Jimmy Carpenter – Just Got Started

Gulf Coast Records

www.jimmycarpenter.net

12 Tracks – 55 Minutes

Jimmy Carpenter was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He decided at an early age that he wanted to play the sax after listening to his father’s music collection of big band music which included Paul Desmond who played the alto sax with Dave Brubeck. Jimmy started playing in the school band from 5th grade onward. After graduation, Jimmy settled into playing with various regional bands. A friendship with Tinsley Ellis led a tour with Tinsley. Jimmy Thackeray then contacted Jimmy to become a member of his band, The Drivers, which lasted for six years.

In 2003, Carpenter left The Drivers and settled into New Orleans and quickly became part of their music scene. He became friends with Walter “Wolfman” Washington and joined Eric Lindell’s band among other gigs including a stint with Mike Zito and The Wheel in 2012.  He also got involved in the running of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival.

In 2015, Jimmy moved to Las Vegas where he is now the President of the Las Vegas Blues Society, the Talent Buyer and Musical Director of the Big Blues Bender, the annual Las Vegas blues festival, and the leader of the festival’s house band, The Bender Brass and for the annual Hart Party, which is a benefit for the Blues Foundation’s Handy Artist Relief Fund. To date the benefit has raised $440,000 for the Blues Foundation and they hope to surpass $500,000 with this year’s event.

In addition, he is a seven-time nominee and two-time winner of the Blues Foundation’s Blues Music Award for Best-Instrumentalist – Horns in 2021 and 2022 and a Grammy winner in 2021 for a song he contributed to an album, Atmosphere, by the New Orleans Nightcrawlers.  He released his first solo album, Toiling in Obscurity, in 2008. His last previous album in 2022, The Louisiana Record, featured some of his favorite songs from that state.

This album is his sixth solo release and his third on Gulf Coast Records, Mike Zito’s label. Mike Zito is the Executive Producer for the album. Jimmy says his direction for the album is “blues-based, but also song oriented and funky cool with a kind of vintage soul vibe”. Recorded at Greaseland Studios with Christopher “Kid” Andersen producing, playing guitar on all tracks and adding organ on six. In addition to Jimmy on sax and doing lead vocals, he is joined by Jim Pugh on keyboards, Derrick D’mar Martin on drums and percussion, and Jerry Jemmott and Bobby Vega playing bass on the various tracks along with other guest performers.

“(Feels Like) I Just Got Started” opens the album. He describes the song as the last set of a night being a metaphor for his life in music as he “just got started and can’t stop now”. A cover of Willie Dixon’s “My Babe”, originally performed by Little Walter, follows. Mike Galisatus adds trumpet on the song. “I Only Gamble with My Heart” is his answer when people ask him if he is a gambler as he lives in Vegas. He smoothly says, “I never drew the winning cards, until I bet it all on you”. When I found “the queen of hearts, I went all in on you”.

Jimmy lets loose on his sax on the instrumental “Jimmy Shimmy” with Jim Pugh’s organ burning along and Bobby Vega switching to a guitar run.   He then slows things down with a cover of The Manhattans’ “Shining Star” with his statement that “I want to be right here with you until my dying day”. A funky cover of Allen Toussaint’s “Night People” gets things jumping again.

On “Live Again”, he asks her “to just have the strength to hold me and help me heal again” in another romantic soul song. He describes “King” Curtis Ousley as his saxophone hero. The instrumental “Soul Theme ” is the first of two covers on the album from King Curtis and he certainly gets the funk tearing up the sound. “Keep on Stepping” keeps the funk going as he declares” there ain’t no time to sleep, get your feet out there on the street”.

A cover of Otis Rush’s “Working Man”, which was written by Mike Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites, tells the story of the man who works all the time but particularly “in the nighttime, just to keep my baby cool. A cover of Delbert McClinton’s “Leap of Faith”, written by Glen Clark and Gary Nicholson” is next with Lisa Andersen joining on backing vocals. He concludes the album with the second King Curtis cover, “Midnight Blue”, a low, sexy instrumentals.

Jimmy’s inviting vocals and sax work would be a very successful background to a romantic dinner with your significant other or date, a bottle of wine on the table and perhaps some candles with the music offering intervals of quiet sharing over the table and encouragement of a dance along the way.  Or just turn up the volume and let the party start.

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.

Stefan Hillesheim Band – Live at Rosa’s 

Stella Blue Music – 2024

www.shblues.com

12 tracks; 56 minutes

With Live at Rosa’s Lounge (2024), German blues guitarist Stefan Hillesheim and his Chicago band deliver a high energy set paying homage to the historic blues city, proving to have dexterity across a range of blues styles. The album follows last year’s When I’m Gone (2023), HIllesheim’s first full LP, coming after 4 EPs periodically released starting in 2019.

For the live set at Rosa’s, the Stefan Hillesheim Band plays 11 Hillesheim original songs that display his considerable talents as a storyteller and lyricist. Opening up with “Sins of the Father”, Hillesheim croons about the “sins of the father, the shadow of the past… I’ve found a way to live now we’ve gone our separate ways.” Electric, meandering guitar solos linger, droning as Sumito “Ariyo” Ariyoshi adds splashes of keys in a track vaguely resembling Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The band played both an electric and an acoustic version of “Harlem Avenue Lounge”, a high energy, rollicking blues tune about shooting pool, drinking whisky, and the special environment of one of Chicago’s most beloved blues clubs. Muscle-clad guitar solos carried the electric version, while the acoustic version was stripped down and effective, with Hillesheim singing “come on inside, but leave your ego at the door.” The song, which Hillesheim dedicated to Kenny Zimmerman, the owner of the Harlem Avenue Lounge in Chicago who died in February, is ultimately about the blues and its fans.

On “Leaving You Behind”, bone-chilling guitar and piano kick it off, while HIllesheim sings, filled with sorrow, about a former lover he can’t seem to escape; “I spent a long time running but I can’t seem to leave you behind you… Couldn’t keep you satisfied. There’s no escape.” Ariyoshi’s piano works in tandem with solid guitarwork.

“Seduced by the Blues”, a groovy, gritty tune about Hillesheim falling in love with the blues, starts with a moody, stirring intro and Hillesheim singing about his bedroom poster of one of his heroes and greatest influences, Elmore James. Howling, wild guitar is unleashed, like the spirit of the blues – the playing is dexterous and completely carefree. The homage to the genre clearly bleeds through with passion and stands out as one of the best tracks on the live album.

One of the two acoustic songs from the performance, “Will You Remember Me”, is refreshingly simple, authentic, and vulnerable. Time seems to slow down as Hillesheim sings, “when that path splits, would you turn around? Will you remember me after I’m gone?” The solo performance by the German guitarist, to close out the show, holds a quiet, tender force; “I can’t get up. My heart weighs me down. I’m losing my grip.”

Darryl Wright delivers saucy, groovy bass lines on “Put Some Respect on My Name”, a song dedicated to all the hard-working bands who hadn’t quite made it, driving six hours through the snow. Hillesheim lashes out at image-based success in music, singing “If you listen with your eyes, you won’t hear a damn thing.”

With “You’re My Family”, Ariyoshi takes center stage, with an upbeat piano dominated intro, in a catchy, wholesome love song. The vocals pour out sweet and tender and the song vaguely reminiscent of the Allman brothers. Several layers of instruments create a tapestry of sound, while Hillesheim sings “I’ve come to see you’re my family.”

“Favorite Hiding Place” lacked lyrical substance and featured smoky vocals. “One Cloudy Day” departed from straight blues and lacked gumption and soul. “Dealing with the Pain” a mid tempo blues rock tune, seemed like the band was going for too much and the layers didn’t stack up right.

All that said, Live at Rosa’s Lounge (2024), captures a solid performance by a respected Chicago band, highlighting excellent songwriting ability and an impressive musical range.

Writer Jack Austin, also known by his radio DJ name, Electric Chicken (y Pollo Electrico en Espanol), is a vinyl collector, music journalist, and musician originally from Pittsburgh.

Rochelle & The Sidewinders – Soul Kiss

Independent

www.rochelleandthesidewinders.com

10 Tracks – 46 minutes

Austin, Texas’ Rochelle and The Sidewinders first formed in 2015 and immediately established themselves as a high energy band in concert on their many tours. The band has been a semi-finalist twice at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

Rochelle Creone, the lead singer and percussionist of the group, has been singing all her life with her family or in church choirs, but she made her move to the blues in May 2015 when she answered a Craigslist ad looking for a vocalist. She is frequently referenced as the Texas Songbird. Guitarist Tom Coplen started playing at age 14 in his hometown of Tuscon, Arizona. Studying the bands from his mom’s records, he fell in love with R&B and jazz and played in multiple bands prior to joining The Sidewinders. Jim Trimmier has been a professional musician for over fifty years. He plays keyboards, sax and provides backing vocals.  Steven Campbell has over 30 years of professional experience and plays multiple instruments but plays bass and adds backing vocals for The Sidewinders. Drummer Kennan Stone gets a special thanks at the top of the credits’ listing. The album was produced by Jason Frankhauser who plays acoustic guitar on “The Love You Bring”.

Soul Kiss is the band’s fifth album release featuring ten original songs with composer credits listed as the whole band. The album opens with some slide guitar on “Sinner’s Tale” with Rochelle declaring “she is looking for salvation” for “all the things I’ve done”. In the album liner notes, Rochelle says a “Soul Kiss”         “happens when I see a beautifully lit moon at night, or feel a soft breeze, because my soul is deeply rooted with Nature. The song was written to express my relationship with Nature and my love of it.” The upbeat song features Jim’s sax.

“Backseat Driver” gets funky as Rochelle moves into an R&B tone as she says “don’t tell me which way to go when you act like you know” with Jim again ripping through the song on his sax and Tom’s soaring guitar. “Maybe Tomorrow” slows things down with a testament, “When I promise you the day, what’s formed for me to say, though when I finally hear your voice, it’s all just faded away, maybe tomorrow will be better.” On “Just A Taste”, Rochelle declares ” I want to make you scream and moan” in an all-out rousing rock number.

“The Love You Bring” moves back into a soft, soulful song with Rochelle declaring “the love you bring to me is what sets us free”. “This kind of love stands the test of time” with an answering chorus and Jason’s acoustic guitar providing accompaniment. “If I Had a Dollar” gets things jumping again with Jim’s funky sax again providing a lead. On “Long Distance Blues”, she mournfully moans “the day went on, no end in sight, my mind is ended, and nothing is right” as “you left me”.

“The Longest Night” moves back into a quiet, soulful lament as she says, “a box of blues saturate my head, I hold a pillow tight between my legs, imagining that you are home”. They close the album with the heavy rocking “In Your Face”. She says, “you try to run, you try to hide, you can’t get away” with driving drums, roaring guitars, and the keyboards and sax sliding throughout.

Rochelle has a powerful voice obviously stemming from her time in the church choir. She shifts from one genre to another with ease. The Sidewinders are also a tightly knit backing vehicle.

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.

Vanessa Collier – Do It My Own Way

Phoenix Fire Records – 2024

www.vanessacollier.com

8 tracks; 31 minutes

Vanessa Collier was born in Texas, graduated from Berklee College of Music and went straight out on the road with Joe Louis Walker who encouraged her to embark on a solo career. She has been classed as a rising star for some time now, but will her seventh album release break through the barrier? Well, there is certainly plenty of quality here as Vanessa wrote all the songs, produced the album on her own label, sings lead vocals throughout (plus some choral stuff too), plays all the saxophone and flute parts and adds some touches of slide resonator also – she is really a wonderful multi-tasker! Assisting Vanessa here is a great group of musicians, Laura Chavez on guitar, Scot Sutherland on bass and Byron Cage on drums; Reverend Charles Hodges adds Hammond organ, Doug Woolverton trumpet, Trey Macias percussion and Maureen Murphy backing vocals on two cuts.

A popping, funky rhythm sets us up to appreciate the need for hard work, “Elbow Grease”, as Vanessa puts it, she and Doug taking striking solos. The title track is a soul-infused tune with Laura’s echoey riff at its heart as Vanessa rails against some people in the industry who are determined to direct how she should approach her career, refusing to conform to some of the stereotypes of women in music. Slowing the pace a little “Take Me Back” edges into Americana, a dark tale of removing oneself from negative influences, Vanessa’s expansive sax solo excellent mid-tune. Whilst the title track had some soul elements, “Wild As A Rainstorm” is the full soul ballad package, complete with subtle guitar and a great chorus which encourages the next generation to follow their own paths in life: “Be as wild as a rainstorm, just breathe in deep, be a tapestry of dreams”. A fine sax solo graces the middle of the song, flute comes into the later choruses and Scot’s bass features at the end of the song, a real band effort.

We get funky again on the horn-driven “Shoulda Known Better” before another change in style with the rumba rhythms of “Just One More”. Vanessa’s alto work here fits the tune like a glove and Laura’s uncanny ability to match whatever the song needs makes this another winner, though the next track takes some beating! “Rosetta” is a tribute to one of Vanessa’s influences, Sister Rosetta Tharpe: “I’d like to follow in her footsteps and do something profound”. Gospel harmonies (all Vanessa) and the rocking blues of the band make a superb combination here, you will find it impossible to stay still to this one! The album closes with “Warrior” which portrays a powerful woman, presumably Vanessa’s mother, and makes a strong point about the strength of women who have fought for their freedom: “Funny thing about the mirage of justice is that even when you win you still lose”. Vanessa’s resonator opens the tune before the band joins in, Laura delivering a superb solo, the tune building in intensity as the horns build up a head of steam behind Vanessa’s impassioned vocals before we return to the simplicity of the resonator and wordless vocals to close the tune.

The album may be on the short side but there is no filler here as Vanessa demonstrates her ability to operate across blues, funk, soul and gospel. A good album that ticks all those boxes and will help to maintain Vanessa’s upward trajectory.

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.

There are many amazing back stories in the blues, but none more different than that of Prakash Slim. Since this spring, the highly polished country blues guitarist has been captivating audiences across the U.S. after finally fulfilling several lifelong dreams, emerging from a life of poverty in his homeland, recording his first album on American soil and finally playing the music he loves in the place where it was born.

And, believe it or not, he accomplished all of his goals with the help of friends he made on the internet while never leaving his humble home on the other side of the world!

Now based in upstate New York, Slim was born Ram Prakash Pokharel and literally came into the world in the middle of a rice field during the rainy season in the remote village of Lamatar in the Lalitpur district of Nepal, a landlocked nation situated between India and China that’s known best as being the home of both of Buddha and Mt. Everest, too. But despite its isolation, the Land of Solitary Meditation and Penance is home to a small blues community, too.

“My mother was still working in the field to feed our family and the village when she went into labor,” Prakash told Blues Blast in a recent interview. “My father, an administrator, died when I was two years old, leaving her to raise my older brother, sister and me. Life was hard.

“The only ambition I had growing up was to live one day at a time. Ambition was a privilege for rich kids, not me.”

Just 60 miles southwest of the capital, Kathmandu, but a difficult four hours away, Lamatar sits in the rugged foothills of the Himalayas – different as day and night from the flat expanse of the Delta in Mississippi. But grinding poverty and other factors present obstacles that make life similar in many ways. Lamatar is so remote that electricity didn’t arrive until Slim was three, and the first motorized vehicle didn’t reach the village until he was 15.

One blessing that Prakash enjoyed was a decent education in a government-run school. But even then, instead of sitting at a desk, he sat on a mat made of straw. Another is his love for music, which came at a young age.

“I’d drive my mother crazy, banging on water pots all day and singing along to songs I’d hear on the radio,” he says. “It could be Indian music, Nepali folk or Muddy Waters – he was the first blues artist I heard — or ’70s bands like The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King. It all depended on what was playing that day.

“Once a month or once a week they’d play the blues, and I’d be waiting and hoping until they did.”

Like the Delta, folks didn’t have much in Lamatar other than familial love and a tight-knit community that worked together to overcome obstacles in whatever form they took. Prakash’s prized possession during childhood was a bicycle gifted to him by his sister. It was a real treasure costing 3,500 rupees or more…and for struggling Nepalis, the rupees were hard to come by.

But he still swapped it for his first guitar – an electric — when he finally got the chance.

“I was 16,” Slim remembers, “and I traded the bicycle for a guitar with a friend, fibbing to my family that I’d just loaned it.”

Prakash struggled for a couple of years, trying to teach himself the instrument, then realized he needed to know more. Possessing a curious mind, he knew he had to learn music theory…but where? Finding the right teacher was a difficult task in and of itself. His first break came at age 20, when he met C.B. Chhetri. A bandleader in addition to being a skilled educator, Chhetri agreed to take Slim under his wing and teach him the progressions and chordings that would make his music sing.

“He lived ten kilometers (six miles) away, and it was a difficult journey – especially without a bicycle,” Slim says, “but I never missed a lesson.”

He proved to be such an excellent student that Chhetri eventually invited Prakash to join his band, which played  Western instrumental music on the local restaurant circuit. Slim spent years at his side before joining a succession of rock bands — The Sound of Music, Black Hawk Nepal and The Plus, playing lead and rhythm guitar and bass and mixing traditional Nepali pop numbers with hits from the Eagles and other Western Top 40 groups.

“It was fine playing in rock bands for 12 years,” Prakash says, noting that hearing B.B. King on the radio for the first time was a life-changer. “It really struck home with me…it healed the hole in my soul. The intervals he was playing on guitar were magical.”

After taking a ten-day seminar at Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory taught by American Dr. Gene Aitken, who was serving as an envoy in the U.S. embassy, Slim started teaching music theory and guitar himself, something he continued until leaving his homeland. And he dedicated his life to the blues, becoming an important figure in the local Blues in the Schools program, too.

Prakash’s first foray to the U.S. should have come in 2015. That’s when he was invited to attend a retreat at the Waldon School of Music in San Francisco. But tragedy struck. A major earthquake in the region caused so much destruction that he had to cancel the trip. The event cast him into a depression that endured until 2017, when he was confined to bed rest after falling ill.

“I spent my time scrolling through the internet,” he says, “and I came across the Facebook page called ‘Acoustic Blues Pickers.’”

The discovery proved to be as big an event as the earthquake in Slim’s life. He’d listened to country blues occasionally through the years, but it was always a footnote until he played a post track of Robert Johnson playing “Me and the Devil Blues.”

“I listened to that number several times, and didn’t know what was happening to me. That was my turning point.”

For the next week, Prakash taught himself the song. Then he made a video and posted it for the group to see. That simple act from his bed in Nepal introduced Slim to the world. Now in his 40s and a polite, friendly man, he possesses an outgoing personality that’s instantly likable, and it didn’t take long before he started making friendships with blues lovers, artists, societies and venue operators on all four corners of the world.

During his extend recovery, he became totally consumed with country blues and its creators. He started picking up technique from Johnson, then moved on to study and learn tunes by Charley Patton, Bukka White, Son House, Blind Blake, Mississippi John Hurt, Fred McDowell and other first-generation stars. And the music inspired him so much that it led him to deep research into the music’s history, the major events surrounding it, slavery and the societal problems that helped produce it, too.

“Blues is the voice of an oppressed and exploited people,” Slim insists. “It’s a sacred boon to the world, and no one can deny that it came from African-Americans who had suffered.

“Like them, I was born with the blues. Many of us (Nepali) are suffering from same problems today…discrimination, economic depression and other social issues. Like the people of Mississippi, we have flooding, droughts and other natural disasters.”

Through his new internet contacts, it didn’t take long before Slim learned that – like his neighbors at home – the blues community is supportive and giving, too.

Tennessee attorney Fred Love, for one, befriended Prakash after viewing his Facebook video and offered a hand to advance his career. “‘How can I help you?’ he asked me,” Slim remembers. “‘I want to play Delta country style,’ I said, “‘but I don’t have a resonator guitar and slides.’”

For Slim, it was just a dream, but for Fred, it was a call to action. Within weeks, they arrived at Slim’s door.

“I’m blessed,” Prakash says.

Then there’s Dr. T.D. Moore, a Mississippi based director of a non-profit, who’s helped him learn blues history and more about the artists he reveres.

Moore runs the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund, a charity created by a former social worker-turned-vintage guitar dealer in 1989 to repair and rebuild the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Morgan City, Miss., where authorities agree Robert Johnson was laid to rest.

The group now works to restore African-American church communities across the South, paying special attention to restoring markers of musicians buried in their graves. They memorialize the artists and educate the world about their contributions through outreach programs, blues research and education. And they’re active in the fight for racial equality, too.

It didn’t take Prakash long to become part of its blues mentorship training program, where he fell under the spell of T.J. Wheeler, the Delta guitar virtuoso who’s been deeply involved with the non-profit since its inception. Slim credits T.J.’s playing and instruction with helping him become the dyed-in-the-wool Delta and Piedmont bluesman he is today.

“Without knowing your history and your culture, my blues training would have been incomplete,” Slim insists. “I used it to empower kids in my Blues in the Schools work in Nepal. It teaches them how to live better lives – and how to improve race relations and other social issues. The kids love it!”

Back to the music!

Prakash recorded his first album, Country Blues from Nepal, in 2022. It came about thanks to another Facebook friend, Carl Wyatt. Slim mentioned in conversation that it was one of his dreams. And Irish-born guitarist/bandleader now based in France immediately offered to help make it come true. Wyatt enlisted the help of his bass player, Luxembourg-based Yves DeVille, who owns a recording studio and label. Slim laid down WAV tracks in Nepal, forwarded them to Europe, where Yves mixed, mastered and released them on his DeVille Records imprint.

“Another American friend, Henry Jones, helped me with the phrasing and lyrics,” Prakash says, “something he’s also done with my new album.”

And making things even more special, Prakash reached out to Italian harmonica player Fabrizio Poggi, asking if he’d like to contribute to the project. A Grammy nominee with Guy Davis for the album, Brownie and Sonny’s Last Train, a few years ago, Poggi agreed, submitting his own WAV tracks via the internet, too.

Amazingly, what started out as a pipedream struck a positive chord with blues lovers around the world, placing in the No. 4 spot in Roots Music Report’s chart of best country albums in the U.S. while ranking No. 12 in Britain and No. 19 in Australia. And two of its songs charted well, too. Almost immediately, Slim was receiving interviews and coverage from a host of other countries, including Germany, Greece, France, Armenia, Paraguay – where he was nicknamed “the Nepali Robert Johnson” and Ireland, too – all without stepping foot outside his home in the Himalayas.

But that would come to an end soon, too. He finally stepped on Mississippi soil in 2023, when he was invited to play in Clarksdale at the Crossroads Blues Festival. He also fulfilled every blues lover’s dream by visiting both the Crossroads and Johnson’s grave. And he also got to play alongside Wheeler at a festival in New Hampshire, which made the trip even more special.

His emigration to the U.S. earlier this year came about through the sponsorship of two more Facebook friends, Lance Bowman and Kat McNeill, who ran the Can’t Stop the Blues page on the website. A huge success during the COVID crisis, they broadcast shows four nights a week to folks shut-in around the world, and many of the top names in the industry were featured performing.

Lance welcomed him to America in Virginia this spring. And guitarist Johnny Burgin – a world traveler who was a fixture in the Chicago blues scene for decades — and Stephanie Tice – Johnny’s partner and his co-host of the popular No Borders Blues podcast – welcomed Prakash into their home for two weeks before Slim hit the road for a five-month U.S. tour. Slim’s been a guest on No Borders twice, and Johnny’s helped him with bookings.

And in case you were wondering…you guessed it!…the trio have been friends on the website for years. But there’s still one more online hookup – and it’s probably the best one yet!

Chicago-based Michael Freeman is a British-born, Grammy-winning producer and engineer and former board member of the Blues Foundation. He’s worked with a who’s who of talents, including Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Deborah Coleman, Eddy Clearwater, John Primer, Bo Diddley, Mississippi Heat and a host of others in a 30-plus year career.

“I connected with him about five or six years ago,” Slim says. “I was asking him if there is something he could do to help me because I knew I wanted to do something in the blues. He said: ‘Give it time. There’s a chance…when the time’s right.’”

The duo kept in touch through the ensuing years, and Prakash sent him samples of his work. And the right time came shortly after his arrival in the U.S.

“I got a call from Stephanie that Michael wanted to do two or three songs with me,” Slim says. “I was shocked that it would be my good fortune to work with such a blues great. The next day, she called again, saying he wanted to do four or five songs…then another call the next day to say he wanted to do a full album.”

With only two originals in his set list, Prakash immediately went to work to create more. Five days later, he had eight songs in the can, and it’s a good thing that he did. He and Johnny were on the road when Stephanie called to inform them Freeman had green-lighted the project.

“We had a Zoom meeting with Michael, and I played all of the songs,” Slim recalled. “He said ‘yes,’ and he set a recording date for April 17 and 18 at Sam Phillips Studios in Memphis.” Prakash would play lead on lead resonator guitar and provide vocals while Johnny would support on electric guitar and Michael handle drums. When Prakash got to Tennessee, Grammy nominee and multi-instrumentalist Scott Bomar served as the engineer.

Entitled 8000 Miles to the Crossroads and released on Freeman’s Blue Point Records, the album hit the streets on Aug. 2 and has soared through the charts. It’s an amazing accomplishment for the artist, who’s already received Ambassador of the Blues awards from two blues societies in California and Josie Awards as international ambassador and world artist of the year despite being a relative unknown everywhere outside the acoustic blues world.

Possessing Prakash’s rhythmic and hypnotic fretwork throughout, the album recently hit the No. 1 spot on Roots Music Report’s country blues chart and created additional interest in his debut release, which is also currently charting again, too. His skill on the strings makes listeners overlook the Nepali accent in his pleasant, mid-range voice — something that’s easily forgivable considering he’s been a member of the English-speaking world for less than a year.

Choice cuts include a stellar version of Scrapper Blackwell’s “Kokomo Blues,” which sounds fresh despite being covered by hundreds of artists since debuting in 1928. The Slim original “Old Man Blues” and the autobiographical “8000 Miles to the Crossroads” demonstrate his ability to deliver new songs that remain faithful to the past while delivering contemporary themes.

You’ll also like “Talking Nepal Blues,” which delivers more of his biographical material that mirrors in many ways what Delta bluesmen have produced, and the instrumental, “Blues Raga (Part Two),” which fuses East and West while carrying forward a theme Prakash used on his debut disc.

The New World has opened a whole new world of possibilities for Slim, who’s working diligently to get his green card, become a permanent resident and bring his wife and son from Nepal to be at his side. Like Burgin, Prakash is proving himself in be a road dog of the first order – and someone who’s heart is definitely in the right place. Check out his music and find out where he’ll be playing next by visiting his website: www.prakashslim.com.

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.

John Greyhound Maxwell – Wagon of Tales

Independent

http://johngreyhoundmaxwell.com

15 Tracks – 61 minutes

John “Greyhound” Maxwell began his journey into the blues after seeing B.B. King play in a 1971 concert. His older brother was already listening to Chicago blues, which led his interest.  He took lessons from Johnny Long, who had been a student of Homesick James. He then studied classical guitar in college at St. Louis but quit that after two years as it just did not appeal to him. He traveled around and played music with multiple bands in genres as widespread as a San Francisco punk band called Eye Protection, playing bluegrass and country in Tulsa, and R&B in Minneapolis. But he kept returning to the blues. A call from a friend in San Francisco to form a new band which allowed him to return to his passion of Chicago blues.

John is recognized by many of his peers as one of the best slide guitarists around. David Lindley, who himself was considered a master of most stringed instruments including the lap steel and Hawaiian-style slide guitar, proclaimed “John is the finest bottleneck slide player I’ve heard in a long time”. He has shared the stage with blues stalwarts Ruthie Foster, Sonny Landreth, Keb Mo, and Taj Mahal. His album Blues for Evangeline was a finalist for Best Self-Produced CD at the 2016 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. His 2018 cd, Even Good Dogs Get the Blues, was also submitted for consideration for that award.

John now resides in Washington State where he won the 2018 Washington Blues Society award for Best Acoustic Blues Guitar and was a nominee for Best Solo Artist in 2023. In addition to his acoustic and slide guitar, he also plays the blues mandolin, which he says surprises a lot of people. But he says the mandolin has a long history dating back to early string bands.

This album was recorded over two days at Rainshadow Recording in Port Townsend, Washington. He says the album veers away from the modern world of overdubs and pitch correction and instead focuses on a “back porch vibe” with some of the musicians playing together for the first time. He gathered several guests together for the recordings including Guy Quintino on acoustic bass on five tracks and Dirk Anderson on one; Sean Divine on harmonica on five tracks and Steve Maxwell on four; Paul Rogers on piano on three tracks; Conor Sisk on percussion on one track, and Alanna Dailey providing harmony vocals on three tracks.

The album features some of John’s favorite songs from decades past along with a couple of his original songs. The album opens with Blind Willie Johnson’s 1930 song “You Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond”, which was a reference to how you have to live to get into heaven. John’s warm, comfortable vocals immediately capture your attention with Sean’s harmonica complementing the song. Willie Brown’s 1930 “Future Blues”, which he also recorded with Charlie Patton in 1931 follows. Country blues guitarist K.C. Douglas 1952 song “Mercury Blues” was first recorded as “Mercury Boogie” in 1948. The song was a tribute to the then popular American automobile. John’s acoustic guitar accents the song.

Hudson “Tampa Red” Whitaker’s 1952 “But I Forgive You” is next with John’s slide guitar standing out and his duet with Alanna adding a warm touch to a song about a feuding couple and some great piano work from Paul. Alanna also joins him on Curtis Mayfield’s 1965 “People Get Ready” with Steve’s harmonica blending into their vocals in a very captivating version of the song. John goes it alone on one of his originals, the instrumental “Comanche Hula Rag”.

John shifts back to 1928 for his version of Henry Thomas’ “Bull Doze Blues”. The original song was featured in an early sequence in Martin Scorsese’s 2023 movie Killer of the Flower Moon. Robert Wilkins 1928 song “That’s No Way to Get Along” follows as John proclaims, “These low-down women, mama, treated your son wrong and that’s no way for him to get along”. Henry Townsend’s “Tears Come Rolling Down” was first performed in the late 1940’s but was not recorded until 1952. It has been recorded by many other artists over the years and most recently by Kenny Wayne Shepherd. But John certainly makes the song his own like the rest of the songs on the album.

A traditional song “Deep Elum Blues” refers to an African American neighborhood in Dallas Texas which was famously home to musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson and Lead Belly. The traditional railroad song “Tamp ’em Up Solid” references packing gravel before you lay cement, but also described packing pipe tobacco. The song’s first recording was made by John and Alex Lomax in 1934. John moves to a more current song with Ray Bonneville’s 2008 “I Am the Big Easy” which was the 2009 Folk Alliance International Song of the Year and is a tribute to the resilience of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Alanna joins again provides a powerful harmony.

John blends Sonny Boy Williamson II’s 1960’s song “Peaches Tree” with Lead Belly’s 1929 “Rock Island Line” shifting quickly between the two diverse songs with ease. He then moves back to another Tampa song, the hokum 1942 “Let Me Play with Your Poodle”, famously performed and connected more recently to Marcia Ball. But again, John makes the song completely his own and does feature Paul’s honky tonk piano mixed with his slide guitar. The album ends with another of John’s original recordings, “Second to the Last Stan”, a concluding instrumental featuring his excellent slide.

This album should be a must to acquire for any blues purists or just lovers of blues classics. John’s vocals are always appealing, and the musicianship is impeccable.

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.

Mick Pini – Papa Voodoo

Audio 54 Records

http://www.mickpiniband.com

14 Tracks – 61 minutes

Looking at the cover and title, you might immediately think you are going to hear the latest release from a New Orleans or Delta musician. Not so! Mick Pini was born in Leicester, England and now lives in Germany. Mick has a strong following and success in Europe. He has toured the world for almost six decades including a European tour with B.B. King and supporting other blues greats such as Buddy Guy, Freddie King, and Jimmy Rogers. In 1996, Eric Clapton described him as “the legitimate successor to Peter Green”.  This is Mick’s 26th album release.

Mick has previously collaborated with Audio 54, which is as you might expect is a studio. They previously released the albums Back Track and more recently Way Ahead in 2022. The latter was followed with two 4-song EP’s, Pastoral and Are You Blind. But Audio 54 is actually Craig Marshall, a fellow Leicester musician who gained recognition in the world of digital technology as an innovative music producer. On this album, Mick provides vocals for some tracks and all guitar and Craig, with a few exceptions, provides programming, keyboards, drums, percussion, bass, and horn arrangements.

The fourteen original tracks open with “Duck Soup” a jazzy fusion instrumental that sounds like something Jeff Beck might have performed. The title song does deliver the New Orleans vibe implied by the cover. Mick’s vocals are a smooth growl that reminds of Tom Waits. The song clearly definitely has the smell of the swamp with maybe a taste of Dr. John thrown in. “Funky Delikattessan” is as exactly described, a total blast of funk as he says, “You love the taste, you love the smell. You love the bass, funky as hell”.  Nick Murphy guests on this track and plays all the backing instruments.

“Morning Crescent ’69” is another soft jazz blues instrumental with some strong keyboard and trumpet accompaniment. Mick’s proficiency on the guitar is certainly clearly demonstrated. On “Got to Get My Way Home”, Mick’s vocals are somewhat subdued as he sings ” I ain’t got a nickel, I ain’t got a dime” as he struggles to find a way home. Marshal Mytha III provides the vocals on “Spark” as Mick and Craig provide a supporting Latin rhythm.

Another instrumental, “Make It Last” kicks up the funk again with a keyboard feel of Stevie Wonder and Mick’s guitar raging in and out of the song. Mick plays an instrumental tribute to his guitar hero on “Blues for Peter Green”. “A Cold Day in Memphis” is pure blues with Greg Wittner guesting on piano and Hammond and Mick telling a tale of lost love as “the rain is falling down, and my woman cannot be found”.

Mick says the blues “Never Goes Away” in a song with a more aggressive blues rock tone and notes “someday you just will have to pay”. “Theme From Icarus” is an instrumental that Mick originally performed thirty years ago, and thought might be picked up for a movie soundtrack.  “Yo Yo Love” expresses the up and down emotions that occurs in a love affair.

“Memphis Jazztronica” again features the pulsating guitar and a more electronic accompaniment in an alternate version of “A Cold Day in Memphis”. The album concludes with a wailing, reggae rhythm in “Yu No Betta” with Nick Murphy providing vocals, percussion and keyboards.

While there are several vocal tracks on the album, much of the vocals are buried behind the instruments making them secondary to the music itself and sometimes almost inconsequential to the overall sound. This is just an observation, not a criticism. Mick’s guitar work is the high point of the album with Craig’s instrumental backing sometimes overwhelming, but almost always interesting. I would not classify much of the music as blues, although there are certainly a few blues songs mixed in and there are blues element in some of the more jazz related cuts. The album is ultimately an enjoyable listen crossing many genres with an approach driving the music into the future.

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.