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January 2008Issue 300

The Blues Foundation Announces29th Annual Blues Music Awards Nominees

Watermelon Slim Picked In Six Categories

January 2008 • Issue 300PAGE TWO

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ON THE COVERWatermelon Slim & The Workers were nomi-nated in 6 categories for the 2007 Blues Mu-sic Awards. See the story to the right and BluesWatch for more information. Photo courtesyof Northern Blues Records.

The Blues Foundation Announces 29th Blues

Music Awards Nominees

Memphis, TN – The Blues Foundation will present the Blues Music Awardsfor the first time in their 29-year history in the Mississippi Delta, the birthplaceof the Blues. Performers, industry representatives and fans from around theglobe will celebrate the best in Blues recording and performance from the pre-vious year on May 8 at the Grand Casino Event Center in Tunica Resorts,Mississippi, just down the road from Memphis, the Awards’ home since their1980 inception.

Among those heading the list of the honorees is Mississippi favorite sonBobby Rush who garnered four nominations, including another historical first—nomination as Artist of the Year in both the Acoustic and Soul Blues catego-ries. This singular achievement stems from the nominators’ recognition of thetwo personas exhibited in his 2007 public performances—some shows featur-ing his long-running soul revue while others found him alone with a guitar anda harmonica in support of his Acoustic Album of the Year nominee Raw.

Watermelon Slim & the Workers returned in force, securing six nomina-tions for the second consecutive year on the strength of their Album of Yearcandidate The Wheel Man. The “Queen of the Blues” Koko Taylor returns toform with four nominations, including one for her Album of the Year nomineeOld School. The other artists with Album of the Year selections rode them tothree nominations apiece, including On the Jimmy Reed Highway by OmarKent Dykes & Jimmie Vaughan; Bettye LaVette’s The Scene of the Crime;Nick Moss & the Flip Tops’ Play It ‘Til Tomorrow; My Life, My Friends, MyMusic by Sugar Ray & the Bluetones; and James Blood Ulmer’s Bad Bloodin the City. Lurrie Bell also was honored with three nominations, including onehe shares with his late father Carey in the newly-created DVD category.

“At this time of year, releasing the list of nominees is like letting a Blues fanopen a gift a little bit early,” according to Jay Sieleman, The Blues Foundation’sExecutive Director, “and members are able to play with it right away by rushingout to purchase the nominated CDs, accessing the ballot to start marking theirchoices or purchasing tickets to get the best seats for the show. Looking intonext year, we are really excited about the opportunities the 2008 event willoffer Blues fans worldwide, the chance to soak up the deep Blues history ofthe Delta both before and after the Awards show itself. As the State of Missis-sippi continues to develop its Blues Marker Trail, you know Mississippi will beready.”

Online voting began December 13 for members and ends February 29.Voting, ticket and host hotel information can be found at The Blues Foundation’swebsite—www.blues.org.

The Blues Music Awards are universally recognized as the highest honorgiven to Blues artists. The presenting sponsor will once again be The GibsonFoundation. In 2008, the State of Mississippi, the Tunica Convention and Visi-tors Bureau and the Grand Casino and Resort are also sponsoring the BluesMusic Awards. The Blues Music Awards are also sponsored by BMI, CaseyFamily Programs, Eagle Rock Entertainment, FedEx, and the Sierra NevadaBrewing Company.

The Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Charter Members’ Din-ner will be held the night before on Wednesday, May 7 at the Tunica RiverParkmuseum situated on the banks of the Mississippi River. The 2008 inducteeswill be announced early this year.

January 2008 • Issue 300 PAGE THREE

The Blues Music Awards are produced by The BluesFoundation, a non-profit organization established to pre-serve Blues history, celebrate Blues excellence, supportBlues education and ensure the future of this uniquelyAmerican art form. The Foundation consists of a world-wide network of 165 affiliated Blues societies and has indi-vidual memberships spanning the globe. In addition to theBlues Music Awards, the Foundation also produces theBlues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the InternationalBlues Challenge and the Keeping the Blues Alive Awards.It fosters education through its Blues in the Schools pro-gramming and supports the medical needs of Blues musi-cians with its HART Fund. Throughout the year, the Foun-dation staff serves the worldwide Blues community withanswers, contact information and news.

For a complete list of the nominees, go towww.blues.org/bluesmusicawards/nominees.php4 or go towww.blues.org and navigate your way to the nominees andyou can read about the process.

Pianist/composer/bandleader OscarPeterson, one of themost popular jazz artistsin history, died on Sun-day, December 23,2007, at his home inMississauga, Ontario,outside Toronto. He was82.

Peterson recordedwith most of the jazzgreats over the years.

OscarPeterson

1925-2007

He played alongside giants like Louis Armstrong, EllaFitzgerald, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie,Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Stan Getzand Nat King Cole.

Peterson was born on August 15, 1925, in Montreal.Norman Granz, his influential manager and producer,brought him to New York City in 1949 for the first Jazz atthe Philharmonic (JATP) tour. Peterson went on to leadtwo of the most popular jazz trios in the world, one withbassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis, the other withBrown and drummer Ed Thigpen.

Peterson had more than 200 recordings to his credit,along with eight Grammy Awards, the Glenn Gould Prizein 1993, and, in June of 1999, he received the prestigiousJapanese Praemium Imperiale Award. Despite having suf-fered a stroke, he continued to dazzle listeners around theworld.

Peterson’s first recording for Telarc, The LegendaryOscar Peterson Trio - Live at the Blue Note, was the re-cipient of the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Jazz GroupInstrumental Performance. Best known for his brilliant play-ing, he was equally accomplished as a composer. In 2000,

Peterson teamed up with Michel Legrand for The Trail ofDreams: A Canadian Suite. Orchestrated and conductedby Legrand, The Trail of Dreams premiered in April 2000 atRoy Thomson Hall in Toronto. In 2001, Telarc releasedOscar’s Ballads, a compilation focused on the hauntinglybeautiful ballads written by Peterson over the past 10 years.The Legendary Oscar Peterson Trio - Live at the Blue Note,a historic 4-CD collection of the pianist’s most treasuredlive recordings, was released in 2004. A 1998 recording,What’s Up? The Very Tall Band (with Peterson, Ray Brownand Milt Jackson), was released in 2007.

“To have been able to work with Oscar was a life longdream for us,” says Bob Woods, Telarc’s President. “Thatwe were able to make so many exceptional recordings withhim in the difficult latter years of his life was a sign of hisincredible strength and passion for his special kind of mu-sic making. Our highest thoughts go out to his family atthis time, and our sincerest appreciation to Oscar for beingable to be a part of his incredible journey.”

Joel Dorn1942-2007

Joel Dorn, the pro-ducer behind many ofAtlantic Records’ mostsuccessful jazz re-leases, passed awaysuddenly December 17.He was 65.

Joel Dorn, a mul-tiple Grammy Award-winning record producerwho first made a namefor himself while at At-lantic Records in thelate 1960s and early

’70s, died from a heart attack in New York City at the ageof 65.

Dorn was the producer behind many of AtlanticRecords’ most successful jazz releases. His affiliation withAtlantic spanned decades, beginning as an independentproducer for the label in the early 1960s. He soon joinedthe company’s legendary in-house production staff, andwith mentor Nesuhi Ertegun, recorded some of the great-est jazz artists of the era before branching out with equalsuccess into pop, rock, and R&B. When Rhino began toreissue the Atlantic jazz catalog in 1993, Dorn spearheadedthe campaign, producing and annotating nearly two dozentitles. In addition to his work for Atlantic and Rhino, Dornreleased archival recordings on his own labels Night, M,and 32 Records (including the highly successful Jazz ForA Rainy Afternoon compilations).

Born on April 7, 1942, Joel Dorn grew up in Philadel-phia and took to music at an early age, working as a discjockey for local station WHAT-FM while still in his teens.Inspired by Ray Charles’ iconic recordings for Atlantic, Dornbegan corresponding with Nesuhi Ertegun, a relationshipthat eventually led to a job at the label’s New York office inMay of 1967. It was an age of musical exploration, in jazz

January 2008 • Issue 300PAGE FOUR

as well as rock, and Dorn’s approach behind the boards —fashioning a framework that would allow musicians maxi-mum freedom — brought out the best in such artists asRahsaan Roland Kirk, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, YusefLateef, and Herbie Mann.

It was an approach that worked equally well in the popand R&B arenas. In 1972 and 1973, Dorn won consecutive“Record Of The Year” Grammys as producer of RobertaFlack’s hits “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Kill-ing Me Softly With His Song.” Dorn was also at the helm forseminal releases from the likes of Bette Midler (The DivineMiss M), The Allman Brothers (Idlewild South), Leon Red-bone (On The Track), The Neville Brothers (Fiyo On TheBayou), and many others.

“Joel bridged the worlds of jazz and pop with enormousskill and grace, never compromising the integrity of his art-ists and their music,” remarked Edgar Bronfman Jr., Chair-man and CEO of the Warner Music Group. “A great charac-ter, he loved and understood the music, and he had therare gift of identifying genuine talent and drawing out theirbest work. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Joel’s entirefamily and many friends during this very difficult time.”

2007 marked Joel Dorn’s 47th year in the record busi-ness. In a great loss to both American culture and musicfans everywhere, it would be his last. Over the past de-cade, he’d produced albums by Jane Monheit, Jacob FredJazz Odyssey, Leon Parker, Janice Siegel and The Frankand Joe Show (featuring guitarist Frank Vignola and per-cussionist Joe Ascione). In 2003, Dorn helped create Hy-ena Records. The independent label forged an identity withan intriguing mix of new and archival recordings, includingthose by Thelonious Monk, Dr. John and Joe Williams.

At the time of his death, Dorn was completing a five CDbox set for Rhino Handmade entitled Homage A Nesuhi,serving as a tribute to his mentor Nesuhi Ertegun and theiryears together at Atlantic Records. He was also the voiceof Sirius Satellite Radio’s “Pure Jazz” channel and was pro-ducing a series of music infomercials for Time Warner.

“I don’t know how to do anything else. It’s like if I don’tdo this what am I going to do? Sit in the park? I love doingstuff with music, with records. I enjoy it,” Dorn once saidabout being a producer. “I know that might not be the greatspiritual answer, but I really love making records.”

The Blind Boys Of Alabama toSpread the Word on 2008 Tour

Four time Grammy Awards winners The Blind Boys ofAlabama are plotting a national tour in support of their newalbum ‘Down In New Orleans’ (Jan 29/Time Life - to be re-viewed in our February issue). To kick off the tour, the groupwill join an all-star lineup of Gospel music legends includ-ing The Dixie Hummingbirds, Chuck Campbell, and theMcIntosh County Shouters in the National Heritage Mas-ters: Gospel Caravan concert January 25. The tour alsosees the band sharing bills with Mavis Staples and TajMahal.

Blind Boys’ concerts are joyous celebrations. The Bos-ton Globe observed earlier this month, “In concert, the BlindBoys of Alabama still raise up their bluesy hallelujahs torarefied soul-groove highs.” In a recent concert review, The

Boston Herald said, “[The] Blind Boys wow... the night wasas solid as a rock.” The Philadelphia Inquirer agreed, “Intheir own way, The Blind Boys have given black vernacularmusic a 21st century significance.”

They may be from Alabama but they’ve been spendingtime in the Crescent City. The Blind Boys’ new album ‘DownIn New Orleans,’ their first in three years, will be releasedJanuary 29, 2008 on the Time Life Music label.

The Blind Boys of Alabama are Jimmy Carter, Eric‘Ricky’ McKinnie, Joey Williams, Caleb ‘Bobby’ Butler, TracyPierce, Billy Bowers and Ben Moore.

THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA -2008 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

1/25 New York City Center New York, NY(w/ Gospel Caravan)1/26 Bearsville Theatre Woodstock, NY2/6 Attucks Theater Norfolk, VA2/8 Duke University Durham, NC (w/ Mavis Staples)2/10 Carnival Center Miami, FL (w/ Mavis Staples)2/12 Oberlin College Oberlin, OH2/13 The Kent Stage Kent, OH2/15 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI2/16 Mayo Civic Center Rochester, MN2/22 Jacoby Hall Jacksonville, FL2/23 Jacoby Hall Jacksonville, FL3/7 Knitting Factory Los Angeles, CA3/8 Coach House San Juan Capistrano, CA3/9 Belly Up Solana Beach, CA3/14 Humboldt State University Arcata, CA3/15 Stanford Lively Arts Stanford, CA3/16 Gallo Center for The Arts Modesto, CA3/20 Savannah Music Festival Savannah, GA(w/ Adolphus Bell)5/23 Burton Cummings Theatre Winnipeg, MB(w/ Taj Mahal)5/24 Esplanade Center Medicine Hat, ALB(w/ Taj Mahal)5/25 Winspear Centre Edmonton, AB (w/ Taj Mahal)5/26 Jack Singer Concert Hall Calgary, AB(w/ Taj Mahal)5/28 Royal Theatre Victoria, BC (w/ Taj Mahal)5/29 Centre for Performing Arts Vancouver, BC(w/ Taj Mahal)5/30 Casino Regina Regina, SK

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January 2008 • Issue 300 PAGE FIVE

Canada’s Seventh Annual NationalJazz Awards set for April 8

at The Palais Royale, TorontoToronto, Ontario – The National Jazz Awards, presented

by Galaxie, CBC’s Continuous Music Network and gener-ously supported by FACTOR, salutes “The Next Genera-tion”. Executive Director Bill King has assembled an amaz-ing line up that will feature many of this country’s youngjazz artists who will share the stage in performance andcelebration.

Hosted by two of Canada’s highly regarded young art-ists, Kellylee Evans and Michael Kaeshammer, the awardswill also feature performances from: The Mike Ruby Quar-tet, 13 year-old Nikki Yanofsky, Brandi Disterheft Quintet,Elizabeth Shepherd Trio, Laila Biali Trio, Alex Bellegarde,October Trio, and of course Evans and Kaeshammer.

Kellylee Evans has enjoyed a productive,groundbreaking year receiving nominations for a Geminiaward, a Juno award and Toronto Independent Music award.She also won the 2007 Canadian Smooth Jazz award forFemale Vocalist of the Year. Kellylee’s star is on the rise.Visit www.kellyleeevans.com

Michael Kaeshammer has just released “Days LikeThese,” his long awaited follow up to “Strut,” and is receiv-ing only positive reviews. He has melded his deep affec-tion for New Orleans and its music with his fast growingsongwriting and singing skill. Expect his droll humour toshine through as a co-host. Visit www.kaeshammer.comAlso confirmed as Musical Director is Shuffle Demonsfounder Richard Underhill.

Founder and Executive Director of the awards, Bill King,says, “We can all be proud of the artists who have pavedthe way and music programs that are now in place to sup-port and nurture this next generation. The success is obvi-ous with young artists from all regions of Canada advanc-ing the art form. It’s about new faces, new sounds and afresh take on the music we all hold dear.”

National Jazz Awards (NJA) Executive Producer, PatrickTaylor added that, “While the National Jazz Awards will con-tinue to recognize all of our Canadian jazz artists, this showpromises to be one for the history books, as we witnesssome of the brightest young stars on the scene today. Anevening not to be missed.”

Tickets are $65 and are on sale through Ticketmaster416.870.8000 or www.ticketmaster.ca

Jazz composer/arranger DonSebesky & wife receive Grammynomination for children’s album

Philadelphia, PA – It’s understandable that one of themost highly respected composers and arrangers in jazzwould be honored with a Grammy nomination for his firstcomposition in children’s music, as it was written as a trib-ute to his family. Inspired by his wife, Janina Serden’s nar-ration of Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit as sheread this favorite book to their (then) baby girls, Sebeskypackaged his love for them into one of his most beautifulcompositions, which was released in album format by BrownBarn Productions in 2007 and submitted for a Grammy.

With lyrics by award-winning lyricist Gloria Nissensonand narration by Serden, Tony and Grammy Award-winningSebesky released “The Velveteen Rabbit – Love Can MakeYou Real” this year. Serden marvels at this nomination andis sentimental about its significance to their family. “It’s amini-miracle that it was nominated. After all, the album wasnot produced by a big label, as Don is accustomed to. But itwas born out of love, was a labor of love and is based on astory of love. Our music is very much like the main charac-ter of this book – the Velveteen Rabbit – who comes to lifethrough love.”

“The Velveteen Rabbit – Love Can Make You Real” isbeing presented in a children’s production with a nationaltour that was launched in late November, 2007 and is run-ning through 2008. This unique production features life-sizepuppets, masked actors and magic and will be on tour inFebruary, during the time of the 50th Annual GrammyAwards, which is broadcast live from Los Angeles on Sun-day, February 10 on CBS TV. The new CD may also bepurchased at performances of Enchantment TheatreCompany’s “The Velveteen Rabbit” and online, where moreinformation is available at: www.TheVelveteenRabbitCD.

Sebesky is one of the more talented and respected com-poser-arrangers in music today. His sensitivity and versatil-ity have enabled him to produce an enormous body of work,wide in scope ranging from jazz to symphonic to pop. As arecording artist, and through his collaborations with otherartists he has received 29 Grammy nominations (three timewinner), three Tony nominations (winner 2000), two DramaDesk Awards, three Emmy nominations, and four ClioAwards. He is the author of the best selling orchestrationtext book “The Contemporary Arranger”.

As a composer and arranger, he has worked with manyartists such as Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, Wes Montgom-ery, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, George Benson, Chris-tina Aguilera, Vanessa Williams, Britney Spears, BarryManilow, Bette Midler, Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper and KevinSpacey. As a composer, arranger and conductor, he hasworked with the London Symphony, Chicago Symphony,Boston Pops, Royal Philharmonic of London, New YorkPhilharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony. In television,he has received three Emmy nominations for his work onshows such as Allegra’s Window/ Nickelodeon, Edge ofNight/ ABC and Guiding Light/ CBS.

Janina Serden has performed as a solo singer and pia-nist and as a featured artist with symphony orchestra inconcerts such as “Symphonic Sondheim” and “Hope TakesFlight.” Janina was music director for the Emmy-nominatedchildren’s series “Allegra’s Window” on Nickelodeon. Shehas sung on many radio and television commercials suchas G.E., Kraft, Pepsi, and DHL (“What the World NeedsNow is Love”). Her CD of original songs about love, hopeand transformation called “Small Inspirations” is a tribute tomotherhood as well as the inspiration for a one-act play“Small Inspirations and Great Love.” Songs from “SmallInspirations” are featured in a new greeting card line atWithaCardandaSong.com. She has also written music andlyrics for the new musical, “Chick Soup: A Musical Recipefor Friendship.”

For more information about The Velveteen Rabbit per-formances by Enchantment Theatre Company, visitwww.enchantmenttheatre.org.

January 2008 • Issue 300PAGE SIX

New Orleans Cultural Ambassador& Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield to tour

with New Orleans Jazz OrchestraIrvin Mayfield, the consummate New Orleans musician,

is a man on a mission. Although only 29 years old, the ver-satile trumpeter, bandleader, composer and arranger isdriven to spread the word about the rich history and cul-tural significance of jazz and the city that birthed it. Appointedthe Cultural Ambassador of the City of New Orleans in 2003by the United States Senate, Congress and other govern-mental agencies, his name has become synonymous withthe still-unfolding legacy of America’s only indigenous mu-sic.

Even after Katrina—especially after Katrina, which tookthe life of his father, Irvin Mayfield, Sr.—this tireless Re-naissance man considers jazz nothing less than the mani-festation of all that American democracy represents. Withinthe freedom that is so intrinsic to jazz, Mayfield sees thestory of America. In its myriad rhythms and personalities,he finds the oversized soul of New Orleans.

Mayfield, whose extensive discography stretches backnearly a decade, is rooted firmly in the present, but he hasbenefited enormously from studying that which came be-fore. He has absorbed the music of the giants; particularlythe trumpeters who have helped define the course of jazzover the decades and set Irvin on his own journey of explo-ration: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, andDizzy Gillespie. He considers Wynton Marsalis—anotherpromoter of the great heritage of New Orleans—a mentor.Irvin was only 9 years old when Wynton was at the heightof his career, but Irvin’s relationship with the Marsalis fam-ily goes way back. Ellis Marsalis performed on Irvin’s de-but album and now the pair has collaborated again, thistime on Irvin’s new exquisite solo album, to be released onApril 1, 2008, titled Love Songs, Ballads and Standards.The recording, on Basin Street Records, features the Loui-siana Philharmonic Orchestra and spotlights Irvin’s inter-pretations of classic songs made famous by the Beatles,Thelonious Monk, Norah Jones, Stevie Wonder, DukeEllington and others.

In addition to his solo albums, Irvin performs with hisrenowned New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO), the spir-ited, swinging, 16 piece band steeped in the tradition ofNew Orleans jazz, blues, swing and spirituals. Irvin whofounded NOJO is also the Artistic Director. Ronald Markham,is President and CEO of the permanent organization whichis headquartered at NOLA’s Tulane University, educatingthe public about the role of jazz, provides employment op-portunities with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO).

In 1998, along with percussionist Bill Summers, co-

founded Los Hombres Calientes, a Latin-jazz outfit that hasreleased five CDs and a DVD thus far. The group’s debutalbum won Billboard’s 2000 Contemporary Latin Jazz Al-bum of the Year, and their Vol. 3: New Congo Square CDwas nominated for a Grammy.

For Irvin, all of this activity has never simply been aboutmaking a living. It’s all part of a greater picture that findshim carrying on the great traditions of New Orleans andelevating the music’s profile. One might think that the dev-astation wrought by Hurricane Katrina would have changedall of that, dampened Irvin’s spirit. But if anything, the di-saster has only strengthened his resolve and recharged him.

Now, more than ever, Mayfield has renewed his dedi-cation, and toward that end, he has increased his presenceas a representative of his beloved city. Mayfield was amongthe artists featured at Lincoln Center’s 2005 Higher Groundbenefit concert that aided victims of the hurricane, and herecently became the recipient of an immaculate hand-craftedtrumpet created by David Monette of Portland, Oregon.Called the Elysian Trumpet, in honor of Irvin’s father, whosebody was found on Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleansmonths after the storm, the instrument is truly a thing ofbeauty. Inlayed with jewels and images of New Orleans andthe hurricane itself, the trumpet is insured for $1 million.“They did not make this trumpet for me. This is for my fa-ther, for all those who died in Katrina and the people ofNew Orleans,” Irvin said at the trumpet’s unveiling. The in-strument has been blessed by representatives of three ofthe world’s largest religions, most recently by the Archbishopof Canterbury during his historic visit to New Orleans inSeptember.

Irvin is currently recording and touring with the NewOrleans Jazz Orchestra and performs on the Elysian Trum-pet, a traveling emblem of the vibrancy of New Orleans,and will serve to honor the lineage of jazz in America and ofall who perished in Katrina.

Since he first picked up the trumpet as a child, IrvinMayfield has been New Orleans music personified. As JazzTimes Magazine once put it, Mayfield is “holding the torchfor the port city’s past trumpet kings.” But now, as the Cres-cent City reawakens and redefines, Irvin is doing every-thing within his power not just to build awareness of NewOrleans’ past, but to help create New Orleans’ future.

Irvin Mayfield with NOJO 2008 US Concert Tour

1/26: Alys Stephens Center @ University of Alabama - Birmingham, AL

1/27: Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta, GA2/20: Coronado Theatre - Rockford, IL2/21: Grand Theater – Wausau, WI2/22: Minnesota Orchestra Hall - Minneapolis, MN2/23: Holland Performing Arts Center - Omaha, NE2/26: Krannert Center - Urbana, IL2/28: Overture Center - Madison, WI3/16: Tulsa Performing Arts Center - Tulsa, OK4/11: Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall - Chicago, IL4/24: Max M. Fisher Music Center, Orchestra Hall -

Detroit, MI4/26: Indiana University Auditorium - Bloomington, IN7/3: Amphitheater at Stanford University - Palo Alto, CA

For updated information and more concert dates, visitonline at www.thenojo.com.

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January 2008 • Issue 300 PAGE SEVEN

7th Annual Ponderosa Stompconfirmed for April 29 & 30 atHouse of Blues in New Orleans

In its seven year history, The Ponderosa Stomp hasgrown from “two nights of insane rock & roll” into a revered,year-round institution and leading advocate for the greatunsung heroes of American Music. The 2008 Stomp will bethe biggest and best to date, promising an expertly curatedline-up of performers, daytime panel discussions (a Stompfirst), and surprises galore.

Bookended, as is tradition, by the two weekends of JazzFest, the 2008 Stomp will take place April 29 and 30, onthree stages at the House of Blues in New Orleans, withmarathon sets that in years past have run from sundown tosunup.

The New York Times has hailed the Ponderosa Stompas “a dream” that “plunges into the obscure byways of rock’spast.” Next year’s line-up is the Stomp’s most eclectic andambitious to date, with performances ranging from pillarsof ’60s female pop, Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes andMary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, to garage rock pioneersThe Green Fuz (reuniting for the first time in 40 years!);from soul deep R&B innovators The Mighty Hannibal, SylJohnson, and The Hi Rhythm Section, to children of theuniverse Roky Erickson and Question Mark & TheMysterians; plus many architects of the New Orleans groovelike Eddie Bo, Zigaboo Modeliste and Wardell Quezergue,and so much more. As in years past, the 2008 PonderosaStomp will be sponsored by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,The House of Blues, and New Orleans’ Fine Hotels.

New to the Ponderosa Stomp next year will be the firstPonderosa Stomp Music Conference, a full slate of day-time panel discussions and oral histories set for April 29and 30 at the historic Cabildo on New Orleans’ JacksonSquare. Featured speakers include Ponderosa Stomp-cer-tified performers Sonny Burgess, Barbara Lynn, Lazy Lester,Dale Hawkins and Roy Head, acclaimed authors PeterGuralnick, Holly George-Warren and Robert Gordon, andmusic biz legends Joe Bihari (founder of RPM and ModernRecords), and Bob Sullivan (original engineer for the Loui-siana Hayride) among others. The conference is presentedby the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation and will be co-spon-sored by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and LouisianaState Museum.

The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation’s primary mission isto celebrate the unsung heroes of American music. TheFoundation’s programs, including the now-famous Ponde-rosa Stomp, illuminate the indelible cultural footprint left bysome of the pioneers of rock & roll, soul, country, blues,jazz, reggae, swamp pop and beyond. Many performershave seen their careers revitalized by the Stomp and itsever-expanding list of initiatives. In 2007 alone, the Ponde-rosa Stomp Foundation sponsored a showcase at the SouthBy Southwest music conference in Austin, drew nearly 5,000fans to a Stomp-curated show at Brooklyn’s McCarren ParkPool, launched a monthly concert series at the Ogden Mu-seum of southern Art in New Orleans, and created a music-in-the-schools program for children in under-served com-munities, starting with a partnership with New Orleans’

groundbreaking Good Shepherd School.The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation is a project of MK

Charities Inc., a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational organiza-tion. All contributions are tax-deductible in accordance withIRS Code Section 170. MK Charities Inc., is supported by agrant from the Louisiana Arts Council through the Louisi-ana Division for the Arts and the National Endowment forthe Arts.

Tickets to the 2008 Ponderosa Stomp go on sale Janu-ary 19 through Ticketmaster ’s website (http://www.ticketmaster.com) and the House of Blues box officein New Orleans (225 Decatur St., New Orleans, LA, 70130).Visit www.ponderosastomp for updates and more details.

The Montreal Guitar Showset for June 27 to 29

Montreal, Quebec - Renowned far and wide as the larg-est guitar show in Canada, the Montreal Guitar Show takesplace next year throughout the first weekend of the FestivalInternational de Jazz de Montréal, from June 27 to 29, 2008.Guitar lovers, come on down to admire, test-drive and evenpurchase beautiful guitars hand-made by true artisans ofthe instrument who often themselves become celebrities toplayers and collectors. The 2008 edition of the event wel-comes one hundred exceptional guitar luthiers hailing fromCanada, the United States and France-as well as moreconcerts, workshops, sound-proof studios and activities totempt every six-string fanatic. All this in a larger and moreaccommodating space at the Hyatt Regency Montreal. It’sthe must-see rendezvous for real fans of acoustic, classi-cal, archtop or gypsy guitars, and the world’s greatestluthiers.

The Montreal Guitar Show has become an internation-ally-renowned event thanks to the establishment of an ad-visory committee gathering some of the world’s finestluthiers, whose passion for guitar rivals our own. This gui-tar nirvana would not exist without the support, ideas, judi-cious input and, simply, the combined expertise and devo-tion of luthiers Mario Beauregard, Bill Comins, Rick Davis,Sergei de Jonge, Charles Fox, Oskar Graf, MichaelGreenfield, Peter Hopkins, Michael Lewis, Linda Manzer,John Monteleone, Tom Ribbecke, Ervin Somogyi and JeffTraugott. It’s a committee of major figures offering ampleindication of the exceptional craftsmen, artisans and artistsparticipating in the event.

Thanks to them, the MGS has been a runaway block-buster success since its inception. That popularity, illustratedby the long lines of fans on hand to discover these musicaland artistic masterpieces, offered ample testimony of theneed for a show of this kind.

The Montreal Guitar Show, presented in parallel withthe Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, offers itsthanks for the support of its partners: the Government ofCanada, the Government of Québec, Tourisme Montréal,Acoustic Guitar, Fingerstyle and Guitarist Acoustic maga-zines, as well as the Official Luthiers Forum (OLF), Acous-tic Voice (AV), laguitare.com and guitarscanada.com.

Make it a date-the first weekend of the Festival, fromJune 27 to 29, 2008. To whet your appetites, visit online atwww.montrealguitarshow.com.

January 2008 • Issue 300PAGE EIGHT

The Rock and Roll Hall of FameAnnounces Its Inductees for 2008Little Walter honored in Sideman Category

Cleveland, OH- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foun-dation today announced its inductees for 2008. The induct-ees will be honored at a ceremony on March 10 at theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

“The 2008 inductees are trailblazers - all unique and in-fluential in their genres,” said Rock and Roll Hall of FameFoundation President/CEO Joel Peresman. “From poetry topop, these five acts demonstrate the rich diversity of rockand roll itself. We are proud to honor these artists and cel-ebrate their contribution to rock and roll’s place in our culture.”

The performer inductees are:• Leonard Cohen• The Dave Clark Five (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson,

Rick Huxley, Denny Payton and Mike Smith)• Madonna• John Mellencamp• The Ventures (Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Gerry

McGee, Mel Taylor, Don Wilson)The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also announced the

induction of Little Walter in its sideman category, and thenewly named “Ahmet Ertegun Award” (formerly the non-performer category) will be presented to legendary produc-ers, Gamble & Huff.

The 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer in-ductees were chosen by the 600 voters of the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame Foundation. Artists are eligible for inclu-sion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twenty-five yearsafter their first recording is released.

In addition to being honored at the March ceremony,each inducted artist is commemorated at the Rock and RollHall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland Ohio, which servesas a monument to rock and roll’s impact on our culture.There, this year’s inductees will be honored - along withprevious year’s inductees and hundreds of other artists -with exhibits, video and interactive presentations and pro-grams that serve to tell the story of modern music. TheHall of Fame itself will include artifacts from this year’s in-ductees, a multi-media presentation with highlights fromeach artist’s career and their signatures permanently en-graved in the glass walls of the Hall of Fame.

Presenters and performers at the induction will be an-nounced at a later date. The induction ceremony will againair live on VH1 Classic on March 10.

Little Walter (May 1, 1930 - February 15, 1968) AlthoughLittle Walter might not have been the first person to amplifythe harmonica, his pioneering use of the microphone helpedestablish the modern blues harmonica. With a mike claspedto his harp, Little Walter created echoing, moaning, horn-like sounds that redefined the capabilities of the instrument.Walter Jacobs had fourteen top ten hits on the R&B chartsin the 1950s including two number #1 songs “Juke” and“My Babe.” Little Walter toured and recorded extensivelywith blues great Muddy Waters in the 1950s. He also re-corded with Jimmy Rogers, Memphis Minnie, Otis Rush andBo Diddley. Little Walter’s influence was pervasive, espe-cially in England where the next generation of harp playerssuch as Mick Jagger listened to his records over and over.

BY MARK SMITH

New Release blues.... Here’s a few new releases to burnup those music gift certificates: Roomful of Blues- Raisin’ ARuckus; Johnny Winter- Live Bootleg Series, Vol. 1; BettyHarris- Intuition; Various Artists- Live at the Boston BluesFestival, Volume II; John Mayall- Live from Austin, Texas; Eddie“Cleanhead” Vinson- Blues, Boogie & Bebop- Meat’s Too High;John Lee Hooker- I’m John Lee Hooker; Catherine Russell-Sentimental Streak; Sean Costello- We Can Get Together;Tommy Castro, Deanna Bogart, Ronnie Baker Brooks &Magic Dick- Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue; Little ArthurDuncan- Love at Rosa’s Blues Lounge; Stevie Ray Vaughan& Friends- Solos, Sessions & Encores; Paul Filipowicz-Chickenwire Live; David Evans- Needy Time; Sugar Blue-Code Blue; Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’ Blues- Backbone &Gristle; Nick Gordon- Chronic Blues Party. Also keep a look-out for Janiva Magness’ debut on the Alligator Records Labelwhich is slated for early in the year. ... Blues Cruise ChicagoStyle...Looking for something to do to shake of the doldrums ofthe deep winter? Look no further my friends. The City of Chi-cago and Blues University are hosting a blues pub crawl onJanuary 19, 2008. Running between the legendary Checker-board Lounge, Lee’s Unleaded Blues, Linda’s Place, Root Innand East of Ryan from 6:00 pm to 1:30 the event will featureVance Kelly & the Backstreet Band, Johnny Drummer &the Starlighters, Fantastic L-Roy & the Bulletproof Band,Sherman “Moody “Thomas and others. The cost is a mere$30 including transportation and admission to the clubs. De-tails at tours@chicagobluestours.com or at 866-548-3258....Award time blues.... The Blues Foundation has announcedthat Alligator Records President, Bruce Iglauer will receive the2008 Keeping the Blues Alive award on February 2, 2008 at aceremony to be held in Memphis. Speaking of Awards, The Re-cording Academy has just announced this years Blues Grammynominees. In the Best Traditional Blues Album category thenominees were Pinetop Perkins for his disc Pinetop PerkinsOn The 88’s - Live In Chicago, Otis Rush for the disc Live...AndIn Concert From San Francisco; Kenny Wayne Shepherd Fea-turing Various Artists for the disc 10 Days Out: Blues FromThe Backroads; Koko Taylor for the disc Old School and HenryJames Townsend, Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins, RobertLockwood, Jr. & David “Honeyboy” Edwards for the discLast Of The Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas.In the Best Contemporary Blues Album category the nomi-nees were Joan Armatrading for the disc Into The Blues; DoyleBramhall for the disc Is It News; JJ Cale & Eric Clapton forthe disc The Road To Escondido; Robben Ford for the discTruth, and Bettye LaVette for the disc The Scene Of The

Crime. The Blues Foundation has also announced nomineesfor this year’s Blues Music Awards. Notably the Grammy nomi-nees and the Blues Foundation nominees have only a minoroverlap with the Koko Taylor and Betty Lavette discs gettingnods from both groups. Speaking of multiple nods, the BluesFoundation honored James Blood Ulmer with three nomina-tions (Album of the Year, Contemporary Blues Album of the Year,Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year) Koko Taylor withfour nominations (Album of the Year, Blues Song of the Year,

January 2008 • Issue 300 PAGE NINE

SF Jazz announces artist Lineupfor Spring Jazz Season

San Francisco, CA – Randall Kline, the Executive Di-rector of SFJAZZ—the leading non-profit jazz organizationon the West Coast and the presenter of the San FranciscoJazz Festival has announced the complete artist line-up forthe Ninth Annual SFJazz Spring Season.

The four-month-long curated concert series will beginon March 6 with an opening weekend that includes KeithJarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette, and “The Dis-covery Series” with double bills featuring Travis Sullivan’sBjorkestra and Realistic Orchestra, Nik Bartsch’s Ronin andThe Frequency, 2 Foot Yard and Iron & The Albatross, andThird World Live with the Yaron Herman Trio. The seasonwill continue through June 20 with will some of the mostillustrious names in jazz and related music including: WayneShorter, Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea & Jack DeJohnette,McCoy Tyner with Savion Glover, Taj Mahal, Charles Lloyd,Regina Carter, Joe Sample, Lee Konitz, Dianne Reeves,Mose Allison, Rosa Passos, Hiromi, Ron Carter, LennyWhite, Patricia Barber, Brad Mehldau, James Moody andmany more.

For full l ine-up and ticket information, visitwww.sfjazz.org

From the Editor:

Some of you have noticed that a number of the re-views from the past year are not in our searchable data-base. We were undergoing some problems, but havebeen in the process of replacing reviews that “disap-peared”. Indeed, it is taking some time, and will continueto do so. So please, bear with us!

–Bill Wahl

Traditional Blues Album of the Year and Traditional Blues Fe-male Artist of the Year), Betty LaVette with three nominations(Album of the Year, Contemporary Blues Female Artist of theYear and B.B. King Entertainer of the Year), Nappy Brownwith two nominations (Traditional Blues Album of the Year, Tra-ditional Blues Artist of the Year), Omar Kent Dykes and JimmieVaughan with three nominations (Traditional Blues Album ofthe Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year), Eugene“Hideaway” Bridges with two nominations (Soul Blues MaleArtist of the Year and Soul Blues Album of the Year), SugarRay Norcia with three nominations (Song of the Year, Album ofthe Year and Blues Instrumentalist- Harmonica), Tommy Castrowith two nominations (B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Con-temporary Blues Album of the Year), Bobby Rush with fournominations (B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Soul Blues MaleArtist of the Year, Acoustic Artist of the Year and Acoustic Albumof the Year), Nick Moss with three nominations (Album of theYear, Band of the Year and Blues instrumentalist- guitar) and,finally Watermelon Slim with a whopping six nominations (Songof the Year, Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the year, Con-temporary Blues Album of the Year, Band of the Year, B.B. KingEntertainer of the Year and Album of the year....More on this inthis issue’s cover story...Whew!! That’s it for this month. Seeya!

We only bring you

the Cream of the Crop!

JERRY BUTLERTHE DELLS

THE STAPLE SINGERSJIMMY REED

The Best of the Vee-Jay YearsVEE-JAY/SHOUT FACTORY

Vee-Jay was one of the most celebrated of the Chi-cago labels of the fifties and sixties, although since itsdemise in the sixties, reissues from the label have beensporadic. It should be noted that while Vee-Jay is remem-bered for Jerry Butler and Jimmy Reed, the label had con-siderable popular success with the Four Seasons and thefirst American releases by the Beatles before financial is-sues led to the label’s demise. Shout Factory has appar-ently acquired the rights to reissue some of the classicmaterial from the label. There is a four-disc box survey-ing the wide range of music from blues, classic R&B, gos-pel, and jazz. In addition there are several single artistCDs, all titled The Best of the Vee-Jay Years, that havebeen issued which is the subject of this brief overview.

Jerry Butler may be most familiar to some from hisinfomercial for classic soul collections and doo-wop spe-cials for public TV, but he made numerous recordings thathave become classics of rhythm and blues and pop bal-ladry. With the Impressions he sang For Your Precious Lovebefore making such marvelous tunes as He Will Break YourHeart, Make It Easy On Yourself, and I Stand Accused de-livered with his warm mellow delivery. Then there is theclassic duet with Betty Everett, Let It be Me. This is thestuff that many of us listened and danced to in our youthand the music is still timeless as is the Iceman who con-tinues to delight audiences.

Also timeless is the vocal group The Dells whose discalso features classic doo-wop and vocal harmony by agroup that remained active long after Vee-Jay’s demise.The opening Tell the World is straight doo-wop, while ZingZing Zing is an uptempo doo-wop rocker with some punchyguitar and a booting sax solo. Oh What a Nite is one oftheir most famous recordings of the period and a greatdate song. Its interesting to here the group’s harmonyevolve and show a bit more gospel call and refrain feel onI Want to Go Home and the rendition of Jeepers Creeperswhich is reminiscent of then contemporary Motown ef-forts at the pop song book. This writer is not a vocal groupenthusiast, but found this a marvelous introduction to agroup that continued to make many significant record-ings after these

The Staple Singers first emerged on Vee-Jay and therecordings collected are built on the stark evocative gui-tar of Roebuck ‘Pops’ Staples with the passionate vocals

January 2008 • Issue 300PAGE TEN

of Mavis and the other family members. Whereas later onStax the production would be a bit more elaborate andthe songs would often be positive message songs, the fer-vent gospel performances are so compellingly delivered.Staples’ driving rhythmic guitar and the fervent vocals canbe entrancing to the listener in the same fashion of NorthCountry blues by the likes of Fred McDowell and JuniorKimbrough as on the powerful Swing Down Chariot (AKALet Me Ride), the powerfully delivered I’m Coming Homewith its dirge-like tempo, or the moving Will the Circle BeUnbroken, a song that they sang as a family long beforethe days of fame. This album collects some outstanding,compelling gospel performances.

Last but not least is Jimmy Reed. Perhaps the bluesartist most associated with Vee-Jay, this Shout Factoryrelease finally makes available what may be consideredthe essential Jimmy Reed collection. Some may quibbleabout omission or inclusion of a particular song or two,but this makes available such classic Reed songs as Highand Lonesome, I Ain’t Got You, You Don’t Have to Go, BigBoss Man, Honest I Do, Take Out Some Insurance, HushHush, Going to New York, and Baby What You Want Me toDo. These are songs that crossed over, being performedby blues, country and garage bands of all stripes. And inspite of Jimmy Reed’s rather deceptively simple perfor-mances (and mention also needs to be made of the con-tributions of the late Eddie Taylor on guitar), these songshave been screwed up by others so often. The appeal ofthese simple shuffles and Reed’s unvarnished vocals andharp still remain over four decades later. Jimmy Reed’smusic belongs in any decent blues collection and this issimply the best collection of his music available.

Ron Weinstock

CHAMPIAN FULTON WITH DAVIDBERGER & THE SULTANS OF SWING

ChampianSUCH SWEET THUNDER RECORDS

Born in Norman, Oklahoma in 1985, Champian Fultonwas influenced by her father, a renowned jazz trumpeter.Learning piano as a youth, she has been playing and sing-ing jazz since she was little and has been devoted to jazzpiano and vocals since 1998. In 2006 she met DavidFulton, leader of the Sultans of Swing at the New Yorkclub, Birdland, and she eventually joined Berger’s band.Berger, a conductor and arranger for Jazz at Lincoln Cen-ter, is well-respected authority on the music of DukeEllington and the swing era (having transcribed 700 or soclassic works including 500 from Ellington and Strayhorn)and the Sultans of Swing is a marvelous big band thatlives up to its name.

Such Sweet Thunder has just issued their collabora-tion, Champian, a marvelous journey through the Ameri-can Songbook on some classic standards such as I Can’tGive You Anything But Love, Get Out of Town, He Ain’tGot Rhythm, Too Close For Comfort, and Just One of ThoseThings along with such intriguing choices as The Gypsy(a number I believe Dinah Washington recorded) Ain’t No-body Here But Us Chickens (a classic associated withLouis Jordan), and Lil Green’s Romance in the Dark. Shereally projects the lyrics in a lively, natural fashion per-

haps suggesting the late Etta Jones with a touch of Ellathrown in. Her performances benefit from the superb Sul-tans of Swing and Berger’s arrangements, with theirEllingtonian accents (particularly evident on the wonder-ful performances of The Gypsy and Romance In the Dark).Two of the performances feature her own piano, includingYou Turned the Tables on Me, with trio backing, and thesolo, Never-The-Less.

In summary, this is a marvelous debut by ChampianFulton with David Berger & the Sultans of Swing.Champian is a singer from whom we undoubtedly shallhear more from in the future. This is available fromcdbaby.com as well as from the Sultans of Swing website,www.sultansofswing.com. Ron Weinstock

DOWNCHILDLive At The Palais Royale

LINUSThis 11 cut live disc of all original material reveals

that the blues don’t stop at the border between the UnitedStates and Canada. A Canadian blues institution, theDownchild Blues Band has numerous discs to its creditand regularly performs to packed houses. A quick listenreveals why: this band is versatile and performs with pas-sion.

While there are ample dose’s of Donnie “Mr.Downchild” Walsh’s guitar, vocalist/harmonica playerChuck Jackson, keyboardist Michael Fonfara, and the hornsection of Pat Carey on saxophone and Peter Jeffrey ontrumpet get equal billing and, equally important, push himto excel lest he be left in the dust by their well oiled chops.Featuring everything from the rocking (I Got EverythingIn Need) Almost, which received international attentionby virtue of the Blues Brothers’ performance of the tune,to the slyly sarcastic spoken word blues of I’ve Been AFool to the jump blues of When I Say Jump this disc neverlets the energy wane.

There’s not a weak track in the entire set. If you arelooking for a smoking blues party on a single disc throwthis one into the player, grab the beverage of your choiceand get ready for some fun. Mark Smith

JOSH NELSONLet It Go

NATIVE LANGUAGELos Angeles-based pianist/composer/arranger Josh

Nelson makes his official recording debut with this 10-tune studio set of mostly originals, performed in variousconfigurations with bassist Darek Oles, drummer MattWilson, tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake and guitaristAnthony Wilson.

Nelson’s musical maturity is immediately evident andparticularly notable on one of three standards, “Love Let-ters,” which also features fine soloing from Blake. Equallyadept as performer and composer, Nelson delivers a finearray of tunes with his crew, including his personally re-flective ballad, “Leaving Here,” with lyrics sung by sweet-voiced Sara Gazarek and augmentation from the Super-nova String Quartet, which also performs on “Colors,” anangular piece Nelson says was inspired by Greg Osby’smusic. “Tears in the Morning,” a Beach Boys tune, is re-

January 2008 • Issue 300 PAGE ELEVEN

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January 2008 • Issue 300PAGE TWELVE

made as a lyrical, waltzing number and is soulfully en-hanced by Blake. A gorgeous piano-sax duo performanceof Nelson’s “Abandon Post” has a sweeping, melodiousfeel.

Born in Long Beach and raised in Los Angeles, Nelson(age 28 at the time of this recording in early 2007) wasan award winner during his high school years and at sub-sequent music competitions. He attended Long BeachState University where he studied with pianist CecilaColeman and, while enrolled at the Berklee College ofMusic in Boston, studied with Neil Olmstead, Tiger Okoshiand Kim Steiner. Nelson actively tours, performs andrecords. He plays regularly with his own group around L.A.and accompanies various vocalists.

This is an extraordinary debut not only for all-aroundmusicianship, but as a showcase for Nelson’s composi-tional skills as well. For his wide-ranging interests, includ-ing performing and arranging film scores, he is an ex-pressive artist and certainly a talent to watch.

Nancy Ann Lee

VARIOUS ARTISTS:NASHVILLE RHYTHM & BLUES

Bullet Records Rhythm & BluesThe Rogana Story: Hossman’s Blues

The Champion Records Story:Volume 2 Rockin’ R&BThe Champions of R&B

SPV BLUE RECORDSSPV Blue is continuing its releases of recordings that

document the rich rhythm and blues history of Nashville.The reissues of some classic, some rare, as well as somemore contemporary recordings show that Music City pro-duced more than simply country music.

Bullet Records Rhythm & Blues is the second reissueof the important Nashville label, this one focusing moreon jump blues and blues shouters. In fact it opens withfour selections by one of the greatest shouters, WynonieHarris, and in addition to his vocals, these cuts includethe first recordings of pianist Herman ‘Sonny’ Blount (bet-ter known as Sun Ra). Fred James speculates that it’stenor saxophonist Buddy Tate’s band backing Max Bailey,whose tune includes an exhortation to the troops on

Drive Soldiers Drive. Alto saxophonist Sherman Will-iams’ selections feature pianist-shouter Skippy Brooks,who would later be a mainstay in Nashville for Excello,singing six strong tracks including Baby Don’t You Wantto Go, a reworking of Kokomo Blues, a song that was themodel for Sweet Home Chicago. Two tracks by The BobbyPlater Orchestra feature members of Lionel Hampton’sOrchestra backing a young Rufus Thomas, while DocWiley’s two tracks include a hot jump instrumental andthe more philosophical Play Your Hand with Wiley’s strongpiano and nice vocal. A few cuts are more in the vein ofMills Brothers styled harmony, and fill out what is a prettyexceptional reissue that will be of special interest to fansof blues shouters.

The Rogana Story: Hossman’s Blues compiles a num-ber of blues tracks that legendary Nashville dee-jay andrecord producer, William ‘Hoss’ Allen produced, mostly

which were licensed to other labels. The material here isvery blues-based and features both some Nashville re-cordings and Muscle Shoals sides. The Nashville sidesoften feature guitarist Johnny Jones, who leads The BeatBoys (tied into the legendary TV show that Allen producedand emceed, and also included bassist Billy Cox). Vocal-ists Sam Baker and Dottie Clark (terrific on All Woman)benefit from Jones’ stinging playing. The tracks by TheBeat Boys include not only Jones’ fiery fretwork but alsothe famed steel guitarist Pete Drake playing through aLeslie cabinet. Finger Lickin’ is a particularly outstandingselection of deep in the alley blues guitar. Jimmy Stuart,trumpeter at the time with B.B. King, plays downhomeblues harp on a couple selections (Sit and Beg My Babyhas a nice soulful vocal) as well as on an instrumentalduet with Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore. Gatemouth Brownwas recorded by Allen (he was featured on Allen’s TheBeat TV show) and his Have You Ever Been Mistreated isa fine blues. Also outstanding is Johnny Copeland’s Ain’tNobody’s Business. Several other selections feature vo-calist Art Grayson (singing in a deep soul vein) while thelast selection is Hoss Allen’s tribute to Martin Luther King,He Went to the Mountain Top. A nice collection of bluesand southern soul that is quite entertaining.

The Champion Records Story; Volume 2 Rockin’ R&Bperhaps brings together more pop and R&B flavored re-cordings than the other reissues here. Champion was onethe labels associated with the legendary Ted Jarrett.Jimmy Beck opens things with three instrumentals, withthe opening Pipe Dreams suggesting perhaps a bit of aska groove. Little Ike comes across as a Little Richardcopycat on She Can Rock, while Larry Birdsong’s some-what forgettable Scooter Poopin’ predates his Vee-Jaydays. Earl Gaines is still around and is heard on threerocking sides, while Chuck Harrod & the Anteaters have arockabilly flavor to them especially on They Wanna Fight,and Crawdad Hole. Al ‘Murfreesboro’ Garner handles thelead on Oh My Love with doo wop backing. Don Q’s Bandwith Clenest Gant harken back to earlier jump blues witha rocking Hallelujah and Jump Jump Hi Ho. Joyce Paul’stwo tracks are sort of minor league Ruth Brown styledrecordings, while Sandra Meade is a good singer with in anice rendition of Fever. This closes with Baker Knight’srocking Bring My Cadillac Back, as his baby ran off withhis Cadillac. There is a nice booting sax solo on this and asimple rock groove. An interesting slice of music perhaps,but the least interesting of these reissues.

The last of these discs is an excellent collection ofrecent recordings that Fred James has produced, TheChampions of R&B.

James produced recordings and tours by these artistsand the selections are ‘leftovers’ I guess, but that shouldnot imply any musical shortcomings on any of the tracksissued here. The material is a nice mix of straight bluesand southern soul ballads. Roscoe Gordon opens with arocking She’s the One with some nice use of the whammybar on the guitar while guitarist James Nixon’s

One More Chance is strong deep soul, as is FreddieWaters rendition of the Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham It TearsMe Up. Johnny Jones is likely the guitarist on CharlesWalker’s terrific Monkey Blues with Jones’ playing comple-menting Walker’s gospel-tinged singing. I was unfamiliar

January 2008 • Issue 300 PAGE THIRTEEN

with Larry LaDon, but the terrific Living on BorrowedTime is a great performance on a song that evokes someof Albert King’s recordings. LaDon has a vocal stylecloser to Junior Parker than B.B. King and more goodguitar here. Johnny Jones’ Girlfriend’s Blues has Johnnyin consternation after discovering his woman has anotherlover, “my girlfriend has a girlfriend too.” Earl Gaines’ AFool’ Advice is a solid ballad with a philosophical tonewhile Al Garner’s marvelous Gonna Stop Drinkin’ alsobenefits from some wonderful T-Bone Walker styled gui-tar. Altogether there are 18 tracks here that are at leastgood and mostly exceptional. With about 76 minutes ofmusic, this is also good value. While Roscoe Shelton andFreddie Waters are no longer with us, others still are andplans are in the works for organizing another touring re-vue by these acts. If they come to a town near you, Iwould suggest you catch these musical giants and in themeantime, do check this wonderful CD out.

Ron Weinstock

QUEEN LATIFATrav’lin’ Light

VERVEQueen Latifah’s latest release, and her first for the Verve

label, Trav’lin’ Light, is, in a word, wonderful. This isQueen Latifah. She continues to spread her musical wings.Rapper, actress and gifted vocalist – the Queen jumps overthe proverbial broom, marrying great pipes to an increas-ingly impressive professional life.

Trav’lin’ Light showcases the Queen’s versatility. Vet-eran producers Ron Fair, Tommy LiPuma and MarcShaiman underscore her sumptuous vocals with master-ful, production of jazz, pop, rock, swing and even gospel-esque selections.

The experience that is Ron Fair is evidenced by pro-duction that enhances the Queen’s delivery on seven outof thirteen tracks. The first cut, a version of “Poetry Man”likely to bring smiles to lips of even Phoebe Snow loyal-ists, is beautiful, rich and true and dusted with a touch ofsoul. Latifah covers the 10CC classic, “I’m Not in Love.”She treats the ballad with respect while successfully mak-ing it her own. Also standing out are the catchy “How Long(Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)” and “Don’t Cry Baby”.

Tommy LiPuma provides rich, luxurious orchestrationsfor five tracks. Breathtaking renditions of “Georgia Rose,”“I Love Being Here With You,” and “I’m Gonna Live Until IDie,” with full strings and brass; underline, emphasize andshowcase Queen Latifah’s increasing depth and innateability.

“I Know Where I’ve Been,” is lucky thirteen on thisalbum. Inspirational and uplifting, this Marc Shaiman pro-duced tune smacks of religiosity. It’s good, darned goodand leaves the listener feeling good.

All in all, Trav’lin’ Light, is a treat that provides a briefvacation “...away from all the earthly cares.” This albumwill surprise and delight those unfamiliar with the breadthof Queen Latifah’s musical talents and promises to growher already considerable fan base. Wanda Simpson

jazz-blues.com

THE INSOMNIACSLeft Coast Blues

DELTA GROOVE MUSICOh great. A chance to review the new disc by a bunch

of young hot shots touted as the “next big thing” to savethe blues scene. That, or watch paint dry. Hmmm, toughchoice but I watched paint dry last week so I guess thisdisc goes for a spin. Wow, hold the snarky judgment, it’seat crow time. In a rare bit of truth in advertising, this disclives up to its billing and more.

This four piece Portland, Oregon based band featur-ing Vyasa Dodson vocals and guitar, Dean Mueller on bass,Alex Shakeri on keyboards and Dave Melyan on drumshas crafted a disc that hits all the right notes from begin-ning to end. While the band has a decided retro sound, itperforms with the enthusiasm of discovery rather than thecaution of reverence. In other words, this baby smokes.Leading the charge is Dodson who channels Stevie RayVaughan one moment, I’m Not Sorry, and Hollywood Fatsor Alex Schultz the next, Stick Around, all the while sound-ing uncannily like Tommy Castro on vocals. Dodson clearlyknows his way around the guitar and makes his Telecastersing its brittle song most prominently on the Tex-Mex chacha groove of I Got Money.

The rest of the band deserves equal credit for thestrength of this release with Alex Shakeri’s work on pianoand keyboards adding greatly to the mix with everythingfrom the chill out grooves of Serves Me Right to the rol-licking barrel house piano found on I’ll Treat You Rightand on one of the bonus live tracks, No Wine, No Women.While the band favors upbeat jump style blues, Be Quiet,it is equally adept at Chuck Berry rockers, as channeledby the Beatles, circa the Hamburg Club, Watch Your Mouth(which cribs a few licks from the Saber Dance) and evencheesy soundtrack instrumentals, Crime Scene.

While I doubt there is any band out there that can singlehandedly change the popular perception of the blues asrepetitious and stuck in the “baby done me wrong/lostmy job/the bottle bit me” lyric trap, the widespread expo-sure that this disc deserves should at least start the dis-cussion. Mark Smith

MG3(MARTIN GASSELSBERGER TRIO)

Any Place But ThereATS Records

On the third release with his trio, “mg3,” Austrian pia-nist Martin Gasselsberger serves up 12 appealing origi-nals with bassist Roland Kramer and drummer GeraldEnstrasser. Together, this threesome performs as a tight,flawless unit.

One player that Gasselsberger has been compared tois Keith Jarrett. And you’ll hear those similarities in hiskeyboard style, his phrasing, his lyricism, his sense ofswing, his creativity in improvising and his compositions.At the keys, Gasselsberger employs a painterly approachthat can occasionally stretch to the outside edge—suchas on “My Blues,” an upbeat modal number that demon-strates the pianist’s strong right-hand linear method. BothKramer and Enstrasser get some moments in the spot-

January 2008 • Issue 300PAGE FOURTEEN

light to display their talents but more often, they providesupport for Gasselsberger’s abundant chops.

Tunes range from three to six minutes. The melodic“Hope,” a cadent, slow-paced piece with a catchy melodylaunches the set. Other highlights include the percolating“Longing for Happiness,” the sweet, airy ballad “Until WeMeet Again,” the bluesy, bouncy “What Shall’s.” The soar-ing “Dreamworld” boasts another memorable melody, withKramer playing arco bass.

Attention-grabbing tunes and inspired presentationsmake Mg3’s third disc a satisfying album you’ll want toplay again and again. Nancy Ann Lee

DELMARK REISSUESSLEEPY JOHN ESTES

On the Chicago Blues SceneART HODES

Friar’s inn RevisitedJIM ROBINSON

Economy Hall BreakdownEDWARD PETERSEN

Upward SpiralDELMARK RECORDS

Delmark has just reissued some gems from its cata-log that will be of interest to jazz and blues enthusiasts.

Sleepy John Estes was one of the great blues poetsand vocalists whose prewar recordings were highly influ-ential on the likes of John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamsonand others. A creative lyricist who often spun songs fromhis own experiences, his crying vocals (and rudimentaryguitar playing) backed by the vocalized harmonica ofHammie Nixon and the mandolin of Yank Rachell producednumerous classic songs that became part of the blues rep-ertoire, such Diving Duck Blues, Drop Down Mama, andEverybody Oughta Make a Change. Rediscovered in thesixties, Estes had a revived career recording and perform-ing worldwide, producing several excellent albums forDelmark. Delmark’s reissue of On the Chicago BluesScene makes available for the first time on CD an albumoriginally released as Electric Sleep, a play on the psy-chedelic recordings of Muddy and Howling Wolf, althoughthis was simply presenting Estes in a Chicago blues set-ting with a backing band that included Sunnyland Slim onpiano, Jimmy Dawkins on guitar, Carey Bell on harp, OdiePayne on drums and various bassist including Earl Hooker.Koester recalls seeing Estes participate in a jam in Eu-rope with Hubert Sumlin, Rice ‘Sonny Boy Williamson’Miller, Sunnyland Slim and others, and able to sing withsuch modernists and a few years later cut an album inthat vein, and with the sympathetic backing by a bandthat does a fine job in backing Estes who could some-times not be easy to follow. The vocals are marvelous ascan be expected and it’s a joy to hear familiar Estes songstake on a fresh sound and hear the music played with suchjoy and soulfulness. Recommended.

Chicago pianist Art Hodes bridged the worlds of bluesand traditional jazz, as well as wrote on jazz, which was asdelightful as his wonderful blues rooted playing. Among

his considerable discography were several albums forDelmark, which include the just reissued Friar’s inn Re-visited. The title refers to a club that housed the New Or-leans Rhythm Kings (NORK), generally regarded as thefinest of the white New Orleans Jazz Bands (they recordedwith Jelly Roll Morton on what was probably the first in-terracial recording session), and several of their record-ings became staples of the jazz repertoire. As a youthHodes first visited Friar’s inn before he started venturingto south-side Chicago to see King Oliver, Louis Armstrong,Jimmie Noone and others.

For this session, Hodes leads a band that includesNORK veterans, trombonist George Brunies and clarinet-ist Volly DeFaut (with Barney Bigard heard on two selec-tions), along with trumpeter Nappy Trottier, bassist TruckParham and drummer Barrett Deems. It opens with Bruniesintroducing Angry, and then handling the vocal as the bandplays a nice medium tempo. This is followed by Sobbin’Blues, a nice remake of their classic recording with JellyRoll Morton, with Hodes sounding marvelous followed bya lovely woody clarinet solo by DeFaut. That’s a Plenty isoften taken at a breakneck pace, so the relaxed swinginggroove is a refreshing change, while Barney Bigard con-tributes a lovely solo to Tin Roof Blues. Panama is an-other staple of the traditional repertoire and benefits frombeing taken at a peppy, but not too fast tempo. The previ-ously unissued The Real Thing is a lovely duet withParham, while the unissued alternates of After Your Gone(with a nice, almost seamless tempo change) and I KnowThat You Know are quartet sides with clarinetist DeFaut,likely from the sessions that produced another Hodes al-bum, Up in Volly’s Room. This writer has great affectionfor Hodes’ music and is quite pleased that this release isavailable again. It’s a marvelous recording that those whoappreciate older jazz styles will enjoy immensely. Otherswith open ears might give a listen and be surprised howmuch they enjoy this.

Trombonist Jim Robinson’s career dated back to WorldWar I and in the 1920s he played and later recorded withNew Orleans bandleader Sam Morgan. With the resurgencein interest in early New Orleans jazz he gained fame as amember of the bands of Bunk Johnson and George Lewisand was part of Preservation hall when that esteemedvenue opened in the sixties. Delmark has reissuedEconomy Hall Breakdown, which was recorded at Preser-vation Hall in 1965 with a band that included Johnny Wiggson cornet, Raymond Burke on clarinet, Bob Greene onpiano, Allan Jaffe on tuba and Yoichi Kimura on drumsthat showcased Robinson’s big-toned robust tailgate styleof trombone along with the fine playing of Wiggs, Burkeand Greene. The title track is a lively mix of Joe Avery’sPiece and Dippermouth Blues, followed by a down-in-thealley 2:19 Blues with Wiggs muted wah wah trumpetcomplimented by Robinson’s blustery tailgate playing.Wiggs’ peppy Right Now is the Right Time, Put On YourGrey Bonnet and the hymn Bye and Bye (on whichRobinson sings) are among other highpoints here.

The heart of the music is essentially the blues as shownon the fine rendition of W.C. Handy’s Atlanta Blues, andanother Wiggs composition, Postman’s Lament. Listeningto the band play with trombone, trumpet and clarinet in-terweaving their lines together one gets such a joy that

January 2008 • Issue 300 PAGE FIFTEEN

This photo of Dietra Farr captured by

Ron Weinstock at the 2007 Pocono Blues Festival

is just one of hundreds of Ron’s photos

you can view online

at www.flickr.com/photos/novaron

LIKE JAZZ & BLUES PHOTOS?

any rough edges are ignored. Robinson was extensivelyrecorded (especially with Bunk Johnson and GeorgeLewis), but only recorded a few times as a leader, includ-ing this ingratiating release.

The breadth of Delmark’s jazz catalog can be seen bythe reissue of tenor saxophonist Edward Petersen’s firstCD to record his own compositions, Upward Spiral.Petersen had previously recorded with the likes of CedarWalton Ron Carter, Chet Baker, and Clark Terry. Shortlyafter this disc, Petersen was recruited by Ellis Marsalis tothe University of New Orleans where he teaches jazz anddirects the prestigious Louis Armstrong Quintet. On Up-ward Spiral he is joined by Fareed Haque on guitar, BradWilliams on piano, Rob Amster on bass and Jeff Stitelyon drums. Of these Haque is probably the best known,whether leading his own quartet or working with the popu-lar jam band Garaj Mahal. The first four numbers wererecorded live in June 1989 at the Chicago club The GreenMill, while the rest were studio recordings from a few weekslater. With the exception of the closing Richard Rogersnumber, I Didn’t Know What Time It Was, Petersen wrotethe music here, opening with a hard bop ripper, Probably.Petersen’s full tone here is complemented by Haque’s fi-ery, horn-like guitar lines. The title track has more of adreamy flavor reflecting its origin as an attempt to writemusic for people to consider world peace, and like Ob-jects In The Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear, has asomewhat dreamy flavor evocative of some of WayneShorter’s compositions for Miles Davis. Among the studiotracks Opus B is another number that has a similar flavorwith Williams taking a terrific solo before more fine play-ing by the leader. For Dan is a spicy samba styled tunewith a unusual three-beat cycle that has some robust so-loing from everybody but bassist Amster. The ballad sideof his playing is showcased on the fine interpretation ofthe Richard Rogers number that closes an exceptional datethat Delmark has made available again. Ron Weinstock

JIMMY AMADIE TRIOThe Philadelphia Story: The Gospel As We Know It

TPR RECORDINGSThe 70-year-old pianist Jimmy Amadie recorded this

12-tune disc over a period of nine months, inviting spe-cial guests Benny Golson (tenor sax), Randy Brecker(trumpet, flugelhorn) and Lew Tabackin (tenor saxophone,flute) to augment his trio with bassist Steve Gilmore anddrummer Bill Goodwin.

Playing mostly tunes by Amadie, each guest performsfour tunes each. The fare ranges from uptempo numbersto ballads and a bossa. Amadie admits the trio adjustedto each artist, rather than sticking to a familiar style orgrooves. Highlights abound. The title tune is a bouncy,swinging affair featuring Golson. Brecker delivers a mourn-ful tribute to his late brother in “Michael’s Lament,”Tabackin sparkles with his gorgeous flute playing on theuptempo “Samba For Lew T.” There’s not a dull tune inthe bunch.

Amadie has a penchant for leading melodious ses-sions full of spirit and passion. This latest recording con-tinues that path as he triumphs over ongoing hand, wristand forearm maladies that have made playing the piano

so difficult he’s had to rest, wrap, and brace his handsand wait (sometimes months) before he could record an-other tune. All the right elements were present for thisrecording and Amadie’s guests have risen to the occasionas if each song was a celebration. Nancy Ann Lee

RONNIE EARLAND THE BROADCASTERS

Hope RadioSTONY PLAIN

After a long career that has found him doing every-thing from replacing Duke Robillard in Roomful of Bluesto backing a rotating cast of lead singers including KimWilson, Sugar Ray Norcia and Darrel Nulisch in his ownband, The Broadcasters, to nearly losing it all to drugsand alcohol, guitar master Ronnie Earl has finally foundthat he communicates best by focusing solely on instru-mental tracks.

While the absence of words often means the presenceof instrumental indulgence, such is not the case with thistalented crew of Broadcasters including Dave Limina onHammond B-3, Jim Mouradian and Michael “Mudcat” Wardon bass and Lorne Entress on drums who have crafted adisc that is marked by restraint and a respect for all thathappens in the space between notes. In their sympathetichands, the 11 tracks of live and unedited blues and jazzfound here rise above the shackles of the verse/chorus/verse structure necessary when backing a singer and, infact, don’t need a single syllable to communicate as muchas most songs with words. While the band is deserving of

January 2008 • Issue 300PAGE SIXTEEN

much credit for its tight, intuitive interplay, at the end ofthe day it is Earl’s guitar that carries this disc to its oftenstellar heights.

Too many blues guitarist’s instrumental numbersquickly find their way into boogie or shuffle wonderlandor venture into the “how many notes can I fit in a bar”wasteland. Earl, on the other hand, has both the skill andimpeccable taste to take his tracks to a much differentdestination: one where dreamy interludes share space withaggressive string work that is cathartic instead of angry.With more change ups in pace, tone and dynamics thanmost blues musicians use in an entire career, Earl en-gages your mind in the same way as the most adept jazzor classical music composers. You won’t need words tofeel the despair that pervades Kartrina Blues or to feelthe joy of Bobby’s Bop.

Likewise, no words are necessary to measure Earl’slove for Otis Rush which is so plainly evident through thesearing string work on Blues for Otis Rush. Based on thestrength of this release, we can all be grateful that RonnieEarl has found that he speaks best through the six stringson his guitar. Mark Smith

THE PIZZARELLI BOYSSunday at Pete’s

CHALLENGE RECORDSWhen the Pizzarelli’s perform, you can be assured it’s

going to be a tidy swing set and this CD—their first re-cording ever as an unaccompanied quartet without anentire band behind them—ranks high among their best.

John Pizzarelli (guitar), John “Bucky” Pizzarelli(rhythm guitar), Martin Pizzarelli (bass) and Tony Tedesco(drums) perform 14 nostalgic tunes drawn from the fam-ily repertoire and Bucky’s uncles, Peter and BobbyDomenick. Gems such as “Sweet Sue,” “Alabamy Bound,”“Whispering,” “When You’re Smiling,” “Bye Bye Blues,”“In the Good Old Summer Time,” and others are cheeryrenditions that will have you tapping your foot. Most tuneslast around three to five minutes or so, except for the 12-minute finale, “Night on Garrett Mountain,” an upbeatblues original named after a favorite spot of Bucky’s inhis hometown of Paterson, NJ.

These musicians work as a tight unit delivering a flaw-less, perky session that keeps the listener engaged anddelighted. A 12-page liner booklet contains notes by JohnPizzarelli and black-and-white session photos.

Nancy Ann Lee

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WEST OF MEMPHISHoney Pie

WEST OF MEMPHISComprised of vocalist-harmonica player Karl Cabbage

and guitarist Tom Walpole, and various sidemen, West ofMemphis is a blues band hailing from San Diego. Theband’s name stems from the fact that when Cabbage wasstationed at a Naval base forty miles West of Memphis,he hitchhiked to busk and play harp on Beale Street andcatch various blues heroes. The band was formed in 1999and has been holding down a weekend gig at San Diego’sHouse of Blues since early 2006. Yes, imagine a Houseof Blues having a regular gig by a blues band.

They have just issued their second CD, Honey Pie,produced in Montreal by a superb Canadian harp player,Bharath Rajakumar, and this recording certainly willplease fans of jumping Chicago styled-blues. There is anice variety of material including solid remakes of songsfrom Jimmy Rogers (Back Door Friend and That’s AllRight), Little Walter (Who and I Got to Go), Muddy Waters(Crosseyed Cat), and Johnny Young (I’m Having a Ball),along with solid idiomatic originals like Canary in HerCage, the title track and Cell Phone Blues. One would behard-pressed to find any tracks that stand-out as every-thing is done so nicely.

They do a solid straight cover of Willie Dixon’s I’mReady with, I assume, Walpole as the one ably handlingthe vocals, while Cabbage takes a solid chromatic solo.Cabbage handles the vocal mike on the Little Walter in-terpretations and Johnny Young’s exuberant I’m Havinga Ball on which Bharath showcases his formidable harpplaying. One of the originals Cell Phone Blues is precededby a call from the song’s co-writer Geoff Starin, beforeCabbage opens the song with some blasting harp as hetells his woman to close her cell phone baby, because“he don’t love you like I do.” There is some great guitarfrom Walpole in a Junior Watson vein while the pianist,M. Gagnon, helps supply the bottom with his strong two-handed playing (as he does throughout this disc). Bharathtakes the vocal on That’s Alright, where Cabbage playssome nice harp in the vein of Sonny Boy Williamson II.Miss Sugarpuss Boogie is a crisp feature for Walpole’sguitar that comes across as a fifties’ styled number.

The closing shuffle, Chupacabra, is a hot harmonicaduet by Bharath and Cabbage that ends a strongly ap-pealing disc. Ron Weinstock

STEVE ALLEE TRIOColors

OWL STUDIOSOn his fifth CD, pianist-composer-arranger Steve

Allee, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, leads a trio fea-turing Bill Moring on bass and Tim Horner on drums.

This 10-tune project draws somewhat from Allee’sworld travels and he infuses his straight-ahead originalswith a variety of influences, delivering a Latin-laced titletune and expressing the tropical warmth of Grand BahamaIsland on “Lucaya.” The trio performs two standards: anuptempo, expansive version of Jerome Kern’s “Yester-days” and an uncluttered, fresh take on Johnny Mercer’s

January 2008 • Issue 300 PAGE SEVENTEEN

“Come Rain or Come Shine.”Allee is a melodious, creative player whose improvi-

sations are full of ideas. Moring, who has performed withMulgrew Miller and Chris Potter, plays a solid support roleand shines especially when he has the rare chance toplay arco bass. Horner, who per forms with MariaSchneider and the Village Vanguard Orchestra, adds muchto this session with his lively cymbals work, rim shotsand flashy timekeeping.

As composer, Allee contributes some appealing origi-nal tunes for which a vocalist might want to write lyrics.An air of freshness to their warm outpourings draws thelistener inside the music. Nancy Ann Lee

NEW YORK VOICESA Day Like This

MANCHESTER CRAFTSMEN’S GUILDSpecial guest instrumentalists Paquito D’Rivera (clari-

net), Bob Mintzer (bass clarinet), Chuck Loeb (guitar),Dave Samuels (vibes), Gil Goldstein (accordion) and oth-ers join the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble, NewYork Voices, for this splendid studio session, their firstsolo album in nearly a decade.

With tightly blended harmonies, the group refreshesthe 14 gems on this disc, including “Darn That Dream,”“In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” “On A ClearDay,” “For All We Know,” “No Moon At All,” “Stone SoulPicnic,” and more. Most tunes last around 4-5 minutes.On the peppy finale, “Jackie” (music by Hampton Hawes,lyrics by Annie Ross, arrangement by Darmon Meader),with brassy instrumental accompaniment and scatting byKim Nazarian, they sound a lot like Manhattan Transfer.

Vocalists Nazarian, Meader (who also capably playstenor saxophone) and Peter Eldridge have been with thegroup (originally a quintet) since its founding in 1987while they were students at Ithaca College in New York.Lauren Kinhan replaced Sara Krieger in 1992 and NYVpermanently became a quartet when Caprice Fox left thegroup in 1994. The jazz vocal group performed for yearswith the Count Basie Orchestra, toured with the BostonPops and other symphony orchestras, and has embraceda repertoire that includes bop tunes in the vocalese tra-dition as well as music from pop and jazz worlds. Theyrecorded several albums for GRP in the 1990s and haveguested on numerous albums.

New York Voices injects familiar songs with surprisetwists, abundant energy and sentimental feeling. Theirindividual and blended voices are pleasing to the ear.Adding instrumentation enhances the fare. Nice album!May be their best one yet. Nancy Ann Lee

ANDREW BROWNBig Brown’s Blues

BLACK MAGIC RECORDSThere have been so many examples of blues artists

who produced a small number of recordings whose re-cordings were highly prized by those who heard them butnever reach the more general acclaim that their musicdeserves. It’s been over twenty years since singer-guitar-ist Andrew Brown passed away after recording some ex-cellent 45s, several tracks for Alligator’s Living ChicagoBlues series and two superb albums for Dutch Labels thatI do not believe have been issued on CD. The Dutch BlackMagic label has made almost all of Brown’s recordingsavailable (the issued Alligator tracks excluded) on a won-derful limited edition reissue titled Big Brown Blues.

Packed in a book sized package, the contents of thetwo discs include his issued 45s for the U.S.A, 4 Brothersand Brave labels and a pair of unissued titles from Brave;two unissued songs from the sessions used for the LivingChicago Blues selections; the contents of his Black Magicand Double Trouble CDs and three demos recorded atAndrew’s basement. The booklet contains a bio from BillDahl and producer Dick Shurman’s recollections of An-drew and his music. As Shurman observes, “Musically,Andrew was accomplished, powerful, soulful and versa-tile.”

Influences on Brown include B.B. King, Lowell Fulsonand T-Bone Walker, but in listening to these his musicstruck me as very similar to that of the late Little Milton,which is evident in the wonderful treatment of Milton’sLosing Hand that is the first track on the second disc. Itis more a matter of similarities in the voices and com-mon influences. Like Milton, Brown was not only a fleetguitarist, but also a wonderful songwriter. Magic Samcovered Brown’s USA 45, You Better Stop, but there areany number of strong modern urban blues with sophisti-cated lyrics, sung with so much heart with his guitar play-ing embellishing, not overwhelming, his vocals. He movesfrom a rocking shuffle like No More Talking to the bluesballad Your Love is Important to Me, then taking up a funkgroove on Mary Jane. Dick Shurman had him cover somesongs on the two albums with Tin Pan Alley, including histerrific take on James ‘Thunderbird’ Davis’ Blue Monday,Joe Tex’s I Want to Do (Everything For You), and a BobbyBland classic Lead Me On. A few numbers are a bit moredirected towards the straight soul market, but are deliv-ered here so well.

Having Brown’s two albums and even a 4 Brothers45, I am delighted to have this wonderful reissue avail-able by a person who should be much better known amonga broader range of blues fans. His ‘mellow’ blues stylingis akin to such other neglected past blues masters MightyJoe Young and Fenton Robinson and is better than a lotof what is purported to be blues today.

This is a limited edition and I recommend checkingthe better mail order specialists like BlueBeat Music(www.bluebeatmusic.com from which I purchased this)to get this gem while you can. It is also available directlyfrom Black Magic for $35 postpaid (http://home.tiscali.nl/blackmagicrecords.nl/). Ron Weinstock

Reviewed in our next issue:

The 2007 Riviera Maya

Jazz Festival

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

January 2008 • Issue 300PAGE EIGHTEEN

THE WAY THINGS GO is a fresh take on traditional Blues from the veteran

Bluesman. CLEVELAND FATS once again shows that he is a master singer, guitarist,

and songwriter highlighting his talents on nine originals and three covers. This recording

includes the re-teaming with his former boss and mentor ROBERT LOCKWOOD, JR.

and special guest BILLY BRANCH on harmonica.

CD NOW AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM HONEYBEE ENTERTAINMENTOnly $15 including shipping (outside US add $2). Send check or money order to

4786 Dressler RD NW #145, Canton, OH 44718. Or online at www.honeybeeblues.com

For booking information please contact BLUE SKUNK MUSIC at (847) 275-8378

HOMESICK JAMESShake Your Money Maker

SPV BLUE RECORDSA cousin of the late Elmore James, the late Home-

sick James Williamson, is perhaps described among thesecond-tier of slide guitarists performing in the mannerof his more famous broomdusting cousin. SPV Blue hasjust issued Shake Your Money Maker; some 1999 liverecordings in Switzerland produced by Fred James whois on guitar on these tracks.

Homesick James was one of the artists who recordedfor small Chicago labels like Chance, for whom he waxedLonesome Old Train and his signature song, HomesickJames. Later he recorded an album for Prestige, which Ifind hardly memorable although Fred James, in the linerbooklet, calls it Homesick’s ‘high water mark.’ He alsowas recorded by Sam Charters for the classic anthology,Chicago The Blues Today, which this writer feels is hismost impressive work. In the ensuing years until his De-cember 2006 passing, he recorded a number of albumsfor a variety of labels including Trix, Ice House and Ap-paloosa. Some of the European recordings he made withthe late harp player Snooky Pryor perhaps are worth seek-ing out the most.

With respect to Shake Your Money Maker, it showsthat in his 80s Homesick James had lost little in terms ofhis playing and husky vocals. As Fred James observeshe had an erratic sense of timing, but also his slide play-ing seems a bit off the beat compared to his contempo-raries. Certainly his slide attack lacks the forcefulness ofhis contemporaries such as Hound Dog Taylor and J.B.Hutto. There is nothing surprising of the performanceshere in terms of material. Gotta Move and Set a Date hadmainstays of Homesick James repertoire, as was Elmore’sThe Sky is Crying. There are some interesting songs in-cluded like, Crosscut Saw, that sort of meanders alongas opposed to the crisp rhythms of Albert King’s record-ing, and Arthur Crudup’s That’s Alright Mama.

These are mostly lengthy performances that wouldhave benefited from being a tad bit more focused andbriefer, but generally are engaging. Ron Weinstock

FREDDY COLEWITH THE BILL CHARLAP TRIO

Music Maestro PleaseHIGHNOTE

Recorded in the spring of 2006, vocalist Freddy Coleserves up an appealing 11-tune set with radiant supportfrom pianist Bill Charlap’s trio.

Cole digs into his vast repertoire to come up withpleasing hits from the Swing era and later. Ranging fromaround three to nearly six minutes, the tunes are mostlyballads and light swingers. Cole’s vocal phrasing leavesspace for subtle comping from Charlap, one of the mostsensitive, melodic players on the scene today. Their sym-biotic relationship is evident on a medley of “Don’t TakeYour Love From Me” and “I Never Had A Chance,” per-formed as a duo. The singer delivers a lovely version(though brief at 3:12 minutes) of the ballad “Once In AWhile.” Although 76-year-old Cole’s voice sometimes

breaks or strains in the upper register, he was savvyenough to give Charlap and his trio (Peter Washington onbass and Kenny Washington on drums) abundant time toexpertly extend the mood of each tune.

Music Maestro Please is Cole’s 17th album since 1990when he recorded I’m Not My Brother, I’m Me. Charlap’spresence seals the success of this session.

Nancy Ann Lee

JAMES BLOOD ULMERBad Blood in the City

The Piety Street SessionHYENA RECORDS

Returning from last year’s side trip with Odyssey theBand, James “Blood” Ulmer has crafted a disc that takesits inspiration from the blues but doesn’t spend much timein the 12 bar shuffle rut.

Joined by Vernon Reid of Living Color fame on guitarand a host of other musicians who add color and texturewith electric fiddles and mandolins, Hammond b-3, clari-net and other assorted instruments Ulmer lays down apolyrhythmic stew reflecting both the African roots of theblues and its metamorphosis into a many headed crea-ture when channeled through the American South.

Junior Kimbrough’s Sad Days, Lonely Nights is liftedfrom its hypnotic roots and re-imagined with a complex-ity that would not be out of place on a Mamadou Diabatedisc while Let’s Talk About Jesus finds a gospel centerwith its energetic background vocals and Backwater dis-tinguishes itself from the standard slow blues grinder with

January 2008 • Issue 300 PAGE NINETEEN

well placed harmonica and electric violin accents. Else-where, Willie Dixon’s Dead Presidents, Howlin’ Wolf’sCommit a Crime and his own There is Power in the Bluesstrike a more traditional blues pose. With a voice thatalternates between the bullfrog croak of Randy Newmanand a well worn version of Taj Mahal, Ulmer delivers lyr-ics that, among other things, encourage those impactedby the devastation of hurricane Katrina to take it up withthe President, Katrina.

Ulmer isn’t afraid to take on controversy, a point hedrives home with conviction on John Lee Hooker’s ThisLand is Nobody’s Land and on Slave Master where helikens the “help” provided in the wake of Katrina to the“keep in line” mentality of the old boss man. A captivat-ing disc that digs deep. Mark Smith

Lest We Forget....LURRIE BELLDAVID LEVY

ONAJE ALLAN GUMBSThe irony of the end of the year is the onslaught

of releases that show up in the final quarter and, usually,the lack of new stuff in January. With “big names” look-ing for big Christmas numbers and box sets arriving forgift-giving season, some very deserving sets can slipthrough the cracks. Here are some worth knowing about.

One of the year’s very best blues releases snuck induring November. Chicago guitarist/vocalist Lurrie Bell’sLet’s Talk About Love on Aria B.G. Records is a tough setthat both celebrates the Windy City tradition and offersjust enough departure to keep it all fresh. Bell’s pipesand chops are strong, as is his backup on fare from WillieDixon, Pops Staples and Lit t le Richard. Vis i twww.lurrie.com

Reedman David Levy’s septet Out To Lunch on Ac-curate records is just the sort of outfit that keeps the jazzscene fresh. Celebrating Eric Dolphy by way of their bandname- and James Brown by way of the title of their just-out Excuse Me While I Do The Boogaloo, OTL simulta-neously turns out solid grooves and engaging improvisa-tion. They can be eclectic and experimental, at timescrossing genres and flirting with electronics, without los-ing their core identity as a solid jazz ensemble. Their stuffis tasty, fun, inventive and cooks like crazy. There’s moreinfo for you online at www.outtolunchmusic.com andwww.accuraterecords.com

Actually, Onaje Allan Gumbs’ Sack Full Of Dreamshas been available on 18th & Vine Records for most of thepast year but it would be borderline criminal for any jazzpiano fan to be unaware so its mention here is impera-tive. Mr. Gumbs, who has consorted with the likes of NatAdderley, Woody Shaw and Betty Carter, and his crewcrafted a top-notch set that merges technique, inventionand the ability to swing in the best tradition of the main-stream scene. Duane Verh

books

jazz-blues.com

THE BIOGRAPHICALENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAZZ

By Leonard Feather and Ira GitlerOXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Earlier this year, Oxford University Press released thesoft-cover, one-volume, 718-page edition of The Bio-graphical Encyclopedia of Jazz, which was released inhardcover in 1999. This useful resource expanded uponand updated Leonard Feather’s classic Encyclopedia ofJazz, which was originally published in multi-volumes bydecades.

Most of the biographical entries from previous bookswere updated, new players were added and internationalcoverage was extended. When Leonard Feather died in1994, Ira Gitler worked on the tome, with help from otherresearchers and writers that he credits in his 1999 Pref-ace. Each entry contains basic information about the jazzartist, significant dates, influences, prime associationswith other musicians, major recordings and performances,and other pertinent information.

Feather was a widely esteemed jazz critic who movedto the U.S. from England in the 1930s and built his ca-reer here as a journalist, lecturer, broadcaster, musicianand writer of hundreds of jazz compositions.

Gitler has been the author of countless liner notessince 1951, has continued to contribute to Downbeatsince the 1960s, and writes for many other publications.He teaches jazz history at the Manhattan School of Mu-sic. His books include Jazz Masters of the ‘40s and Swingto Bop. He lives in New York City.

Inclusive of all periods and styles, this book is a use-ful tool for jazz journalists, fans, musicians and recordcollectors. Nancy Ann Lee

JAZZ MAVERICKSOF THE LONE STAR STATE

By Dave OliphantUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS

An enthusiastic fan of jazz, Dave Oliphant authoredTexas Jazz, which was a focus of the many contributionspersons from the Lone Star State have made in the de-velopment and growth of jazz throughout the music’s his-tory. As he notes in his introduction, he had discovered anumber of native Texans he had overlooked in the earlierbook and discovered new information about others. In asense some of the articles in this are a continuation tothat book, while others, including a book review of Jelly’sBlues, a biography of Jelly Roll Morton by Reich andGaines, and their is a consideration of Western Swing pio-neer Milton Brown.

I suspect reading the articles as the originally pub-lished is more satisfying then trying to read this in onesitting as one can tire of the author’s Texas boosterism.Still there is plenty of interesting material here from thetitle chapter with brief bios and discussion of the contri-

butions of Eddie Durham, Jack Teagarden and JimmyGiuffre, and the chapter on The Roots of Texas Jazz.

The focus on Texas connections does provide someinteresting insights such as discussing Kenny Dorham,he notes that Dorham often incorporated a phrase thatderives from the ‘Anitra’s Dance’ section of Norwegiancomposer Edvard Grieg’s incidental music to HenrikIbsen’s Peer Gynt. And the author noting that Grieg’smusic was taught in Texas public schools raise the sug-gestion that this might be the source for Dorham’s fond-ness for the phrase.

Other books discuss jazz connections between Texasand Wisconsin, a review of a biography of OrnetteColeman and one on Jazz Poetry. In the discussion ofJelly’s Blues, Oliphant takes the authors to task for mis-casting the contributions of Texas native, Alan Lomax,who Oliphant shows previously made many of the pointsthey make in their book.

An interesting volume with many insights but is prob-ably best read a couple of chapters at a time.

Ron Weinstock

JOURNEYMAN’S ROADBy Adam Gussow

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE PRESSAs the blurb on the dust cover for Journeyman’s Road

notes, Adam Gussow is the rare academic who has livedthe life of a bluesman. An Assistant Professor of English

and southern studies at the University of Mississippi, hehas authored Seems Like Murder Here: Southern Vio-lence and the Blues Tradition and Mister Satan’s Ap-prentice: A Blues Memoir.

He is best known as a blues harmonica player whoteamed up on the streets of Harlem and then toured theworld with singer-guitarist Sterling McGee as Satan andAdam.

The core of this book is 21 of the 26 columns thatGussow contributed to Blues Access, a lamented bluesquarterly that folded several years ago.

Gussow brings us into his world as a musician andmany of the very interesting individuals he came intocontact with, brings alive the blues and jams at the long-closed Dan Lynch’s, playing up on Upper Broadway withMr. Satan and searching for the perfect amp. He providesa chapter on blues jam etiquette as well as a survey in-troduction to the blues literature.

A more recent group of chapters discuss the rela-tionship of the blues to William Faulkner’s body of work.As can be seen there is a wide range of subjects coveredand Gussow writes in a fashion that gets the reader plow-ing through the text. OK, I admit I slowed down when hediscussed Faulkner, but that is my only passing acquain-tance to that great writer.

Gussow makes a number of very interesting pointsthat will give folks plenty of time to do so, but he nevercomes across as pedantic, and certainly this is a bookany blues enthusiast should enjoy. Ron Weinstock