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 It
always puts a hop in my step when I get a copy
of one of Bob Corritore’s “From The
Vaults” series in the mail, but I may have taken
the biggest hop ever when I saw, and then heard
High Rise Blues (VizzTone/SWMAF). This
particular entry focuses on the Chicago brand of
blues, with 14 tracks from as many sessions
Corritore recorded between 1992 and 2022,
featuring a truly all-star cast of Windy City
legends. The inside cover of the CD lists 44
musicians contributing to these wonderful
sessions, which absolutely must be heard by any
fan of Chicago blues.
The
disc opens with Jimmy Rogers joining Corritore
for a stirring version of Rogers’ classic
shuffle, “The Last Time,” before rumbling into
Magic Slim’s “Buddy Buddy Friends,” with the
Magic Man himself behind the mic and on guitar.
The album title comes from drummer Chico Chism’s
track, a slow burner which also features great
guitar work from Luther Tucker, and Koko Taylor
is featured with Corritore on Willie Dixon’s
“Twenty-Nine Ways,” while Manuel Arrington
narrates the amusing, slightly salacious “Candy
Bars.”
Eddie Taylor Jr. tackles Lightnin’ Hopkins’
“Short Haired Woman,” and drummer Sammy Lay is
quite effective on Jimmy Reed’s “Honey Where You
Going.” John Primer has collaborated with
Corritore frequently and “Why Are You So Mean To
Me” is another superb effort from the pair. It’s
always good to hear from Pinetop Perkins, with
the late piano man shining on Memphis Slim’s
“Grinder Man.” Bo Diddley offers up his own
funky shuffle, “Little Girl,” and John Brim
teams with Corritore and another piano legend,
Henry Gray, on “Hard Pill to Swallow.”
Wrapping up the disc are tracks from Willie “Big
Eyes” Smith, former Muddy Waters drummer, ably
handling his former boss’s jaunty shuffle “She’s
Alright,” Eddy Clearwater revisiting his “Sail A
Ship” with Bob Riedy on piano, and Lil’ Ed
Williams, who closes out the set with “Caught In
The Act,” an excellent slow blues.
High Rise Blues is another outstanding set
taken from Bob Corritore’s incredible archive of
recordings. It was really great to hear music
from some of the legendary figures who are no
longer with us. Thankfully, their legacies live
on in the Windy City and the rest of the blues
world.
--- Graham Clarke
 In more than one write-up devoted to
Michael Jerome Browne, I’ve seen the phrase
“a musician’s musician.” I think I first heard
him on Eric Bibb’s Migration Blues, on
which he co-produced, played and sang,. He’s a
multi-instrumentalist, a songwriter, and he
knows American Roots music back to front, having
been exposed to it by his parents since he was
nine years old via trips with them to a number
of Montreal jazz, blues, and folk clubs. By the
time he was 14 he was playing many of those same
clubs.
Like most musicians over the last three years,
Browne has been itching to get back to work
performing and playing with fellow musicians.
His latest release, Gettin’ Together
(Borealis Records), finds him doing just that,
traveling around Canada and the U.S. to record
with some of his friends: Harrison Kennedy, Mary
Flower, Eric Bibb, John Sebastian, Colin Linden,
J.J. Milteau, and Teilhard Frost, among others.
The 14 tracks consist of mostly covers of
vintage blues and roots music, with one song
written by Browne and one from Flower.
Mississippi John Hurt’s “Monday Morning Blues”
(a lost 1928 track that Hurt recorded again in
the ’60s) kicks the album off, an enjoyable
collaboration between Browne (vocals/12-string
guitar) and Kennedy (vocals/harmonica). Bibb
adds 9-string guitar and Milteau adds harmonica
to Browne’s read of Bukka White’s classic “Shake
‘Em On Down.” White and Hurt were both early
influences on Browne, and two songs from each
are covered, the second songs for each being
Hurt’s “Coffee Blues” (featuring Flower on
vocals and guitar and John Sebastian on
harmonica) and a stirring read of White’s
“Fixin’ To Die Blues” (with Browne on gourd
banjo and Frost on fiddle).
Flower guests on multiple tracks, playing lap
steel on a lovely version of the Delmore
Brothers’ “I’ve Got The Big River Blues” and the
obscure “Married Man Blues” (a 1936 side
recorded by Houston-based pianist Harold
Holiday, a.k.a. Black Boy Shine). She adds
vocals and guitars on the late ’20s rag “Black
Dog Blues,” and she and Brown collaborate on a
fine, new Flower original instrumental,
“Wisecrack.”
Kennedy rejoins Browne for Peetie Wheatstraw’s
“Six Weeks Old Blues,” and Frost plays fiddle on
“Diamond Joe,” with Browne on gourd banjo.
Browne and Linden’s lively version of Rube
Lacy’s “Ham Hound Crave” is a standout, and
Browne takes J.B. Hutto’s “Please Help” in an
interesting and effective acoustic direction
with bassist Stephen Barry and drummer John
McColgan, who plays washboard behind Browne
(12-string guitar), Sebastian (harmonica), and
Happy Traum (lead guitar) on a dazzling cover of
Brownie McGhee’s “Living With The Blues.”
Browne also offers up his own “Reverend Strut,”
playing the banjo the Rev. Gary Davis used on
The Guitar and Banjo of Rev. Gary Davis, one of
Browne’s favorite instrumental albums.
Gettin’ Together is a wonderfully rich
set of acoustic blues and roots songs that
you’ll listen to over and over again. Like any
great blues album, it will certainly lead you to
dig deeper into the original versions of these
songs, but it should also lead you to dig deeper
into the music of Michael Jerome Browne and his
friends.
--- Graham Clarke
 Joyce Huston (dubbed Lady J Huston) came from a
musical family, her mother being a noted blues
and jazz singer in St. Louis. She got her start
as a teenaged vocalist in Johnnie Johnson’s band
and eventually joined Albert King’s band,
eventually becoming lead trumpeter and later his
musical director. She’s lived and performed in
Las Vegas for 25 years, leading Lady J Huston
& the Fireballs, and has performed The Lady
J Huston Show throughout the Midwest for the
past five years. With that background, it’s a
bit surprising that Groove Me Baby
(Earwig/Unison Productions) is her debut
recording.
Groove Me Baby features 12 songs, nine
written or co-written by Lady J (who also
produced the album), and backing from over 30
musicians, including the 18-piece Jazz Edge
Orchestra from St. Louis. Lady J herself
provides trumpet, flugelhorn, and vocals.
The
opener, “Your Call,” is a gritty, brassy down
home blues, which leads into the steamy,
swinging “Mean Stud Lover Blues” (also offered
later on the disc in an instrumental version).
Lady J’s mother, Loyce Pickens (Huston) recorded
“I Want A Man Like That” in the early ’60s with
the Chick Finney combo, and she pays tribute to
her mom with this tasty cover.
Lady
J recorded “Tearing Me Apart,” based on a true
story, initially in the mid-’80s, but has
remixed and revised the tune over the past
decades, re-recording the vocals this year. The
finished product is a standout. Next, Lady J
pays tribute to another musical mentor, Albert
King, with a funky, soul-infused take on “Born
Under A Bad Sign” that works extremely well, and
takes a pointed look at the scourge of the past
few years on “Corona, You Make Me Sick!”
Meanwhile, the Jazz Edge Orchestra backs her on
“Hide-Away,” a ballad that mixes jazz and R&B
with the blues, while the title track is a
smooth soul and R&B. “Messin’ ‘Round On Da
Bayou” is a second line groover inspired by Lady
J’s late drummer Jimmy Prima (nephew of jazz
legend Louis Prima), and the ribald blues “500
Pounds Good Gizzay” was originally written by
her mother, but slightly modified by the
daughter.
The
final two tracks, bonus tracks, included the
aforementioned instrumental version of “Mean
Stud Lover Blues” and a live recording of Etta
James’ “At Last,” which really puts Lady J’s
vocal versatility on full display.
Groove Me Baby is a superb mix of blues,
jazz, and soul. Hopefully, Lady J Huston won’t
take as long between her first and second albums
and we’ll be hearing more from her in the near
future.
--- Graham Clarke
 Deuce ‘n a Quarter (Brian Peters –
vocals/harmonica, Keith Colbert – rhythm and
lead guitar, Andre Scott – drums, Martin O.
Brown – bass, Tim Dvorkin – keys) advanced to
the I.B.C. finals this year in Memphis, with
Peters taking home the coveted Lee Oskar Best
Harmonica Player Award in the process. The
Ohio-based band recorded their latest album,
Keep Moving On, at Kenny Neal’s Baton Rouge
studio, with Neal providing guitar on six of the
album’s 11 tracks and two of his songs. Peters
wrote the other nine tracks and the band is
assisted on several tracks by Brandon Adams
(keyboards) and Dwight Carter (bass).
The
opener, “Swing at the Blues,” is, well, a
swinging blues shuffle that really pops and sets
the tone nicely for the rest of the album. “I’m
Not Alone” is a funky, mid-tempo soul-blues, and
“Same Old Blues” is a modern take on the blues.
The issues may be a little different from years
past, but the blues we have are basically the
same.
The
title track is a fairly low-key blues ballad
that features some splendid harp from Peters and
encourages folks to hang in there and endure
through the tough times. “Doing Wrong” is a slow
burner about a fading relationship with
outstanding contributions from Dvorkin on piano,
Adams on keyboard, and Colbert on guitar.
The
band really locks in on the fast-paced shuffle,
“All She Wrote,” before heading down to the
Delta for the laid-back, acoustic “Sun Kissed
Wheat,” featuring Peter’s harp and voice with
Colbert and Neal’s guitars. The lively “Blues
Mobile” is one of Neal’s two tracks, originally
on his 2016 release Bloodline, and
“Moment With You” is a soft, acoustic ballad
that will please listeners of several genres.
Neal’s second contribution, “Blues Leave Me
Alone” from his 2008 album Let Life Flow,
is a perfect fit for the band with its
easy-rolling rhythm.
The
album closes with a piano-driven ballad, “Why,”
written by Peters after the tragic death of his
28-year-old daughter, Amber Evans. It’s a
tender, emotional track, with Peters’ heartfelt
vocal expressing the pain and loss he
experienced, but also the hope that they will
meet again.
Listening to Keep Moving On, it’s pretty
obvious that Deuce ‘n a Quarter deserved their
spot in the I.B.C. Finals this year. Their
musical rapport is very strong and Peters is a
highly effective front-man as a vocalist and
harp man. Blues fans will appreciate this
well-crafted effort from a band who deserves to
be heard.
--- Graham Clarke
 Irish blues and roots guitarist Gráinne Duffy
ventured to California to work on her fifth
album, Dirt Woman Blues (Blue Heart
Records), teaming with her husband and guitarist
Paul Sherry and former Black Crowes guitarist
Marc Ford. The resulting collaboration generates
a sound combining Celtic storytelling, the blues
of the Mississippi Delta, Memphis soul, and
classic rock of the Southern California variety.
The trio used Gary Clark, Jr.’s rhythm section
--- drummer JJ Johnson and bassist/keyboardist
Elijah Ford (Marc’ son), as well as keyboardists
John Ginty, Peter Levin, and Sam Goldsmith.
Duffy opens with the tough rocker “Well, Well,
Well,” a crisp guitar-driven celebration, before
rolling into the title track, which is a moody
blues with a gritty Delta feel both musically
and lyrically. The mood shifts somewhat with the
freewheeling “What’s It Gonna Be?,” which
reflects on the joys of love and romance, and
“Running Back To You,” a cool, soulful track
that really allows Duffy to put her full vocal
talents on display. Meanwhile, the rhythmic
“Rise Above” is a tribute to Duffy’s Celtic
roots.
The
memorable “Sweet Liberation” has a Southern rock
groove, moving to a spirited guitar-driven jam
at its conclusion, while “Hold On To You” is a
gentle ballad that seeps deep into your soul.
“Yes I Am” rocks fiercely, and Duffy’s guitar
and vocals are most intense. The acoustic
closer, “Killycrum,” pays tribute to her home in
County Monaghan.
Dirt Woman Blues is a fine mix of influences
from blues to soul to the music of Gráinne
Duffy’s homeland. It’s a genuine pleasure to
listen to from start to finish.
--- Graham Clarke
 Jeau James got his first guitar when he was
nine years old, gravitating to the bass in
college. Influenced by Jaco Pastorius, Louis
Johnson, Larry Graham, and Stanley Clarke, he
began playing with various funk, gospel, soul,
and rock ensembles. He eventually made it to New
York City, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas before
returning to L.A. to begin working on his debut
album, Fated (LordVinyl/Forty Below
Records), a powerful eight-song set that
combines blues with rock and soul. James plays
guitar and bass, and is backed by Forty Below
label head Eric Corne on guitar and vocals,
Kenny Aronoff on drums, and Carl Byron on
keyboards.
The
scorching title track opens the disc, a
hard-driving rocker propelled by Aronoff’s
drumming and James’ searing guitar. A cover of
The Doors’ “Hello, I Love You” follows, James’
version hewing closely to the original but
taking a funkier approach with more high-energy
fretwork. The reflective “Another Night” takes a
look at James’ perspective when moving out on
his own as a teenager, while the torrid “Rock
Hard and Roll” will remind listeners of Lenny
Kravitz’s heyday.
James co-wrote “Human Condition” with Corne, a
soulful look at jealousy and its effects, and
the hard rocker “Pray” ask for peace and
understanding in the world. The propulsive
“River” is a fine mid-tempo rocker, and the
closer “Is This History” meditates on our place
in the world past, present, and future.
Jeau
James’ music is influenced by the aforementioned
Kravitz, as well as Hendrix, and listeners will
hear a bit of Eric Gales and Gary Clark, Jr. in
his sound as well.
However, James is no imitator. He brings his own
talents to the forefront. His songwriting is
first-rate and he’s a gifted vocalist and
multi-instrumentalist. Fans of several genres
will find a lot to enjoy on Fated, and it
will be interesting to see what direction his
next release takes.
--- Graham Clarke
 No,
Lil' Jimmy Reed is not the son of Jimmy
Reed, but it's a common misconception. He was
born Leon Atkins in Hardwood, Louisiana in 1938,
picking up his stage persona one night when he
had to fill in for the original Jimmy at a club
in Baton Rouge during the mid-1950s. Lil' Jimmy
even fronted Jimmy Reed's band that night.
Fast
forward to 2023, with the 85-year-old Reed
teaming up with 23-year-old piano player Ben
Levin, with the result being this very fine
album, Back To Baton Rouge (Nola Blue
Records). He sounds so much like the original
Reed, especially on that man's covers, that
you'll swear he must have been kin. Lil' Jimmy
spends most of his time playing guitar with his
harmonica on a rack.
Reed opens with
"Down in Virginia," the first of three Jimmy
Reed covers, also including "I'm the Man Down
There" and "A String to Your Heart." Lil' Jimmy
doesn't stray far from the originals, and that's
alright because he nails each song.
Lil' Jimmy and Levin
co-wrote the autobiographical slow blues, "They
Call Me Lil' Jimmy," with Levin joining in on
piano while Lil' Jimmy sings, "... If you're
looking for some good lovin', I got everything
you need ..." Lil' Jimmy then turns it around to
pay tribute to Levin's hometown, Cincinnati, on
the up-tempo 12-bar blues, "Cincinnati's the
Place to Be." But he shows that he prefers his
hometown of Baton Rouge on the slow blues, "Back
To Baton Rouge."
One of my favorites
is the up-tempo cover of Slim Harpo's blues
shuffle, "Mailbox Blue." Levin's piano playing
stands out on "Wish You Wouldn't," written by
him and his dad, Aron. Another solid number is
the Joe Liggins blues classic, "In The Wee
Hours," an up-tempo stomper that Levin drives
along with his propulsive piano playing.
Back To Baton Rouge is a very nice showcase
for Lil' Jimmy Reed's talents. He sounds much
younger than his age, so hopefully there will be
more to come from the combo of Lil' Jimmy Reed
and Ben Levin.
--- Bill Mitchell
 Canadian
blues guitarist/singer/songwriter JW-Jones
still has a fresh-faced look when glancing at
his album covers, but Everything Now
(Solid Blues Records) is the 12th album in his
name, not to mention the album, Set The
Record, he did last year with the HOROJO
Trio. Okay, the last few albums showed him
relatively unshaven on the covers, so maybe we
can't call him fresh-faced. But he's just 42,
young by blues standards, so the number of
albums to his name is pretty impressive, at
least by my standards.
The mood on
Everything Now continually bounces back and
forth between Jones expressing his love to his
partner and then lamenting lost relationships,
with Jones' angst coming out best on the latter.
Opening the album is the title cut, with Jones
laying down some nice B.B.-style guitar,
tasteful but not over the top, while he sings
about how he needs to stop looking online for
dates and instead trying to find his true love.
He sings, "... need a lover that's a friend ..."
as he expresses his desire for a soul mate.
Eventually he gets "everything now" with a
heaven-sent lover.
The opposite
sentiment shows up on the next number, "Keeping
Me Up," a snaky blues about how he stays up late
into the night listening to his girl talking in
her sleep to find out her hidden secrets and the
faults in their relationship. "Papa's In The
Pen" starts out slow with resonant guitar mixed
down, before Gordie Johnson's organ provides a
spooky background while Jones sings about the
lack of quality parenting, with mama being off
the rails again and papa being in the pen.
Jones' advice on the
mid-tempo blues shuffle, "Take Your Time," is to
do exactly that with his burgeoning
relationship, as Jimmie Vaughan contributes
guitar accompaniment. He then confesses to
plenty of mistruths and exaggerations on the
slow, snaky blues, "To Tell You The Truth (I
Lied)," with the dark mood being painted with
his effective guitar solos, but he justifies the
lies because he's trying to impress that woman.
Jones changes the mood completely on "My Luck,"
a feelgood number in which he's looking forward
to his luck changing. Jesse Whiteley comes in
with organ accompaniment.
"It's Not Raining In L.A." is an up-tempo blues
with smokin' guitar licks from Jones as he looks
to change his location in order to change his
luck, admitting that he's California dreaming.
"When You Left" opens with a soulful horn intro
from The Texas Horns before Jones starts his
lament about everything that was left behind
when his woman departed from his life, with the
pain in his voice coming out strong with more
range than usual. It's one of the best cuts
here, especially since he's able to show such
pain in his voice and then in the corresponding
guitar notes.
Jones gets funky on
the up-tempo blues, "Works Every Time," as he
details his customary pick-up method, singing,
"... I just feed them my lines, it works every
time ..." Johnson drives the song along with a
steady, propulsive drum beat, providing the
foundation for Jones' blues guitar. Changing
emotions again, Jones makes us feel good on "I
Choose You," telling his woman that he chooses
her every day to light up his way. Of course, he
also gives us a strong blues guitar solo.
Closing the album is
an up-tempo bouncer, "Good To Be True," with
more of a heavy guitar sound, as he sings, "...
It's good to be true to the devil you know, damn
if I do, damn if I don't, stick with you, it's
good to be true ,,,"
With
Everything Now, JW-Jones continues his
run of high quality blues. He's one of the best
younger blues artists on the scene with a bright
future ahead.
--- Bill Mitchell
 Larry
Taylor is one of the many offspring of
Chicago blues legend Eddie Taylor who have been
playing the blues around Chicago for the last
several decades. Generations Of Blues - West
Side Legacy (Nola Blue Records) features
recordings done in three different sessions
covering the years 2105, 2017, and 2023,
spotlighting six different Taylor offspring ---
Larry on vocals and drums, the late Eddie Jr. on
vocals and guitar, Brenda on vocals, Demetria on
vocals, Tim on drums, and Larry's son Liljet2x
(aka Abdullah Al Shabazz) on vocals. At times
these recordings sound more like a jam session
than a tightly-organized recording session, but
that's okay because the spontaneity on each song
works quite fine.
I'm
a big fan of Demetria Taylor, thanks to her
recent albums on Delmark Records. Oviously, her
two cuts --- a remake of her dad's "Bad Boy,"
done here as "Bad Girl," and Magic Sam's "You
Belong To Me" --- are my highlights. The latter
of Demetria's two numbers has a bigger, fuller
sound than the version on her recent Delmark
album. "Bad Girl" is taken to another level by
the wonderful piano solo from Duke Harris.
Brenda Taylor tears
up on her two cuts --- "I Found Out," a slower,
jazzy number written by her mother, Vera, that
features Duke Harris on organ and hot sax from
Ronnie G., and J.B. Lenoir's "Talk To Your
Daughter," revised here to be "Talk To Your
Son." On the latter cut, B.J Emery comes in with
strong trombone accompaniment.
While Matthew Skoller isn't part of the Taylor
family, he should at least get an invitation to
their Christmas party based on his contributions
on harmonica throughout the album. He takes the
four cuts on which he blows superb Chicago harp
to another level, including the mid-tempo
shuffle Take Your Hand Down," the rollicking
blues "I Feel So Bad," the blues shuffle "Big
Town Playboy," and the slow blues instrumental,
"Larry & Eddie Jr. Groove (Blues in the Rain),"
that closes the album. Larry handled vocals and
Eddie Jr. played guitar on the first three cuts,
all written by father Eddie, and Larry switched
over to drums for the closer, while Tim drove "I
Feel So Bad" along with his steady drum beat.
The progression of
music from the Taylor family shows on two of the
cuts, with Liljet2x doing a rap, "No Shine."
Larry steps to the mic for his own composition,
the James Brown-sounding soul number, "Jump Down
American Queen," with Emery and Ronnie G. both
giving this raucous song the appropriate horn
sound.
Generations Of Blues - West Side Legacy is a
loving tribute to Eddie Taylor from his family
members, while showcasing each descendant's own
musical styles. The title says it all, as the
Taylors show the rich history of West Side
Chicago blues, both past and present.
--- Bill Mitchell
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