Otis Spann Someday

Otis Spann

Someday

Silk City

An album of previously unissued Otis Spann performances, “Someday” (Silk City), is welcome, but alas the cheap packaging does not match the quality of the music. This is a collection of band and solo performances by the piano blues legend. Unfortunately the sparse packaging lacks any discographical information and the biography of Spann appears like it was copied from a second rate on-line website and incompletely discusses his recording career (the notes totally omit his Bluesway and BluesTime albums as well the terrific “Super Black Blues” recording with T-Bone Walker and Big Joe Turner). The cover graphics are simple and hardly stand out.

Compensating for the mediocrity of the packaging is the music which is very good. It opens with Spann leading an unidentified band through “Chicken Shack,” followed by terrific solo renditions of “Country Boy,” and “Worried Life Blues,” mis-titled as “Someday.” I find it hard to believe the producer of this disc did not know the correct song title. Also appealing is the solo rendition of Walter Davis’ classic “Come Back, Baby,” and a nice slow blues “Blind Man.”

In addition to “Chicken Shack,” band selections include the congenially rocking “Meet Me In The Bottom,” a solid rendition of “Worried Life Blues,” and a cover of T-Bone walker’s “Cold, Cold Feeling.” These also have nice harmonica and guitar in addition to Spann’s piano. There is also a rollicking instrumental, “Back Bay Shuffle.” “Spann Blues,” with sparse rhythmic backing is a lively boogie based track, while the closing vocal sounds a bit muffled.

There is some very fine music on “Someday,” and many fans of Otis Spann will likely want the music here, which is represented as previously unissued. There is only about 37 minutes of music on this and as stated, the presentation of the material is pretty shoddy. This is not an essential release, but the music here deserved better packaging than it received.

This was a purchase.This review originally appeared in the September-October 2012 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 344). Here is Otis Spann from 1964.