Tribute: Delmark's 65th Anniversary

Various artists
Tribute: Delmark's 65th Anniversary
Delmark Records

As Delmark celebrates 65 years since founded in St. Louis by Bob Koester, new has come out that the label has been sold which hopefully will keep this historic and visionary blues and jazz label healthy for years to come. This "Tribute" recording has eleven newly recorded blues to help in the celebration. It should be noted that these are new recordings of prior recordings by various blues artists on Delmark. There is a house band with either Mike Wheeler and/or Billy Flynn on guitar on several tracks, Roosevelt Purify on keyboards, Melvin Smith on bass and Willie Hayes on drums.

Omar Coleman sings strongly and plays nice harp on his tribute to Junior Wells, "Train I Ride," with guitar from Wheeler and booting sax by Hank Ford. Lurrie Bell & the Bell Dynasty with Eddie Taylor Jr do Carey Bell's "One Day You're Gonna Get Lucky," likely recorded at the same session that produced their Tribute to Carey Bell album. Steve Bell's harmonica shines on this. Billy Flynn emulates the late Jimmy Dawkins' distinctive guitar style behind Linsey Alexander's fervent vocal on Dawkins' "All For Business." Demetria Taylor effectively growls performing Big Time Sarah's "Riverboat." Jimmy Burns performs his amiable take on Big Joe Williams' "She Left Me A Mule To Ride," without band accompaniment. His performance is not as percussive as that of Williams but he sings quite ably.

Lil Ed Williams and Dave Weld cover "Speak My Mind," by his uncle J.B. Hutto and it is a solid rendition if Ed does not quite match J.B.'s vocal here. Jimmy Johnson with Dave Spector do a strong Magic Sam's "Out of Bad Luck," with Sumito 'Ariyo' Ariyoshi adding some fine piano behind Johnson's marvelous vocal and fine guitar from him and Spector. Corey Dennison and Gerry Hundt provide a lively acoustic duet on Sleepy John Estes' "Broke and Hungry" with tight mandolin runs against the rhythmic guitar, with a strong crying vocal. Mike Wheeler evokes Jimmy Johnson on a fine cover of an Otis Rush classic, "So Many Roads," which is followed by Shirley Johnson's fine singing on the Little Willie John classic "Need Your Love So Bad," that Bonnie Lee previously waxed for Delmark.

Ken Saydak's solo piano and vocal barrelhouses Roosevelt Sykes' rollicking "Boot That Thang," closing this most entertaining collection of fresh blues cover recordings.

I received my review copy from Delmark Records. This review appeared in the July-August Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 379).  Here is Bob Koester interviewed about Delmark about 5 years ago.

Lurrie Bell Can't Shake This Feeling

Lurrie Bell
Can't Shake This Feeling
Delmark

The Mercurial Son, Lurrie Bell has a new recording on Delmark "Cant Shake This Feeling" finding this singular guitarist and singer backed by a first-rate band of Roosevelt Purifoy on keyboards, Matthew Skoller on harmonica, Melvin Smith on bass and Willie Hayes on drums. Produced by Dick Shurman, Lurrie wrote or co-wrote 4 of the 13 songs, and the other songs here are not ones that have been over-recorded with perhaps "Sinner's Prayer" being the best known.

Lurrie's unpredictability makes him such a fascinating guitarist to listen to and this is evident starting with the opening "Blues Is Trying to Keep up with Me," which he penned as well as his solo on Eddie Boyd's shuffle "Drifting," with Skoller and Purifoy also soloing. Lurrie's natural, slightly gritty vocals add to the appeal. There is some nice string popping on a lesser know T-Bone Walker number "I Get So Weary," while he unplugs for "One-Eyed Woman" backed only by Skoller. Another strong original, the slow, moody "This Worrisome Feeling in My Heart," is followed by a cover of one of Willie Dixon's lesser songs, "Sit Down Baby." Lurrie can not do much on this cover of Otis Rush's Cobra recording of this song.

A brisk Little Milton cover "Hold Me Tight," is followed by a nice interpretation of "Sinner's Prayer," that sounds adapted from Ray Charles. There is a nice walking groove of Lurrie's "I Can't Shake This Feeling," a gem that sounds like it came from Willie Dixon's pen with Skoller's backing harp sounding strong along with a typically distinctive Bell solo. Lurrie sings and plays his heart out on Buster Benton's "Born With The Blues," followed by Carey Bell's shuffle "Do You Hear." Bell also does a rendition of Willie Dixon's "Hidden Charms." If Lurrie is among the few guitarists who can conjure up Hubert Sumlin, he lacks Howlin' Wolf's vocal authority, which exposes this song as a lesser Willie Dixon lyric.

"Can't Shake This Feeling" closes with the reflective original (co-penned with Shurman) "Faith and Music" with just Lurrie on electric guitar. The music here is generally exceptional although there are a couple of lesser performances. Still, Lurrie Bell is one of most singular talents today in the blues.

I received my review copy from Delmark. I have revised for this blog the review that originally appeared in the November-December 2016 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 369) (downloadable at jazz-blues.com). Here is Lurrie in performance.

Rob Stone Gotta Keep Rollin’

 

It has been several years since Rob Stone had a splendid album of post-war Chicago-styled harmonica blues and VizzTone has just issued “Gotta Keep Rollin’.” Certainly with the presence of Chris James and Patrick Rynn with whom Stone played together and with Sam Lay, one can expect strong playing and support. Others here include Willie Hayes on drums and Dave Maxwell on piano with appearances by Eddie Shaw, John Primer and Henry Gray.

Certainly the mood is established with the opening shuffle “Wait Baby” followed by the rendition of “Wonderful Time” with Stone’s harp channeling the first Sonny Boy Williamson as opposed to Little Walter with Maxwell playing bouncy piano as James takes a sprite solo. It is as much a joy to listen to Primer’s’ guitar as Rynn and Hayes rocking a crisp shuffle groove supporting Stone’s straight-forward singing on “Lucky 13.”

Shaw adds his immediately recognizable tenor sax to “Anything Can Happen,” with a clever lyric and rollicking backing. “She Belongs to Me” is a nice rendition of a Jazz Gillum number (not the Magic Sam song) with a menacing lyric as Stone threatens to cut this gent if he fools around with Stone’s woman. Billy ‘the Kid’ Emerson’s “Move Baby Move” is a rocker with an original lyric set to a groove of Big Joe Turner’s “Shake Rattle and Roll,” while “Strollin' With Sasquatch” is a nice relaxed instrumental on which Stone showcases his fat, controlled tone.

Henry Grey is present on “Wired and Tired,” a rocking performance that suggest the late sixties Muddy Waters band recordings with Mojo Buford and followed by a nice reworking of Blind Willie McTell’s “Cold Winter Day” with choice John Primer guitar. James’ employment of a slight echoey tremolo to his playing adds to the spirit of the rendition of Lonesome Sundown’s “It's Easy When You Know How.”

I said about Stone’s last album “Back Around Here” (Earwig), “Stone treats the idiom as not simply history, but as a living tradition to be celebrated.” Stone’s strong performances and the wonderful band on “Gotta Keep Rollin’” provide us with another terrific Chicago blues recording.

I received my review copy from VizzTone. My review of his earlier album appeared in 2010. This review priginally appeared in the January-February 2015 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 358). Here is a clip of Rob performing.

Lurrie Bell Has The Blues In His Soul

Lurrie Bell’s latest album Blues In My Soul marks his return to Delmark with whom he made some of his finest recordings. His last two recordings on Aria displayed a bit of his musical range while the present set is a set devoted to traditional Chicago blues. On this he is joined by Roosevelt Purifoy on keyboards; Melvin Smith on bass; Willie Hayes on drums and Matt Skoller on harmonica with a couple selections featuring horns. The 14 songs include three originals and eleven interpretations of classic blues recordings associated with T-Bone Walker, Jimmy Rogers, Junior Wells, Otis Rush and others, produced by Dick Shurman for some straight Chicago blues.

Bell is an appealing, if not compelling singer with his unforced, heartfelt grainy vocals, with his imaginative, quirky guitar playing adding unexpected twists and delights to his music. My use of the word interpretation as opposed to cover is deliberate, because Bell’s renditions of T-Bone Walker’s Hey Hey Baby, or Jimmy Rogers’ Going Away Baby are fresh re-workings of the source recordings. Bell’s originals include the title song where he sings about liking what he is doing cause he feels the blues deep in soul with a backing that might suggest As the Years Go Passing By, or Somebody Loan Me a Dime. Purifoy’s organ is wonderful here while he is equally fine with the rollicking piano on Lurrie’s rendition of Big Bill Broonzy’s I Feel So Good, with nice harp from Skoller to go with Bell’s snap crackle and pop guitar here. 

‘Bout the Break of Day, Junior Wells rendition of Early in the Morning, is done in a gut-bucket fashion with Bell’s restrained fire adding to this marvelous version. One of Bell’s other originals, 24 Hour Blues, is a relaxed shuffle done as a tribute to his friend Magic Slim, who had passed earlier that day. There is a briskly tempoed shuffle rendition of I Just Keep Loving Her, one of Little Walter’s early recordings with crisp, rocking breaks from Skoller and Purifoy in addition to Bell. 

Bell closes this disc out with a fine rendition of Otis Spann’s The Blues Never Die, again showcasing not simply Bell (with a superb solo), but the band as well. The result is another one of the very solid blues performances on Blues In My Soul.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is a youtube clip with the audio of the title track. Now go purchase or download this CD. :)

Studebaker John Is a Self-Made Man

Studebaker John Grimaldi and the Hawks have been laying down some house-rocking blues for nearly 3 decades. His band name referenced the Studebaker Hawk as well as served as a tribute to the late J.B. Hutto whose backing band was known as the Hawks. Playing both slide guitar harp, he has been adept in a traditionally oriented approach to the blues (reflecting especially the driving approaches of Hutto and Hound Dog Taylor) but not afraid to mix in a bit of rock and roll and bring his own voice. He has toured and recorded behind a number of blues legends as well as developed his own music. He had several fine recordings on Blind Pig in the 1990s and has just released his new disc, Self-Made Man on the Avanti label.

He is backed by his trio that includes bassist Bob Halaj and drummer Willie Hayes for a collection of straight ahead rocking blues. Perhaps no finer example of Studebaker John’s hard rocking approach is the hot boogie, Back in Your Town, with its stop time boogie break suggestive of Magic Sam. The title track has the rhythm laying down a churning groove with some fine guitar from John. John picks up the harp and displays a nice fat tone on Fast in the Slow Lane, singing about wanting to get home to his woman as the three get a real nice shuffle groove going.

Hayes kicks off a boogaloo groove as John plays some very atmospheric tremolo for The Hard Way, singing about being knocked down and getting back up and taking no easy shortcuts. There is some nice playing on this as John effectively mixes in slide with his single note runs. All Aboard (The Streamliner) is a hot harmonica instrumental where we get taken for quite a ride while Hoo Doo You is a funk blues about having more than a little spell placed on him while Where Are You? is another harmonica blues with a swampy feel. Hey Little Mama is a slide guitar boogie where John evokes Hound Dog Taylor.

By the time the set closes with another harp rocker, Ride With me Baby, one has been taken through an 80 minute roller coaster of blues with more than a few rock and roll accents. Studebaker John has left us another helping of original music that is deeply rooted in the traditional Chicago blues but full of his own personal stamp on the music.

This review appeared originally in the November-December 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 288). I likely received my review copy from either that publication or a publicist for the review. Studebaker John has a new Delmark release, Old School Rockin’ that I will be reviewing shortly. I reviewed his previous Delmark album, That's The Way You Do in 2010.

Rob Stone's Lively Celebration of Chicago Blues

Chicago harmonica player Rob Stone was new to these ears until I heard him on several tracks on a new Earwig disc by Chris James and Patrick Rynn, “Gonna Boogie Anyway.” Stone is a long-time associate of James and Rynn and they worked together as the C-Notes, which included touring with drummer Sam Lay. Stone had an album on Earwig 7 years ago, Just My Luck,” and the label has just released his new album, “Back Around Here,” which reunites Stone with the pair along with pianists David Maxwell and Aaron Moore, drummers Willie Hayes, Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith and Sam Lay, and a sax section led by Rodney Brown. The result is a set of classic Chicago blues that rocks and swings.

As a harmonica player, Stone has a fat tone that shows the influence of Little Walter, Big Walter, the two Sonny Boys and Junior Wells, while vocally his influences include Sam Cooke and Ray Charles as well as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Eight of the twelve songs were co-penned by Stone, James and Rynn and are solid idiomatic tunes. I really like Stone’s unforced, unaffected singing which is mixed with some exceptional ensemble playing.

The title track is a marvelous rocker with great piano from maxwell and a cutting solo from James as the saxophones add an uptown flavor. Aaron Moore’s piano is the anchor behind the slower tempo and Sonny Boy II styled harp on Sonny Boy I’s “Love You For Myself,” with Moore taking a terrific solo. Magic Sam’s “Give Me Time,” is in a more R&B tinged vein with James supplying guitar evoking the blues legend who left this world way too young 40 years ago which is followed by a terrific shuffle about spending too much, “I Need to Plant a Money Tree,” with some very effective Big Walter Horton inspired harp and Jeff Stone adding guitar to that of James to help sustain the driving groove.

“Chicago All Night,” has a rumba groove with Maxwell setting the tone with his two-fisted playing as the saxes riff away. “Sloppy Drunk Blues,” has been recorded numerous times, but Stone’s interpretation goes back to the Leroy Carr rendition as James lays off here as Maxwell and Rynn provide support. “Can’t Turn Back The Clock,” is a rocking boogie with Maxwell, Rynn and Sam Lay, with a terrific piano boogie woogie solo from Maxwell. “It’s Hard But It’s Fair,” is an bluesy reworking The 5 Royales classic vocal group rocker. “Dragon Killers,” is a hot instrumental that suggests Little Walter’s “Roller Coaster.” His playing on this shows plenty of drive as well as a clean, full-bodied tone.

Stone is a regular at the Chicago House of Blues’ “Back Porch Stage,” and the strong, Windy City sounding blues heard here, one can understand why. He plays strong blues that plays tribute to the music that is his inspiration. But as evidenced by the music on “Back Around Here,” Stone treats the idiom as not simply history, but as a living tradition to be celebrated.


For purposes of FTC regulations, a publicist working for the record company supplied my review copy.

James and Rynn Keep the Boogie Going

This writer first came across the San Diego based pair Chris James and Patrick Rynn at the 2007 Pocono Blues Festival where they backed Jody Williams. In 2008 they produced a terrific album of Chicago styled blues, on Earwig, “Stop and Think About It,” that displayed their considerable skills in playing straight-ahead Chicago inspired blues. They have a follow-up to that Blues Music Award winning disc on Earwig, “Gonna Boogie Anyway,” that perhaps places James crackling, good guitar playing a bit more prominently on a set of some less than obvious covers and strong idiomatic originals. For this they have assembled some notable guests that include pianists Henry Gray and Dave Maxwell, harmonica players Bob Corritore and Rob Stone, drummers Sam Lay and Willie Hayes, and saxophonist Johnny Viau.

Listening to them romp through Jimmy Reed’s “Can’t Stand To See You Go,” showcases James’ natural and convincing vocal delivery with Henry Gray pounding on the ivories like he did on a few of Jimmy Reed’s recordings, but it contrasts with the equally compelling duet by James and bassist Rynn, the original “Headed Out West,” that sounds like it could have been written by Eddie Taylor. The title track is a hot rocker featuring Henry Gray again pounding out the piano with hot sax riffs with James taking a hot solo that rocks and swings in a manner that would have Jody Williams smiling with, I presume Viau blasting away to close this number out. “The Tables Have Turned” is a nice Tampa Red styled number (without the slide), without Rynn on upright bass, Maxwell on piano laying down some tough piano as Stone adding some nice harp. “Life Couldn’t Be Sweeter,” is a hot shuffle with Chris james tossing in some Elmore James’ styled slide and delivering his upbeat lyric about his gal being so good. There are two separate parts of “Money Don’t Like Me.” Part 1 that opens this disc is an original where James sings about liking money but it don’t like him, adding guitar that evokes the legendary Magic Sam, while Part 2 is an instrumental take on this them, with more Magic Sam-inspired guitar and Viau taking a raspy sax solo suggestive of Eddie Shaw. Its important to note that James evokes, not recreates, Magic Sam’s sound for his driving solos. Then there is a strong interpretation of Robert Lockwood’s “Mean Black Spider,” that the two do as a duo along with excellent renditions of a couple of early Bo Diddley numbers including the closing “Little Girl” with Bob Corritore’s harp and Henry Gray’s piano spotlighted on this rocking Chicago blues.

“Gonna Boogie Anyway,” follow-ups the prior award-winning recording with more of the strong playing, vocals and striking ensemble playing that made listening to that recording so rewarding. James and Rynn’s musical partnership has produced a second marvelous helping of blues delicacies. This writer looks forward to more such helpings in the future.


This review originally appeared in the July 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 327). For purposes of the FTC regulations, this was supplied by a publicist for the record label.