Arthur Williams - Midnight Blue

Arthur Williams, a St. Louis resident today, has roots growing up under Sonny Boy Williamson down south and played with Frank Frost. In fact, Williams was the harmonica player on some of Frost’s recordings that Scotty Moore produced for Jewel in the sixties. On his album, Midnight Blue (Rooster Blues) he is joined by a terrific pianist, Bob Lohr, who also produced the album. Also on the session is bassist Charles “Nephew” Davis, guitarist Jesse Hoggard and the great Willie “Big Eyes” Smith on drums. 

Williams is heard performing some well known blues numbers (some retitled like Clarksdale Train, a retitled rendition of Elmore James’ Sunnyland Train). His energetic, raspy vocals are quite at home on Muddy Waters’ Trouble No More, Jimmy Reed’s Down in Virginia and Sonny Boy Williamson’s Don’t Start Me To Talking. 

The title track is a nice slow instrumental to showcase his direct appealing harp playing which is prominently featured throughout. The band plays a bit raw. If the music lacks subtlety, it makes up for it in spirit. The last number, ‘67 Cadillac is an interesting experiment as producer Lohr has sampled a bit of the late Doc Terry talking, and provided some programmed drums for an interesting experiment which can be skipped since it is the last track. A nicely put together collection of performances that certainly will get any blues party popping.

This review appeared originally in the the November 2001 DC Blues Calendar and the March/April Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 256). I have made minor stylistic changes. I believe I received a review copy from the record label. This may be hard to find but worth the effort.  Here is Arthur Williams and young bluesman, Marquise Knox.

Barrelhouse Chuck Got His Eyes On You

I have been a fan of Barrelhouse Chuck Goering ever since he came to Washington DC area to do some recording and do a show at the Childe Harold with the late Ben Andrews and Mark Wenner. He is one of the most accomplished traditionally oriented blues pianists having been mentored by Little Brother Montgomery and Sunnyland Slim, amongst others.

While apparently from 2006, I just became aware of The Sirens release by Chuck, Got My Eyes On You. It has a terrific band backing him of Kim Wilson on harmonica; Joel Foy and Eddie Taylor, Jr, on guitars; Calvin 'Fuzz' Jones on bass; and Willie 'Big Eyes; Smith on drums. Chuck on piano and Farfisa organ handles a variety of songs, most of which are associated with a number of blues legends that influenced and/or mentored him including Floyd Jones, Detroit Junior, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis Slim, Smokey Smothers, Big Moose Walker, Sunnyland Slim and Muddy Waters.

With Kim Wilson's harp channelling Snooky Pryor, the album opens with a solid instrumental Floyd's Blues, followed by Chuck's rendition of Detroit Jr.'s Call My Job, introduced by Ella Evans, Junior's companion, with a nice groove and some solid singing as he notes he had "too much weekend." Chuck plays piano and Farfisa and piano on the title selection (from Smokey Smothers which evokes Help Me), with strong singing and a tight ensemble behind him. This should not be surprising sing Jones and Smith were with Muddy Waters and then the Legendary Blues Band for so many years.

The instrumental Cleo's Mood is a feature for Wilson on which Chuck sits out and then followed by a first-rate take on Sunnyland Slim's It's You Baby, Chuck captures the flavor of Sunnyland's piano style here. After a nice rendition of Floyd Jones' "School Days (with convincing vocal, tough sounding piano and great Wilson harp), there is an instrumental rendition of The Bright Sounds of Big Moose, a cross between John Lee Hooker's "Dimples," and "Help Me," with Chuck on organ and nice guitar on a Big Moose John Walker number. On Big Town Playboy, Eddie Taylor, Jr., evokes his legendary father (who recorded this for Vee-Jay) on an excellent performance. Red River Rumba is a nice medium tempoed instrumental, followed by Chuck ably singing Little Brother Montgomery's Mama You Don't Mean Me No Good. On this, pianist Eiko Izumi-Gallwas recreates Little Brother's piano style.

The closing original by Chuck, Iza Mae with guitarist Foy and mandolinist-fiddler Gregg Rodriguez, is a brief, acoustic, ragtime-tinged instrumental. While its approach contrasts to the classic Chicago blues of most of this marvelous recording, it is similarly a performance that is wonderfully paced and rendered. If like me, you missed this when it first came out, it is not too late to enjoy this marvelous album.

I purchased this CD from bluebeatmusic.com although it is available from other sources. Here is a video of Barrelhouse Chuck at Phoenix's Rhythm Room.

Muddy Waters in Mississippi and Paris

Muddy Waters was a towering perfumer who I had the opportunity to see a number of times ranging from him opening for Moby Grape at Central Park (where one could not hear Otis Spann’s piano) to touring with the band that had Pinetop Perkins, Luther ‘Guitar Jr.’ Johnson, and Bob Margolin outside of Buffalo. Here are a couple of older reviews I have done of his recordings over the years. The first review appeared in the April 1994 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 190) while the second one appeared in July/August 1997 (Issue 223) issue.

The Complete Plantation Recordings 

If Muddy Waters had never made it to Chicago, and was simply some person who had only recorded for Alan Lomax and the Library of Congress, he would still be regarded as one of the great delta blues musicians. MCA/Chess’ The Complete Plantation Recordings makes available all the extant Library of Congress recordings, including 4 interview segments.

Whether magnificent solo blues like the two versions of Country Blues adapted from Walking Blues, I Be’s Troubled, the spiritual You Got to Take Sick and Die Some of These Days, Ramblin’ Kid Blues with the Son Sims Four or You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone, these performances are significant not simply as a harbinger of his Chess recordings, but as among the greatest country blues recordings.

The mastering of rough source material is as good as one can get, and while some may fine this noisy, it is unreservedly recommended.

Paris 1972

A part of Norman Granz’ Jazz at the Philharmonic Series of recordings (that includes albums by Ray Charles and Cannonball Adderley) Paris 1972 (Pablo) is a valuable new live recording of Muddy Waters from a quarter-century past. He’s with his then working band of Pinetop Perkins/piano, Mojo Buford/harp, Calvin Jones/bass, Willie Smith/drums and Louis Myers on guitar, filling in for then ailing Sammy Lawhorn, and relegating himself to a mostly supporting role. This is a “what you see is what you get” sort of recording. Muddy sounds in good form, singing robustly and plays a fair amount of slide guitar , Pinetop Perkins shows what a fine backing pianist he is, and even Mojo Buford, not my favorite of Waters’ harp players, acquits himself well on his steady, if unspectacular accompaniments. The material should be fairly familiar, with Clouds in My Heart, Hootchie Cootchie Man, Blow Wind Blow, Honey Bee, Walkin’ Blues and Got My Mojo Workin’. Produced in cooperation with the Waters’ estate, this is a lively, highly entertaining addition to Waters’ discography. Now here is  Muddy a few years later after Bob Margolin and Luther 'Guitar Jr. Johnson joined the band and the great Clark Terry sitting in.

Muddy Waters Recordings With Johnny Winter Had His Blues Hard Again

Following up the acclaimed and award-winning reissue, Muddy ‘Mississippi’ Waters Live, Sony/Legacy recently reissued the three studio albums Johnny Winter produced by the legendary Muddy Waters, Hard Again, I’m Ready and King Bee. Recorded after Muddy had ended his affiliation with Chess Records, there is no question that these recordings were among the most vital Waters recorded since the classic recordings from the late forties to mid-sixties with which his legend was established.

Hard Again was the earliest one and it opens with Muddy reprising his Mannish Boy with Johnny shouting in support with the band hammering out the beat and Muddy singing with a virility that a twenty-five year old wishes they possessed. The backing band here includes Winter, harpist James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith and Calvin Jones, who help Muddy reprise I Want to Be Loved. They take Brownie McGhee’s The Blues Had a Baby and recast it into a Muddy Waters song, and then take things Deep Down in Florida. The mix of old and new set the tone for the Waters Blue Sky releases.

I’m Ready was the second release and reunited Muddy with Big Walter Horton and Jimmy Rogers from his classic bands of the fifties. The rhythm section is perhaps a touch lighter here as Walter reprises the title track, (I’m Your) Hootchie Cootchie Man, Screamin’ and Cryin’ and Rock Me, along with Good Morning Little School Girl and 33, a slow blues that is a recasting of Eddie Boyd’s 24 Hours. Its also nice to hear Winter and Bob Margolin holding things together with their playing and Winter often adding his own inspired straight guitar as well as slide playing to compliment Muddy’s.

The final album, King Bee features more authoritative performances including Slim Harpo’s I’m a King Bee (with a strong Rock Me groove). (My Eyes) Keep Me in Trouble, Sad Sad Day, and Mean Old Frisco are classic recordings refreshed here along with Champagne and Reefers, which became a Waters staple in his later years.

Johnny Winter certainly must be thanked for showing that Muddy Waters remained among the true giants of American music and these recordings certainly kept him in the public eye.

This review originally appeared in the November-December 2004 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 271) along with a review of a Johnny Winter reissue that will be posted here on Monday the 15th. Here is Muddy live with John lee Hooker as well as Johnny Winter.

Mark Hummel Salutes Little Walter

Mark Hummel’s Blues and Lonesome: Tribute to Little Walter (Rockinitus Records) is a compilation from recordings he has made over the years in homage to Little Walter. Little Walter Jacobs arguably was the most important and influential harmonica player of all time and his songs have been part of Hummel’s repertoire over the years.

Hummel, in his liner notes, was friends with three individuals who had spent time playing and recording with little Walter: Luther Tucker, Dave Myers and Francis Clay, as well as several musicians such as Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, who played with walter when Walter would play with Muddy Waters Band in the sixties prior to his death in 1968. Tucker, Myers and Smith are present on several of these recordings, while many of the tracks feature members of Hummel’s band, the Blues Survivors.

While fans of Hummel may have most of these selections from his albums, it is convenient to have these all in one CD. His fans, and those of Little Walter’s music, will enjoy his tribute. The performances here are modeled on the originals and are strong, idiomatic renditions of classic Chicago Blues that Hummel sings and plays strongly on.

While the level of the performances is high throughout, several selections standout including the title track on which the late Luther Tucker is present. Tucker played on the original, and is able to stretch out with some startling guitar that he could not on the original 45 rpm single. With just guitarist Rusty Zinn, Hummel does a nice job reworking Walter’s “I Just Keep Loving Her,” and there there is the rocking shuffle “My Kinda Baby” with a terrific band that included the late Dave Myers along with Billy Flynn on guitars, pianist Barrelhouse Chuck, bassist Bob Stroger and drummer Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith.

I purchased this from bluebeatmusic.com and you might also check Mark Hummel’s own website, www.markhummel.com. Here is a video of Mark playing a Little Walter number not on the CD.

Classic Muddy Waters Found

1999 brought a treat to Blues Lovers when Blind Pig issued previously unissued recordings by Muddy waters, The Lost Tapes. I wrote the following review in 1999 and it likely was published in the DC Blues Society newsletter. This recording is still in print.

Blind Pig Records has something of a coup with the release of a previously unissued live performance from one of the greatest blues performers of all time, Muddy Waters. The Lost Tapes presents Muddy from two 1971 West Coast shows with his band that included George ‘Harmonica‘ Smith, pianist Pinetop Perkins, guitarists Sammy Lawhorn and Pee Wee Madison, along with bassist Calvin Jones and drummer Willie Smith. The opportunity to hear Waters performing some of the staples of his repertoire with one of his best bands makes this a recording that should be of interest to blues lovers.

Songs heard here include, Honey Bee, Hootchie Cootchie Man, Walking Thru the Park, Trouble No More, Just to Be With You, She‘s 19 Years Old, Mannish Boy, Crawlin‘ Kingsnake, and Got My Mojo Working. While some of the songs may be overly familiar, the opportunity to hear Waters belt out the vocals in a robust fashion while showcasing his stinging slide on Honey Bee and Long Distance Call, makes it worth it.

This was a fine band although one wishes 19 Years Old was a brief shorter (although Lawhorn and Smith sound quite good on their solos). While probably not as strong as the Live Newport Jazz Festival album that appeared on Chess, The Lost Tapes, certainly is an important addition to the discography of one of the premier blues artists of all time. Incidentally, this is an enhanced cd, but the enhanced features only operate under the Windows operating system.

Here is a video of Muddy with George 'Harmonica' Smith doing Walking Thru the Park.

Steady Bob Margolin's All Star Chicago Blues Jam

Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin continues to play in the style of blues he played with Muddy Waters two decades after that legend’s death. He has added to his growing discography with a new Telarc disc , Bob Margolin’s All Star Blues Jam. The disc brings together Carey Bell, Hubert Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins, Willie Smith and Jimmy Lane for renditions of mostly classic blues tunes. It was recorded mostly at the Blues Heaven Studio in Salina, Kansas, and captures the classic Chicago blues sound of Waters and others with Margolin sharing the vocals with Waters band veterans Perkins, Bell, and Willie Smith, and bassist Mookie Brill.


Smith, longtime drummer with Muddy does a first-rate job on Waters’ Country Boy and plays harmonica on the reworking of Juke. Pinetop’s steady piano helps anchor much of this disc along with Brill on bass and Smith on drums. Margolin tackles Johnny Shines’ Brutal Hearted Woman, which he has rearranged the number into a Waters’ styled Chicago blues, but vocally does not come close to Shines’ vocal on the original. Bell is solid throughout whether playing fat chromatic harp behind Smith’s vocal on Always on My Mind, or singing, with his gruff delivery, on the shuffle One Day You’ll Gonna Get Lucky.

Pinetop ably does Robert Nighthawk’s Sweet Black Angel. A live recording of Mean Old Chicago, a song Margolin wrote in memory of Jimmy Rogers, includes some nice guitar from Rogers son Jimmy Lane. Sumlin supports Margolin on Jimmy Rogers’ Last Time and the blues staple Goin’ Down Slow. The album closes with an instrumental rendition of the gospel standard Just a Little Walk With You that Pinetop takes the lead on a simply delivered rendition.


There is a consistency in the performances here. If few are exceptional, the level is still strong which makes for enjoyable listening that will not disappoint fans of classic Chicago blues.

This review originally appeared in the June 2003 DC Blues Calendar and the July-August 2003 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 263). I have made minor stylistic changes. I likely received a review copy from the record label or a publicist for the label.

Remembering Honeyboy, Wardell and Big Eyes

September has seen some blues and rhythm masters leave us with memories and plenty of reason to celebrate their legacy.

Honeyboy Edwards at Western Maryland Blues Festival in Hagerstown, MD.  Photo © Ron Weinstock

David' Honeyboy' Edwards passing was the last link to the pre-war generation of Delta bluesmen. Edwards literally grew up and played with all of the masters of the style including Charlie Patton, Tommy Johnson, Big Joe Williams, Tommy McLennan and most famously Robert Johnson. It was his association that led Pete Welding to Edwards after Welding had asked Big Joe of any bluesmen who knew the legendary Delta artist. Welding recorded Edwards as well as interviewed him which led to an extensive article back in the sixties.


Big Joe Williams took first Edwards out on the road as a youngster and arguably Williams highly rhythmic style is the most obvious influence on Edwards. Edwards became at times a very capable blues performer in the Delta style. Certainly the recordings Edwards made for Alan Lomax were fine examples of the Delta style. In the post-war era he had a few commercial recording sessions leading to one issued 78 and sessions for Chess and Sun that went unissued at the time, although issued later. Even most of Pete Welding's recordings of Honeyboy were unissued until the CD era, although Honeyboy was among the artists brought to play with Fleetwood Mac in the late sixties. 


Honeyboy may not have had the powerful guitar style or passionate, charismatic singing style that might have appealed to commercial record labels, but his warm personality and his personnel connections to the giants of the pre-war blues made him a popular performer for the past few decades was was capable of reaching across cultural and generational lines so well.

Wardell Quezergue and Jean Knight at the Ponderosa Stomp.  Photo © Ron Weinstock

Wardell Quezergue earned the moniker "The Creole Beethoven" as a reflection of his ability to arrange for large groups. This New Orleans native was famed as a composer, producer and arranger. He put together the charts for "Big Chief," the legendary Professor Longhair-Earl King Mardi Gras classic. As a producer he have us chart-topping soul classics like King Floyd's "Groove Me," and Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff." These two recordings were actually produced on the same day.


In more recent years his arranging touch was utilized for big band albums by Charles Brown and Gatemouth Brown; several acclaimed Dr. John albums (including the Grammy® Award Winning "Goin' Back to New Orleans"); and the wonderful "Deacon John's Jump Blues." Listening to the renditions on this CD and DVD, and comparing them with the original recordings, one appreciates how Quezergue translated small combo recordings into a big band language with considerable grace and elegance. He was spotlighted at a couple of Ponderosa Stomps in New Orleans as well as a special Stomp at Lincoln Center in new York City. When Dr. Ike asked Dr. John if he would consider doing some of his older songs on which he played guitar originally, he agreed when he learned Quezergue would be doing the arrangements and conducting. This gives a sense of the contributions of this marvelous person.

Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith at the 2010 Pocono Blues Festival, Lake Harmony PA. Photo © Ron Weinstock

Finally, we just received word that Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith passed away. Smith was honored with a Grammy® this past year alongside his friend and long-time band-mate, Pinetop Perkins, with whom he spent many years playing together with the legendary Muddy waters and later the Legendary Blues Band. Smith remained active until the stroke that recently felled him, and in more recent years was featured on harmonica and vocals and not simply handling the shuffle rhythms on drums. His presence with Muddy was in part responsible for the rock-solid swing of that band.


The quality of his music as a leader was also noteworthy. I said of his Hightone release Way Back, that it "showcases Smith’s harp as well as his amiable vocals on some choice covers as well as idiomatic originals." His son Kenny has become one of the best drummers in the blues today (and played on Way Back). What I will remember most about Willie was his infectious smile and the sparkle in his eyes. 


RIP Honeyboy, Wardell and Big Eyes.

Bob Stroger Is Back in Town

Veteran bass player Bob Stroger is one of the steadiest and most solid players on the blues circuit having graced countless sessions with his rock-solid approach. Saxophonist Sam Burckhardt’s association with Stroger dates back to the 13 years they spent together in Sunnyland Slim’s Band and later the two with guitarist Steve Freund and the late drummer/vocalist Robert Covington as The Big Four. Burckhardt has brought in Freund, keyboard whiz Kenny Barker, drummer Kenny Smith and legendary Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith on harp for one track for a nicely produced session of blues, Bob is Back in Town (Airway Records).

Stroger obviously has a fondness for Junior Parker as he handles Parker’s What Goes On in the Dark, and Stranded in St. Louis along with Tampa Red’s Don’t You Lie To Me (for some reason credited to Albert King), and Eddie Taylor’s Bad Boy. While Stroger is credited with a number of songs, the title track sounds like Lieber & Stoller’s Ruby, Ruby (even with a backing vocal chanting softly “Ruby, Ruby,” while I’m a Busy Man employs a swamp blues rhythm in the manner of Slim Harpo, although not with the macho lyrics. Blind Man Blues has a melody similar to Albert King’s Pretty Woman, and opens with a searing guitar solo from Freund before Stroger starts his soft-spoken vocal. I Got to Move is a slowed down rendition of the traditional blues associated with Fred McDowell, but probably Stroger picked it up from Elmore James, and Burckhardt adds some nice tenor behind the vocal. Freund adds guitar fills along with a jazzy solo which anticipates the easy going swing of Jazz Man Blues with its line “Jazz ain’t nothing but a bluesman blowing his home.” Indigo Bunting is a tasty instrumental from Burckhardt.


This is a wonderfully played album, with Burckhardt contributing atmospheric arrangements. Stroger is a lowkey, amiable singer although somewhat anonymous( and not commanding) singer. This is not surprising given his long tenure as a sideman as part of many first-rate bands, which include the marvelous aggregation here, which makes this an engaging and easy to listen to disc, though not an essential one.

I want to add that yesterday (December 27, 2010) was Bob's 80th Birthday.  If I had known that earlier, I would have posted yesterday.

This review appeared in the June 2007 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 294) and the publication was likely the source of my review copy.

Swississippi's Amiable Chicago Blues

Swiss native Chris Harper left his business in his homeland to become immersed in traditional blues styles, and in conjunction with Dave Katzman, a Chicago music scene veteran, founded Swississippi, a label devoted primarily to record traditional blues artists who aren't being recorded. ‘Swississippi Chris Harper himself is among the featured performers on one of the label’s initial releases on “Four Aces and A Harp,” which has him with blues veterans Jimmy Burns, John Primer, Robert Stroger and Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, with Katzman, Little Frank Krakowski, and Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith appearing on various tracks in support. Half of this is recorded with acoustic backing and half with electric backing with vocals being shared by Harper, Burns, Primer and Big Eyes Smith with one from Tail Dragger.


This is an very pleasureable collection of performances, although of mostly familiar material from the opening electric moments of “Hand Me Down My Walking Cane,” as Jimmy Burns emphatically delivers the song many know as “Look on Yonder’s Wall,” with nice slide guitar to Primer’s easy rendition of Rice Miller’s “Fattening Frogs For Snakes.” Harper showcases some adept harp playing whether in a Little Walter vein as on behind Willie Smith’s rendition of “Sloppy Style,” to the more intimate playing style Rice Miller often utilized on the closing number. Playing acoustically provides a different character to “I Smell Trouble,” that Burns sings so well. Harper sings in an affable manner with a jazzy inflection on his original “Blues is My Life,” with some nice piano backing from Marty Sammon, before a nice harp solo displaying a nice tone and musical imagination. Primer takes the able vocal on a shuffle rendition of Lightnin’ Hopkins “Mojo Hand,” with Peaches Staten adding rhythm on a washboard. Willie Smith’s revisits his “Born in Arkansas,” musically set to the “44 Blues” melody, which allows his country harp with Harper’s more modernistic playing. More of Harper’s playing, with some choice piano support from Arriyo, is featured on the lovely treatment of Duke Ellington’s, “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” The rendition of the Muddy Waters recording “Forty Days and Forty Nights,” with Burns handling the vocal, benefits from the acoustic setting, almost a back porch feel, while Tail Dragger does his Wolf impersonation on “Evil is Going On.” Primer does a fine revival of Muddy’s “Long Distance Call,” although Harper’s accent is evident on his vocal on “Worried Life Blues,” credited here to John Estes, but still is an appealing, solid performance.


Overall, this is a collection of solid performances. Given the derivative quality of most of the material, this recording necessarily stands in the shadows of the originals, but still there is a congenial quality that makes for a very entertaining recording, although one would be hard-pressed to call this essential.


For FTC regulation purposes, this was received from publicist handling Swississippi Records.