Mark Hummel has put together blues harmonica tributes for quite sometime and a live concert recording that Blind Pig has just issued Remembering Little Walter, has Hummel and fellow harmonica masters Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, James Harman and Sugar Ray Norcia each handling a couple of vocals as well as share vocals and harmonica on a closing “My Babe. They are backed by an outstanding band of Little Charlie Baty and Nathan James on guitar, RW Grigsby on bass and Junior Core on drums.
You know this band is good when one notices Core’s marvelous support behind Hummel on the opening I Got To Go, as well as the guitars light support behind Musselwhite on Just a Feeling. Then there is the terrific shuffle groove behind Arnold on You’re So Fine, with Baty and James channeling Robert Lockwood Jr and Luther Tucker as Core drives things in the manner of Fred Below. Performances by Harman and Norcia are similarly well played, paced, and enjoyable.
Musselwhite, along with Arnold, were the only of the participants to have actually known Little Walter, but it is impossible to play blues harmonica today without being touched by Walter’s mastery and the other three all have assimilated Walter’s style while creating their own blues visions which are quite evident on the consistently excellent renditions of Little Walter’s classic blues recordings presented on this exceptional blues recording. I received this from Blind Pig. Here is Mark Hummel doing a Little Walter tune.
Nathan James mixes home-made guitars such as his tritar (a three string instrument made out of a washboard and axe handle) and other similar instruments (such as the baritone Washtar, a baritone guitar built over a washboard) with a deep knowledge of early blues styles as well as gospel and 50s to 60s blues and R&B. While he has recorded in a duo format with Ben Hernandez, on his new Delta Groove CD, What You Make Of It, he has his touring band, The Rhythm Scratchers with Troy Sandow on bass and harmonica and Marty Dodson on drums and percussion. James Harman (with whom James toured for three and a half years) plays harmonica on one track while saxophonists Johnny Viau and Archie Thompson are present on two.
It would be easy to look at James and his homemade instruments as a novelty, but he and the Rhythm Scratchers certain get beyond that to present a distinctive style with James’ natural sounding and assured vocals and thoughtful, propulsive playing up front with the rhythm section providing a solid foundation. This is evident on the solid cover of Jimmy McCracklin’s Later On, with the crisp rhythm underlying the vocal. On the next track, the propulsive groove of Get To The Country, on which Sandow wails on harp while James mix hard chords and agile picking, while Dodson adds some rhythmic accents here..
One treat is his reworking of Blind Boy Fuller’s Black Snake Jivin’ with his adept mix of finger picking and rapping the groove on the washboard with kazoo provides a skiffle feel at times. By the way, listening to this number (I am not familiar with Fuller’s original), it was clear that Fuller reworked Eddie Miller’s I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water which has become a blues standard. Miller recorded his song in 1936 and Fuller in 1938. There is a philosophical bent to Make It On Your Own, a soulful ballad nicely sung with more nice harp from Sandow.
James Harman wrote Rhino Horn and he guests on vocal and harmonica is built on a emphatic beat from Dodson while James’ lays down a slide-based backing on the tritar. What’s nice is the space in the performance which is characteristic of the entire recording. James and crew avoid trying the fill every aural space and allows the silences to speak as much as what is played. The rag-tinged Pretty Baby Don’t Be Late, has James on resonator guitar and kazoo with nice finger picking and a solid backbeat from Dodson and followed by Blues Headache, a lazy harmonica feature for Sandow with the bass-toned tritar slide providing a nice contrast. Pain Inside Waltz, found inspiration in cajun fiddle tunes with a poignant vocal. The horns add to the funk groove in James’ interpretation of Bobby Patterson’s “I’m a Slave to You,” on which James has a rollicking solo. The horns are also present for James’ First and the Most, a ballad that has a swamp pop feel to it.
After the insistent Hill Country Blues groove of You Led Me On, this disc concludes with what James calls a Homesick James’ inspired closing instrumental, Tri-Tar Shuffle Twist, with some nice slide that is suggestive of the late Chicago blues legend’s style that provides a fresh take on this style. I was not familiar with Nathan James’ music prior to What You Make Of It, but I was impressed to already acquire one of his prior recordings. There is some seriously good, original blues by Nathan James and The Rhythm Scratchers here.
Delta Groove Records provided me with the review copy. Here is Nathan James Trio at the 2011 Portland Waterfront Blues Festival.
Delta Groove has issued a new release by The Mannish Boys, Double Dynamite, which is two discs of music. One CD evokes the classic Chicago blues sound of Muddy Waters, Little Walter and the like while the other CD is more rhythm and blues rooted with songs from Albert King, Jimmy McCracklin, James Brown and others. Scott Dirks in his notes suggests that The Mannish Boys are a virtual blues festival in a single band.
Sugaray Rayford has joined Finis Tasby to become the band’s prime vocalists and brings a contrasting approach with a bit more urbane, gospel-rooted approach to Tasby’s grainy, laconic style rooted in the blues of the southwest. Back on guitars are Frankie Goldwasser and Kirk Fletcher, and Delta Groove chief Randy Chortkoff on harmonica with Willie J. Campbell on bass and Jimi Bott on drums. then there is a fair amount of guests including appearances by James Harman, Mud Morganfield, Jackie Payne and Mike Finnigan on vocals; Elvin Bishop, Nathan James, Kid Ramos, and Junior Watson on guitar; James Harman, Bob Corritore, Rod Piazza, and Jason Ricci on harmonica; and Ron Rio, Mike Finnigan, Rick Wenzel and Fred Kaplan on keyboards.
The music on the two discs are traditionally rooted in some classic blues themes and grooves but the covers here never are simply copies. For one thing, instrumentation varies from the original recordings and if for example Finis Tasby’s rendition of Mean Old World is derived from Little Walter’s recording, employment of Elvin Bishop’s slide guitar gives it its own flavor. Sugaray shouts out Son House’s Death Letter on the first disc entitled Atomic Blues with Jimi Bott powering the groove as Goldwasser plays some Muddy Waters on steroids styled slide. His vocal delivery is much more relaxed on Bricks on My Pillow with Goldwasser swinging a bit on guitar her while Rob Rio boogies the ivories. Jackie Payne does a nice job singing a Muddy Waters medley of She’s 19 Years Old/ Streamline Woman, with more fine piano, Rod Piazza wailing on harp and Goldwasser sounding strong. Mud Morganfield conjures up his father on Elevate My Mama and Mannish Boy, with the latter modeled closely on Muddy’s version with Johnny Winter. Bob Corritore adds choice harp here. Chortkoff contributes an idiomatic Chicago blues-styled shuffle that Sugaray delivers vocally and Kirk Fletcher rips off a fiery solo. Goldwasser is featured on slide and vocals on Johnny Littlejohn’s Bloody Tears.
The second disc, Rhythm & Blues Explosion continues the fun and solid idiomatic performances. Born Under a Bad Sign sports a strong tasby vocal and searing Elvin Bishop guitar while Sugaray and and Cynthia Marley share the vocals on James Brown’s You’ve Got the Power, which has a crackling solo from Nathan James and solid horns in the backing. Another Albert King cover Drowning on Dry Land finds Fletcher having a bit of King in his tone behind Sugaray’s vocal. King also recorded James Brown’s Cold Sweat for Stax, and it is some of the inspiration for this Kirk Fletcher feature with Mike Finnigan on organ and Goldwasser adding some churning rhythm guitar while Bott gets the funky groove down. Finnigan on piano and vocals does a fine job on Ray Charles’ Mr. Charles Blues, with Fletcher in a jazzier mode here. Songs like Jimmy McCracklin’s Later On are particularly fine vehicles for Finis Tasby with Nathan James taking a torrid solo.
The remainder of the 26 songs are similarly potently performed and while there are mostly covers, few would be considered heavily recorded. To Scott Dirks suggestion that the Mannish Boys are a virtual blues festival, I suggest Double Dynamite is a virtual All Night All Star Blues Party.
I received my review copy from Delta Groove. Here is a video featuring finis Tasby singing. There are videos on their website, http://www.themannishboys.com/.
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