tight rocking band playing classic Chicago blues. The fact Waters recorded so little makes these especially valuable. Another 1985 Waters performance, a rendition of Long Distance Call, has Luther Tucker on guitar. Tucker himself is featured on two 1994 performances with Hummel handling the vocal with Tucker's solo on "Blue & Lonesome," based on his solo on Little Walter's original recording, arguably being the highpoint of a terrific disc of Chicago blues. Hummel is to be thanked for making these superb performances by some departed blues masters accessible.

As I write this, the “Chicago Blues Party” set may be hard to find. Bluebeat Music, www.bluebeatmusic.com has both of these.