Sleepy John Estes - Newport Blues

Sleepy John Estes - Newport Blues - Delmark

The late Sleepy John Estes was among those blues artists who recorded prior to World War Il whose career was resurrected after being rediscovered as part of the folk boom in the sixties, and received some recognition until his death in 1977. Estes was among the finest folk-blues poets whose songs were often derived from his own experiences. He penned some classic blues themes like Someday Baby which was the basis of Big Maceo's Worried Life Blues. 

Delmark recorded Estes after his rediscovery resulting in several superb and classic albums. They have just issued Newport Blues, which is the first new Estes album on Delmark since 1969, and was recorded after a Newport Folk Festival appearance in 1964. On it, he is joined by Hammie Nixon, a remarkable harmonica accompanist, and jug blower, and Yank Rachell who provided mandolin, guitar, and piano support. Both Nixon and Rachell do get a chance to sing but it is Estes who is at the front. 

Listening to Estes, one is struck by the crying vocals as Estes is heard recreating his pre-War recordings, Secret Agent along with Airport Blues. The latter tune's melody would be appropriated by John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson (who knew Estes and Nixon from growing up in Tennessee) for the well-known Good Morning Little School Girl. Estes also provided new songs including Newport Blues. Estes was a rudimentary guitarist but Rachell provided a firmer rhythm and some fills on guitar or mandolin, while Hammie Nixon's harmonica playing is greatly underappreciated and was an influence on John Lee Williamson. His vocals on NYC Breakdown and Worried Mind Blues are highly moving. 

The music has a rawness reflecting its lack of artifice, but the level of the performances is far above some of the celebrated modern grunge blues. This is a terrific new release.

I received my review copy from Delmark. This review originally appeared in the June 2002 DC Blues Calendar although I have made some minor edits to the original review. Here Sleepy John Estes and Yank Rachell perform in 1966.

Larry Johnson - Midnight Hour Blues

Biograph has issued an exemplary country blues disc. Still active in New York today, Larry Johnson's musical star shined brightly in the sixties and early seventies, but as the magnificent 1971 recordings on Biograph's "Midnight Hour Blues" show, it is criminal that his talent has languished in obscurity while less talented artists are acclaimed as acoustic legends. A student of the Reverend Gary Davis, Johnson displays plenty of the facile Piedmont style on this release while John Hammond provides some terrific accompaniments on slide guitar or harmonica which thoroughly compliment Johnson on the sprite opening "Blood Red River," the morose "One Room Country Shack," and the other blues heard here. Johnson's vocals are as delicious as the striking instrumental work. Hammond joins Johnson on a vocal on the closing "Tell Me Mama." Simply a terrific release that is welcome back on the scene. 

Today would have been Larry Johnson's 83rd Birthday. He was born on May 15, 1938, in Wrightsville, Georgia.  I recently came across this brief review I did in 1995 of a reissue of Larry's Biograph album, "Midnight Hour Blues." It was originally issued as "Country Blues." I likely received my CD from a record distributor. Here is a video of Larry performing the great Leroy Carr song, "Midnight Hour Blues."

Sleepy John Estes Brownsville Blues

Sleepy John Estes is one of the true poets of the blues, and Delmark has just issued Brownsville Blues. Included here are the first recordings he made after he was rediscovered in the early sixties, along with several later recordings with Hammie Nixon, Yank Rachell and others. Most of these recordings are solo, and while Estes' was never one of the great blues guitarists, his limited accompaniments are more than adequate to bolster his crying vocals.

Another unusual aspect of these recordings is that many of the songs are about the people and places of John's hometown, and while there are new versions of his classics Drop Down Mama, The Girl I Love (also known as Brownsville Blues, and related melodically to Roll and Tumble Blues), and Lawyer Clark, there are songs about Al Rawls, one of the leading black businessmen of Brownsville, songs about local women, Martha Hardin, and Vassie Williams, and about Pat Mann and his son, Pat Jr (Young Lawyer). Other songs are about the more mundane aspects of life and poverty, City Hall Blues, Government Money, andl Rats in My Kitchen.

These are not John Estes' greatest recordings (I believe the Yazoo compilation of his pre-World War II records is the best single collectionof his music), but with the inclusion of six previously unissued recordings, this is a valuable addition, and complements the other Delmark recordings of Estes.


I have made some minor changes to the review that originally appeared in 1992 in issue 177 of Jazz & Blues Report. Here is John Estes and Yank Rachell in 1966.

 

Classic Blues Artwork From the 1920s - Vol. 13 from Blues Images

Some of you may be aware that not too long ago a collector purchased a Paramount 78 of legendary Mississippi blues performer Tommy Johnson for $37,000. That collector, John Tefteller, already had a copy of that 78, but the one he purchased was in better condition (he did sell the other 78). While Mr. Tefteller is a collector, he is not one who purchases such rare records to have as trophies. Rather, he gets them mastered using careful techniques for issuance on CDs that he produces that accompany a calendar of blues advertisements and photos of blues legends that he offers on a yearly basis. Now Available is "Classic Blues Artwork From the 1920s - Vol. 13," (Blues Images), which is subtitled "Special American Epic Edition."

American Epic is the name of an upcoming PBS television series and for it, a number of rare recordings of blues, country, cajun, Hawaiian, Native American and other music was remastered employing a most remarkable and costly technology to restore the rare recordings used. This technology is employed for the twenty performances on the accompanying CD. The actual Calendar is handsomely produced with a reproduction of an advertisement of a recording or a portrait of the artist for each month of the year and the first twelve recordings correspond to a graphic for a month. The remaining eight selections include some selections that may be the other side of a 78 along with two rare sides each by Hattie Hyde and J.D. Short. Each month's calendar includes selected holidays and birth and death dates of important blues artists.

For example, for January there is a reproduction of an advertisement that was issued to help sell Jim Jackson's "My Monday Blues," and one can read that Jackson "is the meanest moaner of the blues you've ever heard," while listening to the performance with a lyric that is a mix of "One Thin Dime Blues" and other traditional themes sung rather strongly against a somewhat rudimentary backing. A brief bio of Jackson is given at the bottom of the calendar page. There is some truly spectacular music including the great Blind Willie Johnson, "When the War Was On," with his driving accompaniment and gravelly shouting with his wife providing backing vocals. Not much is known of Charlie Kyle whose "Walking Blues" and "No Baby," was played on a twelve-string and sung in a clear and expressive manner. Included is a clear picture of Kyle and his guitar, probably taken at his sole recording session. Barbecue Bob's wonderful "Atlanta Moan" is the April recording with his picture accompanying a Columbia Records ad and his driving twelve-string playing (using a slide) and singing are top-flight.

For May, there is a portrait of the great Papa Charlie McCoy, shown holding a mandolin who is heard on a stunning mandolin rendition of (Pinetop's) "Boogie Woogie," vocal asides and all. Also on the CD is the other side, a marvelous "Country Guy Blues," again with stunning blues mandolin playing by this remarkable musician. June's music is the sublime vocal duet by Ruth Willis and another terrific Atlanta twelve-string player, Curley Weaver on the lovely "Some Cold Rainy Day," whose melody is similar to "Sitting on Top of the World." July brings us the guitar wizardry of Blind Blake on "Wabash Rag," with his superb finger-style playing and a vocal celebrating the famed Chicago avenue. August includes the ad for one of Blind Lemon Jefferson's most celebrated recordings "'Lectric Chair Blues"/"See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," and this writer can not believe he has ever heard Jefferson's high pitched singing or deft playing captured with such clarity.

September's ad is for Jed Davenport and His Beale Street Jug Band and "Beale Street Breakdown," is a spectacular, uninhibited instrumental romp with fiddle, harmonicas and driving rhythm. Not much is known about Spark Plug Smith, who it is suggested is named after cartoon character Barney Google's horse, Spark Plug. His performance, "Vampire Woman," is actually reference to a street walking woman (vamp being 1920s slang for one who takes a man from his wife). Ma Rainey is featured for November where "Georgia Cake Walk," which was the B-side to "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," and features a talking duet set against an early jazz accompaniment. The Calendar closes with a fiery sermon "The High Cost of Sin!" by Black Billy Sunday (Rev. Dr. J. Gordon).

 

Small image of representative month.

Also heard on the CD is another fiery sermon "Will You Spend Eternity In Hell," two vocals from a Memphis singer, Hattie Hyde, accompanied by the Memphis Jug Band, the afore-mentioned extra selections from Charlie Kyle, Charlie McCoy, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. The CD concludes with two phenomenal performances by J.D. Short, although they are the worst sounding recordings reproduced here as the original 78 was in terrible condition and is the onlylocated  copy of this 80 year recording. Despite the rough, distorted sound, one can still appreciate Short's brilliance as a guitarist and his singing. There are other reissues of his early recordings available and he was recorded as part of the blues rediscoveries in the 1960s. Placed at the end, it might be skipped by those who find a bit of surface noise acceptable. Those who have listened to some reissues of Skip James and Charlie Patton, with a scrambled eggs sound in the background, should have little problem enjoying his terrific music.

Kudos to John Tefteller and those who were involved in the production of "Classic Blues Artwork From the 1920s - Vol. 13." This will make a wonderful gift for the real blues lover this holiday season. This is available directly from Blue Images which also has previous years Calendars and CDs from previous Calendars, along with posters and t-shirts for sale. You can go their website, www.bluesimages.com, to order directly. This terrific Calendar and CD is also being sold through amazon, Alligator Records and other vendors.

I purchased this Calendar and CD from Blues Images. 

Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon Live in Japan

It was a surprise to hear that Delmark was going to release for the first time in the United States recordings made of Sleepy John Estes during Japanese tours from the mid-1970s. The performances have finally been released on Live In Japan With Hammie Nixon, which bring together 19 songs from four performances by the pair. A Japanese quartet, Yu Ka Dan, joins them for four songs.

Estes was a marvelous storyteller and songwriter with a crying, expressive voice and a rudimentary guitar style with which Nixon would supply supporting vocals (with a few lead vocals as well) along with his deep harmonica style, kazoo and jug. The two mix in songs that were staples of Estes’ repertoire including Broke and Hungry, You Shouldn’t Say That (with Nixon sharing lead vocals), Stop That Thing, The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair, Divin’ Duck Blues, Rats in My Kitchen and Brownsville Blues, along with standards “Corrina Corrina,” and I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You, and spirituals Holy Spirit, Don’t You Leave Me (sung by Hammie) and Jesus Is On the Mainline. The performances are done simply and directly with Estes crying vocals at the forefront with Nixon accompaniments providing much of the musical interest, whether his responsive harmonica, or buzzing kazoo and jug (as heard on Corrina, Corrina).

This is wonderfully recorded and one can hear the appreciation shown by the Japanese audience, including the response when they start The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair, indicating more than passing familiarity with Estes’ recordings. Yu Ka Dan does a nice job adding their accompaniment on several tracks including a lovely Love Grows In Your Heart, Estes’ rendition of Careless Love.

Steve Tomashefsky accompanied the pair on their Japanese tours and wrote the liner notes recapping the time they spent over there and I presume is the voice introducing them on track 12. Nixon did most of the song introductions and storytelling on stage. This are among the last recordings the two recorded together and is heartfelt blues  from two giants of early blues. As wonderful as the music is, some may enjoy this better by listening to it in parts rather than straight through.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here are Estes and Nixon from a European telecast during an American Folk Blues Festival tour.

Michael Roach Has The Good New Blues

Former DC Blues Society president Michael Roach has been resident in England for several years now. He has become an influential performer as well as promoter and educator of blues there and in Europe where he has organized blues conferences and an annual Blues Week. At Blues Weeks, he has brought over as instructors the late John Jackson, Larry Johnson and Phil Wiggins among others. He has continued to develop as a blues performer too and as a songwriter and has two recent (as of 2003) recordings, Good News Blues and the just released Cypress Grove on his Stella Records label. 

The earlier disc, Good New Blues, also features sympathetic harp accompaniment from Ian Briggs and includes a number of Roach originals along with his often-topical originals including Pleading Insanity and the amusing Vote For the Wino on which his wife and daughter add an amusing chorus backup. He has become more than an adept guitarist too, which is not surprising when he was mentored by the likes of John Jackson, John Cephas and Jerry Ricks. And his adaptations of classic blues themes are not slavish recreations of earlier recordings.

With a bouncing riff, he reinvigorates Trouble is Mine as well as pays his respect to Big Bill Broonzy on a nice Keep Your Hands Off (Her). Bumble Bee Slim’s recordings are not often performed today, but Roach’s rendition of Bricks In My Pillow suggests that this popular blues artist from the 30’s deserves some reconsideration. The late Otis Williams penned the title track, and Mike integrates Williams’s recitations of his poetry into this fine performance. A reworking of the traditional Alberta that closes a varied and very enjoyable set of performances follows a heartfelt gospel performance Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed.

The just issued Cypress Grove is dedicated to the late John Jackson and found Michael recording a number of songs that he knew and recorded if only for archival purposes. In his own words on this recording Michael chose “to go for original sounds rather than releasing original material.” Included are Roach’s interpretations of Skip James’ Special Rider and Cypress Grove, Blind Boy Fuller’s So Sweet, and Furry Lewis’ Brownsville Blues, along with his renditions of traditional material like Lonesome Valley, C.C. Rider, Go Tell It on The Mountain and What Month Was Jesus Born. Again he brings his own touch to this material and sings in a simple, direct manner with plenty of sincerity. That Roach does Lewis’ Brownsville Blues is telling because Lewis is not simply among Roach’s favorite blues artists, but Roach’s guitar playing suggests Lewis’ style with its nicely rhythmic focus. 

There is an original from Roach as well as the closing song about the closing of the coal mines in Britain, Hard Times For the Working man, written by Bernie Marsden of the rock group Whitesnake. Another varied program that is full of heartfelt performances that demonstrate just accomplished a blues guitarist Michael Roach has become, but also how strong a performer he is. Information on these re- leased including how to order them can be obtained from websites,www.stellarecords.net and/or www.michaelroach.com, and it is well worth the effort in trying to get these.

The above review appeared in the July-August 2003 DC Blues Calendar and these releases still should be available directly from Michael. I have made a few stylistic changes. As performances he made earlier in 2012 in the DC area showed, he is among the finest living country blues performers. Here is Michael with harmonica player Johnny Mars at the 2008 Pocono Blues Festival.

Jerry Ricks Traveled Many Miles of Blues

There is a picture of Jerry Ricks with Mississippi John Hurt taken from a mid-sixties Philadelphia Blues Festival that was recently published in Big City Blues. It’s a picture that would not be out of place in the booklet accompanying Ricks’ second Rooster Blues album, Many Miles of Blues. The musical link to Hurt is most obvious on the nice rendition of Louis Collins Blues. The flowing guitar and vocal of the opening Missouri River Blues, a Ricks original, also captures some of the same feel found in the music of Hurt and Furry Lewis. It is Lewis to whom Ricks pays respect to on I Will Turn Your Money Green. In addition to his originals that sound like they were written decades ago such as his County Farm Blues, he transforms pianist Little Brother Montgomery’s Vicksburg Blues into a slowed down Beale Street guitar blues, while paying respects to Skip James on a deft treatment of Special Rider Blues. A traditionalist perhaps in his approach, Ricks shows he absorbed the lessons he gotten first-hand, and has moulded his own distinctive approach, evoking his mentors but in his own style. This review of Jerry Ricks appeared in the January-February 2001 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 249) which I have made some minor editing errors. Jerry Ricks unfortunately passed away (it will be five years in December 2007). A marvelous interpreter of classic country blues and a superb exponent of this tradition he is missed for his warmth, humor and wisdom as well as his music. I likely received my review copy from a publicist. This may be hard to find but well worth the effort.

Shelton Powe's Carolina Blues and Gospel

One of the latest recordings issued by the Music Maker Foundation is the debut of Shelton Powe, Carolina Blues and Gospel. While his earliest musical memories were the tent revival circuit with his family, as a youngster he immersed himself in the blues scene of Atlanta and mentored by the likes of Cora Mae Bryant, Neal Pattman, Cootie Stark and Frank Edwards. Over the years he has developed an extensive repertoire of songs and lyrics that he performs with a genial and ingratiating style with deft, fingerstyle guitar and relaxed vocals that convey a bit of the warmth of others in this East Coast style.

Songs cover both the secular realm as on the opening Stranger Blues, and the sacred one as heard on “Send Me,” with his firm rhythmic bass contrasting with his responsive use of the treble strings. His relaxed and agile fingerstyle playing is displayed on the instrumental Vestapol, where the melodic line suggests Robert Wilkins That’s No Way To Get Along/ Prodigal Son, while he plays slide guitar (suggestive of Fred McDowell) on Diving Duck Blues. He provides a personal interpretation of the traditional This Train, while he shows himself able on country blues harmonica on One Monkey Don’t Stop The Show, which complements his earnest singing. Down On Me is another performance on which his harmonica provides accompaniment (and another voice) to the vocal. “Buckdancer’s Choice is a fingerstyle instrumental in the vein of Etta Baker while he returns to slide guitar on his version of John Henry, where his slide accompaniment which also borrows a bit from Robert Wilkins’ afore-mentioned melody.

After a nice sacred When i Lay My Burden Down, with more nice slide guitar, he is joined by Drink Small who takes the lead on This Little Light of Mine, where Shelton adds vocal harmony and the guitar accompaniment. Shelton Powe may not be the next coming of Blind Boy Fuller or John Jackson, but he shows himself to be a very capable singer and musician rooted mostly in the traditions heard from Virginia down to Georgia.

I received this recording from the Music Maker Foundation in return for support I have provided the organization. The website of Music Maker Foundation is www.musicmaker.org, and there is information on Powe and this recording there. This video (on youtube) of Shelton performing is on his page at the Music Maker Foundation.  

Memphis Blues Party From Bukka White and Furry Lewis

Arcola Records has issued a wonderful recording by Furry Lewis, Bukka White and Friends, Party! At Home. Recorded in Memphis in July 1968, the first two selections by Bukka White were recorded at Albino Red’s, and the last three by Furry were recorded in Furry’s apartment. The majority came from a party at Furry’s Apartment and while the performances by the two blues legends are typically lively ones, they benefit from banter with friends.

What’s nice while there are familiar songs from both, there are some interesting choices. For example we get to hear White redo Lightnin’ Hopkins’ Hello Central( from the session at Albino Red's), Give Me 49, in White’s lively percussive, driving style along with White doing Drifting Blues and other numbers with Lewis adding encouragement. Lewis does a typically fine rendition of John Henry as well as Let Me Call You Sweetheart from the party as well as a fine rendition of his Kassie Jones from the other session.

As indicated, both White and Lewis sound real good here and the informality of the party setting adds to the spirit of the performances here. Recommended.

This is an older review from 2007 and originally appeared in the March-April 2007 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 291). I purchased this CD.

Here is Bukka and then Furry.

Some Choice Savoy Blues On Retrospective Anthology

The following brief review of a compilation of blues recordings, mostly classic tracks from the forties and fifties from the Savoy label, appeared originally in the March-April 2004 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 267) and is still available.

The historic Savoy catalog has been reissued numerous times over the past few decades, making available seminal reissues of blues, jazz, and rhythm and blues. The catalog may now be in new hands and it seems the label is being mined yet again. One of the new releases is Savoy Blues 1944-1994 which is a three disc sampler that not only includes classic recordings by Joe Turner, Johnny Otis, Little Esther, Little Miss Sharecropper (Lavern Baker), John Lee Hooker and Big Maybelle, but also recordings by Eddie Kirkland, Robert Lockwood and Charles Brown that reflect the acquisition of the Muse and Trix catalogs to supplement the Savoy classics.


Opening with Hot Lips Page’s Uncle Sam’s Blues and closing with Charles Brown’s I Got a Right to Cry, the three discs cover a wide spectrum of music including Billy Eckstine’s classic Jelly Jelly, Gatemouth Moore’s Walking My Blues Away, Billy Wright’s Stacked Deck, Doc Pomus’ cover of Joe Turner’s Hollywood Bed, Turner’s My Gal’s a Jockey, John lee Hooker’s Miss Pearl’s Boogie, Joe Williams’ In the Evening, Nappy Brown’s The Right Time, Big Maybelle’s Blues Early, Early (Parts 1 & 2), Eddie Kirkland’s Snake in the Grass, and Robert Lockwood Jr.’s Selfish Ways.


A review of these titles should give an idea of the range of material presented here from the swing and uptempo mood of Hot Lips Page and Gatemouth Moore, to John Lee Hooker’s delta blues boogie and Eddie Kirkland’s mix of soul and delta blues. With good sound and good notes on the performers by compiler Billy Vera, this serves as a solid overview of the riches of the Savoy Catalog and is value priced as well.

I do not recall if I was sent a review copy from Jazz & Blues Report or the record company.

Mance Lipscomb Marvelous Blues and More

The late Mance Lipscomb certainly was an invaluable discovery by Mack McCormick and Chris Strachwitz.. The full title of the Arhoolie reissue, You Got To Reap What You Sow: Texas Songster Volume 2, says it all. Mance Lipscomb wasn’t a blues performer, but rather was a songster who played all sorts of songs for his family and friends. Once he was discovered and started playing concerts, he perhaps skewed his repertoire to the blues, but it was the depth of his repertoire that made him so invaluable.


The 24 songs give a sense of the depth of his repertoire, and include versions of Texas blues themes like Hattie Green; blues recordings like Walter Davis’ Come Back Baby and Memphis Minnie’s Bumble Bee; ballads like Joe Turner Killed a Man, and The Titanic; and popular songs like Long Way to Tipperary and You Rascal You.


Mance was a wonderful guitarist and a warm singer. Reflecting the milieu of the country house parties that he would play for most of his life, his performing style is devoid of gimmicks, simply played with skill and honesty. This is an expanded version of the original album, which was his second release for Arhoolie and includes 13 previously unissued songs, including a new rendition of Tom Moore Blues, a protest blues about a Washington County,Texas landowner.


I had the pleasure seeing Mance Lipscomb perform live once, opening for Big Mama Thornton at the University of Buffalo and his performance was every bit as wonderful as his recordings. His music was not showy, just warmly performed and full of sincerity and heart. This review originally appeared in the April 1994 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 190) although I have made minor stylistic changes. This release is available both a CD and as downloads.

Rory Block Shakes 'Em On Down

Rory Block was fortunate to learn her music from (in addition to recordings) some of the masters of the blues idiom from such then surviving masters as Reverend Gary Davis, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Bukka White and Mississippi Fred McDowell. After her album devoted to Robert johnson’s music, she has continued with a disc of the music of Son House and now Mississippi Fred McDowell as part of a series of recordings where she salutes those who mentored her. Her Robert Johnson tribute was modeled closely on Johnson’s originals whereas her Son House tribute she mixed some performances with others that took more liberties. On her newest CD, Shake ‘Em on Down: A Tribute to Mississippi Fred McDowell (Stony Plain) she has written originals as well as given her own interpretation to McDowell’s songs.

The fact that her interpretations of songs associated with McDowell are personal interpretations along with her originals that incorporate elements of McDowell’s percussive, slide style without being a pastiche of such style, makes this a very different and, in my opinion, the most successful of her tribute recordings. It should be noted that it certainly sounds as if there is overdubbing of guitar parts and vocals, but it is wonderfully recorded so kudos to Rob Davis for the excellent engineering job.

This tribute opens with two of Ms Block’s originals. Steady Freddy, which has a forceful accompaniment as she has penned lyrics re-creating McDowell’s autobiography although the dialect is that of Ms Block and not Fred McDowell. It is followed by the remarkable Mississippi Man, a fully realized performance in part this song is Rory’s own story as a fifteen year old and her meeting the Mississippi Man. These lead in to her interpretations of McDowell’s songs that evoke the master while having her place her own stamp on them. She captures the mesmerizing flavor on Kokomo Blues, and that Eleven Light City. Good Morning Little School Girl is a bit more reflective and less rhythmically insistent than McDowell’s renditions, as she recasts the lyrics from the standpoint of the school girl who wants to go back home with the school boy. What’s the Matter Now, impressively builds on McDowell’s driving guitar style while vocally she lengthens the lyrics for her impassioned vocals.

Shake ‘Em Down illustrates her natural distillation of McDowell’s driving, droning guitar style while she overdubs vocals which she convincingly delivers, employs a pronounced rhythmic emphasis, while Worried Mind is a nice rendition of McDowell’s performance that might have come from John Estes’ Someday Baby, or perhaps Big Maceo’s Worried Life Blues. Whatever, Block makes this her own just like Muddy Waters, Fred McDowell, Big Maceo and others had done. The Man That I’m Lovin’, is likewise another song associated with Sleepy John Estes that McDowell translated into his style which again proves potent inspiration for Ms. Block who reinvents it yet anew.

Ancestral Home is another Rory original that incorporates elements of African musical traditions with her lyrics about the slave trade mixed with her overdubbing some African dialect in the vocal. Another original, the powerful The Breadline was originally an instrumental medley built from McDowell riffs to which she added lyrics about losing one’s home and can’t pay her lawyer and the rich folks on vacation “they don’t give a damn” with the line “hard times are here again” so contemporary and relevant. The album concludes with Woke Up This Morning, one of McDowell’s moving gospel songs with Rory’s moving multi-tracked vocals, followed by her strong re-imaging of another of McDowell’s signature songs, Write Me a Few of Your Lines.

Rory Block deserves kudos for this marvelous tribute with its ambitious and imaginative look at McDowell’s work that is inspired by the spirit of McDowell’s music, but has her imprint on all the performances. Of the eight songs associated with Fred McDowell, she has included a few of his signature songs, but also included lesser known parts of his repertoire and that added to her own originals making for a superb recording.


I received my review copy from Stony Plain Records.

John-Alex Mason's "Juke Joint Thunderbolt"

Colorado based John-Alex Mason got the blues bug after hearing Muddy Waters’ “Hard Again” album and then seeing James Cotton and Johnny Winter in concerts and later getting the complete Robert Johnson recordings began a fascination with solo country blues. He has had several albums, the most recent having been “Town & Country,” which I never got around to reviewing but have it uploaded to itunes and on my ipod and every time I hear a track from it, I take notice. In the context of his new CD, I listened to the CD as a whole again, and remained impressed by his ability to handle the music of Bukka White, Skip James, Charlie Patton and others. These showed how much he has learned from the masters but made his ‘covers’ highly personalized and wonderfully played. His vocals capturing some of the delta haze of those who have inspired him. Mostly solo, the Cd also included some juking ensemble tracks including a lively Shake You Money Maker.

Mason’s new CD is Juke Joint Thunderbolt which sounds more in the vein of the Hill Country blues of North Mississippi mixed with a bit of Bukka White. The title is explained by the fact that a Juke Joint is an afro-caribe expression for a place or experience to have fun and dance and juke the trouble out of yourself while Thunderclap is when thunder and lightning are so close together that it seems that the thunder rolls away from you. In any event, the spirit of the title is present on the music here. Mason has an impressive group of guests including Cody and Cedric Burnside, grandsons of R.L. Burnside’ Lightnin’ Malcolm, Gary Hundt and others. The ensembles vary, but much of this has a trance-like vive characteristic of the Northern Mississippi Hills Country Blues. I find the playing a bit tighter and the rhythm less thrashing around than some other recent recordings in this vein.

The opening “My Old Lonesome Home” cranks out a hot, irresistible groove on a one-man band rig with Hundt wailing on harp as moans about the world getting better and we are getting older. Cedric Burnside is on drums for Gone So Long, as Mason makes use of repetition in his lyrics and his guitar accompaniment as he wonders has it been so long since you been gone while Cody Burnside adds a rap that is intertwined seamlessly with Mason’s lyrics and vocals. Its one of two tracks where Cody Burnside raps in among the most successful and natural integrations of the blues tradition and rap. More Than Wind, with Hundt on mandolin, has more of a folk-country flavor as Mason informs us “love don’t linger well up cool and fresh.” Riding On is the other song with Cody Burnside but in addition to Mason’s vocal and droning guitar, the accompaniment include Cedric Burnside on drums, Fara Tolno and Alya Sylla on djembe, Fasinet Bangoura on balafon, Hundt repeating a harp riff, Lightnin’ Malcolm adding searing guitar and Lionel Young playing crosscut saw fiddle creating a mesmerizing rhythm and making Mason’s vocal sound more compelling music.

Mason, using his one man band rig, provides a marvelous rendition of Rolled and Tumbled, with Hundt’s simple harp an effective foil for this slow-drag treatment of a pre-war blues standard. The philosophical lyric of Diamond Rain, is set to a folk country setting with Young adding some nice violin. Signifying Monkey, is taken from Oscar Brown’s recording of this bawdy number but is performed by Mason at a slow, dirge-like tempo with Lightnin’ Malcolm and Cedric Burnside helping instill the trance-like groove. Free moves back to a hill country stomp groove as Mason, as a one-man band, delivers his message of gonna fly because he is free and see what’s left of me with Fara Tolno’s djembe adding to the musical covering. Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm contribute to the exceptional rendition of Mississippi Fred McDowell’s Write Me a Few of Your Lines, with Mason adding his own effective harp along with the driving rhythm.

The closing Whisper is a solo guitar performance with Mason’s bluesy vocal matched by a spare, folky accompaniment that concludes this superb recording. In addition to the ten selections on cd, one can download two tracks on his website johnalexmason.com. a prologue track, Delta Bound and an Epilogue that is a rendition of Robert Johnson’s If You’ve Got a Good Friend.

The review copy was provided by a publicist.

Jessie Mae Hemphill Got Her Blues Right

It had been some time since I listened to Jessie Mae Hemphill. When I went out for a few errands the other day, I saw her CD, “Get Right Blues” (Inside Memphis) and took it to play in my car CD player, and it brought back some good memories of her and her music.

Jessie Mae Hemphill grew up in a musical family of great renown in the Hill Country of Northern Mississippi. Her grandfather was a famed fiddle player as well as led a fife and drums band that Alan Lomax recorded during his pioneering field trips to Mississippi for the Library of Congress in the 1940s. Her auntie, Rosa Lee, was later recorded by Lomax in the 1950s. Most of the members of her family were multi-instrumentalists and the anchor for their music was anchored by the fife and drum bands that Jessie Mae played in as well as the blues. One can hear her music shaped around the percussive rhythms fostered by the the fife and drum bands that played (and still play) a significant role in the lives of the Hill Country folk. This was reflected in her guitar playing as well as the bells she wore on her ankles or a foot tambourine. She also played a bass and/or snare drum, using a foot pedal. This writer hears the influence of Mississippi Fred McDowell in her playing and her slide playing, although one would not claim she was McDowell’s equal. Her rough edged vocals was the source of why her music was so appealing as her simple, driving accompaniments.

She was first recorded by George Mitchell and later by David Evans who issued 45s by her on the High Water label and then an LP on High Water. She acquired the nickname She-Wolf that suggested her fiery and flamboyant personality and she recorded an album for the French Vogue label that was critically received but had little exposure in the United States. In 1991, High Water issued Feelin’ Good, that was the 1991 WC Handy Award For Best Acoustic Blues Album. She was one of a number of blues performers who participated in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival that year that had plenty of focus on the blues. Her performances displayed the personality that actually could be heard on her recordings. Her performances often were dynamic and compelling. Shortly thereafter, in 1993, she suffered a stroke that shortened her musical career and she died a few years back.

In the notes for Get Right Blues, David Evans states these are previously unissued performances. Some of them, like the driving Steamline Train, recalls similar performances on Feelin’ Good. With Evans on second guitar and Hemphill also playing bass and snare drums, she builds up an irresistible pulse here as she adds a simple guitar riff in her response to her vocal line. Shake Your Booty (Shake It Baby), has a simple one-chord accompaniment . Go Back To Your Used To Be is a slow solo blues and has her playing foot tambourine to support a haunting vocal. On Take It With You Baby, she plays a droning one-chord accompaniment on a Diddley Bow. She performed a nice straight rendition of Baby Please Don’t Go, while on Lord, Help the Poor & Needy, she heart-fully delivers the song’s message accompanied solely by her tambourine. Part of her appeal might be the often simple lyrics and the sincerity evident in her vocals, set against the sometimes simple, yet rhythmic backing. Compton Jones joins her on the gospel number, He’s a Mighty Good Leader with such simple rhythmic backing. Livelier is All Night Boogie (Jessie’s Boogie), with a quicker tempo reminiscent of the opening track. Loving in the Moonlight in contrast has more of a slow-drag backing. Another highlight is Honey Bee, an adaptation of a Memphis Minnie recording with a wonderful vocal even if her accompaniment is pretty basic.

Listening to this album brings back memories of those magical Folklife Festival performances and my time talking with her. I know at times, the festival staff felt she lived up to her “She-Wolf” nickname, but I found her fascinating as she talked about her background, her aunties, and music. If one can locate Feelin’ Good, I would recommend that first (and amazon shows it in print as I write this), but this is a very enjoyable recording in its own right and is available as both a CD and downloads. BTW, there is a terrific biography of her at http://www.jmhemphill.org/.


I likely received a review copy of this several years ago.

Lively old-time blues and hokum from Veronica & the Red Wine Serenaders

Enthusiasm for blues, old-timey and other American roots music has led not only to audiences worldwide, but also individuals and bands playing such music. One such group of musicians hails from Milan, Italy, Veronica & the Red Wine Serenaders. They have an eponymously (self-titled) recording on Totally Unnecessary Records that is a mix of old times blues, string-band, country, and hokum by a group that is a mix of string band and traditional jazz in its instrumentation. Veronica Sbergia fronts the band with her vocals, ukulele, kazoo and washboard and among the remaining musicians, the most prominent is Max De Bernardi who plays a variety of guitars including resophonic, as well as mandolin and contributes some vocals. Alessandra Cecola rounds the core of the band on bass with others adding dobro, harmonica, piano and clarinet to various tracks.

The recording opens with a nice rendition of the Mississippi Sheik’s “Bootlegger’s Blues,” with a nice vocal and some nice guitar and mandolin from De Bernardi. Miss Sbergia has a lovely voice and delivers this song in what this listener views as a more successful interpretation than pretentious rendition on the recent Mississippi Sheiks tribute CD. It’s followed up buy the hokum-ish “You Drunk Too Much,” with lively cdlarinet and stomp down piano. “Nobody Knows But Me,” is a nice performance of a number that sounds like it was from the songbook of the Blue Yodeler, Jimmie Rodgers. with some nice dobro. “Busy Bootin’” is a skittlish number with De Bernadi handling the “you can knock but can’t come in” type of hokum, with twin slide guitars and a feel suggestive of R. Crumb & the Cheap Suit Serenaders. I have no idea of the origins of “Lullaby of the Leaves,” which has an Hawaiian tinge. “Me, Myself and I,” is a vocal duet with nice slide guitar and a skittle feel (including a kazoo solo) that gives this song a different tone than the famous Billie Holiday recording. “Doggone My Soul,” is a nice handling of a traditional blues with the ensemble coming of as a jug band, while Hank Williams’ “Lovesick Blues,” shows more of the country side of this group. “Mr. Ambulance Blues,” is a classic blues styled performance again with clarinet, “You May Leave (But This Will Bring You Back),” is more jug band style with lively kazoo, and “I Wanna Go Back To My Little Grass Shack,” is a lively Hawaiian number. Among the remaining numbers are a couple of numbers from the era of classic blues, “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate,” and a live performance of Bessie Smith’s “Good Ole Wagon.” While one would be hard pressed to describe this recording as deep blues or roots, it is a lively, entertaining disc that is fun to listen to. I do not know where one can obtain this in North America, but Veronica has a web presence at myspace (http://www.myspace.com/veronicasbergia) and on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Veronica-The-Red-Wine-Serenaders/129165736557).

For purposes of FTC regulations, I received the CD for review from Veronica & the Red Wine Serenaders.

Prodigal Son comes home - Michael Roach House Concert in Falls Church

Sunday July 27 will be a treat for Washington DC blues lovers as Washington native Michael Roach along with harmonica wiz Johnny Mars are being presented by the Tinner Hill Foundation. Mike was one of the folks who founded the DC Blues Society and was its President for several years. Over a decade ago he moved with his wife to England where he has established himself as quite a blues performer as well as an educator. Mike was mentored by the late John Jackson and Jerry Ricks as well as John Cephas and has become quite a marvelous singer, guitarist and songwriter. I will miss the Falls Church show as I will still be at the Pocono Blues Festival where they perform Saturday, June 26. I will likely miss the Kinsey Report to see Mike as his recordings have been so good and I am really looking forward to seeing him after all these years. The picture is from Michael's website and the rest of the test is from the publicity provided by the Tinner Hill Foundation folks.

"You are invited to experience a spectacular evening of the soulful sounds of rhythm and blues with Michael Roach and Johnny Mars in concert to benefit the Tinner Hill John Jackson Blues Festival. Blues singer and guitarist Michael Roach and Blues singer and harmonica player Johnny Mars reside in the United Kingdom and will be making a rare U.S. tour to perform at the Pocono Blues Festival They will perform in Falls Church in a one night, one show invitation only concert at the historic Henderson House and gardens.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C. Michael Roaches’ life has taken him to reside in Cheltenham, England. He has become a beloved performer in Guitar, Blues, Folk, Jazz, World Music and Country Blues Festival across the globe. He has performed in Sweden, France, Ireland, England, Scotland, The Channel Islands, in the Middle East including Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabe, and Qatar. His work has taken him to Bali and Jakarta in Indonesia. He will soon be performing in Spain and Capetown, South Africa. He has performed in the USA at the Chicago Blues Festival and Maryland's Bluebird Blues Festival.

He has taught in workshops in the United Kingdom for the European Blues Association (which he founded with Paul Oliver.), in Galway, Ireland, at the Bergen Music Festival in Bergen, Norway, Centrum Country Blues Week in Port Townsend and the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop in Washington state, and at the Augusta Heritage Festival for Bluesweek in Elkins, West Virginia. He traveled to the USA to interview many Blues elders for the BBC which culminated in his 3 part series called "Deep Blue" for the highly esteemed BBC Radio 4. He created the Federal City Blues Connection with the Washington, D.C government to serve many factions of the community in Washington.

He was the President for over 4 years of the D.C. Blues Society and Festival Director of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Annual DC Blues Festivals. Michael currently performs as a solo performer, as the leader of the Michael Roach Band and as a duo with harmonica master Johnny Mars.

Mr. Roach is an exceptional performer who has developed his own unique rhythm and blues style after many years of learning directly from such well known figures as John Jackson, John Cephas and Jerry Ricks. Come experience the indisputable genius of Michael Roach.

Songwriter, harmonica player and singer Johnny Mars was raised in a sharecropping family. He was given his first harmonica at age nine. His family lived in various places around the South, including North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

When Mars' mother died in 1958, the older family members settled in Florida, while Johnny and his younger brother went to live in New Paltz, N.Y. After he graduated from high school, he played club shows around New York and recorded with his band Burning Bush for Mercury Records.

In the mid-1960s, Mars moved to San Francisco, where he met Dan Kennedy and formed the Johnny Mars Band, playing clubs and festivals in northern California, as well as shows for rock promoter/impresario/producer Bill Graham.However, Mars could not seem to expand his audience much in San Francisco. After hearing about the greener pastures across the pond from his friend Rick Estrin of Little Charlie and the Nightcats, he toured England in 1972. There, he recorded a couple of albums, eventually moving to West London in 1978. Working with producer Ray Fenwick, who also worked with Spencer Davis, Ian Gillan, Mars met with success on the much praised album, Life On Mars.

In 1991, Mars became a featured soloist with the British New Wave pop group Bananarama. The group used him on their singles "Preacher Man," "Megalomaniac," and "Long Train Running," and he appeared in the group's video of "Preacher Man." Through the 1990s, Mars retained his strong European fan base, and he enjoys particularly strong followings in Ireland, Scotland and Scandinavia. Critics there have called him "the Jimi Hendrix of the harmonica." Over the years, Mars has shared bills with Hendrix (before he was well-known) and Magic Sam.

In 1992, after a long absence from the Bay Area blues scene, owing to his new foothold in England and the rest of Europe, Mars was invited to play at the San Francisco Blues Festival. Mars' 1994 U.S. release for MM&K Recordings, Stateside with Johnny Mars, features brilliant, original, topical compositions and superb, unique harmonica playing, unfettered by the standard Chicago blues conventions. ~ Richard Skelly, All Music Guide

These gentlemen will offer breathtaking virtuosity and wide-ranging musical palette in the lovely garden and historic house constructed in 1913. The home was home for over fifty years to civil rights pioneers Dr. Edwin B. and Mary Ellen Henderson.

Don't miss the opportunity to meet Michael Roach and Johnny Mars, connect with fellow blues lovers and help the Tinner Hill John Jackson Blues Festival. If you are unable to attend we can still support the Blues Festival by making a donation.

Event co-hosts:
Trish Byerly, Ed & Nikki Henderson

Location:
The Henderson House & Garden
307 S. Maple Ave.
Falls Church, VA. 22046
(703) 534-4627

Date & Time:
Sunday, July 27th
6 PM

Tickets: $25.00 each
The concert includes hors d'oeuvres extraordinaire, luscious desserts, and cool beverages.
A Cash wine bar will be available.

Parking, in the designated parking lot adjacent to the Henderson House.

Please mail checks and/or money order for reservations and donations to:
Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation
P.O. Box 6117
Falls Church, VA. 22040

For more information about Michael visit:
www.michaelroach.com
For more information about Johnny Mars visit:
www.answers.com/topic/johnny-mars?cat=entertainment
For more information about Tinner Hill visit:
www.tinnerhill.org

Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. The festival is co-sponsored by Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation and the City of Falls Church.

We warmly welcome your friends. Feel free to forward this e-mail those who may be interested in a wonderful evening of refreshments, music and the opportunity to help the Tinner Hill Blues Festival! Please bear in mind this is an advance invitation event open ONLY to those with reservations/tickets.

Thank you!"

Son's Fires Still Burned Hot

It has 15 years since Columbia, based on the success of its Robert Johnson set, issued a variety of excellent blues reissues. One of note was the double CD of Son House, Father of the Delta Blues — The Complete 1965 Sessions. Here is my review from late 1992 Jazz & Blues Report. I have seen a few reviews on amazon note his earlier recordings were better performances, but still when Son started singing, the voice just went through you like a hurricane. This is the blues at its most basic. The CD set is still available.

The most direct influence on Robert Johnson is sometimes said to be Eddie “Son” House. Columbia/Legacy has reissued House’s Father of the Delta Blues — The Complete 1965 Sessions, a double compact disc that reissues the original album on one disc with the second disc devoted to alternate takes and other songs. Son House was one of the most riveting vocalists the blues ever had, and in his prime, a master of the bottleneck. These recordings were made not long after the discovery of House in Rochester, New York. House had not played in a long period of time which is reflected in the rustiness of his performances and the slight stiffness in his playing and singing. This is evident in President Kennedy, a recasting of House’s Library of Congress recording of American Defense, that was inspired by the assassination of the President. The originally released recordings of Death Letter, Preachin’ Blues, Pearline and Empire State Express and the acappella spirituals John the Relevator and Grinning in Your Face are as compelling as ever. House, who also was a preacher, is the singer most folk delta blues wannabes use as their paradigm, but their intensity seems forced compared to the real thing. The first disc is a highpoint of country blues of the past three decades. The second disc, however, is primarily for collectors and completists.

At last a recording from Eleanor Ellis

Born near New Orleans, Eleanor Ellis heard the blues blasting out of the radio, but it was when working at the Tulane University Jazz Archive that she began to take seriously playing music. She played a variety of music there including bluegrass, old-time and country. A few years later she settled in the Washington DC area where she continues to reside today and her focus was directed on the blues as she became acquainted with some of the area’s musical elders who became her role model and friends. She first chauffeured Flora Molton, the DC area street singer and later started playing with her. Then in 1987 she toured Europe with Flora and local Piedmont legend Archie Edwards. Later she got into video production and produced the marvelous video Blues Houseparty, filmed at John Jackson’s home and featuring Jackson, his wife Cora, Archie Edwards, John Cephas, Phil Wiggins, Flora Molton, Larry Wise, and John Dee Holeman. During this time she was amongst those who founded the DC Blues Society, and after Archie Edwards passed away, helped found the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Society.

Throughout this time she has performed, often with others such as when she accompanied Flora or participated in performances given by members of the Archie Edwards Barbershop folk. Recently a CD of her with William Lee Ellis and Andy Cohen was issued that is available on cdbaby.com. She recorded a CD that she only sold at performances and finally has a new CD by herself on Patuxent Records, Comin’ a Time that hopefully will let folk outside of DC know about this musical treasure. The 18 songs are pretty varied in their source and contain few songs that should be overly familiar. Thankfully there are no Robert Johnson covers although there are several renditions of Memphis Minnie songs along with a couple each from Skip James and John Estes and songs associated with Tommy Johnson, Henry Thomas, Bull City Red and Lottie Kimbrough. She is joined by a number of musical friends including guitarists Neil Harpe and Mike Baytop, pianist Judy Luis-Watson and harmonica players Jay Summerour, Phil Wiggins and Pearl Bailes.

The disc opens with a John Hurt song that was filtered through Hurt’s disciple, Archie Edwards, Take Me Back Baby, which Eleanor adds her own touch to the pensive lyric along with her gently rolling guitar. Sleepy John Estes' Diving Duck was recorded at Archie Edwards’ Barbershop with Mike Baytop on harp and the late Richard Thomas on bones with a driving accompaniment behind Eleanor’s emphatic vocal. Ellis makes no effort to emulate Skip James’ ethereal style for Cypress Grove or Special Rider, as she delivers these songs in a sober fashion. Judy Luis-Watson adds a touch of barrelhouse flavor for 61 Highway, a song that suggests the toughness of Memhis Minnie that is evident also on Ellis’ strong interpretations of Minnie’s In My Girlish Days, Me and My Chauffeur, and What’s The Matter With the Mill, where Neil Harpe joins her for a delightful vocal duet. Harpe also does a duet with her on The Panic Is On, with its still timely and critical observations on things going. Sun’s Gonna Shine One Day, one of Flora Molton’s truth songs is updated from its Vietnam war era origins to a timeless message of things getting better some day with Phil Wiggins adding his sympathetic harmonica accompaniment. Another favorite track is her rendition of Jim Jackson’s Kansas City Blues, one of the true blues hits of the late twenties and early thirties. Eleanor is a marvelous singer and guitarist who delivers the performances in a natural manner that contrsts with the sometimes studied approach of some celebrated acoustic blues performers. This release was many years in the making and well worth the wait, and can be obtained from Patuxent Records at www.pxrec.com.