may/june 2006issue 282free

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&blueswww.jazz-blues.com

J A Z Z O N T H E T U B Estory inside!

At Last...After 40 Years........

AMERICANPUBLIC

TELEVISION

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May/June 2006 • Issue 282PAGE TWO

Published by Martin WahlCommunications

Editor & Founder Bill Wahl

Layout & Design Bill Wahl

Operations Jim MartinPilar Martin

ContributorsMichael Braxton, Mark Cole,Chris Hovan, Nancy Ann Lee,Peanuts, Mark Smith, DuaneVerh and Ron Weinstock.

Address all Correspondence to....Jazz & Blues Report19885 Detroit Road # 320Rocky River, Ohio 44116

Main Office ...... 216.651.0626Editor's Desk ... 440.331.1930

Comments...billwahl@jazz-blues.comWeb .................. www.jazz-blues.com

Copyright © 2006 Martin-Wahl Communications Inc.

No portion of this publication may bereproduced without written permissionfrom the publisher. All rights Reserved.

Jazz Report was founded in Buffalo NewYork in March of 1974 and began in Cleve-land in April of 1978. We are subsidizedsolely through advertisement and ask thatyou support our advertisers.

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Check out our new, updated webpage. Now you can search for CDReviews by artists, Titles, RecordLabels or JBR Writers. 15 years of

reviews are up and we�ll be going allthe way back to 1974.

"Buffalonious"

Original mascot fromthe

Buffalo Jazz Reportdays � mid '70s

Created by Christine Engla Eber

Watch for new t-shirts bearing his image–coming soon!

At long last - after four decades -we have a jazz series back on TV. Andit includes a bit of blues too. Legendsof Jazz with Ramsey Lewis began toair on Public Television stations lastmonth. The much anticipated series,produced by LRSmedia, is the firstweekly network television jazz showin 40 years. Each themed episode –such as The Golden Horns, The Pi-ano Masters and American Songbook– features intimate conversations andoriginal performances by some of theworld’s leading musicians.

Grammy Award-winning com-poser/pianist Ramsey Lewis hosts theseries, which is produced in multi-cam-era HDTV and Dolby Surround 5.1 au-dio. In association with Chicago’sWTTW11, America’s most-watchedpublic television station, this series willair across the public television net-work.

The primary sponsor for this se-ries is E TRADE FINANCIAL, withadditional funding support fromMarantz and the National Endowmentfor the Arts. The 13-week season de-buted nationally to coincide with Na-tional Jazz Appreciation Month. As partof that month-long celebration, andprior to the first weekly episode, bothPBS stations, WETA in Washington,D.C and WTTW11 in Chicago, airedall shows continually on Sunday, April2.

“This is America’s art form,”Ramsey Lewis, co-chairman ofLRSmedia and the Executive Pro-ducer of the series said. “Jazz contin-ues to provide inspiration to musiciansaround the globe and to influence art-ists in a wide range of fields. I believeas you watch the shows, you will no-tice not only the memorable individualperformances, but also the energy andexcitement created when great artists

New Series on Public Television

react and respond to each other. I willadmit that having the opportunity to jamon the closing theme with so many greatplayers and singers was beyond mywildest dreams.”

Each show in this ground-breakingseries is theme-based and includes con-versation with and performances bysome of today’s most important jazz andjazz related musicians, including: TonyBennett, Chick Corea, Al Jarreau, DaveBrubeck, Billy Taylor, David Sanborn,Phil Woods, Pat Metheny, Jim Hall,George Duke, Marcus Miller, LeeRitenour, Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove,Chris Botti, Ivan Lins, Eddie Palmieri, thelate Ray Barretto, Dave Valentin, Keb’Mo’, Robert Cray, Jane Monheit, JohnPizzarelli, Kurt Elling, Benny Golson,Chris Potter, Joey DeFrancesco, Dr.Lonnie Smith, and many more.

Guest artists who have taped ap-pearances on Legends of Jazz havebeen uniformly effusive in their praisefor the new series and highly enthusi-astic about the return of jazz to nationaltelevision.

Tony Bennett, who joins the late RayBarretto and Chick Corea in the episodeentitled, NEA Jazz Masters 2006, said,“I hope that the show will help every-body realize that this is American mu-sic. It was created here. It belongs here.I travel all over the world and every coun-try shows me what they do. This is whatwe’ve created. The British show us the-ater, the Italians show us music and art,the French painting and cooking and theGerman’s have all this science. So whenall is said and done, 50 years from now,we’ll be bowing to Dizzy Gillespie andCharlie Parker.”

Dave Brubeck, an NEA Jazz Mas-ter, who joins Billy Taylor for The PianoMasters episode, said: “This is a longoverdue series that combines new andestablished artists sharing what they

May/June 2006 • Issue 282 PAGE THREE

have most in common – a love for thismusic – and discussing some of thegreat musicians and people who haveinfluenced their art. I’m honored to beincluded.”

Al Jarreau, who appears in TheJazz Singers episode with Kurt Elling,said: “This is a great series because itallows the artists behind the music totell their stories – what influenced them,who influenced them, and what theyare doing today. It brings the history ofthis art form to life. I can’t wait to seethe other episodes.”

As a part of the 360º media pro-gramming platform for the Legends ofJazz brand, this national TV series isaccompanied by the successful Leg-ends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewisweekly radio show, which airs in morethan 60 markets, a multi-city Legendsof Jazz tour across America and thelaunch of the media rich web site,www.legendsofjazz.net.

LRSmedia is launching its originalbranded music programming with a fullcomplement of recorded products, in-cluding DVDs, CDs, digital and wire-less products. Encoded from HD mas-ters and presented in 5.1 SurroundSound, the first national product re-lease, Showcase, released in April, isa 2-disc CD/DVD collection of 13unique performances from the series,including Al Jarreau and Kurt Elling on“Take Five,” Chris Botti’s “My FunnyValentine,” and a David Sanborn andPhil Woods duet on “Senor Blues,”among others.

The series is airing in cities coastto coast. For the benefit of those whoread our pulp edition, many of you canfind it on one or more of these stations:

Cleveland/Akron - TV - WVIZ 25TV & HDTV - Sundays at 9:30 p.m. &WEAO 45 & 49 - Saturdays at 11:30p.m.; Radio - WNWV-THE WAVE107.3 Sundays at 10 p.m.

Buffalo - HDTV (only - at least fornow) - WNED - Repeated throughoutthe week at 6 p.m. and 3 a.m.; Radio -WWWS Solid Gold Soul 1400 AM Sun-days 8-10 p.m.

Columbus - TV - WOSU Sundaysat 9:30 p.m.; Radio - WJZA SmoothJazz 103.5 and WJZK Smooth Jazz104.3 Sundays at 5 p.m.

Detroit - TV & HDTV - WTVS Sun-days at 2 p.m.; Radio - WVMV SmoothJazz V98.7 Sundays at 9 p.m.

To the best of our knowledge andresearch, this information is correct.

We strongly advise that you check yourlocal listings. For our web readers inall other U.S. cities, you can check thecomplete schedule for all areas onlineat its website atwww.legendsofjazz.net/television/schedule.

Legends of Jazz Episode Titles& Descriptions - Season OneKeep in mind that some of these

shows have already run. Some citiesstarted a week or two late, so it is pos-sible that they may be out of the orderkept by those that started April 1. Atthe end of each description you will seethe approximate date the episode isscheduled to run. AGAIN....check yourlocal listings.

We have decided to put in the fulldescriptions of all shows - even theones which already ran - in case somestations rerun them at a later date, or ifper chance they are released at sometime in the future as DVDs. All areHDTV, Dolby Surround SoundThe Golden Horns - w/ Clark Terry,

Roy Hargrove & Chris BottiThe importance of the trumpet in

jazz cannot be overstated, and the leg-ends who have made their mark, fromLouis Armstrong to Roy Eldridge, fromClifford Brown to Dizzy Gillespie andMiles Davis, will all be the topic of theday when three of the finest trumpetplayers in jazz join Ramsey Lewis onstage. What a wonderful cross sectionof trumpet sounds from the legendaryClark Terry, who seems to make thetrumpet actually talk when he plays, tothe high energy innovations of hard-bopping Roy Hargrove, to the roman-tic and intimate ballad playing of ChrisBotti. This show will leave you feelingthat you know much more about thetrumpet than when you arrived. (#101,4/01/06)

The Jazz Singersw/ Al Jarreau & Kurt EllingAl Jarreau is the only vocalist in the

history of the GRAMMYs to win awardsin three different categories (Jazz, Popand R&B). He’s been compared tosuch legends as Billy Eckstine andJohnny Mathis, and has been thrillingaudiences since his 1975 debut, thetop-selling “We Got By.” MultipleGRAMMY nominee Kurt Elling is oneof the great modern proponents of the“vocalese” tradition of marrying origi-nal lyrics to classic jazz solos. Al andKurt perform and talk with RamseyLewis about the great male vocalists

and their own lives and times on stageand in the studio. Although approach-ing jazz from two opposite directions,these two master vocalists, Al Jarreauand Kurt Elling, came up with a dueton “Take Five” that will become a clas-sic. Check it out! (#102, 4/08/06)

The Great GuitarsW/ Pat Metheny & Jim HallPat Metheny has been one of the

most unique forces in jazz guitar formore than 20 years. His music – withits blend of jazz, rock, folk and elec-tronic elements – is highly original andenormously popular, allowing him tosell out arena venues. He appears inthis episode with Jim Hall, NEA JazzMaster and a musician of understatedelegance who is considered one of thegreatest living jazz guitarists. AlthoughPat Metheny, the wonderful contempo-rary guitarist, says that he has alwayslooked up to Jim Hall, you will witnessthis as simply a musical love affair be-tween two great artists. (#103, 4/15/06)

Contemporary JazzW/ George Duke, Lee Ritenour

& Marcus MillerLee Ritenour, Marcus Miller and

George Duke have played together inthe past, but in this episode they per-form with energy, creativity and asthough they had been playing togetherfor years. Master guitarist and contem-porary jazz legend Lee Ritenour,keyboardist George Duke and the phe-nomenal bassist/producer MarcusMiller perform together and share themusical progressions that led to thecreation of the various sub-genres thatwe call “contemporary jazz.” The trailranges from the soul/R&B/funk in-flected jazz beginning in the late 1950sinto the ‘60s with artists such as HoraceSilver, Herbie Hancock and RamseyLewis; the creation of Rock Fusion inthe late 60s and into the 1970s by art-ists like Miles Davis, Weather Reportand Chick Corea; the melding of popand jazz in the 1980s with artists suchas Spyro Gyra, the Yellowjackets, andLee himself, and on into the SmoothJazz era that characterizes contempo-rary jazz today. (#104, 4/22/06)

The Altosw/ David Sanborn & Phil Woods

Charlie Parker, Johnny Hodgesand Benny Carter are just a few of thealtoists that have influenced thisepisode’s guests David Sanborn andPhil Woods. The hard-driving Sanbornis, of course, one of the best known

May/June 2006 • Issue 282PAGE FOUR

and most identifiable voices on the con-temporary jazz scene for the past 20years, while Woods has establishedhimself over many decades as one ofthe legends on the instrument. Althoughfrom opposite sides of the musicalfence, Phil Woods and David Sanborn,separately and together, have createdsomething very wonderful on this show.(#105 4/29/06)

The Piano Mastersw/ Dave Brubeck & Dr. Billy Taylor

Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, OscarPeterson, Bud Powell, Count Basie andDuke Ellington are just some of the pi-ano legends talked about by two livinglegends themselves – Dave Brubeckand Dr. Billy Taylor. The reputations ofthese two great legends are widelyknown and respected. Here they showus why. These two 85-year-old mas-ters put on an incredible show in bothsolo and duet numbers, and offer fas-cinating reminiscences. (#106, 5/06/06)

Roots of Jazz: The Bluesw/ Robert Cray & Keb’ Mo’

In the beginning, jazz and bluesstarted out on the same track beforediverging into two separate genres, andin the early 20th century, the two formsborrowed liberally from each other asthey took their first formative steps. Inthis episode, GRAMMY winners Rob-ert Cray and Keb’ Mo’, talk about whatjazz has taken from the blues, and howthe two uniquely American forms ofmusic have intertwined over the years.Robert Cray and Keb’ Mo’ in their ownhighly distinctive styles remind us thatthe blues can be entertaining as well asinnovative. (#107, 5/13/06)

The American Songbookw/ Jane Monheit & John Pizzarelli

From the 1930s to the 1950s,American songwriters created an un-equaled body of work we call The Ameri-can Songbook. Many of these tuneshave become our “standards” and theyare linked forever to the jazz and popsingers who gave them life. Guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli and top jazzsinger Jane Monheit talk with RamseyLewis about what jazz has taken from(and given to) the great American popu-lar song composers, from Irving Berlinto Gershwin and beyond. John Pizzarelliand Jane Monheit sing both separatelyand in duet to demonstrate why they areso well loved as are the songs they per-form … and why this great music con-tinues. (#108, 5/20/06)

Latin Jazzw/ Eddie Palmieri & Dave Valentin

This episode looks at the evolutionand current state of Latin Jazz. Key-board legend Eddie Palmieri and flutevirtuoso Dave Valentin perform and talkwith Ramsey Lewis about the genesisof Latin Jazz, from the early days ofXavier Cugat and the rumba, to the Afro-Cuban stylings of Dizzy Gillespie andCharlie Parker (picked up from Latinjazz giants Chano Pozo and Machito),to the great Latin Jazz artists of the1950s and early ‘60s, including ChicoO’Farrell, Perez Prado, Tito Puente,Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, WillieBobo and more. During this show, notonly were people tapping their toes asusual, but it was all we could do to keepthem in their seats while Eddie Palmieriand Dave Valentin spun their high-en-ergy magic. (#109, 5/27/06)

The Tenors - w/ Benny Golson,Chris Potter & Marcus Strickland

Almost more than any other instru-ment, the tenor seems to be able toencompass all the infinite shades ofjazz. Veteran sax man Benny Golson(who has performed with Lionel Hamp-ton, Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey); andChris Potter, the fiery young horn playerwho has performed with everyone fromthe Mingus Big Band to Steely Dan; aswell as rising young star MarcusStrickland play individually and togetherand talk about their lives in music andinfluences such as Coleman Hawkins,Lester Young, Sonny Rollins, Coltraneand Stan Getz. The legendary BennyGolson’s tenor saxophone performancedemonstrates that he is quite at homeplaying with the young lions. Chris Pot-ter, the ever dependable innovator, andthe surprisingly fresh Marcus Stricklandgave us performances to remind us thatjazz continues to be in good hands.(#110, 6/03/06)

Brazilian Jazzw/ Oscar Castro-Neves

& Ivan LinsThe early days and the current

groove of jazz from Brazil are exploredin this exciting half-hour. Guests includethe legendary Oscar Castro-Neves, acontemporary of Tom Jobim, Luis Bonfaand Joao Gilberto, who was on thescene as a major player when the BossaNova was being created, and GRAMMYwinner Ivan Lins, the keyboardist/com-poser whose songs have been recordedby artists ranging from Quincy Jones toElla Fitzgerald and many more. Ivan

Lins and Oscar Castro-Neves throughtheir music show us why the music ofBrazil offers something highly stimulat-ing for the heart, body and soul. (#111,6/10/06)

The Killer B’s - w/ JoeyDeFrancesco & Dr. Lonnie Smith

In this episode we celebrate theworld renowned Hammond B3 organ’srole in jazz, and take a look back at thelegends who helped take the B3 out ofthe church and auditorium and into thesmoky clubs, roadhouses and record-ing studios where it gained its fame.Joey DeFrancesco (a former B3prodigy who made his debut recordingat the tender age of 18) talks about hisrelationship with the B3, and with theinstrument’s most famous proponent,the late great Jimmy Smith. Dr. LonnieSmith, a giant of the B3 since the1960s, discusses those legendarydays, while both artists talk about thepart they have played in the currentglobal renaissance the “Killer B” is en-joying. Joey and Lonnie perform indi-vidually and together in this high-en-ergy episode. There are not many in-stances where two great organ play-ers come together on the same stage.Joey DeFrancesco and Dr. LonnieSmith literally burn the studio down withtheir high energy performances. (#112,6/17/06)

NEA Jazz Masters 2006w/ Tony Bennett, Chick Corea

& Ray Barretto The title of this show says it all.

These three legendary gentlemen —Tony Bennett, Chick Corea and RayBarretto – have earned their stripes andare still at the top of their game. Thisshow features incredible performancesand fascinating, intimate conversationwith three winners of the prestigiousNational Endowment of the Arts JazzMasters award from 2006. Join us aswe honor Tony Bennett, one of theworld’s preeminent male vocalists, anda giant figure in both jazz and pop; ChickCorea, the composer, arranger,keyboardist, pianist and bandleader,who is best known as one of the greatinnovators who literally changed theshape of modern jazz by helping createthe jazz fusion movement of the 1970s;and Ray Barretto, the most widely re-corded conguero (conga player) in jazz.This episode is in memory of RayBarretto (1929-2006). (#113, 6/24/06)

Once more...be sure to check yourlocal listings for updated information.

May/June 2006 • Issue 282 PAGE FIVE

New Release blues.... Eric Bibband Leon Bibb-Praising Peace- A Trib-ute to Paul Robeson; Jay McShann-Hootie Blues; Jeff Healey & The JazzWizards- It’s Tight Like That; MichaelColeman and the Delmark All-Stars-Blues Brunch at the Mart; Jimmy “Duck”Holmes- Back to Bentonia; James“Blood” Ulmer- Birthright; Sweet Betty-Live & Let Live; Harmonica Shah- Lis-ten At Me Good; Mel Brown and theHomewreckers- Blues- A BeautifulThing; Charlie Musselwhite- Delta Hard-ware; Smokin’ Joe Kubek and BnoisKing- My Heart’s in Texas; Willie “BigEyes” Smith- Way Back; Popa Chubby-Stealing the Devil’s Guitar; Eugene“Hideaway” Bridges- Coming Home;Trudy Lynn- I’m Still Here; The CalvinOwens Show- I Ain’t Gonna Be Yo’ DogNo Mo; Johnny & The Mo-Tones- TwoHits For the Kitty; Marla BB- DestinyMeets Devil at the Crossroads; The Hol-lywood Blue Flames- Road to Rio;Lynwood Slim (with special guests KidRamos and Kirk Fletcher)-SelfTitled....More Festival Blues.... Summerwouldn’t be complete without taking in a

blues festival or two. With generally mod-est ticket prices to see a couple of dozentop notch acts, fresh air, cold beer, BBQand lots of like minded friends (or soon tobe friends) what’s not to like? Here’s afew festival within easy striking distancefrom the mid-west: Eureka SpringsBlues Festival- June 1-3, EurekaSprings, AR. - 888-855-7823 orwww.eurekaspringsbluesfestival.com;Jackson Blues Festival- June 1-3, Jack-son, MI. - 517-796-9368 orwww.slippeddiscproductions.com; Chi-cago Blues Festival- June 8-11, Chi-cago, IL. - 312-744-3370 orwww.cityofchicago.org. ; Blues on theFox Festival, June 16-17, Aurora, IL. -630-844-4731 or www.aurora-il.org/specialevents/downtownalive.asp ;Alpena Blues Festival. June 23-25,Alpena, MI. - 989-356-6674 orwww.alpenablues.com ; Kansas CityKansas Street Blues Festival. June 23-25, Kansas City, KS. - 913-371-0024 orw w w. k c k s t r e e t b l u e s f e s t . c o m ;Kalamazoo Blues Festival. July 6-8,Kalamazoo, MI. Details available atwww.kvba.org; Toledo Rock, Rhythm &blues Festival. July 29, Toledo, OH. Call419-249-5018 or log on line towww.citifest.org.

This is just a minor sampling of thetreats available to you this summer. Thecool thing is that there are one or morefestivals in virtually every region of thecounty every single weekend all summerlong.

That’s it for now. See ya!

CLEVELAND – Few figures in thehistory of American popular music havereached the status of Bob Dylan. As theman who showed the world that popularmusic could be classified as art, Dylan hascreated a distinctly American body of workto match the legacies of Walt Whitman,Louis Armstrong, and his early musicalhero, Woody Guthrie.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame andMuseum will unveil Bob Dylan’s Ameri-can Journey 1956-1966. The exhibit willbe on the top two floors of the Museumfrom May 20 – September 4. The exhibitopening coincides with Dylan’s Birthday. Bob Dylan turns 65 on May 24.

Dylan’s lyrics and songs unearth andrevitalize the American folk and blues tra-dition, serving as a key link in the chainthat extends from Southern work songs,blues and Anglo American ballads to themany contemporary singer-songwritersfor whom Dylan is a main influence. ButDylan’s story is not simply that of a musi-cal evolution. As a public figure and artis-tic innovator, he has taken and chronicleda journey emblematic of modernAmerica’s own development.

The exhibit features more than 150artifacts, including Dylan’s 1949 Martin 00-19 guitar, typed and handwritten lyrics,rare concert posters and handbills, signedalbums, and dozens of photographs. Atthe center of the exhibit are four films ex-ploring different facets of Dylan’s career,with rare performance footage and inter-views with Dylan and other artists. In ad-dition, three viewing stations allow visitorsto watch excerpts from the Dylan filmsDon’t Look Back and Eat the Document,as well as an interview with Dylan him-self. Throughout the exhibit space areseven listening stations that enable visi-tors to hear Dylan’s musical evolution andinnovations during this 10-year period.

The exhibit, curated by ExperienceMusic Project, marks the first time theRock Hall has had an exhibit dedicatedto Dylan’s career.

The Museum is open seven days aweek from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. OnWednesdays the Museum is open until 9p.m. Museum admission is $20.00 foradults, $14.00 for seniors (60+), $11 forchildren (9-12) and children under 8 andMuseum members are free.

By Mark Smith

At the Rock Hall...“Bob Dylan’s American Journey

1956-1966” Opens at Rock and RollHall of Fame and Museum

Kirk Whalum will be appearing with theRendezvous All Stars Thursday, June 22 atCleveland’s Palace Theatre for an eveningof Contemporary Jazz. The other All Starsare guitarist Jonathan Butler, pianist BrianSimpson and bassist Wayman Tisdale.They are signed to Dave Koz’s RendezvousEntertainment record label.

Alto saxophonist Maceo Parker, once abandleader and major instrumental voicewith James Brown, brings some major funkto House of Blues Cleveland on Saturday,June 3. It’s a mix of R&B, soul, funk-jazzand gospel. Expect one hell of a party. Alsocoming to H.O.B. on Sunday, July 2 is gui-tarist Robin Trower. Rick Ray opens.

May/June 2006 • Issue 282PAGE SIX

We only bring you

the Cream of the Crop!

ALLIGATOR RECORDS35X35

ALLIGATOR 2-CD SETIt is always nice to see another Alli-

gator anniversary sampler arrive. All I needto do is note the number of years they arecelebrating, then subtract three to figurehow long this publication has been around.

This time around the Gator staff hasdecided to focus on the earliest record-ings from as many of their artists, pastand present, that they could fit on two CDs.Obviously they have had so many in 35years they could not fit them all, but theresure is a good amount and a lot of musicto digest.

This set is a chronological history ofthe label, so to speak. It opens with thefirst track from the label’s very first album,Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers,released in 1971 and concludes with Ma-vis Staples’ spine tingling “A Dying Man’sPlea” from her late 2004 Have A LittleFaith.

In between you’ll travel through thevarious blues and roots music styles thelabel has featured as you hear from suchartists as Big Walter Horton, Luther Allison,Fenton Robinson, Buddy Guy, Koko Tay-lor, Son Seals, Albert Collins, RoyBuchanan, Johnny Winter, GatemouthBrown, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, KatieWebster, Elvin Bishop, Professor Longhair,William Clarke, Charlie Musselwhite, DaveHole, Carey Bell, C.J. Chenier, Saffire-theUppity Blues Women, Shemekia

Copeland, Marcia Ball, Corey Harris, andmany others. Yep...you guessed it...35 inall.

While the strict chronological order ofthe songs was done for the historical na-ture of this set, it is good for many rea-sons, including the fact that improvementsin recording technology are experiencedgradually, rather than bouncing back andforth like a yo-yo, which can make for anunpleasant listening experience. Someother labels release retrospectives with thatflawed format – perhaps produced bysomeone without a clue. Also included isa 44-page booklet with personal notes onthe tracks from Alligator president &founder Bruce Iglauer and other good stuff.

An independent label celebrating 35years is quite a feat. When I think of howmany hurdles we’ve jumped to keep thismag going for 32, I can just imagine alli-gators jumping all kinds of hurdles in theLouisiana swamps when thinking of thisChicago label’s journey. We wish them avery happy birthday. It is nice to havesome friends our own age! Bill Wahl

PAT MARTINORemember

A Tribute to Wes MontgomeryBLUE NOTE

Going way back to his years with Pres-tige, Cobblestone and Muse – the releaseof a new Pat Martino album was always asure treat. After his brain aneurism broughtthe news that he forgot how to play guitar,the jazz world feared his music would nolonger be created. Incredibly, he relearnedhow to play – mostly from his own records– in the very same style he was famousfor, and returned to the scene in the ’90swith releases on Muse and Evidence be-fore signing to Blue Note. Remember isthe fifth Pat Martino album on Blue NoteRecords.

Martino was influenced by the greatWes Montgomery, and it is said that healso listened to Wes’ recordings while re-learning after the amnesia. While you cancertainly hear a bit of Wes in Pat’s style,he does not try to emulate Montgomeryin any way in this 10-song homage.Martino’s trademark rapid fire, angularstaccato style – and his sound (heavy onbass and low on treble) – are in controlthroughout. He picked tracks recorded byWes, mostly from his Riverside years.Some of the Montgomery-penned classicshere are “Four On Six,” “Full House,”“Road Song” and “West Coast Blues.”Then there are others that Wes recorded

fine versions of, such as Milt Jackson’s“S.K.J,” the Cannonball Adderley favor-ite written by Sam Jones “Unit 7,” and CarlPerkins’ “Groove Yard.” His band, DavidKinkoski/piano, John Patitucci/bass, ScottAllan Robinson/drums and DanielSadownick/percussion, are all in goodform throughout. There are highlights ev-erywhere - check out Martino’s lightningfast runs on “S.K.J.” for just one.

This is a fitting tribute to Wes indeed.But more than that, it is another tasty treatfrom the hands of Pat Martino. It sure wouldbe nice to see this guy performing livesomewhere...will have to mark thatthought on the “To Do List.” Bill Wahl

MARY FLOWERBywater Dance

YELLOW DOG RECORDSOne of the truly wonderful fingerstyle

guitarists and a lovely vocalist, MaryFlower went into a studio in the Bywaterarea of New Orleans last May shortly af-ter JazzFest and wandered into the studiowith various local musicians who joinedher for her latest recording, BywaterDance.

It is bitter irony that this disc cameout shortly after Katrina devastated muchof the Crescent City, but this is a terrificrecording in which the guest musicianssound like they had played with Mary forsome time, not simply in the studio.

One thing refreshing about Mary isthat she mines songs off the beaten path,so no Robert Johnson covers thankfully.Instead we hear her render a marvelousBlues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me,with some rolling piano from Amasa Millerand a hot clarinet solo from Tim Laughlin.Miller switches to accordion on Crow Jane,which is derived from the William Walkerrecording and her wonderful strutting gui-tar matches Walker’s original.

On Raise the Devil, after an introduc-tion with some sublime slide playing fromFlower, Jon Cleary adds some wonderfulbacking piano. Cleary is also present onFlowers’ rendition of George WashingtonThomas’ New Orleans Hop Scotch, oneof the first recordings to sport a boogiebass pattern. Kirk Joseph adds sousa-phone for the bass here and a horn sec-tion including Tim Laughlin and CharlieMiller add atmosphere. Clearly takes a niceLonghair-flavored piano break, and Flowerhas a typically cleanly executed solo.

She is a marvelous blueswoman andI do recommend this unreservedly.

Ron Weinstock

Blues Guitar Blowout

Cleveland Fatsand

The Ledgendary

Louisiana Red(Rare Cleveland Performance)

Sunday June 4th 8pm

Parkview Nite Club

1261 W 58th • Cleveland OH

216-961-1341

May/June 2006 • Issue 282 PAGE SEVEN

EXQUISITE NEW RELEASES FROM BLUE NOTE!EXQUISITE NEW RELEASES FROM BLUE NOTE!EXQUISITE NEW RELEASES FROM BLUE NOTE!EXQUISITE NEW RELEASES FROM BLUE NOTE!EXQUISITE NEW RELEASES FROM BLUE NOTE!

THE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSTHE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSTHE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSTHE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSTHE RUDY VAN GELDER EDITIONSFrom 1953 to 1967, Alfred Lion produced a body of work that ranks as the most innovative series of recordings in modern jazz.Almost all of these masterpieces were documented by the extraordinary Rudy Van Gelder; a self-taught engineer who morethan set a new standard. Devoid of caution or timidity, he captured the full power and rich sound of jazz ensembles withdazzling clarity. His contribution to the focused approach that Blue Note took at every stage of any album was immeasurable.Decades later, Rudy agreed to take a second look at the original recordings, bringing them into the digital domain with thesame skill and focus. Six more RVG Editions have just been released. If you think you’ve heard these gems before, listen again.

Gettin’ Around, Dexter Gordon Smokestack, Andrew Hill Workout, Hank Mobley

The Gigolo, Lee Morgan Horace-Scope, Horace Silver Quintet Joyride, Stanley Turrentine

Time Lines, Andrew Hill Indigo 4, Gianluca Petrella

Thunderbird, Cassandra Wilson

Solo, Gonzalo Rublacaba

Remember, Pat MartinoBest of Lou Rawls, Lou Rawls

Plus...Six More RVG Titles Released February 21Mosaic, Art Blakey • A Swingin’ Affair, Dexter Gordon • Dippin’, Hank Mobley • Tom Cat, Lee Morgan • Silver’s Serenade, Horace Silver • Softly As A Summer Breeze, Jimmy Smith

May/June 2006 • Issue 282PAGE EIGHT

WILLIE “BIG EYES” SMITHWay BackHIGHTONE

Sessions like these get more rare with each passingyear. Vets with top-flight Chicago blues roots resemble hen’steeth these days and Mr. Smith’s new offering provides an ap-pealing snapshot of what the old-school fellas can still bring tothe party. Drummer in both the latter-day Muddy Waters line-upand the Legendary Blues Band that followed it, Smith conjures aprevious incarnation as a harmonica player on the maority ofthese tracks and gives a most respectable account of himself.

Fellow “Legends” pianist Pinetop Perkins and guitarist BobMargolin are also on board and harp-god James Cotton guestson two numbers. The strength of Way Back lies in its overallatmosphere rather than “standout” tracks but few discs of re-cent vintage are likely to speak to the classic Windy City soundso well. Duane Verh

TAYLOR EIGSTILucky To Be Me

CONCORDBlessed with abundant talent, 21-year-old pianist Taylor

Eigsti makes his Concord debut with two groups, one featuringbassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash and the other(his working group) with bassist James Genus and drummerBilly Kilson. Guests on various tracks include Julian Lage (gui-tar), Greg Adams or Brian Swartz (trumpet), Eric Marienthal(sax), Ben Wendel (tenor), Adam Schroeder (bari), and GarrettSmith (trombone),

Launched with a fresh take on Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” theexpansive 12-tune set includes four Eigsti originals and a mix-ture of jazz standards and pop. The rising star has a definitiveknack for creatively re-inventing warhorse standards such as“Love For Sale,” “Darn That Dream,” and “Freedom Jazz Dance,”and his originals are ear-appealing, expressive tunes.

With his working trio, Eigsti previously recorded Resonance,a 2003 release on Bop City Records. He began playing pianowhen he was very young and at age eight, opened for his friendand mentor, jazz pianist David Benoit. He shared the stage withDiane Schuur and opened for Diana Krall and Al Jarreau whenhe was 12 years old. Throughout high school, he worked withname jazz artists as well as making his mark in Classical music,performing with Frederica von Stade and Sylvia McNair, as wellas with numerous symphony orchestras. Dave Brubeck remarkedafter Eigsti sat in with him, “Taylor is the most amazing talentI’ve come across. Remember him.”

\Mature beyond his years, Eigsti seems to have all the ap-

propriate elements for reaching peak success. He’s an imagina-tive improviser, displays passion and vitality at the keys, showstechnical expertise and a pleasing light touch, and he writespretty tunes. He’s certainly one of the most exciting new pia-nists I’ve heard in my 17 years of reviewing. Nancy Ann Lee

RED GARLAND TRIOAt the Prelude

PRESTIGE/CONCORDThis two-disc set features William “Red” Garland’s swing-

ing, straight-ahead trio with bassist Jimmy Rowser and drum-mer Charles “Specs” Wright, in three live-recorded sets per-formed on October 2, 1959 at a Harlem nightspot, The Pre-lude.

The material was first released piecemeal on four Prestigealbums in the 1960s and 1980s. This new 23-tune set containsall the music released in 2003 on a three-disc Japanese set,plus new notes by Joe Goldberg.

Inspired by Ahmad Jamal, Bud Powell and, some say,Walter Bishop, Dallas-born Garland (1923-1984) started outplaying clarinet, then saxophone and diverted from music tobecome a boxer. Near the end of his military career, he beganlearning how to play piano and within a decade relocated tothe East Coast where he worked with Charlie Parker, LesterYoung, Coleman Hawkins and others before gaining wider no-tice with the Miles Davis Quintet from 1955-58.

After leading his own groups, Garland retired to Dallas in1965 following his mother’s death. He reappeared in concertin the 1970s before retiring for good at the end of that decade.

By the time of this recording, Garland was leading his owntrio and regularly recording for Prestige as leader. Although hemay seem to have been a somewhat overlooked jazz pianist,his expertise is evident as he demonstrates his intimate, un-derstated bebop translations, his light perky touch, left-handblock chording and single-note right-hand lines. Garland’s spar-kling trio with his two Philadelphia friends tidily reworks gemssuch as “There Will Never Be Another You,” “A Foggy Day,”“We Kiss In A Shadow,” two versions of “Lil’ Darlin’,” threeversions of “One O’Clock Jump,” “Bye Bye Blackbird,” “SatinDoll,” “Cherokee,” and more.

Garland trio’s toe-tapping material is a total treat that maylead you to investigate his other recordings.

Nancy Ann Lee

May/June 2006 • Issue 282 PAGE NINE

FRI 5 .......ROB C & THE HIPNOTIKSSAT 6.......COLIN DUSSAULT’S BLUES PROJECTFRI 12 .....WYNG-IT (ROCK)SAT 13.....THE DEACONS (EVANGELISTS OF SOUL)FRI 19 .....CITY HEAT (CLASSIC ROCK)SAT 20.....WALLACE COLEMANFRI 26 .....REAL LIFE FEATURING BECKY BOYDSAT 27.....TRAVIS HADDIX BAND

FRI 2 .......FRANKIE STARR BANDSAT 3 .......COLIN DUSSAULT & THE BLUES PROJECTFRI 9 .......THE CHOSEN FEWSAT 10.....THE SWAMP BOOGIE BANDFRI 16 .....BRUCE KATZ BAND (B3 FROM BOSTON)SAT 17.....THE SAM GETZ BANDFRI 23 .....ARMSTRONG BEARCAT BANDSAT 24.....THE TRAVIS HADDIX BANDFRI 30 .....THE RHYTHM SYNDICATE

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What U Missed

DUKE ROBILLARDGuitar Groove-A-Rama

STONY PLAINAnd now for all the folks who have

complained about Duke Robillard’s lastcouple releases, it is time to stop. Quiet.Hush. Shut up already. Your howls of “notenough guitar” did not fall on deaf ears,especially Duke’s. His latest disc is a 14-track tour de force of every conceivableblues style known to mankind on each sixstring instrument the Rhode Island resi-dent owns. If it was radio, it would be allDuke, all the time.

To break it down a little further, thecenter piece here is the 16-minute title cutwhere Robillard pays homage to the stylesof Muddy Waters, Guitar Slim, Johnny“Guitar” Watson, B.B. King, Freddie Kingand many others all in one slick settingwith Bruce Bears using the Hammond or-gan as a background canvas for Duke topaint on. Stax Records gets a nod duringthe heavy “Do The Memphis Grind” as “NoWay Out” is the left handed version ofElmore James’ “One Way Out,” doneRobillard-style.

Most unusual cut might be Duke tak-ing a stab at Bob Dylan’s country bluestune “Down Along The Cove” from thelatter’s John Wesley Harding release, al-though a softer version of the Gaelic stan-dard “Danny Boy” turns jazzy at one point.Irish blues? Let’s face it, if you’ve followed

“the troubles” over there, that isn’t muchof a jump. And just when you think Duke’slulled you into a groove, he opens it upfull throttle via “Cookin’” and the then re-verses polarity again with “Dark Eyes,”based on a Russian folk song with Al Basileadding some cornet into the tune.

Guitar Groove-A-Rama delivers on itstitle, so stop complaining already and gobuy one. Peanuts

CASSANDRA WILSONThunderbirdBLUE NOTE

Singer Cassandra Wilson has beenblending jazz with folk and rock for sev-eral years now. That mix has brought somerave reviews from the mainstream press,and also some jeers from the jazz puristbrigade. While hoards and hoards of sing-ers have been putting out cookie-cutter-like CDs with versions of songs from theGreat American Songbook, Wilson, withher very low and smokey voice, has cre-ated very unique and musically stimulat-ing discs with originals and songs fromother arenas that demand a response...oneway or another. She has also paved theway for the likes of Norah Jones and LizzWright (and others), both of whom havebrought their own unique blends of musicgenres into the Universe. Let’s face it –without singers like these three, and in-strumental players in similar realms, jazz

just might meet an untimely death. Some-one needs to go well beyond the old stan-dards to keep things fresh and attract newand/or younger ears. Hey...didn’t Miles dosomething like that?

That said, Cassandra has hired notedproducer T-Bone Burnett to bring thingsinto a new gear. Now you can add hip hoprhythms into the mix for some songs, anda much bigger dose of the blues for oth-ers. So how many genres is she mixing

jazz-blues.com

If you didn’t check our websitesince the March/April pulp issue:

1. Our April issue - web only -with info on the historic Gary Bur-ton-Pat Metheny concert tour -playing closeby in Buffalo andDetroit, plus many CD and BookReviews

2. Duayne Verh’s interviewwith former NRBQ guitarist andmaster songwriter Big Al Anderson

Stop By Now & Then

May/June 2006 • Issue 282PAGE TEN

now? Haven’t really counted...but it works,and that’s all that matters. In fact, it worksextremely well.

With her originals such as “Go ToMexico,” “It Would Be So Easy,” “Poet”and “Tarot” mixed with covers like a re-working of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “EasyRider Blues” (here titled just “Easy Rider”),Willie Dixon’s “I Want To Be Loved” andthe traditional fur trader and cowboy song“Red River Valley” (done delta style as avocal/guitar duet) – things flow along quitenicely, and she never comes close to hit-ting a rut. She also does Jakob Dylan’s(Mr. Bob’s son) pensive ballad “Closer ToYou” – one of the songs given the hip hoptreatment.

Instrumentally, the set is quite guitarheavy – nothing wrong with that. Wilsonplays some acoustic, and she also hasguitarists Colin Linden and Marc Ribot onboard, plus Keb Mo on the Dixon trackonly. Noted rock studio drummer JimKeltner is heard on much of the disc, prob-ably one of T-Bone’s ideas.

Thunderbird is a very enjoyable lis-tening experience from Cassandra Wilson.Highly recommended for anyone with di-verse musical tastes. It will be interestingto see the reviews on this one! Bill Wahl

RICK HAYDON &JOHN PIZZARELLI

Just FriendsMEL BAY RECORDS

Two seven-string guitar masters, RickHaydon and John Pizzarelli serve up amelodious 11-tune set with MartinPizzarelli on bass and Tony Tedesco ondrums.

There are plenty of lively gems to en-gage the listener. The tasty set kicks offwith an uptempo swinger “Chasin’ theBlues,” one of Rick’s favorite tunes from a1957 Al Cohn/Zoot Sims LP. Includedamong the selections are two other AlCohn tunes, the pulsing “Two FunkyPeople” and the percolating “Halley’s

LYDIA PENSE& COLD BLOOD

TRANSFUSIONDIG MUSIC

At times it is really amazing the num-ber of band names that get lost in the ar-chives of rock and roll.

There were an explosion of hornbands after Chicago and Blood, Sweat &Tears’ popularity took off, just like anyother trend in those days. The San Fran-

cisco bay area had three notable namesin Tower Of Power, the Sons of Champlinand Cold Blood. All now just footnotes inthe 1960’s volume, they had various timesto shine and then faded into the back-ground.

Leaning towards the Stax/Volt sound(first group hit in 1969 was a remake ofSam & Dave’s “You Got Me Hummin’”),it’s good to see the Cold Blood name popup as Lydia Pense was one of the bay’smost notable female belters besides JanisJoplin at the time.

Transfusion is a mixed bag of stylesand boy is it good to hear Pense open hermouth the minute “Face The Music” kicksinto high gear with help from RobZuckerman’s sax solo. Guitarist SteveDunne contributes a second ton of funkvia “Coming Back” and “Wait For You,”again thanks to Zuckerman, pumps highoctane.

If anything the material gets too ten-tative in spots as, let’s face it, if you’regoing to bring in Lenny Williams fromTower of Power to do a duet with Pense,it’s best not to pick a slow tune like “ItCould Be Me, It Must Be You,” to give them.That’s way too much vocal fire power tobe muted like that.

The duet highlight instead turns outto be the remake of an earlier FM hit theband had, “Down To The Bone,” withPense teaming up with Michelle Shockedfor a great take on the tune. Weavingdifferent styles across the board, anotherhighlight is Rich Armstrong’s trumpet giv-ing “Down To My Last Heartache” somenice jazz touches as the entire disc is richin brass.

It might not beat down any new doors,but Transfusion will be a nice surprise forfans of the band’s earlier work. Peanuts

ERNIE HAWKINSRags & BonesSAY MO’ MUSIC

The masterful fingerpicking guitarist,Ernie Hawkins’ new CD is delightful. Thetalented disciple of the legendary Rev,Gary Davis opens with a superb rendition(played on a twelve-string guitar) of Davis’Make Believe Stunt, a tune Davis derivedfrom a lick of Scott Joplin’s Maple LeafRag.

There are enjoyable covers here in-cluding Mississippi John Hurt’s AvalonBlues, country music pioneer, JimmieRodgers’ TB Blues, Henry Thomas’ TexasEasy Street, and Mance Lipscomb’s G Rag,with Hawkins delivering relaxed, easy go-ing vocals to go with his deft fretwork. Mostinteresting are guitar adaptations of threeclassics of twenties jazz, Louis Armstrong’sPotato Head Blues and Cornet Chop Suey,along with Singin’ the Blues, which isadapted from the legendary FrankieTrumbauer/Bix Beiderbecke recordingand a George Gershwin piano roll.

One problem with adapting thesesongs to a solo approach is that the beautyof the originals often comes from the groupinterplay, especially notable on PotatoHead Blues. The rendition of Cornet ChopSuey comes off more successfully, butthere is no faulting Hawkins’ marvelousplaying. Maria Muldaur guests with a won-derful vocal on Rev. Davis’ I Am the Lightof This World, and the album closes withHawkins handling an African tuneMassanga.

Its a delight listening to the music hearand how wonderfully the guitar soundshere. For further information checkwww.erniehawkins.com or better mail or-der stores. Ron Weinstock

Read The Reviewwww.jazz-blues.com

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LIVE BLUES ON

THE HIGH SEAS

Comet.” Haydon and Pizzarelli interactionsand improvisations on AmericanSongbook standards such as “Old Folks,”“It’s A Wonderful World,” “Look For TheSilver Lining,” and other tunes make thisone of the recent best guitar albums.

Haydon is not as well known as heshould be. He’s been a professional musi-cian and educator for more than 25 yearsand is Professor of Music at Southern Illi-nois University—Edwardsville. Pizzarelli,son of jazz-guitar legend Bucky Pizzarellibegan his solo career in 1982 and hasaccrued numerous recordings as leader.

This is one of those pleasant, anti-frantic albums that will make you want tokick off your shoes, settle back in youreasy chair and absorb the swinging mu-sic. Nancy Ann Lee

May/June 2006 • Issue 282 PAGE ELEVEN

DEREK TRUCKS BANDSonglines

COLUMBIA/LEGACYUsually by March or April a contender

for best album of the year shows itself andwe’ve not been denied in ’06. GuitaristTrucks is possessed of one of the sweet-est, richest tones in slide guitar history andhas placed it, as well as his conventionalstyle, in the service of one of the freshestfusions of roots music ever laid down.Furthermore, Trucks has surrounded him-self with a most distinctive group sound,sharing the front line with flute and key-boards, that draws in jaded ears and iswelcomed by established fans.

And both those fans and newbiesshould be duly impressed with Trucks &Co’s. continued inventive cross-breedingof jazz, blues, soul and Eastern forms.Whether referencing Rahsaan Roland Kirk(“Volunteered Slavery”) or Nina Simone(“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel ToFree”); taking on vintage Memphis r&b ornavigating trance-like modal scapes, thisline-up consistently cooks up strong andengaging grooves. Keyboardist/flautistKofi Burbridge inserts his woodwind spar-ingly and strategically, much like the lateTraffic reedman Chris Wood did, vocalist

ERIC LINDELLChange in the Weather

ALLIGATORGuitarist Eric Lindell hails from north-

ern California but has made New Orleanshis home since 1999. One listen to hisdebut on Alligator reveals that he has as-similated the rich potpourri of musicalstyles that can be heard on any given nightin the crescent city. This isn’t the Cajun orZydeco recycled for the tourists on Bour-bon Street.

Instead, it’s the polyrhythmic funk,jazz, blues and soul laid out by adventur-ous artists like Anders Osborne or JoeKrown, cutting edge bands like Galacticor Papa Grows Funk or even long runninginstitutions like the Neville Brothers. Whenit comes from New Orleans there’s not justa simple groove to drive a song, there’sseveral grooves all working at the sametime. The 14 self penned cuts feature in-clude funky guitar work outs, “Casanova,”upbeat pop about the need for repeated

Mike Mattison is a suitably soulful frontmanand Trucks’ standout slide sound, a sub-lime mix of liquidity and bite, headlinesone of this year’s very best offerings todate. Worth the money! Duane Verh

sessions of the “horizontal bop”, “Feel LikeI Do,” soulful ballads, “All Alone” and “SeeMe Through,” classic R &B, “Let Me Know,”Latin tinged reflections on the redemptivepower of the sun, “Sunny Daze,” a BlackCrowes style rocker, “Uncle John” and evenjazz tinged Reggae, “It Won’t Be Long.”

With Lindell’s rhythmic guitar chopsaugmented throughout by punchy hornriffs and cuts sounding one moment likea long lost Delaney and Bonnie tune andthe next like War or Stevie Wonder, there’slittle here that fits very neatly into the blues.That’s not all bad. As tours through musi-cal styles go, this one is top notch. Mark Smith

HERBIE HANCOCKThe Essential Herbie Hancock

COLUMBIA/LEGACYPianist Herbie Hancock, certainly one

of the “household names” in jazz, is wellrepresented in this recent two-CD set fromColumbia Legacy.

His early years with Blue Note arecovered on 3 of the first 4 tracks - allHancock classics, “Watermelon Man,”“Cantaloupe Island” and “Maiden Voyage.”A version of “‘Round Midnight” from a ’64Sonny Rollins RCA recording is also in

May/June 2006 • Issue 282PAGE TWELVE

there, as they try, for the moment, to stayin chronological order. Then there is onetune with Miles’ quintet, “Circle” followedby a later Hancock Blue Note cut from’68 – “The Sorcerer.”

Hancock then moved to Warner Bros.and we get one track from Fat Albert Ro-tunda, but none from Mwandishi or Cross-ings. The Mwandishi band, however, isrepresented on “Hidden Shadows” fromtheir Sextant album, now on Columbia.The remaining songs on Disc One are“Chameleon” from the Headhunters al-bum and “Joanna’s Theme” from theDeath Wish movie soundtrack.

Disc Two opens with “Butterfly” fromthe Headhunters band’s Thrust album,followed by two tracks from 1980’s Mr.Hands, featuring a band that included JacoPasorius. In between there is a trio versionof “Milestones” with Ron Carter and TonyWilliams recorded in 1977. How’d it get inthat spot?

Then we get one song from his com-mercial period from ’78 before a wonder-ful track from a Sony-Japan V.S.O.P stu-dio album (with Hubbard, Shorter, Carterand Williams) titled “Finger Painting.”Closing out the proceedings are two morecuts from his commercial funk albumsfrom ’80 and ’83, “St. Louis Blues” withStevie Wonder from the CD Gershwin’sWorld on Verve (2000), and a solo pianoversion of Hancock’s original “Manhattan”from his 2005 Verve disc The New Stan-dard.

Though many could probably do with-

out the few commercial tracks with vo-cals and the like, the vast majority of themusic here is first rate stuff with many ofhis most important songs. Thus, the setserves very well as a Hancock retrospec-tive. Bill Wahl

PAUL SAMUELSSpeak

DOC CITY MUSICFor his debut CD, drummer Paul

Samuel tags saxophonist Greg Osby, or-ganist Dan Wall and, on two tracks, per-cussionist Jamey Haddad for an edgyeight-tune session.

Raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio,Samuels, the son of a Cleveland Orches-tra violinist, began his professional careerat age 14 playing around the Clevelandarea. He recorded in the mid-1980s withOsby and has since recorded, performedand toured internationally with a varietyof musicians.

This is a New York-sounding debutthat relies on the gifts of Wall and Osby asmuch as Samuels’ illustrious timekeeping.Included are tunes by Thelonious Monk,John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, OrnetteColeman. The musicians innovativelystretch out to the inner edge on most tunesbut, if you’re looking for warmth or swing,only their take on Monk’s “Ruby, My Dear”comes close.

What makes this album enjoyable arethe interactions between Samuels andWall, especially on Shorter’s “ESP.” Nancy Ann Lee

ANGEL RISSOFFWhere Have You Been?

ANGEL MUSICIf you have a jones for fifties Rock &

Roll, Doo-wop, beach music (think theDrifters or Coasters) and R & B this is therelease for you.

With a voice that combines the soulof Al Green and the punch of JamesBrown, Angel nimbly works his waythrough Huey Piano Smith’s classic, WhereYou At?, Don Covay’s It’s Better to Haveand Don’t Need and a number of origi-nals. Fronting an assortment of guitarists,horn players and keyboardists Angel willmake you think you fell asleep and trav-eled back through time to the not so longago era where these styles dominated theair waves. I dare any fan of early rock tosit still through the horn drenched OhRockin’ Daddy. Pretty fun stuff. TryCDBaby.com for this. Mark Smith

JW JONES BLUES BANDKissing in 29 Days

NORTHERN BLUESOn this, his fourth disc, Canadian

bluesman JW Jones surrounds his bandwith a wailing horn section that adds a per-fect compliment to his West Coast Styleguitar and nimble vocals. With a sound thatevokes memories of Roomful of Blues circa“Hot Little Mama” Jones plays blues de-void of any rock references. Instead, lis-teners are treated to the big band era bluesmore closely associated with Kansas Cityand the West Coast. Thankfully, this isn’tjust a run through oft covered jump bluesand swing covers. Jones penned 11 out ofthe 14 cuts with uniformly engaging results.

The title cut gets things off to a wail-ing start that will have you checking theliner notes to make sure you haven’tstumbled across a long lost classic. Speak-ing of classics, Tenor Sax man David“Fathead” Newman guests on three cutsthat simply smoke including Ray Charles’“Hallelujah I Love Her So.” Jimmy Reedalso gets a nod on “Got Me Chasin’” whichfeatures low key harmonica and a lopingbeat that serves as a nice counterpoint tothe harder swing groove of much of the restof the material. Blues guitar fans need not

be put off by the horn laden material: virtu-ally every track features a sizzling guitarbreak that perfectly complements the ma-terial. The jam found as a hidden track atthe end of the disc is particularly tasty. Amust have for any fan of the glorious inter-section between jazz & blues.

Mark Smith

May/June 2006 • Issue 282 PAGE THIRTEEN

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DEBBIE GIFFORDSo Many Songs About Love

SELF-PRODUCEDCleveland-based vocalist Debbie Gifford sings 12 love songs

backed by pianist Linda Presgrave (piano), Harvie S (bass),Allison Miller (drums), Bob Fraser (guitar) and, on four tracks,drummer Ricky Exton.

Gifford has a seductive voice, is an imaginative improviserand puts a lot of feeling into each tune. She knows how to pickthe right tunes and musicians for the task. Highlights abound. Apowerful storyteller, she’s selected an array of favorites. Shenicely remakes standards and lesser-known songs such as VanMorrison’s Moondance,” the blues-edged Mabel Wayne tune,“Sway,” the ballad duet of Victor Young’s “When I Fall In Love”and the Gershwin classic, “I’ve Got A Crush On You,” all splen-didly accompanied by Clevelander Fraser (whose playing en-hances the success of this project). Gifford makes the gorgeousHarold Arlen ballad “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” into a pas-sion-filled gem, aided by Harvie’s arco-bass melody head.

This promising debut album should further Debbie Gifford’ssinging career. Nancy Ann Lee

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JOVINO SANTOS NETORODA CARIOCA (RIO CIRCLE)

ADVENTURE MUSICBrazilian composer-pianist Jovino Santos Neto makes his

label debut leading a lively trio set on piano, melodica, flutes,and accordion, with musicians from his hometown Rio deJaneiro—Rogerio Botter Maio (bass) and Marcio Bahia (drums).The album is enhanced with brief guest appearances from FabioPascoal (percussion), Gabriel Grossi (harmonica), HermetoPascoa (melodica), Joyce (vocals), and Marcos Amorim (acous-tic guitar).

Playing mostly originals by the leader, the tight-knit coretrio keeps the music authentic, and it’s their shimmering perfor-mances without the guests that are most enjoyable. The 11-tune set launches with three of Neto’s appealing compositions,of which the most intriguing (though brief at 4:13) is the bubbly“Marfim (Ivory).” Equally enjoyable, his perky “Coco Na Roda(Coco In the Circle)” conveys a carnival/party mood and hisminimalist samba “Homeopatia (Homeopathy)” has healingpowers.

Though he’s lived in the US for years, Neto’s tunes aresteeped in the Brazilian tradition. It’s a treat to hear such en-chanting original tunes and this trio blends Brazilian music withjazz without sacrificing the integrity of either. Nancy Ann Lee

Web ExclusivesCheck our website monthly for special stories, announcementsand some web-only issues in between our pulp issues. And,our downloadable e-version of each pulp issues has expandedreview sections, including book reviews.

KENNY NEALA Tribute to Slim Harpo & Raful Neal

TRUE LIGHT ENTERTAINMENTOne of the most versatile as well as skilled blues artists

working today, Kenny Neal has just issued this new disc thatgoes to the roots of his music, A Tribute to Slim Harpo &Raful Neal . Originally this was a Slim Harpo tribute that heand his father, the late Raful Neal, recruited James Johnsonand Rudolph Richard from Slim Harpo’s original band to par-ticipate in. Ten Slim Harpo songs were recorded when Kennywent on tour, and in the interim Raful was diagnosed withbone cancer, so Kenny was among those looking after hisdad who passed away September 1, 2004. Going back to thetapes, he listened to them and decided to release what wasinitially a tribute to Slim Harpo as a tribute also to his dad.

He shares the vocals with his father, with the exception ofWhat a Dream on which James Johnson sings while the bandcaptures the understated, laconic grooves that made Harpo’soriginals so classic. Raful opens the set with a nice vocal andsome harp on Rainin’ in My Heart, while Kenny and Rafulswap harp riffs on Swamp Boogie.

Raful comes across very appealingly on King Bee ScratchMy Back and Got Love If You Want It. The two share the vo-cals on Late Last Nite with Kenny taking the vocal prior to theharp break, which is followed by Raful singing and closingthe song with his nicely played harp, and Te-Ni-Ne-Ni-Nu whereRaful takes the lead with Kenny joining in on the chorus.

Its nice to hear this played in such a nice relaxed manner,lacking the frenzy or overstatement that mars some rock in-

May/June 2006 • Issue 282PAGE FOURTEEN

LEGENDS OF JAZZ W/ RAMSEY LEWISShowcase

LRS MEDIA DVD/CD SETThis brand new set, mentioned in our cover story, contains

a CD and a DVD with some highlights of the Legends of Jazzseries on American Public Television. It will serve well to givefans an overview of the diverse programs featured.

Opening with Al Jarreau and Kurt Elling together singingPaul Desmond’s classic “Take Five,” it continues with trumpeterChris Botti, well known in the smooth jazz vein, on a stirringacoustic quartet version of “My Funny Valentine.” Some of theother highlights are alto saxophonists Phil Woods and DavidSanborn plus section with an outstanding take on on HoraceSilver’s “Senor Blues,” Chick Corea solo piano on his own“Armando’s Rhumba,” Robert Cray & Keb’ Mo’ with band forthe blues segment, Benny Golson plus the section playing hisown “Killer Joe,” Clark Terry with the section on his original“Mumbles,” dual pianos with Billy Taylor & Dave Brubeck play-ing “Take The A Train” accompanied by bass and drums, an-other vocal duet with Jane Monheit & John Pizzarelli, backed byPizzarelli’s guitar, plus piano/bass/drums and a second guitar,and Ramsey Lewis with a solo piano version of Coltrane’s “DearLord.”

Also seen and heard are are Lee Ritenour with Marcus Miller& George Duke on Miller’s “The Panther,” Brazilian vocalist/pia-nist Ivan Lins with his original “The Island,” and flautist Dave

CHICAGO BLUES REUNIONBuried Alive In The BluesOUT OF THE BOX DVD/CD

Simultaneously, while Dylan was electrifying folk musicand The Dead and the Airplane were trippin‚ out San Franciscoway, a pack of young white musicians from around Chicagowere unknowingly starting a revolution of their own. Braving therough and ready ghetto bars of the city’s South and West Sides,they came to learn the blues from masters still in their prime.

As solid as the set played by keyboardist Barry Goldberg,lead guitarist Harvey Mandel, harmonica ace Corky Siegel andvocalists Nick Gravenites, Tracy Nelson and Sam Lay is on theCD half of this package (and solid it is), the DVD interviews withthese same folks plus B.B. King and Buddy Guy are even agreater draw.

The reminiscing is mixed with vintage footage of these catsplus the likes of Muddy Waters, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfieldand others working hard onstage and cutting up offstage. Thefilm captures this very special time in the history of modernblues in a rich, warm and informative manner.

The white blues bands that proliferated in the ’70s and be-yond owe much to this crew who showed that it could be donefor real. Few releases rate the tag of “must have” like this one.

Duane Verh

MICKE BJORKLOF & BLUE STRIPThree Times Seven Is ...

BLUELIGHT (FINLAND)Speaking to the same point made in the Aresen Shomakhov

review elsewhere in this issue, this eclectic five-piece from Fin-land wields enthusiasm as a key ingredient. Blue Strip delivers ablues-pop hybrid which at times flirts with acoustic countrysounds, other times puts a sophisticated spin on what’s called“swing” these days and uses blues elements in a decidedly non-native way.

Contributing in a big way to this “foreign” take are the lyrics.The bayou heroine of “Lowland Girl” sounds like the farawayfantasy she no doubt is for a Finn. The kinky lady cop of “MissBluecap” has a definite Euro air about her. The music is stylisti-cally varied, centered on guitarist Ville Leppanen who comes offas the heavyweight of the band. Purists may chafe but Blue Stripcould grow on others. You can check it out at www.bluestrip.net.

Duane Verh

Globe TrottingARSEN SHOMAKHOV & RAGTIME

TroublemakerAZOD/BLUES.RU

When Non-Americans take on American roots music, whatthey miss in nuance they frequently make up for in enthusiasm(think of those Europeans that take up traditional New Orleansjazz). So, when guitarist/vocalist Shomakov shoots “TOM-stone”bullets during a run-through of Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready”, hispassion for the blues inclines one to cut the Russian some slack.

Actually Shomakov and his tight, spunky rhythm sectionneed very little handicapping at all on this set. Aside from a fewcovers, the disc showcases Shomakov’s penchant for fresh origi-nal takes on the blues form. If his lyrics aren’t of “blow-you-away” caliber, they are at least unobstructive to his energizedinstrumental work. This would be a neat little outfit to catch insome intimate venue and perhaps they can figure out how toland some Stateside gigs sometime. More info is available at:arsenic.blues.ru. Duane Verh

Jazz & Blues on DVD

Valentin covering Pedro Flores’ “Obsession.” Some of the tracks– those noted as with with “the section” – use the same rhythmsection, consisting of Willie Pickens/piano, Larry Gray/bass andLeon Joyce Jr./drums. Others have members of the artists ownbands on hand.

The enclosed color booklet devotes a page to each trackwith color pictures, personnel listings and a paragraph on theartist(s). This is not only a sampler of the TV series, but also ofthe three other CD/DVD sets coming out soon. Each apparentlycontains music and video from four of the programs on each ofthe CDs, and also on the DVDs, which offer Dolby Digital 5.1Surround Sound. It is a bit unclear as to how much will be in-cluded from each program, but we should know more whenthey are released beginning in June and continuing throughAugust.

As for this sampler set, the only programs not representedare “The Great Guitars” with Pat Metheny & Jim Hall and “TheKiller Bs” with Joey DeFrancesco & Dr. Lonnie Smith.

Very exquisite stuff on both audio and video formats. Thevideo on this was shot in HD and recorded in Dolby 5.1. We lookforward to the forthcoming sets. Bill Wahl

Editor’s Note...Buffalo readers of the Raven era will enjoy seeing andhearing drummer Gary Mallaber on the Chicago Blues Reunion set.

terpretations of this material. Kenny Neal and his late dadhave put together a small gem of a disc, and if playing time isa little short, there are no frills or filler here. Highly recom-mended. Ron Weinstock

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May/June 2006 • Issue 282

BABE STOVALLThe Old Ace

ARCOLA RECORDSBorn in Tylertown, Mississippi in

1907, Jewell ‘Babe’ Stovall learnedmusic from his brothers and other mu-sicians near home, and includedsongs from the church as well asstring band traditions.

Around 1930, the legendaryTommy Johnson came aroundTylertown where he got the basis ofBig Road Blues. Eventually he movedto New Orleans where he sang on thestreets and, based on Marc Ryan’surging, was booked in Boston andCambridge in 1965 where he andRyan stayed with David Evans inEvans’ Harvard dorm room.

Evans contributed the liner notesto this album, and notes that his rep-ertoire is that of a songster.

Included are some familiar bluesand gospel numbers including CandyMan†and†Baby Let Me Follow YouDown, The Ship is At the Landing,and Will the Circle Be Unbroken.There are renditions of Sonny BoyWilliamson’s Good Morning LittleSchool Girl, Jim Jackson’s KansasCity Blues and Leroy Carr’s How LongHow Long Blues.

Included are some interviewswhere he talks about family and play-ing in new Orleans and a medley ofTommy Johnson’s Big Road Blueswith Careless Love, in whichJohnson’s influence can be heard andfelt.

Bob West produced these record-ings in New Orleans in 1968 andStovall strongly played his Nationalguitar and sang with verve althoughhe was a bit hoarse for a latter ses-sion issued here. Stovall was not ex-actly overecorded. Larry Borensteinrecorded him in 1961, which was is-sued on Flyright on vinyl, and I do notbelieve it has become available onCD. He also recorded for PrestigeBluesville if I remember correctly.These are frankly as good of record-ings as I heard him play, and the ac-companying booklet has Evans’ notesand some great pictures, includingone of him playing with the guitar overhis head.

This is a most enjoyable set ofdownhome acoustic blues, the likesof which you do not hear anymore.

Ron Weinstock

PETER APFELBAUM& THE NEW YORKHIEROGLYPHICS

It Is WrittenACT RECORDS

Bandleader, composer, musicianPeter Apfelbaum (b. 1960) firstgained notice in the USA during the1990s with his 15-member Hiero-glyphics Ensemble, then based in theSan Francisco Bay area. Drawingupon various musical genres, hisworks appealed to the multi-culturaljazz crowd. At age 19, he moved toNew York City, where some name jazzmusicians joined his band, which re-corded for the Antilles label. Al-though he worked with smallergroups after the Hieroglyphics En-semble was dropped by the label, hecontinued to keep the band going.

His newest release with this NewYork ensemble was recorded at LohoStudios during September 22-24,2004 and features nine of his eclec-tic original compositions.

Twenty-five musicians performwith Apfelbaum in ensembles rang-ing from 10 to 15 musicians. Tunesare tinged with blues, Afro-Cubanrhythms, funk or other musicalgenres. Apfelbaum himself plays pi-ano, tenor sax, flute or percussion,but it’s Apfelbaum’s compositions,his engaging melodies, great horn-section work, punchy rhythms andtalented instrumental soloists thatmake this disc such a thrilling listen-ing experience. Nancy Ann Lee

ROY BROWNGood Rocking Brown

ACE RECORDS (UK)The late Roy Brown was one of

the legends of rhythm and blues wholeft an impressive body of blues thatforeshadowed modern soul and urbanblues with his high-end blues cryingand shouting style.

English Ace Records has inaugu-rated the initial release in its The King& Deluxe Acetates Series with GoodRocking’ Brown, which provides atleast one version of every survivingacetate that Brown recorded for De-luxe No. 1 1947. 17 of the perfor-mances are previously unissued andinclude unused tracks and alternatetakes. In fact the CD opens with analternate take to Browns celebrated

Good Rocking’ Tonight, along withunused or alternates of such cel-ebrated tracks as Mighty MightyMan, Deep Sea Diver, Miss FannyBrown, Special Lesson No. 1 and‘Long About Midnight. He wasbacked by some terrific jump bluesbands.

Copiously annotated (althoughone wished Ace would includediscographical details) and with verygood sound, this terrific disc will beof great interest to those who are fansof jump blues and this great bluespioneer. Ron Weinstock

TOOTS THIELEMANSOne More For The Road

VERVEBelgian jazz harmonica virtuoso

Toots Thielemans has another mar-velous new CD, which is set for re-lease May 9 on Verve Records.

This time around Toots has de-cided to pay a most honorable trib-ute to Harold Arlen, as he presentstwelve tunes from the Arlensongbook – all presented in the typi-cal exquisite Thielemans fashion.Produced by Ruud Jacobs with lushorchestral arrangements by JurreHaanstra, this set recorded inHilversum, Holland and Brussels,Belgium features several guest art-ists – mostly female singers – mostof which are not really that wellknown, but who all do a magnificentjob in their respective spots duringthe proceedings. And, they comefrom a variety of different countries,as well as musical genres.

The set kicks off with anotherVerve artist, Lizz Wright – whose re-cent CD is still one of my favorites –singing “Come Rain Or Come Shine.”Another Georgia-born singer,Madeleine Peroux, follows with “Be-tween The Devil And The Deep BlueSea,” after which Norwegian singerSilje Nergaard offers her styling to“Last Night When We Were Young.”

The only male singer on hand isJamie Culllum, hailed as a BritishBoy Wonder, who settles down herefor a ballad on “One For My Baby(and one more for the road).” Theother guests are Dutch singer TrijntjeOosterhuis, LA- born Beth Hart, whowas described by one critic as a mixof Janis Joplin and Patsy Cline,Dutch ballad diva Laura Fygi, Ger-

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May/June 2006 • Issue 282

man trumpeter Till Bronner andAmerican pop/soul singer OletaAdams. There are definitely severalfeatured on this disc I’d like to hearsome more from after hearing theircontr ibut ions. Obviously Tootspicked them all for a good reason.

Two of the songs, “Ill Wind” andbonus track “Over The Rainbow” fea-ture Thielemans in quartet or octetinstrumental outings...sans guest. Allthe backing musicians throughout,except for pianist Kenny Werner, areEuropean names that will probablynot ring a bell, but they all do a finejob indeed. Toots, now in his eight-ies, is in top form – pretty much asalways.

Grab a bottle of the best wine youcan find, and settle yourself down forsome music that, in a nutshell, is sim-ply downright gorgeous. I f thatsounds at all intriguing, grab a copyof this one. You may find yourselfwanting to check out more fromsome of these singers as well.

Bill Wahl

One O’Clock Jump:The Unforgettable History ofthe Oklahoma Blue DevilsBY DOUGLAS HENRY DANIELS

BEACON PRESS

Legendary is an oft-used word,but appropriate when discussing theBlue Devils, a territory band thattoured for a decade before disband-ing. They made one solitary record-ing, and members of the Blue Devilsbecame core members of BennyMoten’s Big Band, and later CountBasie, and also exerted their influ-ence in other ways.

Douglas Henry Daniels, author ofthe Lester Young bio, Lester LeapsIn, has put together the story of thiscelebrated band in One O’ClockJump (Beacon Press). In the courseof draft ing his book on Young,Daniels became aware of how much

pride Young took in having been a‘Blue Devil,” which was common withthe many celebrated and less-knownindividuals who were members of thisband at different times, includingBuster Smith, Jimmy Rushing, EddieDurham and Oral ‘Hot Lips’ Page.

Reviewing prior histories of theterritory bands, including those fo-cusing on Kansas City, and makinguse of archives of interviews in addi-tion to interviewing surviving BlueDevils, as well as going throughnewspaper files and other sources,Daniels provides many details of theBlue Devils history including theirlinks to various social organizationsin Oklahoma City. One purpose ofthis volume is to stress this linkageof a band that often is wrongly linkedto Kansas City. The Blue Devils wasa commonwealth band, which meantthat they shared equally in the bandproceeds. Managers were band mem-bers, and they were skilled and mu-sically educated, sometimes teach-ing new members some of these les-sons.

In addition to going through thevarious lineups, and the ups anddowns of the group, separate chap-ters are devoted to examining pivotalmembers Henry “Buster” Smith whowould later mentor Charlie Parker;Mr. Five By Five, James A. Rushingwho made so many great recordingswith Bennie Moten and Count Basie;Eddie Durham, trombonist, pioneerelectric guitarist and arranger whoplayed a great part in the early CountBasie Band and later worked with anAll Women Jazz Big band; and Oran“Hot Lips” Page, the fiery trumpeterand great soloist who later wouldmake a terrific body of recordings asa leader straddling the world of swingjazz and jump blues. The legacy ofthe band, after its demise, continuedin the groups of Bennie Moten, andafter Moten’s death, Count Basie –and such classics of the Basie reper-toire as One O’Clock Jump, were ofthe product of the Blue Devils in theBasie band at the time, particularlyDurham and Buster Smith.

A f inal chapter looks at thelegacy of the members in their lateryears. This is a very valuable addi-tion to the jazz literature that servesto counterbalance some myths someof us hold with respect to this era.

Ron Weinstock

VARIOUS ARTISTSChicago Blues

Harmonica ProjectSEVERN RECORDS

Severn has issued this collectionof lesser known blues harp playersfrom Chicago called the ChicagoBlues Harmonica Project with the in-tent of showing that down home clas-sic style Chicago blues harp can stillbe heard today. Of the six harp play-ers, Dusty Brown, Omar Coleman,Russ Green, Larry Cox, HarmonicaKhan #1 and Little Addison†– onlyBrown and Cox had been recordedpreviously. Brown in fact recorded aclassic He Don’t Love You for the Par-rot label 50 years ago which he re-prised here, while Cox with Phil Guyon an LP. The six mostly show tradi-tional blues roots, including the in-fluences of Little Walter, Big Walterand the two Sonny Boy Williamsons,although Russ Green was influencedby the innovative modern blues harpwiz Sugar Blue.

The backing band of guitaristsRick Kreher & Little Frank, pianistMark Brumbach, bassist PatMcKeever and drummer Twist Turnerprovide the solid backing that allowsthe performers to shine without draw-ing attention to themselves. Nothing

fancy or original as they are gener-ally blues traditionalists. Dusty Browndoes a solid take at Little Walter’s IGot to Go along with his own num-ber, while Larry Cox handles Walter’sMean Old World, although playing inthe style of Sonny Boy Williamson II.Harmonica Khan had recently re-turned to the blues scene when herecorded Jimmy Reed’s Baby WhatYou Want Me to Do and JuniorParker’s Next Time You See Mebacked solely by his harp and bonesplaying, whooping and hollering onthese very enjoyable performances.Unfortunately he passed away shortlythereafter.

Little Addison updates Look onYonder’s Wall with a pleading vocaland some chromatic harp while OmarColeman takes a more modern bluestheme on Jody’s Got You Gal andGone as well as doing a nice take onLittle Walter’s Everything’s Gonna BeAlright with a strong, soulful vocaland some real fine playing, and LarryCox handles Jimmy Reed’s Going toNew York. This is a very nicely puttogether CD that displays some realenjoyable blues artists that may notbe major names, but certainly bringplenty of heart to their recordings.

Ron Weinstock

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