Alabama Slim The Parlor

Alabama Slim
The Parlor
Music Maker

Born Milton Frazier, Alabama Slim was scheduled to have a breakout performance at the 2020 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. That performance never happened because the Festival was canceled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. He grew up "listening to the old blues since I was a child. I spent summers with my grandparents who had a farm. Them old folks would get to moanin' while they worked, and I just started moanin' with them. That's where I learned to sing. When I got grown I formed a band and we played little juke joints in the '50s and '60s."

He moved to New Orleans in 1965 and started jamming with his cousin Little Freddie King. The two have become tight as brothers and also tight musically. It was while visiting Freddie King that Tim Duffy, of the Music Maker Foundation, discovered Slim. Post-Katrina, the two lived in Dallas initially and in 2007 recorded for Music Maker's album, "The Mighty Flood." Slim is also featured in the CD that is a companion to Duffy's photography book, "Blue Muse." The album title, The Parlor" comes from the recording studio that Slim with King and drummer Ardie Dean spent recording this album. Later, Matt Baker on bass and Jimbo Mathus on piano and organ were added to this recording.

The publicity for this recording observes "Slim and King's guitars interweave between Dean's mastery of the drum kit to create a driving boogie with Slim's soothing vocals sprawled out on top, reminiscent of John Lee Hooker." The album opens with the simple driving low-key boogie flavor of "Hot Foot." Little Freddie King takes the vocal on the driving "Freddie's Voodoo Boogie," a reworking of "Boogie Chillum," with an irresistible groove. "Rob Me Without a Gun" is a strong slow brooding performance with Mathus' light organ adding to the feel of the two guitars, while "Rock With Me Momma" is an easy Hooker shuffle evocative of Hooker's recording "Dimples." There is a bit of political commentary directed at a certain President in "Forty-Jive." "Midnight Rider" has a bit of the moaning blues feel of Junior Kimbrough, while the rendition of "Rock Me Baby" has a North Mississippi juke-joint flavor.

The album closes with the swamp blues styled "Down In the Bottom." After listening to this recording several times, I agree that the music here is reminiscent of John Lee Hooker, although I might describe it as Hooker-lite. This is not a criticism but reflects that Slim ably evokes Hooker's sound; however, he doesn't bring the same amount of authority that Hooker did. Having listened to the recording several times, I doubt that listeners will be disappointed by the music here. It is a highly entertaining recording of modern down-home blues.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the January-February 2021 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 394). I have made a couple minor edits. Since writing this review I noticed that I had reviewed a previous album by Alabama Slim, "Blue and Lonesome," back in  2011 that is not mentioned in my review. This is the link to that review. Here is Alabama Slim performing "Rob Me Without a Gun."