Zac Harmon – Floreada’s Boy

Catfood Records

www.zacharmon.com

12 tracks/54 minutes

Zac Harmon’s latest Floreada’s Boy is named for his mom and he states that it is a tributes to his growing up in Jackson, Mississippi and 50 years making great music. Harmon is one of the blues world’s elder statesmen now, a fine blues and soul singer and just an overall talented guy.

Dedicated to everyone in his life that he’s lost in the past five years, Floreada”s Boy is a fantastic new effort. Zac lost eleven people close to him and he pays them all tribute with a dozen superb cuts.

“Babe & Ricky’s Inn” is a song about a real blues joint, located in South Central, Los Angeles and run for 53 years by Mama Laura Mae Gross, a Mississippi transplant. Harmon released his first album over 20 years ago, which was recorded there live. After leaving Jackson, MS, Harmon made his home in LA and got in with all the great bluesmen there and dedicates this slick cut to them. Up next is “Fake News,” a song about stories propagating to his woman about where he’s been hanging out and what he’s been up to.. He adamantly tells here it’s all fake news as he sings and plays some mean guitar licks. “Glass Ceiling” follows, opening with some stinging guitar and a funky groove. There’s also some sweet organ adding to the mix.

“Let It Slide” is another funky piece with great guitar and a nice beat. Then the soulful “That’s The Way I Feel About You” is a nice duet with Zac and SueAnn Carwell.  It’s slow and cool with great organ work and emotive vocals. More funk follows that with “Stress,” a jumping little cut about being stressed out. The guitar is hot and the groove is deep as Harmon describes all life’s foibles that are stressing him out.

“Sugarman” follows with a ringing guitar and vibrant organ as Zac sings abut doing everything he can to be his woman’s sugarman. A deep, slow blues with slick horns is next. “Big Dog Blues” gets down and dirty as he gets some innuendo’s in about his little puppy getting along with his woman’s little kitty cat. “Lonely Rider” is a country inspired soul blues ballad with Harmon delivering an impassioned performance.

He gets funky again with “Never Had A Better Night” where his guitar rings brightly. Then we get some more deliciously slow blues in “Never Forget,” a somber and dark cut where Zac sings with heartbreak and despair.  The guitar adds it’s own passion to this one. Piano, guitar and percussion open “Stop The Killing” where Harmon sings about his God being one of love and that we need to stop the murdering of each other.  Soulful vocals and guitar, Harmon takes us home with a meaningful message and another excellent performance.

Harmon has delivered another superb album that is likely to be noted during next year’s awards season. This is a fine album with a dozen outstanding performances. I think Floreada can be proud of her boy once again. Her son has done an amazing job with this one. I loved this album; it is most highly recommended!

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Steve Jones is president of the Crossroads Blues Society and is a long standing blues lover. He is a retired Navy commander who served his entire career in nuclear submarines. In addition to working in his civilian career since 1996, he writes for and publishes the bi-monthly newsletter for Crossroads, chairs their music festival and works with their Blues In The Schools program. He resides in Byron, IL.

Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley – Forever Blues

G-Three Records – 2024

https://hotblues.ca/

11 tracks: 44 minutes

Forever Blues is the latest album from the Canadian-based blues duo of Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley. The album is a collection of cover tunes, mostly of the blues with a little R&B and country gospel thrown in. This pair has worked together for a number of years—recording eight albums together—and have garnered numerous awards and recognition along the way. Braithwaite won the 2018 Life Time Achievement Blues With a Feeling Award as part of Canada’s National Maple Blues Awards. According to his bio, the Kansas-born Whiteley is a legend on the Canadian music scene, working and touring with the likes of Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, a well-known blues and jazz alto saxophonist and singer. In January 2020, Whiteley won the Maple Blues Award for the top blues horn player in Canada—an honor he has won nine times.

According to their label’s one-pager, Braithwaite and Whiteley “are a powerhouse duo whose music exudes the timeless charm of blues and jazz while weaving in elements of folk, gospel, and roots music. Their harmonious partnership on and off the stage (h)as garnered them critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base across the globe.” The twosome’s first collaboration, Morning Sun, garnered rave reviews, extensive air play, and led to multiple Canadian Maple Blues nominations and awards, including “Album of the Year,” and “Acoustic Act of the Year.” Their second album, Night Bird Blues, led to three Maple Blues Awards (in 2010), including recognition as “Songwriters of the Year.”

Clearly, Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley, both talented musicians, bring a wealth of experience and versatility to any project they undertake, and Forever Blues—paying “tribute” to those blues artists of old—is another feather in their proverbial musical caps.

Joining Braithwaite and Whiteley on the album were John Sheard on the piano and Hammond organ, Ron Johnston and Jack Lavin on bass, Vince Maccarone and Matt Pease on the drums, Dan Whiteley on rhythm guitar and mandolin, and Neil Brathwaite and Elana Kapeleris on tenor saxophones.

Forever Blues was recorded over two sessions in Canada. The first was at Union Sound Company in Toronto, Ontario, and the second session was at Oakstone Studio in Victoria, British Columbia. The recording engineers were Darren McGill and Adam Ferbey with mixing and mastering by Marty Smyth of The Fifth Wall.

Forever Blues kicks off with a terrific version of the Junior Wells classic “Hoodoo Man Blues,” featuring a strong jazzy beat and Whiteley’s spot-on harmonica playing. Country music icon Charlie Rich’s “Don’t Put No Headstone On My Grave” is given a gospel-inspired flourish with Braithwaite’s soulful singing and Sheard’s intricate piano-playing. Classic blues piano also takes center stage, along with the Hammond Organ, on “Aged and Mellow Blues,” written by renowned bandleader Johnny Otis and saxophonist Preston Love, and recorded by R&B singer Little Esther Phillips. Once again, Braithwaite stamps her signature sultriness to a slow, easy tune.

A classic traditional Delta blues intro featuring Whiteley’s deft slide guitar play kicks off “Moon is Rising,” by John Lee Hooker (co-written with Bernard Besman), which showcases Braithwaite’s beautiful voice and tone. “Trouble No More” is a jazzy rendition of the Muddy Waters’ classic with impressive keyboard work (by Sheard) and equally impressive harmonica from Whiteley. Dinah Washington’s “Somewhere Along the Line” is a slow, smoky jazz performance worthy of the original. “Prettiest Train,” recorded in the tradition of the original prison work song, complete with a sad story narrative, features Whiteley’s superb country blues guitar picking.

Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley are gifted musicians and performers who bring versatility and even new life to classic blues songs from across the eras. Their current fans, and, perhaps, some new converts will enjoy Forever Blues and relish an opportunity to see this dynamic blues couple perform these songs live in the near future.

Writer Ken Billett is a freelance writer based in Memphis. He is a Blues Foundation member and former docent/tour guide at the Blues Hall of Fame. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Ken writes about travel, music, and the Mississippi Delta.

Wyly Bigger – Broken Telephone

Madjack Records

www.wylybigger.com

9 songs – 33 minutes

Broken Telephone is the debut release from Marion, Arkansas, native, Wyly Bigger, who has been a staple of the Memphis music scene for the last few years. It’s a relatively short album, clocking in at just over half an hour, but is also one of those albums that leaves the listener wanting more. It is  emphatically not one of those debut releases that demonstrates potential or that suggests an embryonic talent. Rather, Bigger has landed fully realised, playing and singing with an emotional depth and intelligence that belies the youthful figure pictured on the album cover.

Bigger plays piano (as well as Wurli and trumpet) with a light-fingered grace in a style that hints of some of the New Orleans greats of the past whilst laying down a distinctly modern mix of blues, soul, funk, swing and even a dash of pop. Indeed, his successful fusion of so many genres recalls the genius of AJ Croce.

Backed by a very impressive band of Matt Ross-Sprang on guitars, Jim Spake on saxophone, baritone saxophone and clarinet, Mark Edgar Stuart on bass and guitar and Danny Banks on drums, percussion and backing vocals, Bigger throws himself into the seven self-composed and two tasty covers. The opening track, “Ain’t The First Time”, sets out Bigger’s stall nicely, with its funky New Orleans groove and wryly romantic lyrics. It is swiftly followed by the 1950s’ rock and roll obscurity, “Hello, Is That You?”, originally recorded by the Red Tops.  The other cover on the album is a belting version of Memphis Slim’s “I’m Lost Without You.”

Bigger lets the pace drop on two songs only, the closing vocal and piano ballad “Chicago Wind” and the Billy Joel-esque, Wurli-led title track that made him a finalist for Memphis Songwriter of the Year in 2021. The poignant lyrics reek of self-despair as he sings “Help me, Mr Repair man, you’re got to do something. I know she’s trying to reach me but I haven’t heard a thing. The phone ain’t rang once since she walked out the door, but don’t you try to tell me that she don’t want me no more. I know that I’m the one she still adores. It’s just that my telephone ain’t working any more.”

The remaining tracks are infectious demands to dance, even when the lyrics are recounting the sometimes lonely truth of life on the road, for example on “Midnight In Meridian”.

Stuart produced the album, which was recorded and mixed by Kevin Houston at the Shelby Foote Mansion in Memphis, TN, with mastering by Jacob Church at Archer Recording Studio.

Broken Telephone is both a glorious musical celebration and the announcement of the arrival of a major new talent. Really impressive.

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

Eric Heilner – Blues Phantasia

Self-Release – 2024

https://ericheilner.com/

6 tracks: 27 minutes

Blues Phantasia is the second album from pianist and composer Eric Heilner. According to Heilner’s website, he grew up in a household imbued with classical music. He took piano lessons starting at age 6 and advanced so far as to tie for third place in a New Jersey children’s piano competition at age 13. As a teenager, Heilner abandoned classical piano…However, he did not completely give up playing—an accidental exposure to the seminal boogie-woogie piano piece “Honky Tonk Train Blues” by Meade Lux Lewis (1927) led to a lifelong passion for playing blues & boogie woogie piano.

A touring and working musician for a number of years, Heilner walked away from the music business after turning thirty, placed his electric piano in the attic, and, as he put it, became a “respectable” member of society. According to his one-pager, in the early 2000s, with the encouragement of his wife and family, Heilner came out of his musical retirement and started playing blues and rock and roll. He was also drawn back to his classical roots, with entire musical pieces and themes running through his head. Heilner eventually began studying composition at the Juilliard Evening School. Within a few years, he was composing fully developed pieces for chamber ensembles and orchestras.

While Heilner continues to devote most of his time to composing, he can still be found playing blues keyboards in his favorite haunts in and around New Jersey (as his one-pager states). In January 2024, Heilner represented the North Jersey Blues Society in the Solo/Duo category at the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, Tennessee.

Blues Phantasia is Heilner’s homage to the blues and boogie-woogie piano style he fell in love with as a teenager. The instrumental album was produced by Heilner and VD King and features four original numbers and two covers.

“Blues Fantasia” kicks off the album with a barrel-house inspired run and builds to a masterful piece of piano-playing. “Hills and Valleys” is slower and sultry with an opening reminiscent of Patsy Cline’s immortal “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Next up is Carole King’s “Chains,” always a rousing number and a true toe-tapper as performed by Heilner. “RumBoogie” has that ragtime edge along with Heilner’s deft piano skills, while with “In a Mist,” he harkens back to his classical music roots.

Blues Phantasia ends where it began with a tribute to Heilner’s boogie-woogie inspiration—Meade Lux Lewis and his “Honky Tonk Train Blues.”

Eric Heilner is a talented piano-man in his own right and continues his evolution as an artist and composer. Blues Phantasia is sure to please those barrel-house and boogie-woogie enthusiasts looking for some fresh new takes on a time-honored blues genre.

Writer Ken Billett is a freelance writer based in Memphis. He is a Blues Foundation member and former docent/tour guide at the Blues Hall of Fame. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Ken writes about travel, music, and the Mississippi Delta.

When you see Jenny Langer and Randy Jacobs perform as The Boneshakers, what strikes you immediately, (in addition to their profound musical talent), is their unique style and engaging chemistry.  Randy projects a calm demeanor but with suaveness, which is a combination only accomplished through decades of experience in the music industry.  (Audiences will likely remember him from the band Was (Not Was).)   Jenny has a million-dollar smile and a sexy confidence that draws the audience to her before they even hear her amazing vocals.  (Audiences will likely remember her from her band Moonshine Society and being a lead vocalist with The Ron Holloway Band.)

It is not surprising that Jenny is so comfortable performing, as she was onstage as early as age three, and even though she is still young, she has already performed in several successful bands.

“I was one of those pageant kids.  Because I’ve been on the stage for so long, I feel more like myself when I’m up there.  There’s something up there that is a comfort level to me.  I got into blues when I was still a teenager.  My dad was playing a lot of Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin, and I started thinking what were they listening to when they were my age?  That was how I fell down the blues rabbit hole.  And then later, I was one of the very first DJs at Berklee’s internet radio station and had my own blues show.  I was working on my shows every day, and that gave me the opportunity to do deep dives of artists.”

Unlike most musicians who attended Berklee College of Music and realized later that they learned a lot about music, but almost nothing about the music industry itself, Jenny went there to study music business.

“I was there for music business, but I was there in the early 2000s, and the industry has changed so much that at least half of what I was taught is not even relevant anymore.  It was a great school, and I thought I was doing the smart thing, but I have had to continuously self-edify because everything flipped upside down once the Internet came into play.  When I left, I realized we did not have a single class on how to book yourself or how to make an EPK (electronic press kit), or what agencies expect of you.  That’s where self-edification comes in.  But my years at Berklee were incredible and the people you meet when you are there at a young age—they are so serious about music.  That’s really why you go to Berklee.”

Jenny learned even more at her first job, which was with Sonicbids.

“That’s the company that created the first standard for EPKs.  I was on a team that was working with Summerfest and South-by-Southwest—some of the biggest festivals and venues.  I would help set up the talent buyers with their listing, saying what they were looking for, so I got to have honest conversations with talent buyers.  I got to ask them what they were looking for and what they did not want to see.  I learned what you should not put out there—the importance of not having iPhone videos in your press packages.  You can be the best band on earth, but if you have terrible, fuzzy photos, you’re not going to be taken seriously.  Just stuff like that.  Things Berklee would never have taught us.  I definitely had a leg-up because I got that behind-the-scenes information, and I have been a booking agent since leaving Sonicbids.  I only left my full-time job as a booking agent two years ago when The Boneshakers touring schedule started to conflict.”

Jenny first became well-known to audiences (especially on the East Coast) with her band, Moonshine Society.  Their release “Sweet Thing” won the International Blues Challenge award for best-produced CD in 2020.

“When I was at Berklee, I had formed my own blues-rock band with some of my classmates.  That’s where I met Joe Poppen.  He had his own band, the Joe Poppen Band and we sometimes billed together.  When we graduated, we, along with Chris Brown, decided to move to DC together.  Joe and I decided to combine the two bands and do away with anybody’s name.  That’s why we called it Moonshine Society.  We assumed that whoever was coming in and out of the band, we’re just a society and they are society members.  So, we had Pete Ragusa on drums, from The Nighthawks.  The late, great, wonderful Barry Hart came after him.  And Ron Holloway has been a member of Moonshine Society.  We’ve had some incredibly talented people and I’ve been very lucky that folks have wanted to play with me in DC in that way.”

In addition to Moonshine Society, she was touring with other blues artists internationally such as harmonica player Charlie Sayles (including spearheading a three-month residency at The House of Blues and Jazz in Shanghai, China) and Memphis Gold.  Jenny is also a member of the Ron Holloway Band:

“I’ve known and worked with Ron in Washington, DC since 2013- First with Moonshine Society and then being invited into The Ron Holloway Band.  I have a lot to thank Ron for.  He’s introduced me to a history of incredible funk and jazz cuts that have shaped what I do as a vocalist.  Through him, I’ve sung with artists like Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Jimmy Vivino, Marcus King, George Porter, and more.  Ron even officiated my wedding!  We’re family.  His band has that incredible, deep, funk jam-band sound.  What RHB does is nothing like what Moonshine Society or The Boneshakers does, but it’s so fun—just so fun!  And, of course, he’s an icon.  It’s just great to be on the stage with him and make all that happen.  We are getting Ron in the studio with us in DC.  We’re going to have him play on a Boneshakers track for our next album.”

Jenny met Randy Jacobs when she went to Los Angeles to work with John Wooler (Founder of Point Blank Records, former Senior VP of Virgin Records) as the producer of Moonshine Society’s next album.

“John had been playing some Moonshine tracks on his radio show, so I reached out to him and told him that I was grateful that he had been listening to what we were doing.  He asked what I was doing now, and I told him I was writing for the next album.  He said, ‘Do you need a producer?’  I said, ‘F–k yes—John Wooler, please produce me!’  We got to talking and decided I would go to L.A. and he would have a house band that he put together for a few tracks.  I got to Steve Lukather’s Steakhouse Studios in North Hollywood, and the first person I saw there was Randy Jacobs.  I thought I might have walked into the wrong room.  I thought, ‘This isn’t a house band—this is Randy Jacobs of The Boneshakers!’  I recognized him because I had seen Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers at multiple festivals.  But I looked around and realized it was the only room.  We tracked everything live so fast.  I mean, without rehearsal, two or three takes and move on, two or three takes, move on.  The whole band live together.  It became really obvious there was a musical synergy, and I think we were all pretty surprised at how instant it was.  I remember at the end of the week Randy and John took me out to lunch and we had a conversation about how the music was going. One of them said that they had been talking and didn’t think I should take the tracks back to the East Coast.  They thought they were so different from Moonshine’s sound, so they said we should do a joint venture.  That’s when Randy invited me to become the new lead singer of The Boneshakers, and those tracks became our album One Foot In The Groove, which received airplay in the US, Australia, and Europe and went on to win two Wammie Awards.”

Randy Jacobs was born in San Francisco but raised in Detroit.  Like Jenny, he began professional gigs at an early age, by 13 years old was collaborating with leading Motown writers and producers and co-authored the Top-Five R&B hit, “Wide Receiver”.  Randy is a gifted guitarist who played for many years with the band Was (Not Was).  After they disbanded, Randy became a session player who was frequently in demand to record with artists like BB King, Bonnie Raitt, Seal, and more.

He also was a member of Soul Mission, a gospel R&B project that combined his talents with members such as Mavis Staples, Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper for one release.  Randy then started the band, The Boneshakers in 1996 with his Was (Not Was) former bandmate Sweetpea Atkinson, (who has since passed away).  Shortly before he connected with Jenny, Randy and The Boneshakers had just finished some lengthy touring with Mindi Abair.

“We did a joint thing with Mindi for a few years.  We had started by just doing a live record for fun.  It was not supposed to be anything else but that, but Mindi asked if we could do some more, and we said ok.  Sweetpea (Atkinson) had a record coming out, and we thought we’d do a joint package.  We played many fantastic festivals and concerts, but the music started to go into a different direction and strayed from soul blues and funk, which is what The Boneshakers originally were.”

Working with Jenny seems to have reignited Randy’s passion for The Boneshakers.  He explained what he found so captivating about Jenny’s singing.

“It’s deep.  It comes from way deep.  Like, when we are in the studio, it seems like the thing she is searching for is always what I’m searching for, and she always manages to find it.  I know she’s always going to dig deep for that magic thing.  She has a lot of style.  It’s unique that she understands funk, blues and R&B.  It’s a hard combination to find.  Most people don’t understand it.  They think they do, but it’s always about time and space, and she understands that.  You can hear it in her voice and the way she phrases things.  It’s a beautiful thing.  And it becomes especially important to have that much in your bag when you are performing live.  To be able to pull it out—that’s hard to come by.  A lot of people can sing, but they sing one thing.  They might be great at that one thing.  But when you sing fifteen songs in one night, if you are singing it exactly the same way, you’ll start to lose connection with people, even if the songs are great.”

Jenny recently moved from the Washington DC area to Nashville.

“DC had become very expensive, and Harrison (my husband) is an airline pilot so he can live anywhere.  I’m not in government and I’m not in high tech, so financially it made sense to leave DC.  Plus, every time I got to Nashville I was surrounded by a crazy high-level creativity and it’s incredibly inspiring.  I feel that push to be writing when I’m in a place like that.  It’s also a better hub for touring.  You’re more central for whatever direction you go.”

Jenny and Randy both expressed excitement about the new album, which is due to be released in Spring 2025.  It will have thirteen tracks plus bonus tracks, a mix of originals and cover songs.  There are multiple labels interested, and no decision as yet been made on the label.

“We have some special guests, including Bobby Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, Coco Montoya, Ron Holloway, John “Papa” Gros, Jimmy Carpenter, Don Was, Jon Gillutin, and more.  It is going to be equal parts blues and soul, with a little bit of funk edge and a couple surprises.  A really fun collection of work.  When we’re looking at songs, there is no fluff.  Every song is intentional.”

Randy stressed how important the lyrics of songs are to him.  He’s noticed a trend where musicians seem to have strayed away from the importance of good lyrics.

“It used to be about the song, but now it seems like it’s more about how this song is going to be for my guitar solo.  It’s a box that is happening.  That’s something this band is very conscious of—we’re about the songs.”

Jenny agreed with him, adding “We might have a song with no guitar solo and I’ll say to Randy that we should give him a solo and he’ll say, “No—it’s not needed for that song.”  Randy added, “Every single person on the stage sings.  (The current band make-up has Holly Montgomery on bass and Lessly Fisher, Jr. on drums.)  It’s a big deal live and on every record we will do three and four-part harmonies.”

When asked which song lyrics were the most meaningful to him, Randy acknowledged the work of another rather than selecting one of his own.  He indicated that a song first recorded by Jimmy Hall was the most meaningful to him.

“I didn’t write it, but lyrically, I love what’s happening in ‘Salty’.  You want life to always be sweet but sometimes it has to get salty for you to appreciate it.”

(For those who do not know the song, a few of the lyrics are as follows:  “You’ll never know about the joys in this life until you have to suffer. You’ll never know those fields of clover, until someone has run you over.  Things got to get a little bit salty to let you know that you’re still around. Things got to get a little bit salty to let you know how it’s going down.”)

Randy noted that he believes The Boneshakers follow the advice given to him by BB King.

“BB used to say that it is not supposed to be Mozart.  You have got a whole slew of those guys who are great, but do they really own anything they are playing?  Some of those blues rock guys are great, but they are playing just like people from the past.  You have to move it forward.  I would like to think that The Boneshakers are trying to move it forward.”

Jenny added one final note:

“I am very happy to be a part of the new generation of blues.  At the same time, it’s nice to be part of that bridge.  I don’t want to see this genre become less important or not recognized by generations after me because they weren’t paying attention to what [blues artists] are doing right now.  So, I do take what I do as an artist very seriously.  I think it’s very noble to be in the arts for that reason.”

See The Boneshakers live and you’ll soon see why Don Was said, “Randy Jacobs is one of the funkiest and most original guitar players on Earth,” and Jenny Langer has been called “a powerhouse singer…one to make you sit up and take notice.”  If you would like to learn a little more about Randy and Jenny’s version of blues-infused funk, rock and soul, check them out at www.officialboneshakers.com

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.

Lee Kanehira – The Chicago Blues Piano Trio!!

Waggy Murphy’s Records – 2024

https://leebluespiano.blog/

9 tracks; 30 minutes

Lee Kanehira’s third solo release, The Chicago Blues Piano Trio!!, presents a mixture of elegant, raunchy, and stirring blues tunes, driven primarily by piano and Kanhehira’s vocals. As the liner notes say, the album “celebrates the timeless charm of classic blues and boogie-woogie piano.”

Kanehira, who goes by the nickname Miss Lee, is a Japanese pianist and singer that studied classical piano and fell in love with the blues. Kanehira has collaborated with Chicago blues band the Cashbox Kings extensively over the years. On this album, she employs John W. Lauler on bass and Dereck Hendrickson on drums.

The LP opens with “Midnight Boogie”, a jolly, up-beat boogie woogie tune from its first notes. Kanehira demonstrates clear talent on piano as she sings “Come on everybody and gather around. Shake it to the East and shake it to the West.” The jubilant chorus echoes a call to debauchery and good times, while the keys entice the feet to move, the drinker to ask for one more drink. Solid rhythm is provided by Lauler and Hendrickson.

Throughout the album, Kanehira’’s lyrics are simple, but effective, leaning into the instrumentation. The piano, vocals, and bass are consistently solid and at times quite good.

“Boogie for Willie” features fast piano, like a woman swooping a man off his feet and winking as she does it. Lauler delivers a sexy bass solo, like a slow, groovy dance putting the listener in a trance, as Kanehira produces a piano storm.

The last track on the album, “Your Sure Look Good To Me”, a soft burning love song leans into soul, with a certain smoothness both to the performance and production. A chorus of vocals cry out “I’d love to call your name. You’re in love with someone else and it’s going to drive me insane.”

Saucy keys open up “Baby Don’t You Love Me No More”, a track with clear dedication to classic blues and boogie woogies. Kanehira’s voice emanates deep, resonating, and soulful and the piano blasts through as a resounding, unstoppable force – a freight train of energy delivering the blues.

“How Come You Do Me Like You Do” features Kanehira in complete control of her instrument and a capable blues shouter. The slow, smoky song bristles with emotion inflected in Kanehira’s voice as she sings about being mistreated by a lover. The sad, sappy song is infused with a touch of sweetness as Kanehira sings “The time was tough. I’m working hard. Giving away my stuff. What make you do me like you do?”

Kanehira returns to rapid boogie woogie keys, in the carnival-like “Four O’Clock Blues”, with unrelenting, fast, almost manic piano work. The tune, like nonstop dancing, features a powerful drum solo by Hendrickson and the connection between the players is evident. This is a track that would be a treat to see live.

On “Mother Earth”, moody, stirring keys introduce the track accompanied by a low key percussion beat. Kanehira confronts metaphysical realities, singing “When it all hangs out you gotta go back to Mother Earth. I don’t care how great you are. I don’t care what you’re worth,” and delivering soulful, pain-drenched piano notes.

With The Chicago Blues Piano Trio!! Kanehira, Hendrickson, and Lauler emerge as a fiery, boogie woogie blues band with equal parts elegance and energy. This is one of the best blues releases of 2024.

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.

Rocket 88 & The Rockettes – Chapter 1&2/Dreams Of Country Living

Self-Release – 2022/2024

www.rocket88.nu

11 tracks; 44 minutes/10 tracks; 36 minutes

This Swedish band started out in 1998 as a quartet playing classic blues like Howling Wolf. Over the years the members have changed and female singers came on board (hence the Rockettes tag) and the band decided to create original material rather than be a covers band. The current line-up of the band is Jim Oman on guitar, Béatrice Oman and Anna Arespang share the lead vocals, Klas Gunnerfeldt also sings and plays guitar, Lars ‘Lee’ Eriksson is on bass and Tobias Grahn on drums. All the songs are original, everyone contributing apart from drummer Tobias, with two outside contributions from Benny Arvesen and Patrick Omalm.

Chapter 1&2 starts with a riff that recalls Cream’s version of “Crossroads”, Béatrice singing of the frustrations that you encounter “Every Day”, a strong vocal performance to open the album. Anna and Béatrice tend to lead on the songs that they wrote, but there is not a great deal of actual blues here, several of the songs being more in a light rock style, even branching into one song in French, “Blues Pour Mon Père that has more of a country feel to it (despite the title!). “Still I Sing The Blues” is stripped-back with Anna’s vocals about her chosen profession backed by solo electric guitar work, the rest of the band sitting this one out. As the title suggests, “Born Before A War” deals with the horrors of war, seen through the eyes of a child, lyrically impressive but a long way from the blues. “Handyman” adopts a country style with some pleasant guitar exchanges while “Second Coming Of Rocket 88 & The Rockettes” celebrates the rebirth of the band, complete with some slide work over a chugging rhythm.

Whilst there were a few blues influences present on the 2022 album, there is very little to discern on the newer release. The title track “Dreams Of Country Living” perhaps shows the direction of travel of the band, a pleasant country rock tune with neat acoustic guitar exchanges and a good singalong chorus, as is “Something To Do With You”; the weeping guitars of “No Regrets” also closes the album in a country vein. Elsewhere the band offers ringing guitars that recall Tom Petty on “Back Off” and “I Smell Envy”, a chugging “Bad Manners” and a moving song about a child who never knew his father, “Grandma’s Boy”. The closest we get to the band’s roots in the blues is the snarling slide of “Mind The Gap”.

This is a well recorded pair of albums, presented beautifully with full lyric sheets and information on band members and song writers. Not sure why it was submitted to a blues magazine for review, but those whose musical tastes span a wider range of styles may well find something to like here.

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.