Willie Kent Long Way to Ol' Miss

Willie Kent
Long Way to Ol' Miss
Delmark Records

Willie Kent is a Mississippi native who has mixed in traditional and modern blues elements. His new Delmark album, "Long Way to Ol' Miss," eschews novelty for straight-forward blues. Kent's gruff vocals and firm bass anchor the performances which mix shuffles and midnight grinders with nice playing as keyboardist, Kenny Barker, and guitarists Chico Banks and Willie Davis tossing in apt fills and solos.

The back cover highlights Banks, so he may be the featured player here. Kenny Savdak spells Barker on four tracks including "Dirty Works", an effective reworking of Little Joe Blue's back door blues classic and Mississippi Heat guitarist James Wheeler adds guitar to a couple of his originals, the high-stepping shuffle, 'It Ain't Right" (where he also sings), and "Extension 309". 

There are also covers of the a classic Charles Brown recording "Black Night," and Amos Garrett's" Ain't No Love in My Heart," along with eight Kent originals. "My Friend," is a nicely rendered shuffle suggestive of a top-flight B.B. King number from the late fifties. There are some flaws like Kent's "Ain't Got Long to Stay," with its messy accompaniment, but that is the exception here.

Certainly those who have enjoyed Willie Kent's past albums or live performances will find plenty to like here. Others will discover a bluesman worth hearing.

I believe this review appeared in a 1996 DC Blues Calendar, the newsletter of the DC Blues Society. I received my review copy from Delmark Records. Here is a video of Willie Kent performing.

Eddie Burns - Snake Eyes

Eddie Burns - Snake Eyes - Delmark

Delmark has also issued Snake Eyes, the latest album by another under-recorded blues veteran, Eddie Burns. Burns is a veteran of the Detroit blues scene, including playing with John Lee Hooker on a number of Hooker's finest band recordings. He shares some influences with Hooker including Tommy McLennan but in addition to being a fine rhythmic guitarist, he is a capable harmonica player indebted to John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson.

Delmark, who has issued a couple of albums by his younger brother Jimmy, has just issued Eddie's Snake Eyes. On it, Burns is joined by brother Jimmy on guitar along with pianist Roosevelt Purifoy, bassist Nick Charles (brother of Magic Slim), and drummer Larry Taylor (one of the legendary Eddie Taylor's sons), in an album of postwar ensemble blues. 

Playing both acoustic as well as electric guitar and harmonica, Burns' simple, effective playing and his straightforward plaintive singing result in some delightful traditionally oriented blues. There are echoes of classic Muddy Waters' stop-time grooves on Night Shift, while the rollicking Papa Likes to Boogie evidences the influence of Williamson. A spirited remake of the Drifters' Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash is joined by a tasteful cover of Memphis Slim's Lend Me Your Love, while Going to New Orleans, is similar to recordings by Otis Spann and Lonnie Johnson. The two Burns play acoustic guitars on the shuffle Treat Me Like I Treat You. 

The backing band is wonderful and with Burns' honest and heartfelt performances, Snake Eyes is a gem.

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 is "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash" from this recording.

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.

The Fat Babies Uptown

The Fat Babies
Uptown
Delmark

The Fat Babies are an eight-piece jazz band interpreting classic styles of the 1920s and 30s. Founded in 2010 by string bass player Beau Sample, its members include Andy Schumm (cornet), John Otto (reeds), Jonathan Doyle (reeds), Dave Bock (trombone), John Donatowicz (banjo and guitar), Paul Asaro (piano), and Alex Hall (drums).

This is their fourth album for Delmark. Like their previous ones, this recording is a gem of traditional jazz, whether reworking King Oliver, some early Kansas City Jazz, James P. Johnson, and others or playing some original compositions that sound like they were from the 1920s and 1930s. A prominent example is "Uptown," composed by Andy Schumm. It evokes Bennie Moten, and the lesser-known George E. Lee Orchestra, with its steady gait and an opening solo from Bock on trombone working into trading licks between Bock and the other horns. Schumm wrote most of the arrangements. Doyle did arrange Bennie Moten's "Harmony Blues," with the vibrato-laden horn lines, hot cornet from Schumm, growling trombone, and a stately piano solo while Donatowicz provides a crisp rhythm on banjo. It is followed by Schumm's transcription and arrangement of Jesse Stone's "Ruff Scufflin'," with The Fat Babies transversing the intricacies of the melodic elements of this tune. The original George E. Lee Orchestra recording was one of the classics of Kansas City Jazz.

Asaro sings in the fashion of a crooner of a twenties sweet band on "Out of a Clear Blue Sky," with handsome backing and a clarinet trio chorus. After an evocative Doyle original, "Sweet Is the Night," there is the jumping James P. Johnson, "Thumpin' "N" Bumpin'." On the latter number, Bock and Schumm add a bit of heat with their short breaks. "The Spell of the Blues" is more of a torch song than an actual blues song that features crisp alto sax and cornet breaks. The spirited cover of Clarence Williams'"Harlem Rhythm Dance" features Schumm's fiery plunger mute cornet, Asaro's vocal, and Doyle's tenor sax.

There are few bands (Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks in New York is another) that play the music of the twenties and thirties as well as do The Fat Babies. "Uptown" is superbly played and an absolute delight for fans of early jazz.

I received my review copy from Delmark Records. Here are The Fat Babies in performance performing "It's Tight Like That," which is not on this recording.

 

Jason Stein Quartet Lucille!

Jason Stein Quartet
Lucille!
Delmark Records

Very welcome is this new release from Stein, one of the few bass clarinet specialists. As on Stein's Delmark debut "This Story, this Time," Keefe Jackson is present with his tenor sax (and contrabass clarinet for a couple numbers) and Joshua Abrams is on bass. Drummer Tom Rainey replaces Frank Rosaly who was on the earlier release as the quintet negotiate here several originals along with some songs representing the Tristano school as well as bop standards from Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk.

About the earlier album I wrote, "Some might describe this as free jazz, but that may refer to the looser musical structures they build their improvisations and with few exceptions do not relate to frenzied or frenetic playing … ." Certainly the interplay between Jackson's tenor sax and Stein on Warne Marsh's "Marshmallow' establishes the 'in the moment' quality of the performances here with Abrams and Rainey providing an almost atemporal underpinning between their well crafted intricate interplay. Stein's own "Halls and Room" has Stein stretching out as his serpentine lines illustrate his focus on the normal range of the instrument (say compared to Dolphy's bluesy employment of the upper range) and followed by a sober tenor sax from Jackson, set against Abrams' bass before Rainey joins in to support the smoldering heat in Jackson's solo.

Jackson's contrabass clarinet sets out the theme on Parker's "Dexterity," a nicely loose rendition of this modern music classic (to use the phrase Symphony Sid employed in radio broadcasts of Bird). Equally engrossing is the performance of Monk's "Little Rootie Tootie," again with Jackson on contrabass clarinet), with some honking, squawks and other effects again with the two clarinets weaving in and around each other. The interplay between tenor sax and bass clarinet also is present in their vibrant handling of Tristano's "Wow."

Stein's own "I Knew You Were" has a floating drone-like quality as a duet by him with Abrams as Rainey adds some understated accompaniment and on Tristano's "April," Stein states the theme as well as ably negotiates the twists and turns of the melody before Jackson's tenor joins in adding his weight and counterpoint to Stein's lead. It is a strong close to a terrific new recording from Jason Stein.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is "Marshmallow" from this album.

Andy Brown Makes a Direct Call

Chicago guitarist Andy Brown's third Delmark album "Direct Call," is his first with his own quartet of pianist Jeremy Kahn, bassist Joe Policastro and drummer Phil Gratteau that regularly play's at Andy's Jazz Club in downtown Chicago City (a fine room that I have been to in Windy City visits). After prior albums which included one shared with fellow guitarist Howard Arden and the other a solo effort, this one is a delightful set of swinging straight-ahead recording.

The recording's flavor is set with the bright opener, a piece of Ellingtonia with "The Jeep Is Jumpin'," with sparkling, lively guitar and a nice drum break. Contrast with this driving performance is provided by the lovely rendition of "Prisoner of Love," with some sublime fretwork as he squeezes every bit of feeling out of each note complemented by Kahn's short solo and fruity Arco bass from Policastro. Johnny Mandel's "El Cajon" features more scintillating Brown as well as Gratteau's nice brush work and followed by a solid performance of Hank Mobley's hard bop "Funk In Deep Freeze," with strong solos from Kahn and Policastro. The CD title comes from Django Reinhardt's "Appel Direct," with its evocation of busy city life and blistering guitar runs with more of Gratteau's deft brush work. In contrast, "Relaxing" comes from a classic Hank Garland album and showcases Policastro in addition to the leader's lovey lyricism here which is also heard on Jobim's "Ela É Carioca." There are lively renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's waltz, "One Day In May," and Joe Pass' "Catch Me." On both Brown displays his warm tone, with clean and deft playing and ability to take unexpected twists and turns.

A bouncy rendition of pianist John Coates Jr.'s blues, "Freak of the Week," closes this, straight-ahead album of swinging guitar music. Brown and his quartet play with taste and panache making "Direct Call" such a delight.

I received a review copy from Delmark Records. This review originally appeared in the July-August 2016 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 367). Here is a video of Andy Brown playing solo jazz guitar.

 

Mississippi Heat - Hattiesburg Blues

Delmark has just released the latest recording, “Hattiesburg Blues,” by Mississippi Heat. This is the 8th album by the group led by Pierre Lacocque, a fine songwriter and increasingly impressive harmonica player. The group is fronted by Inetta Visor, whose unforced soulful singing is becoming more accomplished. Guitarist Giles Corey, keyboard whiz Chris Cameron, bassist Spurling Banks and drummer Kenny Smith are the band’s core, with Stephen Howard and Dujuan Austin filling in for Banks and Smith for certain tracks. One cannot stress just how good the rhythm section is and certainly come off as good as any rhythm section in the blues today. Lurrie Bell and Carl Weathersby both make guest appearances with the Chicago Horns led by Kenny Anderson also appearing on several tracks.

The strength of the Mississippi Heat has always been fine original material, strong ensemble playing and strong solo playing. The opening track, ‘Tiger Man,’ is not the same song as Rufus Thomas’ Sun recording, but rather Inetta Visor’s joyful celebration of her man’s love-making prowess and Lacocque’s marvelous harp featured throughout. It is followed by Lurrie Bell’s declaration of ‘Chicago Is My Home,’ delivered marvelously with typically fine guitar while his other vocal on the rocking Gone So Long,’ sports a marvelous solo from Lacocque along with his marvelous rocking accompaniment of Bell’s vocal. Cameron adds some rollicking piano to this.

One of the few covers here is of Denise LaSalle’s ‘Soft-Hearted Woman’, with fine guitar from Weathersby with Visor showing her interpretative skills. The Chicago Horns along with percussionist Ruben Alvarez add a Afro-Cuban feel to ‘How Much Worse Can It Be?,’ and the title track with its musical allusion to ‘Hernando’s Hideaway.’ Its really nice to hear how Lacocque blends in his harp seamlessly with the band and horn riffs. Weathersby is typically impressive on the slow blues “Light From Within,’ along with ‘Hell and Back,’ on which he handles the vocal 'Calypso in Blue,’ is a lovely instrumental with Giles Corey ably handling the guitar solo here with impressive chromatic harp from the leader.

What else can one say. Mississippi Heat is rooted in the entire scope of the post-World War II Chicago blues tradition and the terrific “Hattiesburg Blues”is another addition to their marvelous body of recordings.

I received a review copy from Delmark Records and this review appeared in the June 2008 issue of Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 305) and downloadable at jazz-blues.com. Here Mississippi heat perform "Hattiesburg Blues."

Buddy Tate Is A Texas Tenor

Buddy Tate was both a band mate of, and successor to, fellow Texas tenor saxophonist Herschel Evans. Both had played together in Troy Floyd’s Band and when Evans passed away at a young age, Tate was called to replace him in the Count Basie Band. Like Evans, Tate had a big sound drenched in the blues and like Evans, his playing contrasted with Lester Young. His playing was typical of what has become known as the Texas Tenor sound which includes such other masters as Illinois Jacquet and Arnett Cobb. After leaving Basie in 1949, Tate had a lengthy career leading his own Celebrity Club band in Harlem as well as extensively touring Europe. By the time the Sackville album, that Delmark recently reissued “Texas Tenor,” was recorded in 1978, many artists would travel as single artists and hook up with local rhythm sections. In the present case, Tate was hooked up with the terrific rhythm section of pianist Wray Downes, bassist Dave Young and drummer Pete Magadini for a session of ballads and standards.

This is a wonderful date full of swing and some marvelous ballad playing. The opening tunes “June Night” and “Someday Sweetheart” are swinging renditions of numbers that were popular in Tate’s youth. The latter number was recorded by Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver, although Tate’s version is more modern rhythmically than the versions by those pioneering jazz artists. “If You Could See Me Know” is a wonderful rendition of Tadd Dameron’s ballad displaying the warmth and tenderness generally characteristic of Tate with the rhythm section providing a light touch. The rhythm is hotter on the fine rendition of “I’ll Remember April,” with Downes adding some nice latin accents.

Tate is heard on clarinet on a bluesy take on “Georgia on My Mind,” followed by some somewhat breathy tenor on “Alone Together.” His swinging, nuanced tenor throughly delights on “Bye Bye Blackbird,” where his swinging, nuanced playing thoroughly delights. This Delmark reissue of the Sackville release includes two previously unissued selections, a lovely rendition of the Ellington-Strayhorn collaboration “Isfahan” (Tate evokes later day Ben Webster here), and “Lullaby of the Leaves” which provides another example of his clarinet playing with a woody, bluesy flavor.

Supported by a rhythm section, Tate is terrific throughout the marvelous “Texas Tenor.”

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is Tate doing the classic ballad "Blue and Sentimental."

Toronzo Cannon's John the Conquer Root

On his Facebook page Toronzo Cannon describes himself as the “Keeper of the Flame at Electric Ladyland” and that he “Studied Jim Hendrix studies at Electric Ladyland.” His admiration of the genre transcending genius can also be found in interviews with him including the liner notes to his new Delmark album, John the Conquer Root. Hendrix’s influence is more to be felt than heard in Cannon’s music, especially to the title track which opens this recording and the short revisiting of the theme to close it. But unlike the countless Hendrix wannabes, Cannon doesn’t emulate Hendrix’s guitar style in his own ferocious playing. It is more the attitude he projects and the hard rock feel of this number.

However, Hendrix is only one of the influences or inspirations that can be heard here as the next track, I’ve Been Doing Fine, a hard Chicago shuffle with searing guitar as he shouts to his woman to reconsider baby. Its a type of performance that Son Seals used to deliver and Cannon sings and plays with a similar authority, although Cannon has more of a soul-laced vocal attack. This soulfulness also is heard on the next track, Cold World, a funky soul-blues with a bit of Tyrone Davis and Otis Clay. It sports a terrific tenor sax solo from Dudley Owens. 

In Gentle Reminder, Cannon reminds us he is a bluesman through and through, but don’t expect him to play the blues as the blues has to move on, this ain’t 1952 as he sings and plays fervently. If Your Woman Enough To Leave Me has a funky groove that also suggests some of the late Son Seals recordings. It is followed by Shame, with a nice Latin groove and a terrific lyric about ministers stealing from the poor, an employer who hires a nephew over more qualified, and dirty politicians who get caught in their lies. There are solos from Omar Coleman on harmonica, Roosevelt Purifoy on piano and Cannon himself that standout on this as well.

Cannon does a wonderful folk duet with Joanna Connor on Let It Shine Always, that further illustrates the range of the material on John the Conquer Root. Few other blues performers today can handle such a variety of material and play it so authoritatively. Of course one needs to acknowledge his band that includes the afore-mentioned Purifoy, rhythm guitarist Larry Gladney, Larry Williams on bass and Brian ‘BJ’ Jones on drums with appearances from Omar Coleman, Joanna Connor and a horn section led by Kenny Anderson. 

A few selections find Cannon rocking out perhaps a bit too much for ‘my taste,’ including the title track and Sweet, Sweet, Sweet, a slide-guitar feature that is played at a frenzied warp-speed tempo. That does not change my appreciation of Toronzo Cannon and John The Conquer Root. Toronzo Cannon still drives a bus in Chicago and gets to observe many things. From this and his own life experiences, he writes wonderful, thoughtful songs; and plays and sings from the heart which result in performances are full of personality. A listener cannot expect more from a musician than one hears on this striking recording.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is a clip of Toronzo Cannon in performance at the famous Chicago club, Rosa's.

Zoot Sims' Compatability

Delmark recently acquired the Jump Records label and the first result of this acquisition is a Jump CD release under the name of Zoot Sims, Compatability. This is a reissue of what was a four-song, 10 inch LP from 1955 that was originally issued under the name of trumpeter Hall Daniels who composed two of the songs and arranged two standards. In 1977, Zim Records issued a ten track LP that added six alternate takes under the rubric of the Zoot Sims/ Dick Nash Octet. The present Jump Records reissue adds an additional two alternate takes and a brief bit of studio chatter. 

In addition to leader Daniels, he participants on these recordings included tenor saxophonist Sims, trombonist Dick Nash, baritone saxophonist Bob Gordon (who died in an automobile crash shortly after the 1955 recording sessions), guitarist Tony Rizzo, pianist Paul Atkerson, bassist Rolly Bundock and drummer Jack Sperling. The liner booklet reproduces producer Clive Acker’s 1977 liner notes with brief biographical information.

Daniels certainly provided attractive, clean arrangements for these swinging, ‘cool’ sounding octet recordings. At the time of the 1977 reissue, Sims had become a fairly prominent tenor saxophonist so its not surprising he shared billing with Nash then. His opening solo on the “The Way You Look Tonight displays the fluidity of his own distillation of Lester Young’s sound. Daniels' arrangements provides nice setting for Sims lead work. Trombonist Nash is well featured on Nash-Ville, which also has notable solos by Rizzo and Gordon. The ballad, You Don’t Know What Love Is features some exquisite playing from Nash along with Sims, while Gordon’s baritone plays a prominent backing role. The title track is a lively bop-flavored number with pianist Atkerson taking a nice solo before Daniels employs a mute and then Gordon digs in with authority. 

There is certainly much to enjoy of these performances and the alternate takes provide interesting contrasts to the originally issued tracks. Gordon, for example, is more prominent on the first alternate of The Way You Look Tonight. Compatability is an engaging recording whose the performances hold up over fifty years after being waxed. A final note – the album title Compatability may seem to be incorrectly spelled, but that is how it is spelled on the CD cover.

My review copy was provided by Delmark.

Josh Berman & His Gang - There Now

The back cover of a new Delmark release by cornetist Josh Berman & His Gang, There Now, describes it as "a collection of jazz hybrids: both new compositions and arrangements of early jazz standards. The Gang is concerned equally with the great musical legacies of Louis Armstrong, Pee Wee Russell, Derek Bailey and the Art Ensemble of Chicago." To this Bailey has brought together some of Chicago's accomplished players including Jeb Bishop on trombone; Jason Stein on bass clarinet; Guillermo Gregorio on clarinet; Keefe Jackson on tenor saxophone; Jason Adasiewicz on vibraphone; Joshua Adams on bass and Frank Rosaly on drums.

Of the eight performances on There Now, five are Berman’s arrangements of songs associated with the Chicago Jazz of the 20s and 30s including Liza, Sugar and I Found a New Baby, while three are originals by him. WIth this unusual instrumentation and the imaginative arrangements, some may not recognize these songs. An example would be Stein’s free bass clarinet playing with his growls and sheiks that open Love Is Just Around the Corner, before the leader takes the lead with his cornet followed by Bishop’s growling trombone with imaginative horn voicings supporting the solos and a pulse replacing a steady beat.

An oversimplification of what Berman and his Gang has brought here is that some of these performances come off as if the Eric Dolphy of “Out To Lunch” had approached such material. Perhaps it is the presence of Adasiewicz on vibes (Like Bobby Hutchinson on the Dolphy album) that generates this thought, particularly on the leader’s original One Train May Hide Another. Throughout this recording there is a blend of imagination, abstraction, and free, as well as melodic, playing that this ensemble handles in a cohesive and imaginative fashion.

The interplay between the horns through ranges from contemplative to fiery as in where Berman’s cornet adds fore to Bishop’s growling attack on the original Clouds. Free playing follows surging traditionally ensemble passages on Liza, with Stein’s post-Dolphy bass clarinet here spanning a warm woody tone to bluesy leaps and squeals. I’ve Found a New Baby is usually taken at a hot tempo, but after bassist Abrams opens, the theme is stated at a very slow tempo as if they are performing a dirge prior to the middle section which evokes the little instruments and similar soundscapes provided by the Art Ensemble of Chicago and other AACM artists.

Kevin Whitehead’s liner notes provide background and insights to aid those listening to There Now! While this CD may not appeal to those rooted in traditional jazz, those familiar with contemporary post-bop jazz will find There Now! to be a most imaginative and fascinating album that is full of surprises and passion in the performances.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is a brief clip of Josh Berman and His Gang in performance.

Big Time Sarah Lays It On 'Em Girls

Big Time Sarah is another blues woman from Chicago who has never received the acclaim her talents merit. The following review appeared in the September 1993 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 184) to which I made minor stylistic changes. Lay It On ‘Em Girls is the first of three albums she recorded for Delmark. I will be posting in a week or so a 1996 review of another Delmark CD by her. This CD is still available. A woman blues singer with a strong release is Big Time Sarah with her brand new release on Delmark, Lay It On ‘Em Girls. One-time a protege of Sunnyland Slim, she is one of a number of tough women Chicago blues singers (others include Bonnie Lee and Zora Young) . I’ve been told that live, Big Time Sarah is an especially bawdy performer. She previously recorded in France on an album shared with Zora Young and Bonnie Lee, and later had an album out on the Blues R&B label. Delmark has issued the nicely produced album with a good mix of material which includes several Willie Dixon numbers (I Make Love, Hootchie Kootchie Woman, Lay It On ‘Em Girls, and Every Man I See), and unusual material such as Summertime, and Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine. She possesses a husky voice, and sings in a somewhat dry fashion, although she growls on occasion like on Evil Gal Blues. Her performances of the Dixon songs are first rate, perhaps being the high points of the set with the opening I Make Love and the title cut being especially sassy performances. Other performances are entertaining although her Evil Gal Blues and Summertime, while refreshing choices, are less successful. Her band, The BTS Express, is excellent and adds a jazz and funk sensibility to its blues playing. Guitarist Rico McFarland impresses with his fleet, jazzy attack and imaginative soloing while Rodney Brown’s tenor sax work is especially tasty. Certainly another blues woman to be reckoned with.

Mississippi Heat Lives It Up

It has been nearly twenty years since Pierre Lacocque formed the Chicago blues band and revue in one, Mississippi Heat, who have just issued their latest album on Delmark, Let’s Live It Up! Over the years, Lacocque has assembled various line-ups and for this disc vocalist Inetta Visor returns while Christopher ‘Hambone’ Cameron handles the keyboards and Stephen Howard the bass with Kenny Smith handling the drums for some of the 14 performances. Special guests include guitarists Carl Weathersby and John Primer, with the latter handling several vocals, and the Chicago Horns.

Lacocque contributed most of the songs here (originals with one exception) including the wild-ass p[arty rocker that opens this. He covers so many bases as a writer, able to handle songs in a traditional Chicago style such as Steadfast, Loyal and True, with some prime singing and playing from Primer. Jumpin’ in Chi-Town, is a supersonic tempo rocker with nice chromatic harp and brassy horns punctuating Inetta’s sassy vocal, while Inetta soulfully delivers She Died of a Broken Heart, an original she and Cameron collaborated on.

Primer is up front on “Betty Sue,” a hard rocker in the vein of Linda Lu, with some driving chicken-picking guitar in addition to Primer’s vocal. Another Sleepless Night, is a soul-blues with a strong lyric and an insistent vocal from Inetta backed by a driving backing with nice imaginative harp and a strong chromatic solo. Peace Train, is a gospel number with rollicking piano in the backing, while Weathersby biting guitar is prominent on Been Good To You, with choice solos also by Cameron and the leader.

The one cover here is the lively rendering of Sugar Pie DeSanto I Want To Know. Another highlight is Daggers & Spears, which introduces another singer, Rhonda Preston, who belts out the vocal. He delivery is more in the vein of a shouter in contrast to Inetta Visor’s more dry, sober approach with Giles Covey taking a solid solo. Primer’s own I Got the News Today, is another terrific performance in the traditional Chicago blues style, before the closing Until We Meet Again, a peppy closing number that is unusual to hear on a recording with Giles Covey a spirited solo before Lacocque closes it out on chromatic.

Mississippi Heat maintains their winning formula on Let’s Live It Up! with good original material, strong and authoritative singing, an excellent band that is comfortable in several different blues styles and excellent soloists. The result is another collection of blues that should appeal to those loving Chicago blues.

This review originally appeared in the July 2010 Jazz & Blues Report. I received my review copy from Delmark.

Jimmy Blythe Messed Around The Blues

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Jimmy Blythe arrived in Chicago as a teenager in 1916. As Bob Koester notes, not much is known about Blythe outside of his recordings and piano rolls. He recorded extensive in small groups featuring such noted instrumentalists as Johnny Dodds, Louis Armstrong,Roy Palmer and Natty Dominque as well as singers like Blind Blake, Lottie Beaman, Lonnie Johnson, Monette Moore and Ma Rainey. Recordings such as these as well as with Jimmy Bertrand’s Washboard Wizards and Blythe’s Washboard Ragamuffins give a sense of the type of ragtime-early boogie woogie flavor that marked his music.

Delmark’s reissue of Blythe, Messin’ Around Blues, is derived from 19 of the piano rolls that Blythe recorded which outnumber the actual piano solos he recorded. Modern technology probably makes the reproduction of piano rolls on CD much better than reissues of 1920s’ recordings mastered from old 78s. At the same time, the technique of cutting a piano rolls may limit the grittier aspects of Blythe’s playing. Certainly Blythe was comfortable on the blues he performs here like Sugar Dew Blues, as well as rendering the pop songs of the day as My Baby. His recording, Chicago Stomp, was perhaps the first boogie woogie recording. It shows how vigorous his playing could be and can be heard at http://www.redhotjazz.com/blythe.html.

The music presented on Messin’ Around Blues has a stately quality with ragtime and stride flavor, but little in terms of the ragged, boogie style that can be heard on the recordings of contemporaries like Clarence ‘Pinetop’ Smith, Cow Cow Davenport or Meade Lux Lewis as well as Blythe’s own recordings. Delmark is to be congratulated for issuing this, however I suspect this may have a limited audience.

This review originally appeared in the March 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 302). I received my review copy from Delmark.

Frank Melrose's Two-Fisted Chicago Jazz Piano

Frank Melrose was a younger brother of music publishers Walter and Lester Melrose and as Delmark’s Bob Koester notes in the booklet for the Delmark release of Bluesiana, was virtually the only Caucasian artist to record for ‘race” (blues records) in the late ‘20s and early ‘30s, where he recorded with such bands as King Mutt’s (that also included trumpeter Punch Miller), the Windy Rhythm Kings with Junie and Oliver Cobb, and the Beale Street Washboard Band with Johnny Dodds, along with his own sides with the Kansas City Stompers.

An impressive two-fisted pianist, an early jazz discography listed two piano solos he recorded as if by Jelly Roll Morton, and he continued performing until found brutally murdered in 1941. These recordings were made in 1940 and originally intended for Bob Thiele's Signature label but Thiele was drafted. They were acquired by stockbroker and jazz fan Frank Lyons who supplied Delmark the recordings for issue.

This is a straight-ahead ‘Chicago style’ jazz date with a band that included cornet player Pete Daly, a regular associate of Melrose’s from the early ‘30s and saxophonist Boyce Brown, with vocalist June Davis on three tracks. There are pop tunes of the era like Sugarfoot Strut (that Louis Armstrong recorded) as well as some New Orleans classics (Jelly Roll Morton’s New Orleans Blues) and Melrose’s own originals (the hot Corrine Romp[, Bluesiana, with June Davis who comes off as a decent Billie Holiday imitator, and Rosetta, which itself became a jazz standard) .

There is plenty of hot jazz here and Morton’s influence can be heard in Melrose’s composition Original Stomp, with a nice Daly solo some tailgate trombone from Bill Helgart and a pumping bass, rolling piano break from Melrose, in addition to the spirited rendition of Morton’s New Orleans Blues, with Melrose taking the lead at the beginning. The World is Waiting For the Sunrise is a showcase for his rollicking piano backed by just the rhythm, while his introspective version of Body and Soul is one of two piano solos here.

Bluesiana is a delightful example of mainstream small group jazz of the pre-bebop era that certainly will be of interest to those who appreciate earlier styles of jazz.

My review copy was provided by Delmark Records. This review originally appeared in the November-December 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 288).

The Bass Clarinet of Jason Stein Tells The Story This Time

After starting on rock and blues guitar, Jason Stein has focused his musical career on the bass clarinet. In this respect he differs from a variety of multi-instrumentalists such as Bernie Maupin, Eric Dolphy, James Carter and David Murray who have made major statements on the instrument, but not play it exclusively. His Chicago quartet is heard on his Delmark release, The Story This Time, and includes Keefe Jackson who plays mainly tenor saxophone but also doubles on contrabass clarinet here, bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Frank Rosaly. Jackson’s use of the contrabass clarinet also serves to provide a deep bottom on the selections he employs it on.

The eleven performances here include five originals along with three compositions from the Lennie Tristano school and three from Thelonious Monk. The choice of compositions from Tristano along with Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz are reflected in his interaction with Jackson throughout. Their playing is akin to the interplay of Konitz and Marsh on Tristano’s classic oeuvre and provides a feeling of the suspension of time, although the two generally eschew the tonal purity of the Konitz-Marsh front lines.

Marsh’s Background Music opens this with some heat and bebop flavor as Stein quickly displays a strong attack followed by Jackson’s hot tenor as the two weave in and out of each other’s lines while the rhythm keeps the tempo heated. It is followed by Stein’s, Laced Case, which suggests free jazz in the vein of Ornette Coleman. The two play in a bluesy vein as the rhythm embellish Stein’s growls and then provide provide a base for the swinging groove of by the leader and Jackson. There is a lively opening to Stein’s Little Big Horse, which makes use of the contrast in pitches and tonalities between tenor sax and bass clarinet. The three interpretations of Monk’s music also provides an interesting rhythmic approach. Unlike Steve Lacy’s explorations of Monk’s music which were quite close to Monk’s conceptions of his songs, Stein and his band provide a rhythmic feel that I suggest is akin to the Tristano school with its rhythmic static-ness as on Skippy.

This overview of several of the performances hopefully will give a sense of the performances on this. Some might describe this as free jazz, but that may refer to the looser musical structures they build their improvisations and with few exceptions do not relate to frenzied or frenetic playing (although the two reeds sound a bit abrasive at the beginning of Konitz’s Palo Alto), and certainly will not sound too out for those who have listened to a broad spectrum of contemporary jazz. Stein has put together a fine band for the musical explorations heard on this very absorbing recording.

I received a review copy from Delmark Records. Here is Jason Stein rehearsing Monk's "Skippy."

Zora Young's Tore Up

The following review of Zora Young’s Tore Up From the Floor Up was originally published in the February 2006 DC Blues Calendar, which was then the DC Blues Society’s newsletter. It also appeared in the February 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 279). I received my review copy from Delmark Records. This year, I reviewed a tribute to Sunnyland Slim she recorded.

Zora Young has been part of the Chicago club scene for several decades, and first recorded in the early 1980s. She has developed an international reputation through touring and has a small body of recordings including a 2002 Delmark disc, Learned My Lesson. In 2006 Delmark issued her Tore Up From the Floor Up.

On Tore Up From the Floor Up, she is supported by a band that includes guitarist Pete Allen and Bobby Dirninger on keyboards with horns added to two tracks. She is heard on a mix of originals and songs associated with (among others) B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and O.V. Wright. Certainly there is nothing wrong with the material from the opening reworking of Bobby Bland’s Love of Mine to the ballad medley of Since I Fell For You/Silhouettes, and the low-key down-home groove of Muddy’s Two Trains Running. Her own material is pretty good including the title track or her topically laced Til the Fat Lady Sings. There is also a brief interview to close this release.

This is played and sung well enough, but while enjoyable I found little in Young’s vocals or the band that was striking and memorable that would stand out among similar recent blues releases.

Here is Zora singing what she calls a low-down dirty blues.

Tail Dragger Live at Vern's Friendly Lounge

James Y. Jones, the Chicago blues singer took his stage name, Tail Dragger, from a Howlin Wolf song. This was fitting insofar as Wolf was a mentor and heavy influence on him as reflected in his singing, stage act and his music which employs some of the grooves and melodies associated with some of Wolf’s classic recordings, even tossing in a yodel-like Howl on several tracks. A few years back he had a CD and DVD on Delmark is My Head is Bald, Live at Vern’s Friendly Lounge, Chicago. He benefited from a terrific band that has Billy Branch on harmonica, Lurrie Bell on Guitar, Kevin Shanahan on guitar, Bob Stroger on bass, Kenny Smith on drums and Willie Young on tenor sax. Jimmy Dawkins replaces Shanahan on My Head is Bald.

Tail Dragger contributed all the songs except Jimmy Dawkins’ So Ezee. One song, Cold Out Doors, is a DVD bonus track not on the CD. While one would be hard-pressed to call the Tail Dragger a major artist, he entertains with a program that evokes the Wolf. His vocals are slightly slurred and don’t have Wolf’s crispness nor is he as forceful as Wolf was, but still is a very enjoyable singer with the band rocking behind him. Billy Branch is typically outstanding while Lurrie Bell’s stinging lines and riffs evoke Hubert Sumlin’s playing with Wolf. The rhythm duo of Stroger and Smith provide a solid foundation for everybody else. Songs like Tend to Your Business, My Woman is Gone, and the title track, are typically of the solid evocation of Wolf’s music present throughout and its entertaining to watch the DVD to see Tail Dragger singing for the woman, working the crowd and egging his musicians on.

I was also impressed by the camera work and production on the DVD which really gives a sense of that evening at Vern’s Friendly Lounge. This is certainly welcome as an entertaining release that should appeal to fans of classic Chicago blues.

I received my review copies from Delmark and this review originally appeared in slightly different form in the February 2006 DC Blues Calendar which was then the DC Blues Society’s newsletter. It also appeared in the July-August 2006 Jazz and Blues Report (Issue 284). I previously posted a review of his Live at Rooster's Lounge.

If my review interests you, here is Delmark's Trailer promoting this DVD.

Sharon Lewis Is The Real Deal

In David Whiteis’s liner notes to The Real Deal, the new Delmark CD by Sharon Lewis & Texas Fire, there is a perplexing comment about her being annoyed with ‘blues purists.’ I suspect so-called ‘blues purists’ are those most likely to enamored by the powerful performances she performs on this release. She was inspired by seeing Pat Scott and her strong, take no-nonsense approach. Already influenced by the church and Motown and R&B, Scott’s modern soul-blues led her to develop her style and repertoire.

On this, she is supported by a band that includes Roosevelt Purifoy on keyboards; Bruce James on guitar, Melvin Smith on bass and Tony Dale on drums with Billy Branch adding harmonica and Dave Specter guitar on several selections and two tracks have a horn section. She brings originals that strike the listener with the same assertiveness as her vocals opening with the topical What’s Really Going On? and then followed by the title track when she tells like it is that we don’t know what is in her mind so how can anyone say her blues ain’t the real deal. Bruce James takes the nice solo on this as elsewhere, such as on her closing Angel on which Purifoy takes a short solo break as well. On Do Something For Me, Dave Spector takes the guitar solo on a number whose melody will evoke B.B. King’s rendition of The Thrill Is Gone, while her vocal displays her use of dynamics. The late Sam Taylor’s Mother Blues is a “lump-de-lump” styled blues, as fervently delivers Taylor’s lyrics of only the blues can talk to me and tell me how I feel with Purifoy and James outstanding in the backing they provide. I do not mean to slight Smith and Dale who are rock solid throughout this session.

Billy Branch adds his imaginative harmonica to Lewis’ original Blues Train where she invites us to party with her at the party that won’t stop with a melodic and lyrical strain that conjures up “Dancing in the Streets,” as she takes us to Rosa’s and other blues venues, while on Mojo Kings, she has her working in her celebration of her band and how they have that magic king. It is nice to hear new lyrics to Got My Mojo Workin’, a song that has been perhaps covered too bit much, so she makes it sound fresh. Purifoy and James provide a jazzy sophistication behind a low-key vocal on Silver Fox. Indeed, Sharon Lewis may be old school but her love is all we need and she will make it all right. Covers on “The Real Deal” include a soulful rendition of Van Morrison’s Crazy Love, and Wyonna Carr’s fine blues Please Mr. Jailer. Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine benefits from a reggae rhythmic accent while she ably does Don’t Play That Song, but is overshadowed by Aretha’s recording.

Sharon Lewis has been performing world wide and recording over the past two decades including a 2004 album for Sleepy Dog Records and appeared on Dave Spector’s Delmark album Live in Chicago. The Real Deal is a recording that hopefully will lead to her receiving the recognition that her talents merit. This is an impressive talent and recording.

I received my review copy from Delmark Records. Here is a you tube clip of Sharon Lewis performing with organist Jan Korinek and Groove that should give you an idea of how good a singer she is.

Chicago Bluesman Toronzo Cannon Is In A Leaving Mood

A Chicago native, singer-guitarist Toronzo Cannon has been playing professionally since 1997 since playing with vocalist Tommy McCracken at the Taste of Chicago. Since that time he has developed musically and developed a driving, searing style that strike me as suggestive as Son Seals. His influences range from Muddy, Elmore to Tyrone Davis and Johnnie Taylor, with his ears open to Bob Marley, John Mellancamp and Jimi Hendrix.

Delmark has just issued a new CD Leaving Mood that follows up 2007 a self-produced CD. He is backed by rhythm guitarist Lawrence Gladney, keyboardist Roosevelt Purifoy, bassist Larry Williams, and drummer Marty Binder with guest appearances by guitarist Carl Weathersby and harmonica player Matthew Skoller. Its a tight band with a rocking style. Nearly all of the songs are originals from Cannon and/or Gladney and there are a varied bunch.

She Loved Me has echoes of Hound Dog Taylor’s She’s Gone with Gladney’s slashing rhythm guitar figure as Cannon sings about his woman who committed murder in first degree before Cannon takes a searing solo. With Skoller adding harp, Cannon’s shuffle Chico’s Gone (For Chico Banks) is an affectionate tribute to the late Chicago bluesman where he issues his regrets of not saying goodbye to his friend. cannon sings about not being to get over an old lover on Gladney’s soulful Come On, while the two collaborated on the funky I Believe where his woman knows about what is going on while playing games that mess with Toronzo’s head.

Hard Luck is an original slow, topical blues about losing his job and it being hard on man when one tries to get by as the bills pile up and savings won’t go far with Carl Weathersby taking then first scorch the earth solo with the two both taking solos after the final verses. Open Letter (To Whom It May Concern), has his vocal distorted (sounding as if he was singing through a harmonica mike) as he sings about the backbiting, dog-eat-dog stuff that goes only some in the blues scene with Skoller adding nice harp embellishments on this before Cannon’ solo which makes use of the lower strings and guitar effects as Gladney and rhythm lay down in an understated manner an insistent groove. One of the few songs not written by Cannon is his sensual rendition of Nina Simone’s smokey Do I Move You, which provides a nice change in feel.”

Whether talking about the woman who will drink away Toronzo’s gig money on I Can’t Take Her Nowhere, or waiting for his woman who can make him feel so small so that he is in a Leaving Mood, Cannon and Gladney have provided us with some fresh songs and a distinctive approach that has led Alligator’s Bruce Iglauer to provide his endorsement for this “contemporary blues statement” on the back cover noting it has “a slew of striking, original songs with performances full of swaggering power and confidence.” The music at times may be a bit too upfront for my ‘taste,’ but that is a matter of preference. Cannon is a strong singer and the band here is terrific. The result is this album that certainly will make those listening to the blues taking notice.

I received my review copy from Delmark.


On "The Real Blues Forum" on Facebook, Stefan Wirz provided a youtube link. I am providing a different link since this is one the songs in the CD.