Ruthie Foster – Mileage

Sun Records

www.ruthiefoster.com

10 songs – 35 minutes

It’s been ages since Ruthie Foster was a self-described “little black girl with a guitar” and playing to enthusiastic audiences in rural churches in her beloved Texas. She’s traveled the world for decades and experienced all of the joys and sorrows anyone can imagine along the way. But as she clearly states on her latest CD, she’s proud to say that they’ve served to synthesize her into what she’s become today.

With fellow Texan Tyler Bryant producing and his wife, Rebecca Lovell of Larkin Poe fame, joining forces to pen the tunes, they share Ruthie’s journey in the most pleasant way possible, delivering messages that speak from the heart while taking listeners along on a trek packed with powerful emotion – and some sage advice, too.

The soundwaves here literally have traversed the planet, too. Engineered by Tyler at the Lily Pad in Nashville, mixed in Paris, France – not the Lone Star State — by David Benyamin, they were mastered by Dan Shike at his Tennessee-based Tone and Volume Mastering studios. Foster’s powerful, but sweet pipes dominate throughout, and she adds keys on one number. But leaving six-string duties are handled by Bryant, who also contributes bass, keys, backing vocals and alto sax.

The lineup includes Michael Webb on Hammond B3 organ, a horn section composed of Chase Carpenter on trombone, Jack Warren on tenor sax and Sam Merrell on trumpet and Caleb Crosby on percussion. Rebecca provides backing vocals on several tunes and shares lead on another. And her sister, fellow Larkin Poe star Megan Lowell, makes an appearance on lap steel, too.

The title song, “Mileage,” eases out of the gate to open. It’s a living, breathing testament in which Ruthie states: “There ain’t a road I ain’t been up and down/I’ve been lost, found and I’m proud.” She puts the pedal to the medal, she says, no matter what obstacles appear in her way. Soul kicks in for the medium-quick shuffle. When questioned about a definition of love, Foster advises: “I just point to you” in “Rainbow” as she insists we simply enjoy it instead of searching for answers.

The gospel-tinged “Good for My Soul” continues the theme forward, noting that the Almighty always comes through when facing the most difficult of times. It’s a message that rings true no matter what your religion. “Heartshine,” a song of celebration, opens as a ballad and increases intensity throughout. Ruthie reflects on her past and understands now that she’d often faced challenges alone when she simply could have requested – and received – aid from the one she loves. She describes her love as moving “like moonlight across my endless nights/Whispering secrets and promises/Of a better life.”

The rapid-fire “Slow Down” finds Foster living in an incredibly fast paced world and realizing the need for a change of pace before she takes listeners back to childhood her home in “Six Mile Water” for a remembrance of her gospel-singing, swearing-like-a-sailor mother and the joy of her youth. Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “That’s All Right,” the only cover in the set – and a salute to her label, Sun, for whom Crudup recorded — follows before Larkin Poe join the action for the countrified “Done,” featuring Larkin Poe. It fuses gospel and blues in cohesive package as it states: “I’ll know when I get there/And I know I’ll be done.” Another message about slowing down follows with “Take It Easy” before the stripped-down “See You When I See You” finds Ruthie solo on the 88s to close with the advise not to forget to count your blessings, your friends and to tip the bartender and band.

A winner from start to end, Mileage is bound for glory!

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.

Dr. J.B. Blues – Multiplicity

Stonebraker Records

www.dr-jb-blues.com

10 tracks

A practicing oncologist and hematologist, Dr. J.B. Blues has been playing guitar since age 14. Heavily influenced by SRV, Dr. J.B. Blues writes and plays to describe current events and helps support the fight against cancer.  This German blues rocker released his first album Blue Sky Over Paris in 2022 and with his second delivers nine original tunes and once traditional cover.

Dr.  J.B. Blue  is on vocals and guitar, Christophe Garreau is on bas s, Guillaume Destarac plays drums, Chris Nole is on organ. Valentina and Frida Gustave are the backing vocalists.

“We Don’t Want To Look Into A Bluesy Future” opens things up. It’s a anthemic blues rocker with big, wailing guitar as the Doc tells us our future is filled with the blues, which is not good. He sings with sad feeling about losing Mother Earth. The lone cover is next, the classic “House of the Rising Sun.” J.B. takes the traditional guitar riffs we expect and makes them his own as the organ stays behind that and remains true to the melody. It’s a cool adaptation. Guitar fans will eat this up. “She Saves Mother Earth” is next, another heavy guitar track. This cut is about the Earth’s savior, which is never really named but appears to be Mother Nature, working hard to undo man’s foibles. Next is “It’s Up To You,” a slow tempo-ed rocker that that tells us we are the key to fix what’s going on.

“Point Of No Return” features J.B.’s guitar ringing as he sings in a flowing manner about our planet unfortunately reaching the end of the line. “Don’t Leave Me Now” features more of the hauntingly beautiful guitar as the lead vocals sing about hope for future peace. :The Witches Song” is a heavy rocker with strident guitar licks. The Doctor lyrically takes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth to create this blues rocker.

Next up is “Betty Blue,” a slower, rocking blues about a young woman he met on the beach. His guitar stings as he sings about his passion. “If Mother Isn’t Happy” is a driving rocker that uses the old saying that if mother isn’t happy then no one is. He could be singing about a person and he could be singing about our planet; in either case, his point is aptly made. The Doctor’s guitar rings loudly, the beat is hot and the song moves along smartly. “Money Is Your Honey” is a slow, heavy rocking blues with more big guitar, bending notes almost in half to great effect. Here J.B. sings of a woman who only care about one thing. The guitar soloing is expressive and solid. The organ here is equally solid and plays a great role throughout in rounding the music out.

If you are a big guitar fan then go and get the Doctor’s album. He’s a master of the six string and you’ll enjoy his playing and original work!

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.

David Vest & Terry Robb – Crisscross

Cordoba Bay Records

http://davidvest.ca

http://terryrobb.com

12 tracks – 39 minutes

David Vest was born in Huntsville, Alabama and established a reputation for his keyboard playing in Birmingham where he first started playing professionally at age 15. In 1962, he opened a show featuring Roy Orbison. In the 1960’s, he backed Big Joe Turner and subsequently appeared with Bo Diddley, Carey Bell, and many others. He presently lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He has won six Maple Blues Awards, which are awards for Canadian based musicians, and five Muddy Awards, which are given to musicians located in the Northwest region of the US and Canada.

Terry Robb was born in Vancouver, Canada but has now lived in Portland, Oregon for many years. Terry’s prowess with the acoustic guitar has led to him winning the Muddy Blues Award for 19 consecutive years following the award’s establishment in 1992. In 2011, the award was officially renamed the “Terry Robb Acoustic Guitar Award”. In 2017 he received the Muddy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Terry ‘s 2020 solo album Confessin’ My Dues earned him a Blues Music Award nomination for Best Acoustic Blues Album. In his early career, he played with Canned Heat’s Henry Vestine, and then collaborated with and produced albums for John Fahey. Other collaborations followed with Eddy Clearwater, Maria Muldaur, Joe Cocker, Johhny Winter and others. He has released fifteen solo albums. He has been inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and The Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame.

Both men can claim over forty years’ experience in the blues genre. The describe their debut album together as being “In the tradition of Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell, Tampa Red and Georgia Tom, and Lonnie Johnson and Blind John Davis”. The album consists of twelve original songs with a mixture of vocals and instrumentals.

The album opens with “Nehalem Shuffle” and quickly establishes that David’s bouncing piano serves well opposite Terry’s rippling fingerpicking guitar in a kickoff instrumental. “Red Tide Turning” starts with an ominous piano before Terry’s guitar kicks in as he sings “There’s a big ship bucking in the waves…the way I feel this morning, someone must be walking on my grave”. “Electra Jane” gets things rocking with David’s piano taking the lead before Terry really lets his guitar rip out and then moves back to David’s jumping keys in another instrumental.

“Natural Facts” is a very easy going, smooth jazzy instrumental. “Good News” picks up the pace again with some Piedmont-styled fingerpicking with David’s piano blending in. “Mooresville” offers a very moody play between the two artists.

“All Hooked Up” is pure blues with David’s piano lead and Terry’s guitar chiming in. “Ex-Mas Time” is the second vocal performance on the album as David declares that “there will be no more sleigh bells ringing, I ain’t your Santa Claus no more” as “you’re out doing evil every chance you could”. Terry declares he has a “New Kinda Lovin'” never seen before. The good Lord gave me sunshine, all I needed and more”.

“Wait a Minute Waltz” starts slow and builds momentum as it progresses. “Long Gone Home” is 92 seconds of pure instrumental bliss. The album concludes with “Drive ’em On Down” with David singings “Take you down to the river one night, the moon shining bright…they’re already rocking when you walk in”.

The combination of the two instrumentalists delivers some top- notch performances, each giving the opportunity for the other to shine in every song.

Reviewer 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.

Jungle Jim Smith One Man Band – This Is Ghost Country

Electric Boogie Solutions

www.junglejimsmith.com

12 songs time – 41:13

Gritty and ballsy one man band doings from Australia via Jungle Jim Smith. His vocals vary from growls to some similarity to a croon. He accompanies himself with a cigar box or regular guitar, and whatever percussive set up he employs. For the most part, this is in your face energy infused music. You will definitely know he was here. It is all him right down to the songwriting. Without further ado…

He jumps right in with his distorted guitar tone set against thumping percussion complimenting his nicely rough vocal with “Death & Whiskey”. No let up on the intensity as he chugs right into the crunchy groove of “Lucky Me”. His throaty retort of “Somebody hold me down” resonates to your core. His persistent beats escort you from one song to another before you realize what has hit you. Next stop “Long Gone” with its’ gritty slide guitar. It is a welcome awakening.

More rugged slide on “Holy Roll Me”, where the phrase Ghost Country emanates. He slips into full blown hell bent slide guitar on the breakneck speed instrumental “Swampfoot Sally”. There is a touch of subtle wordless vocalizing. “Manifesto” eases up on the pace, but it wreaks of urgency. Crunch time resume, s with the riff and ready “3 Headed Dog”. The Jungle man lays down a strong bass line along with distorted guitar on “Tombstoned”.

For the lack of a better description, I would call the instrumental “Urban Safari” hard surf guitar music. The music and the wordless vocalizations sneakily borrow from The Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m A Man”. “Cruel Operator” is a bluesy boogie with the line-“Ain’t it cold in the middle where your heartbeat used to beat?”. “Ballad Of Little Hawk” meanders around slowly and spookily amongst slithering slide guitar. Things close out pretty much as they commenced, with the jaunty “Misery”.

The corny cliche can be true, sometimes less is more. The powerful grooves and rhythms make up for the lack of what you could call guitar solos. You don’t miss them. Lots of energy and thought went into this raw bundle of explosive music. Crank it up and blow the dust out of your speakers. You can thank me later.

Reviewer Greg “Bluesdog” Szalony hails from the New Jersey Delta.

There is a descriptor sometimes used in the art world called “futuristic retro”, which describes an approach that incorporates the appeal of old styles, while looking toward the future.  If there was a futuristic-retro movement in the blues, it would likely include Jad Tariq.  Many perceive Tariq to be an example of the “future” of blues guitar, yet there is also a retro element to his style in which you can hear a pure and understated elegance similar to what was heard in players such as T-Bone Walker, BB King and Magic Sam. Blues Blast Magazine recently had the opportunity to catch up with this extremely talented musician via videoconference.

Jad Tariq, (whose first and last names somewhat appropriately means “serious, benevolent well-intentioned striker” in Arabic), was born in Connecticut.  His father is Palestinian and lived in Syria before moving to the United States and marrying his mother.  Neither were musicians, and he discussed their attitude about his chosen career.

“They have always been supportive of my playing, but they know not many people get to make a living playing music, so that was never something they would urge me to do.  At first, they urged me toward other paths.  But, once I started touring a lot, they were ok with it, because at least I wasn’t phoning home to ask for money.”

Jad held a few brief and uninspiring jobs before devoting himself to a music career.

“I kept a job from high school into my first year of college working at a beach club, setting up chairs and helping people out.  Between my junior and senior year, I did an internship in New York City at a bank.  I hated it.  It was the most miserable summer I ever had.  That was definitely a ‘try to make the parents happy move’.”

Jad attended Rhodes College in Memphis, although he studied business management, not music.

“But it does apply to the music industry—a lot of it does.  The relationships between people and the corporate culture does relate to the music scene culture and the band culture.  But not so much with the marketing strategies I learned.  It is such a different world in the music business now because things change so quickly.  First, from tape to vinyl, hoping to get radio play, and then it slowly shifted to tapes and 8-tracks, and then to CDs, and now to digital.  You take someone like John Nemeth, who started releasing records in the 1990s.  He has had to adjust to so many changes.  The whole music industry had to relearn how to do everything.  It’s harder than ever to make money from records now.  Physical copies aren’t really a thing anymore, outside of the blues world. In the indie music genre, I don’t think any of them even make physical copies anymore.”

Jad was exposed to many genres of music as a child, but his earliest blues influences were Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  And, although young, he appreciates a quote that is sometimes attributed to Mozart and sometimes attributed to Debussy, which is, ‘music is in the space between the notes’.   Additionally, he acknowledged that his fashionable appearance is also heavily influenced by those in the swing era.

“My dad used to listen to Arabic music in the car and that had totally different sounds to listen for.  Then my guitar teacher played me some Stevie Ray Vaughan, and my parents bought me that record of Albert King and Stevie together. It was so clear that Stevie got his influence from Albert.  Albert was such a monster.  He completely changed how I saw guitar.  He got me into the more traditional blues.  His language was pretty limited, and he only had a couple of moves, but he could hit them in a million different ways with a million different inflections.  He always gave just the right amount of space before and after too. And my parents got me into a lot of different styles, like hard rock, Led Zeppelin, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.  That got me into the swing thing and brought me around to find the BB King and T-Bone Walker swing stuff.  Those guys were the coolest, in the 40s and 50s.  They had so much class and their phrasing was great.  I think all of those musicians in that era had a better recognition of space and how to phrase things.”

Jad’s favorite guitar is also reminiscent of a past era.

“My baby is the hollow body 1949 Gibson ES 5. It is the same year and same model as T-Bone Walker had.  It’s a very unique guitar and was one of the first electrics to have three pickups on it.  It’s like a guitar of a thousand voices because there are so many different pickup combinations.  It’s a pretty special piece of equipment to own. I also have a 335 and there is a Les Paul that I play a lot when I play with Tony Holiday. I am definitely a Gibson guy at heart.”

While many musicians suffered significantly during the pandemic and some even questioned their career choice, Jad reframed it as an opportunity to improve his skill.

“It gave me time to catch up.  I had only been playing professionally for a year, and that was a year of realizing where all the gaps in my knowledge and experience were.  I got back in a woodshed and started practicing a ton—digging into all the things I knew that I didn’t know.  I dug into all the records that I may have listened to, but this time I seriously studied them.  So, in some ways COVID was a good time to play catch-up.  And when I came back, I felt able to hit the ground running.”

Jad’s first break came when he met John Nemeth, who is well-known for helping to promote the careers of several young, talented guitarists, including Jon Hay, and Gabe Stillman.  Nemeth noted that he “took (Jad) on the road just out of college and showed him the ropes.  He is an impressive player, and I appreciate the use of his cultural identity in his blues. He appears on my 2022 album, Live from the Fall Out Shelter.” 

Jad shared the story about their first time playing with Nemeth, which sounded like somewhat of a spectacle.

“I had seen John play with the Love Light Orchestra at a music festival, and then I heard he was playing at the Railgarten, and one of my professors was in the band playing piano.  So, I showed up and asked if I could sit in.  He did call me up to play, and that was back during my partying days.  So, I was taking a solo, and this guy in the audience was trying to bring us up a tray of flaming shots, but he spills one on his arm and his arm is on fire and then he accidentally sets the table on fire.  So, he gets that fire out and goes back and grabs another tray of flaming shots and brings it to the bandstand.  We all take the shots, while I’m still playing my solo, and this guy goes to ‘cheers’ me and I thought he was passing me a beer as a chaser for the shot, so I unintentionally stole his beer.”

Since then, Jad has frequently played in John’s band and Tony Holiday’s band, but he also performs and records with his own band.

“Being a sideman is such a fun experience because you can focus on just playing the guitar and suiting it to what is happening in the moment and blending in with the rhythm section.  Guys who hire me do want me to impart my own style, but you get hip with the preferences of the guys you work with and play differently with each person to suit their phrasing.  They all phrase things differently.  That’s where I pick my spots to make a statement or lay back and support them.  It is a super important skill of sidemen to recognize what each individual singer wants because what they hear behind them helps them to do their job more easily.”

Jad and his housemates, musicians Benton Parker and Jon Hay, have opened a recording studio in their home.

“It’s up and operational.  The first record we cut there was Johnny Burgin’s last record.  The studio is called Lola’s Place.  Lola is our dog.  She’s great and sometimes you can hear Lola barking in the background on the recordings.  She definitely owns the studio.”

In addition to being a recording team, Jad and Benton often write songs together.

“I write songs for him, and he wrote some for me and we wrote some together.  Benton has a record coming out and we co-wrote on that, and I wrote one on his album called ‘Operator’.  It’s about being in a situation where you’ve messed up your relationship, but your blaming the operator for not being able to get through, even though you know that everything that happened is your own fault.  I’ve been trying to force myself to be more disciplined about writing, but it doesn’t really work that way for me.  Usually, people come to me with an idea for a song and it gives me a jumping off point.  I’m good at taking an idea that is already there and can sometimes flesh out a whole song in five minutes.  It can just come all at once.  I also started taking vocal lessons for my album that is about to come out.  I had been blowing my voice out.  It puts a lot of stress on the vocal cords if you do not have the proper technique, and I did not.  With the blues you want to be able to shout and croon and to have the ability to do both without hurting yourself.  My album will be coming out in early March.  It’s called Jad Tariq Sings.  Jon Hay recorded it and Dave Gross mixed and mastered it. It’s my debut album and will be released on Momojo Records.”

Want to see how this impressive young artist honors the blues greats from the past, but finds a way to make it all sound current?  Go see Jad Tariq and check out his debut album when it is released in March from Momojo Records.  You can find links to his social media atwww.jadtariq.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.

Foster Meeks – Bother Of It All

Self Released

www.facebook.com/fostermeeks

9 tracks

Levi Jakob Cadle performs as as the artist “Foster Meeks.” He became enamored with the blues and has now spent half his life in performing. His style embraces not only the blues but also folk and the sounds of the Mississippi Delta. Meeks approach is blues roots mixed with gospel, hill country, the Delta and psychedelic sounds. It’s quite unique, very raw, distorted and out there.

“Devil Come Knockin’” opens the album. A raw acoustic guitar and haunting vocals are offered up to get the feeling of the devil actually coming. It’s cool and interesting stuff. “Promise Bottle” follows and Meeks howls out the vocals as he plays with more of that raw, riffing style.  Sounds of distorted thundering  are layered behind the music to good effect. Next up is “I’m Her Man” which is not your typical love song. Meeks growls and moans as he remains forthright that he is his girl’s man. Interestingly cool with snare and percussion and electric guitar making things even grittier.

“Tired Of The Rain” is a slow blues with somber electric guitar and vocals. Meeks sings with emotion and pain as he navigates the cut. “Temper” follows, a pensive tome with a steady beat, distorted guitar and a weirdly cool vibe. “Mr. Dodds’ Descent” features acoustic guitar again and has some of that hill country stuff going that helps the song grind and throb along. Meeks sings with grit and passion.

Then it’s “Dry Your Tears”  with some churchy sounds, a 60-cycle hum and thoughtful electric guitar. The off-kilter quirkiness of the musical approach gives it a feeling likes it’s a cross of a gospel tune and Zappa. “Glory Be” features heavy distortion as Meeks again gets a sort of psychedelic gospel going with electric guitar blazing. “These Blues Will Be My End” concludes the album. Another somber and dark piece, this one features layered voices creating an echoey backdrop with electric guitar ringing and a sparse snare keeping the beat..

This one will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you want to hear something that pushes the boundaries of roots music then perhaps this one’s for you!

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.

From – Can’t Stand The Blues

Self Released

10 tracks

The From Brothers Band are Rikard From on keys, Henrik From on vocals and guitar, Peter Lӧwgren on bass and Simon Lundin on drums. They are a Swedish quartet of blues rockers with a hot sound and some interesting original tunes.

“Anytime You Want” gets the ball rolling. The guitar is front and center in this frantic and hot blues. Following that are “Jailhouse Blues,” a mid tempo blues with guitar and organ keeping the groove going and soloing as Rikard sings the lead at a metered pace. “Can’t Stand The Blues” is next, a rollicking cut with a driving beat. The guitar leads the fray, the organ provides apt support and the vocal lead is forthright. This one gets the blood flowing for the listener.

“Don’t Step Out Of Line” is a rocking cut with a heavy groove and cool grimy and nasty sound. The organ is big, the guitar rocks and it’s a slick rock production with big solos. “Have You No Shame” tones down the beat, a slow and mellow cut with restrained vocals and instrumentation. It’s a pretty and thoughtful ballad. Next is “Still The Devil In Me” where the band explores some down home blues. They offer up some nice guitar licks in this one. “Feel I’m Loosing You” opens with some hot licks that set up the song nicely. From sings with passion about a love going wrong. More guitar licks to savor with the organ again supporting sweetly as the boys deliver a well done performance.

“Never Be Like You” slows things way down as from sings in a haunting and somber manner. The guitar and organ maintain the mood nicely. “Love Could Be True” is a well paced and cool blues rocker that makes the statement that he’s fallen for a woman who has led him on. The vocals have feeling, the guitar matches the feel and organ fills in between to sell this one. The finale is “Sun Don’t Shine On A Troubled Mind” with a sort of southern rock feel to it. Guitar and organ interplay with the vocal lead.  The guitar responds to the vocal calls and does a nice job soloing and throughout. Again the organ is up to the task and helps to flesh out the sound and flow of the cut.

This is a nice blues rock album. These musicians can sing, play and write cool songs. I think it’s great album and well worth a listen if you’re a blues rock fan.

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.