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June
2008
Layla
Zoe Hoochie
Coochie Woman Layla
Dramatic vocals and strong songwriting highlight this CD from new Toronto resident Layla Zoe. It was recorded back in Vancouver, with Chris Raines, her music director from Shades of Blue playing virtually all his accompaniments. First off, “Hoochie Coochie Woman” and “No More Stormy Mondays” perhaps signal a return to using the blues tradition. In writing her lyrics, Ms. Zoe has adapted and expanded the originals, with proper songwriting credit given, and made them immensely more useful to the album in the process. The fact that useful lyrics are part of copyrighted songs seems to have become an insurmountable hurdle and has hobbled blues recording for decades. This comment is not meant to deny a songwriter his or her due, just to point out that, with proper consideration, much more should be possible, as these two songs show. I find this infinitely preferable to recording weak, original songs. Perhaps the sampling world has provided something useful after all. There are only strong originals here: “I Am Free”, for instance, is a chant set only to tribal drums that lists different examples of freedom, from a discharged soldier to an escaped battered wife and more. Completely a capella is “Black Eyes Blacker Song”, which returns to the battered wife theme. “Gottah Message For You” shows she can handle blues rock just as easily and “Get Me Some” exudes braggadocio as effectively as any male blues singer. Layla Zoe is getting a lot of buzz as a live performer as well. Get on the bandwagon early and get this one and by all means, see her live if you get the opportunity. Hoochie Coochie Woman is available through the TBS Office at info@torontobluessociety.com or 416-538-3885. Her web site is www.layla.ca.
Pat Carey Jumpin’ in Jersey Self
Pat Carey is of course the six-time Horn Player of the Year winner in the Maple Blues Awards, honours no doubt due to his stellar role in the Downchild Blues Band. He has another career as a bandleader and a recording artist. Starlight was a contemporary jazz quintet album featuring Ted Quinlan on guitar and Steppin’ Out of Blue Monday featured a tenor sax supergroup with Pat, Jimmy Cavallo and Johnny Pennino that was primarily honking R&B. Jumpin’ in Jersey mines both blues and jazz in the manner of the great B3 organ groups led by the likes of Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff. Kyle Koehler of The James Hunter Band sits at the B3 console, Jake Langley is on guitar and Joe Strasser is on drums. Michael Fonfara guests on piano, Fender Rhodes and on B3. The title refers to the fact that the group assembled in Union City, New Jersey for the recording session. The album opens with three fine compositions by Pat & Jake that all feature plenty of blues soloing: “One For Jimmy C (Cavallo)”, “Brooklyn Boogaloo” and “Blueserenity”. Other highlights include Jake’s “Thanks Ed” (for Ed Bickert) and Michael Fonfara’s “Wish For My Brother”, dedicated to Rod Phillips & Richard Bell. “Blues Medley” is a lengthy sequence of blues associated with Duke Ellington that brings the CD to a remarkable close. If you want to know where some of Pat’s award-winning solos come from, check out this CD. The group will assemble once again at the Orbit Room on Sunday, June 22 at 7pm. The CD release party is part of the Toronto Jazz Festival.
Mr.
Rick & The Biscuits Whole
Grain ZLK
For their last CD, Cocktails & Cornbread, I wrote that their music was where blues, rockabilly and Hank Williams Sr. met. Rick Zolkower now calls it musical moonshine, and with fiddle & accordion added to the line up that one’s hard to argue with. The Biscuits are still Steve Katz (as Luther Wheatstraw) on guitar and Joe Burns (as Josephus Jordan Burns) on bass. Whatever it’s called it is a very good time. The rocking acoustic blues “Everybody Needs A Change Sometime” leads us into his ‘parlour room hoedown’ and I’m sure you’ll like “Snap, Kracle N’ Pop” and “I Had No One” as well. And who knows, maybe Arthur Crudup did pick up the idea for “Diggin’ My Potatoes” in the Appalachians. My seven-song advance copy leaves me begging for more. The hoedown re-convenes at Hugh’s Room on June 10th.
Steve
Rowe Five
Howlin’ Blue/TRX
Steve Rowe is one of Montreal’s finest guitarists and the concluding song of the new CD, “La Vie en Blues” is all the proof you need. It’s a tour de force of soloing inventiveness and tone that seems far shorter than its 4:55. For the rest of this new CD he restricts his soloing ability to the necessities of the new songs. He normally plays with fellow vocalist and bassist Alan McElcheran and the two of them co-wrote almost all the songs. Sam Harrisson rounds out the trio on drums with Peter Mika on keys on some of the songs. There are some gems here too. The opener “Believe I’m Gonna Go Back Home” has some clever lyrics and a solid B3 outing from Mika. “The Black Hole” is an after hours club that I don’t think I want to go to from this description. “Little Too Young” is perfect as a snapshot of the young wannabe musician with all the best equipment but not enough maturity to use it properly. “Gone Fishin’” and “Like A Motor” are jazzy new songs with ‘Uncle’ Bob Harrisson sitting in on brushes. “Like A Motor” is a rarity – a song-length analogy with a relationship that bears repeated listening. This appears to be a live-off-the-floor recording and crackles with energy because of it. There’s much more info at www.steverowe.com, especially if you’re in Montreal on June 4th for the CD launch.
Billy Boy Arnold
Sings Sonny Boy Electro-Fi/Outside
mg blues Around Sonny Boy
Williamson XXI/Universal
John
Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson rarely gets the recognition he deserves in
the history of the blues. The ground breaking harp man & songwriter always seems
to be overlooked. The confusion caused by the equally talented (if unscrupulous)
Rice Miller stealing his
name certainly hasn’t helped. Perhaps this is now changing.
Billy Boy Arnold is a veteran
Chicago bluesman who took lessons from the man himself and has always wanted to
do a tribute album. Electro-Fi has given him his chance. Sonny Boy was a vital
component of producer Lester Melrose’s
“Bluebird Beat” and Willie “Big Eyes”
Smith, Bob Stroger,
Billy Flynn and
Mel Brown update that
distinctive sound effortlessly. Billy Boy has chosen 15 of the more than 120
songs he recorded and you’ll recognize a number of them because they’ve become
standards, even if you don’t associate them with John Lee. There are also two
Arnold originals in the Sonny Boy style. Whether you recognize the songs or not,
Billy Boy has given us a fantastic blues album. His vocals are spot on and his
harp playing always appropriate & inventive. Mel Brown switches from piano to
guitar and Billy Flynn adds some Yank
Rachell-styled mandolin, especially welcome on “New Jailhouse Blues”.
Electro-Fi Records has been getting its CDs to the stores via Festival
Distribution but Festival is lamentably going out of business. The move to
Outside Music is resulting in some delays with new releases. In the meantime,
you can get all their titles at
www.electrofi.com.
Authenticity isn’t quite as important for mg blues. Michael Mansour (m) and André Grondin (g) are an acoustic guitar/harmonica duo from Montreal with a rather more contemporary feel. They have included eight Sonny Boy songs here with a couple of Robert Johnsons, “Hoochie Coochie Man” and a couple of pop numbers. Claude Sacré provides acoustic bass and there’s a vocal chorus on several songs. Interestingly, mg blues in “Sonny Boy’s Jump” sing the original, 1945, line about sending his girl friend a $20 bill. Billy Boy’s version has a $1000 bill. Talk about updating! But mg blues clearly have a feel for the material, Mansour’s vocals are warm, with a slight accent and Grondin’s harp blends very well, never overpowering Mansour’s vocal. The Robert Johnson performances seem curiously unconvincing, however. This is the first album for mg blues and I hope it won’t be the last.
Marcia
Ball Peace Love & BBQ
Alligator/Fusion
Michael Burks Iron Man
Alligator/Fusion
Janiva Magness What Love
Will Do Alligator/Fusion
Three new ones from Alligator for you to savour: Marcia Ball’s new one comes after her best selling live album and should carry the momentum forward. It has strong songs including perhaps her best New Orleans rocker “Right Back In It” and the more serious commentary on Katrina, “Where Do You Go?”, written and performed with Tracy Nelson. The Cajun-flavoured “Married Life” is another highlight. Ms. Ball is at the top of her game and Stephen Bruton’s production keeps her there. Michael Burks’ Iron Man is a breakthrough album for him, with more original songs recorded with his own touring band, he’s ready to fill the void left by Luther Allison. Not since his untimely passing has there been as intense a guitarist/vocalist. Not for the faint-hearted. Janiva Magness has moved from NorthernBlues to Alligator and the most obvious difference is a vastly superior song selection. Little Milton, Al Green, Annie Lennox, Bill Withers and Candi Staton are just some of the names that show up in the credits and, backed with a full horn section and background singers, Magness sings her heart out. I liked the two previous ones but this is on a higher level altogether.
- John Valenteyn, jvalenteyn8724@rogers.com
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