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New Blues News – 9/29/2020

Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite – 100 Years Of Blues (Alligator): “The musical careers of Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite have followed similar paths. Both were raised in America’s heartland: Bishop in Iowa, Musselwhite in Tennessee. Both are white musicians who developed a deep and abiding love for the blues, eventually relocating to Chicago. After establishing themselves as formidable players — Bishop as a guitarist, Musselwhite as a blues harpist — both relocated to the Bay Area, immersing themselves in the region’s blues and rock scene. And, in their time here, both men have produced large bodies of recorded work. And yet, while they’ve known of and respected each others’ music for half a century, the two have never teamed up to make an album together. Until now. Most of the songs on 100 Years of Blues — four written by Bishop, four from Musselwhite, a few well-chosen blues standards and a new recording of the title number — had been in their live set for a while.” (https://www.sfweekly.com/music/elvin-bishop-charlie-musselwhite-join-forces/) Bob Welsh adds additional guitar and piano and Kid Andersen adds bass on four songs. Great blues and a lot of fun! This is a certified Professor Bebop “Wax Devoid Of Cracks”!  Click here to listen to a song from this disc.

Fiona Boyes – Blues In My Heart (Blue Empress/Reference Recordings): Fiona Boyes is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her first solo recording and it is joyous affair from beginning to end! She is (was) accompanied by Kaz Dalla Rosa (harmonica), Paula Dowse (drums, percussion) and Gina Woods (piano) and she was in fine form from beginning to end! The program includes eleven original songs and five great covers including “Mean World” (Rev. Gary Davis), “Mercy” (J.B. Lenoir) and “Canned Heat” (Tommy Johnson). Absolutely terrific! This is a certified Professor Bebop “Wax Devoid of Cracks”! Click here to listen to the songs on this release.

XGA-20 – Live, Volume 1 (Kama Chief Records): “GA-20 was formed by friends Pat Faherty and Matthew Stubbs in Boston, MA in 2018. The project was born out of their mutual love of heavy traditional Blues, R&B, and Rock & Roll of the late 50s and early 60s. Faherty and Stubbs bonded over legendary artists like Lazy Lester, J.B. Lenoir, Earl Hooker, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Junior Wells. Feeling a void in current music, the duo have set out to write, record and perform a modern version of this beloved art form. Joined by drummer Tim Carman in 2019, GA-20 is a trio of 2 guitars, vocals and drums. Raw, passionate and honest performance, both on stage and in the studio, is the only goal. GA-20 released their debut album “Lonely Soul” Oct 18th 2019 on Karma Chief / Colemine Records. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard blues charts. Stubbs has spent the past 11 years as guitarist for Blues legend Charlie Musselwhite. During that time he has also backed up and toured with such Blues giants as John Hammond, James Cotton, Junior Watson and James Harman. Stubbs also leads his own original instrumental psych-rock band, ‘The Antiguas.’” (https://ga20band.com/bio) This release is a live studio performance featuring the duo doing four songs. They open with Buddy Guy’s “Cut You Loose”, Triggerfinger’s “No Teasin’ Around”, Lazy Lester’s “Tell Me Pretty Baby” and J.B.Lenoir’s “The Whale Has Swallowed Me”. Stripped down and electric. Click here to listen to “The Whale Has Swallowed Me” by GA-20.

Johnny Iguana – Johnny Iguana’s Chicago Spectacular! (Delmark): “Growing up up in Philadelphia, Johnny Iguana really zeroed in on Junior Wells and Otis Spann after becoming obsessed with Chicago blues at age 15. In his later teens, armed with a fake ID and a sport coat, he played countless all-night blues gigs at Philly bars— largely songs plucked off Junior’s records. A few years later, Johnny met Junior at a NY show and was thrilled when Junior hired him after live auditions in Boston and Rhode Island. Johnny packed his bags and spent three years touring and recording with Junior. Decades later, Johnny still calls Chicago home and has emerged as one of the premier blues piano players in the United States. Since his days with Junior, he has toured or recorded with a who’s who of Chicago blues greats: Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Billy Boy Arnold, James Cotton, Lil’ Ed, Carey Bell, Eddy Clearwater, John Primer, Lurrie Bell, Billy Branch and more. He has learned from the best, a lifelong immersion and dedication. This is Johnny’s first blues album as a leader, and it’s not your typical blues album. That’s because, as you’ll hear, Johnny is not your typical blues piano player. At a time when bold originality is less welcomed in blues than it is in other music, Johnny stands out as an artist who has reached the apex of his craft but who has not allowed a strict definition of blues to limit his expression. A feat of this album and of Johnny’s artistry is how his original compositions flow naturally and organically out of the classic Chicago blues piano repertoire. His chordal creativity is as much on display as his blues-language fluency. It all makes sense and fully delights, as vintage blues and boogie morph into something new, intoxicating, witty, wild—yet still anchored in the blues. This is a blues album from top to bottom. It is traditional. It is contemporary and audacious. It is the story of Johnny Iguana, a one-of-a-kind piano man exalting his Chicago blues heroes while making his own mark. In the bigger picture, it’s compelling evidence that blues today is vital, and still evolving (full notes by Larry Skoller included).” (https://delmark.com/product/864/) This collection offers 12 songs, including four originals from Johnny Iguana and a host of blues standards from “44 Blues”, “Down In The Bottom” and “Stop Breakin’ Down” to Gil Scott-Heron’s “Lady Day and John Coltrane”. This is a certified Professor Bebop “Wax Devoid of Cracks”! Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this collection.

Tony O (Melio) – Blues O’ Blues (Top Of The Blues): “Tony O Blues has been keeping American traditional Blues alive for over 40 years. He was a friend and mentored by the late great Howlin’ Wolf as well as Muddy Waters and Hubert Sumlin. He has toured and recorded internationally with Jimmy Rogers, James Cotton, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, The Legendary Blue Band, Victoria Spivey and Little Mike and the Tornados to name a few. He backed Pinetop Perkins on several CD’s including on “Born in the Delta” that received a Grammy Nomination for ‘Best Traditional Blues. The album featured a song Tony O wrote for Perkins’ “Blues O’ Blues”. (https://www.isrbx.net/3137796634-tony-o-blues-o-blues-2020.html) Tony O is a solid old style bluesman who doesn’t depend on rock fireworks to engage the audience. His playing is straightforward and right on the spot. His declarative singing style is just what the doctor ordered as well. Backing is supplied by Chumslick Nick (rhythm guitar), Boogie Bob Erikson (piano), Angelo Olivieri (bass) and Mike Severino (drums) with backing by the Uptown Horns  including Kevin Batchelor (trumpet), Tony Orbach (tenor sax) and Paul Verseci (alto and bari sax). Three of the songs on this disc are originals. This is a solid set from end to end. Click here to listen to the title song from this disc.

Kopasetically,

Professor Bebop