Cover photo © 2023 Laura Carbone

 In This Issue 

Anita Schlank has our feature interview with Mark Earley. We have ten Blues reviews for you this week including new music from Catfish Keith, Ghalia Volt, Peter Veteska & Blues Train, Ice Cream Men, Jonah Tolchin, Alex Lopez, Tony Wessels and The Revolvers, Ole Lonesome, Hank Shreve Band and Tom Buenger. Scroll down and check it out!

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It is generally accepted that a good “sideman” knows how to support the lead musicians without overshadowing them, knows when to take direction but can also improvise, can work well with other musicians, and is humble enough not to seek the spotlight, but instead focuses on helping the lead musician to sound his/her best.  Saxophonist Mark Earley does all those things and more.  You might not know his name, but you probably know his work, as he was a long-time member of Roomful of Blues and is currently a member of Victor Wainwright & the Train, and The Bender Brass Band.  In addition, he has collaborated on stage and in the studio with many amazing artists, such as Duke Robillard, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Billy Boy Arnold, Ronnie Earl and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, just to name a few. Mark has been featured on numerous albums which have been nominated and/or won awards.  For example, he played on Paul Gabriel’s and Gracie Curran’s albums, (which both were nominated for Best New Artist Debut awards at the 35th Annual Blues Music Awards), Billy Price & Otis Clay’s album (which won Blues Album of the Year at the 37th Annual Blues Music Awards), and was featured on two Grammy nominated albums by Victor Wainwright and the Train and Roomful Of Blues.  Additionally, he has been inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.

Mark was not born into a family of musicians.  In fact, he noted that his father wouldn’t even play music in the car, but instead always had the news station playing on the radio.

“I always wondered where I got the ‘bug’ because my parents were not musicians. However, my mother loved music and I remember making fun of my mom when she would try to play her favorite song, Clair de Lune, on the piano.  I did hear that my grandmother and her sisters on my father’s side were in a vocal church group in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina that practiced Shape Note Singing. Naturally, I don’t believe that my passion for music came from nowhere.  Luckily, I was always highly encouraged by my parents to play and pursue my music, so maybe it skipped a generation. I have always felt very fortunate that I was always told by my parents that I could do anything I wanted to set my mind to.”

Aside from being a bonafide and unashamedly admitted Sonny Stitt fanatic, one of Mark’s strongest influences was being able to hear Joe Lovano play live early in life.

“My friends and I would drive up to Cleveland to the clubs to hear and sit in with the great blind organ player Eddie Baccus in East Cleveland and elsewhere in jam sessions. Sometimes I didn’t even know where I was. I just went along for the ride with my friends in search of great music. It was during this time I discovered Joe Lovano who became of my heroes. Joe would be home from the road from whatever he was doing at the time, and I would hear him play. Joe is prolific and famous in jazz circles. However, to me, Joe sounds like he plays blues. Many Blues folks may not hear the music in the way I do in that regard, but I’m ok with that.  I heard him speak once at North Texas State, where I attended college and he said, ‘people don’t call me when they want a sax player—they call me when they want Joe Lovano—they want me.’  I think that would mean you’d arrived when that happens. To me, being called as a sideman for a gig because I’m Mark Earley and not just a sax player would be a goal for me–to be known for what I can individually bring to the table musically. That does happen sometimes but sometimes I get called just as ‘a sax player’ and for all of it I am truly grateful.  I am grateful for all the work I am fortunate enough to be called upon to do, both in writing, recording sessions and live performances. I can learn something from any situation, but I will say this, if it were not for the blues, there would be no music in my world. Everything I do comes out of that music. Everything. In my work as an accompanist, I do enjoy realizing the vision of whoever has brought me onto a job, whether it is the bandleader, the writer, producer, or whoever is guiding the musical vision.  I do think that is a strength of mine.  I can ascertain fairly quickly what somebody is looking for.  It’s not that in any given situation I am not being myself, because I am.  But that is what being a sideman Is all about.”

Mark started playing the saxophone at the age of ten, (although he also plays flute, clarinet and a little piano).  He took formal lessons and was in the school band.  At the age of nineteen he was hired to go on tour in the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, and then joined a rock band called The Easy Street Band, where he basically imitated Clarence Clemmons.  After a few false starts in college, (which led to him dropping out twice), he finished a bachelor’s degree in music performance with an emphasis on jazz at North Texas State University.  Knowing both the blues and the jazz worlds well, he can become frustrated when jazz lovers claim the blues is “too simple.” And he noted his disappointment that the blues has never achieved the same recognition that jazz has been given.

“I wouldn’t call the blues simple. The blues is anything but simple. I would say it is as complicated an art form as anything else, if not more so–intensely complicated. The thing is this, it’s complicated in a way that is difficult to write down in regular western musical notation. ‘Jazz’ was the same historically, but it has changed since it has found its way into academia. If you listen to anyone who doesn’t know how the blues is supposed to go, it doesn’t matter how simply they play it—it just doesn’t sound right. Jazz has made its way into education almost at the expense of the blues. This aggravates me. There is a prejudice against blues in higher education. The blues is as deep and intricate as any other form of music to me. It’s an aural tradition. Somehow, people had the notion that bringing jazz into education was going to save music—sort of like a microcosm of Wynton Marsalis saving the Lincoln Center — and he may have just done that.  But I get to see both worlds—the jazz world and the blues world.  I interact with people in both camps often. In my view it’s bizarre that jazz is taught in school and blues is somehow shunned as substandard. It makes no sense to me. “

“When I was traveling out on the road with Roomful of Blues, and we had trouble filling the middle of the week as the times began to change and the money to book a big band started to become tighter, I would contact my old collegiate friends who were now music professors and ask if we could do a clinic along with a performance at their school for their students, and I couldn’t get anyone to bite.  I mean here is this five-time Grammy-nominated and multiple Downbeat Magazine’s Blues Band of the Year offering to do a clinic and a concert, and I couldn’t get anyone to go for it. After all Roomful has ‘Blues’ in its name.  Go figure. As leaders in this art form, we need to embrace the culture that jazz came from rather than just teaching ‘improvised classical music’. There was a time not that long ago that jazz and blues were the same thing.  Now it seems the chasm between them is so vast it boggles the mind. I would attempt to explain this phenomenon based on two things: plain racism against the culture the music was born from, and an attempt to put jazz into a box of how music has been traditionally taught at the college level. They took the blues part out to simplify it and codify it, but without the blues, jazz has turned into some kind of improvised music that I cannot get behind. I guess I would call it a disrespect for the art form. To teach jazz or any commercial music without including the ethnomusicology element, (which is the blues, from which all popular music today has sprung), to me is a sin.”

“All the blues people I know think I’m a ‘jazz guy’, and all the jazz people I know think I’m a ‘blues guy’. I guess I’m somebody who sees those two things as not so different from each other.  Sometimes I want to get up on my soapbox and say, ‘this is heavy—this is important’.  The performers that recognize the beauty in blues are the ones I like to listen to and the ones who will tickle my muse.  I spent six weeks on tour in Russia and Turkey, and I said to the Turks, ‘the blues is like the Phoenix rising out of the ashes.’  I don’t know how else to describe it.”

Mark is an adjunct faculty member at the Ipswich Public Schools, the Pingree School, and the Junior New England Jazz Camp.  When asked about advice that he offers students, Mark noted that he sometimes mentions how he used to play with the senior center.

“Several years ago, I started playing Dixieland with the old guys in the afternoons at the senior centers around Boston and learned a ton of old songs, and it helped me with my understanding of the blues.  The more of the older stuff I know, the further back I go into what I’m studying in order to make a valid contribution to the world musically.  You know the phrase, the deeper the well, the sweeter the water? For me, it just makes sense to learn the music where all this music came from. I like to dig deep.”

Mark has played with some legends in the genre as well as playing for 18 years with Roomful of Blues.

“When I was on the gig with Kim Wilson’s Blues Review, I had the honor and distinct pleasure of being yelled at by Larry “The Mole” Taylor for not playing something just right. Joe Williams also scolded me too for just about the same thing. Valuable lessons. Jay McShann took three of us locals to back him up at The Cuyahoga Valley Heritage Festival in 1993. That was one of the highlights of my career. Talk about a masterful musician!  He cradled us like a baby.  He grabbed hold of us all and cradled us like babies with the lightest touch on that piano, so powerfully masterful.  He carried all three of us.  It was just the most amazing experience. The most masterful musicians can command such power with the lightest touch on their instruments.  This has always been a joy for me to witness.”

“So, after 18 years with Roomful of Blues I decided it was time to move on.  I wanted to be in ‘control of my own destiny’, I want to be able to say yes to other opportunities that were becoming available to me.  I volunteered to outright quit due to the long standing ‘no sub” policy with the band but ended up staying on for four more years *with subs), when I was off doing other things. They just waited until they found the right guy for the job; and did they ever! Eventually they found this tremendous young sax player, Alek Razdan, from Rockport, MA. who was exactly what the doctor ordered–totally cut from the cloth of old school R&B saxophone playing, and perfect for Roomful. My time in Roomful of Blues was a true blessing under the mentorship of guitarist Chris Vachon and saxophonist Rich Lataille — in the band since 1970! Nearly all the opportunities I have had since then are an outgrowth of my relationship with that legendary band.”

Mark is now a member of Victor Wainwright’s band, but he noted that Wainwright is flexible enough to allow him to take advantage of the other opportunities.  And he has tremendous respect for Wainwright’s talents.

“Everybody who has heard him play knows Victor is a phenomenal talent on the piano, but he is actually a terrific songwriter too.  I think that is one of the things that sets him apart—some of those songs just rip your heart out.  It was at the Bender several years ago that I went up to Victor and said, ‘listen, if you want some horns on one of your records, let me know.  Doug (Woolverton), I believe approached him separately in about the same way, and we both ended up being on his next record produced by the genius of Dave Gross. Then the record became Grammy Nominated. After the recording Doug and I started playing live out on the road touring with the band as his horn section.  When we started to do the next record, we knew the guys a lot better musically, so we were much more involved with what the horns would be contributing to it. I am very proud of those records we made with Victor and Dave. Victor is an enormous talent and his passion for music is unparalleled, and the band is a very talented group of young men. I however, am the token old guy fortunate to be included in the hang.”

Victor Wainwright expressed mutual admiration for Mark and noted the following about him. “Since joining my band almost eight years ago, Mark has continually demonstrated what it means to be a consummate professional, both on and off the stage. His friendly demeanor, his focus on the team, and his over-the-top talent and skill on the saxophone makes Mark the absolute best there is out there. What I love most about Mark’s playing is the emotion he conveys on the instrument, something on which all inspiring blues artists should take note. It’s very special indeed, and I’m proud he’s on our team.”

Jimmy Carpenter, (Musical Director and Talent Buyer for the Big Blues Bender), met Mark over twenty years ago when Carpenter was playing with Jimmy Thackery, and they shared a bill with Roomful of Blues. Their paths crossed several times over the years that followed, and Carpenter noted, “When I was looking to round out the Bender Brass, I knew Mark would be perfect.  He is just a monster saxophonist, a fountain of cool ideas, and an all-around pleasure to work and hang with.  We’ve traveled the world together, and I love him like a brother!”

The Big Blues Bender is an annual blues festival located entirely within one hotel in Las Vegas.  The Bender is often described as being similar to a blues-themed cruise, but on land.  Each year at the Big Blues Bender, the Bender Brass Band quickly learns an impressive number of songs so that they are easily able to back numerous “artists-at-large.”  The Bender Brass have received so much notoriety that they were asked to serve the same function on the first Big Easy Cruise and are even getting their own bookings at festivals as a stand-alone band.

“That’s the premise of the whole thing—backing up artists like Bettye LaVette, Delbert McClinton, Bob Margolin, Johnny Sansone, Mike Zito, Shemekia Copeland, Jimmy Hall, Curtis Salgado—it is endless.  And to make those artists not sorry that they didn’t bring their own band. It is really fun. And what talent there is in our house band.  Mike Merritt, our bass player, spent 25 years or so on the Conan O’Brian show, not to mention playing with Johnny Copeland for years before that. He was there when Shemekia was born. Then there is Red Young.  Look him up!  What an astounding life in music.  And Jimmy Carpenter—he is so talented and has done so much. The whole band is a wealth of amazing blues talent.  And playing our own gigs out as The Bender Brass Band is something Jimmy and I were talking about when he brought me on board this thing.  We thought we could possibly tour and do shows outside of the Bender with some of the artists that we enjoy backing up. Jimmy, Doug and I have done Blues Heaven in Denmark for the past several years as the horn section in much the same way we do the Bender, backing up artists who don’t carry a horn section on the road. We learn their songs and tear it up. It’s a blast. And now we have the entire Band on the Big Easy Cruise which I believe is going to be an annual thing. Thank you, Jimmy Carpenter, and thank you to the Big Blues Bender. I’ve had a very charmed life. I’ve done a lot of really great things.”

When asked if he had anything to add, Mark said the following:

“I’m just honored that Blues Blast asked me to do this interview, because I’m a sideman, I’m not a bandleader. I am not out front leading the band garnering the spotlight. I am on board to accompany the artists and that’s a role I take pride in doing well. When the time comes for me to step out and take a ride, I know what to do. I take the moment for myself, say what I can say and then pass the ball. I don’t feel like I do much other than try to open the window of what music I’ve learned and heard, and just let it come out.  That seems to be the best result. Sometimes I feel the music is just coming through me from some other place, like I am just letting it out rather than creating it. I take this approach in the studio as well, and one thing I really enjoy is recording in my home studio. I have been putting horn parts on blues records as well as other projects. In a few short years I have done several full album projects including adding horns for records by Big Llou Johnson, Peter Poirier, two for Dave Keller, (one of which was nominated for the Soul Blues Music Award Album of the Year), and several others as well as individual songs for folks. This is something I am excited about. I do find fulfillment in writing horns for these blues records. I’ll do other music also, but the blues is what floats my boat. I was equipped before the pandemic, but it was during that time that I earned my bones on studio recording here at what I call ‘Earley Horn Works’, my recording studio. Occasionally I do get a call now and then from people who want me to lead a band for a show or a gig, but unless it’s instrumental cocktails and such I’ll usually find a singer and I’ll put a band together to back them up.  I’ll take a gig that is mine and I’ll finagle a way to become a sideman on it. I know the cats and can find the right people for the mix, that’s what I do.  I’m also just grateful that we can promote the blues in this article and grateful to have been given a voice to share my thoughts on the subject.  I mean who is left?  If you think about it–who is left that has actually played with Muddy Waters?  (And it’s not me, just to be clear.) Is that the standard of measure in blues? Who is bearing the torch for this beautiful gift of music we all have inherited, rising out of the ashes like the Phoenix? We are. We’ve got to keep it going and keep it real after they are all gone.”

One thing is for sure – Mark Earley’s collaborations are not slowing down one bit and world-renowned artists are sure to continue to recognize his extraordinary talent.  You can contact Mark at https://victorwainwright.com/mark-earley or www.facebook.com/markearleysaxophone

Writer Anita Schlank lives in Virginia, and is on the Board of Directors for the River City Blues Society. She has been a fan of the blues since the 1980s. She and Tab Benoit co-authored the book “Blues Therapy,” with all proceeds from sales going to the HART Fund.

Catfish Keith – Wild Ox Moan

Fish Tail Records

http://www.catfishkeith.com

15 Tracks – 59 minutes

Catfish Keith returns for his 22nd album of traditional-styled acoustic blues mixing dives into the Delta with American roots music with a few surprises thrown in this time, including a song from The Sons of The Pioneers, the Western swing group first formed by Leonard Slye, who later changed his name to Roy Rogers, the famed TV cowboy from the 1950’s. He adds four original songs into the mix with eleven carefully selected covers for this album.

Catfish was inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame in 2008. He won the Blues Blast Music Award for Best Acoustic Guitarist in 2019, 2021, and 2022 and for Best Acoustic Blues Album in 2022. All of his albums rise to the top of the Blues and Roots music charts. This album is certainly no exception, as it was sitting at #6 on the charts after its first week of release.

The album opens with an original “Don’t Know Right from Wrong”, which he describes as inspired by Memphis blues Legend Frank Stokes and played on his Santa Cruz Catfish Special. The song mixes some fine strumming with some slide as he sings “Daddy likes to take his time, dreaming of ways I can satisfy your mind”. Next up is Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “One Dime” and is “informed by the singing of Blind Connie Williams, Butch Cage has a great version also”. Catfish says he is “broke and don’t have a dime… want your friend to be like Jesse James”. Blind Joe Taggart’s “God’s Gonna Separate the Wheat from the Tares” which Catfish plays on a Fraulini Lorette Parlor Guitar. The title indicates that the packaging is removed to weigh the actual product, which would indicate that we stand exposed on Judgment Day.

He plays a National Reso-Phonic Baritone Tricone on the title track, “Wild Ox Moan” from Vera Hall, a slow cry as he asks her if she wants to go to Texas with him. The second original, “World Gone Wrong”, played on a Ralph Bown 12-string guitar, gains some energy as he says, “he has nobody to throw my arms around”. He also notes that “He is a mighty good leader and your bosom pal, but he is gonna tell you you’re on the road to hell”. Big Bill Broonzy’s “Saturday Night Rub” is a bouncy instrumental.

His third original, “Swim Deep, Pretty Mama” was first recorded in 1992 on his Cherry Ball album. Rev. Edward W. Claborn’s gospel song, “Your Close Friend” is played on a bottleneck slide on his National Reso-Phonic and addresses itself to soldiers as he says, “enemies cannot harm you so watch your close friend”. Nancy Wilson’s jazz song “How Glad I Am” is transformed into a traditional country blues by Catfish.

“I’m Going Home” is a song from a UK family band, Kitty, Daisy and Lewis.  Keith smoothly sings “I left my baby all alone, did you no wrong so you aren’t going to weep and moan”. “Cool Water”, the aforementioned song from the Sons of The Pioneers, is played on his 12-string and is instantly recognizable but given a new unique sound by Catfish. “Spinach for Old Popeye” is an original based on an old fiddle tune that Catfish plays “Clawhammer banjo style on his Pete Howlett Resolele Prototype uke”.

Lil Son Jackson’s Texas blues “Milford Drowning” is “A deep dark journey on the Fraulini Loretta”. Blind Blake’s “Come on Boys, Let’s Do That Mess Around” is another energetic song encouraging “Buzzing around like a bee, shaking like a ship on the sea, come on let’s have some fun”.  He closes the album with another instrumental, Dave Evan’s “Mole’s Moan”.

The album certainly offers many very obscure titles and artists, all ably performed by Catfish Keith and sung by him in his warm, strong vocal style. He clearly shows an expertise on each of the cited instruments on the album.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

Ghalia Volt – Shout Sister Shout

RUF Records

www.ghaliavolt.com

12 tracks; 49 minutes

It is now six years since Ghalia Volt moved from her native Belgium to the USA. It has been a busy and varied period, starting in New Orleans with Mama’s Boys before heading to Mississippi where she recorded Mississippi Blend with local musicians like Watermelon Slim and Cedric Burnside. During Covid she reinvented herself as a one-woman band and toured anywhere she could play. This time around she recorded near the Joshua Tree in California. Working with producer David Catching at his Rancho De La Luna studio resulted in what Ghalia describes as a 70’s psychedelic sound, moving away somewhat from her previous style of Mississippi Hill Country and Delta blues. Catching adds occasional guitar parts but the core band is Ghalia on guitar and vocals, Danny Frankel on drums and Ben Allerman on keys.

The laid-back feel of the sessions shows mainly in Ghalia’s vocal style. With a slight accent and a lightly distorted vocal sound, the result is hypnotic on tracks like “Insomnia” with its Indian-style percussion or “Can’t Have It All” which builds slowly over Ghalia’s core riff. “No Happy Home” is a slide-driven tune that harks back to some of Ghalia’s earlier discs. There is also plenty of Rock here with tracks like opener “Every Cloud” pounding along with twin guitars over the drums and the organ taking the core solo. The dreamy vocals on “Changes” certainly take you back to the era of psychedelia, as do the strong drums and the sixties-sounding organ on “She’s Holding You Back”.

The title track has more of a blues feel with a chugging rhythm and Ghalia encouraging women to speak up for what they deserve, the heavily distorted wah-wah solo sounding slightly odd in the context of the song.”She’s Holding You Back” is a slide-driven romp with a stop-start rhythm, “Hop On A Ride” (a co-write with label mate Eddie 9V) name-checks places that Ghalia has visited or have influenced her musical tastes and features some exciting slide work while “Po’ Boy John” is a piano-led rave-up that closes the album with the story of an old guitar and where it may have been played.

Fans of Ghalia’s distinctive style will definitely want to add this one to their collection.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

Peter Veteska & Blues Train – Full Tilt

Blue Heart Records BHR 056

www.peterveteskabluestrain.com

12 songs – 46 minutes

One of the most polished ensembles in the Northeast since forming in New Jersey in 2013, Peter Veteska & Blues Train simply smoke on this disc, their seventh effort in the past eight years, showing why they’ve become fan favorites up and down the East Coast.

As usual, this is a slick production that features Veteska on vocals and lead guitar with Alex D’Agnese and Coo Moe Jhee on drums and bass. But as they’ve proven successfully in the past, they’re far more than a power-blues trio. Enhanced by several top musicians from the region, they always deliver complex arrangements that have you begging for more.

And that’s true of this set of this collection of eight originals and four reimagined covers, which were recorded live with minimal overdubs at co-producer Joseph DeMaio’s Shorefire Recording Studios in the Garden State – a departure from their usual approach.

Adding to the mix here are several of their frequent co-contributors: Jeff Levine on Hammond B3 organ, Chuck Hearne and Rick Prince on bass, Mike Scotton on sax, Tony Perruso on trumpet and Mikey Jr. who contributes harp and vocals along with Jen Barnes.

Veteska’s guitar and Mikey Jr.’s reed work set up the opener, “Go Find Another Man,” which advises a lady that if she doesn’t like what she hears or sees, she should find someone else to fill her life. It’s a driving shuffle that features a smoking six-string solo before giving way to another on the 88s. Barnes takes centerstage for “I Wasn’t Wrong,” a deep shuffle that keeps the intensity on high while taking the foot off the gas somewhat. It’s a relationship song delivered from the opposite side of the fence but taking a different approach – in that the lady admits she wasn’t right either while asking for a reunion.

“Sad and Blue,” a torch song that lives up to its title, is a slow burner on which Peter bares his soul aided by Levine atop stripped-down rhythm. It gives way to a fiery, full arrangement of the Albert King standard, “I Get Evil,” which features strong accents from the horns throughout and leads into “Pack of Lies,” an uptempo complaint that finds the singer being ordered from his house while recounting all the words of love she’d spoken in the past.

Barnes and Veteska double-team “2:00 in the Morning,” an uptempo rocker, before the Train add their special sauce to the Beatles’ “One After 999,” with Peter and Mikey Jr. on the mic. “Take Back What You Own,” another duet that features Jen, lopes from the open and blazes vocally throughout before Levine’s featured on a tasty, unhurried and barebones trip down memory lane with a cover of pianist James Cox’s 1920s masterpiece “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out.”

The heat’s on high from the open of the next number, “Slow Down You Crazy Fool,” but the tempo’s slow. It’s a showcase for Veteska on guitar and mic that picks up steam as it flows. “Man About Town,” an intense instrumental, follows before Peter and Jeff team on a stripped-down take of Johnny Moore’s “Merry Christmas Baby” to close.

Another great effort from a unit that deserves far more recognition than it’s received.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Marty Gunther has lived a blessed life. Now based out of Mason, Ohio, his first experience with live music came at the feet of the first generation of blues legends at the Newport Folk Festivals in the 1960s. A former member of the Chicago blues community, he’s a professional journalist and blues harmonica player who co-founded the Nucklebusters, one of the hardest working bands in South Florida.

Ice Cream Men – Live@Jimmy’s Woolawn Tap

Drummer’s Mix Label

no web site provided

6 tracks – 41 Minutes

Dave Waldman, the leader of the Ice Cream Men, has a long and distinguished career. He grew up in New York and started playing the harmonica as a young teen. He moved to Chicago in 1976 and luck jumped him into the blues scene when he happened to be in the audience when Louis Myers’ band failed to show for a performance. Dave was invited to the stage to play with Louis. In 1980, Dave started playing with Taildragger and Big Smokey Smothers. The backup band for Big Smokey consisting of Dave, Steve Cushing on drums, and Illinois Slim on guitar called themselves the Ice Cream Men.

Dave’s career continued to flourish as he got to tour and record with a vast array of noted musicians including Jimmy Rogers, Wild Child Butler, and Bob Stroger among others. He was also a member of the Legendary Blues band in the 1980’s, who at that time consisted of Billy Flynn and Little Smokey Smothers on guitar, Willie Smith on drums and Calvin Jones on bass. He later played with Billy Flynn’s band on many occasions. In addition to playing the music, he also ran a Chicago blues radio show.

As mentioned above, Steve Cushing also played drums with Big Smokey. He and Dave had regular club gigs in Chicago performing with Big Wheeler. The Ice Cream Men mix provided here was produced by Steve. It was recorded on January 13, 2008, at Jimmy’s Woodlawn Tap. Jimmy’s is noted as having close ties to the University of Chicago. The remainder of the band that played at this show includes Willie Greeson on guitar, who also had a stint in the Legendary Blues Band and Jim Murphy on bass and guitar.

The songs on the album are mostly instrumental opening with “Waldman Shuffle”. “Last Rites” quickly establishes a somber tone with Dave’s harp leading the way. Next “Sensation Meets Mojo” kicks up the heat as the guitar and drums kick into high gear.  A cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Can’t Quit You” does feature a vocal, but it is mixed well behind the instrumentals to the point of almost being inconsequential. “Willie’s Blues” obviously is Greeson’s song primarily featuring his guitar in a slow blues. The album ends with “Warm Up” with Dave’s harp again in the lead.

The album probably holds some historical importance with people who have previously heard the band or frequented Jimmy’s Tap Room. The recording is fairly low grade with the sounds of people talking in the background on some songs, and as might be expected for something called the drummer’s mix, the mix puts the drums in the forefront of most songs.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

Jonah Tolchin – Dockside

Clover Music Group

www.jonahtolchin.com

12 songs – 51 minutes

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Jonah Tolchin is perhaps better known for his acoustic finger-picked folk songs. His latest release, Dockside, however sees him exploring his electric blues-fueled side with a full band, a quite fitting path given that his first real gig occurred when he was 15 and Ronnie Earl heard him play at a record shop, took him to lunch and invited him onstage at a later gig.

Co-produced by Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) and Tolchin at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, Dockside gives Tolchin the opportunity to marinade himself in the gumbo of Louisiana and Mississippi rhythms that his father knew intimately when he ran a record store in the Mississippi Delta before Tolchin was born.  The album was recorded live in two days, and there is a joyous freedom to the performances.

Tolchin wrote 10 of the 12 tracks on the album and handles vocals, lead guitar and harmonica. He is ably backed by Dickinson on rhythm guitar (lead on “Suffering Well” and “Trust Someone”) and clave, Terence Higgins on drums, Nic Coolidge on bass and rhythm guitar, Chavonne Stewart on backing vocals (and stunning lead vocals on “Too Far Down”), Marley Munroe on backing vocals, and Chris Joyner and Carey Frank on keyboards.

The entire band is first rate, but Higgins in particular has a knack for laying down tracks with a New Orleans flavor, leaving acres of space and time. As one might expect, given the personnel involved, there is a gloriously raw, rough feel to the songs but this is not an album stuffed with poorly-conceived jams. Each song is tightly structured but flexible enough to permit the musicians to breathe and explore.

Tolchin is a fine songwriter with a voice that reeks of the ages and belies his youth. He is also a fine harmonica player (check out his solo on “Endless Highway”) and an outstanding guitar player, whether on slide (as on the funky “Mama Don’t Worry”) or when traditional flat-picking, as on the slow Zeppelin-esque blues-rock of “Nothing’s Gonna Take My Blues Away”, smartly steering away from cliched blues licks but staying firmly rooted in the style.  For fans of guitar playing, the highlight has to be the magical slow blues of the closing track, “Lucille”, on which Tolchin lets pure emotion pour through his fingers for verse after verse.

There are few simple 12 bar blues on the album, but anyone who says the minor key “Can’t Close My Eyes” is anything but the purest blues is wholly wrong.  “Vermillion River” drags Delta Blues into the 21st century, while the opening cover of Little Walter’s “Blues With A Feeling” strips the original of its Chicago influences and plants it deep in the Louisiana soil. The soul-infused “Searching For My Soul” recalls the casual genius of Eric Lindell.

Dockside is an uplifting, glorious, musical celebration.  Let’s hope Tolchin enjoyed the experience sufficiently to consider another shot at the title. Wonderful stuff.

Reviewer Rhys “Lightnin'” Williams plays guitar in a blues band based in Cambridge, England. He also has a day gig as a lawyer.

Alex Lopez – Looking For A Change

Maremil Music – 2023

www.alexlopezmusic.com

10 tracks; 43 minutes

Growing up in Ohio, Alex was heavily influenced by the British invasion and guitarists Page, Clapton, Beck and Hendrix. Now based in Florida, Alex’s music is at the rock end of the blues-rock spectrum as he and his power trio band deliver ten tracks of hard-rocking material, Alex on lead guitar and vocals, Steve Roberts bass and Kana Leimbach drums. Alex wrote all bar one of the ten songs here, covering a Cream classic as the last cut on the album.

The band sets out its stall on an opening salvo of three heavy tracks. “Train” starts with cowbell and builds up a considerable head of steam as Alex discovers that this girl will not let anyone or anything get in her way along the route. “Whiskey Covered Woman” has a Zeppelin feel with lots of powerful riffs and crunching drums and it is certainly true that “Blues They Rock” on the third cut which has a relentless riff at its core and a jagged solo overdubbed. The title track takes the pace down a notch with a tune that reminded this reviewer of Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright” before Alex shows us a different side to his playing with “Spanish Blues” which has sensitive lyrics and some gentle playing before developing into a dramatic Latin rock outro.

“Tell Me” is a straight blues track with lyrics of bitter disappointment as Alex fears that her words of love are not true, his discordant guitar fills reflecting his angst. “Wild As The Wind” describes the hard life that the protagonist has had to overcome to get to where he is now, played to a funky riff with booming bass and solid drums before the band successfully blends funk and rock elements in celebration of “She”. Alex plays and sings well on the ballad “Night Closing In”, his guitar singing in the middle section. The cover is a pretty straight take on Jack Bruce’s “Politician”, a Cream song that is not often covered and the band does a solid job on it, the familiar riff present and correct, the vocals handled by bassist Steve, leaving Alex to range far and wide in his extended solo.

If blues-rock is your area of interest this release is worth investigating.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

Tony Wessels and The Revolvers – Reloaded

Self-Released

www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Wessels-The-Revolvers/100046418272636/

11 tracks – 43 minutes

Tony Wessels is an independent blues artist performing out of Atlanta. The album is his second release. The Revolvers were given their name as they are eighteen individuals that rotate through the band upon Tony’s request to contribute to an individual song. Tony’s approach was that he would select a song that he wanted to record, be it a cover or an original. Tony provides the lead vocal and plays bass. He would go into the studio with a drummer and record the basics of the song and send it out to his selection of the musicians that he felt would be appropriate to the sound of the song. They would listen to what was recorded and then determine what they felt that should be added to the song. They would then come into the studio to record their portion. Tony said that the music frequently took a different sound than what he initially had in mind, but with few exceptions the added parts were as the musicians brought to the studio. The only exceptions were for the horn arrangements and backing vocals.

The long list of musicians includes Stevie Vegas on drums, percussion, vibes and mojo. Other drummers include Rick Gilbert and Art McNaughton. Guitarists include Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck, Richie Mays, Jody Worrell, Steve Cunningham (who also plays pedal steel), and Mal Abercrombie (who also provided backing vocals on one track. Stephe “Hobo” Reid and Katorah Wylie play the harmonica. Robert Meadows plays keyboards on three tracks. Danny Bermel plays violin. carl Hunt plays trumpet and Ethan Levitt adds sax. Backing vocals are provided by Alex Wessels, Ry Wessels, Cidney Mills, and Michael Ray.

The album opens with a cover of Brownie McGhee’s “Gonna Move Across the River”. Richie Mays’ slide guitar and Robert Meadows provide a standout arrangement that has little to do with the sound of the original song as Tony’s vocals are accompanied by a ringing chorus behind him. This is not a disparaging remark. The song is an excellent start to the album, just extremely different from the more known original version. Big Bill Broonzy’s “Key to The Highway” has a slightly more traditional approach with Danny Dudeck’s slide guitar out in front. William “Peetie Wheatstraw” Bunch’s “Sweet Home Blues” is the third track and again has Robert Meadows’s organ and Max Abercrombie’s slide ripping through it.

The first original is “Walking with Jody”, which appears to be a reference to Jody Worrell’s guitar work on the song which is the only instrument other than Tony’s bass on the song. This is a short instrumental and the only song Worell appears on. “Smiling Women is the next original song on the album. The song is a fast paced, almost rap, song with Steve Cunningham ‘s guitar as Tony sings about women that “smile all night long, and smiles until the morning comes”. “Broken Man”, another original, is a laid back song featuring only Tony’s bass work with Richie May’s guitar and Rick Gilbert’s drum.

Muddy Water’s “Got My Mojo Working”, which was written by Preston Foster, gets upturned into an entirely new version similar to Tony’s approach to McGhee’s song. Here it becomes a very upbeat song with Clark and Ethan’s horns driving the song and Robert Meadows’s organ also featured. The Water’s penned “Blow Wind Blow” is given a more traditional approach with Danny Dudeck providing the slide and Stephe Reid’s harmonica leading the way.

The next original, “Changed” is a smooth, quiet jazzy touch with Katorah Wylie’s harmonica providing an easy backdrop for Steve Cunningham’s guitar that bursts with sound as an interlude before dropping back into the easy sound that started the song. The final original “Moving On” rocks out with Danny Bermel’s fiddle giving definition and Steve Vegas taking a drum solo. The song definitely stands out from other songs on the album. Sam “Lightnin'” Hopkins’ “Cotton” is given a very moody approach with Tony’s vocals approaching almost a whisper and the music sliding over into a bit of bluesy psychedelia.

The album constantly shifts its sound from traditional blues to blues rock and to sounds that are harder to categorize. Likewise, Tony’s vocals are unique and hard to describe. They are smooth and polished with a slightly gruff sound. The album is well worth a listen.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

Ole Lonesome – Tejas Motel

Gulf Coast Records – 2023

www.olelonesome.com

10 tracks; 45 minutes

Ole Lonesome is a five piece band from Texas and this is their debut album release. Gulf Coast boss Mike Zito already knew vocalist and guitarist Zachary Feemster who was in the band that toured with him presenting his 2011 release Greyhound. Feemster’s band impressed Zito and Gulf Coast has an aim of presenting worthy but lesser known acts, so Ole Lonesome fits that agenda also. Joining Zachary in the band are guitarist Greg Achord, keyboard player Gregory Mosley, bassist J Wesley Hardin and drummer Jimmy Devers. Zito produced the album in Dockside Studios in Louisiana and Kid Andersen mixed and mastered the disc at his Greaseland Studio in California. All material is credited to the whole band.

First of all, this is definitely a blues-rock album, if not a rock album with a few hints of blues. “Yvette” is proving too much for Zachary: “The way you throw your love around makes it hard to be your man”. The guitar riffs play off each other in each ear (if you are listening on headphones) over a churning rhythm and there is no let-up as “Gold Chevy” roars in with searing guitar riffs and heavy bass and tales of New Orleans voodoo queens, immediately followed by “Steady Mistreater” which is slower-paced but still full of big chords from the two guitarists. “Momma’s Worry” rockets along with hints of Zeppelin in the heavy drums and tough riffs and a Stones/Robert Johnson reference in the lyrics of “the blue light was my blues and the red light was my mind”. “Easy Street” has some great riffs and a lighter touch in the rhythm section as Zachary declares that “Texas blues sure got a hold on me” but “Lo Key” returns to a heavier style as Zito joins in the guitar fun.

“Ain’t No Good” is a slower tune and the closest to straight blues we get here. The longest cut at just over six minutes, the band takes its time and the piano work is a feature of this one, as well as some subtle guitar touches, for this reviewer the best cut on the album. An insistent riff underpins “The Fool” as Zachary confesses that he is in thrall to this girl, a solid guitar solo also enhancing the track. The band returns to rockier fare for “Natural Fact” before closing with the title track “Tejas Motel” which seems a rather seedy place “girls prowling though the hall, nicotine stain on the wall”, the music being more in Americana style with some good interplay between the guitars.

Not a lot for traditional blues fans to get excited about here, but if you like blues-rock and plenty of guitar riffs this one should be of interest.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

Hank Shreve Band – That Way

Self-Release – 2023

www.hankshreveband.com

10 tracks; 44 minutes

Hank Shreve and his band come from the Pacific Northwest and this is their fourth album release. The band is axed round brothers Hank and Bill Shreve and whilst their prime instruments are harmonica and bass respectively, they also cover lap-steel, drums, percussion, guitar and keys (Hank) and keys, guitar, trumpet and sax (Bill). Ken Luker is on lead guitar, Tim Donahue drums and lead vocals are shared between Hank (seven), Bill (two) and Ken (one). The material includes three songs written by Hank, one each by Bill and Ken and one written by all three, alongside four interestingly diverse covers.

We start with the title track, Hank’s lap-steel giving the song a country feel as he sings of how much he likes the way his girl treats him. “Don’t Know” has an old-timey feel with a loping rhythm over which sax, trumpet and harp add jazzy overtones. Big Bill Broonzy’s “I Feel So Good” is played at a ferocious pace with great vocals, pounding piano and exciting harp and guitar breaks, making this a very successful makeover of a tried and tested classic. Opening with Hank’s high register harp and percussion effects, the late Norton Buffalo’s “Hoodoo Roux” allows the band to explore its love of New Orleans music as the song name checks voodoo queens and black cat bones. It is also a lengthy cut at over seven minutes, allowing the band to take its time to good effect. The funky “Applegate Road” is guitarist Ken’s tune which he sings well while offering solo opportunities to the rhythm section. Robert Parks’ “I’m Out” is an obscure choice, originally released in 1958 by The Surf Riders. The original was rockabilly but this version is more of a stop-start blues rhythm and works equally well as Ken takes a plucked solo and Hank blows a storm over the insistent beat.

The song written by Hank, Bill and Ken is “Back In Your Life”, with Bill on lead vocal. Plenty going on here, the jagged beat offset by twinkling piano and a tour-de-force harp solo. “The Thing” is a lively instrumental which features Hank’s harp and Ken’s guitar before Bill’s “Think” brings in a healthy dose of soul as the rhythm section bounds along with horns adding to the bigger sound of the track. Perhaps the most unlikely choice is Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints” (though one should remember that the saxophonist did play with Santana as well as Weather Report and Miles Davis) but it is a very successful cover of a jazz classic, Hank’s harp taking most of the leads alongside guest Ron Andreini on piano.

This is a splendidly diverse album that incorporates jazz and country influences into the standard blues fare. Hank Shreve proves himself to be a fine harp player and the whole band deserves great credit for their contributions to the album.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

Tom Buenger – Blues From Caucasia

Self-Release – 2023

www.thomasbmusic.com

11 tracks; 41 minutes

Tom Buenger spent a decade in military service and another decade in corporate business before deciding that music was really what he wanted to do with his life. On his second album the multi-instrumentalist plays acoustic guitar, piano and harmonica and handles all the lead vocals, assisted by a few friends from his base in the Pacific North West: Chris Eger on guitar and bass, Teresa Russell on electric guitar, Rafael Tranquilino on electric guitar, bass and drums and Richard Williams and Cyrus Zerbe on drums. There are ten original compositions and one cover here; for each track Tom registers what percentage of the music is his own, a figure that drops as low as 60% and reaches 100% on the four solo acoustic cuts.

“Above The Sun” races out of the traps in rockabilly style, hand-claps and Tom’s harp adding a fervent campfire feel. In “Start A Fire” Tom states that “you light me up like crazy, I burn slowly but I burn steady”, the tune enhanced by some striking guitar from Teresa; clearly a love song, the dramatic nature of the song is slightly diminished by too much repetition of the title. “That Ain’t Right” is an acoustic tune, Tom playing guitar and buzzing harp over a steady drum beat and bass from Richard while “What You Gonna Do” is a guitar duo performance, Tom playing slide on the acoustic and using a foot-stomp, Rafael adding electric guitar to a catchy refrain. Tom’s gentle acoustic picking on the blues “Mean Things” is impressive, Chris adding a little bass and electric guitar. Tom adds kazoo to his repertoire on “Get With Me”, the fast-paced drums suiting the country accents on the tune while the relaxed “Feel Alright” is the tune on which Tom reckons that he only contributes 60% as Rafael plays electric guitar, bass and drums, a good contrast with “Get With Me”.

The four solo tracks are placed towards the end of the album, starting with “Don’t Stop”, just Tom and his acoustic. There is a gospel feel to this one, perhaps enhanced by the background vocals which are presumably overdubbed and may well all be Tom’s, as he has already shown that he has a wide vocal range, from deep to falsetto. Harmony vocals are also overdubbed on “Fight With Me” as Tom’s guitar adds a Spanish flavor to the tune and “Talk To Me” shows another side to Tom’s playing with a country blues feel. To close the album we get Blind Willie Johnson’s much covered “Soul Of A Man”, Tom producing a richly layered version with harmonizing vocals and harp over Tom’s gentle picking, a well produced version of a classic song. Modestly, Tom attributes 0% to himself here, leaving all the credit to Blind Willie.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.