Allman Brothers Band
Live At American University 12/13/70
Sanctuary Records CMQCD1186
www.sanctuaryrecords.co.uk

Titles:
1. Statesboro Blues [4:34] 2. Trouble No More [3:49] 3. Don't Keep Me Wonderin' [3:46] 4. Leave My Blues at Home [6:45] 5. Stormy Monday [5:03] 6. You Don't Love Me [15:48] 7. Whipping Post [20:40]

When this music was recorded in Washington DC just before Christmas 1970, the Allman Brothers from Georgia were one of the biggest groups on the American rock scene. Nowadays, thanks to Martin Scorsese’s efforts, the band is often included in the Blues category, and this set demonstrates just why that is. Made with the classic line-up - the unfortunately short-lived Duane Allman on lead and slide guitar (a role he had also filled for the likes of Aretha Franklin, King Curtis and Wilson Pickett at Fame Studios), Gregg Allman on vocals and Hammond B-3, Dickie Betts on lead guitar, Berry Oakley on bass, Jaimoe on drums and Butch Trucks on drums and timpani - the seven tracks include ‘Statesboro Blues’ (which draws from Taj Mahal’s version with Ry Cooder), ‘Trouble No More’ (aka ‘Worried Life Blues’), ‘Stormy Monday’ and Willie Cobbs’ well-known hit ‘You Don’t Love Me’ - the latter 15 minutes long, though the closing ‘Whippin’ Post’ exceeds that by a further five minutes!

Of course, that leaves plenty of space for guitar improvisations, sparring, and interplay, drawing in elements as diverse as psychedelia, soul music, jazz, country and classical (and even a snatch of the Christmas carol ‘Joy To The World’ to mark the festive season) as was the fashion of the time - and still is in some quarters. The actual significance of that is that just as Eric Clapton, Peter Green and others were setting the ground rules for blues-rock on this side of the Atlantic, the Allman Brothers were contemporaneously drawing up a similar template on their side of the Ocean and their influence continues to reverberate on the modern blues scene.

Needless to say this is not a release for the purists. However, this is an important document for those who want to learn just how the blues-rock scene became what it is today, as well as a real treat for Allman Brothers fans.
Norman Darwen

Artist: Frank Ace
Title:  Cry u out of my Heart
Label: Chueffa
 
Frank currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona but spent part of his early childhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it was here that he learnt first, to play Country and Western music from the rodeo cowboys that frequented his step-fathers saddle shop. From this experience he further expanded his knowledge and repertoire when living with his grandparents; for it was here that gained his love and understanding of the blues from his grandmother, who explained to him that  the  blues  is a feeling  not a musical category!   

At the age of seventeen, frank; formed a five piece band which played under the name of the “Continental”. After being spotted by Roy Agee in a Los Angeles venue and subsequently being invited to play with him, Frank and the band toured with Roy for a year. Frank and his band then returned to Phoenix, a thoroughly professional combo. The band recorded their first two singles; “Kirk” and “Lady Margaret” on the Hydra label in 1964, since then Frank and the band have toured  the  U.S. blues club circuit  and the far east extensively.

For this album frank has taken the solo route, his main stated influences of Freddy King, Kenny Burrell and Chet Atkins are all to be found in the relaxed atmosphere of the music played here; from the late, late Saturday night cool sax, (provided by Chris Baker for the title track) to the humid, and sticky sound of the south rubbing shoulders with the starched lounge lizard land feel of the eighties.

The smooth feel of the album has a production that is very reminiscent of the great Malaco label of the eighties,
Throughout the album a hauntingly slow burning synthesizer bubbles away in the background providing a counterpoint to Franks’ powerful quiveringly resonant   guitar playing. Whilst franks’ strident almost twenty first century field holler vocals pleasantly dominate the whole performance.
A fine first solo effort, definitely worth a listen!
For more information go to; http://www.frankace.com
Brian Harman

THE ROCKY ATHAS GROUP Featuring Larry Samford
Voodoo Moon
Armadillo ARMD 00022
www.bluearmadillo.com
1. Road Fever, 2. Muddy Water Blues, 3. Last Of The Blues, 4. Tearin' Me Up, 5. Back On The Road, 6. Voodoo Moon, 7. Sleep, 8. Nobody , 9. I'm In Love Again, 10. Ain't No Doubt, 11. Preacher , 12. Stop, Drop And Roll

From the churning opener ‘Road Fever’ to the burning closer ‘Stop, Drop And Roll’ this is high-energy blues all the way from the one-time guitarist for southern rockers Black Oak Arkansas - even the quieter numbers have a rich, full, BIG sound, courtesy of the production by the renowned Jim Gaines (Stevie Ray Vaughn, Luther Allison, and a whole host of others). Vocalist Larry Samford is as tough or tender as each song requires, the rhythm section kicks, laying down attractive, relentlessly grooving rhythms and Rocky can come over all over Albert King on a song such as ‘Last Of  The Blues’, produce some suitably spooky playing on the title track or just blast away on the likes of ‘Ain’t No Doubt’.

Most definitely one for those moments when you want to throw your head back, holler out loud and just groove along to some good timin’, hard rockin’ blues. Norman Darwen

Artist: Dorris Henderson & the Robert Hokum Blues Band
Title: Blues on the Loose at the Moose
Label: Hokumcd006

Sadly, on the 3rd, of March, 2005 Dorris Henderson passed away at the age of 72. So, this CD has now become a posthumous release; quite possibly Dorris’s last live recording.

On June the 5th 2004   Robert Hokum and his band were to play the Basingstoke Blues Club, at the Moose Hall.  Dorris, a longtime friend of the band, had on this occasion accepted an invitation to perform a short set of her favourite blues songs.

Although primarily a traditional folksinger, Dorris worked with John Renbourn early in her career, she also sang the [at the time] less than conventional compositions of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, she also appeared as part of  the folk rock band Eclection , at the  Isle of Wight Festival in 1969 sharing the bill  with among others Bob Dylan

Dorris performed in various Jazz clubs around the world and as time moved on her repetoire included the odd blues number.

Presented here with introductions of personal thoughts and meanings to each of the songs, Dorris delivers passionate renderings of five timeless songs in her own inimitable style. The first is; Careless Love, followed by Rocks in My Bed, Thirty Days in Jail, Vicksburg Blues and finally  Wayfaring   Stranger. Dorris is  more than ably  backed by;  Robert  Hokum;  guitar, Tim Penn; keyboards,  Graham Wright; bass,  Tim  Strange; drums and Nigel Appleton; percussion.  

I found this performance to be very moving, and once again gave me an appreciation of experience and maturity
This album is not only worthwhile but also a piece of musical history.
Dorris will be sadly missed.
For further information go to www.guvnors.com . Brian Harman

Artist: The Robert Hokum Blues Band
Title:   The Robert Hokum Blues Band
Label: The Robert Hokum Blues Band
http://www.guvnors.com/home.htm

Although this album is just over thirty minutes long, it packs the punch of a short, sharp lightning strike. Wonderfully free from clichés and dirge laden fake Americanisms. For me the R’n’B the band produces has a very English slant.

Only two of the numbers are originals; ‘Spankin’ the Boogie’ and ‘Hooked,’ the rest of the numbers are standards such as; ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin,’ ‘This is Hip ’and‘ Everybody Got to Change’

The band are; Robert Hokum; guitars/vocals, Graham Wright; bass/vocals, Tim Strange; drums and Tim Penn; pianoforte.
The refreshingly sparkling, clear production on this album enables the band to show their undoubted skills and love for the music they play.
Uncluttered, confident, vigorously played R’n’B throughout.
For more information go to www.guvnors.com or email info@guvnors.com. B.Harman

MEMPHIS GOLD
THE PRODIGAL SON
http://www.memphisgoldprod.net

1. Come Wit Me, 2. Don`t Let Her Ride,3. Crabcakes,4. Big Leg woman,5. Prodigal Son, 6. Chicken It,7. 3` S Tonic,8. Preacher Blues,9. Test Drive That Woman,10. Serves Me Right,11. Melt Down Baby, 12. Bedroom Mumba

I like to think of local guitarist Memphis Gold (real name, Chester Chandler) as the stealth bluesman. He’ll blow into town without much fanfare, totally mesmerize the audience with his sophisticated blues licks, and then suddenly vanish for months at a time, leaving his new-found fans still wondering just who was this masked man. In fact, Chester probably enjoys more name recognition throughout the world than in his own back yard of the mid-Atlantic region, having traveled extensively as ambassador of goodwill for the Department of Defense to far-flung outposts like Korea, Japan, Okinawa, the Marshall Islands, Guam, Germany, Macedonia, and Kosovo, just to name a few. In short, the man is constantly on the go.

This hidden treasure recently turned 50 has been in this area since 1992, having moved from Memphis wherein as a youth he learned his guitar licks at the knee of legendary Delta picker, later gospel player, Reverend Robert “Tim” Wilkins and formed his first soul band, the Reflections, in the late 60s, before eventually assuming the guitar chores of the renowned blues outfit, the Fieldstones, who recorded for High Water (Jessie Mae Hemphill, Junior Kimbrough, Hammie Nixon, etc.), in the early 80s. Just prior to leaving the Home of the Blues, he was fronting his own group, the J.J. Blues Band.

Down and out and homeless after landing in the Nation’s Capital, he played in the streets for tips, making an important connection to the famed harp player, Charlie Sayles, who also earned his meager existence in this manner. As a duo, they later helped in the debut of Baltimore’s Spike & Charlie’s (restaurant) in a blues concert series sponsored by the Coalition for Celebrating African Music of the Americas. And encouraged immensely by another noted D.C.-based bluesman, Bobby Parker, he soon started finding regular club work at the Jet Lounge on 14th St., later the Rock Bottom in Bethesda, JV’s and Whitlow’s in Northern VA, and the Bohemian Caverns on U Street. In 1995, he served a year-long stint as lead in Debra Coleman’s touring band (with the late Willie Hicks on bass) before finally venturing out on his own. By 1998, he issued his first and very well-received eponymous CD which was produced by Parker, an undertaking which was highly influential in his selection as the top headliner in Brad and Marcia Selko’s annual Hot August Blues Festival in Manor, MD, the following year. In 2004, came an invitation to perform at the prestigious Poconos Blues Festival.

Chester is very proud of his newest endeavor, The Prodigal Son, and hopes it thrusts him back into the public consciousness and he has spared no expense to that end, employing  both the state-of –the-art Cue Recording Studio, of Falls Church, VA, and an aggregate of the finest artists to be had in the vicinity, including Phil Wiggins (of Cephas & Wiggins fame) on harmonica, Willie Hicks on bass (his last recording collaboration), and Pete Ragusa, longtime member of the famed Nighthawks, on drums. And as always, Bobby Parker lends a hand behind the scenes. In fact, such professional musical experience coupled with the likes of this technically superior facility can not help but bring a striking clarity to the project. And even Memphis Gold’s guitar work, with shades of B.B. King’s deliberate, precise, choking the individual strings method, rings like a proverbial bell.

Chester has always expressed his desire to pen his own compositions, rather than rehash old material, and, true to his word, presents the listener a full dozen of new creations. Possessed of a fine baritone voice with the obligatory blues “edge,” he tackles all the various styles of this genre with equal aplomb--from the funky soulful, “Come Wit Me” and “Bedroom Mumba” to the Chicago inspired “Preacher Blues” and the complex, rhythm structure of  “Chicken It,” whose riffs resemble that of Hubert Sumlin in his Howlin’ Wolf days. As for boogie woogie or jump blues, the rollicking “Don’t Let Her Ride,” is a fine exemplar and the title track, “Prodigal Son,” hearkens back to the traditional, twelve-bar folk blues he heard in his youth. But it’s in his approach to slow tempo, down home, gut bucket blues that Memphis Gold really shines and there are three great opportunities with which to showcase his prodigious guitar talents against an often stark, plaintive, emotion-wrenching backdrop—“Big Leg Woman,” “3’s Tonic,” and “Serves Me Right,” the latter an almost ten minute tour de force. Yes, there’s something here for every taste, as Chester touches all the blues bases. And he even throws in an infectiously groovy instrumental, “Melt Down Baby,” for good measure.

The Prodigal Son without reservation deserves a hearty “thumbs up” and will be a welcome addition to anyone’s blues library. For Chester, it will definitely serve as a milestone in his maturation process and can not help but enhance his reputation as a figure to be reckoned with, not only in these parochial parts but also on the big national stage. It just might be the key that opens this door and the requisite exceptional effort that finally puts him over the top - the big breakthrough. 

P.S.: The Prodigal Son can be found at all area Tower record stores, through producer Wayne Kahn’s Right On Rhythm records - rightonrhythm.com - or Memphis Gold’s website: http://www.memphisgoldprod.net
Larry Benicewicz

Toni Spearman
So Called Friends
Brambus 200494-2

http://www.brambus.com

Toni has been around for a while - I recall reading about her back in the Blues Life days, but for some inexplicable reason she remains little known outside of a small central European circuit. Maybe this release can change that.

Let’s hope so, as it reveals that this South Carolina born singer is a more than accomplished blueswoman, sassy and bold on the likes of Denise LaSalle’s ‘Stepping Out’ (with guest Lily Delois) and Irma Thomas’s ‘You Can Have My Husband’, tender and soulful on blues/ soul ballads such as ‘It Ain’t No Fun’ and ‘I Need You Tonight’, and rabble-rousing on the likes of the opening ‘Let The Good Times Roll’, with its shades of BB King’s live shows, or the closing Lowell Fulson composition ‘Talkin’ Woman Blues’ - here entitled ‘Honey Hush’. And I have yet to hear a poor version of Sam Cooke’s ‘Bring It On Home To Me’ - Toni certainly excels on this one! Ms. Spearman has also supplied several notable original compositions and her backing musicians (two guitarists, keyboards, bass and drums) also revel in her and their opportunities for versatility, providing accompaniments that range from southern chitlin circuit to big band swing, from the throbbing Chicago styled blues of ‘Good Love Gone Bad’ and the blues with a hint of funk that is the title track to almost full-on blues-rock.

Toni is always in control though. Why isn’t she better known? After listening to this, I am even more puzzled - buy it and let’s rectify the situation. Norman Darwen
The Joe Kap Organ Trio
Street Noise
Severn CD-0024

http://www.severnrecords.com

The sound of the Hammond B-3 organ has appealed to many blues enthusiasts ever since those early sixties hits of Jimmys McGriff and Smith,. Remember that back then, ‘soul’ meant just this gritty kind of downhome jazz, and American blues label Severn has already dipped a toe into this style with albums from organists Benjie Porecki and Bruce Katz.

Some of the credit for this set’s success goes to guitarist Paul Pieper who has a bluesy style that betrays as equal an affinity with T-Bone Walker as with jazzman Grant Green; a mention too for drummer Marty Morrison who eases back on the wee wee hours pieces, gets old-fashioned funky on a couple of others and provides the perfect laid-back drive on bluesier items like ‘Eldorado’ and ‘Try It Baby’. Naturally though, the kudos are mostly for the leader. Maybe the reason some blues fans like this kind of music is because to do it well requires plenty of soul, cool, and groove. Joe Kaplowitz from Brooklyn, New York, has all three in abundance - particularly the cool, as this laid-back set proves. Norman Darwen
Traffic Jam
I Heard It Before
RonKronz 0232

http://www.ronkronz.com

I’d never heard of Traffic Jam before but bandleader/saxophonist/ singer and main composer Ron Kronz (he wrote six of nine tracks himself, the other three are collaborations with guitarist and occasional singer Kevin Murphy) may be a name some have come across as he has toured Europe with Washington DC bluesman Bobby Parker.

Bobby has never been one for simple straight blues though, and neither is Ron, with this set drawing on a range of musicians from the blues, jazz, soul and rock worlds to produce an equally eclectic and fresh sound. There are three vocalists, which makes for varied and interesting listening; besides Ron and Kevin, ex-Coco Montoya sidewoman Kellie Rucker sings and also supplies some strong blues harp playing. There is a gospel ballad, several slow blues, and a couple of unclassifiable items that blur the line between blues and jazz-funk but which will appeal to lovers of both - and not a standard in sight. Not one for the blues purists then, but Ron is not afraid to experiment and in these days of conveyor belt blues, that is certainly something to be recommended. Norman Darwen

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