Clifford R. Murphy – Ink: The Indelible J. Mayo Williams

University of Illinois Press

332 pages Softcover Edition

Despite excelling at two entirely different careers, the legacy of Jay Mayo “Ink” Williams has faded into the mists of time. His 2004 induction into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis attests to the extent of his contributions to blues music.

The author, Clifford R. Murphy, discovered Williams almost by accident as he began his course work in a PHD program in Ethnomusicology at Brown University. In reading some old issues of 78 Quarterly magazine, Murphy discovered a reference to Williams attending Brown on a football scholarship almost a century prior. That was enough to send the author down the proverbial rabbit hole, where he quickly was stunned by the scope of Williams’ accomplishments, hence this biography based on his extensive research that paints a vivid picture of a fascinating life of a remarkable man.

In his foreword, Murphy relates a story about the great piano player Little Brother Montgomery being taken to a meeting with Williams at Decca Records. He entered a room to meet with a well-dressed black man. Montgomery had a hard time believing that man was indeed the famous record man, as he had never seen a black man in such a position of power.

Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1894, Williams became a local sensation in high school in track and football due to his blazing speed. He also acquired the “Ink” nickname, which the author postulates could have a number of origins, but most likely stemming from the student being dark-skinned in a predominantly white school. After a year at Howard University, Williams was offered a football scholarship at Brown University. The offer was based on a recommendation by Frederick Douglas “Fritz” Pollard, who had befriended Williams when both competed in the 1912 Illinois State Track finals. Their lives would intersect numerous times during their lifelong friendship.

The two men were key building blocks for the Brown team. Pollard was a hard-nosed running back while Williams competed on both sides of the ball as an end on offense and defense, where his speed was an asset. The early days of football were brutal with little in the way of padding or helmets. Yet Williams became renown for never missing a play even though he did not wear a helmet.

After college, the duo played in the American Professional Football Association in 1921, which became the National Football League the following year. Both men continued to excel even as racism reared its ugly face. Pollard became the first black head coach of a pro team, which helped him get posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The author shares a number of newspaper reports that his research uncovered that highlight the quality of play that Williams delivered whenever he stepped on the field. While others like Pollard and Paul Robeson were recognized for their efforts in establishing the NFL, and breaking the color barrier, Williams was unfairly relegated to footnote status.

After college, Williams settled in Chicago, where he began to work as a distributor and collection agent for Black Swan Records, a black-owned label making records for an African-American audience. As part of his job, Williams would frequent the many music venues the city had to offer, keeping an eye out for new talent. He also would supplement his income during the Prohibition years by peddling his own bathtub gin. When Black Swan folded, Williams made a trip to Wisconsin to convince the executives at Paramount Records to let him begin to record black artists for burgeoning race record market.

Williams had a knack for finding talent. He quickly hired a piano player to be the in-house music arranger. In the blues world, he was known as Georgia Tom, but the world has long remembered him as Thomas A. Dorsey, the composer of many revered gospel hymns. Soon Williams was cutting records with singer Alberta Hunter and the New Orleans pianist Jelly Roll Morton. He really struck paydirt with the decision to record Gertrude “Ma” Rainey at the age of 36 years old, the first time she had ever recorded. Her records were a hit in the market place.

From there, Williams signed Papa Charlie Jackson, Big Bill Broonzy, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. He formed a music publishing company when he realized early on that the real money was made by whoever owned the rights to the hit songs. Some artists felt Williams conducted some underhanded business by plying artists with plenty of alcohol while they were recording, then getting them to sign over the publishing rights to their songs to him. Williams certainly wasn’t the only one employing that strategy, but he seemed to have perfected it. In 1926, he struck gold again with Arthur “Blind” Blake, a masterful guitarist who cut 79 songs for the label.

After the failure of his short-lived Black Patti record label, the record man started working for another big label, Vocalion Records. Soon he was cutting records Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell, the piano man Cow Cow Davenport, and the Hokum Boys, featuring Dorsey and guitarist Tampa Red. The duo wrote a song full of sexual innuendo, “It’s Tight Like That,” that became a massive hit. Williams also supervised the session for Bo Carter and “Papa” Charlie McCoy that featured the first time the classic tune “Corrina Corrina” was recorded.

Getting help from artists like piano man Sammy Price, Williams continued to work with more legendary figures like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy, and Clarence “Pine Top” Smith. He also recorded Mahalia Jackson for the first time. Williams then helped mold the sound of Louis Jordan and the Tympani Five, convincing the band leader to add a string bass and a tenor saxophone to fill out the group’s sound. Once they recorded “I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town,” Jordan hit the big time, cranking out one hit after another.

Murphy is adept at weaving together the two careers that Williams enjoyed. At times it can be hard to fathom how one man could be so influential in such diverse occupations. Murphy makes it clear that Williams had associations that stretched from George Halas to W.E.B. Du Bois, Muddy Waters to Nat “King” Cole. The author also addresses race and pro football, particularly the 13 year stretch during which black players were effectively banned from playing in the league. There is also an eight page section that features the few existing B&W photos that feature Williams from various points of his life.

Not your typical music biography, Ink is a worthy tribute to a man whose legacy deserves greater recognition, particularly when it pertains to his seemingly unerring ability to discover and record so many outstanding blues artists. It is definitely worth a read, especially if you share a passion for football and music!

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer Mark Thompson lives in Florida, where he is enjoying the sun and retirement. He is the past President of the Board of Directors for the Suncoast Blues Society and a former member of the Board of Directors for the Blues Foundation. Music has been a huge part of his life for the past fifty years – just ask his wife!

Kat Riggins & Her Blues Revival – Revival

House of Berry Productions

www.katriggins.com

10 songs – 35 minutes

A petite powder keg packed in a pleasant package, Kat Riggins is on a mission. Since emerging on the South Florida blues scene about 20 years ago, the energetic alto’s been a force to be reckoned with in her effort to keep the music alive for current and future generations. And, as evidenced by two Blues Music Award nominations for her most recent albums, Cry Out and Progeny, the world’s been listening.

But Miami native’s fight is far from complete. The blues belter hits with force of a hurricane as she carries her mission forward with the ten motivational tracks on this disc, which already is soaring to the top of the charts and will probably receive similar recognition.

Now in her early 40s with six CDs to her credit, Kat grew up in a home where her parents’ eclectic musical tastes – everything from gospel and R&B to country and more — provided the soundtrack of her life. She’s come a lo-o-ong way since 2003, when she made her debut with piano accompaniment at a lounge in Sunny Isles Beach. She sang blues and jazz standards, but the audience was drawn to raw talent she possessed.

Owning a raspy set of pipes with a voice that goes from a whisper to comparisons to one of her idols, Koko Taylor, and a stage presence that’s far larger than herself, Riggins now delivers a potently soulful mix of blues, R&B, gospel and rock that’s guaranteed to get your hips shaking and toes tapping format. It’s a format that’s taken her around the world and made her beloved performer on both sides of the Atlantic.

This set was produced, mixed and mastered by Tim Mulberry at House of Berry Studios in Lake City, Fla. He and Kat teamed to co-wrote all of the material, and he adds bass, drums, keys and horns, too. Erik Guess provides lead guitar and Shaelyn Mulberry and Mark Barner deliver backing vocals throughout.

A rapid-fire keyboard run introduces “Lucky,” before Kat announces her intent to please the crowd: “I know just what I like/I like to wheel and whine/And bump and grind/And get on down tonight.” An uptempo rocker, Guess’ fretwork soars and the chorus takes you to church on the breaks. The message continues in “Revived,” which states: “Look at my new walk/I’m stepping high/I got a real good feeling inside/Feeling revived.”

The tempo changes but remains upbeat for “Southern Soul,” which keeps the party going, before the intense, driving “New Level” comes with the message: “I’ve got a new attitude to match my dreams…and it’s plain to see, I’ve got to be me.” Despite being one of the brightest “new” stars in the blues world, Kat’s desire for more comes through in the plaintive ballad “Set Me Free,” which states: “Now why oh why keep trying/My patience is dying/Set me free.”

It gives way to the jazzy rocker “Mojo Thief,” which advises that you’ve got to do your own work to achieve your goals and gives way to “Chasin’ Time,” a number that stresses the need for persistence, noting: “I can’t rush into tomorrow/Or get back to yesterday.”

The fiery “Mighty” advises that the meek should inherit the earth before the hard-rocker, “Old Time Way,” delivers a tribute to the way music used to be before the thoughtful and quiet ballad, “Healer,” expresses the hope that Riggins can bring peace, love and hope to everyone in earshot.

Give this one a listen. There’s a strong chance Kat will succeed.

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.

Sandy Atkinson & The True Loves – Have A Good Time Tonight

Gator Blues Publishing

https://sandyatkinson.net

12 tracks/39 minutes

Sandy Atkinson and her band hail from the Tampa Bay area where they appear regularly. She has opened and played with many a storied band. Her bandmates are Cannon Quinn, Dean Germain, Dennis McCarthy, and Jeff ‘Stick’ Davis who back her well. This is her seventy album and she is a seasoned songwriter and vocalist who blends blues, rock and Americana in her songs. There are nine originals and three tasteful covers.

The title track starts the set off. It’s a jumping cut with a great groove. Next is “Got The Wrong Number,” a slower blues that shuffle along nicely. Here the topic revolves around a breakup where one of the former partners expects post-relationship benefits, which Sandy corrects in no uncertain terms. “Memphis Gets Crazy” features some slide, saxophone and piano, all to good effect. Sarasota Slim is featured on guitar on “Way Down Deep In The Blues,” a slow and very somber cut that Sandy sings in a breathless fashion.

Things rock out with “It Ain’t No Sin,” a rousing and jumping cut with strident guitar and a slick groove. Atkinson howls out the vocals as this builds and builds to a big finish. The first cover is John Hiatt’s “Feel Like Rain.” Sandy’s performance is laid back and gives the listener an emotional performance. The guitar licks are restrained and cool. “Mama Bear” is a swinging, jumping blues cut that hearkens perhaps to the Stray Cats. The tenor sax is delightful and the organ and guitar solos are also slick as Atkinson sings in a breathy manner. Howlin’ Wolf’s “Cause Of It All” features the guitar and organ in a very laid back delivery.

“Not Gonna Miss You” gets a little country going as Sandy tells her man there ain’t no feelings left for him in their relationship. The guitar helps sell the country feeling. There is some wicked slide here in Junkies and Hookers” along with more breathy vocals. “Web Top Checker” follows, a cut penned by Tampa Bay blues legend David “Rock Bottom” York. He was from Indiana and made a name for himself upon transplanting himself to the Tampa area. He passed in 2001 and Atkinson pays him homage with this gritty cut with greasy harp and dark bass line. The finale is ‘No More Me And You,” a quiet acoustic piece with a little electric guitar layered over sweetly. Sandy sings with emotion as she closes out this set of mostly new tunes.

Atkinson and company deliver some well-crafted new songs and three good covers for the listener. She sings with deep emotion and the band delivers a dozen nice performances. Well Done!

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.

Mikey Junior – Traveling North

8th Train Records

www.mikeyjunior.com

10 songs – 43 minutes

A fixture in the fertile blues scene of Philadelphia, harp player Mikey Junior has made a name for himself by delivering some of the deepest azure music in the Northeast for more than a decade. And he hits it out of the park with backing from a rotating roster of top talent on this disk – the 12th in his arsenal.

The son of a professional musician, Mikey grew up on the mean streets of Trenton, N.J., a stone’s throw across the Delaware River from the City of Brotherly Love. By age 18, he was already a veteran of the local music scene, making a name for himself both for his infectious personality and self-taught prowess on the reeds as well as his polished, emotive and honeyed mid-range vocal delivery.

Now in his 30s, he’s been releasing quality albums for about half his life. This one was produced, recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered by BMA-nominated multi-instrumentalist/longtime friend Dave Gross at his Fat Rabbit Studios in Franklin Lakes, N.J. Dave contributes lead guitar on three cuts, rhythm on another, keys on three tunes and percussion on two.

The album features Greg Gumpel on guitar and is anchored by Matt Raymond and Michael Bram on bass and drums throughout with Josh Roberts and Matt Daniels taking turns on six-string and Victor Wainwright on piano and organ. Michael Hudak Sr., Robin Hudak – Mikey’s dad and stepmom — and Francesca Milazzo drop in to provide backing vocals, too. It’s a gritty, but slick set of urban blues. And despite a couple of familiar covers from the American songbook, Mikey has refashioned them in a way that’s truly made them his own.

Gumpel’s haunting fretwork sets up the original opener, “Old Enough to Know,” which finds Mikey coming to terms with having stayed by the side of a lady who was “too young to care.” Their relationship went from right to wrong in an instant before she split. The singer expresses his pain with short, but powerful harp runs after spotting her out and about with other man.

The message continues in “Taboo Love,” which was penned by Philly guitar legend Danny DeGennaro. This time, Mikey’s still longing for her and struggling with himself to stop calling her on the phone even though there’s someone else who wants him. Gross’ six-string drives the tune and enhanced by Victor on the organ. “You Hurt Me,” a languorous ballad, revisits the pain and longing of the opener before Mikey finds some solace in DeGennaro’s “I’m Still Crazy Over You.” Instead of chasing the woman and trying to make the relationship last, he realizes he’s got to slow down.

A solitary drumbeat opens “Brown Derby Liquor,” which was penned by Gary Primich, the beloved Austin-based harp player who left us far too soon. The booze, Mikey notes, provides some “peace of mind.” He finally achieves some resolution from his troubles with a poignant redo of Bruce Springsteen’s “Cover Me” and the plea for a woman who’ll help him escape his past.

The tempo quickens for the sprightly original, “She Can Do What She Wants To.” The issues continue. The woman can burn the dinner and leave dishes in the sink or run the street, but Mikey announces: “She’s alright with me.” His joy comes through every note of his reeds. A funky remake of Percy Mayfield’s “Hit the Road Jack” before the disc closes with Willie Dixon’s “Sittin’ & Cryin’ the Blues.”

Sure, there’s plenty of misery in the messages, but all of the songs sing in this cohesive package. In true blues fashion, there’s plenty of celebration within the pain. Strongly recommended.

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.

The BluesBones – Live on Tour

Donor Productions / Naked

www.thebluesbones.com

13 Tracks – 67 minutes

The BluesBones is a Belgium blues band that has had significant success playing tours across Europe.  The band first formed in 2011. This album captures their live performances from several different venues as they toured in the spring and summer of 2024. The band won the 2024 Belgian Blues Award for Best Band.  The album presents their live sound exactly as it was heard from the stage on their tour and primarily features live performances of their previous studio album, Unchained, with a few extra favorites and a couple of covers thrown in. Nico de Cock provides the lead vocals, Stef Paglia plays guitar, Edwin Risbourg plays piano & Hammond organ, Geert Boeckx plays bass, and Jens Roelandt plays drums.

The album comes roaring out of the gate with the funky “Changes” as Nico “moves back into the light, picking up the pieces of a broken man”. Stef’s guitar and Edwin’s organ get the space to propel the song.  On “Chain Gang”, he asks “How the hell did I get into this mess?” with a driving rhythm expanding the pounding beat of the worker as he establishes that he is counting down the “remaining 780 days” of his sentence. Next, he declares That I have to “Find Me A Woman” and he will “treat her so fine, hug her the best I can”.  Stef’s guitar again pumps up the action on the song.

Edwin’s Hammond again sails through the song as Nico says he had nothing to do “but to play my guitar on the side of the highway playing blues from my “Broken Down Car”. A soft piano driven ballad, “I Cry” follows with Stef’s guitar providing the lament expressed by Nico.  The first cover on the album is Cedell Davis’ “She’s Got the Devil in Her”, which first appeared on The BluesBones debut album, Voodoo Guitar. Nico acknowledges he knows that “she’s going to do something wrong”.

On ” The Road Ahead”, he says, “I’m driving far away from you” and “my mind is flashing from the passing cars”. I am looking into the future and looking away from the past”.  He then says, “Sometimes I just want to settle down and leave this life behind” as he explains the life of a musician on the road as he just keeps “Moving On”. “Believe Me” slows things back down with a soulful guitar lead and Nico establishes “That once there was a sunshine well that lightened up my life, she talked to me in sweet words as she is making my heart alive”. He then acknowledges “Johnny Walker is my best friend and he burns down my memory when I cry”. At almost nine minutes long, the song allows considerable exposition and wavers across the emotions of the song through the solid rhythm section backing the organ and guitars. It closes with Nico giving a resounding wail “Why?”

Stef’s slide guitar propels a funky “Time to Learn” with Nico declaring “you left me, baby. I am crying all alone” as he again provides a soulful cry of “Why?”. “Talking To the Lord” is a solid blues rock number with Edwin’s Hammond jumping out into the fray and Stef’s slide guitar again having a powerful solo and Nico acknowledging that “I’ve lived a life of sin”.  Matt Andersen and Mike Stevens’ “Devil’s Bride” is the second cover on the album and offers a bit of boogie with an extended instrumental break. The album concludes with the swinging “No Good for Me” as he encourages everyone to start dancing.

Nico is a powerful and energetic vocalist and delivers intelligent, well thought out lyrics with the right amount of soul and emotion. But every song provides the opportunity for the interplay with Stef’s electric and slide guitar and Edwin’s Hammond and piano. And while those two were mentioned frequently in this review, it is not to neglect the powerful rhythm section of Geert and Jens that drives the songs. Jens’ drum work is certainly a constant force throughout the album and Geert’s bass hums along powerfully as well.

The album would primarily be labeled as blues rock but does offer moments of soul power and quiet ballads. This is definitely a winning album by a solid, well experienced band.

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.

The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra – What Are You Waiting For?

Blue Dot Records

www.anthonypaule.com

11 songs – 45 minutes

A nine-piece ensemble founded in San Francisco in 2007, The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra delivers a sound that draws its inspiration from blues and R&B bands of the ’60s and ’70s, and they hit new heights here. They team for the first time with Willy Jordan, a silky smooth vocalist who’s also an award-winning percussionist who’s worked with Charlie Musselwhite, Joe Louis Walker, John Németh and others for decades.

A fixture on guitar in the Bay Area music scene, Paule has been in the same circuit as Jordan for decades, but they finally met and struck up an immediate friendship when they finally crossed paths at the bar aboard a Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise a few years ago.

Willy’s presence marks a welcome return to the studio for the group, whose previous efforts have featured the beloved and dearly departed Wee Willie Walker and Frank Bay on the mic. With those powerhouses in tow, the band piled up eight Blues Music Awards nominations for soul blues album, song, band and overall album honors along the way.

The orchestra possesses a large sound, but it never overpowers the vocals. The set was recorded and mixed by  Gabriel Shepard and Jim Gaines, the Nashville legend who passed recently, at 25th Street Recording Studio in Oakland and mastered by Michael Romanowski. Anthony’s veteran lineup includes Tony Lufrano on keys, Endre Tarczy on bass and Kevin Hayes on drums. Sax players Charles McNeal (tenor) and Rob Sudduth (baritone), trombonist Derek James and 22-year-old newcomer/trumpeter Ethan Pires compose the four-piece horn section.

Jon Otis adds percussion on two cuts, and Larry Batiste and the Sons of the Soul Revivers – Dwayne, Walter and James Morgan — make special guest appearances on vocals. And Nona Brown and Omega Rae deliver background vocals throughout.

The all-original set opens with “You Ain’t Old ’Til You Cold.” It’s a funky, medium-paced shuffle propelled by fluid horn lines. A horn-section blast gets your attention before the band joins in at a level that allows Willy space to shine. When he was 25, he notes, he thought he knew it all and was “having a ball, but it all changed with time.” Now, he realizes, he’s got to celebrate life every day because “two feet on top are better than six feet below.” It’s a message that’s driven home by Paule on the break.

The spirited “What Are You Waiting For?” kicks up the heat while continuing the idea forward. It celebrates trying something new or actually commit to the trip you’ve been dreaming about instead of dreaming about it and planning for the future. Lufrano’s organ smokes mid-tune. The mood shifts for guitar-driven “One Way.” It’s a love song delivered with a twinge of regret as it focuses on the future while bemoaning a reluctance to commit to the relationship in the past.

The true blue “You’re Somebody Else’s Baby Too” opens with a brief Paule solo before Jordan comes to terms with the realization that he’s not the only person in his lady’s life. It’s jarring because he’s witnessed it recently himself. But everyone needs a “Back Up Plan,” as the funkified song that follows states. Then the band gets serious. “Where’s Justice?” is loaded with images of families sleeping in tents and cars, children starving and more. It addresses American society’s empty promises regarding racial and cultural equality, stating “enough is enough!”

It dovetails into “Bruised,” which finds the singer crying out for help – this time after being left black, blue and confused by another romantic interest. The mood brights with “Love Out Loud,” which advises opening your heart and letting the whole world feel it. The stop-time “That’s Not How the Story Goes” confronts a rival spreading untruths before the humorous “No Tofu” finds Willy crying out for barbeque when his honey puts the title ingredient on his plate. The disc concludes with the soulfully tormented “After a While,” which addresses the singer’s pain after a split.

Lead vocalists have changed once again, but The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra remains at the top of their game. Willy Jordan sings from the heart, and you’ll rejoice when you hear him do it!

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.