Tomislav Goluban Chicago Rambler

Tomislav Goluban
Chicago Rambler
Spona

I recently reviewed a fascinating recording by the Croatian harmonica player Tomislav Goluban with the keyboards of Toni Starešinić which resulted in some fascinating sonic explorations. The present CD is more in the vein of Chicago styled blues and was produced in a Chicago studio with a band consisting of Eric Noden on guitar; E.G. McDaniel on bass; and Kenny 'Beedy Eyes' Smith on drums with Joe Filisko adding harmonica on two songs. Goluban wrote eleven of the twelve songs. The other song is a traditional Croatian song.

Goluban’s nickname is ‘Little Pigeon’ and the album kicks off with a hard-rocking instrumental that displays his by full-bodied harmonica style, “Pigeon Swing.” It is followed by “Locked Heart,” a charming performance in the manner of Slim Harpo with a low-key vocal and harp and suggests Slim Harpo’s “Raining in My Heart.” Goluban may not be the most expressive singer, but his soft-spoken vocals do display a genuineness. This makes his original “Jerry Ricks on My Mind,” a moving remembrance set to a rhumba groove as he sings “Hey Mister Jerry would you play a song for me …,” with Noden playing atmospheric slide guitar. This is also performed acoustically with the guitarist evoking Ricks finger-style approach.

Besides his appealing singing, the backing adds to the charm of these performances whether the driving shuffle of “Bag Full of Troubles,” with some spectacular harmonica from Filisko or the moody slow blues “Can’t Find Myself,” with a marvelous harp solo that adds to the song’s feel. Then there is “One Way Ticket” which opens as an unaccompanied harmonica train solo before morphing into small group train blues. “Do the Right Thing,” is an original using the Bo Diddley beat, followed by the autobiographical “Little Pigeon” with Filisko on harp set against a classic Muddy Waters styled backing.

An easy rocking rendition of a traditional Croatian song “Išem budem v kleticu (I’ll Go to My Cottage),” closes a surprisingly engaging recording that delights with each listening.

I received a review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the March-April 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 383). Here is a video of "Locked Heart."

Billy Flynn Takes the Lonesome Highway

Billy Flynn
Lonesome Highway
Delmark Records

As Tom Hyslop observes, for all the recordings Billy Flynn has played on for Delmark over several decades “it is hard to believe” that this release is first his for the label as a leader which places him in the spotlight, not simply as the fluid, straight no chaser, blues guitarist (and harmonica player and percussionist), but as a songwriter and an able vocalist. With a core backing band of Roosevelt Purifoy on keyboards, E.G. McDaniel on bass and Andrew ‘Blaze ’ Thomas on drums, Flynn contributes sixteen idiomatic originals along with a cover of “The In Crowd.” Several tracks employ horns and Deitra Farr duets with him on two selections.

Flynn has provided a nice variety of songs which provides him a chance to display his versatility as a guitarist with a dash of harmonica as well. There is a rock and roll flavor to his guitar (evocative of Chuck Berry who just passed away as I write this) on the opening “Good Navigator,” which is a delightful duet with Farr. “Small Town” is a nice, low-key performance with a sober vocal and guitar suggestive of Earl Hooker with a dash of harmonica for good measure. The title track is a strong Otis Rush styled West Side Chicago blues with a strong vocal and some superb Rush-like guitar soloing, while the instrumental take of The ‘In’ Crowd" is a driving instrumental (shades of Jimmy Dawkins) with some strong organ under Flynn’s funky mix of chords and single note runs. Another solid West Side Styled blues is ”The Lucky Kind."

“Hold On,” with more harmonica, is another duet with Farr set to a Jimmy Reed groove with crisply played guitar (echoes of Eddie Taylor) and harmonica breaks. “Jackson Street” sounds inspired by Robert Nighthawk’s “Jackson Town Gal” and Flynn adds some solid Nighthawk influenced slide guitar, while the rollicking “Long Long Time” is akin to J. B. Lenoir’s “How Much More.” The funky “I Feel ‘Um“ opens with Christopher Neal’s booting tenor sax with some jazz-inflected playing akin to Fenton Robinson. The instrumental ”Blues Express“ finds Flynn’s string-bending suggesting Freddie King, while his guitar playing and deliberate vocal on ”Sufferin’ With the Blues” is modeled after Albert King, and his playing emulates B.B. King on the closing “Christmas Blues.”

In addition to his chameleon like ability to suggest a number of legendary blues guitarists, Flynn’s idiomatic originals,  choice harmonica playing and  natural, heartfelt singing, make this a gem of a recording. It does not hurt to have such crisp backing throughout on this gem of a new blues album.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is Billy Flynn in performance.

Mud Morganfield Is The Son of the Seventh Son

The eldest son of the legendary Muddy Waters, Mud Morganfield was originally given a drum set by his father when he was 7, and began singing in the early 1980s, but it was not until 2005 when Mary lane coaxed him on stage that he started treated music as his profession in a serious fashion. Appearing at the 2007 Chicago Blues Festival led to interest in him similar top that of his younger brother Big Bill Morganfield. He has had some earlier recordings, but now he has a new recording, Son of the Seventh Son, produced by Bob Corritore on Severn Records that should help take his recognition and career to the next level.

Backing Morganfield’s vocals are guitarists Rick Kreher and Billy Flynn, pianist Barrelhouse Chuck (Goering); bassist E.G. McDaniel with Kenny ‘Beedy Eyes’ Smith on drums. Producer Corritore and Harmonica Hinds share the harmonica duties for these February 2011 recordings. With the exception of a couple covers of Muddy Waters recordings and originals by Studebaker John Grimaldi and Billy Flynn, Mud Morganfield contributed originals and the performances are pretty much in his father’s style.

From the opening notes of the reworking of J.T. Brown’s Short Dress Woman, to his own Blues In My Shoes, celebrating his father’s legacy, Mud Morganfield evokes his legendary father. The performances are solid blues in the style of his father and the backing band does a solid job or evoking the Muddy Waters Band sound of the mid-sixties through the end of Waters’ celebrated career. This is a solid band that sounds so at home playing in the style of Waters.

Mud may not quite match his father’s style, but he comes close. The level of the performances are solid throughout although several stand out including the opening reworking of his father’s recording of Short Dress Woman, Studebaker John’s Son of the Seventh Son, the amusing Catfishing, (where he goes all the way to the bottom because that’s where all the fat cats go) on which Barrelhouse Chuck is on organ and Harmonica Hinds is on harp, and Health on which Corritore shines in his harp accompaniment as Mud strongly sings about having money and fame don’t mean anything if one does not have good health. The playing is strong throughout and certainly captures the flavor of Muddy Waters recordings from the seventies. I am not sure who takes the guitar solo on Loco Motor, but the guitarist does a good job of evoking Jimmy ‘Fast Finger’ Dawkins in his guitar solo.

As suggested, Mud does a strong job of conjuring up his late father’s blues and the backing band certainly contributes to the overall feel of this band. Certainly if there can be “Blues Brothers” tribute bands, the eldest son of one of the greatest blues artists can do his part in keeping his father’s sound alive, especially when he contributes a number of strong originals that he ably performs. While he may not be an original performer, Mud Morganfield certainly is keeping his legendary father’s sound alive, supported by an excellent band. The result is a release sure to interest fans of his father’s classic Chicago blues.

I received my review copy from Severn Records. Here Mud plays his father's Mannish Boy.