Jontavious Willis – West Georgia Blues
Strolling Bones Records
15 songs – 48 minutes
Possessing uncanny skills on the acoustic guitar, Jontavious Willis is an anachronism in the world of modern blues: At 28-years-old, he’s a master of open-tuning fingerpicking techniques that were invented by the stars of the generation of the music. And even though many listeners are unaware, he delivers songs that might appear to have been created in the ’20s, but they’re whole-cloth his own.
Willis has truly come into his own in the past five years, during which he finished his education at Columbus State University in his West Georgia homeland and hit the heights by serving as the opening act for Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ when they toured to promote their Grammy-winning Keb/Mo’ CD after his debut album, Blue Metamorphosis, was a finalist at the International Blues Challenge for best self-produced disc of the year.
In the years since, Jontavious earned five Blues Music Awards nominations – one for rising star, three for traditional male blues artist of the year and another for the 2019 album, Spectacular Class, for which Taj served as executive producer and Keb’ produced. he’s at the absolute top of his game with this welcome return to the studio with this long-awaited follow-up.
It’s a self-produced winner that delivers a masterclass of stylings, including Piedmont, ragtime, Delta juke-joint, old-school folk and more performed in solo, duo and in full-band settings and contemporary timeless but contemporary themes. Although loaded with old-sounding riffs and lyrics, everything on the disc – is 100-percent Willis’ own.
Recorded and engineered by Big Jon Atkinson at the legendary Capricorn Studios in Macon, Jontavious is backed by Ethan Leinwand on piano and Wurlitzer, Rodrigo Mantovani on upright bass and Jayy Hopp on acoustic guitar, drums and washboard. Vocalist Lloyd Buchanon guests on the opening cut, and Big Jon handles the six-string lead on another.
The autobiographical “West Georgia Blues” kicks off the action with an a cappella/handclap open as Willis invites listeners along for a “ride through Georgia on the Alabama side,” noting that his folks have been there since 1823, where they’re “singing the blues to carry the tradition on.” The sexually charged ragtime, “Charlie Brown Blues,” references a bag of groceries and the ability to predict what’s for dinner while noting that what his lady is making “sure ain’t in the book.” Then the singer announces that he’s about to sneak into town for an affair so his woman doesn’t frown.
The languorous solo blues, “Broken Hearted Moan,” combines traditional lyrics before announcing to his lady: “You may know my condition, but you sure don’t know my pain” because she gone. The mood brightens immediately for the full-band, contemporary and sugar-sweet “Keep Your Worries on the Dance Floor,” which delivers a little friendly advice to folks struggling in different ways before “Rough Time Blues” finds Willis begging for a quarter because of his own misery: a period in which “even a buzzard can’t find a job.”
The sprightly, full-band “Lula Mae” details the excitement caused when the title singer comes to town. It yields to the haunting “Ghost Woman.” A quiet ballad, it finds Jontavious on his knees in front of gravedigger and pleading for the return of his lady before beseeching her: “Why’d you have to go?” before the country blues, “Who’s Gonna Hear It?,” asks a woman why she’s “tellin’ all her business” while all alone in the woods.
Leinwand’s keys and Atkinson’s six-string take center stage as Willis swings from the hip on “A Lift Is All I Need” before the Delta blues, “Too Close to the Finishing Line,” stresses the need to keep going to achieve your goals. The Piedmont-style “Earthworm Basement Blues” welcomes the music even when Willis isn’t feeling down and gives way to the talking blues, “Squirrlin’ Mama,” a moan about a woman that just won’t let the singer be. “Time Brings About a Change” deals with life and all its challenges before the electric Chicago-style “Lost Ball” and the fiery, instrumental “Jontavious’ West Georgia Grind” bring the set to a rousing close.
Look for this one to be piling up honors once the next awards season arrives. Don’t miss it…it’s just that good!
