Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley – Forever Blues
G-Three Records — 2024
11 tracks: 44 minutes
Forever Blues is the latest album from the Canadian-based blues duo of Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley. The album is a collection of cover tunes, mostly of the blues with a little R&B and country gospel thrown in. This pair has worked together for a number of years—recording eight albums together—and have garnered numerous awards and recognition along the way. Braithwaite won the 2018 Life Time Achievement Blues With a Feeling Award as part of Canada’s National Maple Blues Awards. According to his bio, the Kansas-born Whiteley is a legend on the Canadian music scene, working and touring with the likes of Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, a well-known blues and jazz alto saxophonist and singer. In January 2020, Whiteley won the Maple Blues Award for the top blues horn player in Canada—an honor he has won nine times.
According to their label’s one-pager, Braithwaite and Whiteley “are a powerhouse duo whose music exudes the timeless charm of blues and jazz while weaving in elements of folk, gospel, and roots music. Their harmonious partnership on and off the stage (h)as garnered them critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base across the globe.” The twosome’s first collaboration, Morning Sun, garnered rave reviews, extensive air play, and led to multiple Canadian Maple Blues nominations and awards, including “Album of the Year,” and “Acoustic Act of the Year.” Their second album, Night Bird Blues, led to three Maple Blues Awards (in 2010), including recognition as “Songwriters of the Year.”
Clearly, Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley, both talented musicians, bring a wealth of experience and versatility to any project they undertake, and Forever Blues—paying “tribute” to those blues artists of old—is another feather in their proverbial musical caps.
Joining Braithwaite and Whiteley on the album were John Sheard on the piano and Hammond organ, Ron Johnston and Jack Lavin on bass, Vince Maccarone and Matt Pease on the drums, Dan Whiteley on rhythm guitar and mandolin, and Neil Brathwaite and Elana Kapeleris on tenor saxophones.
Forever Blues was recorded over two sessions in Canada. The first was at Union Sound Company in Toronto, Ontario, and the second session was at Oakstone Studio in Victoria, British Columbia. The recording engineers were Darren McGill and Adam Ferbey with mixing and mastering by Marty Smyth of The Fifth Wall.
Forever Blues kicks off with a terrific version of the Junior Wells classic “Hoodoo Man Blues,” featuring a strong jazzy beat and Whiteley’s spot-on harmonica playing. Country music icon Charlie Rich’s “Don’t Put No Headstone On My Grave” is given a gospel-inspired flourish with Braithwaite’s soulful singing and Sheard’s intricate piano-playing. Classic blues piano also takes center stage, along with the Hammond Organ, on “Aged and Mellow Blues,” written by renowned bandleader Johnny Otis and saxophonist Preston Love, and recorded by R&B singer Little Esther Phillips. Once again, Braithwaite stamps her signature sultriness to a slow, easy tune.
A classic traditional Delta blues intro featuring Whiteley’s deft slide guitar play kicks off “Moon is Rising,” by John Lee Hooker (co-written with Bernard Besman), which showcases Braithwaite’s beautiful voice and tone. “Trouble No More” is a jazzy rendition of the Muddy Waters’ classic with impressive keyboard work (by Sheard) and equally impressive harmonica from Whiteley. Dinah Washington’s “Somewhere Along the Line” is a slow, smoky jazz performance worthy of the original. “Prettiest Train,” recorded in the tradition of the original prison work song, complete with a sad story narrative, features Whiteley’s superb country blues guitar picking.
Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley are gifted musicians and performers who bring versatility and even new life to classic blues songs from across the eras. Their current fans, and, perhaps, some new converts will enjoy Forever Blues and relish an opportunity to see this dynamic blues couple perform these songs live in the near future.
