Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne: you wish this moment would never go away.
Some 2024 releases new to our pages…
The Singer in Full Flower
By David McGee
OOH YEAH!
Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne
Stony Plain Records (2024 release)
Canadian boogie-woogie legend Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, now in his 80th year, joins the growing list of octogenarians making some of the best music of their storied careers. With no time to waste, the Boogie Woogie Hall of Famer kicks off the title track of his latest long player, Ooh Yeah!, with a hard driving workout on the 88s and adds a frisky vocal to boot while drummer Joey DiMarco keeps the frantic rhythm pulsating underneath. On a topical note, check out the gritty challenge of “Whatcha Gonna Do Now,” with Jimmy Bowskill’s banjo adding a rural flavor to the forthright march tempo as Wayne’s matter-of-fact vocal inveighs against environmental and social contract failures aplenty, much as he does on a funky, percolating offering, “My Point of View,” in lamenting those whose implacable views brook no chance “to see a better place/for this human race.” Even in the funky, horn- and banjo-fueled heat of the furious dance hall ambience adorning “Try It Out,” the Blues Boss takes flight on the keys while delivering a Staples-style sermon counseling common sense (“read between the lines/to know the full story”) as the antidote to hate speech. Cooking mightily throughout, Ooh Yeah! channels the energy and excitement its title suggests, and then some.
‘I Wish Things Were Different,’ Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne, from Ooh Yeah!
In fact, if truth be told, on Ooh Yeah!, the Blues Boss is dazzling not only on the 88s but as a vocalist as well. Which is not to suggest his earlier albums didn’t feature some outstanding vocals; but this one…this one really finds him commanding the vocal mic in a dominant manner. On the aforementioned rustic blues, “Watcha Gonna Do Now,” he maintains an infectious, rhythmic pulse with his talking blues approach backed by a gospel chorus in a mesmerizing, challenging chant refrain. On “Wishing Well,” he affects a whispery, reportorial delivery in telling the sorrowful tale of a fellow bereft and inconsolable over losing his gal, which turns out to be a relationship he drank himself out of, leaving him disbelieving that “love ran out,” at once drawing a listener into one protagonist’s side before casually revealing the truth’s dark side. He’s never been better, though, than he is in caressing the tender heartbreaker bemoaning lost love, “I Wish Things Were Different,” his sensitive vocal framed by discrete, sweet strings and a velvety backing chorus, with his bluesy piano solo augmenting the pain of his loss. To paraphrase the song’s closing sentiment, you wish this moment would never go away. Ooh yeah…
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Gerald McLendon: The ‘Soul Keeper’ is in…
Surrendering to the Cosmic Ache
By David McGee
DOWN AT THE JUKE JOINT
Gerald McClendon
Delta Roots Records (2024 release)
Around Chicago Gerald McLendon has earned the nickname “The Soul Keeper,” not simply for staying true to a timeless soul blues style with both southern and urban roots but equally so for the depth of feeling he invests in every lyric. Down at the Juke Joint is arguably his greatest contribution yet to the legend he’s created. For instance, surrendering to the cosmic ache and abject pain in his account of realizing the desolation of loneliness he limns in producer Twist Turner’s grinding lament, “House Ain’t a Home,” in surveying the fallout from a failed relationship. Turner’s arrangements are of the old school soul and blues variety, thick with howling guitars, portentous washes of organ and Fender Rhodes and piercing horn blasts to which McLendon steps in with more than a little gospel feel, recounting his broken spirit in “Back Where You Belong,” with Mike Jackson’s wailing sax complementing McLendon’s Solomon Burke-like testifying. He descends ever deeper into despair in “Cryin’ Time Again,” another heartbroken melody (“looks like it’s cryin’ time again/I wonder will I ever find happiness…”) set to an unyielding backdrop of funereal keyboards and somber percussion underscoring the singer’s barren future. There’s a bright moment here and there, but McLendon fully embodies a truly broken soul at large in the land, no direction home. Amen, and God bless.
‘Cryin’ Time Again,’ Gerald McLendon, from Down at the Juke Joint
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Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy: Well remembered, with a little help from his friends
The Spirit Lives On
By David McGee
TRUE BLUES BROTHER: THE LEGACY OF MATT ‘GUITAR’ MURPHY
Bobby Christina’s Caravan
Nola Blue Records (2024 release)
Matt “Guitar” Murphy may not have become the household blues name that, say, B.B. King was, but blues fans ell knew of him and his clean, soulful guitar work. Born in Sunflower, Mississippi, and raised in Memphis, he migrated to Chicago at age 19 and found work over the years backing giants on the order of Howlin’ Wolf, Memphis Slim and Little Junior Parker. Come 1980 he found himself cast as the guitarist in the band assembled by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd for the Blues Brothers movie, after being recommended for the job by the late, great songwriter, Doc Pomus (who had a major hand in the band’s formation). In the ’90s he was with the James Cotton band, during which time he recorded his first solo album (Way Down South, 1990). A stroke derailed his career in 2000 but he returned to the stage to join Cotton at the 2010 Chicago Blues Festival. In 2018 he begn work on a new solo album with the veteran drummer-producer Bobby Christina, whose brother Fran was in the original Roomful of Blues lineup. Christina’s concept for Murphy’s new album was to feature new songs from Matt along with tunes he had played on for other artists in which he would be teamed in the studio with guest artist he had played with over the years. Matt had written three new songs for the project, which were completed in what turned out to be the first and only session—Matt died suddenly of a heart attack on June 15, 2018.
‘You Wasn’t Doin’ Too Good,’ Joe Beard (vocal and guitar) and Billy Boy Arnold (harmonica) from True Blues Brother: The Legacy of Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy
Determined to pay tribute to Matt, Christina forged ahead, reaching out to Matt’s circle of musician friends. What was envisioned as a single disc tribute become a wonderful, exciting double-CD package featuring 72 top-drawer musicians who knew and/or had performed with Murphy. One of Matt’s new songs, “Matt’s Boogie,” kicks off the set with Matt laying down those clean, lean, tonally rich lines that were his signature supported by Ricky “King” Russell on guitar, the indomitable Bruce Bears on organ, Bob Worthington on bass and Fran Christina on drums. Bears has a great solo rampaging across the keys, the rhythm section is tight and driving and the guitars are notable for their tasty, to-the-point soloing. Highlights are too numerous to mention when the remaining 23 tracks are so consistently remarkable but two favorites here would be Willie Dixon’s “I Can’t Quit You Babe,” fueled by Phil Diiorio’s down-and-out lead vocal, and the album closing gem, “You Wasn’t Doin’ Too Good,” a stark guitar-vocal-harmonica blues with a Hill Country flavor in Beard’s lowdown vocal shadowed by the great Billy Boy Arnold’s ominous howls on harmonica. Over the course of two CDs, Matt “Guitar” Murphy’s spirit lives on and so does the good he did in his productive life.
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Vaneese Thomas: offering narratives as raw and gripping as the groove is infectious and, at times, portentous
Heaven is Just a Breath Away…
By David McGee
STORIES IN BLUE
Vanessa Thomas
Overton Records (2024 release)
Of this amazing album no less a blues authority than Marty Gunther has hailed Vaneese Thomas (daughter of Rufus, sister of Carla) for delivering “the gold standard of soul-blues here.” Might as well end this review right there, seeing as how the Gunther endorsement cannot be denied. Over the course of seven original songs Ms. Thomas deploys her commanding mezzo-soprano voice in powerful ways on arrangements running the gamut from deep blues to soul to gospel, accompanied by a stellar four-piece combo supplemented by horns and potent backup singers, all deeply invested in the Memphis groove and in Ms. Thomas’s narratives. She sets the tone of her discourse immediately on the album opening shuffle, “Do Y’all,” in which she demands, “Do y’all know where the blues comes from? And promptly answers: “Well it comes from places dark as night/bodies worn through toil and strife/do y’all know where the blues comes from.” Ms. Thomas doesn’t write fluff—her narratives are as raw and gripping as the groove is infectious and, at times, portentous. Hers is cathartic exercise in overcoming betrayal and heartbreak and facing the truth.
‘End of the Road,’ the a cappella gospel benediction of Vaneese Thomas’s Stories in Blue
The funky strut of “When You Were My Man” underpins a story of an woman waking up to the reality of her dying relationship and by. Implication moving on (“…the darkness did come/our love was undone…”) with guitarist Al Orlo and keyboard master Dave Keyes adding empathetic soloing along the way. The ominous backdrop of “The Last Thing on My Mind,” a sister tune to “When You Were My Man,” bemoans “a good thing” gone wrong that “broke my trust and shook my faith,” but even in the valley of tears her delivery suggests resilience. A delightful change of pace surfaces in the unrestrained swing of “1917,” with echoes of the Jazz Age in the horn punctuations framing lyrics honoring her illustrious father’s birth year, she noting with unrestrained joy, “life was hard but he was a star/we’ll remember him forever and a day,” as those horns wail righteously behind her. The big, soul-cleansing finish comes in the a cappella gospel benediction, “End of the Road,” in which Ms. Thomas and her supporting singers look not to death but to the end of earthly woes and the victory of salvation in Heaven (“Heaven is just a breath away”). It’s only seven songs in 24 minutes, but every minute counts, every minute is memorable and moving.
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Jo Harrop: A gifted songwriter rises to the top tier of contemporary jazz singers
Lonely Teardrops
By David McGee
THE PATH OF A TEAR
Jo Harrop
Lateralize Records (2024 release)
Since releasing her acclaimed debut album, Weathering the Storm, in 2018, the earthy-voiced British jazz singer-songwriter Jo Harrop (born in Durham in northeast England) has year by year, album by album, gained more traction and more acclaim in the jazz world to the point where she is now, four albums into her career, regarded as being in the top tier of contemporary jazz singers and acknowledged as a gifted songwriter as well. The Path of a Tear, her first album recorded in the U.S. (at Village Recorders, Studio B, in Los Angeles), is a major step forward on several fronts, not the least being the presence of four-time Grammy winning producer Larry Klein behind the board and a host of top jazz musicians joining the sessions. Klein has an estimable track record producing female singer-songwriters, having worked with, among others, Joni Mitchell (his ex-wife), Madeleine Peyroux and, for three albums (including a Grammy winning one), Melody Gardot. Klein and Harrop prove to be a good match, with the producer fashioning a sensitive soundscape for Harrop’s incisive songs detailing romantic misfortunes of the first order. Those songs, every bit as intimate as Gardot’s, find her fully present in their narratives, shading her deep tones just so to emphasize an arc of feeling rising or falling according to the fates she’s confronting. Subtle backing is provided by a highly lettered quartet of guitar, drums/percussion, piano/Rhodes/B3, and bass (Klein himself is on bass on three tracks).
A live version of Steve Earle’s ‘Goodbye,’ recorded at The Village Studios in Los Angeles. Backing Jo Harrop are Anthony Wilson (guitar), producer Larry Klein (bass), Jeff Babko (piano), Denny Weston (drums). The studio version is on The Path of a Tear, Ms. Harrop’s fourth album.
With clean, clear enunciation, Ms. Harrop offers measured readings of eight original songs (co-writes all) and three covers, but her cool demeanor is but a façade, as her masterful use of tone and range speaks volumes about the often-roiling emotions animating her narratives. Consider gems such as “Too Close to the Sun,” a bittersweet post-mortem of a failed relationship between two people who couldn’t keep the flame but rather got consumed by it (“we flew too close to the sun/like angels into ashes/even angels make mistakes/broken wings, torn and shattered”), with Anthony Wilson’s introspective guitar solo mirroring the lyrics’ lamentation. The dirge-like blues of “A Love Like This,” with piano and B3 enhancing the funereal atmosphere, actually frames Ms. Harrop’s determination to save a troubled relationship. “So just find a way to come back to me/and we’ll start again if what’s meant to be/a love like this/don’t let it go…” she offers in a brooding tone, dipping into her lower register to emphasize her resolve to make things right again. Covers include an intriguing noir-ish take on Leonard Cohen’s irony-rich “Traveling Light,” an ode to the advantages of carrying less emotional baggage going forward by leaving a lover behind, delivered with an airy, carefree attitude seemingly oblivious to the damage left in its wake. Steve Earle rarely gets his due for all the touching love songs he’s written, but Ms. Harrop does great justice to one of his best, the touching (actually Cohen-ish) “Goodbye,” with a tinge of country flavor in another succinct Anthony Wilson solo on the semi-hollow body guitar and strictly circumscribed supporting commentary provided by percussion and piano behind a measured, probing, emotional reading—one of the finest Earle covers yet, thanks to a vocalist perfectly attuned to the songwriter’s intent.
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Jubu Smith: Celebrate the groove and be set free.
Groovin’
By David McGee
JUBU
Jubu Smith
Little Village (2024 release)
It’s likely fair to say more people have heard guitarist par excellence Jubu Smith than have heard of him. He did emerge in the early ’90s as the guitarist for Tony! Toni! Toné! during the group’s most productive run but his most extensive credits are as a studio guitarist for some major household names in smooth jazz (the Georges Duke and Benson), R&B (Luther Vandross-who would also qualify as gospel; Mary J. Blige, among others). He’s also fronted his own soul blues bands (Legally Blynd and The Jubu Smith Experience, whose members included his brother Erik “Pik Funk” Smith). In 2024 he ventured onto yet another path, signging with the Little Village label and crafting a solo a dedicated “guitar groove” instrumental album bearing only his baptismal name, Jubu.
‘Jubu’s Poem,’ Jubu Smith with Charlie Hunter and Calvin Napier, from Jubu
A high-concept project, Jubu teams Jubu with but two other all-universe players: the great producer-guitarist Charlie Hunter (he of the multiple Grammy nominations, who here plays bass and guitar simultaneously on a custom eight-string model) and Grammy winning drummer Calvin Napier, notably of MAZE with Frankie Beverly fame. If theirs is not the most perfect example of the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) philosophy, it’s at least near the top of the list. It’s a guitar groove album-no better description could be had. The 8:03 smooth jazz groove of “EG is Here” is a great showcase of Jubu’s mastery of tone and texture, with some scintillating trebly single-string formulations interspersed with virtuosic atmospheric flurries adding intensity to the track with Hunter deftly filling in the spaces and Napier keeping a percolating rhythm attack steady as she goes. One of the more humorous moments comes with “Kwik-Way Nostalgia,” in which Jubu and Hunter plays with scales, tempo, textures and effects over the course of a languid, groove-centric 7:32 exercise. One supposes this might put a Kwik-Way visit into a musical setting, since the convenience store does lend itself to meandering around and collecting snacks and drinks nutritionists will tell you you don’t really need but are in fact life sustaining. (You read it here first!) At eight minutes-plus “Totally Convicted” is the album’s longest tune, during which Jubu crafts a mellow, late-night mood out of single-string runs, cascades of fleet-fingered outbursts and moaning slide passages while ceding the stage to Hunter at one point for a complementary rich-toned solo of his own. In many ways the album’s most soulful moment, “Jubu’s Poem” is 6:37 of deeply introspective emotional exposition-by turns tender, thoughtful, longing-that shifts gears at the five-minute mark into an aggressive fusillade of rapid-fire solo soloing up and down the neck with Hunter’s burbling bass and Napier’s drum volleys and cymbal splashes providing complementary commentary. Celebrate the groove and ye shall be set free.
