Take 5 With Jimmy Witherspoon

While I only had the pelasure to see Jimmy Witherspoon perform once live, I was long a fan of his recordings. while often compared to his idol, Big Joe Turner, he was also a terrific Ballad singer. For this short playlist, I start with what was a major hit for him, "Ain't Nobody's Business," with Jay McShann on piano.

Spoon was one of the blue singers who often was backed by some of the greatest jazz players. His recordings with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster were special. He heis live at the Renaissance Club in LA with Jimmy Rowles on piano and Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax doing Leroy Carr's "How Long How Long Blues."

 The first Jimmy Witherspoon album I purchased was "Evenin' Blues," on Prestige. The session included T-Bone Walker on guitar and Clifford Scott on tenor sax. Here is "Money Is Getting Cheaper," a remake of "Times Getting Tougher Then Tough," which I believe was the first track of this album.

I would be remiss if I did not include a selection from his recordings with blues-rock guitarist, Robben Ford. What might have seemed an unlikely partnership, was actually one that worked quite well. Here they do a song spoon had recorded a number of times before that was also a hot for Big Joe Turner, "S.K. Blues."

Finally, here is a set of Spoon with a group led by former Count Basie saxophonist, Earle Warren, live in Europe. Enjoy.

Groove Legacy

Groove Legacy
Self-Produced

Established as a tribute to soul-jazz such as represented by the legendary Crusaders, The Meters, JB Horns, and Stuff, Groove Legacy is led by established mainstay musicians of the road and studio: Saxophonist Paul Cerra and keys master Bill Steinway, alongside bassist Travis Carlton (Larry’s son). Blues guitar virtuoso Kirk Fletcher, emerging drum star Lemar Carter, rhythm guitarist Sam Meek and trombonist Andrew Lippman join Groove Legacy on stage and record, along with guest appearances from Robben Ford and Larry Carlton. Groove Legacy has not attempted to copy the classic funk and soul-jazz recordings, but rather provides us on the eponymously titled recording with ten originals that evoke this bygone musical era.

The mood is set by the opening "Sweetness (For Walter Payton)" with the twin horn lines of saxophonist Cerra and trombonist Lippman setting the mood over a funky groove with Travis Carlton's bass lines helping set the foundation with soulful tenor sax from Cerra followed by Fletcher's bluesy guitar. Sam Meek's guitar, along with  honking sax by Cerra and some blustery trombone, is featured on "Odd Couple." 

Cerra and Travis Carlton collaborated on the bluesy "Cornell," dedicated to Cornell Dupree, with appearances from Ricky Peterson on Hammond B-3 and Larry Carlton on guitar. Robben Ford's blues-rock guitar, along with Bill Steinway's Fender Rhodes piano and Cerra's tenor sax, is spotlighted on another bluesy number,"The Know It All." Having long been a fan of Kirk Fletcher, it is nice to hear him in the funky, non-blues, context on "Moneybags."

Nothing fancy about the music on this recording. Groove Legacy pretty straight R&B flavored jazz that should  appeal to those that want danceable, funk grooves and the husky solos that propel these performances.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the July-August Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 367), although I have made stylistic changes and corrections to what was run there. Here is Groove Legacy performing "Moneybags."

Jeff Golub's Tribute to Three Blues Kings

Veteran of tours with Rod Stewart, and Billy Squier as well as spending time in the James Montgomery band, Jeff Golub has distinguished in recent years as a jazz guitarist. His most recent album has him heading back to the blues with a tribute recording The Three Kings (Entertainment One), a tribute to Albert, B.B., and Freddie King. As he states, "When you look at the modern blues and rock vocabulary, it's almost impossible for anyone to play something that doesn't reflect their influence somehow. Featured on this disc is Henry Butler on keyboards and vocals, who co-produced it with Golub, Andy Hess on bass, and Josh Dion on drums, percussion and vocals. Special guests include Sonny Landreth and Robben Ford, while others in the studio include Chris Palmaro on Hammond B3, and horns and synth strings are heard as well.

There is a mix of covers and some originals that make for an entertaining collection of performances. Butler helps things start with the opening rendition of Let The Good Times Roll, and Born Under a Bad Sign, both solidly sung by Butler, but modeled on the recordings by B.B. and Albert respectively. Golub's instrumental "I Plain Sight, enables him to escape the shadows of both while also allowing Landreth to add a sharp slide guitar solo. Help the Poor, is not an overly familiar part of B.B.'s repertoire and Dion takes a fine vocal with a fresh arrangement. It is followed by Freddie King's instrumental Side Tracked, with Robben Ford adding a solo on a nice rendition with some nice twists in the backing.


Oh Pretty Woman, sounds slowed down slightly from Albert King's original and has a fine vocal from Butler with solid guitar and followed by a hot shuffle rendition Every Day I Have the Blues, with Dion taking another fine vocal. After Golub's hot solo, Butler takes a rollicking piano solo. Then a couple more of Freddie King's songs are tackled with Butler singing Have You Loved a Woman, and Dion on I'm Tore Up. with Golub's hard-edged guitar sounding like a mix of Freddie and Albert in his very solid playing."Freddie's Midnite Dream, a Sonny Thompson penned instrumental from his Cotillion recordings follows, and its lazy feel contrasts with many of King's better known instrumentals with Golub varying in intensity against the light background.


Stumblin' Home is an original instrumental based on The Stumble with nice use of the lower range. Butler wrote the original Three Kings with his celebration of Albert, Freddie and B.B., with a slight New Orleans funk rhythm and punchy horns to support Golub's driving guitar. The disc closes with an instrumental rendition of The Thrill Is Gone, but one is surprised to see that B.B. is credited as composer of the Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins penned classic (and Hawkins 1951 original made the R&B charts). Golub's playing is pretty solid with judicious use of sustain along with Butler’s jazzy piano.


The Three Kings is a very enjoyable collection of blues performances. While most of the disc is comprised of covers, they are not slavish copies although most will be overshadowed by the originals. Drummer Josh Dion was a revelation as a vocalist on his three selections and the originals stand out in the set of solid blues performances.

My review copy was provided by a publicist.

Chris Cain Spins His Urban Blues Vignettes With Jazzy Tint

Chris Cain has been playing his blues with a jazzy twist on the West Coast for quite some time. Having recorded for the the Ford Brothers’ Blue Rock’It label as well as Blind Pig, since 1987 he has built up quite a body of excellent recordings that is matched by his lively performances. An reference point for Chris’ sound might be B.B. King (who his dad first took him to see with he was three), particularly the King matched by the souful jazzy grooves provided by the Crusaders (think of B.B.’s rendition of “Never Make a Move Too Soon”). His latest album is on Blue Rock’It, “So Many Miles” and it is another strong recording by him. He is provided excellent support here by Robben Ford Band with Robben playing rhythm guitar on many tracks, and on one instrumental, “East Foothill Fingerprints,” Larry Carlton joins him for a a soulful jazzy-blues guitar jam.Outside of the instrumental, the disc is a showcase for Cain’s songwriting and shows how the way he has with words while displaying his heartfelt vocals and hot guitar as he tells his stories quite strongly.

The title track is a tale of driving from Syracuse, stopping in Lincoln, staying at a funky hotel room, flying down the highway, and “so many miles, so many places, so many wide open spaces … .” Opening “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be A Better Day,” Chris evokes Albert King in his’ opening guitar lines as Ford drives the groove with his rhythm playing as Cain sings that “we have both wasted, all the petty games we have choose to play, I know we had some good times ... but tomorrow is going to be a better day,” with a strong solo from Cain before he vocally returns and asks to bury the past and clear the way for the better day.  He brings us some intriguing urban vignettes such as “Late Night Jungle Dreams,” a powerful topical lyric about a Vietnam Veteran who is a demolition expert but never adjusted to returning home, and then takes us down to this joint and the folks hanging there in “Down at Dino’s,” that opens with Ford’s backing wah-wah guitar setting the atmosphere. On “Interplanetary Jam,” he introduces us to a character who is preparing for alien invasion in his basement while “The Decline of the Golden Boy,” deals with a former superstar college athlete and big man on campus who never adjusted to life after college. Throughout, Cain interlaces these stories with strong vocals and guitar with excellent backing from the Ford Band, with horns added on a few tracks. Throughout, Cain’s ability as a guitarist is displayed as his driving solos are concisely delivered, interesting driving solos, swinging with unexpected twists. Chris Cain’s sound is soulfully delivered blues with an urbane jazzy spicing and “So Many Miles” showcases this exceptionally.


For FTC purposes, the review copy of this was provided by Blind Pig Records.

Christian Howes Fiddle Takes Listeners Out of The Blue"

This writer had the pleasure of seeing violinist Christian Howes perform at the DC Jazz Festival performance as he was part of pianist Marian Petrescu’s band in a tribute to Oscar Peterson. He dazzled with his technique but his music was playful, thoughtful and passionate. His new recording on Resonance Records is “Out of the Blue” and is with a group including Robben Ford. Besides Ford, other players on this album include pianist Tamir Henderson, organist Bobby Floyd, bassists Ric Fierabrazzi (electric) and Kevin Axt (acoustic) and vocalist Sharon Hendrix.

Chick Corea’s “Fingerprints,” a take on Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,”is first up with its exhilarating violin from the leader followed lively solos from Henderson, Axt and then Ford with the tempo taken down. Often labelled a blues-rock guitarist, Ford is quite home in this jazz setting and eschewing some of the more rock-oriented elements of his playing. His playing adds a nice contrast to Howe’s rich, flowing tone. The Fats Domino classic “I’m Walkin’,” is taken at a crisp gait as Howe lovingly embellishes the melody with his marvelous playing. Howes rendition of Horace Silver’s “Cape Verdean Blues,” swings under his twisting, driving violin lines, while “Gumbo Klomp,” is a light second-line finger-snapper with both keyboards present and Ford’s slightly crackling tone adding to the festive feel. Howe’s opening playing on the title track evokes to these ears old-timey music before his moody solo followed by some crisp staccato playing from Ford that contrasts with Howes’ moody playing.

Sharon Hendrix handles the vocal on the R&B flavored “Seek and Ye Shall Find,” with some really nice organ from one-time Ray Charles organist, Floyd and Ford shines here as well before his playing is the counterpoint for Howes vocalized playing. “Bobby’s Bad,” is a lively Howes original that is built on a memorable funky riff and dedicated to Floyd, his one time mentor. Carla Bley’s “Sing Me Softly of the Blues,” is a marvelous performance with both Howes and Ford (arguably the best of his superb playing on this) hinting at “C.C. Rider” in their statements here. Ford is not on the the hot pepper tempo rendition of Ornette Coleman’s “When Will the Blues Leave,” with Howes working off Henderson here along with solos from Axt and Rosenblatt. The disc closes with Booby Floyd on piano opening a delightful duet with Howes on the classic “Sweet Lorraine.”

“Out of the Blue” is a delightful album that with its bluesy foundation is both substantial and accessible. Howes swings and plays thoughtfully, mixes in some humor yet never loses his feeling on this very appealing recording.


This review has appeared in the September 2010 Jazz & Blues Report. The review copy was provided by either Resonance Records or a publicist for the release.