BENNY TURNER
BT
Nola Blue Records – NBR034
At age 85, it’s understandable that vocalist and bassist Benny Turner takes his time to get things done; however, he probably didn’t think it would be six years before he finished recording BT. Life has a way of upending plans, and Turner wound up having to deal with the COVID lockdown, Hurricane Ida’s devastation of his New Orleans home, a pause to help his friend Cash McCall make a final recording before he succumbed to a terminal illness, and a move to the Northeast to finally complete the recording process that stretched from Muscle Shoals to New Orleans to Columbia, Pennsylvania. But it was worth the wait.
Turner was born in Gilmer, Texas, in 1939, and his older brother was the blues guitar great Freddie King. They both learned the rudiments of music from their grandmother. Turner played bass in his brother’s band and was a regular on the Chicago blues scene. He has also worked behind Mighty Joe Young, Marva Wright, Otis Clay, and Dee Clark and the Soul Stirrers. Including the collaboration with McCall, BT is his sixth album since he kicked off a solo career in 2010. And, he draws on all that experience and those associations to craft this program of seven cover tunes and three originals to reveal a genuine master at work.
Throughout BT, Turner proves himself to be a strong, resonant, and soulful singer. Things kick off in high gear as he delivers the Rudy Toombs jump blues Bump Miss Susie, a hit for Big Joe Turner. His gospel experience shines through as he provides both lead and background vocals to shape a Blind Boys of Alabama–style take on the James Oden–penned, Howlin’ Wolf classic Going Down Slow, which features smoking harmonica solos from Harrell “Young Rell” Davenport. Jimmy McCracklin’s The Walk rocks out and boasts some swinging brush work from New Orleans drummer Jeffery “Jellybean” Alexander. Turner looks back to his time touring with Clark with his take on the soul ballad When I Call on You. One of the highlights of the set is a somewhat obscure Muddy Waters tune, Born in This Time, which was originally recorded for the soundtrack to the film Mandingo (1975). Turner infuses the song, which he calls “a ballad of a slave,” with deeply passionate feelings. Turner invited guitarist Billy Davis, the last surviving member of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, to join him for a rockin’ shuffle medley of The Hoochi Coochi Coo / Finger Poppin’ Time. He pays tribute to his late friend from New Orleans Big Chief Bo Dollis with a deep funk rendition of Smoke My Peace Pipe (Smoke It Right) with a great Big Easy band including Alexander and “Geechie” Johnson on drums, June Yamagishi on guitar, Keiko Komaki on keyboards, and Marva Wright and Warner Williams on background vocals. Turner provides three originals for BT—Drunk, a bouncy shuffle dedicated to his old friend Jimmy Reed; Sleepy Time in the Barnyard, a country blues instrumental that recalls Turner’s rural Texas roots and features him on guitar; and Who Sang It First, a gospel-flavored homage to the blues tradition and its centrality to American music. Benny Turner may have spent a lot of his life in a backup role, but BT is testimony to his many talents and the enduring power of the blues.
—Robert H. Cataliotti
RONNIE BAKER BROOKS
Blues in My DNA
Alligator – CD-AL-5023
Acclaimed blues guitarist and singer Lonnie Brooks had a stellar career, working in Chicago’s West Side and releasing scattered singles throughout the ’60s. By 1969 he landed an album deal. By the late 1970s he would be featured on an Alligator compilation, and soon thereafter he joined the label. Between 1978 and 1999 he would release nine albums for Alligator. He passed away in 2017, but his legacy is being carried on by son Ronnie Baker Brooks.
Ronnie Baker Brooks launched his recording career in 1998, recording for Watchdog and Provogue. In a sense, he has come home with his latest: Blues in My DNA finds him on Alligator Records. The 11-track collection of original songs is the product of a regular writing schedule that Brooks undertook during the pandemic. Creating new material on a weekly basis for a series of lockdown-era Facebook concerts gave structure and purpose to the guitarist, who had previously spent most of his time on the road.
The album is an unabashed nod to Brooks’ father. After the strong opening of I’m Feelin’ You, a brief tape of Lonnie speaking sets the tone for the record: “Son, I’ll give you your first blues lesson . . . keep these blues alive!”
And he does just that. With a variety of songs that touch on Chicago blues, Memphis soul, and more, Ronnie Baker Brooks demonstrates that melodic guitar artistry runs in the family. He follows that message with the chunky stomp of the title track, full of crackling guitar interplay, a pulsing bass line and a storytelling lyric.
With a walking R&B feel, My Love Will Make You Do Right features an assured vocal and searing licks slipped in between Brooks’ vocal phrases. As with many tracks on the set, second guitarist Will McFarlane provides supple support. Though he’s credited with “rhythm guitar,” McFarlane’s role extends well beyond strumming chords; with the help of tight rhythm section Dave Smith (bass) and Steve Potts (drums), he paints a sympathetic sonic canvas upon which Brooks can sing and play to his heart’s content.
Accept My Love is a classic slow jam, filled with passion and determination. Subtle use of Hammond and horns leans into the gospel feel of the tune as Brooks peels off one of his most emotion-filled guitar solos. For All True Man it’s back to stomping, swaggering blues in the classic style. The shuffling Robbing Peter to Pay Paul won’t win points for lyrical originality, but it’s playful and fun. Instant Gratification is a riffy, up-tempo rock crossover, and it’s very effectively done.
A first-person lyrical approach characterizes Blues in my DNA, and I Gotta Make You Mine doubles down on that. Brooks showcases some B.B. King stylings on the extended workout of the Red House-ish Stuck on Stupid. Guitar fireworks punctuate I Found a Dollar Looking for a Dime, and album closer My Boo swings. Start to finish, Brooks has a winner with his latest. Dad would have been proud.
—Bill Kopp
ERIC BIBB
In the Real World
Stony Plain Records – SPCD1488
It seems counterintuitive to define Eric Bibb as “unforgivably under-celebrated.” Yet, despite his three Grammy nominations (including one for his 2017 transcendental masterpiece Migration Blues) and his three prestigious Blues Music Award for Acoustic Artist of the Year, a case can be made that Bibb’s brilliance is not fully embraced. He is one of the most significant and poignant singer-songwriters in the acoustic blues realm today and one of the most creative musical artists of our time, with a prolific and distinguished career. Bibb’s songwriting prowess is indeed respected, but he is often not seen for the true musical and lyrical genius that he is.
Eric Bibb, an American expatriate living in Sweden, is keenly aware of the cataclysmic effects of slavery and Jim Crow oppression, racism, and injustice. As a literate internationalist he does not make public political statements; rather, he reserves those for his poetic lyrics. He does not dwell on grievance identitarianism, nor racialism. Instead, he artistically channels his outrage in song to powerful effect, singing sensitively about the human condition. He is musically eloquent and lyrically sophisticated, with a refined and gentle style, bringing songs that are at once delicate yet melodically sturdy. He articulates complex and difficult issues most smoothly and subtly, which requires attentive listening. He taps into the zeitgeist; his material isn’t just a showcase for his voice, but also a covert socio-political critique. His gentle acoustic reveries often tell a hard tale, but his repeated lyrical themes always offer a solution in the spirit of hope, love, peace, understanding, and harmony for humanity.
The new album was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in England, thus the title. He surrounded himself with an international crew including the elegant English slide guitarist extraordinaire Robbie McIntosh (The Pretenders) and Glen Scott, the English Jamaican producer. Scott had an outsized role on this album as producer, arranger, and mixer. He makes it all sound perfect, as tasteful and skilled as Daniel Lanois. Scott also takes co-writing credits on 12 of the 15 cuts. Plus, he plays drums, percussion, bass, electric and acoustic guitars, organ, and sings backup vocals. Another American expat in Sweden, Chuck Anthony, renowned for his work with jazz musician Roy Ayers, joins on electric guitar.
All 15 songs are consistently even, worth deep listening and contemplation of Bibb’s philosophy and weltanschauung. There is something good here for everyone from the consummate storyteller. On Make a Change, Bibb articulates, “If you want to make a change in the world, make a change in you.” Dear Mavis is a wonderful tribute to the legendary Mavis Staples, with sparse instrumentation and heartfelt emotion. On Stealin’ Home Bibb takes us back to 1955, recollecting the triumph of baseball player Jackie Robinson, who crossed the color line and changed the game forever. Everybody’s Got a Right directly confronts the reality of our society when forces of righteousness restrict others, when Black people are afraid of being mistreated by the police, when trans people are fearful to be themselves. The moving and incisive Neshoba County recollects the lament of three civil rights workers who were killed by the Ku Klux Klan in Neshoba County, Mississippi, in 1964. Eric Bibb honors James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, who were cruelly chased down, tortured, and murdered, by singing, “they did not die in vain.” Judgement Day takes on the war mongers in one of Bibb’s classic socio-critical pieces, as powerful as any anti-war song.
Eric Bibb always has something important to say. “There is only love” being more important now than ever.
—Frank Matheis
RISING STARS FIFE AND DRUM BAND
Evolution of Fife and Drum Music 2: Hickahala Creek
Rising Stars – No #
The Rising Stars, with Sharde Thomas-Mallory at the helm, continue their mission to celebrate North Mississippi fife and drum music as a deeply rooted but living musical legacy. (Further details about this recording can be found in this issue’s cover profile of Sharde.) The band’s lineup is somewhat flexible, depending on setting and circumstances, but its core is Sharde on fife and percussion (usually a djembe) and her longtime drummer and now husband, Chris Mallory. As on their previous release, the set consists both of “pure” acoustically recorded fife and drum music and studio-enhanced tracks that add modernist elements—beats and other synthesized effects—to the venerable sounds and textures that the Rising Stars have embraced as their own. It’s clear that the Mallorys utilize the studio as another instrument to complement and enhance, rather than dilute or compromise, the artistic tradition they represent.
It’s become a cliche to suggest that the presence of ancestral spirits can be felt when experiencing music such as this, but from the first beats of Hens, the opening track, it’s almost impossible not to feel transported. The Africanist polyrhythms of the djembe and the deeper, more insistent pulse of Chris Mallory’s drumming interweave with lithe dexterity, and Sharde’s fife—supple and melodic, showcasing a flexibility and range that few other practitioners of her instrument could approach—sounds like nothing less than the breath of a living spirit, both bringing life to, and drawing power from, the variegated rhythms that envelop and undergird it.
Most of the tracks here are longtime Rising Stars favorites. Sally is an updating of Little Sally Walker, a venerable children’s song that has been one of Sharde’s standbys since she began playing fife in her grandfather Otha Turner’s aggregation (the original Rising Star Fife and Drum Band) when she was less than ten years old. Here, she and Chris Mallory update the tune with mixed-in studio enhancements—beats, a bass line, multi-tracked vocals—to create an infectious, no less rootsy but fully contemporary, dance track. The fife remains a dominant voice along with Sharde’s vocals, and once again the djembe and drum (a snare, this time) lay down the rhythmic theme. At various points throughout this set the Stars also incorporate such traditional African percussion instruments as balafon, cas cas (kashaka) shakers, and bongos.
A crisp reading of Little Walter’s My Baby [sic], strips things down to the vocals/fife/drum essence of the Stars’ music. Memphis Minnie’s Chevrolet is also all-acoustic; this one, in which a woman agrees to “accept [her suitor’s] diamond ring” after turning down his offers of a watch and chain, as well as the title car, probably had special meaning for the Mallorys, who tied the knot earlier this year, not long before this album was recorded.
On several of these tracks, such as The Call, Shortnin Bread, and the venerable spiritual Morning Train, we can hear the sounds of the wind in the trees along Hickahala Creek. Sharde’s sharp-toned fife and vocal phrasing, toughened by a rhythmic impetus that sounds adapted from hip-hop, fully redeems Shortnin Bread from any lingering remnants of minstrelsy. Let It In, enhanced by a droning Northern Mississippi “trance blues” guitar and harmonica along with crisp, studio-enhanced, beats closes things out on an appropriately inspirational note.
The spirit of Otha Turner is alive—and as celebratory as ever—in the music of the Rising Stars.
—David Whiteis
ROCKIN’ DOPSIE AND THE ZYDECO TWISTERS
More Fun with Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters
ATO Records – AT00678
Second generation New Orleans zydeco singer and bandleader David “Rockin’ Dopsie Jr.” Rubin couldn’t have come up with a more appropriate title for this release. More Fun with Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters is unabashed in its pursuit of good vibes and good times.
The album, which brings together the Zydeco Twisters and Rubin (progeny of towering New Orleans zydeco figure Alton “Rockin’ Dopsie” Rubin), plays like a gig at a South Louisiana roadhouse. From the loose, yet oh-so-tight, grooves to the manic accordion and rubboard action, right down to the track order, everything is geared toward maximum enjoyment and keeping the dance floor full.
Rubin picked up the zydeco mantle and stage name following his father’s death in 1993, and since then, he and the Zydeco Twisters haven’t stopped pumping out high energy zydeco and blues on stage and in the studio. At its core, the Twisters are a family affair, with David joined by brothers Alton “Tiger Dopsie” Rubin Jr. (drums), Dwayne Dopsie (accordion), and Anthony Dopsie (accordion, organ), but More Fun With actually resembles a neighborhood band, with more 13 players contributing to the fun on the 12-song CD.
Like any great bandleader, Rubin knows a thing or two about building a setlist and he applies that skill with aplomb here, with rollicking, get-on-your-feet romps, followed by slow-burn, cheek-to-cheek ballads that segue into mid-tempo blues shuffles.
Rubin declares, “Watch me work,” as the band kicks off the set with the no-holds-barred opener, Dopsie Zydeco, which melds seamlessly into the full-throttle shuffle of the Fats Domino cover Ooh Woo Woo and its built-for-singalongs chorus. The band slows things down a notch on the horn-drenched I Found a New Love, while the mid-tempo No Good Woman is straight up electric blues.
Rubin’s powerfully soulful voice accented by a slight quiver provides a versatility that allows for inventive cover song selections. Barbara Lynn’s 1962 hit ballad You’ll Lose a Good Thing, with its languid, bluesy feel, is a highlight. On That Was Your Mother, written by Paul Simon for his Grammy Award–winning Graceland album and featuring Rockin’ Dopsie Sr., the band stays true to the original, with guest Julius Handy’s sizzling sax work, along with dancing accordion and chugging rubboard.
Zydeco luminary Clifton Chenier’s I’m Coming Home is one of the album’s finest ballads, while genre trail blazer Buckwheat Zydeco’s Ma ’Tit Fille is a full-on jam workout. Rubin pays homage to his father on My Little Girl, a swampy blues written by the senior Rubin. Not content to close the disc in the slow lane, Chenier’s bayou burning Ay, Ai Ai blazes by in light speed with a taste of doo-wop backing vocals thrown in for good measure.
No zydeco joints in your part of the world? More Fun With transports you to a place where you feel the sawdust under your feet and the smell of crawfish fills the air.
—Rod Evans
VANEESE THOMAS
Stories in Blue
Overton – 0001
Vaneese Thomas’ family is Memphis music royalty. Her father, Rufus Thomas, was a founding father of Memphis soul; he recorded for both Sun and Stax during those labels’ earliest days, and his discography includes some of the most influential and beloved dance numbers—The Dog, Walking the Dog, The Breakdown, Do the Funky Chicken, et al.—of the classic southern soul and R&B era. Vaneese’s sister Carla shared co-billing with Rufus on Cause I Love You, the record that launched the Satellite (soon to be Stax) label in 1960, and she went on to land 22 chart hits of her own (including three duets with Otis Redding); although she hasn’t worked regularly for a while, she was featured on Valerie June’s Grammy-nominated Call Me a Fool in 2021, and she is still revered in Memphis as the city’s Queen of Soul. Vaneese’s older brother, the late keyboardist Marvell Thomas, was a first-call session musician at Stax and Muscle Shoals, appearing on sides by the Staple Singers, Albert King, Isaac Hayes, the Emotions, Johnnie Taylor, Denise LaSalle, and Etta James, among many others.
Vaneese Thomas takes her family legacy seriously—she continues to play a leading role in the effort to get her father his long-overdue induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame—and, as this release shows, she embraces her musical inheritance in the same spirit. She wrote or co-wrote all of this album’s seven songs (at under 25 minutes, it is more of an EP), and she wastes no time in claiming both her territory and her ownership of it: the opening track, Do Y’All, is a paean to the blues’ Africanist/African American roots, which Thomas delivers with a blunt-edged intensity that deftly balances pride and combativeness.
True to the spirit of the music and the culture she celebrates, Thomas takes on themes of vulnerability and hurt with the same courage she pours into her declarations of power. Wandering finds the protagonist walking the back streets and crying (as Little Milton would have put it), buoyed by a sensual tenor sax break from Andy Drelles that, along with Thomas’ burnished vocal timbre, invokes the hope-against-hope determination to prevail that has always characterized blues (and, for that matter, gospel) expression. When You Were My Man, with its ironically spiky rhythmic impetus, likewise girds an ostensibly broken-hearted plea with steely resolve; The Last Thing on My Mind channels the torment of heartbreak into hard-eyed defiance. The set’s centerpiece, 1917, set to a rollicking trad jazz backing, both celebrates the birth year and subsequent career of Rufus Thomas and jubilantly places that career in its historical context (it’s likely that the music he danced to in the 1930s as a performer in the Rabbit Foot Minstrels sounded quite a bit like what the studio band lays down here). The final two outings, 7 Miles from Home and the a capella, multi-tracked End of the Road, find Vaneese pairing the classic blues theme of a weary traveler seeking sanctuary with the even more venerable gospel tradition of invoking that same sentiment.
The Thomas family legacy is in good hands—and let’s get Rufus into the Hall, okay?
—David Whiteis
JOVIN WEBB
Drifter
Blind Pig – BPCD5176
Coming to fame as a contestant on the pop music TV competition American Idol isn’t the most conventional path for a blues artist. But in the end, if the talent, focus, and determination are there, whatever road gets an artist where he or she wishes to go is the right one. So it is for Baton Rouge–based vocalist Jovin Webb. On the program’s 18th season in 2020 he made it all the way to the top ten competitors. He didn’t win, but unlike most of his competitors, Webb would eventually land a recording contract.
Jovin Webb’s first set of releases were tracks used in a crime thriller, The Dirty South. Now signed to Blind Pig Records, he has made his first album, Drifter. Collaborating with in-demand producer and co-songwriter Tom Hambridge, Webb has put together a collection of 12 songs, all but one of which are original numbers.
Hambridge’s production showcases his customary uncluttered, gimmick-free approach to his craft, and that approach suits Webb and his songs well. The band put together to support Webb is rock-solid: guitarist Kenny Greenberg, keyboardist Mike Rojas, and bassist Rob Cureton all provide the right mix of grit, energy, and finesse without ever getting in the way of the spotlight artist. And Hambridge continues to amaze with his seemingly effortless ability to turn in flawless and effective drum parts while overseeing the session.
There’s a blues sensibility and feel to the cuts on Drifter, but the music has at least as much to do with mainstream rock. Webb’s soulful voice is certainly a reminder of why he got as far as he did on the television competition: he strikes a commendable balance of passion and polish on these tracks. But occasionally he seems to be aiming to recreate the feel of other artists: Wig on Wrong sounds and feels like a Little Richard pastiche. If that’s his goal, fair enough; Webb does a credible enough job. Elsewhere, he variously sounds as if he’s conjuring Otis Redding, or any number of ’70s rock vocalists.
There’s a stirring gospel character to Livin’ Reckless; in fact, its inclusion suggests that Webb might be trying just a bit too hard to serve up a collection of songs that checks all the boxes, to make a musical assertion that he can do anything. While that approach may win votes on American Idol, it does not necessarily yield a truly cohesive and distinctive album.
Notably, Webb sounds most at home on the album’s sole cover, a faithful reading of Albert King’s classic Born Under a Bad Sign. He doesn’t exactly make the song his own, but he turns in an appealing performance. It’s easy to imagine the AI judges wiggling in their seats, nodding to the beat as they listen to the track.
While he may not have fully developed a style of his own, Jovin Webb’s work on Drifter shows that he unquestionably has natural talents that should allow him, in time, to transcend a derivative approach in favor of something uniquely his own.
—Bill Kopp
CHICAGO BLUES LIFTERS
Blues Scouts
Big Eye Records – BE-0006
Blues Scouts is a bold proclamation of the health and vibrancy of the blues. Beautifully engineered and produced with a 14-page, full-color booklet, the set features all original music from its top-echelon cast of musicians.
Multiple generations—from 93-year-old Bob Stroger to the 30-year-old Joey J. Saye—come together as the Chicago Blues Lifters to perform their own compositions. Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, drummer extraordinaire, is the mastermind behind this venture, which, in addition to bassist Stroger and guitarist Saye, includes guitarists Billy Flynn and Ari Seder, singer Kimberly Johnson, pianist Willie Oshawny, and singer Mike Avery—each of whom contributed at least one number to the production.
Singer-songwriter Mike Avery’s two standout tracks include his fiery, foot-stomping Jimmy Reed–beat opener, I Just Wanna Love You (with Billy Flynn on harp), and Gone with Your Bad Self, to which Ari Seder and bassist Brian Burke add an aura of ’70s era Black pop. And Seder, who is mostly known around Chicago as a first-call bassist, appears on most tracks on guitar and surprises with Ari’s Riff, a breezily sparkling, minor-key instrumental.
Kimberly Johnson also owns two nice cuts: the substantive serio-comic songs Stick a Fork in Me and Too Much Too Little.
It’s noteworthy perhaps that Joey J. Saye, the youngest of the assemblage, plays in the oldest blues style, singing a solo Big Bill Broonzy–ish, acoustic guitar–picked Window Pane, in addition to the playfully humorous That’s My Name.
Like ringmaster Kenny Smith, multi-instrumentalist Billy Flynn has a hand in ten of the 11 tracks, playing guitar and harp as well as contributing songwriting and vocals on You Hurt Me Baby and co-creating Chicago Shuffle with Bob Stroger who sings.
The infectious and upbeat Get on the Lift, credited to Kenny Smith and his daughter, Clara, and sung by Kimberly Johnson with Mike Avery, is all about the “lift” that the Blues Lifters bring to the listener and their audiences.
Veteran keyboardist Willie Oshawny adds piano on several tracks and closes the set with his laidback Fire, Fire, Fire.
In sum, this is a fine ensemble blues seminar in professional musical good taste and restraint; a celebration of award-winning veterans and rising younger stars sharing a love for a great tradition—and having fun creating new music in a timeless form.
—Justin O’Brien
MITCH WOODS
Happy Hour
MoMojo Records – MMJ 330
Brooklyn-born, Bay Area–based pianist, singer, and bandleader Mitch Woods has been making music for more than four decades. With his band, the Rocket 88s, he has served up album after tasty album, showcasing his trademark mix of boogie-woogie, rollicking New Orleans jazz, postwar jump blues and swing, and proto-rock ’n’ roll. He brings it all together for this new live-in-the-studio set.
On one level, Happy Hour can be seen as a kind of victory lap: it picks and chooses from Woods’ repertoire for a greatest-hits setlist. But Woods is nowhere near the end of his career, and Happy Hour is more than a look back. For this album, Woods gathered his team—bassist Kedar Roy, sax man Dave Somers, drummer Larry Vann, and guitarist/engineer Kid Andersen—for a pandemic-era live session.
With all their shots up to date and masks on their faces, the group convened in Andersen’s famed Greaseland Studios in San Jose, set up their instruments, and just played. The music on Happy Hour is the product of those five musicians playing at the same time, in sight of each other, with all of the energy and interplay that comes from such an approach.
All of the songs on Happy Hour—a baker’s dozen of Woods originals—have appeared on previous releases. But the readings of the songs here are closest to what one would experience at a live show, with the improved sonics of a recording studio to boot. As Woods’ artistry is so widely encompassing, the songs transcend a particular style; Happy Hour is a travelogue through the music that has informed his artistry, distilled through his original songwriting.
Jukebox Drive swings hard, with a spoken-sung vocal that recalls Louis Jordan, one of Woods’ heroes. The arrangement bridges Jordan’s ’40s sound with a hard-charging 1950s rock vibe; the latter quality is emphasized by Andersen’s spirited guitar solo, and Somers’ horn pulls things back toward the 1940s. Sly lyrical references to pop culture phenomena of those eras are the cherry on top.
As its title telegraphs, Long, Lean, and Lanky is of a piece with Jump, Jive, and Wail; Flip, Flop, and Fly; Shake, Rattle, and Roll, and the like. But Woods’ approach to the style is so genuine, so heartfelt, that it doesn’t feel like a pastiche: like Mitch Woods, it’s the real deal. And his exuberant work on the ivories is a treat.
Broke is a hilarious tune in the Jordan mold, with mischievous dialogue and wonderful gang vocals. The song is stuffed with Jordanesque turns—the snare hits signifying a knock at the door, sassy vocal phrasing, and an overdubbed horn section that truly slams. Multiple rings of the cash register underscore the tune’s laugh-riot quality.
New Orleans heroes Fats Domino and Huey “Piano” Smith get a tribute of sorts with Woods’ delightful Hattie Green; while there’s a strong ensemble quality to the album, on this track Woods takes center stage and shows off his ace piano work. And tracks like Solid Gold Cadillac make the point that—thanks to the music and production methods—Happy Hour sounds like the best-recorded late ’40s / early ’50s album you’ve ever heard.
—Bill Kopp
JERRON PAXTON
Things Done Changed
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings – SFW 40266
Things Done Changed is essentially the first major release from Jerron Paxton, the 35-year-old singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist (banjo, guitar, harmonica, piano, fiddle, Cajun accordion, bones), and purveyor of acoustic old-time blues and Black American roots music. He’s previously released a self-produced album and a couple EPs, but it’s fitting that he’s found his way onto the Smithsonian Folkways label for this release, which will hopefully garner more widespread attention for his unique talents and artistic vision. Paxton belongs on a label with a 70-year-plus roster that includes many of the iconic progenitors of the musical traditions in which he has immersed himself, including Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Elizabeth Cotten, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Memphis Slim, James P. Johnson, as well as many field recordings and reissue series. He also fits in because the label, under the aegis of the Smithsonian since 1987, has embraced contemporary artists who have adopted and extended these traditions, including Our Native Daughters (Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, Amythyst Kiah, Allison Russell) and Dom Flemons. Even the album’s cover art harks back to the aesthetic look of classic Folkways LPs and, of course, in the label’s tradition, there are in-depth liner notes and track annotations that explain influences, compositions, instrumentation, and lyrics.
Paxton’s family migrated from Louisiana to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s, and his family, particularly his grandmother, immersed him in the familial and communal traditions they carried with them. Although he was exposed to contemporary Black music, he was enthralled with the sounds and songs his grandmother sustained, often humming or moaning as she tended her garden. The sound of Bukka White’s voice on the radio provided him with another touchstone that set him on a path toward this music.
Bob Dylan famously declared that “nobody sings the blues like Blind Willie McTell”; however, Paxton’s voice evokes that venerable blues artist’s wry, understated drawl, especially on the title track and Mississippi Bottom. Aside from the sonic quality of these recordings, which is live, resonant, and crystal clear, the sounds that Paxton creates could have been made more than a century ago—such as the “stroke style” banjo and bones on It’s All Over Now or Little Zydeco or the solo harmonica medley of reels he recalls from his childhood and likens to Turkey in the Straw and Stephen Foster tunes. On What’s Gonna Become of Me, a song he composed with his grandmother, he plays an “early banjo” that he likens to a lute played by the Jola people of Senegal.
But these 12 tracks do not just represent musical preservation because, as the title declares, Things Done Changed. That change is most evident in the original lyrics he composed that exhibit a contemporary awareness, as exemplified by slide guitar–accompanied So Much Weed that comments on the evolving status of marijuana laws that formerly resulted in devastating legal implications for the Black community. Out of this World is a mediation on the loneliness of a touring solo musician featuring his adept Piedmont-style finger picking. Oxtail Blues serves as a sly commentary on gentrification set to stride piano, evoking James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. Poet Langston Hughes wrote, “I’ve known rivers: / Ancient, dusky rivers / My soul has grown deep like the rivers.” The soul that Jerron Paxton reveals on Things Done Changed is deep like “Ancient, dusky rivers.”
—Robert H. Cataliotti
