December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278

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Also...31st Annual Holiday Gift Guide

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Christmas2005 On CD

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278PAGE TWO

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Christmas2005

On CD

DIANA KRALLChristmas Songs

VERVE

JANE MONHEITThe Season

EPICThe two most universally popular

female vocalists in jazz today have re-cently released their first Christmasalbums.

Diana Krall actually released a 3-song EP in 1998 which came with aclassy 1999 desk calendar. Thosesongs, Jingle Bells,” “Christmas TimeIs Here” and “Have Yourself A MerryLittle Christmas” are reprised for this,her first full-length holiday CD. It is pos-sible that at least two of those are thesame recordings - but if so, they aremixed much better. The rest of the 12favorites heard include “Let It Snow,”“I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” “WhiteChristmas,” “Sleigh Ride,” “SantaClaus Is Coming To Town, “WinterWonderland,” “The Christmas Song”and one for the following week - “WhatAre You Doing New Year’s Eve.” The

one somewhat lesser-known song in-cluded is her version of Irving Berlin’s“Count Your Blessings Instead OfSheep.” Krall, accompanying herself onpiano, is heard with either Anthony Wil-liams or Russell Malone on guitar, eitherJohn Clayton or Ben Wolfe on bass andJeff Hamilton on drums, plus theClayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra formost tracks.

Jane Monheit, who is now on a ma-jor label with Epic Records, has also re-leased a sweet set of holiday songs.Other than “Have Yourself A Merry LittleChristmas,” “Santa Claus Is Coming ToTown” and “Sleigh Ride,” she picked adifferent set of songs for her offering. The

better-known pieces include the above,plus “The Christmas Waltz,” “MoonlightIn Vermont” and The Carpenters’ “MerryChristmas Darling.” She does several wedon’t hear too often, including “The ManWith The Bag” (a hit for Kay Starr in the50s), “I Heard The Bells On ChristmasDay” and “My Grown Up List,” writtenby David Foster and Linda Thompson.Jane is accompanied by her regularworking quartet with the addition of a 7-piece horn section, which includes Lew

Photo of Diana Krall by Sam Taylor Wood - Verve Records

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278 PAGE THREE

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Soloff and Andy Snitzer on four cuts anda string section on three others. VibistDavid Samuels adds his touch to “TheChristmas Waltz.” This comes in boththe standard CD and DualDisc versions.

Although both these albums are ina similar vein, the singers themselvesare quite different in that Monheit singswith more drama than the naturally laidback Krall. They both handle these holi-day chestnuts very well and the back-ing is top notch. If you are getting re-ally sick of hearing Mannheim Steam-roller or whatever when you go to theparents’, in-laws’ or grandparents’homes for the holiday season, youmight want to lay one or both of theseon them to make your season brighter.I’m sure they will all like either one.Ipretty much like them both about thesame, hence the alphabetical order forthe review.

For more info on these, go towww.ververecords.com for the Krall, orwww.epicrecords.com for the Monheit.

Bill Wahl

GENUINE HOUSEROCKIN’CHRISTMAS

ALLIGATOR RECORDSREPRINTED FROM OUR

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2003 ISSUETrimming the tree, wrapping pre-

sents, a few friends over for some cheer,a full-blown Yuletide bash- what couldenhance a blues lover’s holiday scenemore than tracks from a tough roster ofartists? Originals, for one thing. With acouple of exceptions, the fare on Genu-ine Houserockin’ Christmas is self-penned by the respective artists andreflects the character of each. It lays outlike this- deep double-entendre fromLittle Ed & The Blues Imperials, inno-cently titled “Christmas Time”, sassyseduction from Shemekia Copeland,

“Stay A Little Longer, Santa”, rockingharp courtesy of Carey Bell’s “Christ-mas Train”, bayou variations courtesyof C.J. Chenier and Marcia Ball, moodyswing by way of Roomful Of Blues. Ifyou know the artists, you get the idea.The originality and the strength of thetunes make this a disc that can takeover a Christmas playlist. Any Alliga-tor artists not mentioned so far are mostlikely here too. Blues people, this isholiday cash well spent. Duane Verh

MORE HOLIDAY CDSMARTHA STEWART SERIES

EPIC/LEGACY

JUAN OSCARJUAN OSCAR MUSIC

STEVE LUKATHER &FRIENDS

FAVORED NATIONS

KENNY ELLISFAVORED NATIONS

DAVID LEONHARDTJAZZ GROUP

BIG BANG RECORDS

CRAIG CHAQUICOHIGHER OCTAVE MUSIC

I have never been a fan of MarthaStewart, so I immediately laughedwhen her Jazz for the Holidays CDshowed up on my desk. But, when I fi-nally looked at it, I was quite surprised.This is actually a very nicely chosen,varied set of Christmas songs. It is partof a Stewart Holiday Series recentlyreleased on Epic/Legacy Records. Thiscovers the gamut from some older cutsfrom Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee &Benny Goodman, Louis Prima andEartha Kitt all the way to offerings byWynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard,and Chris Botti. In between are faresuch as Dexter Gordon’s wonderful ver-sion of “Have Yourself A Merry LittleChristmas,” Herbie Hancock & ChickCorea teaming up for “Deck The Halls,”Tuck Andress heard on solo guitar for“Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,”Tony Bennett on “Santa Claus Is Com-ing To Town,” and more from DukeEllington, Grover Washington Jr.,Russell Malone and Tex Beneke & TheGlenn Miller Orchestra. There is no re-cording/personnel information at allother than the set list, but being thatthis is a Martha Stewart production you

do get a recipe for Hot Crab Dip instead!There is also a Traditional Songs forthe Holidays CD in this series, whichincludes such names as Mariah Carey,Aretha, Luther Vandross, James Tay-lor, Willie Nelson, Johnny Mathis, NatKing Cole and a pairing of songs byBing Crosby and David Bowie (how’dthat happen?); and a Classical Favor-ites for the Holidays with music per-formed by James Galway, The NewYork Philharmonic, Placido Domingo,Boston Pops Orchestra and others. Goto www.epicrecords.com for more songinfo on any of the three in the series.

Now, let’s go from Martha Stewartto something completely different. JuanOskar is a trumpet and keyboard playerfrom Arizona who has released a reallydifferent Christmas album on his ownlabel titled Christmas Is For GrownupsToo. Oskar says the album was inspiredby The Trans Siberian Orchestra, TheVentures, Handel, Mannheim Steam-roller, Mason Williams, J. S. Bach,Beethoven, Aaron Copland & “The 21stCentury Chairman of the Board” andHerb Alpert. What a crew! As you mightexpect, the music is all over the mapcovering songs with Latin/Salsa, rock,ballad/easy listening and dance/clubmix flavorings. There are 24 songs inall, with Oscar providing much of themusic on the Yamaha Motif ES6 key-board/synth. He also plays trumpet onabout half the songs, sings in Spanishon some and has some guest femalevocalists for some others. This is somefun stuff, but to see if it is your cup oftea, go to www.juanoscar.biz and navi-gate to the page with the face in theCD. Then click on it. Then you can lis-ten to most of the songs. What did weever do without the internet?

Since we are in different mode now,let’s stay there for a while. SteveLukather & Friends has releasedSantamental (I spelled it right) on Fa-vored Nations Records. Mixing rockand blues with jazz they serve up a setof eight well-known holiday songs andtwo originals. Guitarist Lukather’sfriends on board for the trip include rockguitarists Steve Vai and Eddie VanHalen, saxist Edgar Winter and percus-sionist Lenny Castro. Lukather saysthey cut the whole record in a day anda half “with no click tracks, no pro-tools,no bullshit, just two-inch analog tape.”He also says he couldn’t pay the guestswhat they are worth so he’ll be takingtheir garbage out for the rest of his life.

Give the Supreme Gift!

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278PAGE FOUR

Jazz & Blues Report31st Annual

Holiday Gift GuidePART II

As is the case every year at this time, this section will give you some ideas

on holiday gifts to pick up for a friend...or to drop hints on for yourself!

As usual, most of these are boxed or 2-CD sets and DVD concert

or documentary videos, although we have chosen some single CDs as well.

Most are very new, some a bit older titles that we have just recently latched on

to. None have been previously reviewed. As has been our custom, after the jazz &

blues section we have several items in other genres for those folks with diverse

tastes, or those on your list who are not into jazz or blues as such. This is the

second part of this year’s offerings. Most in this issue are DVDs. For the real

motherload, download our November 2005 issue and check it out.

Happy shopping and Happy Holidays!

Good sense of humor there...and in themusic too. Check this one out atwww.favorednations.com. where youcan sample three tracks.

Also on Favored Nations comesHanukkah Swings from Kenny Ellis. Wesee many albums every year with aChristmas theme, but very, very fewcome our way focusing on Hanukkah.Ellis, a multi-faceted performer and can-tor draws on his lifelong affinities for boththe Jewish culture and the swing bigbands of Count Basie, Benny Goodmanand others for this project and came upwith a thoroughly enjoyable set of 10songs...eight classics and two originals,celebrating the Hanukkah season. Hesings in both English and Hebrew andthrows a bit of Yiddish in on the parody“Twas The Night Before Hanukkah.”He’s got some fine musicians on boardtoo, including Stu Goldberg ofMahavishnu Orchestra fame on pianoand keyboards. This one can be sampledat www.favorednations.com as well. Veryenjoyable music!

Back to the mainstream, Easton PAbased David Leonhardt Jazz Group hasreleased another album on Big BangRecords titled I’ll Be Home For Christ-mas. The fleet fingered pianist/leaderLeonhardt is joined by the very able vo-calist Nancy Reed, with Larry McKenna/saxes, Matthew Parrish/bass and TaroOkamoto/drums for a set of 15 Christ-mas classics in straight-ahead jazz style.The band is tight and works very welltogether and that is all evident here.

For more information onLeonhardt’s unit, his recordings and tosample some tracks, go towww.davidleonhardt.com.

And for the light jazz fans out there,guitarist Craig Chaquico has releasedHoliday on Higher Octave Music.Chaquico was formerly a guitarist withJefferson Starship and since moving intothe light jazz arena he has become apopular performer, garnering loads ofairplay on the WAVE stations nationwide.He mixes nine traditional Christmassongs with three originals, coming upwith some very lyrical music full ofcatchy melodies and licks. Christmasmusic comes off very well in the lightjazz format, which is why the annualconcerts by people like Dave Koz, PeterWhite and many others are so well at-tended.

To check this one out, or samplesome tracks, you can go towww.higheroctave.com. Bill Wahl

DUKE ELLINGTONLove You Madly

A Concert Of Sacred Musicat Grace Cathedral

EAGLE ROCK DVDAny Duke Ellington fan out there will

want to get their hands on this just-re-leased DVD of prime Duke from two pro-grams presented by Ralph J. Gleason inthe mid ‘60s. The first is I Love YouMadly, a documentary exploring the lifeand legacy of the Duke, chock full ofperformances and interview clips. Wesee him as he prepares for the Concert

of Sacred Music as well as footage ofhis band at Basin Street West in SanFrancisco and the Monterey Jazz Festi-val, plus clips from actual recordingsessions. You even see how he tries toget some rest in the dressing room dur-ing an break between sets at a live gig.A fantastic look into the Duke’s life atthe time.

Part 2 of the DVD presents the his-toric Concert of Sacred Music per-formed live at Grace Cathedral in SanFrancisco. It was the first of a series ofsacred concerts Ellington would performin various churches in different cities.The concert combines jazz with classi-cal music, spirituals, gospel, blues anddance, and the orchestra is joined byseveral guests, including Jon Hendricks,Esther Marrow, the Herman McCoy Choirand tap dancer Bunny Briggs. The clos-ing piece, “David Danced Before TheLord,” is a showcase for Briggs andHendricks.

These programs are of great histori-cal importance and have never beenpreviously available on DVD.

Presented in the original black andwhite format, the audio choices aremono and Dolby Digital Stereo. Thequality of both audio and video is quitegood. You really can’t go wrong with thisfor any fan of the Duke. Bill Wahl

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278

THE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSTHE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSTHE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSTHE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSTHE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSFrom 1953 to 1967, Alfred Lion produced a body of work that ranks as the most innovative series of recordings in modern jazz.Almost all of these masterpieces were documented by the extraordinary Rudy Van Gelder; a self-taught engineer who morethan set a new standard. Devoid of caution or timidity, he captured the full power and rich sound of jazz ensembles withdazzling clarity. His contribution to the focused approach that Blue Note took at every stage of any album was immeasurable.Decades later, Rudy agreed to take a second look at the original recordings, bringing them into the digital domain with thesame skill and focus. Six more RVG Editions have just been released. If you think you’ve heard these gems before, listen again.

Thelonious MonkQuartet withJohn ColtraneLive at Carnegie Hall

These newly-discovered sonically-

pristine concert tapes from Carnegie

Hall in November 1957, found in the

Voice of America archives at the Library

of Congress in Washington DC earlier

this year, capture 51-minutes

of remarkable music from two legends

at the height of their powers.

PLUS....A Major Find on Blue Note...

Never Before Released!

PAGE FIVE

Let Me Tell You ‘Bout It, Leo Parker Down With It, Blue Mitchell That’s Where It’s At, Stanley Turrentine

Reach Out, Hank Mobley Turning Point, Lonnie Smith The Sounds of Jimmy Smith, Jimmy Smith

Fuego, Donald Byrd • Symphony for Improvisers, Don Cherry • Music from ‘The Connection’, Freddie Redd • The Big Beat, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers • Sunday Morning, Grant GreenInventions & Dimensions, Herbie Hancock • Oblique, Bobby Hutcherson • Time for Tyner, McCoy Tyner • Boss Horn, Blue Mitchell • Judgement, Andrew Hill • At the Organ, Vol. 3, Jimmy Smith

Other Recent RVG Edition Releases

Freddie Hubbard Gerald Wilson Kenny Burrell Lou Donaldsom

ARTIST SELECTS SERIES: A SELECTION OF THEIR PERSONAL FAVORITE BLUE NOTERECORDINGS, SELECTED & SEQUENCED BY THE ARTIST

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278PAGE SIX

MILES DAVISThe Cellar Door Sessions 1970

COLUMBIA/LEGACY BOX SETThis boxed set of Miles’ Cellar

Door sessions was a feature review inthe Holiday Gift Guide on our Novem-ber issue.

However, after the issue wasprinted we found out that the releasedate had been moved to some manu-facturing hold ups. The new releasedate is said to be December 20.

To read the review, refer to the No-vember issue if you still have it, or youcan download it from our website atwww.jazz-blues.com. Bill Wahl

HONEYBOY EDWARDSHoneyboy

FREE RANGE PICTURES DVDThis DVD chronicles the life and

times of one of the last living greatDelta bluesmen - David “Honeyboy”Edwards. It has been out a few years,but I just picked up a copy when I re-cently saw Honeyboy in an informalconcert performance at the Rock &Roll Hall of Fame.

Throughout the movie Honeyboy

recounts so many aspects of his past,the early days in Mississippi and sto-ries of many other Delta bluesmensuch as Robert Johnson, Big Joe Wil-liams and others, that the viewer getsa big lesson in an important chapterin Blues history in 84 thoroughly-en-joyable minutes.

Some of what he covers includesplaying a little guitar for Big Joe afterwhich Williams said “I can learn youhow to play.” Then he recalls how thetwo hooked up and hit the road to-gether, but how Joe liked to “fight allthe time.”

He talks about things like gam-bling, hopping freight trains, playingon the street, laying with women andlife in the deep south.

Both he and B.B. King have seg-ments where they talk about life as asharecropper - what a sharecropperactually was, how it all worked (thesharecroppers did all the work) andthe like.

In addition to B.B., there are ap-pearances by Wil l ie Foster andWaymon Meeks who add more dis-course and offer their own live perfor-mances.

Honeyboy traces his travels thateventually had him landing in Chi-cago, and he covers many aspects ofBlues in Chicago and some of its play-ers, such as Muddy Waters and HowlinWolf, how much he missed LittleWalter after he died in 1968, and thenthe same again after losing his wife.Now 90 and still living in Chicago,Honeyboy is still here, but all his oldfriends are gone.

He fondly speaks of Michael Frankof Earwig Records, who befriendedhim many years ago and has been hismanager since 1975.

During the movie you’ll also seesome clips with interesting and infor-mative input from Alligator Recordsfounder and president Bruce Iglauer.Throughout the movie Honeyboyplays and sings, and it comes to yourhome with fantastic audio and videoquality.

Honeyboy Edwards is a great sto-ryteller, and he keeps you captivatedthroughout this DVD.

There have been many documen-taries on the blues, but Honeyboy, re-leased in 2002, may just be the bestone I have seen.

A must have for anyone who isinto the blues. Bill Wahl

GEORGE BENSONLive At Montreux, 1986

EAGLE ROCK DVDEagle Rock Entertainment has

just released this set from GeorgeBenson’s 1986 performance at the1986 Montreux Jazz Festival. It is yetanother chapter in Eagle Rock’s everexpanding Montreux series.

A huge name in the contemporaryjazz format, Benson is remembered bymany for his masterful guitar workstarting with joining jazz organist JackMcDuff’s trio in 1962 and going on toforge his own successful solo careerwith albums on Prestige, Columbia,Verve and CTI.

Most of those albums showcasedhis Wes Montgomery-influenced gui-tar playing, but he broke out big as avocal ist with his cover of LeonRussell’s “This Masquerade” in 1976which became a massive hit. He’sbeen known as a vocalist/guitaristever since.

The Russell song is not on this set,but some of his other hits are, suchas “The Greatest Love Of All,” “TurnYour Love Around” and “On Broad-way.” You’ll also hear “Affirmation”(which is one of the instrumentals),“Beyond The Sea,” “Lady Love Me(One More Time),” “Feel Like MakingLove,” “Turn Your Love Around,” “InYour Eyes,” another instrumental “MyLatin Brother” and more.

His band, which includes a hornsection, is tight and funky; the audiois very good with a choice of stereo,Dolby 5.1 surround or DTS 5.1 sur-round, and the video is quite good for

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278 PAGE SEVEN

the time, especially on closeups, but suffers at times dueto the inherent problems with stage lighting.

A good one indeed for followers of Benson as a vocal-ist, with enough guitar work to satisfy some of those whowant to hear him in that mode. Michael Braxton

California’s Sierra Nevada Brewery has extended itsenterprise beyond its excellent beer. The owners- avidblues fans- added a concert hall (bka The Big Room) ontothe brewery proper and have since featured some of thehottest West Coast blues and roots artists onstage. Theseperformances have provided the first content for a fledg-ling TV series, Sierra Center Stage. Two of these are hope-fully just the leadoff pair of a long line of quality DVDconcert titles as well.

The format is straightforward and the perfor-mances are top-notch on both discs. Castro’s travelingfour-piece is augmented by studio pals Jimmy Pugh(keys), Tom Poole (trumpet) and Kevin Brown (secondguitar). The meat of the set is his recent CD Soul Shakerand vocalist and labelmate Renee Austin does a niftycameo on that disc’s “Let’s Give Love A Try”. The ex-panded Castro band is a treat in this “live” context, attimes evoking a presence not unlike another hot Bay Areaoutfit of yore- The legendary Electric Flag.

Piazza on DVD would be worth it just for the finethreads he sports but his harp work is also his typicalclassy fare. Honey and the rest of the crew are in fineform and Mrs. P is a splendid show-stealer, brandishingboth her foxy locks and her phenomenal two-fisted boogiepiano work. For those who couldn’t make the shows, pickup a couple six-packs of Sierra Nevada pale ale & pop ineither of these high-powered sets. Duane Verh

TOMMYCASTRO

Whole Lotta SoulBLIND PIG DVD

ROD PIAZZA& THE MIGHTY

FLYERSBig Blues PartyBLIND PIG DVD

NORMAN GRANZJAZZ AT MONTREUX SERIES

EAGLE DVDAbout a year ago, Eagle Rock Entertainment issued a

series of DVDs featuring concert recordings from MontruexJazz Festival performances from back in the ’70s.

While I have only seen some of these, I’d like to relaythe info that they are available should any of the artists inthe series be of interest to you or someone you may bebuying a gift for. I can vouch for the fact that the ones Ihave seen all offered very good sets of music and the au-dio and video were quite good, especially considering thefact that they were done 30 years ago.

They were typical of Norman Granz’ first class pro-ductions, and I would presume they are all in keeping withthe Granz tradition. The ones in the series I am have seenand can vouch for are:

Benny Carter ‘77, with Carter joined by Ray Bryant/piano, Niels Pedersen/bass and Jimmie Smith/drums forseven cuts, including “Body & Soul” “On Green DolphinStreet,” Wave,” “In A Mellow Tone” and “Three LittleWords.”

Count Basie Jam ‘75, with the Count on piano, NielsPedersen/bass and Louis Bellson/drums being the rhythmsection for Roy Eldridge/trumpet, Johnny Griffin/tenor saxand Milt Jackson/vibes. Four songs are the jam fare -“Billie’s Bounce,” “Montreux Blues I,” “Lester Leaps In”and Montreux Blues II.”

Roy Eldridge ‘77, with trumpeter Eldridge joined by

Check the Site for Special Editions

www.jazz-blues.com

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278PAGE EIGHT

Cleveland Fats

The Schwartz Brothers

DC and the

Continentals

For Bookings Contact

HONEYBEE ENTERTAINMENT

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330-904-0454

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Oscar Peterson/piano, NielsPedersen/bass and Bobby Durham/drums. The set includes “Between theDevil and the Deep Blue Sea,” “I Sur-render Dear,” “Dale’s Wail,” ‘Bye ByeBlackbird” and “Perdido.”

Oscar Peterson Trio ‘77 is arather different type of trio, as thegreat pianist is joined by two bassists,Ray Brown and Niels Pedersen.Among the nine songs are “OldFolks,” “ Indiana,” “There Is NoGreater Love,” “Teach Me Tonight”and “Sweet Georgia Brown.”

Mary Lou Williams ‘78 is a solopiano concert, featuring Williams oneight songs, including the openingmedley “The Lord Is Heavy/Fandangle/N.G. Blues/For The Figs/Baby Bear Boogie/Roll ‘Em,” plus“Over The Rainbow,” “Offertory Medi-tation,” “The Man I Love,” “Tea ForTwo,” “What’s Your Story MorningGlory” and “Honeysuckle Rose.”

The others in the series are RayBryant ‘77 , Milt Jackson & RayBrown ‘77 and Ella & Basie (The Per-fect Match) ‘79.

Then, in March of this year somemore titles were issued in the series,including Jazz at the Philharmonic‘77, Dizzy Gillespie Sextet ‘77, ClarkTerry Sextet ‘77, Eddie LockjawDavis ‘77, Tommy Flanagan Trio ‘77and Oscar Peterson Solo ‘75. Fromwhat I have seen these all come withchoices of stereo, DTS SurroundSound or Dolby 5.1.

For more information on the se-r ies, you can go towww.eaglerockent.com, and some-how from there you need to try to landon Norman Granz Jazz at the Philhar-monic.

If no luck, try Amazon. Bill Wahl

BUDDY RICH& HIS BANDThe Lost Tapes

LOBITOS CREEK/LIGHTYEAR DVDDating to 1985, this DVD presents

per formance footage from BuddyRich’s last recorded concert before hisdeath two years later.

These tapes were recovered froma fire and the original surround soundaudio was completely restored. An-other concert recorded on the samenight, the Channel One Suite, is alsoavailable on the same label.

Rich was around 68 at the time ofthis concert, and was still in goodform. The band swings and screamsand Rich gets plenty of solo space,which is what the fans generally wantto hear when they go to a concert per-formed by a drummer-led unit.

Although the materials accompa-nying this CD seem to suggest thatthis is a new release, I believe it waspreviously available as The Lost WestSide Tapes – that titled derived fromthe fact that the set closes with the“West Side Story Medley.”

Since I’ve not seen that issue, it ispossible that audio and video im-provements may have been made forthis new one. Both are very good, es-pecially considering that it was 20years ago, and the audio certainly pre-sents a natural big band sound, whichcan be heard in either DTS or DolbyDigital 4. Some of the other songshead are “Mexicali Rose,” “CottonTail,” and “Round Midnight.” Amongthe members of his band at the timewere pianist Bill Cunliffe and tenorsaxophonist Steve Marcus, who is astandout throughout.

Among the extras on the DVD is aSolos section, where you can choosejust the solos from Rich throughout theconcert, or those of Cunlif fe, orMarcus, or any of four others.

There is also a Commentaries sec-tion offering words from Buddy, hiswife Marie, daughter Cathy, drummerDave Weckl and others.

A very well presented set of BuddyRich’s brand of big band jazz.

Bill Wahl

Over 2,500 CD & DVD ReviewsAt Your Fingertips!

www.jazz-blues.com

B.B. KING BOOKSOne looking for a holiday present

for a blues lover could do far worsethan purchasing an absolutely won-derful new coffee table book plusmore devoted to the King of the blues.

The B. B. King Treasures: Pho-tos, Mementos & Music from B. B.King’s Collection is by King, DickWaterman and Charles Sawyer(Bulfinch). Sawyer, who wrote the firstbook-length biography of King, TheArrival of B.B. King, contributes a con-cise biography from King’s days grow-ing up in Mississippi to his days as anambassador for the music.

The remainder of the book is filledwith King’s recollections as given toDick Waterman, who supplementsthese recollections of growing up,working on the farm, moving to Mem-

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278 PAGE NINE

phis, touring and crossing over. Thereare not only some terrific photographs(many are very rare), but also somereproductions of memorabilia, includ-ing his sharecropping account from1940, tickets, programs and postersfor his shows, along with sheets show-ing how much he was earning prior toSid Seidenberg taking over his man-agement in the late sixties.

You can see him from his WDIAdays to receiving the musical equiva-lent of the Nobel Prize in Sweden withKing Carl Gustav handing him theaward.

In addition there is a CD withKing’s recollections and some unis-sued tracks. This is a multi-mediafeast for fans of one of the true leg-ends of world music. Compiled in partto celebrate his 80th birthday, TheB.B. King Treasures, is indeed a trea-sure.

While it has a $40.00 list price andis in local stores, it can be obtainedfrom amazon.com and other places forunder $30.00. Hopefully places willhave it on sale for the holidays.

A different approach to King andhis life is B.B. King, There is AlwaysOne More Time by David McGee(Backbeat Books). Part of the Livesin Music series, McGee provides somebiographical overview of King’s mu-sic and life, but this is really a surveyof King’s lengthy recording career that

is now in its sixth decade.This is more than simply a survey

of King’s extensive recordings, asMcGee has interviewed numerous par-ticipants in many of these recordings– ranging from first sessions with theNashville Bullitt label and Calvin New-born, who was on that session withother members of his family, to hisrecent collaborations with variousblues and pop superstars.

He also provides extensive com-mentary on the recordings them-selves, which can be somewhat ex-hausting reading at times althoughworthwhile as he traces the develop-ment and maturation of King’s style.Unfortunately, some of the major play-ers, especially in King’s earlier dayslike Maxwell Davis, are no longer withus.

He presents his opinions intelli-gently and fervently, but not afraid tocritique some recordings. He gener-ally notes the sources of King’s re-cordings, although their are gaffes ahe fails to correct the source ofGambler’s Blues that King originallyrecorded on his Blues is King disc (itwas a top ten hit for Dinah Washing-ton as You Satisfy and then redone asGambler’s Blues by Washington whoadded a verse from Billie Holiday’sFine and Mellow), nor correctly at-tribute Sloppy Drunk (he attributes itto Jimmy Rogers who likely got it from

FRI 2 .......RENDEZVOUS (DANCE, PARTY, ROCK)

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December

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John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson butthe song goes back to Lucille Bogan).There are a few other examples andalso King’s first three albums for ABCParamount are inadequately covered.

The first album’Mr. Blues is dis-cussed but not given its own subchap-ter l ike most recordings, butneither’Confessin’ the Blues nor Pay-ing the Cost to be the Boss are men-tioned nor analyzed even briefly. AlsoKing’s guest appearance with U2 isdiscussed at length (deservedly so),King’s guest appearances on CDs byblues legends and associates likeArthur Adams, Robert Lockwood Jrand Koko Taylor are not mentioned.This is not as serious as the omissionof the ABC albums, but still these re-cordings still say a lot about King,especially Lockwood who played suchan important role in helping shapeKing’s career at the beginning.

These points detract a little fromthe book, but are relatively minor. Ishould point out that I found thisslower reading than The B.B. KingTreasures, but that is in the very na-ture of what McGee is attempting. Itis not something for a very casual fanof the blues, or even King, but ratherfor the serious enthusiast of Kingsmusic. One will fine much to provokethought and perhaps lead one to lis-ten again or anew to King’s music.

Ron Weinstock

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278PAGE TEN

DifferentGenres

Here are some CDs and DVDs that may

have little to do with jazz, blues, funk, soul

or R&B, but they are all good choices for

those nostalgic trips, or for people who en-

joy a variety of music styles. They are also

some ideas for people on your shopping

list who just aren’t exactly into either jazz

or blues. The emails responding to our in-

clusion of such items has been so great,

that we will be including some reviews

such as these in our issues throughout the

year.

SINGER SONGWRITERSDAVID GRAY

TRACY CHAPMANCYNDI LAUPERFIONA APPLE

NATASHA BEDINGFIELDNIKI ANDRE

If your musical tastes go beyondthe realms of jazz and blues into thesinger/songwriter arena, or someoneon your gift list fits that bill, there areseveral recent releases worthy of men-tion.

I first heard David Gray while ex-periencing a two-hour Thai Yoga Mas-sage a couple of years ago. The mas-seuse generally played new age/meta-physical instrumental music to zoneout by. This time she said she’d trysomething different - describing him asa cross between Bob Dylan and TracyChapman (a good analogy as it turnedout). The massage began and I becameso engrossed in the music I did some-thing I rarely do - totally absorbed ev-ery bit of both the lyrics and the mu-sic. The album was White Ladder (re-leased in 2000) and I had to have it -immediately. As luck would have it, shehad two copies and laid one on me. Itwas rather minimalistic music, but ex-tremely well written with deep lyricsand rich, melodies. Gray, who is fromWales and is a unique blend of folk,rock and soul, had another album sincethat one, but I’d not heard any of it.Then came this new one, Slow Motion,released in September on TKO/BMGRecords. Opening with the orchestralsounds on “Alibi,” it did not take long

to realize that the music here was muchmore involved than the paired downstyle of the earlier album I’d heard. Butas infectious as the White Ladder al-bum was, I believe this one has takenthat quality to an even higher level.This is one disc you could probablylay on anyone who is into the singer/songwriter side of things and be quitesure they will love it. This album is alsoavailable as a DualDisc (one side -CDside - is the audio, and the other - DVDside - generally has the audio in en-hanced stereo or 5.1 surround soundplus some videos, though each DD hasdifferent types of DVD content.) Checkit out and sample some tracks atwww.davidgray.com.

Now, how about Tracy Chapmanherself! Cleveland-born Chapman hasbeen releasing excellent albums sincearound 1988. Her latest, Where YouLive, was just released on Elektra/At-lantic Records. Like Gray, Chapmanwrites serious songs rather than thelightweight fluff so many others comeup with. Chapman has so many greatsongs under her belt, it is tough to startnaming them for fear of running on andon. Those who are real fans know whatI mean. Unfortunately too many peoplehave only heard the two or so songs thatkeep playing over and over on the Waveand Light Rock radio stations – and theyaren’t even her better songs. But theSatellite listeners know better. This al-bum features a more paired down, in-formal kind of band and performancethan heard on some of her previouswork and it works to good effect. Itmight grow on you at just a bit slowerpace than some earlier ones, but growon you it does nonetheless. Chapmanhas a real knack for staying in thatmedium tempo groove almost con-stantly without it ever getting even closeto being monotonous. I’d often won-dered why I’d never heard of TracyChapman since I’ve been involved in theCleveland music scene since 1978. Asit turns out, she got out of town as soonas she could due to some really badexperiences. I’d have to think that thisalbum’s “3,000 Miles” was written aboutCleveland. I’d be quite surprised if it wasnot. It’s been three years in coming, butWhere You Live is another very wel-come addition to Tracy Chapman’s dis-cography. Check out more on this al-bum at www.atlanticrecords.com, scrolldown to the artists list and click onTracy Chapman.

Remember when Cyndi Laupercame on the scene in the early eight-ies as kind of a ditsy little blonde? Wellshe sure showed everyone that she wasnot only a unique and powerful singer,but a marvelous songwriter. Not onlyhas she had a slew of hits, but songsshe’s written, or first recorded, havebeen covered by such diverse artistsas Miles Davis (“Time After Time”) andPhil Collins (“True Colors”). Her latestCD, The Body Acoustic on EpicRecords, is just what the title mightsuggest - a collection of many of herbest known songs performed acousti-cally. While some, such as “Time Af-ter Time” are done similarly to theoriginals, others are given a whole newtwist, whether it be infused with blue-grass, reggae, ska, blues or whatever.Some of the other songs included are“All Through The Night,” “True Col-ors,” “She Bop,” “Sisters of Avalon,”“Money Changes Everything” and , ohyes, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”She also has some guests on most ofthe tracks, including Sarah McLachlan,Ani DiFranco, Vivian Green, Shaggyand Jeff Beck. Three new songs areheard here, including “Above TheClouds,” an scorchingly beautiful bal-lad she co-wrote with Beck who isheard on guitar, and another originalballad, “I’ll Be Your River,” on whichshe is joined by Green. Lauper’s voiceis not only a powerhouse, but she hasan impressive range to boot. Whileevident on her albums, I recently sawher in a concert promoting this album.I left the joint with no doubts as to thesinging abilities of Cyndi Lauper. Nowonder Miles liked her. This album isalso available as a DualDisc which issaid to include some live performancevideos. Since seeing her in concert, I’dbe interested to see that one as I havethe CD version. Check this one out atwww.epicrecords.com, or even more atwww.cyndilauper.com.

When Fiona Apple burst onto thescene in 1996 at the age of 18 she gar-nered quite a lot of critical acclaim,though many admitted she had someroom to grow. She’s had one albumand a whole lot controversies betweenher debut album and this new one, Ex-traordinary Machine on Epic Records.She’s now come back with her stron-gest effort yet. Her lyrics have defi-nitely matured, and the music has aswell. Described by almost everyonesince the beginning as a smokey

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278 PAGE ELEVEN

voiced alto, the singer/songwriter/pia-nist delivers a dozen songs that defi-nitely don’t have “pop hit” written onany on them, but they have that qual-ity that steadily grows on you, and thuswill probably have a longer lasting ap-peal. This is due in no small part tothe clever piano-based arrangementsand the diverse nature of the songsthemselves. Some of them are quitejazzy. This is a surprisingly good al-bum from Fiona Apple. This one alsois available as a DualDisc with videosand live performances. Check outFiona at www.epicrecords.com. If youlike this one, there is another singer inthe same vein who recently piqued myattention when watching the AustinCity Limits Festival video - RachaelYamagata - also a smokey and huskyvoiced alto who sings, writes and playspiano. She has an album tit ledHapenstance on BMG Records.

If you have a younger someone onyour gift list who listens to the pop fluffput out by Britney Spears and the like,you might want to have them move upa step or two with Unwritten by one ofEngland’s new young pop stars,Natasha Bedingfield. She’s been verysuccessful overseas with her blend ofhip hop, pop, ballads and R&B, and heralbum has just been released in the US,so chances are your gift target won’talready have it. She’s accomplishedquite a bit in a short time, in factBedingfield became just the third UKwoman to debut at number one with afirst album. You might want to choosethe DualDisc version which includessome music videos, recording studiofootage and an interview. Check it outat www.epicrecords.com.

While we don’t usually cover EPs,one came through that deserves someattention in the R&B/hip hop vein. NikiAndre has a 3-song debut on her ownlabel titled First Light. The 28-year oldCanadian singer/songwriter, who is thedaughter of a jazz musician, has asilky-smooth angelic voice. All threesongs are done in a laid back stylewhich fits her like a glove. In her ownwords, she refers to her music as “alyrical fusion of urban hip hop and sul-try diva jazz. I call it Dirty Jazz.” I’ll goalong with that. Hopefully she will bereleasing a full length album, as I foundmyself listening to these three cuts overand over again. You might want to kookinto her for yourself. Check her out atwww.sheilluminatesit.com. Bill Wahl

TRAFFICThe Last Great Traffic Jam

EPIC RECORDS DVDThis one is a baby boomer’s de-

light. I first became a fan of StevieWinwood through his work with theSpencer Davis Group (remember“Gimme Some Lovin’”?) and contin-ued to be from the first Traffic albumin ‘67 until their jazzy “Low Spark ofHigh Heal Boys” era. Unfortunately,Winwood’s post-Traffic work did littlefor me, but the 1994 Traffic reuniontour again sparked my interest. SinceI was not able to see them in a con-cert on that tour, this recent releaseof the DVD from the tour grabbed myattention once again.

At the time of this tour, Chris Wood(saxes, flute and keyboards) hadpassed away. Dave Mason was longgone as he left the band early on topursue a solo career. But two of theoriginal members, Winwood anddrummer Jim Capaldi, were on hand;and although Wood is missed, RandallBramlett does a fine job on saxes,flutes and keyboards, and the band isrounded out by guitarist Mike McEvoyand drummer/percussionist WalfredoReyes Jr. Winwood plays HammondB3 organ, Yamaha grand piano, gui-tar, and sings lead on all but “LightUp Or Leave Me Alone,” which is sungby Capaldi. The bottom line hereis....they sound fantastic. Often whenyou see reunions like this, the resultis disappointing, or worse. Winwoodseems to be having a great time re-turning to the roots, so to speak, aftertoo many years in a more pop veinwhere his musical talents as an instru-mentalist were all but lost. He andCapaldi spark the new members andthe result is every bit as satisfying as

the recent Cream reunion (see ourNovember ‘05 issue), and perhapseven more so for those who wereheavily into Traffic.

While the songs are heard in full,sometimes the video shifts to crowdscenes from the concert, or from the‘60s, or people laying in a puddle ofmud, or sometimes psychedelic pat-terns, black and white closeups, busscenes or other assorted odd things.It is not bothersome at all, as it couldhave been if not done right. The onlyfault I can find is that as Winwoodbuilds on his piano solo on “Glad,” andhe is well into it, the song just stopsand segues to a dressing room scene.Since the same thing happens on theaudio CD side of the DualDisc version(except that on the DD the piano solois faded-out), I’d have to think somekind of technical problem causedthem to make the cut. Although I dobelieve that footage from several dif-ferent concerts were used here, per-haps that was the best footage of thesong...who knows? But, Winwood getsinto more great solos, such as on therock-turns-to-jazz “Low Spark of HighHeel Boys” One extra treat is the ap-pearance of Gerry Garcia on guitarwhen the played “Dear Mr. Fantasy”at the San Francisco concert. Anothertreat is the comic antics of Capaldiscattered throughout. Sadly, Hepassed away in January of this yearbefore he could see the worldwide re-lease of this video.

Some of the other songs heard are“Pearly Queen,” “Medicated Goo,”“Mozambique” (a jazzy/Santana-ishexcursion), “Light Up Or Leave MeAlone,” “40,000 Headmen.” and“John Barleycorn (Must Die),” whichis a trio with Winwood on acousticguitar, Bramlett on flute and Capaldion tambourine/second vocals. Theclosing song is the above-mentioned“Gimme Some Lovin.” Both the audioand video is fantastic, with soundchoices in stereo or Dolby 5.1 sur-round. You also get a 3-song CD re-corded in 1994 which sounds like apractice session with only Winwoodand Capaldi. It says on the back thatyou can use the CD to unlock bonusvideo footage by going towww.stevewinwood.com. I’m not surewhat they are talking about, but if yougo there you can view a few clips fromthe video if you want to check it out.Look for them in the news section to

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278PAGE TWELVE

the left.This DVD has been dedicated to

Chris Wood, Gerry Garcia, formerTraffic percussionist Reebop KwakuBaah and, in Winwood’s words, “Tothe man without whom Traffic couldnever be: my lifelong friend JimCapaldi.”

In closing...if you are over 50 orso, I’d advise against the possibletemptation to track down a tab of acidor whatever to enjoy the experience.The occasional psychedelic patternsand things swirling about might makeyou toss your cookies. Actually, thatwould probably be the least of yourproblems. Trust me, this is thoroughlyenjoyable without any outside helpwhatsoever. Bill Wahl

Traffic:DualDisc Version

Epic Records has also issued aDualDisc of the music from the Traf-fic video if you only care about theaudio. It is a two disc set - Disc 1, aCD, contains the first 6 songs from thevideo; Disc 2 - the 2-sided DualDisc,contains the remaining 5 on the CDside. The DVD side of the DualDisccontains all 11 songs in enhanced ste-reo, a traffic interview with Winwoodand Capaldi and rare archival footageand photos. The DVD video reviewedabove does not contain the interview,photos or archival footage - it is justthe concert. –BW

STEVE WINWOODAbout Time

EPIC RECORDS DUALDISCSteve Winwood’s 1993 CD About

Time, which was released on his ownlabel Wincraft Records, has been re-leased by Epic Records as a 2-discCD/Dualdisc set. I had no idea thisalbum ever existed until I came acrossthis DD version last month. The mu-sic here is primo Winwood - the kindof stuff he was known for with Spen-cer Davis and Traffic, but better. Herehe covers jazz, rock, funk, R&B andlatin, as well as Afro, Jamaican andCaribbean Island styles and rhythms.There is absolutely nothing pop aboutany of the music here. What a treat!

Apparently after his 1997 album(Junction Seven) he got fed up withfeeding into the hit parade and de-cided to go back to the roots - some-thing his longtime fans have been

yearning for. He built this album on thefoundation of an organ trio - HammondB3 with guitar and drums. There is nobass player - he “kicks bass” like theold organ masters such as JimmySmith, Jack McDuff and others (or hemay be doing the bass with his lefthand), who were obviously his earlyinfluences. Applying this kind of trio tothe styles and rhythms mentionedabove results in some outstanding mu-sic. Speaking of kicking, I’m kickingmyself for missing his recent House ofBlues concert. But since I had no ideathis album existed, I presumed he wasgoing to be doing his pop stuff. Oh well,hindsight is still always 20/20.

He’s joined here by guitarist JosePires de Almeida Neto and drummerWalfredo Reyes Jr., who also playsadditional percussion on some tracks.If his name sounds familiar, you justread it in the review of the Traffic con-cert DVD above. There is also a congaplayer on 6 of the 11 tracks, a tim-bale player on the same 6, and a saxo-phonist/flautist who plays on 4. All thesongs were written or co-written byWinwood, except for Timmy Thomas’R&B gem “Why Can’t We Live To-gether,” which was also done by Sade.There is no question that those intothe “real” Stevie Winwood would lovethis album, as well as Santana fansand a host of others into rhythmicallycreative music.

This DualDisc version containsthe original 11 songs on Disc 1 (a CD)of the 2-disc set. The second disc, theDualDisc, contains 3 bonus tracks -live versions of his band playingTraffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “WhyCan’t We Live Together” and JimiHendrix’ “Voodo Chile” on the CD side.The DVD side contains the entire al-bum and the bonus tracks in enhancedstereo, plus live concert videos of theband - one at the Austin City LimitsFestival in Austin Texas and two at theSanoma Jazz Festival in California.Great stuff here, and for a list price of18.99 you sure get a lot of bang foryour buck. The DualDisc is in fact only2 bucks and a penny more than theoriginal straight CD version. You cansample it at www.stevewinwood.com.Navigate yourself to the solo albumsand via discography click on this one.

A first rate gift. Grab one for your-self too! If you don’t like it, you canemail me and tell me I’m a moron.

Bill Wahl

JOE COCKERLive at Montreux 1987

EAGLE ROCK DVDJoe Cocker may be one of the

most under-rated singers of our time.He can take a song like “With A LittleHelp From My Friend,” one of theBeatles most hokey recordings, andturn it into a virtual masterpiece. Thatsong, which launched his career intothe big time with his album andWoodstock appearance in ‘69, is heardon this 1987 live Montreux Jazz Festi-val performance.

Cocker pretty much transformsany song he wishes to tackle into aunique, standout rendition. He doesjust that to 12 more songs here, suchas Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues,”Bob Dylan’s “Dear Landlord” and“Watching The River Flow” and DaveMason’s “Feelin Alright.” some of theother songs he does here are “You CanLeave Your Hat On,” “Seven Days,”“You are So Beautiful,” “Guilty” and asong he did with Jennifer Warnes, “UpWhere We Belong,” on which he isjoined by one of his background sing-ers, Maxine Green. His six-piece bandis tight and solid and Cocker is in goodform throughout the show. On “Watch-ing The River Flow” he is joined byBrian Auger on Hammond B3 organand James Cotton on harp and sec-ond vocal.

A fine Cocker show with good au-dio and video quality, offering soundin stereo, DTS Surround Sound orDolby 5.1 Surround. These Montreuxperformances just keep on comingfrom Eagle. I have a feeling we canexpect many more Bill Wahl

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278 PAGE THIRTEEN

DualDiscWHAT IS IT?

Since many new releases are offered with the DualDiscoption, which don’t cost much, if any, more than a regularCD, below is some facts about the format courtesy ofDualDisc’s oficial website, DualDisc.com

Everything you want to know about DualDisc

What Is A DualDisc?DualDisc has both a CD player side and a DVD side,

allowing artists to create in exciting new ways usingaudio, video and computer content - all on a singletwo-sided disc.

What Is On A DualDisc?One side is the full-length CD audio album. The

other side offers DVD content. This may include en-hanced album audio, 5.1 surround sound, music vid-eos, artist interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, docu-mentary films, photo galleries, lyrics, computer-readydigital song files, and Web links. It all depends on theartist.

Do I Need New Equipment?No. However, to take full advantage of DualDiscs

that feature surround sound music, you’ll need a 5.1channel surround system.

What Is Enhanced Audio And Surround Sound?The DVD side of the DualDisc offers superior au-

dio. Many DualDiscs include surround sound mixes thathave been specially created during the recording pro-cess. When listened to on a 5.1 channel surround sys-tem, the result is a rich, three-dimensional musicalexperience.

Where Can I Play A DualDisc?We recommend using the DVD side if you have a

DVD player in order to enjoy the entire album in en-hanced audio and the additional DVD features. TheDVD side plays wherever a DVD plays - including manygaming consoles and computers. In a PC, the DVD sideacts like a DVD-ROM on DualDiscs that include com-puter extras and Web links. The CD side plays on allbut a limited number of CD and DVD models.

How Can I Tell Which Side Is Which?Each side is clearly marked for play on a CD or

DVD player.

What If I Put A DualDisc In My Player Upside-Down?If you place the DVD side in a CD player, it will not

play - just turn it over and re-insert.

What DualDisc Titles Are Available?Beginning in Fall 2004, a range of DualDisc titles

have become available across a variety of genres, forboth new and catalog releases. Check back here(www.dualdisc.com) and at individual record labelwebsites for specifics on titles and dates.

© 2004 5.1 Label Group, L.L.C., EMI Music NorthAmerica, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, UMG Re-cordings, Inc., Warner Music Group Inc.

LOVE, JANISLimited run at the Hanna Theatre

is Held Over to February 12Here is a great gift idea. Give your friends some tickets to

Love, Janis! The life and music of rock-n-roll icon JanisJoplin is exploding onto the Hanna Theatre stage in thisnew rock musical, which opened November 17 and wasscheduled to run only through January 15. It has been go-ing over so well that it has been extended until February 12!

Love, Janis goes behind the music and offers a glimpseat the soul of a legend both through the letters she wrotehome and the songs she made famous. Her classic musiccomes to life in this hauntingly intimate portrayal inspiredby the bestselling book by Laura Joplin. There is the JanisJoplin that most people remember - the female icon of60s rock music - the singular performer whose talent andvoice defied traditional musical definitions - the troubledwoman who died tragically young. But there was alsoanother side to Janis, the one remembered by her familyand her friends. This sensitive, intelligent, funny personis at the heart of Love, Janis.

Love, Janis features all of the great music that haskept the singer’s legendary status bright, even among gen-erations who never experienced her performances first-hand. “Piece of my Heart," “Ball and Chain," “Down onMe," “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Mercedes Benz” arejust five of the nearly 20 songs included in the show. But

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278PAGE FOURTEEN

the musical also focuses on the let-ters that Janis wrote home to her fam-ily, letters that demonstrate a down-to-earth girl who missed her family,sought advice, yearned for approvaland, most of all, fought to stay authen-tic and true to herself despite hergrowing celebrity. The journey is toldin Janis’ own words: the entire textcomes directly from her actual lettersand her many press, radio and televi-sion interviews.

Love, Janis is directed by RandalMyler who earned a Tony Award nomi-nation for It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Bluesand is the director and co-author ofHank Williams: Lost Highway and Fireon the Mountain. Music direction isprovided by Sam Andrew, foundingmember of Big Brother and the Hold-ing Company, whose pieces – writtenbefore, during and after Janis’ tenurewith the band – have been used innumerous major motion picturesoundtracks and documentaries. Dur-ing his career as a musician and com-poser, Mr. Andrew has had three plati-num albums and two hit singles.

Tickets to Love, Janis are on saleat the Playhouse Square Center TicketOffice; by phone at 216.241.6000 or1.800.766.6048 or onl ine atwww.playhousesquare.com. Perfor-mance times are Tuesday through Fri-day evenings at 7:30 pm, Saturday at4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and Sundayat 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. .

Ticket prices are $39.50 and$49.50. Groups of 16 or more, callgroup sales at 216.664.6050.

Title sponsor of the BroadwaySeries at Playhouse Square Center isMcDonald Financial Group. Visitwww.key.com/mfg for more informa-tion.

If you find yourself bewildered aboutwhat to purchase your favorite bluesbuddy for Christmas or if you arestumped about what to put on your ownlist so that your clueless non-bluesfriends don�t buy you a another Houseof Blues T-shirt, consider a few of thefollowing ideas:

1. Juke Joint- Photographs. Thisbook explores interiors of Juke Jointsthroughout the land. Hardcover $55, pa-perback $35. Available through Univer-sity Press of Mississippi.www.UPRESS.STATE.MS.US. orthrough 1-800-737-7788. 2. A Subscrip-tion to Blues Revue Magazine- $23.95 ayear (6 issues). Call 1-800-258-7388.Subscribers will also receive three BluesRevue sampler discs featuring a widevariety of established and up and com-ing artists. 3. A subscription to Big CityBlues Magazine- $25 per year (six is-sues), $50 for two years (12 issues) and$75 for three years (18 issues). Send acheck or money order to Big City Blues,P.O. Box 1805, Royal Oak, MI 48068-1805. 4. A Subscription to Living Blues-$23.95 a year (6 issues). Call 1-800-390-3527. 5. David Dalton�s wonderful bookBeen Here and Gone- A Memoir of theBlues (Morrow, 2000) which brings thekey figures of blues history such asCharlie Patton, Lightning Hopkins, BlindLemon Jefferson, Sonny BoyWilliamson, Leadbelly, Bessie Smith andMa Rainey to life. Using a fictionalbluesman, Coley Williams, who grows upwith the blues and meets these artistsand many others along the way, Daltonadds three dimensions to the dry histori-cal facts about their lives and times.Gamblers, con artists, drunks, divas andpoets all found their way into the bluesand over the course of 395 pages Daltonintroduces us to all of them. You�ll neverhear these artists the same way afterthey come alive for you through ColeyWilliam�s recollections of their times to-gether. An indispensable book for any-one with any interest in the characterswho created the blues. 6. Rollin’ andTumblin’ –edited by Jas Obrecht- A 480

page collection of essays and interviewsdetailing the careers of 25 electric bluesguitarists including Lightnin� Hopkins,Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers andFreddie, Albert and B.B. King. 7. Mem-bership in the Blues Foundation. $25 peryear for membership gives voting rightsin the annual W.C. Handy competition,discounts on merchandise, theFoundation�s newsletter and other ben-efits. Call 1-800-861-8795. 8. A member-ship to your local blues society. 9. TheBlues Highway- New Orleans to Chi-cago- is a road trip through the cradle ofmusical innovation in America. This traveland music guide follows Highway 61, theIllinois Central railroad and the Missis-sippi River to explore the roots of jazz,blues, Cajun, zydeco, country, rock & roll,soul and gospel music from CongoSquare in New Orleans to down-homeDelta juke-joints and on to South SideChicago clubs. Exciting features include:detailed city guides; extensive listings onwhere to stay and where to eat; whereto find the best music clubs and bars;historic landmarks; who�s who of jazz andblues; when and where to find music fes-tivals and events; and the people, cul-ture and cuisine of The Blues Highway. Ican speak from personal experience- thisbook took me straight to such historicsights as the Stovall Plantation whereMuddy Waters took his first steps andcountless other stops on a recent jour-ney from New Orleans back to Michigan.A must have. 10. Escaping the Delta-Robert Johnson and the Invention of theBlues. HarperCollins, 2004. AuthorElijah Wald puts Robert Johnson�s con-tribution to the blues in context and ex-plores the evolution of the blues from theDelta to today�s white bread for themasses. 11. Blues DVDs. Those thatcan�t make it out to see their favoriteblues artists or who simply weren�taround when the artist was alive can in-creasingly fill this hole in their musicallife by taking a spin through the musicDVD section of their music store. Checkout some of these as stocking stuffers:Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers- BigBlues Party; Tommy Castro- WholeLotta Soul; Magic Slim & The Tear-drops- Anything Can Happen; DukeRobillard and Friends- A SpecialEvening With; . There are plenty of addi-tional blues related DVDs availablethrough your local retailer. You can alsotravel into cyberspace and grab somethrough Amazon.com- go to the DVDsection, type in the name of your favor-ite artist and see if something is avail-able. 12. A selection (or two!!!) from

Over 2,500 CD& DVD Reviews

At Your Fingertips!Plus all issues

since October 2003available as PDFs.

www.jazz-blues.com

By Mark Smith

December 2005 – January 2006 • Holiday Special • Issue 278 PAGE FIFTEEN

Smitty�s 2005 blues picks; 13. A piece ofhighly cool art for the blues lover can bescored at www.primitivekoolart.com. 14.For the big spenders, how about a cabinon the Pacific Coast edition of the Leg-endary Blues Cruise which is set to sailfrom San Diego to Cabo San Lucas onOctober 3, 2006 or the Caribbean edi-tion which sails from Ft. Lauderdale onJanuary 14, 2007? Info is available at816-753-7979. Everyone I�ve spokenwith that has ever been on one of thesecruises swears it is the best blues expe-rience ever with dozens of top name actsand countless jam sessions amongst theartists. 15. Finally, at the other end of thebudget scale, how about a blues calen-dar with such legends as Lonnie Brooks,Buddy Guy, Gatemouth Brown or HubertSumlin? Available through AlligatorRecords at Alligator.com for a mere$13.98. Happy Holidays!! See ya nextyear. -Smitty

Smitty’s 2005 Year End PicksHere we go again with another trip

into controversy. No matter what discsmake my list I�m sure to excludesomeone�s favorite of the year. So here�sthe deal. These aren�t the best in anyempirical sense. They�re simply my fa-vorites of the year.

1. Renee Austin- Right About Love.With eleven mostly self�penned tracksto showcase her stunning voice Renee�Austin�s sophomore effort on Blind Pigis a glorious trip through road house rock,gospel, western swing and Memphisstyle blues. What really sets Austin apartfrom virtually all her peers is the immenseversatility of her voice. Her slow num-bers are rich and nuanced, her gospeland swing numbers are nimble and herrockers are throaty and powerful. Whileany number of singers can work theirway through a good ballad or power theirway to the front of a stomping rocker, veryfew can do both as well as Austin Pickthis up and treat yourself to a terrific vo-cal showcase by an artist who clearly hasa bright future ahead of her.

2. Hollywood Blue Flames- SoulSanctuary- This disc matches the sur-viving members of the Hollywood FatsBand with hot shot guitarist Kirk �Eli�Fletcher who has gone from relative ob-scurity to the top echelon of the bluesworld over the past couple of years withhis own solo recordings and high profilegigs with the Fabulous Thunderbirds andThe Mannish Boys. While filling in for theimmensely talented Fats would cause alesser talent to overplay his parts in aneffort to show himself worthy of the role,Fletcher avoids that trap and, instead,

plays with highly skilled restraint. The restof the band plays with the exuberanceof prisoners freed from the shackles oftheir storied past. Instead of longing forthe faded glory days when Fats madethem the envy of the West Coast bluesscene they are now free to be in themoment and even create a new history.

3. Sean Costello- On this, his ToneCool Records debut, guitarist SeanCostello checks in with a terrificallycrafted, soulful disc. Costello uses hisguitar to augment rather than totallydominate the songs. The real accom-plishment of this disc is just how easilyCostello�s original numbers stand tallagainst the gold standard of the coversby the likes of Al Green, Bob Dylan andRobert Ward. . If Costello keeps his fo-cus on crafting songs rather than hot shotguitar solos he will be in the disc racksfor years to come.

4. Sugar Ray and the Bluetones-Hands Across the Table. On his fourthdisc after leaving Roomful of Blues in late1996, Sugar Ray Norcia and his fellowBluetones are joined by new guitaristPaul Size and two of his former Roomfulband mates. The resulting disc is a hardhitting slice of Chicago style blues withsome swinging upbeat cuts thrown in forgood measure. Featuring plenty of Ray�sadept harmonica work and rich, butteryvocals the 13 cuts collected here harkenback to Ray�s pre-Roomful days whenhe was a band leader rather than simplya band member. It�s no stretch at all tosay this marks Ray�s best work sinceleaving Roomful.

5. Paul Oscher- Down In the Delta.Playing primarily solo with a harmonicain a neck rack and a guitar on a numberof tracks and with superstar support onthe balance, Paul Oscher has crafted afine slice of traditional blues. The photosof Oscher that adorn the disc tell the storyhere. Rather than posing in front of a fauxRoadhouse or blues shack a �la the en-try to most House of Blues facilities,Oscher plopped himself on the porch ofthe storied Hobson�s Plantation inClarksdale, Mississippi, revealing thehonest, raw boned grit and weatheredhistory that infuses every track. There�sno party here, just the straight blues thatexorcise the demons and call for whitelightning to wash away the evil taste theyleave behind.

6. Jimmy �T99� Nelson- The Leg-end. Following the recipe he success-fully used on his 2002 release, Take YourPick, 86 year old Houston blues shouterJimmy �T99� Nelson has reassembled thelion�s share of the late 80�s/early 90�s edi-

tion of Roomful of Blues to back up hisBig Joe Turner inspired vocals. While heisn�t as quick with a phrase as he oncewas, he makes up for it with the richnessthe slower pace adds to his hearty voice.This is music aimed strictly at your feetand butt.. Take a listen and be transportedthrough a rich slice of blues history.

7. Roomful of Blues- StandingRoom Only. Simply put, this 30 year oldband has rarely sounded better. With ev-erything from fast paced, horn ladennumbers, jump blues, slinky, guitardriven mambo grooves and even theslow, emotional blues that are Bobby�Blue� Bland�s stock in trade Roomful hasall the bases covered. While that can bea problem for less talented groupsRoomful carries off each of these styleswithout missing a beat.

8. Tommy Castro- Soul Shaker.With a sound that forges the soulful hornvibe of Southside Johnny and the AsburyJukes with Delbert McClinton style south-ern soul and a heavy dose of stingingguitar blues, Castro and his sterling bandhave crafted a disc that is consistentlyengaging. Leaving the straight bluesshuffles to others, Castro and crew takeon funk , a bit of jazz, steamy soul, clas-sic rock and even a Dixie �fried bit ofLittle Feat style rump shaking with thetitle track. Don�t worry that all this stretch-ing means that Castro has left his guitarin the case. While there are no longwinded solos (and haven�t we hadenough of those lately??) there�s plentyof guitar here.

9. Fabulous Thunderbirds-Painted On. While he�s the only originalmember, Kim Wilson is determined tokeep the Fabulous Thunderbirds alive.This disc pairs him with a couple of hotshot guitarists, Nick Curran and Kirk �Eli�Fletcher who acquit themselves well inthe spot once occupied by JimmieVaughan. You have to go back to the pre-MTV days to hear a better T-Birds re-lease. With hard rocking grooves, tightsoul and straight out Texas style bluesthis one is a real keeper.

10. Jimi Bott- Live Vol. 1, CheapThrills. Recorded live during his stintsas drummer for the likes of Rod Piazza& the Mighty Flyers, The FabulousThunderbirds, Mark Hummel and a hostof others, Bott has captured some bliss-ful blues moments. None of these trackswere part of a planned recording project(many are board or even walkman tapes)so no one was uptight and the perfor-mances have the freewheeling feel of anight at your local blues bar.

See you in 2006!