The Groove: Nov-Dec 2016

The Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

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The

GROOVE

BITS Kicks Off for 2016-2017 year for 7,430 students. Wee did 20 school and community programs and 21 programs as part of the school residency in 2015-2016.

We would Mark Dvorak at Shirland ES like try to do The 2016-2017 school year 25 programs for the schools has begun and we have a lot and community and establish of plans for Blues in the another residency program Schools (BITS). Last year our for 2016-2017. goal was to conduct 20 programs and we exceeded that Our first day of programming by more than a factor of two was with Mark Dvorak and his Life and Times of the by having our first major Great Leadbelly Program. residency program at a school. In our first 14 years Partnering with him was of BITS we conducted 182 Steve Jones as narrator due programs for 50.400 stuto scheduling issues. Shirdents, 41 of which were last land Schools (K to 8) had the

NovemberDecember 2016

entire student body in attendance for the AM session while Durand Elementary School had their enBlues in the Schools tire student body at the PM sesSummary sion (K through 6). 500 students  Began in May 2002 and their teachers were at the two programs.  182 programs for 50.400 We do have a Blues in the PreSchool Residency in the works.  Working with the Rockford Head Start Program, we are setting up 5 days of programming for 4 year olds. It will entail about 36 short programs of 15 to 20 minutes each over the course of a week:  Day 1:Dennis Early Education Center Head Start Class-  rooms 730 Lincoln Park Blvd., 61102 Head Start 4 in the AM, 3 in the PM programs (7 total)  Day 2: Dennis Early Education Center Head Start Classrooms 730 Lincoln Park Blvd., 61102 Head Start 4 in PM, 3 in AM programs (7 total) continued on page 2

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Crossroads Blues Challenge Winners Crossroads in the Solo/Duo category. The young band yBblu from Galena, is 16 year old Nicholas Dicklin on guitar and vocals, his 14 year old brother Joseph Dicklin on bass and 14 year old Sam Petri on drums.

Our Solo/Duo and Youth Showcase representatives in Memphis were selected October 9th in our competition at the Grand Avenue Pub in Beloit, WI. Dan Phelps from Loves Park reprises his role from 2015 representing

We did not have any bands available to register so we are conducting a

search and Band challenge on Sunday, November 13th.

Congratulations to Dan Phelps and yBblu! We will be working on fundraising efforts for them in November, December and January to support their trips to Mem-  phis!

students prior to this school year.

We conducted 41 programs for 7,430 students in 2016-17 including our first residency program (east HS with Dan Phelps teaching guitar and blues song writing) Dan Phelps tops the list with 32 programs, Hawkeye Herman has done 19, Fruteland Jackson has done 17, while Ann Rabson did 12 programs for us. 37 other artists (solos, duos, and bands) did the remaining 102 programs Rockford School District has received the most programs at 114. Harlem CUSD has had 20, Byron has had 10, Meridian has had 8, Private Schools have had 8, Winnebago has had 5 and Freeport has had 4. 8 other districts/organizations have had 1 to 3 programs each Programming costs averaged $1-2 per student

Inside this issue: News Music Reviews Playlist, Members Membership Application Upcoming Events

1-5, 22-31 6-21, 28 31 32 32

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

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2016-2017 Blues in the Schools

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Day 3: Fairgrounds Head Start 902 Acorn Street, 61101 Head Start 4 in AM, 4 in PM programs)(8 total)  Day 4:Orton Keyes Head Start 653 Ranger Street, 61109 Head Start 5 in AM, 4 in PM (9 total)  Day 5: Hand‐n‐Hand Child Care Center, Child Care Partner 9350 Forest Hills Rd., Loves Park, IL 61111 Head Start and Early Head Start 3 programs and Rockford Day Nursery Early Learning Center Child Care Partner, 2323 S. 6th Street 61104 Head Start, Pre‐K Expansion, EHS‐ Child Care Partner 2 programs (5 total) Dan Phelps will be conducting the program. Dates are being arranged at time of publication.

Bobby Messano returns for BITS on Friday. December 2nd for AM and PM programs. There is an evening show at the Lyran Club at 7 PM. Dave Fields is scheduled to return on Friday, December 16th for AM and PM sessions and our first Blues in the Library Program in Byron on Saturday morning.

There is an evening show at the Lyran Club at 7 PM on Friday.

Tas Cru is scheduled to come to town with his band for BITS on 2/8/17 (PM school program) and 2/9/17 (AM school program) along with an evening show Wednesday 2/8.

We are looking to do another residency

program at East HS with Dan Phelps.

Dan Phelps will be doing Blues in the Byron Library on Thursday evening 6/8/17 at 6 PM along with Steve Jones. The program is at Byron Library and is entitled “The Blues– The Roots of Popular American Music.”

Other programming with Dan Phelps, Mark Dvorak, and other artists are also in the works! Watch out for announcements about new programming and dates!

New Festival for 2017!!!

Crossroads President Steve Jones along with 3 individuals in the New Glarus area are working with the Wilhelm Tell Society in New Glarus, WI, to host a festival at the Wilhelm Tell Grounds there on Saturday, July 15th. The festival is not 100% certain but the group is in full planning for the event as the likelihood appears fairly certain.

Several Wisconsin

Blues Acts including the Jimmys, Paul Filipowicz, Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo and the Blues Disciples will likely be involved along with several national touring blues artists. It should be a fantastic day of blues!

The festival will be one day in length and more details will be released when information is available. The Tell Grounds is on County Hwy W just east of downtown New Glarus. Parking will be available along with food and beverages. The event will not be an official Crossroads event, but volunteer opportunities will be available to work at the event for free ticketing.

Stay tuned for more information!

Ike November-December 2016

On the Road with Mark Dvorak

(conclusion from last issue)

This issue we conclude our conversation with Mark Dvorak, the great Blues and Folk singer, guitarist and songwriter.

CBS: Who would you say are the biggest influences on your music?

MD: There’s so many. I guess when I heard Fred Holstein sing at his club in Chicago in the 1980s he gave me a model. He wasn’t a big star on a big stage, or in the movies. He made his living singing folk songs in clubs and at small concerts all over the city. He new hundreds and hundreds of songs.

Where my friends were planning demos and auditioning for A & R guys, Fred was doing it, song by song, club by club. Also Art Thieme, who was really terrific showed a generation of people like me how to make a living, entertaining at civic clubs, giving arts-in-education performances.

These guys knew the craft.

Pete’s music and approach to music always shines a light. I love his banjo playing too. He was a very complex man, and his music style seemed very straightforward and simple, but he was masterful.

A guy named Fleming Brown taught at the Old Town School from around 1961 1974. I never met him and he made only two records in his life. Those records changed mine. He could really play that thing.

The first time I heard Big Bill Broonzy play his guitar on an old Folkways record, I think I may have cried.

It was so beautiful and loose and commanding. I remember thinking, “How in the hell am I gonna learn that?”

I’ve borrowed much Brownie McGhee’s style. As he accompanied his own singing and Blind Sonny Terry’s harp, Brownie’s guitar playing was always thick and rhythmic and delicious.

Page 3 Nowadays I am working more on my singing. It’s been such a long road to learn how to sing in tune and sing with expression. I’m making progress, and when I listen to music now, I am drawn to what the singer is doing. I like everyone from Tony Bennett to Emmylou Harris. I have a George Strait CD and I like his singing very much. I like music. I like to listen to it.

CBS: Tell us a little about how you decided to become a musician and what motivates you in music.

MD: It all evolved, really. I always loved music. Loved listening to it and loved to try to sing my favorite songs. I was a pretty shy kid. Sports and the idea of playing guitar and singing were my outlets.

Two of my brothers played before me; mostly electric. They had all sorts of records lying around the house. At a young age, my brother Steve became a very accomplished guitarist. He spent a lot of time hanging out at blues clubs in Chicago, and worked in several bands over the years. So guitars and music were around the house. I always favored Bob Dylan and was drawn to folkier sounds. I loved Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and all those west coast harmonies. I was drawn to the stories out east that came from the Greenwich Village folk scene, and I bought an interesting book about the Cambridge folk years, Baby Let Me Follow You Down, by Eric Von Schmidt and Jim Rooney. I stayed up and read the whole thing in one night.

By then I had had a guitar and had taken a couple of classes at the Old Town School. I was working on a lot of songs, and I had friends who also enjoyed playing and singing. So we had a little thing going on a local level. I think by the time morning came and I had finished that book, I was pretty dead set on where I was going to go.

Nowadays, what motivates me the most is making a connection with an audience. I’m learning to do it better on recording, but I’ve always been a “live” performer first. It took me a lot of years before I gained enough confidence in my playing and singing to relax and just let it happen. I look forward to getting in tune, and singing in

tune and trying new stuff and replaying the older songs again. I love sitting at my table at home and practicing and working out new material. It’s a kind of work really, and it’s why I get up in the morning and pull my pants on.

CBS: When did you start writing your essays and stories and why?

MD: I’ve always enjoyed writing. It was an outlet for me. In school I wasn’t the brightest student, and I was about as shy as kid could be and still breathe. I still struggle with that. I get ideas and write them.

Sometimes stories, but more often I’d describe a scene in the lunch room. Or try to write out a dialogue between people riding on the bus to school. I’d compose scenes about different teachers. I guess it was my way of getting even with everybody. I remember a good writing teacher I had in high school, Charlotte Stilinovich.

We were all working on our pieces, and she’d read them aloud in class, without saying the name of who composed it. She read some really nice pieces. All very revealing, and the kids class were looking around the room imagining which one of their classmates had written this piece or that. Her lesson that day was, “Find out what makes you bleed, then write that down.” I never forgot that.

I always envisioned a day when I could work on music and writing, just to see if I could do it. When I began traveling around playing gigs, I saw myself sitting in a coffee shop with my notebook, writing stories and songs. I learned pretty quickly that life on the road is not so pastoral. There’s so many things to do, so much think about, I found there wasn’t much time for writing.

Hotels have always made me a little nervous and it took years before I could settle into a rhythm and actually use the isolation of travel to be productive. Now the rule is: hotel time is writing time.

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Ike Page 4 So over the years I had all these notes and stories and ideas scribbled in notebooks and on legal pads. I’ve still got stacks of them filed away and piled here and there. I began a process of going through this stuff and editing it. Some of it.

I learned that editing is a good way to your writing juju going. The more I edited, the more the ideas began flowing. Same thing for songs.

By and by I thought I had enough material to make a small book. It was very small, the first one. I learned how to format and printed them out, one by one on my printer here at home. I designed a simple cover out of some textured card stock and devised a way to bind them. I sold a bunch of them at my shows. I was happy about it.

Then I had the idea to make “Bowling for Christmas.” I wanted to get it out by Christmastime, thinking I might sell a bunch based on the title. By September I was still writing and editing. I’ve always had trouble letting other people do things for me. The deadline was approaching and I was getting bogged down. I finally asked a friend to proof it for me, and went over her suggestions, and finally got it together. I was selling mail orders in November, but didn’t get the shipment of books until the first of December. Nine days later they were gone. I sold about two hundred books in that first month.

Right now I’m working on a new one. It’s going to be called “31 Winters,” and is a reflection on teaching music.

CBS: What drove you to publish the book?

MD: I think it’s part of the larger story I want to tell. I can’t imagine telling “Bowling for Christmas” in a concert. It’s too long. I wouldn’t remember all the little details that make that story sparkle. So it’s a different medium. But I find it strangely very related to the folk art of storytelling. I find it a natural extension of what I do on stage.

At first it was tough releasing “Bowling.”

When tell a story at a party or somewhere, it’s usually short and funny and entertaining. Sometimes the situation allows for a different kind of story. Even in performance when I tell a story, it’s usually a short thing to help set up a music moment. And those kinds stories are told totally off-thecuff. Over the course of repeating them, they get edited and polished.

Writing them down is a whole different animal. Even though most of them are very short, they’re filled stuff that comes from way down there. They’re very per-

sonal, and publishing a little book violated my sense of selfprotection. Two years later I find it sort of liberating.

CBS: Your material says you have released 18 CDs now.

Which are your favorites and why?

MD: Over the years I’ve come to understand what recording is on my end of the Mark Dvorak with Pete Seeger music game. It’s quite different than what I CBS: Tell us a little about your family and thought as a teenager, buying records by history as it relates to music. my favorite stars at the record store.

My favorite is always the next one I’m working on. I don’t have any kids, but my past recordings seem to me like children in a way. Once they’re out, they do their own thing. Some are quiet and polite. Others are like little brats that need a spanking. One or two seem to never leave home.

“Streets of Old Chicago” meant a lot to me. It’s still in print and is the result of my involvement with the Old Town School of Folk Music. I was cautioned by a couple people about making such a concept album. People that knew marketing better than I, thought a project with such a regional attachment might not resonate with people who live in other parts of the country. At first it worried me. But then, these were my songs. These were my stories. I settled with that.

We worked really hard on “Time Ain’t Got Nothin’ On Me.” I met John Abbey in Chicago. He engineered and produced the whole thing. I learned so much from John while making that record. I wrote twelve of the songs, and “Time” opened up a few doors. It closed a few too, but it brought me to a new place.

I released a bunch of live recordings a few years ago. I recorded some of them at shows, one was from a podcast, and some were old, old, old. I mixed them in my home studio, designed the simple jacket for each and put ‘em all together. I knew the way recording was going, I would have to learn the skills of recording, mixing and mastering. Those “archive” recordings were my practice for this. Now I’ve got a nice recording, studio monitors and bunch of different microphones. So I’m all set up.

MD: I mentioned earlier how my brothers brought blues and rock records home. We had our favorite rock stars too, and we all loved country music - the old stuff Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and so forth.

I began getting into learning about folk music, and listening to Pete Seeger. And there we were, three of us out of four were playing music. We had a good time one Saturday night, we were all still living at home. After supper was finished, we each took off in a different direction for a gig.

What’s funny is none of us had any music lessons to speak of as children. I took a couple weeks of violin lessons when I was nine, but it didn’t last. I told everyone I didn’t like, but the truth is, I was paralyzed with fear going to those lessons. It was a small group lesson and the other kids were way ahead of me. There was no way I was going to be able to keep up. It would be years and years before I would get any idea how to practice.

I talked to my dad once about this. He and my mom always wondered where all the music came from. My one brother is just a gifted guy. He took to the guitar quite naturally, and I think his model broke a lot of ice for my other brother, and then me.

My parents always let us try things that interested us. We lived modestly, but were never without. If I wanted a guitar, or a bicycle, I had to save my money to buy it.

There were times I think, when they thought I was getting too far into music for my own good, and we had our ups and downs as a family. But in the end, they came to support what I was doing in the ways that they could. When I step away and look back on those early years, I’m pretty sure they had no idea what the kind of music was, that I was into. It was so different than what they heard on the radio and so forth.

Ike November-December 2016 CBS: If you could play with one musician who would it be and why?

MD: By this time I’ve gotten to play with a lot of cool musicians. Some very famous, and some not so well known. I enjoy playing and singing with folks in community situations too - real folk music.

I don’t know if I could narrow it down to one musician, but if it were possible, it would be cool to by in New York City around 1937, with a whole lot of beer money in my pocket and go hang out with Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie for a while.

CBS: Do you have any favorite songs?

MD: I have a lot of favorite songs. Tons. I also have this little guitar that sits on a stand next to my table. It’s a 1934 Regal, made by Sears and Roebuck. It’s endorsed by Bradley Kincaid one of the singing stars from the old National Barn Dance. It’s got a picture of a hunting dog on it and the words, “Houn’ Dog.” I play every day, and every day at some point, “The Glory of Love” comes out of it.

CBS: What do you have in planning?

MD: I’ve got a lot of plates spinning right now. I want to get back upstairs and get recording again. I am planning a handful of projects. I want to do an all-banjo CD, and a collection of classic pop songs.

Things like “Someone to Watch Over Me,” and “It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie.” I have almost enough material for a disc of original music, and this guy wants me to make a folky holiday record. I think it’s a good idea. I’d also like to do an audio book of “Bowling for Christmas.”

Three mornings a week I work on writing new material for a new book, “31 Winters.”

It’ll be a reflection teaching music at the Old Town School. I’m very excited about it.

I’ve also just become involved with a small group and we’re talking about forming a non-profit organization. We want to bring community music and performances to places that might not be able to afford it.

I’m a big believer in the arts. It’s a shame that our arts organizations in Illinois don’t receive the support they need. So we’re thinking about starting our own organization, soliciting funds and putting our own program together. Our own ideas and our own criteria.

To find out more about Mark Dvorak or where he is playing next, please go to http://www.markdvorak.com/.

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The Blues Return Blues Challenge to the BMO Har- Continues ris Bank Center and Ice Hogs Friday Pregame Shows For the third straight season there will be pregame music events featuring blues and blues rock artists playing from 5:15 to 6:45 PM prior to each Friday home game for the AHL Hockey Affiliate Rockford Ice Hogs. The season kicks off with music at the Blues Flame Lounge on October 28th with the first Friday home game. Local band Recently Paroled with play their high energy, rocking blues to the great crowds that come out for music prior to these Friday games. Music will be featured prior to each Friday home game this season, nine dates in all:         

28-Oct Recently Paroled 25-Nov Val and Char Browne 2-Dec Val and Char Browne 30-Dec Roy Roots 13-Jan Matthew Flamm & These House Rituals 27-Jan Don Collins & the Night Shift 17-Feb The Hoodoo Rhythm Kings 3-Mar Paul Pena 31-Mar Recently Paroled

Admission to the shows is free with a ticket to the game. Check out the schedule and get info for these events here: http://icehogs.com/tickets/Blues-FlameFridays/ and go out for some great music and hockey!

Well, no bands signed up for October 9th so there will be a special Band Blues Challenge on Sunday, November 13th.

The location is the Lyran Club. It is open to all bands who have played within approximately 50 miles of Rockford in the last year (August 2015 through August 2016). Entry fee is $25 and the band must be able to represent Crossroads at the IBC from Jan 31st to February 4th in Memphis. Deadline Saturday, November 5th! Go to our website to find out more about the challenge.

Crossroads Blues Society Officers and Board Members Contact Info President: Steve Jones sub_insignia@yahoo.com Vice-President: Bill Graw williamjgraw@gmail.com Secretary: Bonnie Fox bonitafx@gmail.com Treasurer: Terry Keller terry@markpack.com Board of Directors: Denny Barker harkthebark@mchsi.com Rick Davis rick_davis_937@comcast.net Bob Haendler rhaendler@comcast.net Ken Pearson cntrylivng@aol.com Rick Hein mrrickhein@sbcglobal.net

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

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Music Reviews Maxwell Street Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters Stony Plain Records www.ronnieearl.com 10 Tracks Maxwell Street is the latest release from Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters. The album was dedicated to the late David Maxwell, the keyboard player for the Broadcasters, touring with the band from 1990 to 1992. Maxwell was well revered in the blues world as a sideman. In the late eighties, he started his own blues band titled David Maxwell and the Blues Wizards. He spent time at Club 47 early in his life, listening Skip James, Son House, Fred McDowell, Big Mama Thornton and Muddy Waters. He got to know blues legends like Pinetop Perkins, Sunnyland Slim, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and his piano player Otis Spann, who became a mentor for Maxwell.

With Maxwell Street, Ronnie Earl captures the essence of Maxwell’s extensive blues and jazz career. Earl starts the tribute with one of his own tunes “Mother Earth,” a magical instrumental enriched by Maxwell’s replacement, Dave Limina on keys.

Limina, the new keyboard player for the Broadcasters, wrote the next instrumental selection, “Elegy For A Bluesman,” that sets the tone for the rest of this instrumental and vocal showcase. Earl writes yet another instrumental, uncovering that familiar guitar style of T-Bone Walker with his tribute to the Texas blues great with the original tune, “In Memory Of T-Bone.”

Ronnie brings in the expertise of vocalist Diane Blue as both a co-writer and a soulful vocalist for the track “Kismet.” Maxwell was a musician sought after by many blues artists, including Chicago blues guitarist Otis Rush. The next song is an 11:52 version of the 1958 Otis Rush signature tune “Double Trouble,” a blues tune covered by many blue legends since the 50’s. With a combination of Earl’s steamy guitar solos, Diane Blue’s deep, sultry vocals, and Limina’s smooth keyboard performance, this track was the highlight of the album. The Goffin/ Goldberg tune “(I’ve Got To Use My) Imagination,” made famous by Gladys Knight &The Pips, the empress of soul, is covered by Earl and Blue in a slower tempo with no compromise in the soul department. Ronnie Earl includes his own personal touch with a tribute instrumental

“Blues For David Maxwell,” with the assistance of Limina on piano, a track that would bring tears to Dave Maxwell’s eyes.

Ray Charles would be impressed with the Earl and Blue version of the Arnold/ Walker country hit “You Don’t Know Me,” covered by Charles and many others in the music industry. Included in his collection of songs honoring his friend and musical companion, Ronnie includes an instrumental shuffle fit for a king, with Dave Limina taking charge on the Hammond B3. Earl completes his latest collection in a guitar style all his own, with the Deadric Malone (Don Robey) classic “As The Years Go Passing By,” featuring Diane Blue with vocals soulful enough for any blues fan.

With the all-star band of Ronnie Earl on guitar, Lorne Entress on drums, Dave Limina on piano and Hammond B3, Jim Mouradian on bass, Diane Blue on vocals, and guest musician Nicholas Tabarias on guitar, this is an album rich in traditional blues as well as new material. Ronnie Earl has labeled Maxwell Street “An album of traditional, healing, and soulful blues rooted in gratitude.” That label tells the whole story, which you will want to sample for yourself.

Reviewed by Rick Davis Can’t Shake This Feeling Lurrie Bell Delmark Records http://lurrie.com/ 13 tracks If I had to choose a current musician that exemplifies what Chicago Blues is all about the name that comes to mind first is Lurrie Bell. While others are also huge favorites of mine, no one elevates the playing of traditional Chicago Blues to the level that Lurrie does.

His guitar style is uniquely his own, chopping at the strings with a style and tone that separates him from contemporaries and predecessors. Having cast out the demons from his life, the music he has produced since is perhaps the best he’s done. CD after CD showcases the talents of the man born into the Blues and was baptized in a twelve bar baptismal font.

This new Delmark CD features Bell with his regular Chicago backers. Melvin Smith is on bass and Willie “The Touch” Hayes is on drums, the smoothest and

coolest back line anywhere in the world, let alone Chicago. The talented Roosevelt Purfoy graces the various keyboards here and the outstanding Matthew Skoller is on harp. This band is superb and so is Lurrie. Featured are six originals and seven covers, all of them so well done.

They open with the original “Blues Is Trying to Keep Up With Me,” a beautiful shuffle featuring all the members of the band doing what they do best. Bell picks out a great solo, then later Purfoy does another good one and at the end Skoller closes with his own nice solo. “Drifting” has Bell growling out the lyrics. Skoller solos first and then Bell comes in for his. The band closes with a cool, long instrumental run.

Slow blues is next; “I’m So Weary” features Bell testifying vocally and with some stinging guitar work. “One Eyed Woman” is Bell going acoustic with Skoller in support. The two of them do some down home front porch blues that made me thirsty for a big, old lemonade as I listened to the humorous lyrics. “This Worrisome Feeling” follows, a beautiful, original slow blues. Bell is gritty and cool vocally and strums out some interesting stuff on guitar. Purfoy on piano ads depth behind Bell. “Sit Down Baby” is another fine cover by these pros as is “Hold Me Tight.”

Both are bouncy and danceable stuff.

Great organ work on the latter, too.

“Sinner’s Prayer” has Bell deftly growling out his testimony for us. Purfoy helps set a somber mood in this one. Bell’s “I Can’t Shake This Feeling” is new straight up Chicago Blues with the boys taking turns up front. Nice dirty harp work here. “Born With the Blues” is grittier yet, and the boys do Carrie Bell’s song up sweetly. He picks up the tempo with his own “Do You Hear.” Skoller squeaks out some high stuff and everyone does a great job blasting through this one. “Hidden Charms” has Lurrie growling in his best manner about his baby’s hidden charms. He closes with “Faith and Music,” another song where he testifies to us. An original piece, it is him and his electric guitar telling us that his faith and music is all he’s got and got him through his life. Fantastic!

I love this album. It is Lurrie at his best.

It’s a no brainer buy– go and get this now!

It’s another amazing effort by Lurrie and his band, showcasing real Chicago Blues!

Reviewed by Steve Jones

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Ike November-December 2016 The Stars Motel Liz Mandeville Blue Kitty Music www.lizmandeville.com 11 songs – 42 minutes Veteran vocalist Liz Mandeville used the marquee of one of the few motor inns remaining on the city's North Side for her previous album, Heart ‘O’ Chicago, but the theme’s gotten far more personal for The Stars Motel, which involves her collaboration with four other guitarist/songwriters.

The residence in the crosshairs this time is a place off the beaten path. It’s the basement of her home, which doubles as a practice and recording studio as well a haven for out-of-town guests. Concept began to emerge in 2013 when Scott Ellison needed a room when touring from his base in Tulsa, Okla., and every hotel room in the city had already been booked. Mandeville agreed to put him up – under the condition that they write and record three new songs during his stay.

The following year, guitarist Dario Lombardo, a former member of Phil Guy’s band, arrived from Turin, Italy, to play the Chicago Blues Fest only to find that his reservations had been cancelled. That fall, former International Blues Challenge semi -finalist Rachelle Coba dropped in from Miami. And six more songs were born.

Still short of an album, she teamed with Japanese string-bender Minoru Maruyama, who’d worked with her previously, for two songs, and Florida-based Detroit native Doug Deming for another. All five guitarists play on this disc and provide backing vocals. The album is a major departure for Mandeville, who usually writes all of her own material.

It’s produced by Jim Godsey, who contributes percussion, and features about 20 musicians, including Joan Gand (keyboards), Andy Sutton, John Parris and Robbie Armstrong (drums), Matt Cartwright, Heather Tackett-Faludo, Darryl Wright and Matt Kohl (bass), Dizzy Bolinsky (harmonica) and a horn section composed of Steve Hart (tuba) Charlie Kimble (sax), Jeannie Tanner (trumpet) and Johnny Cotton and Alex Leong (trombone). Liz also adds guitar and washboard.

Ellison’s guitar solo introduces “Too Hot For Love” before Liz’s full-bodied alto delivers the saucy lyrics familiar to folks who’ve known her since emerging on the

Windy City scene in the '80s. In this one, she advises her man to hold off on his heat until wintertime because it's simply too warm in the summer for romance.

Mandeville takes the lead on guitar with Lombardo on rhythm for the new, but familiar “Blues Is My Boss” before she teams with Coba for the catchy “Everybody Knew But Me.” It’s a Latinflavored send-up with Cajun overtones about a love cheat.

The mood slows for the ballad “One Dance,” about longing for a married man, but vowing never to reveal her desire. The mid-tune single-note solo from Maruyama burns with emotion. Liz’s attitude takes a 180-degree turn for “Try Me,” which boasts “I’ve got a whole lot of soul/In my jellyroll” as she sets her sights on a new guy.

Mandeville demands the “Truth” when a lover gives her mixed signals and sings praise for “Reefer And A Glass Of Wine,” a fine jump blues that features Deming on the six-string, before getting introspective again for the slow blues “What Could Have Been,” a regret about having been so messed up, she’d missed the queues from a male admirer.

“Bad Blues Habit” compares the music to heroin: “Need it every day/Gotta have it every night./Without my blues shot/I just don’t feel right” – a great call-andresponse song number. “River Of Blood,” a haunting flashback about slavery, and “What Do Blues Men Like?” – you guessed it: women of all types – bring the release to a close.

Available through CDBaby or direct through the artist’s website, it’s definitely worth a stay at The Stars Motel – especially if you like modern Chicago blues that’s as comfortable as a broken-in pair of shoes.

Reviewed by Marty Gunther Foot Soldier Lightnin’ Malcom Shake Down Records www.lightninmalcolm.com 11 tracks Hill country blues remain alive and well die to artists like Lightnin’ Malcolm. He plays guitar, drums and sings all at the same time as he began his career. He’s a superb one man band. His first release was in 2005 (Juke Joint Dance Party) but what got him noticed was his work in 2006

when he and Cedric Burnside collaborated for Two Man Wrecking Crew. In 2009 he released Renegade, winning a BMA award for best debut artist. His album Rough Out There garnered more attention in 2013. Whether he’s performing solo or with what he calls “a power duo” when he works with Cedric or another drummer, Malcolm delivers a high energy and room filling sound that wins over audiences. He strives to do that with the first song of every performance; he believes that you have to because, “You ain’t gonna get another try.”

Here we have 11 original cuts featuring the big sound we’ve grown to love from Malcolm. “Done Wrong” comes out and grabs you by the throat on the opening note and does not let go. The driving beat and hill country guitar won’t let you go.

“Tree” slows things down a bit to give the listener a bit of a rest with it’s tribal beat and steady groove. “Hero” features some fancy finger picking as Malcolm offers up a sweet instrumental. He returns to the big sound with “Don’t Bitch,” a rhythmic cut that once again grabs you and won’t let go. Malcolm breaks out the slide for “Waves,” a hefty five and a half minute instrumental that makes sure you keep listening.

“Gates of Hell” opens to some big distorted guitar sounds that might come from the likes of Ozzie Osborne, but Malcom reigns them in and starts the thump of his beat, transforming the distortion into another interesting power instrumental. It’s not for the faint of heart. He uses the distortion as a punctuation mark to his delivery. In “Getting’ Dark” Malcolm gives us a somewhat of a lament as he winds through this dirty down tempo cut. “Treat That Women Right” cleans things up as the kick drum’s cymbals crash in support of the echo-filled vocals. “Best Friends Wife” is a cool slow blues about dreaming about sleeping with his best friends wife.

“Good Boy” has Malcolm testifying to his virtue and wanting to do that woman right.

He closes to “Big Jack,” a more up tempo instrumental that gets your toes tapping and your feet wanting to move.

As I noted, hill country blues may not be for the faint of heart, but if you get into the driving, throbbing primal beat with big guitar and vocals that range from clean to completely guttural and raw, then you’ll love this one! I’ve been a fan since I saw him live in 2006 and I think he’s got another winner here!

Reviewed by Steve Jones

Ike Page 8 Rain Lew Jetton & 61 South Coffee Street Records www.61South.com 10 songs - 38 minutes Lew Jetton & 61 South are a tight, veteran six-piece band that been a regional favorite from their home base in Paducah, Ky., delivering what they call “Southern fried Chicago blues.”

A guitar band whose unique sound is hard to define because it melds the Windy City with blue-eyed soul, they’re led by Jetton on guitar and vocals and assisted by a stellar group of guest artists on Rain as they eagerly attack eight originals and two covers with plenty of feel. It’s good-time music that’s been pleasing audiences at clubs and festivals alike since the early ’90s.

Released in 2000, Jetton’s first CD, State Line Blues, was tabbed by Real Blues Magazine as the fourth best independent album of the year. A follow-up, Tales From A 2-Lane, was the 2006 Kentucky Blues Society album of the year and a top -five hit on XM Radio.

Jetton’s backed here by his regular lineup of Sam Moore on guitar, Dan Bell on keyboards as guitar, Otis Walker and James Sullivan on bass and Erik Eicholtz on drums. They’re augmented by guest appearances by guitarist Alonzo Pennington, a two-time International Thumbpicking Champion as well as an International Blues Challenge semi-finalist; keyboard player Solon Smith, a longtime member of guitar legend Johnny Hiland’s band; Miranda Louise, former backup singer for Lonnie Mack; and J.D. Wilkes, harmonica player for the rockabilly band, Legendary Shack Shakers. And the Rev. JoAnn Green adds to the mix through a clip from her longtime gospel radio show, Words To Ponder.

The theme of inclement weather runs strongly through this album, which kicks off with an interesting and different take on cheating. The sound of an instant phone message introduces “Who’s Texting You,” a straight-ahead blues with lyrics that recognize the speed of the lady’s fingers as she responds and demands: “Gimme that phone or we’re gonna fight.”

The burning mid-tune solo amplifies the threat.

The theme of separation continues with “Move On Yvonne,” a loping, stop-time blues that features vocal contributions

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter from Louise and tasty solos from Wilkes and Smith. The blues-rocker “Mississippi Rain” follows and compares the feeling you get from a drenching to the thunderclap of realization you get when you discover the real truth about a troubling situation.

The mood brightens “Lay Me Down,” a sweet Southern rocker, about taking a nap on the river bank to dream about summer and a special lady, his soul to keep. The brief “Glory Train,” a rapid-paced country gospel number features some fine picking and precedes a slow-paced cover of John Hiatt’s “Feels Like Rain.” You can almost feel the weight of a sticky summer night in the Mid-South as the song progresses.

The Southern rocker “Done It All” provides welcome relief from the showers as Jetton’s warm baritone sings about falling in love with a lady who’s “sweeter than a candy store” before the slow shuffle “Sandy Lee” features more fine work on the keyboards as Lew describes “the kind of woman every man wanna see/The kinda woman who bring my money here to me.” Whether it’s really his is a matter of question, but she keeps paying his rent nonetheless. Another blues-rocker, “Keeping Me Awake,” deals with relationship problems and late-night demands for discussion before a great cover of Allen Toussaint’s “It’s Raining” brings the set to a close.

Available from CDBaby, Amazon, iTunes or directly from the band through www.LewJettonMusic.com, Rain is a pleasant taste of Americana that provides some truly original tunes and musicianship that’s first-rate, especially if you like your blues Southern fried and with the slightest of twangs, too.

Reviewed by Marty Gunther Sunset Avenue Gina Sicilia blu elan Records ginasicilia.com 5 track EP Gina Sicilia has one of the most phenomenal voices in the blues world. Since hearing her first CD on February 4, 2007 I have been a huge fan of her vocals.

OK, I remember the date not because of any weird reason except it was halftime of the Bears-Colts Superbowl game when I first listened to her. The power and emotion in her voice struck me, and back then especially as she was a new singer on the

scene, just out of college and backed by a killer band. One good thing came out of the Superbowl for me!

Her life has taken her to Nashville as her home base. Some of her songs have been moving away from the blues towards country; it’s been in her DNA since the start. She seems to be equally at home in either genre. Here we have her doing bluesy torch songs on this EP. She sings with desperation, almost lacking hope at times. Gina seems to have this sort of song in her comfort zone, expressing the downside of lost loves, broken and badly bent relationships, and sadness.

Joining Gina are Ron Jennings and Glenn Barrett on guitars, Ken Pendergast on bass, Scott Key on drums. Gary Oleyar on fiddle, Joel Bryant on organ and Walter Runge on organ and piano. Charlene Holloway provides background vocals.

She starts off with “Abandoned,” a song about being left behind by love. Following that is another song about relations gone bad in “Never Gonna End.” Sicilia sings to us about an unending argument. Nice piano and acoustic guitar work add to the cut nicely. With “I Cried” Gina belts out the chorus with gusto. A somber electric guitar solo adds to the emotion.

The one cover is the old Bert Berns song “Tell Him.: Originally done in early 1962

by Johnny Thunder as “Tell Her,” Lieber and Stoller produced the version “Tell Him” by the Exciters later in 1962. It became the “original” version for most of us, hitting number 4 on the charts in January 1963. It was featured in the movie “The Big Chill” and has been covered by Billie Davis, Dusty Springfield, Kenny Loggins, Linda Ronstadt and many others. Sicilia takes the tempo down a tad from the Exciters version, adding her breathy and husky vocals as an excelled cover of her own. The shaker is the predominant instrument here, scratching out the beat and emulating the brushes on the drums in the original) and the backing vocals are superb. Nice minimalistic guitar work that adds a cool feature to this song. “They Never Pay Me” is more of Sicilia’s angst in a song in a world where the lyric sings of striving for recognition and fair treatment.

More pretty guitar and organ here.

All in all, we have four well done originals and a cool cover. A small complaint is perhaps one up beat cut would have helped break up the tone here, but otherwise this is Sicilia excelling at her songwriting and performance once again!

Reviewed by Steve Jones

Ike November-December 2016 Blues Revival Kat Riggins Bluzpik Media Group www.katriggins.com 10 songs/46 minutes A petite vocalist with a potent delivery and electrifying voice, Kat Riggins holds nothing back as she delivers this collection of eight self-penned originals and two carefully chosen covers.

Born Katriva Tabitha Riggins in Miami and still based in South Florida, she’s in her mid-40s and developed a love for all forms of music, but was immediately drawn to Koko Taylor, Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Ray Charles and Denise LaSalle. After spending her youth singing at church and family gatherings, she landed her first paying gig at 23, delivering jazz and blues standards in a local nightclub, accompanied only by piano.

Riggins spent time in New Orleans before traveling the world extensively with a top 40 band, working blues into her act wherever she could one song at a time in an attempt to revive the music and bring it to new audiences. It’s a concept she terms “blues fusion.” Today, as a solo artist, she still blends blues with everything from country to hip hop to keep her message moving forward.

Blues Revival isn’t just the title of Riggins’ CD, a follow-up to the 2014 release Lily Rose, it’s also the name of her band.

She’s backed here by Darrell Raines on guitars, keyboards and backing vocals and a rhythm section of George Caldwell on bass and Doc Allison on drums.

Stephen Hooper makes a guest appearance on sax on the first cut, “Now I See (Ooh Wee),” a straight-ahead, mediumtempo, guitar-driven blues that puts Kat’s smoky alto on display as she warns a deceptive lover that she’s tired of his lying and that she’s cried her last tear for him to boot. The tempo slows for “Good Girl Blues,” which delivers the message that Riggins has made up her mind to break all the rules.

“Wail Away” is an instruction to the guitarist to repeat a lick because she knows the deep blues he’s playing will touch someone for certain. An extended single-note solo shows that he means business. Not to be confused with the Koko number with the same title, “Queen Bee” is a mediumpaced original in which Kat states: “Once you taste this golden nectar/You ain’t never gonna get enough.” But she warns

Page 9 that she’s got a “mean sting/Cross me once/You won’t do it again.”

Up next, “Murphy’s Law” is a bluesy statement that Riggins is taking back her freedom and breaking the popular rule that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Her voice soars during the chorus. One listen to “Music Fiend” and you’ll understand how song drives Kat’s life.

Two traditional covers -- Sam Cooke’s “Change Is Gonna Come,” which is introduced by an acapella version of the gospel tune “This Little Light Of Mine,” and Etta James’ “Blues Is My Business” – follow before two more solid originals -- “The Devil Is A Liar” and “Blues Is The New Black” – conclude the set.

Available through Amazon and as a download from other sites, Blues Revival is a powerful statement from someone who deserves your ear, especially if your tastes run to modern soul-blues.

Rock solid from beginning to end.

Reviewed by Marty Gunther Not So Simple Austin Young Band Vizztone Records www.austinyoungband.com/ 12 Tracks Today we have the second release by the Austin Young Band.

Both are on the Vizztone label. This is a blues rock power trio based out of Denver Colorado. Austin Young sings and plays guitar. He is supported by Alex Goldberg on bass and Forrest Raup on drums.

Both Goldberg and Raup are new since the last recording. The group mixes up rock, blues jazz and a bit of gospel in a high powered performance. There are no covers on this release, so we get material from the hearts of the band. Clocking in at 60 minutes, there is a great deal of music on this CD. The opening cut is “Take Me Away”. This is a rock song, with a sprinkle of blues added.

The bass and drum lay a good base for Young and his guitar to ride over. A dose of Jimi Hendrix hits you during the opening of “Barren Road Blues”. This one has a mid70’s feel with powerful guitar work. I like the change of pace on “Something More.”. The band adds 3 horns and sets a

real New Orleans type feel to the tune. I like this one. Things slow down on “Not So Simple”, the title cut. It is a power ballad type tune. It may be a bit too drawn out. I like the B3 in this one by Tom Capek, it adds to the tune.

The upbeat “Sets Me Free” is an OK pop song, but not much blues in it. The horns are back on “Heal My Heart”. The tune is bright and upbeat, and it there is some Texas swing in it, without getting countries. “Letting Go” hits the country rock feel going, with a 70’s feel. There is a bit of Pure Prairie League’s “Amie”, and some 70’s rock to start the tune. There is some jazz feel to “Moving On”. Tom Capek is back on the B3 on this tune.

This is another good change of pace and influences tune.

“Mountains On Fire” clocks in at just over 7 minutes. It is a blues rock ballad, which might benefit from being a bit shorter.

The vocals could be a bit higher in the mix, but overall a good tune. The tune “Free” is a rock tune, which is powerful without being overwhelming. “Whirlwind” certainly is a throwback to the early 70’s blues rock. There is stinging guitar work, and would feel at home at the Fillmore East past days. It is an instrumental.

Think Montrose, Bloodrock or Mountain as influences. The closing number “Angel Flying Home” is a mostly acoustic guitar tribute to Young’s father who passed away recently. Certainly this is a total change of pace, and it works.

I was not sure I would like this CD, but I walk away from listening to it with a good feeling. This is not just a guitar hero album. There is some flashy guitar, but there is also style and grace. Various styles are represented and played well.

This is a band in their early 20’s, many good things should be ahead for them.

Let’s hope the music keeps coming from this fine young band.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Ike Page 10 Grit Grease & Tears Deb Ryder Bejeb Music www.debryder.com 12 Tracks Deb Ryder is originally from the Chicago area, and later moved to California. She sang as a young performer at her step-father’s club The Topanga Corral opening Etta James, Big Joe Turner and Taj Mahal. She was a flower girl at Neil Young’s wedding. This is her 3rd solo release and all of the songs were written by her and the band. On this disc she is supported by Tony Braunagel (drums), Michael Finnigan (B3/Piano), Johnny Lee Schell (guitar) and her husband Ric Ryder (bass). Kirk Fletcher, Albert Lee and Bob Corritore also guest on the CD. Far from a newbie in the business, Deb and her husband played as The Bluesryders for 20 years, so her craft has been fine tuned.

The opening cut is “Ain't Gonna Be Easy’.

It is a smooth tune with fine vocals and a hint of jazz. Finnigan really shines with his B-3. Sugaray Rayford joins for a duet on “Get a Little Steam Up”. This is a funky tune also features Kirk Fletcher on guitar too. It is a modern day relationship story. “Blink Of An Eye” is a blues rock tune with some added harmonica by Pieter Van Der Pluijm. It reminds us that life goes by fast. I like “Grit Grease & Tears” the title track. It is a grinding soul ballad that highlights Ryder’s vocals. Bob Corritore lends his harp to the track.

“Sweet Maryanne” is a soulful mid-tempo tune with some brass added to it. It is a good number and well produced. The story seems autobiographical about her life. It might be even better if it rocked a bit more. The deep Texas stylings show up on “Lord Knows I Do”. It is a slow grinding blues tune that shows off Ryder’s vocal might. Kirk Fletcher helps bring on the funk on “Panic Mode”. This is good stuff!! Albert Lee brings his guitar to assist on ” Just Her Nature”. It has a southern feel to it, with vocals reminding me of Maria Muldaur.

Peter Van Der Pluijm brings his harp to “New Mechanic (Patrick's Blues)”. Ryder is looking for a new man in the lyrics of this tune. This one is very likable. The band goes back to the delta on “River’s Forgiveness”. It reminds me of soe Tony Joe White tunes, slow and sultry. The band is cooking on the fast boogie of “Prisoner of War”. You can hear the Slim Harpo and ZZ Top in this tune. The clos-

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter ing number is “Right Side of the Grass”.

All of the main players on the disc are playing modern blues on this one. It is a tasty tune.

Blues fans will enjoy this one. Her reputation is growing, and I’d expect touring and festival activity in the future. Deb Ryder is here to stay and that is all good for blues fans. Grab this one and enjoy the solid original blues music.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson The Long Journey Home Vaneese Thomas Segue Records http:// vaneesethomas.com/ 12 Tracks Vaneese Thomas is Memphis royalty.

She is the daughter of the great Rufus Thomas and sister of Carla Thomas. The Long Journey Home is her 7th release.

This CD is a mix of r&b, soul, blues and a touch of funk. Vaneese sings all the tunes and wrote or co-wrote all but one of them.

The primary musicians are Joe Bonadio (drums), Paul Adamy (bass), Paul Mariconda and Al Orlo (guitar). The CD cover has a vintage feel from back in the Stax days. Wayne Warnecke, her husband, produced the CD at his studio in New York. On to the music!

The opening cut “Sweet Talk Me” has a bit of Tina Turner in it. The opening guitar and piano riffs jump start the tune that keeps your interest from start to finish.

“Lonely No More” is an uplifting tune, with fine R&B vocals and support from the band and a real Memphis feel. I like the wild party tune “Sat'day Night On The River”. The brass section really shines on this one (Ed Palermo (sax), Bryan Davis (trumpet) and Barbara Cifelli (baritone). The R&B continues on “Mystified”. The band is moving as a unit, and Vaneese’s vocals are really good.

From the title, you know what “Country Funk” is all about. There is some old time feel, but certainly a modern feel to it too.

Peter Calo (banjo) and Katie Jacoby (violin) add to the band on this one. Radio might just like “The More Things Change”.

It has a retro feel to it with a lower tempo soulful delivery. In her soulful delivery of “Prince Of Fools”, Vaneese dips back to classic done me wrong soul formula. Sergio Cocchi provides classic B-3 on this one. Backing vocals are pretty good too.

This is a good one! The band rocks out on “I Got A Man In TN”. Vaneese is in control of the song and tells of her love of the man in the song. Al Orlo stings with his guitar.

On “Rockin' Away The Blues” a bit of gospel influences the soul tune. It is okay, but not as good as some of the other tunes. It might have been better as a straight gospel tune. A bit of country blues shows up in “Revelation”. I hear a bit of Jimmy Reed in the music. The harmonica work of Paul Paparozzi is a good touch here. On “Mean World” we hear a soulful ballad. Thomas supports herself on piano on this one. Musically it is OK, but her vocals seem a bit low. I would have liked to hear a few higher notes at times. The lone cover is Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”. I like that Vaneese’s vocals reach for those higher notes. Not too bad of a cover for her to do.

Overall this is a pretty good soulful album.

It is well performed for the most part. I like that this type of album is still being made with a strong reach back to Memphis and her history, while interweaving some modern feel to it. Let’s hope for more, and a few tour dates. This one might make a run at a female soul best lists for the year.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson Blues Karma and The Kitchen Sink Charlie Wheeler Band Self Released www.charliewheelerband.com/ 12 Tracks The Charlie Wheeler Band brings us blues infused rock ‘n’ roll and some southern rock influences. This trio is based out of northern Pennsylvania town of Ridgeway.

Overall this is their 4th release dating back to 2008. Lead vocals and guitars are manned by Charlie Wheeler. Dave Fink (bass & backing vocals) and Rad Akers (drums) round out the band members. Wheeler wrote all 12 tunes for the CD. The music has a modern feel.

The first cut is “People Keep On Talkin'’.

There is a mid tempo blues rock tune.

There is a bit of old southern rock chords here. “Shiver” is one of the longest tunes on the CD at just over 6 minutes. It starts out slow, and builds to a crescendo. The guitar playing is pretty smooth over this long jam session. There is a Black

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Crowes influence on “Choir Of 1000 Angels”. This trip really fills out the sound on the slower tune. “One Of These Days” gives us a mix of Outlaws and Doobie Brothers. It is a pretty good rocker.

joined by Chris Vitarello on guitar & vocals and Ralph Rosen on drums. Further support comes from Jimmy Bennett (lap steel and guitar) and Peter Bennett (bass). All of the cuts are originals for the band.

Older heavy blues rock is the style for “Flicker Away”. A bit lighter than Humble Pie, but not by much. “Never Can Tell” is a great story teller in a faster blues rock mode. There is a bit of Dickie Betts guitar here. You guitar fans will like it. The 7th cut is “Darlene”. It is an example of a blues rock tune that keeps the guitar work as part of the song and not just a big solo. The vocals would be better if they were a bit higher in the mix. The vocals are better on “Promise Of Daylight”. This is a long slower blues rock tune, that is played very well.

The opening cut is “Don’t Feel So Good Today”. This is an all out boogie woogie assault. This is a nice way to open the CD. On the funky instrumental ”Schnapps Man” Katz opens up with the B3, supported by the stinging guitar of Chris Vitarello. I enjoyed the slow grinding blues of “The Struggle Within” Again Katz plays the B3. Jimmy Bennett adds a bit of lap steel supporting this southern blues rock styled song. The 4th cut is “Blues From High Point Mountain”.

This slow jazzy instrumental tune (6:30) is certainly different than the first three cuts.

“Love Gets In The Way” is a pretty good tune. It has a mid tempo with fine drumming

by Akers. He helps carry the tune. With “Love Gets In The Way”, Wheeler keeps a modern touch to his guitar playing and the style of the song. They kept it a bit shorter on CD, though I’d bet he extends it out during a live show. It’s hard to miss some opening Hendrix guitar styling on “Love You The Same”. It is an OK tune that does not just imitate Hendrix. Remember the old Steppenwolf tune “The Pusher”? If you liked it you will like “Follow Me Down”. It really reflects that older psychedelic rock era. “Butterfly” closes out the CD. I hear a bit of funky line on this one. It is a bit different than the other tracks..Pretty good! Back in the days of radio hits, this one might have made it onto FM playlists.

“Out From The Center”, the title cut is another long instrumental, clocking in at 8:28.

This cut gathers a bit of space rock/jazz / southern soul and mixes it all up. It does drag out a bit far, but it is well played. Up next is “All Torn Up”. This is soulful funky number, with a middle tempo. A trip back to older jazz/blues in a ragtime mode is made on “Bessie's Bounce”. It’s another instrumental exercise for the band, showing off Katz’s 88’s mastery. The B-3 takes center stage on “Dis-Funkshunal”. The trio jams on this instrumental, playing off of the B-3.

Overall blues rock guitar fans will like this one. It has some blues elements, but is certainly more a rock/blues-rock offering. It will be interesting how Charlie Wheeler and his band evolve. Until time passes, enjoy this release if it fits your tastes.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson Out From The Center Bruce Katz Band (featuring Chris Vitarello) American Showplace Music www.brucekatzband.com 11 Tracks Originally from Boston, Bruce Katz now resides in Woodstock, NY. He was an Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music for fourteen years. His B3 organ and piano work has been in demand on other people’s recordings (Ronnie Earl, John Hammond, Delbert McClinton, Gregg Allman, Duke Robillard, Joe Louis Walker, Little Milton,). This release is his 8th solo/ band release, with the first 4 on the old Audioquest label. For this outing Katz is

On “Another Show” Chris Vitarello shows off his vocals a much more bluesy song. This is a mid-tempo piano based tune about life on the road. The band, with Katz back on B -3, really scorch it with “Think Fast”. This is a fast tune with the group in full jam mode.

The closing cut is “You Got It”. This song is a slower jazz organ trio instrumental type number.

On this CD Katz spreads his keyboard/B-3 wings. The is a wide variety of musical styles from ragtime to funk to blues and jazz. The inclusion of many instrumentals may turn off some listeners, but this is a pretty solid disc. It might be a good one for a cold upcoming winter night. Katz and the band are solid and I like that they wrote all of the music. If you get a chance go see these guys and soak up the music.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson Skronky Tonk Little Charlie and Organ Grinder Swing Eller Soul Records www.facebook.com/ littlecharliesorgangrinderswing/ 13 Tracks Californian Little Charlie Baty needs little introduction to blues fans. His band Little

Charlie & the Nitecats and his work with Mark Hummel on Golden State Lone Star Blues Revue are well known and well received. This disc takes him to a new setting with an organ jazz trio. 3 Songs are originals with the remaining 10 showcase swing, blues and jazz classics. He is joined by long time band mates from the Nitecats Lorenzo Farrell (organ) and J. Hansen (drums). It is great to see a musician go back to his passions and display them for all of us to hear.

It also can expand are musical ears to new places.

The CD opens with the title cut “Skronky Tonk. It reminds me of an opening warm up jam one would hear in a jazz club, simple groove, but toe tapping. “How High The Moon” is an old jazz tune from 1940 written

by Morgan Lewis. The guys really cut loose on this one. On “Receita de Samba” the band shows some danceable Latin chops.

Little Charlie really shows off on the Django Reingardt gypsy jazz tune “Nuages”. It is a listening tune, with softness and precision.

“Pennies From Heaven” (yes made famous

by Bing Crosby) is more powerful than any other version I have heard. Both organ and guitar are great on this one.

“Gerontology” is a Baty original and it is really good. The tempo is fast and the band dances across the tune. The John Lewis tune “Django” is a classic. The band does their version and do a good job. Baty shows his guitar prowess on “Swing To Bop”. This is a Charlie Christian tune, the early master of electric guitar. Farrell’s organ work is really good on this one. Another song from the 40’s is Broadway by Henri Woode. Baty and his band find a faster groove and show off all the members with solos. “Um a Zero” is set off by the drummer D Hansen. He keeps the beat going as Baty dances over it with his nimble fingers. Little Charlie wrote “Cobalt Blues”. It closer to what he has done with the Nitecats sans Rick Estrin’s vocals. Erroll Garner’s “Misty” is a big classic tune. The band’s take on is a swinging version with a faster tempo and longer at (6:30). Lorenzo Farrell does good work on the B-3 on this one. It maybe stretches out a bit long. “Flying’ Home” is an updated take on a recording from Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton in 1939. The trio works hard on this one and I think it one of the better cuts on the CD. So there you have it, Little Charlie Baty in his roots. The band did well. It’s not blues, but it is important music that had influence on R&B and future electric blues and soul.

Guitar and B-3 lovers will dig the CD. It is also a history lesson for listeners. Thanks guys for a cool CD. Reviewed by Mark Nelson

Ike 12 Page Mighty Business AG Weinberger Big Foot Records www.agweinberger.com 11 tracks/62 minutes Romanian guitarist and singer Attila (AG) Weinberger has lived and worked in the States where he recorded with Tom Hambridge but this album was recorded live in Bucharest in 2009. AG handles lead guitar and vocals with Sorin Petrila on rhythm guitar/B/V’s, Vlad Spatar on bass/BV’s and Miklos Orban on drums. There are four of AG’s own songs alongside seven covers. The overall sound is quite heavy blues-rock and AG sings in a very deep and gruff vocal style, a little like Omar Dykes. AG sings all the songs in English with just a hint of accent.

The covers include three credited to Muddy Waters: the cover of “Standin’ Round Cryin’” is played pretty straight with some wild slide work from AG; “The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock n’ Roll” is harder to recognise as the band funks it up, even including a short feature for the rhythm section; “Baby Please Don’t Go” opens the album in strong style and is the third Muddy track; the tune is usually credited to Big Joe Williams, though Muddy certainly recorded it. Sam Taylor’s “Mother Blues” has plenty of torrid guitar from AG and is immediately followed by a very short reading of The Meters’ “Cissy Strut”. AG tackles “Ain’t Nobody’s Business in an extended but respectful cover with some fine guitar work that resists over-playing until the final couple of minutes. The final cover is Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce”, not the standard fare of most blues bands but unfortunately it provides far too much space for AG to overindulge on guitar before he passes the baton to the drummer to solo – never a favourite moment, even on a live album!

Of the originals “I Can’t Get Enough” is a good rocker with plenty of impressive guitar work over a catchy refrain, probably the stand-out track; “Sweet Little Number” sounds familiar from the off, probably because the tune borrows substantially from “Messin’ With The Kid”. The two other originals are both extended pieces: “Try To Get Into The Middle Of The Road” is more melodic than much of the material here, AG and the band’s English faltering a bit on the chorus; closing track “Take Me To The Highway” is a fast-paced rocker with a skittering guitar break which simply did not keep this reviewer’s interest though the extended applause at the end indicates that the crowd in Bucharest had a different opinion.

Reviewed by John Mitchell

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter Loved, Blessed & Blues Lady “A” Self Released http://ladyababyblues.com/ 10 tracks The husky voiced and formidable Lady “A” hails from the great state of Oregon but she’s got the Mississippi Delta in her heart and soul. Helping in that is production and participation by Mississippi’s great Dexter Allen. She began singing at 5 and got her professional start with the Motown Revue band back in the 1980's. Mixing blues, soul, funk and gospel. Lady “A’ has an authentic and superb sound. Recorded in Jackson, MS, the album gushes local flavors.

Lady “a” is Anita White, who fronts the band with her outstanding vocal work. In addition to production efforts, Dexter Allen appears on guitar, bass and piano along with backing vocals on “Happy.” Joey Robinson is on drums and keys. Lady” A” penned 4 of the cuts, Allen wrote 2 and John Oliver III wrote the other 3.

White opens with the title track, an upbeat mid tempo cut with nice guitar, keys and piano. She sings, “The blues is not always as sad as it seems.” She moves into “Honey Hush,” a driving cut with a funky groove. A very cool number with stinging guitar. “Don’t Let Your Blues Become a Crime” offers an interesting concept and lets Lady “A” slow things down for us. More excellent guitar and organ work here. “If You Don’t Want It (Don’t Waste It)” funks things up as she talks about walking out on a cheating man. “Tired Too” features Lady “A” telling us she never sees her complaining man who never comes home. Uptempo and bouncing musically, but I wouldn't want to mess with her!

“Love Calling” is a ballad of soulful stuff, with White growling and getting all cuddly.

“Trouble On My Mind” has some nice piano again and the guitar adds intrigue with Lady “A’’s vocals. Big time slow blues get delivered to us in “Happy.” Dirty guitar, synthesized horns and gritty vocals are featured here along with Allen’s nice vocal work. White sings about going home in “Take Me Back to Seattle” where she longs for home on the road. Another funky song with a great groove, Lady “A” offers some more vocals with feeling. She concludes with “Somebody Here Needs You Lord,” a song with nice testifying and Gospel abounding. She takes us to church with this touching cut.

Nicely done stuff here. All original music, mixing blues, soul, gospel and funk, Lady “A” and Dexter Allen show off their talents.

I enjoyed the CD and fans of soul and blues, will, too!

Reviewed by Steve Jones Blues Heaven Mark May Band & The Soul Satyr Horns Connor Ray Music www.markmay.com 13 tracks/78 minutes Mark May has been around for some years, played for a while with Dicky Betts (Allman Brothers) and has produced several solo albums since. This is definitely his best yet with lots of exciting guitar, solid vocals and the bonus of a three man horn section. Mark wrote everything except rhythm guitarist Dave Absalom’s funky “Kind Of Girl” on which Mark plays some dirty slide. This is a well-filled album that clocks in at 78 minutes and presents great value for anyone who enjoys guitar playing set at the service of the songs.

Mark is a versatile player: opener “Boom Boom” channels Albert Collins and is followed by “Money” which sounds like a lost Luther Allison cut – an excellent opening sequence to the album. Enjoy some Louisiana rhythms? Try “She’s A Keeper” with unison guitar and slide propelled by the horns and John Popovich’s piano. The title track drops the pace for a beautiful ballad in which Mark hopes for a blues afterlife, supported by some brilliant sax work by Eric Demmer and Mark’s own well-judged solo – a definite highlight.

Dicky Betts’ influence is clear on the country picking on “Put Down That Poison” while Mark shows just how to nail a shuffle on “Leaving Houston”. Mark sounds pretty love struck by the “Gulf Coast Woman”, the band rocking out with the two guitarists playing some good ensemble stuff. The horns lead on the funky “All I Ever Do”, Mark leaving lead duties to guest Hadden Sayers. The outstanding “Garden Of Truth” features the horns who add depth to Mark’s recipe for success: “water your garden just a little every day and you’ll be right back in the groove, in the garden of truth”. The moody rocker “Almost Like A Suicide” closes the album with Mark playing some Spanish-tinged guitar over swirling organ accompaniment.

Overall, an excellent album that gets a ‘highly recommended’ tag from this reviewer.

Reviewed by John Mitchell

Ike November-December 2016 Right Back Atcha Dave Keller Tastee-Tone Records www.davekeller.com 12 tracks/51 minutes Vermont may not be the first place that comes to mind when discussing soul music but Dave Keller has other ideas. Dave has made two previous excellent soul-blues albums: Where I’m Coming From won the IBC award for best self-produced CD in 2011 and Soul Changes earned a BMA nomination and was one of this reviewer’s favourite albums of 2014. The latest CD again blends Dave’s soulful voice and stinging guitar with some excellent horn arrangements on an album of Dave’s original material, with just two shared writing credits and one cover. The album was recorded on home territory in Vermont using Dave’s own band of Ira Friedman on keys, Gary Lotspeich on bass and Brett Hoffman on drums, aided by ‘The Mo’ Sax Horns’ – Jessica Friedman on baritone and alto sax, Joe Moore on tenor sax and Terry Youk on C melody sax; Morgan Klarich and April Caspari are on backing vocals and Michael Close on cello and Paul Reynolds on violin and viola add strings to three cuts.

The lone cover is an obscure song recorded by Willie Clayton in 1974 entitled “It’s Time You Made Up Your Mind” and it makes for a strong opening with great vocals, gutsy horns and Dave’s insistent rhythm guitar. The song was written by Earl Randle, Don Bryant and Darryl Carter who also co-wrote (with Dave) the deeply soulful ballad “Deeper Than The Eye Can See”, the other co-writing credit being to keyboardist Ira Friedman on “Circles”, his churchy organ dominating this slow blues, the longest track here. The remaining tracks are all Dave’s work, ranging from the sweet “She’s Just Katie” which is surely destined to be the ear-worm of this set. Some of Dave’s previous album displayed the heartbreak of a failed relationship; from this track it sounds like Dave is back in love big time, perhaps with the lady of the title. “Forever Summer” is similarly positive as Dave celebrates the end of the winter on another tune with a gorgeous melody. “You Make It Easy” closes the album with another horndrenched ballad.

There are several fine ballads here but if a tougher style of soul is needed look no further than “2 AM Talks” in which Dave is trying to save a relationship with all-night discussions, a tune with plenty of grit and

Page 13 an outstanding guitar solo on the outro.

Title track “Right Back Atcha” has a naggingly catchy backdrop courtesy of the bubbling bari sax and swirling organ and “What’s It Gonna Take” is old-school soul with a rousing chorus. One-time Wilson Pickett saxophonist Joe Moore takes fine tenor solos on “Willing To Learn”, another ‘in love again’ ballad, and on “Slow Train” on which the horns and backing vocals give a real Memphis feel. Dave sounds suitably desperate on “Urgent (I’ll Give It All)” which is driven along by Ira’s organ, the horns adding that distinctive soul feel, suitably topped off by Dave’s exuberant solo – another outstanding track – but that is easy to say on a superb album with no weaknesses at all. All fans of soul-blues need to add this one to their collection.

Reviewed by John Mitchell Blues Full Circle Duke Robillard Stony Plain www.dukerobillard.com 13 tracks;/52 minutes Duke Robillard spent over a year unable to play guitar following a serious shoulder injury and this album had to be delayed until further recording sessions had taken place once Duke had recovered. In terms of releases the gap was filled by the excellent The Acoustic Blues & Roots of Duke Robillard but this is the album that Duke planned to release.

Tracks were recorded before and after Duke’s enforced lay-off but the personnel throughout is unchanged with Duke on guitar and vocals and his long-standing band in support: Bruce Bears on keys, Mark Teixeira on drums and Brad Hallen on bass. There are some guests who feature on one track each: Sugar Ray Norcia (vocals), Kelley Hunt (vocals/ piano), Jimmie Vaughan (guitar), Sax Gordon Beadle (tenor/baritone sax) and Doug James (baritone sax). Duke wrote all the material apart from two covers and one shared writing credit with Jimmie.

The format here is small band blues with a selection of shuffles, slow and rocking blues, Duke’s guitar reflecting each song’s mood perfectly. He really is one of the masters of this sort of ensemble playing, possibly the best example being the extended Shufflin’ And Scufflin’ which comes from an as yet unreleased session with Jimmie Vaughan, both guitarists getting plenty of space alongside Doug James’ bubbling baritone. Kelley Hunt wrote a

tune dedicated to Duke’s recording studio The Mood Room and Duke invited her to revisit the song with his band, Kelley’s piano taking the lead on an upbeat tribute to the “hippest joint in town”. Sugar Ray Norcia is on vocals for a cover of Jimmy ‘Baby Face’ Lewis’ Last Night which is a stand-out cut with Ray’s suave vocal and Sax Gordon’s great sax work behind Duke’s swinging guitar.

Duke’s familiar deeper vocals are featured on the remaining tracks which include the amusingly cynical Fool About My Money on which the band adopts a New Orleans rhythm and the slow blues tribute to Guitar Slim, Blues For Eddie Jones. Lay A Little Lovin’ On Me opens the album on a funky note courtesy of Bruce’s piano and Duke’s searing guitar fills before the rolling blues of Rain Keeps Falling, Bruce’s piano again spot on for the tune and Duke bending the strings impressively. The pace drops for the slow blues of Mourning Dove but not the intensity of Duke’s playing and the swinging No More Tears harks back to Duke’s original incarnation of Roomful Of Blues, without the horns. Duke’s tough guitar and Bruce’s almost ragtime piano on You Used To Be Sugar is a winning (and swinging!) combination and Come With Me Baby closes the album with another trademark rolling blues. Whatever style he adopts Duke is a wonderful player, able to adapt across the spectrum of blues and jazz styles and this is another strong album from him. Recommended.

Reviewed by John Mitchell

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Ike Page 14 Old School Si Cranstoun Ruf Records www.sicranstoun.com 16 tracks/53 minutes Londoner Si Cranstoun is a rising star of the rock and roll/vintage scene in the UK and this debut on a major label will introduce him to a wider audience. Si has reworked numbers that have worked for him live on stage and blended those with some new tunes, so existing fans will find something new to enjoy while those new to Si can see what he is about.

Si wrote 14 of the tracks here with just two covers. Si handles lead vocals and plays guitar, bass and keys, with Mez Clough on drums, Stewart Panaman on bass, Don Faulkner and Drew Davies on saxes, Jon Radford on trumpet and Patrick Hayes on trombone; keys are either Paddy Milner or Neil Casey, guitar Simon Picton or Jay Gipson.

The album opens in grand style with the title track which opens with the chords from “Jailhouse Rock” before the band comes in, piano pumping, saxes underpinning Si’s excited vocal – completely infectious rock and roll! “Vegas Baby” is even better with a nod to Jackie Wilson on the ‘rrrring’ chorus, the catchy rhythm backed up by doo-wop vocals and a fine horn chart, possibly the pick of the whole album. Most of the tracks are short and sweet but “Nighttime” makes it to the five minute mark, the piano providing a blues background to Si’s impassioned vocal which draws on Sam Cooke’s style to good effect, as does “Around Midnight” which has a superb horn arrangement. Si can also do ballads as on “Right Girl”, a classic 50’s ballad with insistent piano and another solid horn arrangement. With so many tracks it is not possible to comment on everything here but there are several tracks to which attention should be drawn, if only to demonstrate the range exhibited.

The upbeat doo-wop of “Jukebox Jump” is great fun, latin rhythms feature on “Elize The Brazilian” while “Run Free” takes us close to soul rhythms with superb horns.

“Skinny Jeans” is a comic tribute to a shapely figure and Si even finds room for his own ‘Christmas record’ in “A Christmas Twist”. Si’s father was a promoter of ska music back in the day and “Commoner To King” draws on that background with a loping ska beat on a possibly autobiographical song.

The two covers show some of Si’s influences. Billy Swan wrote many songs in the rock and roll vein and “Lover Please”

is reprised here. Louis Jordan’s “Big Bess” is one of his less well known tunes and the band does it full justice with the baritone sax at the bottom of the arrangement, the trumpet at the top and tenor sax taking solo honours, piano twinkling away as Si sings the lyrics excellently, another standout track.

Possibly the oddest thing is that the CD is released on Ruf, a label best known for the rockier end of the blues spectrum so this CD is a departure for the German label. If rock and roll and the sounds of the 1950’s are your thing, do check out this very enjoyable CD. Reviewed by John Mitchell

By Your Side James ‘Buddy’ Rogers JBR Records www.jamesbuddyrogers.com 11 tracks; 40 minutes James ‘Buddy’ Rogers is based in Vancouver, Canada, and secured both a Blues Blast nomination for New Artist Debut recording and a JUNO nomination for Blues album of the year in 2014 for his previous album My Guitar Is My Only Friend. James’ latest CD is all original bar one song and he played all guitar parts, sang lead and backing vocals, supported by regular rhythm section Mike Wedge on bass and James Badger on drums. Lewis Stephens (Freddie King, Mike Zito) came along to play keys, Winfred Ballard adds some percussion and James’ daughters Quinn and Eliot add to the backing vocals on the title track.

James has a light voice and plays some excellent guitar across this album which shows both his sensitive and rocking sides. The CD opens with a robust shuffle “Come Back To Me”, Lewis’ piano to the fore throughout and James ripping a great solo. The title track displays some tender, possibly autobiographical lyrics in a song with a lilting melody from Lewis’ piano and deft rhythm work before James double tracks some angular lead lines over the outro. Similar sentiments appear in the gentle ballad “You Belong” which has a tune that recalls Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey”, James’ emotional vocal well framed by bass and organ accompaniment and his own guitar flourishes. In contrast “Can’t Get You Off My Mind” races out of the traps in Stones-like fashion as James extols the look of a lady’s

“skin-tight jeans” and paves the way for two more upbeat tunes: Don Nix’s “Going Down” is frequently covered and always fun to hear, especially with Freddie King’s old bandmate Lewis working up a head of steam on piano as James fires off some exciting riffs; “Hell To Pay” is another rocking track with plenty of tough guitar.

The focus returns to James’ gentler side on two melodic cuts: “You & I” finds James reluctantly leaving his girl while promising to return, his backing vocals sitting perfectly alongside his guitar and Lewis’ organ work; on “Baby”, Lewis does double duty on B3 and electric piano and James sounds like he is waiting for an opportunity to cut loose and does to good effect in the second half of the song – this reviewer’s favourite track. “Runnin’” is a co-write with bassist Mike and brings a little funk to the party and some Albert King sounding guitar from James whilst “Am-Ola-Dora” is an instrumental romp that gives all the musicians some space to show off their chops. The album proper closes with “Change” in which James makes a plea for some sensible changes to attitudes but there are also two ‘hidden’ tracks, solo acoustic versions of “You Belong” and “Can’t Get You Of My Mind”, presumably the original demos for the songs.

This is an album that grows on you.

James’ clean guitar lines are a real pleasure to hear and the album repays repeated listening.

Reviewed by John Mitchell Way Back Home Backtrack Blues Band Flaming Cheese Records http:// backtrackbluesband.com/ 10 Tracks Based out of Tampa, Florida we have the new CD from the veteran band called Backtrack Blues Band. This band has been playing since 1980, with 5 CDs and a DVD to their credit. The band mixes traditional Chicago based blues with a shot of Texas blues to spice it up. Six of the tunes are originals. The band includes Sonny Charles (vocals and harmonica), Kid Royal (lead guitar), Little Johnny Walter (rhythm guitar), Joe Bencomo (drums) and Stick Davis (bass).

Victor Wainwright adds piano to the CD as a special guest.

Ike November-December 2016 The opening cut is “Goin' To Eleuthera” (an island in Bahamas). This self penned shuffle brings instant energy to the ear.

Kid Royal makes his guitar sing. This is a great tune. Bring your dancing shoes when listening to “Tell Your Daddy”. It gets a bit greasy with some fine harp work

by Charles. On “Shoot My Rooster” we get a fine call and response tune. Charles and Royal work well together.

The next 2 tunes are Sonny Boy Williamson covers. “Your Funeral, My Trial” and “Checkin’ On My Baby”. The first is vintage electric blues with some Excello feel, the latter has a more Chicago urban feel.

The band does a good job on both. On “Nobody But You” the band is back in Chess era blues. Wainright shows his skills on the 88’s on this highlight blues tune. Little Walter recorded it in 1957.

The original “Heavy Built Woman” is built to support Kid Royal’s fine guitar. This one is more Texas than Chicago, and sounds real good.

Page 15 The first number is a jump blues number called “House Rockin’ Boogie #7”. This one jumps through your speakers and gets you going. Texas roots of the band show up in the roadhouse tune “Double My Money”. Elmore’s snarling vocals really fit this tune. On “Midnight In Memphis” the band shines up their soul side on this mid tempo tune. Things rock back out on “Maybe”. It is not back to ZZ Top but it really riffs and they can boogie. The band dips back to a 70’s almost country rock feel on “Shine Your Light”. This slower opening lets Elmore’s vocals step into the spotlight.

I hear a bit Mofro in this tune.

“Cross Eyed Woman” is a wild song. It really cooks, with fine guitar and bass lines.

I like the rock tune “Lament For Evelyn McHale”. It is not blues, but it is well played. I hear some Robert Ward in the tune “Right As Rain”. It is a softer tune, with a fine vocals. “Wish” brings a real change of pace, it is an acoustic ballad and pretty sweet. A slower Texas groove propels Elmore’s guitar on “Land of Plenty”.

The 8th tune is “Baby Please Don't Go”, a blues classic. From Big Joe Williams, the blues call and response style is a real hit here on this tune. Victor Wainright shines on “Rich Man Blues”. It is straight up old Chicago blues. Closing out the CD is “Help Me Just This Time”. It is hard driving blues with the band and Wainright hitting on all cylinders. This is a great closing tune for the CD.

I like the jazzy “Champagne Velvet”. It is a fine instrumental. The band dedicated this tune to Smokin’ Joe Kubek. “Green To Gone” is a nice country blues acoustic tune. On the closing number “Mary Jane” the band really cuts loose. This one is a throwback to 50’s rock ‘n’ roll. Elmore really shows his chops and some fine vocals on this rave up.

Overall, this is a fine CD by a long time favorite band in the Florida area. These guys helped keep the blues alive all these years. They have played with the best over the years. It is hard to find a weakness in this recording. As a lover of blues, especially Chicago blues you will enjoy this fine recording. Go and get it!

This is a fun CD, with some variety in the music. There is blues, rock, acoustic and great guitar. It is a change from the more rock orientation of the band’s prior releases. The band plays very regularly around Texas regularly. Maybe with this release they will branch out their touring schedule and more of us can see them live. Check this one out for a good listen, blues fans and blues rock fans will enjoy it.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson Reviewed by Mark Nelson Champagne Velvet Jason Elmore & Hoodoo Witch Underworld Records www.jasonelmore.net/ 14 Tracks Jason Elmore & Hoodoo Witch is a trio out of Dallas Texas. On this their 3rd CD, they bring on the vintage soul/ R&B and older rock and blues. Jason Elmore handles all guitars and vocals. He is joined by Mike Talbot on drums and Brandon Katona on bass. All 14 songs are written by the band. This release has more of a blues and soul than their prior 2 releases.

These guys really cut loose.

A Moment In Time Isaiah B. Brunt Isaiah B. Brunt Music http:// isaiahbbrunt.com/ 9 Tracks There are plenty of blues musicians around the world, including the land down under.

Out of Sydney, Australia with his 4th recording is Isaiah B. Brunt. The recordings were again made in New Orleans. Brunt plays regularly in Australia on his own gigs and supporting other acts. He is joined on the CD by the great George Porter Jr. (bass). Doug Belote (drum), Mike Lemmler

(piano/B-3). Brunt handles vocals, guitar and lap steel. Jeffery Watkins (sax) and Ian Smith (trumpet, trombone sousaphone) play on 6 of the tracks. All of the tunes are written by Brunt.

The initial cut is “Still Waiting”. It drips of New Orleans from the piano to the brass.

It has a stroll type pace, and is pleasing to the ear. “Singing The Blues” is more a pop/rock song than blues number. Mike Lemmler is quite good on the piano, but the song did not come across well to me.

Smokey Greenwell brings his harmonica to the party on “That Place On The Road”.

This song is a haunting blues number. It’s a pretty good one. It was a tough night for Brunt that he immortalized in song on “Lost Jacket Blues”. He lost all his stuff while at a gig. The song is rockin’ and soulful with the horn section working overtime. The band gets down and funky New Orleans style on “May I Dance With You”.

Old New Orleans traditional jazz is visited on “Travel Back In Time”. Doug Belote really holds it down on the drums. Tuba Steve adds his sousaphone and James Evans plays a fine clarinet. It makes me think I’m at the Economy Hall Stage at Jazzfest. The good times roll on “Party Late All Night”. The topic fits New Orleans well. “Same Old Road” is a showcase for Mike Lemmler and his B3. He plays well, but the song sits a bit in the middle of the road. It did not make me want to play it again. The closing number is “A Moment In Time” has a mellotron on it. There are some nice duet vocals with Brunt and Sarah Burke. Ian Smith provides some nice flugelhorn on the tune. It is a bit soft, but carries a great message about enjoying life and love and kindness will be there.

Much as in his last disc, Brunt has kept the New Orleans feel and admiration. He does much right, and keeps within his framework. This is not a band that will likely tour with Brunt. This is a fine moment of playing documented, and one to be enjoyed. If you want to give a listen to various New Orleans styles, this is not a bad place to start. I realized while writing this that George Porter Jr. played on all tracks and he helped keep all this together. In his role, that is his job…and he is one of the best at it. Maybe Brunt will get this group together for a Jazzfest show. I do enjoy the positive messages and upbeat. He is a good storyteller. Go enjoy it this one.

Reviewed by Mark Nelson

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Ike Page 16 Record Store The Mighty Mojo Prophets Self-Produced Mojo King Music www.cdbaby.com/cd/ themightymojoprophets1 13 Tracks The West Coast brought us a type of blues influenced by jazz and jump blues, with strong piano-dominated sounds and jazzy guitar solos, which originated from Texas blues players who relocated to California in the 1940s. With the West Coast blues, came the legendary harp, piano, and guitar giants, establishing an entire genre, with that West Coast blues tradition still alive today.

The Mighty Mojo Prophets with Tom Eliff on vocals, Tom Richmond on harp, Mitch Dow on guitar, Dave Deforest on bass, Mike Malone on keys, and Al Ricci on drums have continued the West Coast blues genre with their latest original collection titled Record Store.

They start with “Crazy Love” with some West coast blues guitar from Mitch Dow sparking memories of the spectacular guitar prowess of Hollywood Fats. I think we can all relate to that neighborhood record store where we first discovered the blues. Tom Eliff still recalls his trips to Lamar’s Record Store on North Atlantic Ave in Long Beach. It was the place where he had hit and to “get his blues fix” and “really save his soul.” All that history is recorded on the Mojo Prophets title track “Record Store.” With funky guitar leads, Dow rides his wah wah petal, with Richmond punctuating Eliff’s story with great harp tone. With the “Devil At Your Door” Eliff reminds us we will have to reap what we sow. William Clark’s shadow looms close by when you listen to Richmond’s harp on the shuffle “Things Don’t Change,” with Hollywood’s distinct guitar style close by. With Richmond on harp, Malone on organ, and Eliff on vocals, they strike a nice balance on the slow R&B ballad “Strong Together.” Richmond’s harp takes center stage on another shuffle “Workin’ Man.” Dave Deforest maintains a steady groove on bass to blend with Richmond’s chromatic harp solos and Dow’s West Coast guitar sound on “West Coast Girl.” “Cherry Red” ties in nicely with the Chicago blues and Dow’s traditional Chicago blues guitar. “Good Girl Train” opens with a nice guitar solo and keeps a steady rhythm guitar line throughout for this Memphis style blues number. “The Spider And The Fly” brings out the best of

Malone’s B3 and Dow’s guitar solos. Dow rips into some tasty Chicago style slide guitar on the track “Bring It On Home.”

Dow will take you back to the 60s with “Wondering,” a tune that combines chords similar to Link Wray’s “Rumble,” with a Southwest harp style from Richmond that changes tempo towards the end. Jump blues does not get any better than their closing tune “All Thumbs.” For a final number, this is one of finest contemporary West Coast blues tributes that I have heard for a while.

After listening to this new release, it is obvious that the Mighty Mojo Prophets are here to stay. You will like what you hear when you listen to Record Store. Based on traditional Blues and West Coast jump blues, the Mighty Mojo Prophets, with their performance in Memphis and the BMA’s, should in time entertain audiences from coast to coast.

Reviewed by Rick Davis Tennissippi Little Boys Blue Jaxon Records/Vizztone http:// littleboysblue.bandzoogle.com/home 12 Tracks Jackson, Tennessee is nestled a short distance from the blues and country meccas of Memphis, Nashville, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Harmonica player JD Taylor and slide guitarist Steve Patterson formed Little Blues Blue and Taylor has been flying under the radar for twenty years after the formation of their blues band in 1993.

It wasn’t until 2014 that Vizztone brought the band to our attention with their release of the new Bad Love album, their 3rd album release since 1995. Prior to that, in 1997, with Little Boys Blue entering as the new blues group, they finished in the number three position at the IBC awards in Memphis. With that international recognition and the 2014 release from the Jackson, Tennessee record company, the group has been developing a strong fan base.

Jackson, Tennessee hails as the home for rockabilly artists Carl Perkins, Carl Mann, Kenny Parchman, Rayburn Anthony, and W.S. “Fluke” Holland, drummer for Johnny Cash’s band The Tennessee Three, all recording with Sun Records. Jackson has also been home to blues artists, Sonny Boy Williamson, harmonica artist Big Maybell, gospel blues artist Arthur Adams, R&B artist Big Joe Turner, and currently

home to the great Denise Lasalle. Jaxson Records and the Vizztone label are keeping that tradition of producing music legends with the release of material from new artists like Little Boys Blue.

2016 has been a good year for Jaxon Records/Vizztone and Little Boys Blue with yet another successful release of the blues band with the album Tennissippi.

Nine of the twelve tracks were recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, with the album’s remaining three tracks recorded at Webb Studios in Memphis. With JD Taylor on harp and vocals, Alex Taylor on lead and rhythm guitar, Tyler Goodson on slide, lead, and rhythm guitar, Dave Mallard on bass, vocals, and washboards, Dave Thomas and Jeremy Powell on B3 and piano, Brad Webb on guitar, slide guitar, and bass, Mark Brooks on drums, and the Alabama Horns, Tennissippi kicks off with the title track with some powerful harp and slide guitar as Taylor tells us the result when Tennessee and Mississippi collide and Mississippi lightin’ mixes with Tennessee corn whiskey. The band changes when some funky guitar riffs meet the power house Alabama Horns on “Lights On.” They pick the pace up on the heavy rhythm-driven, foot stompin’ “Pack It up Baby.” With Dave Mallard slowing the pace on bass guitar, JD Taylor punctuates “If Id’a Known” with his harp. They follow up with the romantic southern ballad and some sweet soul slide guitar on the track “35 Years.” The band breaks up the collection of original music with a jazzy rendition of Kenny Burrell’s “Chitlins Con Carne.” They return to their unique Southern funk style of original blues with “Do You No Wrong.” “Smoke Rings” delivers some slow New Orleans style piano and vocals, like you would expect from Dr. John. With raspy vocals, JD takes you to the Deep South for some delta acoustic blues and very traditional harp on the tune “Health Insurance Blues.” The band then takes you into a slow shuffle and some rhythm guitar riffs sounding like a lap steel guitar mixed with JD’s sweet harp riffs on “Wanna Be Your Loving Man.” They pick it up again with the hard charging funky “Big Pimpin Sugar Daddy Romeo.” Little Boys Blues finish with a tribute to Jackson, Tennessee, the center of blues and soul with the tune “Jackson.” Get your hands clappin’ and feet stompin’ for this one!

You will agree that this band just keeps picking up steam like a steam locomotive out of control when you listen to Tennissippi. Their musicianship and song writing are bound to spread outside their Southern roots. This band is for real!

Reviewed by Rick Davis

Ike November-December 2016 I’m Gonna Tell You Somethin’ That I Know David “Honeyboy” Edwards Pro Sho Bidness http:// www.jeffdaleblues.com/ CD 10 Tracks DVD 10 Tracks The final link to the early Delta blues left a legacy that will never be matched in August 2011 at the age of 96. Hit authentic guitar style and gruff vocals will remain locked up in the blues archives forever.

David "Honeyboy" Edwards was generally regarded as the last of the Delta bluesmen that had actually played and traveled with Robert Johnson and was with Johnson on the night of his death. In addition to Johnson, Honeyboy grew up with Delta bluesmen Tommy McClennan and Robert Petway. He crossed paths with Charlie Patton, Big Walter Horton, Sonny Boy Williamson, Sunnyland Slim, Howlin’ Wolf, Floyd Jones, Kansas City Red, and Muddy Waters just to name a few. He impressed Big Joe Williams to the point of traveling the South with Williams as a sideman.

I’m Gonna Tell You Somethin’ That I Know is the new release and the last recorded concert live of Edwards at The G Spot in Los Angeles, CA on September 4, 2010. Joining Edwards for his final show were his manager Michael Frank on harp and Jeff Dale & The Southlawners (Darryl Lieberstein on bass, Geoff Mohan on harmonica, and Clark Pardee on drums).

Included in the package is a 10 track cd and 10 track DVD. At 95, David “Honeyboy” Edwards gives fans a final concert, belting out lyrics from some of his favorite blues titles. On the concert CD, he opens the show with a tribute to Howlin’ Wolf with “Ride With Me Tonight.” In his show, Edwards covers the two classic tunes by J.A. Lane (Jimmy Rogers) with two versions of “That’s Alright” and a single version of “You’re The One.” Michael Frank teams up with Edwards on harmonica for the first three tunes with Geoff Monhan taking over for the rest of the show. With a smile on his face and sparkle in his eye, he sings and plays Robert Lockwood’s “Little Boy Blue” between Rogers’ tunes. The fifth selection is the St. Louis Jimmy Oden song “Goin’ Down Slow.” What would a tribute be for a legendary bluesman like “Honeyboy” Edwards without a tune to honor the famous Muddy Waters with “Country Boy.” Ed-

Page 17 wards pays a final tribute to his close friend Robert Petway with the famous blues tune “Catfish Blues,” done later by the late great Jimi Hendrix. From 1940 to 1941 Petway only recorded 16 songs.

Edwards completes his last performance with “Apron Strings” from his most recent album, “Roamin’ and Ramblin’ ” (Earwig).

With one more tune in his repertoire for the show, he performs his final number, paying homage to his friend Robert Johnson with “Sweet Home Chicago.”

The DVD is the same set list with a priceless interview of David “Honeyboy” Edwards at the end. Edwards shares a rare account of the night Robert Johnson died, the death of Charlie Patton, and other information about blues legends like Hubert Sumlin and Big Walter Horton. The quality of both is superb, especially the video which focuses on Edwards and his guitar picking as well as his singing.

Reviewed by Rick Davis If You Were Gold Baby Gus Spenos Self Produced http://www.cdbaby.com/ cd/gusspenos 13 Tracks The up-tempo style of jump blues became popular in the 1940s as the forerunner of the ever popular rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The jump blues were the result of the jive music of artists like Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway, the jazz music of artists like Count Basie, and the swing music Chick Webb and Benny Goodman.

As a part of the swing revival in the 1990s, artists like sax player Gus Spenos have been able to keep this part of American History alive and well. His band delivers some tasty jump-blues and boogie woogie on the tracks that he and his band have laid down on his debut album If You Were Gold Baby. His saxophone chops along with the smooth vocals are without a doubt a big part of the jump-blues and boogie woogie scene around the Indianapolis area.

If You Were Gold Baby opens with the title track, a fiery big band original number written Gus Spenos and Collin DeJoseph (a graduate of the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music). The all-star band shakes the earth on this powerful jump-blues tune. On their debut album, they cover the late great Lee Allen, the

American tenor saxophone player who was a legendary figure in the New Orleans music scene in the 1950s. As a tribute, Gus has his band perform “Ivy League” and “Walkin’ With Mr. Lee,” two of Lee Allen’s signature tunes. Spenos targets Earl Curry and his orchestra with his 1954 smooth jazz hit “I Want Your Lovin’.” They blow the roof off with the 1956 classic “Can’t Help Myself” and “Hot Box” written by the extraordinary Texas tenor sax player Jesse Powell. The band switches gears and goes South of the border with a hot rumba arrangement of the Danny Flores aka Chuck Rio track "Tequila," penned by the American rock and roll sax player recorded with the Champs. The three Jimmys captured the attention of Gus Spenos with the classic hits “Cry Hard Luck” (Jimmy “T-99” Nelson), “Rock With It, Baby” (Jimmy Preston and Bernetta Evans), and “Money’s Gettin’ Cheaper (Jimmy Witherspoon). Completing the collection of handpicked tunes is the 1982 tune release by Preston Love, “Strictly Cash,” the Lee Harris classic “96 Lbs,” and the jump blues tribute to late great jazz pianist Todd Rhodes with “Gin, Gin, Gin.” If you are a fan of jump blues, swing, early rock, and boogie, settle back for an evening of classy music that you won’t forget with the Gus Spenos star studded orchestra. On a collection that mixes classicsounding originals, like the title track with a wide selection of carefully chosen vocal and instrumental standards, Spenos joins eight-time trombonist of the year Wycliffe Gordon and legendary drummer Cecil Brooks III. Thelonious Monk’s vocal finalist, Charanee Wade, even joins Spenos in a special duet, as they perform the old Jimmy Preston song “Rock With It, Baby.”

Reviewed by Rick Davis

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Ike 18 Page The Blues Don’t Care Frank Bang & The Cook County Kings Blue Hoss Records www.frankbang.net/ frankbang/ 10 Tracks Frank “Bang” Blinkal is a Chicago guy and a blues guitar player. He spent 5 years as Buddy Guy’s other guitarist, so he has been around the blues. The early recordings of Frank Bang are very guitar driven blues rock (With Secret Stash).

Hanging around Buddy Guy’s Legends pulled Frank over to the blues side. With this new recording, Bang makes her first all blues release. Overall he has made 10 recordings on his own, though several are very hard to find. Brian “BJ” Jones plays the drums on this recording. Andre Howard (bass), Donnie Nichilo (piano) and Russ Green (harmonica) fill out the squad.

This is a veteran Chicago blues crew that rally play well on the CD. Bang’s guitar is front and center on the opening cut “The Blues Don't Care”. The band set up a great pocket allowing Bang’s guitar to ride down the center of it.

“The Dream” is a slow haunting blues tune. Russ Green shines on this tune with his harmonica playing. I like the opening of “Million Miles Away”. Here again Green’s harp work is very good. This one has a bit of Texas blues in it. Donny Nichilo raises up on “Till The Day I Die”. In fact the whole band sounds good on this one. It is a hard rocking blues tune.

The sounds of Muddy Waters prevail on “Come On In This House”. It is a slow grinding Chicago blues tune. I like the harp and piano on this one.

There is a different long intro for “Can't Find My Way Home (Pt. 1 & Pt. 2)”. In what I guess is part 2, they break into a furious paced blues rock tune. It did not work for me. Band and the band go swampy and heavy on “Possum In My Tree”. I like the Little Milton version much better. “Repo Man” really cooks. The opening notes grab your attention, and then the band builds with the guitar and harp filling in on this fine tune. It is a long one at 7:16. This might be a bit of a long jam for the record. “Still Called The Blues” is a pretty good tune. This one does justice to the Johnnie Taylor version.

“Can't Go On This Way” really rocks out in a Texas way. I enjoyed this tune, especially the harp and guitar work.

Frank Bang has carved out a spot in Chicago. This more fully blues CD is a plus.

He put together a fine band, and this should get some attention in blues outlets.

Harp and guitar lovers will find things to enjoy here. I hope they do some live dates with this entire band. Enjoy it!

Reviewed by Mark Nelson The Big Sound Of Lil’ Ed And The Blues Imperials Lil’ Ed And The Blues Imperials Alligator www.alligator.com/ artists/Lil-Ed-and-TheBlues-Imperials 14 songs/53 minutes When Lil’ Ed Williams and his Blues Imperials hit the stage, fans around the world know they’re in for a treat. Now in their 27th year with the same four-man lineup, they consistently please audiences with their rough-hewn brand of West Side Chicago blues and balls-to-the wall passion, and this CD, the ninth release in their lengthy Alligator Records catalog, is as consistently pleasing as the many awardwinning albums that preceded it.

Ed was born into the blues. This writer met him for the first time when he was 17 and working at the Red Carpet Car Wash.

Still wearing a yellow, rubberized jumpsuit, he was on stage at the legendary Sylvio’s bar, home to Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Rush and many others, and backing Lee Solomon, aka Little Wolf, one of several artists to share that moniker.

Williams learned to play from his uncle, slide master extraordinaire J.B. Hutto, and carries his memory forward today, delivering a brand of what label founder Bruce Iglauer terms “houserockin’ music,” picking up where Hutto left off and seamlessly carrying his tradition forward, honoring him by wearing a fez, like J.B., and occasionally playing one of Hutto’s reconditioned Airway guitars.

But Ed’s no copycat. He’s a larger-thanlife, humorous, energetic showman of the highest order, and his musical family – half-brother James “Pookie” Young on bass and Detroit natives Michael Garrett and Kelly Littleton on guitar and drums – provide what seems to be effortless support, but which couldn’t exist without three decades of rehearsals and thousands of gigs together. They fit together like hand to glove.

Williams and his wife Pam wrote 12 of the 14 songs here and, as he does regularly, he pays tribute to J.B. by incorporating two of his tunes to fill out the disc. Flushing out what already is a powerful sound is Japanese-born, Chicago-based Sumito “Ariyo” Ariyoshi on keyboards.

The disc kicks off innocently enough with casual, straight-ahead blues, “Giving Up On Your Love.” But things heat up quickly.

“Raining In Paris,” which follows, features Ed’s slide work as he compares the tears of desire he’s shedding for a distant love with the precipitation he’s experiencing in the French capital. Single-note guitar runs are prominent on “Poor Man’s Song,” which recalls another sleepless night because he’s woman’s split because she was tired of living in poverty. It seems like the pawnbroker is his only friend.

A cover of Hutto’s “Shy Voice” cranks up the speed and intensity of the band’s performance even more before the loping “Black Diamond Love” eases the pace as it describes a bright night and catching the eye of beautiful woman while recalling something that Louisiana Red had told Ed – about the stars pulling diamonds out of the sky.

The uptempo “Whiskey Flavored Tears” delivers more powerful slide work as Williams sings about the discovery that his woman’s been cheating before “I’ll Cry Tomorrow,” an intense slow-blues J.B. cover, puts the waterworks on hold. In this one, he’s manning up, helping the lady pack and transporting her to her train because he knows she doesn’t care anymore.

Next up, the syncopated “Is It You?” kicks off with a stop-time intro as it asks if the object of Ed’s affection is responsible for keeping him awake at night. The stops are off for the rocker “I’m Done,” a rapidpaced shuffle, before “Deep In My Soul” features Ariyo and delivers a dose of burning single-note Chicago blues.

Slide action returns for “I Want It All,” another uptempo shuffle, before the band delivers another food-related tune that fans have come to love. Predecessors “Chicken, Gravy & Biscuits” and “Icicles In My Meatloaf,” with “I Like My Hot Sauce Cold” is a winner. The blues “Troubled World” scorches before “Green Light Groove” brings the album to a close.

The Blues Imperials are one of the best bar bands on the planet, and this disc captures them at their best. Available everywhere, and highly recommended.

Reviewed by Marty Gunther

Ike November-December 2016 Blues Immigrant Matthew Skoller Tongue “N Groove Records matthewskoller.com 11 tracks Chicago blues harp great emigrated to Chicago from the Big Apple (Brooklyn to be specific; that’s important to New Yorkers) to Chicago in 1987. That technically makes him an immigrant to Chicago blues which he celebrates with this fine CD. Featuring a lyrical insert with a tricked up passport from Brooklyn, Skoller wrote eight of the eleven songs on this CD. His soulful vocal and vibrant harp make him a fixture in the Windy City Blues scene, and he showcases his talents on this album.

Joining Skoller on the CD are Johnny Iguana on keyboards, Giles Corey on guitar except for one of the two with Carlos Johnson, Eddie Taylor, Jr. on guitar except for the other track with Carlos, Felton Crews on bass, and Marc Wilson on drums. Backing vocals are by Mike Avery and Stevie Robinson and it was produced by Vincent Bucher and Matthew Skoller.

The songs are very cool and offer many comments on modern life. “Big Box Store Blues” decries the destruction of local business by the Costco’s and Sam’s membership stores and the mega food and department stores like Walmart. Skoller blows some mean harp and Iguana’s piano backs him up sweetly. It is a take off of Sonny Boy’s “Welfare Store Blues.”

Following it is “The Devil Ain’t Got No Music.”

This is a great cut he wrote for Lurrie Bell’s super album of the same name. He sings that devil can tempt you and that he’s got everything that you need, but as the title says, “The Devil Ain’t Got No Music.” It’s a swampy sort of cut with a tasty groove and Skoller and Company offer another fine performance. The title track follows, an autobiographical piece by Skoller. He sings of his grandparents coming here to Ellis Island and then him emigrating to play the blues. He claims influence by the late 1960’s and 1970’s social upheaval that began his trek, He goes on to the environmental issues and Reagan in the 1980’s which solidified his dissent and precipitated his move to Chicago. Great and thoughtful lyrics and a nice beat along with good musicianship make this a winner. “Only In The Blues” jabs at the blues music world where he sings that foundations and clubs keep the blues alive with suppressed wages, nine year olds get the press over long time musicians, and record producers get all the profits. As Skoller sings, “It’s a funky situation found only in the Blues.”

A song of relational woes follows; “Tear Collector” is a somber cut about the icy woman that stole his heart. “Story of Greed” is next, a cut about the rich getting richer. This is Carlos Johnson’s first cut of two and he and Brian Ritchie on shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) and the tribal drums make this very cool sounding as Skoller tells us of corporate greed and the erosion of the world in perhaps a darkly humorous way. Cool Papa Sadler’s “747” is a great cover of a song popularized by Joe Louis Walker. Skoller’s harp adds flavor from prior

Page 19 versions where the piano and guitar did many of the harp parts. This is the second cut with Carlos Johnson, one of my Chicago guitar favorites. The instrumental “Mouth Organ” opens with a real organ intro and then Skoller takes over. He and Iguana trade licks and have a lot of fun with this.

“My Get It Done Woman” offers a driving beat and wickedly hot harp blowing. Skoller sings of his woman who gets things done on all fronts.

Luther “Snake Boy” Johnson’s “Get Down to the Nitty Gritty” is the other cover, a hard core 1970’s Chicago blues cut that Skoller does well. Johnson was a protégé of Muddy Waters; Skoller stays true to the big guitar sound and then adds his harp to the mix. Iguana’s piano also give good Chicago flavor to the cut. Taylor’s guitar solo is sweet, too. The album closes to “Blue Lights,” the final cover which is a Papa Lightfoot cut. This is a beautiful slow blues that slips and slides sweetly with ample grease and grime to dirty things up. Thoughtful guitar work, a nice harp lead and piano fills make this a fine instrumental piece.

Skoller is a true presence on the Chicago blues scene. Approaching his 20th year in town, his impact on other’s music and the production of his own excellent stuff truly make him one of the great blues music acts of today. His harp is poignant and tasteful, with traditional phrasing that he tweaks to make his own. His vocals are gritty and authentic and his song writing is top notch. This is an outstanding album that should garner a lot of attention! Most highly recommended!

Reviewed by Steve Jones Seeing Is Believing Sugar Ray and the Bluetones Severn Records www.sugarrayandthebluetones.com 12 tracks After 35 years together, Sugar Ray and the Bluetones are a band with a consciousness of it’s own. The players are together and in synch. Even the most junior member has spent 16 years with the band; Monster Mike Welch at 37 is the youngest band member but has recorded with Sugar Ray for over a decade and a half now. This is a formidable band and may be one of the finest in the world top to bottom!

Sugar Ray handles vocals and harp and Welch handles the guitar work. Anthony Geraci is on keyboards (piano and Hammond organ), Michael Mudcat Ward is on bass and Neil Gouvin is on drums. Recorded in the Keep the Edge Studio in Quincy, MA, the Bluetones have released one of the years finest blues albums of 2016. One cover and 11 original tracks are featured here.

“Sweet Baby” opens the set and Sugar Ray is the big blues shouter here with a big distorted vocal sound as he sings through his harp microphone. A slower to medium tempo blues, Welch offers a huge guitar solo with Geraci filling in beautifully on the piano. When I first

listened I thought that if the rest of the album was half this good it would be amazing. Norcia comes in for a greasy harp solo and makes the cut even better. Then the title track slows things down with a sultry and sexy sort of sound. Norcia’s vocals and Welch’s guitar trade licks beautifully and then Welch offers up a hugely soulful guitar solo; so well done!

“Noontime Bell” is next up in the queue and Norcia croons some slow blues about his woman leaving him despite his best protests.

Another nice harp solo is offered up and after the second chorus Geraci gives us a super piano solo. “Keep On Sailing” features Norcia doing half the song solo on vocals and harp as he testifies to us. Then Welch and the band enter and the song builds into something completely different. Nicely done. Jump blues is next with “Blind Date.” Sugar Ray blows some mean harp for us with the band in full throttle support. Norcia belts out the vocals after the intro and they continue the high energy charge.

Welch also delivers a high powered solo and they finish up with a final chorus and surge to a finish. Welch emulates BB King’s tone in King’s great “You Know I Love You.” He turns it into a fantastic and giant instrumental that is a savory and touching tribute.

“Misses Blues” has Norcia singing about all the things he’s missed in his life but he asks his girl to say she missed him “because it’s you I can’t resist!” Nice harp work in the slower blues and some cool lyrics make this fun. Norcia then goes into the full harp attack mode with “It Ain’t Funny” and he and the band do a big and full sounding slow blues. Norcia emotes as he delivers his vocals; Geraci is first with a big solo, then we have a chorus and a huge harp solo followed immediately by a huge guitar solo. Norcia closes things out with a final chorus and then takes us home with some more huge harp. “Not Me” is a blues ballad that Norcia sweetly belts out as he longs for the woman who left him. He offers an equally soulful harp solo for us as Geraci and Welch fill in with restraint to add to the mood. “Got a Gal” picks things up the pace a little and they give another big guitar and then harp solo. More cool slow blues is next with “Two Hundred Dollars Too Long” where Norcia mourns first about a bar tab and then a paramutual outing that both lasted two hundred bucks too long. A dirty harp solo with some nasty guitar licks goes on for many a measure and Norcia closes with the hope that his life is not remembered by old Ray hanging around for 200 dollars too long. Lots of fun herefor sure! They conclude with “It’s Been A Long Time,” some straight dirty blues with a mid temp groove. They do a great instrumental mid song as harp, guitar, and piano showcase the three players.

These guys have been nominated for a host of BMAs in the last couple of years for their 2014 CD and their overall work, and Geraci and Welch also received accolades for their own 2015 CD, too. This is a powerful group of musicians with a great backline that can hold their own with any band. Big, greasy and tasty blues from Boston that serves the blues world notice and will surely garner them more award nominations!

Reviewed by Steve Jones

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Ike 20 Page Enjoy It While You Can The McKee Brothers Self-Release www.mckeebrothers.com 14 tracks/76 minutes The music contained in this debut CD was recorded over a long time, some of the tracks dating back to 2001, the main problem being distance: guitarist Denis McKee is based on the West coast while bassist Ralph has remained in the brothers’ native Michigan. However, the wait was worthwhile as the album is packed full with good tunes and terrific horn arrangements with an array of guests from both brothers’ locations: Larry McCray (guitar/vocals), Jim Alfredson (keys, ex-Janiva Magness) and Bobby Watson (bass, ex-Rufus) are amongst the Midwest musicians; Kirk Fletcher (guitar), Lee Thornburg (trumpet, trombone and horn arrangements) and David Webb (sax) represent the West coast scene. Bobby Schultz, once the keyboard player with Bob Seger, is lead vocalist on most tracks and Bobby West contributes piano and supplied six songs, having heard some rough mixes of the vocals from the other Bobby. The brothers wrote five songs and there are three covers. Drums on most tracks are by Jerome Edmondson and slide player Stan Budzynski was involved in the process through the entire fifteen years.

Other musicians too numerous to list were also involved here and there.

The album opens in great style with the swinging soul of “One Of Us Gots Ta Go” and we can immediately hear what a fine vocalist Bobby Schultz is, Kirk Fletcher’s sweet and stinging guitar also featured to good effect. The horns are present on every track and add hugely to the quality of the album, at times sounding like Tower Of Power or Memphis Stax, sometimes Blood, Sweat And Tears. Bobby’s vocals feature on the funky “Change” and “Guaranteed” which is one of the standout cuts here with some great piano from Bobby W and a horn arrangement that drives the music so well, Bobby S singing of the need to make the most of life and Denis pulling out an impressive guitar solo. “A Little Bit Of Soul” describes Denis’ early experiences at a Michigan club where he met Bobby Schultz, Larry McCray handling the vocals and adding some searing lead lines. The title track is a co-write between Denis and Bobby S who sings this one well, another song that encourages us to get on with life. Three more of Bobby West’s songs follow: “A Long Way Back Home” is a heartfelt ballad with lovely backing vocals from Melissa McKee (Denis’ daughter) and Sophia Sanifi; “Connections” bubbles along with Bobby

Watson’s bass and Kirk Fletcher’s skittering guitar providing a funky rhythm and with the backing vocals this one recalls the smooth sophistication of vintage Steely Dan; “Slide” finds Bobby S wanting to let things pass by and not get involved.

Ralph’s two songs are the swinging shuffle “Modern Fraud Woman” sung by Denis and “Right There”, an extended track with plenty of Kirk’s great guitar work and yet another exceptional horn arrangement. Lyrically these two songs seem to be related, one about being ripped off by an ex and the other about being deserted! The three covers include Dr John’s “Qualified” and Earl King’s “It All Went Down The Drain”, two recordings that date from the 2001 sessions with Stan Budzynski’s slide featured, the horns presumably being added at a later date. The album closes with Patty Griffin’s “Up To The Mountain” with Larry McCray providing some exciting guitar work to complement Melissa McKee’s soaring vocals.

Final word must be about the horn arrangements, Lee Thornburg and David Webb on most tunes providing trumpet, trombone, baritone and tenor saxes – outstanding! If soulful, horn-driven music is your thing do check out this fine disc.

Reviewed by John Mitchell Fresh Air Johnny Nicholas Self-Release www.johnnynicholasmusic.com 13 tracks/64 minutes Johnny Nicholas is a seriously underrecorded artist, partly by his own wishes as he took the 1980’s off from music to raise his family. Since then he has issued occasional albums, all of which are authentic and compelling releases. On Fresh Air Johnny is backed by most of The Resentments, an Austin-based band that used to feature the late Stephen Bruton and the result is a fine blend of roots music with authentic blues, rock and roll and country influences. Johnny plays all manner of stringed instruments, piano and harp with Scrappy Jud Newcomb on guitars and mandolin, Bruce Hughes on bass, John Chipman on drums and Cindy Cashdollar on lap -steel and other guitars. Guests include Carla Prather on vocals, Red Young, Trevor Nealon and David Boyle on organ, Steve Riley on accordion and David Greeley on fiddle. Johnny wrote all bar two songs here, some in collaboration with Jud, Bruce and Gary Nicholson.

Opener “Moonlight Train” is a sparse acoustic blues with Johnny’s buzzing harp

and plaintive vocals and is immediately followed by a brilliant cover of Sleepy John Estes’ “Kid Man Blues” (AKA “Leaving Trunk”), Jud’s mandolin providing the rhythm and some great lap-steel playing from Cindy. “Blues Time” has a similar laidback groove with Johnny’s vocal suiting that mood before the album style is disrupted by some lively rock and roll in “Red Light” with rocking piano setting the pace and the lapsteel adding a country feel. The down beat “Sweet Katrina” recounts the tale of a smalltown girl who collects men like shoes, Johnny forced to take his leave to ramble the country, the song reminding this reviewer of some of Dylan’s bluesier efforts.

“Bayou Blues” is a rolling blues with amusing lyrics as Johnny meets a dangerous girl at the dance, the song revealing secrets such as her hidden tattoo and cooking skills (“the meat is fresh, I shot it this morning”) the accordion adding a Louisiana feel. Also down south but in acoustic mode “Roll On Mississippi” provides a gentle acoustic interlude before Johnny’s cover of Willie Dixon’s “Backdoor Man”. Johnny met Howling Wolf in 1966 and that cemented his love of the blues so this is something of a tribute but Johnny’s take on the classic song is stripped back with sparse drums, mandolin and slide behind Johnny’s superb vocals. In another switch of style Johnny plays the balladeer on “How Do You Follow A Broken Heart”, a late-night lounge piece with lap-steel accents.

The two songs co-written with Nashville songsmith Gary Nicholson are both excellent: in the melodic “Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar” Johnny seems to have found the ideal lover: “Take me in your arms and hold me like you hold your guitar; play me fast, play me slow, play me like you ain’t never played before”. There is an appropriate feast of guitars with wah-wah and electric guitars gently competing throughout.

Lyrically “Wake Up Bobby” is in the same area but is more of a country tune, the sort of song that Gary has written in the past for artists like Delbert McClinton.

The album closes with two contrasting tunes which have similar lyrical interests.

“Workin’ In The Garden” is upbeat with plenty of electric guitar as Johnny extols the simple life of planting in the garden, perhaps a metaphor for getting back to basics, and the title track “Fresh Air” certainly makes clear that we all need spiritual refreshment from time to time, that plea framed in a gentle acoustic setting.

Fresh Air is an excellent album with fine musicianship framing Johnny’s interesting and literate songs. The album takes in blues, country and Americana and is well worth your attention.

Reviewed by John Mitchell

Ike November-December 2016 One Of A Kind Grady Champion Malaco www.gradychampion.com www.malaco.com 12 tracks/52 minutes One Of A Kind is 2010 IBC winner Grady Champion’s second CD for Malaco.

2013’s Bootleg Whiskey was more of a soul record but this time the music is divided between soul and blues, a typical mix of Mississippi styles. Grady wrote all bar one track, four in conjunction with guitarist (and fellow IBC winner) Eddie Cotton, five with G Robinson and two on his own. A third IBC winner Mr Sipp adds lead guitar to two tracks, as does Theodis Ealey, Elvin Bishop adding slide to one.

Grady plays harp and handles all lead vocals, with Myron Bennett or Ken Smith on bass, Carroll McLaughlin on keys, Sam Scott on drums; a horn section of Kimble Funchess (trumpet), Jesse Primer Jr (tenor), Sydney Ford II (baritone) and Robert Lankin (trombone) appears on three tracks.

Although it is the only non-original here opener “Bump And Grind” sets out the stall lyrically for the album as Grady asks the band to slow the pace so that he can get close to the girls “like ZZ used to do in 1984”. Suitably motivated, Grady then gives us “Heels And Hips”, an absolute winner of a soul tune in Johnny Rawls style with Mr Sipp’s funky guitar fills and swirling keys, Grady looking forward to his Friday night at the club, one of the standout tracks here. The party continues with “House Party”, a rolling blues with Grady’s harp and Mr Sipp’s guitar well supported by the horns and backing vocals and there is more lively harp on “Life Support” which borrows a classic blues riff as Grady tells us that he has given his life and soul to a woman: “to save my life all I need is your love”. “Leave Here Running” rocks out well with harp and Theodis’ lead lines above jaunty piano, a very catchy number.

The horns embellish the next two tunes, both of which are standouts: “Move Something” returns to the dance floor with a deliciously smooth soul number while Grady gets a little more serious with the title track “One Of A Kind”, a heartfelt plea for the perfect girl wrapped up in a classic soul ballad, Grady’s slightly gritty voice the perfect vehicle for the lyric, the sort of song that Bobby Bland might have recorded in his Malaco days. “Thin Line” is also in a soul vein with Grady’s harp set against some solid backing vocals, the track bracketed by two blues tunes in

Page 21 “Stone in My Path” and the oddly titled “What A Women” which adds Elvin Bishop’s slide to the mix. The funky “When I’m Gone” finds Grady concerned about the old ‘back door man’ scenario when he is away, guitarist Eddie Cotton setting the pace with some great rhythm work. The album closes with an instrumental “GC Boogie” which allows everyone a solo spot, notably Grady’s harp and Eddie’s stinging guitar.

This is a solid album of blues and soul with some good songs, all well produced and recorded, which should appeal to a broad cross-section of the blues community.

Reviewed by John Mitchell Rich Man Doyle Bramhall II Concord Records www.db2music.com 13 tracks/73 minutes Doyle Bramhall II has been a very busy man in recent years, collaborating with Clapton, Tedeschi Trucks and Sheryl Crow amongst many artists, even touring as a member of Clapton’s band. All that activity has meant that his own recording career has been on hold and this is his first solo effort in a long time. The wait is now over though with a disc that spans many styles in its generous 73 minutes: blues, rock, jam band and soul influences all appear at times. Doyle plays a wide range of instruments, not just guitar, and is well supported by a large cast of musicians: TTB associates Ted Pecchio and Tim Lefebvre on bass and Kofi Burbridge on organ all put in an appearance and there are strings and African instruments spread across several tracks, even a horn section on one cut. The wide-ranging material is all original apart from a Hendrix cover, Doyle collaborating with KZ Jones on most tracks and with some of the supporting musicians on a few songs. The album follows the theme of personal growth as Doyle travelled widely learning about other musical cultures that influence this recording.

Opener “Mama Can’t Help You” is reasonably straight blues with a chugging rhythm and a rising chorus not untypical of TTB material, Doyle topping it off with an angular solo. “November” adds horns and strings to a soulful number, the joyous chorus offering a great hook as the lyrics reveal how music reopened love for the

central character, an early standout track.

“The Veil” is a slower, moody track with shimmering guitars and strings again added to the choruses as Doyle describes the evils hidden behind the veil of civility, even quoting Ecclesiastes and “My People” goes a step further with references to other religions and the North Indian sarangi added, an extended track which takes its time to build up pace as Doyle pleads for recognition that all people are the same, releasing a fine solo towards the end. “New Faith” extends the message of needing to make a fresh start and find the good in each other in a largely acoustic setting with Norah Jones’ harmony vocals set alongside Doyle’s gruffer tone. The funky undercurrent of “Keep You Dreamin’” brings us back to a simpler style of music with plenty of wah-wah and bass bubbling under the rhythm but “Hands Up” (apparently written in reaction to the Ferguson racial unrest) plods along with heavy bass and distorted guitar and at close to seven minutes rather outstays its welcome.

Things get back on track with the melodic title track on which the strings underpin Doyle’s vocal as he describes redemption through love. The strings also introduce “Harmony”, a gentle acoustic love song before “Cries Of Ages” returns to a more campaigning style: “rise up as one for redemption” sings Doyle on another song anchored by a strong chorus. “Saharan Crossing” takes us to North Africa with Doyle’s wordless vocal and acoustic guitar, hand percussion and the oud, an Arabic lute, the tune acting as an interlude before the extended “The Samanas” which is the lyrical culmination of Doyle’s personal journey, a samana being a seeker. Doyle’s vocal is framed by percussion and acoustic guitar before his electric guitar cuts through in dramatic fashion, driven by heavy drums including timpani, the final section featuring even heavier guitar. Bringing everything full circle is the Hendrix cover “Hear My Train A’ Comin’” which returns the album to more of a blues conclusion though Doyle’s tough version sounds very different to the song that many of us recall from Rainbow Bridge.

This is an ambitious album which touches many bases. For this reviewer the best tracks were the more melodic ones but there is a lot to appreciate through the 70+ minutes.

Reviewed by John Mitchell

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

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Crossroads Shows and Events September and October 2016

Dave Specter at the Hope and Anchor

Harpo’s Revue at the Lyran Club

The Jimmys at New Glarus Oktoberfest

Macyn Taylor at All Saints Church in Byron

Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo at Hope and Anchor

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Hoodoo Rhythym Kings at the Lyran Club

Durand students listening intently to Mark Dvorak

Mark Dvorak at Shirland ES for BITS

Mark Dvorak at Durand ES for BITS

Shirland 1st and 2nd Graders perform their original blues

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The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Paramount Music Festival Moves to Port Washington, WI (Saturday Bands)

Ike November-December 2016

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Stormcellar at Blackhawk Trails Lodge for the Labor Day President’s Invitational

Mike Rosenthal (Rosie)

Theo Wanders

Michael Barry (MJEB)

Bill Williams

Paul Read (Mr. Wizard)

Jo Fitzgerald

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The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Blue Blast Music Awards at Fluid Events Center (Champaign IL) 9/23/17

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Blues Blast Music Award Winners

Lifetime Achievement Awards  Henry Gray  Barrelhouse Chuck  Bruce Iglauer Contemporary Blues Album  Victor Wainwright – Boom Town Traditional Blues Album  Bob Margolin – My Road Soul Blues Album  Curtis Salgado – The Beautiful Lowdown Rock Blues Album  Walter Trout – Battle Scars Acoustic Blues Album  Guy Davis – Kokomo Kidd Live Blues Recording  Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys – LIVE At The Big Bull Historical Or Vintage Recording  Bobby Rush – Chicken Heads: A 50-Year History Of Bobby Rush New Artist Debut Album  Danielle Nicole -Wolf Den Blues Band  Lil Ed & The Blues Imperials Male Blues Artist  Bob Margolin Female Blues Artist  Shemekia Copeland Sean Costello Rising Star Award  Amanda Fish

Band Blues Challenge We had no entries by bands in our October event so we are holding a separate Band Challenge for bands to compete to represent us in Memphis at the IBC in February. Information is available on line at http:// crossroadsbluessociety.com/2016-crossroads-blues-challenge. The challenge is on Sunday, November 13th at the Lyran Club in Rockford. Please contact Steve Jones at: sub_insignia@yahoo.com ASAP if you are interested in competing! The deadline is midnight Saturday night November 5th.

RULES 1.

Open to all bands and solo/duo entries who have played within approximately 50 miles of Rockford in the last year (August 2015 through August 2016).

2.

Entries must complete the entry application and provide a 300 dpi or better photograph of the band.

3.

Entries must be accompanied with a $25 entry fee which will be returned only if the band is not selected to compete in the Crossroads Blues Challenge (CBC).

4.

New entries must be accompanied by a three song sampler of the band. If more than three songs are provided, the first three songs on the entry sampler will be used. Bands who have competed or played at a Crossroads event before need not send a sampler.

5.

The act must be willing and able to perform in the Crossroads Blues Challenge on Sunday, November 13th, 2016 ata location to be determined.

The date may be negotiable. If they win they must be able to perform at the International Blues Challenge (IBC) held in Memphis, Tennessee from January 31-February 4. If the winning act does not compete in Memphis they will forfeit and refund all travel expenses raised by Crossroads Blues Society back to Crossroads.

6.

If an act was ever nominated for a Blues Music Award (or the former W.C. Handy Award), the act is ineligible to compete in the CBC and IBC. 7.

An act is limited to two consecutive appearances at the IBC and must then sit out at least one year before being eligible to compete again. Any act under the same name will not be allowed to compete three consecutive years.

8.

An individual may not compete in more than one act in any capacity. A musician cannot compete in the Band Division and the Solo/Duo Division, even if that musician represents a different Affiliate in each.

9.

The CBC and IBC adhere to the following criteria for what constitutes a band: any act with three or more musicians. Vocalists are counted as musicians for the purpose of this competition. Both electric and acoustic instruments are allowed. Solo/duo is one or two musicians.

10. The signature on the entry form signifies that the above rules are understood and will be complied with. Failure to perform in Memphis as agreed to will result in immediate disqualification and forfeiture of all privileges and prizes.

The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

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Help Out Our Friend Barrelhouse Chuck Barrelhouse Chuck has dedicated his life to Chicago blues piano; he took care of and supported Sunnyland Slim and Little Brother Montgomery when they were in need. Now it is time for us to help and support Barrelhouse Chuck and his wife Betsy and show them our love. The goal is to raise money for Barrelhouse Chuck’s (Chuck Goering) medical bills and health insurance costs as he fights and wins his battle with cancer.

My name is Steven Dolins. I am a college professor in computer science, and I also created The Sirens Records in 1975 and again in 2001 because I am passionate about Chicago blues piano. One of the main reasons I restarted The Sirens Records in 2001 is because I rekindled my friendship with Barrelhouse Chuck. Barrelhouse Chuck shared stories and good times about the masters including Little Brother Montgomery, Sunnyland Slim, Blind John Davis, Pinetop Perkins, Detroit Junior, Erwin Helfer, etc. Every day and during every performance, he carries on their memory and tradition by playing their tunes, telling their stories, and collecting and displaying their personal artifacts. He has dedicated his entire life to perfecting his craft and paying homage to the Chicago blues piano pioneers. His dedication to preserving and promoting Chicago blues piano is truly inspirational and uplifting.

A number of years ago Chuck found out he had prostate cancer. He has persevered and lived with cancer for a number of years. Many of you found out about his bout with cancer when he became extremely ill while touring Sweden in spring 2016. While on tour, his health deteriorated to the point where he had to be rushed to the hospital and stay in Sweden for a month; he was too sick to travel home.

Since returning from Sweden, he has been unable to work. At the same time, his medical expenses have been mounting. Our goal is to raise $75,000 to help pay for Barrelhouse Chuck’s medical bills and health insurance costs. So please help him according to your ability, and please help spread the word about the fundraiser so that it reaches as many people as possible, in the Facebook network, blues community, and beyond. Your generosity and caring will be greatly appreciated by one of the last living Chicago blues pianists.

Barrelhouse Chuck’s 18th CD Remembering the Masters is now out on Siren Records. You can buy The CD directly from Chuck’s website in order to maximize what goes to Chuck. It is available at: http://www.barrelhousechuck.com/ order.html You can get it there along with all his other great CDs, on Amazon, CD Baby and many other locations.

Go to https://www.gofundme.com/ Search for Barrelhouse Chuck

What I loved about this CD is the fantastic interplay between Chuck and his good friend, guitar player Billy Flynn. Chuck and Billy work together on “Homage to Pinetop Perkins,” “How Much More,” “Keep On Drinkin’,” “I Forgot to Remember,” “Double D Boogie,” “How About Me,“ “How Long, How Long Blues,” “Stockyard Blues,” “Chicago Blues,” and “Chuckabilly Boogie,” 10 of the 14 superb tracks.

“Homage” is a super instrumental duet with boogie woogie piano and guitar interwoven sweetly. “How Much More” is a very uptempo JB Lenoir cut with Chuck shouting out the vocals, banging the keys and Billy strumming along. Keep On Drinkin’” is an old Johnny Young song with Otis Spann on piano that Chuck recreates with Billy on mandolin. “I Forgot to Remember” is a great Chuck drinking song with Billy back on electric guitar. “She’s Got A Thing Goin’ On” is Chuck soloing on this classic Sunnyland Slim cut. The piano work is impeccable here (as it is throughout). In “Vicksburg Blues” Chuck recreates the sound and style of Little Brother Montgomery and gives an outstanding performance as he howls out the vocals and Liuis Coloma strokes the keys. He stays on Montgomery with one of my favorites that Chuck plays and sings- “I Just Keep On Drinkin’.” His vocals and strident piano work on this song always impress me.

Billy returns on Chuck’s Double D Boogie,” where the two of them bounce and frolic on this classy instrumental piece. The two are so in synch and attuned to each other as they blast through this very up tempo boogie. Leroy Carr’s “Straight Alky Blues” is next, another great song that Chuck always impresses me with and he does not miss the mark here. Great stuff as he moans that, “Straight alky is killin’ me.” Irving Berlin’s 1928 classic “How About Me“ brings Scott Grube to the ivories as Chuck delivers a jazzy, old time vocal and Billy plays acoustic guitar. Chuck and Billy join up again on Leroy Carr’s “How Long, How Long Blues” where Flynn takes out he mandolin again and delivers fine support as Chuck delivers another great performance. The lyrics sadden me as Chuck says “Baby, So Long” at the end and his voice cracks just a smidgen. I teared up as I heard him on another of my favorites. Flynn is back on electric guitar on Stockyard Blues,” another of my favorites by Chuck. It’s an old Floyd Jones song that Chuck delivers so well and seems so appropriate in today’s economy. Little Johnny Jones’ “Chicago Blues” is up next and Goering and Flynn do another bang up job, Billy does slide and Chuck tickles the keys and sings sweetly. The peppy “Chuckabilly Boogie” by Barrelhouse Chuck has Billy supporting on mandolin. Chucks left hand keeps a steady boogie going as his right hand and Billy trade off the lead in this cool instrumental.

Chuck says he’s got another CD planned and more after that. I hope to hear more soon. This is fantastic stuff, following after some classic releases like Drifting From Town To Town and Got My Eyes On You which feature Kim Wilson and other blues all stars and 2010’s farfisa organ party Combo Classics. Remembering the Masters is a fantastic addition to Chuck’s discography and it is a superb CD that he and Billy Flynn can be proud of. I highly recommend adding this to your collection– any lover of Chicago piano blues must own this one!

Reviewed by Steve Jones

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The Groove- Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

Ike November-December 2016 Top Blues Releases September and October 2016 Sunday Morning Blues WKGL-FM 96.7 The Eagle September Lurrie Bell / Can' t Shake This Feeling / Delmark Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials / The Big Sound of Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials/Alligator Liz Mandeville / The Stars Motel / Blue Kitty Music The Fabulous Thunderbirds / Strong Like That / Severn Bobby Rush / Porcupine Meat / Rounder Nancy Wright / Playdate! / Vizztone - Direct Hit Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters / Maxwell Street / Stony Plain Duke Robillard / Blues Full Circle / Stony Plain Sari Schorr / A Force of Nature / Manhaton Joe Bonamassa / Live at the Greek Theatre / J&R Adventures Seth Walker / Gotta Get Back / Royal Potato Family Corey Dennison Band / Corey Dennison Band / Delmark October Matthew Skoller/Blues Immigrant/Tongue‘N Groove

Duke Robillard / Blues Full Circle / Stony Plain Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials / The Big Sound of Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials / Alligator David Bromberg Band / The Blues, the Whole Blues and Nothing but the Blues / Red House Big Head Blues Club / Way Down Inside - The Songs of Willie Dixon / Big Records

Sugar Ray & the Bluetones/Seeing Is Believing/Severn

Foghat / Under the Influence / Foghat Records John Primer and the Read Deal Bluesband / That Will Never Do / Wolf Liz Mandeville / The Stars Motel /Blue Kitty Music Mitch Kashmar / West Coast Toast / Delta Groove John Blues Boyd / I Am the Real Deal: Introducing John Blues Boyd / Little Village Foundation King Edward / 50 Years of Blues / Hit the Road The Joey Gilmore Band / Respect the Blues / Mosher St. Records Amanda Fish Band / Down in the Dirt / Vizztone Shemekia Copeland / Outskirts of Love/ Alligator Larry McCray / Larry McCray / Magnolia

Chicago Blues All-Stars/Red, Hot & Blue/Azure Music

Jimmy Nick & Don't Tell Mama / Rare Breed / Jimmy Nick Music Jonny Lang & The Big Band/Smokin' Eagle Records

This list is submitted to Living Blues Magazine for inclusion in the July and August 2016 National Radio Chart. This list is compiled from actual radio air play statistics. WKGL-FM broadcasts 2 hours of the blues per week.

Rich Gordon Sunday Morning Blues WKGL-FM 96.7 The Eagle 3901 Brendenwood Road Rockford, IL 61107

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Membership News We continue to grow with new members and renewals continuing to sign on! Thank you for supporting live music and keeping the blues alive to all our new and returning members!

New members: Mark Dvorak Paul & Mary Kegel Gregg Riverdahl Renewing Members: Rick & Donna Douglas Avis & Jeff Fisher John Grall Stuart Meeker Anita Luna & Janet Williams Bill Oviatt Kevin Pieterek New members get a CD upon joining and new family members get two CDs. Membership has been $15 (individual) and $25 (family) for over 15 years. Mail newsletter members have a $5 surcharge to help with printing and postage costs; it’s expensive to produce and distribute newsletters. We produce six newsletters a year with 25-30 reviews and all sorts of other great information related to the Society and our events.

The Groove is a bi-monthly publication of the Crossroads Blues Society. The PDF version (typically 20 to 32 pages) is emailed to members of Crossroads.

Hard copies (12 pages) are sent out to members without email ($5 membership surcharge).

Editor in Chief: Steve Jones Music Reviewers: Rick Davis, Marty Gunther, Steve Jones, John Mitchell, and Mark Nelson All un-credited content by Steve Jones

www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Hope & Anchor English Pub Second Saturday Blues

The Hope and Anchor Saturday Blues Schedule is set through April 2015.

From 8 PM to Midnight, $5 cover after 7 PM or free prior to that for dinner guests.

Featuring fine English pub fare, the Hope and Anchor is a great spot for dinner, craft beers, liquors, and great live music! At 5040 N 2nd Street, Loves Park IL, USA, phone 815.633.2552 for info!

11/12 Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Altar Boys 12/10 The Jimmys 1/14/16 Toronzo Cannon 2/10/16 Shonn Hinton and Shotgun 3/11/16 Shawn Holt and the Teardrops 4/8/16 Joanna Connor 5/13/16 Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Altar Boys

Lyran Society Third Friday Blues

The Lyran Society continues their Fish Fry and Steak Dinners with performances on the third Friday of each month at their club. Located half a block east of 7th Street at 1115 4th Ave, Rockford, IL 61104, you can call (815) 964-0511 for info. There is no cover charge, it’s a free show. Open to the public, all ages are welcome.

November 18th: Ron Holm Roy Orbison Tribute December 2nd: Bobby Messano (extra) December 16th: Dave Fields January 20th: IBC Contestants

All Saints First Sunday Blues

September 4th: No Show (Holiday) November 6th: Daniel Souvigny December 4th: Dan Phelps January and February: No Shows March 5th: Trinadora Quintet Torch Song Show

Ike Crossroads Blues Society

The Crossroads Blues Society Newsletter

P.O. Box 840 Byron, IL 61010 News Blog with our Latest Info: http://crossroadsbluessociety.blogspot.com Music Reviews: http://crossroadsreviews.blogspot.com Crossroads Blues Festival at Lyran Park: http://www.crossroadsbluesfestival.com

The

GROOVE Keeping the Blues Alive Since 1994

2014 Blues Foundation Keeping the Blues Alive Affiliate Award Recipient 2014 Chicago Blues Hall of Fame Inductee

Email us at: sub_insignia@yahoo.com Also on the web at: http://crossroadsbluessociety.com

Blues on Local Radio WNIJ - 89.5 FM  Friday evenings from 9 PM to midnight with Harold Brown  Saturday afternoons from 1 to 4 PM with David Rosik  Saturday evenings from 9 PM to midnight with David James The Eagle - 96.7 FM  Sunday Morning Blues now from 8 AM to 10 AM with Rich Gordon

News and Upcoming Events Fall is in full swing and the Winter months are just around the corner. The big event is Thursday, December 8th with Duke Robillard coming to the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center!

November features Daniel Souvigny at All Saints Church in Byron on Sunday, November 6th, Reverend Raven at the Hope and Anchor on Saturday, November 12th, our Band Blues Challenge at the Lyran Club on Sunday the 13th and The Orbison Ring at the Lyran Club on Friday the 18th of November.

December begins with Bobby Messano at the Lyran Club on the 2nd, Dan Phelps on the 4that All Saints, Duke Robillard at the Mendelssohn PAC on the 8th, the Jimmys at the Hope and Achor on the 10th, and Dave Fields at the Lyran Club on the 16th and Byron Library on the 17th.

The Ice Hogs kicked off Friday Blues in October with Recently Paroled. Nov 25th and Dec 2nd it’s Val and Char Browne and Dec 3oth it’s Roy Roots. Thse shows are at 5:15 pm.

Advanced planning for February: we have NY based blues man and

educator Tas Cru in mid week on the 8th for a show along with BITS and on Friday the 24th we have Ghost Town Blues Band returning! Locations yet TBD. See inside for details on all these and more!

Membership Application www.CrossroadsBluesSociety.com Yes! I’d love to be a part of the Crossroads Blues Society!

Name_____________________________________________ Street Address___________________________________ City________________ State______ Zip Code________ Phone_____________________________________________ Email Address____________________________________ New -or-

Returning Member

This will be a membership for an/a: Individual ($15) -or-

Family ($25)

$5 extra for newsletter via regular mail Please check all applicable interests: Festival Volunteer Serve as Officer/on Board BITS Volunteer Volunteer at Shows/Events Review CDs Public Relations Edit Newsletter Other:_________________________

Please cut out/copy & mail form & payment to: Crossroads Blues Society P.O. Box 840 Byron, IL 61010

Bring this to our next meeting and get a free CD!

Member form update!