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Michelle Willson: Tryin' To Make A Little Love
by Ed Kopp
It's the rare blues recording that's suffused with honest emotion. Michelle Willson really seems to pour out her soul on Tryin', particularly on the ballads. Known mostly as a jump-blues singer, Willson also tackles cabaret-style jazz and slow graceful soul on this, her third release. Credit producer Scott Billington for surrounding Willson with a crack band ...
Joe Williams: Nothin' But The Blues
by Ed Kopp
I was bummed after hearing of Joe Williams' death in early April. A sophisticated big band singer best known for his work with Count Basie, Williams was also an admirer of the great blues shouter Joe Turner. Williams tackles some Turner-style material on this 1983 CD featuring Jack McDuff (organ), Red Holloway (tenor sax), Eddie Cleanhead ...
The Johnny Nocturne Band: Nothin' Wild & Cool
by Ed Kopp
The Johnny Nocturne Band is a nine-piece swing outfit from the San Francisco Bay area led by Alaska native and tenor saxman John Firmin. A horn-driven group, the Nocturne Band also features smooth singer Brenda Boykin, a jazzy crooner with a deep, full voice. Wild & Cool is sophisticated, swingin' and fun. These musicians are well-schooled ...
Galactic: Nothin' Coolin' Off
by Ed Kopp
Galactic is a New Orleans jazz-funk unit that transports us back to the '70s, the decade when jazz-funk was at its zenith. This band owes a great deal to the Meters, the seminal New Orleans funk outfit that was always more popular with the critics than the public. The fact that Galactic is able to emulate ...
Stanley Turrentine: Do You Have Any Sugar?
by Ed Kopp
Tenor saxman Stanley Turrentine is the rare artist who's equally comfortable playing pop-jazz and straight-ahead jazz. While most of his albums have stuck with one style or the other, Do You Have Any Sugar? bounces successfully between both genres.Pianist Kei Akagi shines on the more mainstream tunes, while singer Niki Harris (daughter of pianist ...
Finis Tasby: Jump, Children!
by Ed Kopp
The more I listen to most blues releases, the more they sound like every other blues release. The more I listen to Jump, Children! the more I like it. Finis (rhymes with highness) Tasby is a veteran bluesman who spent most of his career as a drummer and bassist, not a singer. His singing is formidably ...
Rick "L.A. Holmes" Holmstrom: Lookout!
by Ed Kopp
I went completely nuts over Rick Holmstrom's boogie-woogie version of “Sleigh Ride" on Black Top's Christmas compilation, so I finally went out and purchased his solo CD over the holidays. Man, am I glad I did! This is a rollicking instrumental album with a retro '50s feel. Lookout! is a completely infectious West Coast blues CD ...
Roomful of Blues: There Goes the Neighborhood
by Ed Kopp
Few bands could survive the loss of three key members, but Roomful of Blues has endured numerous personnel shakeups in its 31-year existence. There Goes The Neighborhood marks a change in both personnel and attitude for the legendary ensemble. Now that trombonist Carl Querfurth is gone, guitarist Chris Vachon appears to wield more influence. The emphasis ...
One Too Many: One Too Many
by Ed Kopp
One Too Many is a new acoustic trio from suburban New York City that reworks 70- and 80-year-old country blues tunes written by black plantation workers. The band's three originals on this debut have a similar old-timey feel to the 11 covers. Vocalist, kazoo player, washboardist and harmonicat Greg Witchel decided to team up with his ...
Elvin Bishop: The Skin I'm In
by Ed Kopp
Speaking of funny, Elvin Bishop delivers hilarious good-time blues on The Skin I'm In, his third release for Alligator. Flavored with Bishop's sizzling guitar, Randy Forrester's tinkling piano, and a raucous horn section, Skin will make you dance AND smile. My favorite tracks deal humorously with middle age, though at 56, Bishop is closing in on ...
