Ryan Lee Crosby, Kent Burnside and Garry Burnside: Blues As A Way Of Life

The eternal appeal of the blues lies in the attraction it holds to successive generations of musicians and music lovers. And such connections are not necessarily grounded in blood relations, as is the case with Kent and Garry Burnside, but also in the bonds of mentorship as with Ryan Lee Crosby: while there are more than a few breeding grounds for genre seeds, Mississippi's Hill Country and beyond may be the most fertile. Promising durability in these efforts and in long-term career potential as well, these releases remind us that while the style and structure of blues may vary, the music is a never-ending alchemical process: a metamorphosis of the agony, ecstasy and humor intrinsic to the sound and style becomes transformed into a potent tonic. No genuine practitioner of the blues will pretend to own its method of expression, but only pass on his particular knowledge when the time is right and that is exactly the rite(s) of passage in action here

Ryan Lee Crosby
At The Blue Front
Cross Note Records
2025


Given that Ryan Lee Crosby and company inhabit the same space that once saw blues icon Skip James perform in his own inimitable style, it is little wonder the musicians simultaneously hypnotize and instill fear as they play "Going Away" and "I'm Gonna Change." But by the time the bandleader begins to pick the slightly more tuneful changes on his open-tuned twelve-string electric guitar, the mood changes to one of forthright, resolute optimism. It is no accident either that cut introduces percussionist Grant Smith to the mix: the insistent beats he generates are the ideal foil for the breezy sounds of Jay Scheffler's harmonica. With "honored guest" Jimmy "Duck" Holmes on guitar and vocals for half this thirty-minute duration—four tracks including "Hard Times" and "Slow Down"—he might well have received equal billing here. But the credit as applied on the back cover is in keeping with his deference in helping apprentice Crosby learn, then configure his own style of playing. While this judiciously-overdubbed collection may come across as a bit too one-colored, At The Blue Front is the sound of the torch being passed, confidently and surely.

Kent Burnside
Hill Country Blood
Strolling Bones Records
2025

The very title of Kent Burnside's Hill Country Blood speaks to the fundamental lineage upon which the album is based. But the production, recording and mixing by Grammy Award winner Boo Mitchell at the famed Royal Studio in Memphis is a practical application of roots too: guitarist/bassist Garry Burnside appears on all ten cuts including eight originals and two covers: "You Better Run," significantly credited to kindred spirit Junior Kimbrough and "Crawling King Snake," from that icon of the blues himself John Lee Hooker. Rough around the edges, as are tracks like "Daddy Told Me," sound, those penetrating textures are emblematic of the emotional authenticity in play here. As is the skeletal lineup of the aforementioned pair, along with drummer Jake Best; the simplicity cuts to the quick of an emotional catharsis evident on "I Go Crazy" (with Damian Pearson(aka YellaP) on harmonica) as well as "I Can Feel It." The end result is a cleansing sensation endemic to the blues at its best, while the primarily acoustic closing, "I Miss You," complete with plaintive harp, supplies exactly the necessary punctuation to an estimable artistic statement of purpose.

Garry Burnside
It's My Time Now
Strolling Bones Records
2025

Like his family counterpart and kindred spirit, Garry Burnside deigned to record in the same studio under the same producer with much the same result. But in keeping with the stylish front cover art, the youngest son of Hill Country Blues legend R.L. Burnside harbors lofty ambitions. Tracks such as "Young Country Boy" highlight the polish producer Mitchell applies, a result all the more notable because of the healthy improvisation on that cut: the musicians reach a frenetic intensity before it is over. "High" is a tune built on syncopation that showcases the punchy and present recorded sound, but there are a few too many of a similar structure here, which to some degree, negates a raw element to this music (as does the static nature of the lead vocals). The CD/digital bonus track, "Garry's Night Out," might've taken the place of one and the guitarist/songwriter et. al. generate spooky atmosphere on yet another instrumental, "Bad Luck City." In so nimbly straddling the line between jazz and blues, Garry Burnside is formulating a niche that effectively distinguishes him from his peers.

Tracks and Personnel

At The Blue Front

Tracks: Going Away; I'm Gonna Change; I've Been Worried; Mistreating People; Hard Times; Catfish; Slow Down; Tell Me

Personnel: Ryan Lee Crosby: vocal, electric 12 string; Jimmy "Duck" Holmes: vocal, electric 6 string; Grant Smith: calabash, percussion; Jay Scheffler: harp

Hill Country Blood

Tracks: Daddy Told Me; Hill Country Blood; Crawling King Snake; I Heard; I Go Crazy; One More Chance; Rob and Steal; I Can Feel It; You Better Run; I Miss You.

Personnel: Kent Burnside; vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar; Garry Burnside: bass, acoustic guitar; Damian Pearson (aka Yella P): harmonica; Jake Best; drums.

It's My Time Now

Tracks: High; Young Country Boy; It's My Time Now; Hanging In There; Bad Luck City; Ramblin'; Holdin' My Woman; I Been Looking; She's Gone; AGF Out; Garry's Night Out (Bonus Track).

Personnel: Garry Burnside: vocals, guitar; Andrea Stanton: rhythm guitar; Pinky Pulliam: bass; John C. Stubblefield: bass; Avery Dilworth: drums.

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