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Etta Baker with Taj
Mahal (Music Maker)
There's
a number of great blues session players out there, those
hired guns who who can step add add a some extra sizzle
when called upon. Guitarist Alex Schultz has been one
of those guys for nearly two decades and finally gets
a chance to step out front on his classy debut, "Think
About It."
Blues
fans will know Schultz from his lengthy stint as the
axe man in Rod Piazza's band, appearing on "Blues
in the Dark", "Alphabet Blues", "California
Blues", and "Live at B.B. King's Blues Club."
He also freelanced with Tad Robinson, Big Joe and the
Dynaflows, Benjie Porecki and William Clarke. Schultz
played on Clarke's great "Blowin' Like Hell"
album, which won a W.C. Handy.
"Think
About It" is a long overdue debut and while Schultz's
name is on the cover this is an ensemble project all
the way. He sums up the project this way: "I believe
my own strengths lie as an ensemble player, so for me
a solo project needed to be about an exceptional band
- a classic "uptown" ensemble playing swinging
tunes and highlighting some remarkable singers."
That's exactly what we get here as Schultz and the band
swing and jump through a vintage set of tunes all with
a distinctive West Coast sound punctuated by Schultz's
tasty, understated guitar work. Alternating on the vocals
are three terrific singers: Tad Robinson, Lynwood Slim
and Finis Tasby. Tasby is a veteran singer who can flat
out sing the blues and has guested on a number of fine
records recently including those by Kirk Fletcher, Enrico
Crivellaro and his most recent effort, "The Mannish
Boys", with a stellar roster of West Coast all-stars.
Tasby shines on a slinky cover of Guitar Slim's classic
"Done Got Over", a smoldering version of Freddie
King's "I Love The Woman" and the rock solid
groove of Jimmy McCracklin's "Think" featuring
background vocals from Tad and Lynwood and some big
toned stinging fret work from Schultz. Robinson's soulful
vocals are a highlight on the swinging "Act Right"
featuring some marvelous B-3 from Alberto Marsico, a
stripped down and stately version of Charlie Rich's
timeless "Who Will The Next Fool Be" while
Lynwood sparkles on the hand clapping, 50's New Orleans
feel of "No Use Knocking." Schultz steps out
on three instrumentals backed by the excellent Royal
Crown Horns and ace piano man Carl Sonny Leyland. "Big
Time" has a lazy, retro vibe as Schultz really
stretches out, "Lexington Express" jumps and
swings and "Rhumba & Orange" is a fine
rhumba styled number that really cooks.
As
Schultz states this is "not a typical "guitar-slinger"
record by any means." "Think About It"
is a first class ensemble record featuring great singers,
songs and plenty of wonderful guitar work. Hands down
one of the year's best.
-Check
out these related links:
Severn
Records Website
Alex
Schultz Website
(Jeff Harris)
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Henry Gray
& The Cats: Live In Paris (Lucky Cat)
Sadly,
most of the great Chicago piano players like
Sunnyland Slim, Otis Spann and Little Johnny
Jones are long gone with few remaining to
carry on the tradition. One of those still
carrying the torch is two fisted piano man
Henry Gray who remains a commanding force
as he nears his 80th birthday. "Live
In Paris" is a terrific snapshot of Gray
in action, released on both DVD and CD.
Gray
was a prime ingredient of the 50's Chicago
blues scene, cutting his teeth with
Little Hudson's Red Devil Trio and Morris
Pejoe before moving into extensive work as
a session musician behind Jimmy Reed, Little
Walter, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Rogers and Billy
Boy Arnold. In 1956, he joined the combo of
the great Howlin' Wolf, sitting in for a dozen-year
stint. The few items Gray cut under his own
name remained in the can for years before
being issued on rarity collections. In recent
years Gray has been well served on record
issuing three fine records on bass player
Andy Cornett's Lucky Cat label backed by his
stellar band "The Cats."
"Live
In Paris" is a marvelous document of
a powerhouse performance at the famous Lionel
Hampton Jazz Club located in the Le Meridien
Etoile Hotel in Paris on March 27, 2003. Gray's
mighty two fisted piano attack rolls and rocks,
bringing to mind his mentor and friend the
great Big Maceo, as he he plays and sings
passionately on 14 classic numbers. Gray is
a joy witness as the camera captures him front
and center but also making plenty of room
to capture is excellent band. The Cats are
producer Andy Cornett on bass, Earl Christopher
at the drums, harmonica man Brian Bruce and
Louisiana legend Paul "Li'l Buck"
Sinegal on guitar who gets plenty of room
to step out. Sinegal is a great guitarist
who was the featured guitarist with Zydeco
legend Clifton Chenier and has played and
recorded with Buckwheat Zydeco, Rockin' Dopsie
Sr. & Jr., Katie Webster, Lazy Lester
and many others. Gray and the band deliver
robust versions of classics like the moving
"It Hurts Me Too", a stomping "Sweet
Home Chicago" and wonderful version of
"Key To The Highway." Among the
less well known numbers are a soulful version
of Jimmy Rogers' "Out On The Road",
his own low down gem, "Showers of Rain",
and an insinuating take on Jimmy Reed's rarely
covered "Boogie In The Dark." Gray
saves the best for last with a stunning version
of "Shake A Hand" that starts off
slow and languorous, featuring some of Gray's
most soulful singing, before abruptly kicking
into into high gear for a romping close as
the credits roll across the screen.
The
ageless Henry Gray seems to have really hit
his stride in recent years and "Live
In Paris" is a marvelous looking DVD
showcasing Gray at his best. A big hand goes
to the Lucky Cat label who have provided a
great outlet for Gray's wonderful music.
-Check
out these related links:
Henry
Gray Website
Lucky
Cat Website
(Jeff
Harris)
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Artie "Blues
Boy" White: First Thing Tuesday Morning
(A Chill Town)
Artie
"Blues Boy" White's music resides
at the intersection of soul and blues, very
much in the tradition of ground breakers like
Little Milton, Z.Z. Hill and especially Bobby
"Blue" Bland who is clearly a major
influence. "First Thing Tuesday Morning"
is White's third outing in as many years for
his own label and is a typically classy set
of steamy soul and blues.
Like many who mine similar musical territory,
White came out of a gospel background but switched
to secular music when he hit Chicago in the
late 1950's. White made his mark in the 70's
with R&B singles for small labels like PM
and Gamma before hitting the charts with "Leanin'
Tree" for the Altee imprint in 1977. His
first LP, "Blues Boy", came out in
1985 on Ronn Records followed by six for the
Ichiban label. White cut two more for Waldoxy
before going out on his own in 2002 with his
own Achilltown label. His initial effort, "Can't
Get Enough", ranked among his finest and
made my top 5 for best blues records for that
year. "First
Thing Tuesday Morning" isn't quite as good
but is still better than 90% of most of the
soul/blues coming out on the bigger labels.
The
thing about White's records on his own label
is that production-wise they sound every bit
as good, if not better, than his records on
the bigger labels. There's no
skimping as White employs a full horn section
arranged by veteran Willie Henderson who also
plays baritone plus other veterans like Kenney
Anderson on trumpet, Stan Banks on keyboard/organ
and guitar ace Chico Banks. Travis Haddix has
been a chief songwriter for White since both
were labelmates at the Ichiban label in the
80'sa and 90's. Haddix contributes three of
the disc's best numbers including the back alley
blues of "First Thing Tuesday Morning"
that features some tasty, soulful guitar from
banks and punchy horns as White delivers a number
that sounds like a lost Bobby Bland classic.
The other Haddix numbers include the doomy "Trying
To Hoodoo Me" as Banks gets plenty of room
for his evocative solos and the funky, upbeat
"Crush On My Next Door Neighbor."
White is a fine interpreter as evidenced on
a bouncy cover of G.L. Crockett's classic "A
Man Down There", a tough, funky take on
Albert King's "Crosscut" as Banks
delivers some searing King inspired guitar work
and the infectious soul hook on Z.Z. Hill's
"She Hit Me From The Blind Side."
Without
a great deal of fanfare, Artie "Blues Boy"
has White released a steady stream of excellent
soul/blues releases over the years and remains
one of the best singers of the type on the scene.
Issuing records on his own label may make White's
recent efforts tougher to track down but the
good stuff is always worth the effort.
-Check
out these related links:
Can't
Get Enough Review
Can
We Get Together Review
(Jeff
Harris)
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Various Artists: Lost
Blues Tapes - More American Folk Blues Festival 1963-65
(Act)
The
American Folk Blues Festival was responsible for bringing
a staggering amount of blues talent to an eager European
audience between 1962 and 1972 (the festival resumed
for a few years in the 80's). Not surprisingly a good
many of those concerts were recorded and filmed. A good
chunk of the material has already appeared on LP and
CD. "Lost Blues Tapes: More American Folk Blues
Festival 1963-65" presents two CD's worth of brilliant
performances from the early years of the festival. Lost
Tapes may be a bit disingenuous as many of these
recordings have been issued before with a number of
tracks appearing on the 5-CD set "American Folk
Blues Festival '62 - '65" issued in the mid-90's
by Evidence. Still the music and sound quality here
is top notch.
The
names here speak for themselves: Memphis Slim, Muddy
Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Otis Spann, Lonnie Johnson,
Victoria Spivey, Big Joe Williams, John Lee Hooker,
Walter Horton, Willie Dixon, Sugar Pie Desanto, Buddy
Guy, J.B. Lenoir, Fred McDowell, Roosevelt Sykes, Sleepy
John Estes & Hammie Nixon and Doctor Ross. The performances
are uniformly excellent. Among the high points are a
pair of solo Muddy Waters sides including the spellbinding
"Catfish Blues." "That was country blues
I was playing", Muddy says, "...This is the
way we do it down in the city" as he launches into
some fine band performances that are a bit sedate probably
due to the fact that Muddy wasn't playing with his regular
band except for pianist Otis Spann. Spann turns in one
of the best moments on a sublime version of "Going
Down Slow" featuring some exceptional guitar work
from Matt "Guitar" Murphy. Sonny Boy Williamson
is a standout and is his usual sly and engaging self
particularly on "Got To Cut It Out" backed
by just Hubert Sumlin on guitar and the rousing full
band "Your Love For Me Is True." Other highlights
in this vein include John Lee Hooker on a stomping "Della
Mae" with Buddy Guy on guitar and Buddy himself
on the funky instrumental workout "South Side Jump."
Two of the original blues stars from the 20's are represented
including dazzling guitarist Lonnie Johnson who delivers
beautiful versions of "Careless Love" and
"C.C. Rider" and one of the original blues
queens, Victoria Spivey who delivers a knockout version
of her classic "T.B. Blues."
The
American Folk Blues Festival was an event without parallel
and one that will never again be duplicated. Thankfully
much of the magic has been captured for posterity and
the "Lost Blues Tapes: More American Folk Blues
Festival 1963-65" is an invaluable snapshot of
a bygone era. For more magic make sure to check out
the indispensable American Folk Blues Festival DVD's
recently issued by Reelin' In The Years Prodiuctions.
-Check
out these related links:
Act
Music Website
American
Folk Blues DVD Vol. 1 & 2 Review
American
Folk Blues DVD Vol. 3 Review
(Jeff Harris)
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