Mike Bourne Band – Kansas City O’Clock
www.facebook.com/mikebourneband
14 tracks/60 minutes
Mike Bourne builds on the greatness of the music from Kansas City by the likes of people like Jay McShann and Big Joe Turner and joins forces with the amazing young saxophonist Dougan Smith, KC long standing bassist Cardy Quintero, barrelhouse piano man Jimmy Beisman and top notch drummer Bryan Herrman to deliver an hour of truly great tunes. A dozen original cuts and two tasty covers comprise this fantastic album’s collection of choice cuts.
In addition to the great artists noted, we also get to enjoy Johhny Burgin adding his guitar to a quartet of tracks along with fantastic drummer Steve Dougherty who joins him on those songs. Patrick Recob is stellar on his bass support through the majority of tunes. Dan Starr (tenor sax), Mister B.T. (trumpet), Nick Hmeljak (trumpet), and Austin Barry (trumpet) add amazing horn support to the mix. Bass guitar is supplemented by Greg Clinkingbeard and Paul Diffin. Kerry Denton and Oete Kaier add drums to a few tracks. Bob Paige adds piano to one cut and Ryan Syles is on sax for a pair of songs. Backing vocals are provided by Maria Bounds, Stephanie Howie, Stephanie Robertson, and Hayley Raxafsky.
“I Can’t Be Anybody But Myself” features Bourne’s gritty vocals and guitar and some really slick sax. A driving beat and great effort by all involved make this an excellent start to get the musical ball rolling. “Beer In The Morning” jumps and jives as Bourne tells us about his breakfast of champions. Barrelhouse piano and great sax had my head bobbing as I listened with appreciation. Some guitar solos help flesh the cut out even more.
“Too Old To Be Young” follows with a somber intro before the party restarts. Trumpets blare, the sax remains solid, and this one keep the blood flowing and makes you want to get up to dance and swing. Another guitar solo is provided to savor, too. Bourne switches drinks of choice in “Caffeine Blues.” The coffee he spurned for breakfast is now something he woke up to needing despite his doctor’s orders to avoid the brown elixir of the gods. His guitar rings as the band plays a NOLA styled swinging groove.
The title track is next, a sweet cut that opens up the world of KC blues and swing for us in a big, jumping style. The sax and piano are vibrant. The guitar is forthright and cool. The track just rocks and swings oh-so-well. “Kick’n A Deuce” is a great instrumental with solid, greasy guitar and a a great R&B vibe. Cool stuff for sure!
Then it’s “Yolo,” an acronym for You Only Live Once, a traditional NOLA jump blues where Bourne advises us to take advantage of each day. His guitar is strident and the piano support rings true to the Crescent City vibe. “Three Blind Mice” takes the children’s song to a new place with some humor and wordplay. The sax and piano are outstanding, we get a few cool guitar licks and it finishes with a sweet, long instrumental ending punctuated by the bass plucking us home.
“Really Nice Girl” is a slow and gritty torch song of sorts. Bourne sings the praises of his flame as he lays out some restrained and well-tempered guitar for us. The snare-led groove drives the cut and makes your feet tap uncontrollably. “Dive Bar Romance” is a jumping cover that slips and slides as Bournes testifies that it was, “Love at first sip.” Nice sax, piano, organ and guitar flesh this out well and the trumpet sneaks in to good effect, too.
Jay McShann’s “Fore Day Rider” is next, another well-presented cover. The trumpet and sax blend with the piano and Bourne’s vocals to give us a great treat here. “Truth Dressed Up Like A Lie” follows, a dirty blues with sax and trumpet helping to sell this one. More barrelhouse piano and then finally some well place guitar licks solidify the cut.
“Rather Be Happy Than Normal” is something we all ponder and believe. Normality is a distant second to happiness as Mike aptly describes for us. The sax gets greased up for us followed, in turn, by the trumpet as the listener just relaxes to the excellent groove and solos. Bourne finishes us off with a stinging guitar solo before taking us home. The album concludes with “People Not Politics,” featuring the final guest appearance by Johnny Burgin on guitar as Bourne reminds us of the importance of people over politics. He reminds us to love our children instead of building new buildings that serve no real purpose. The guitar licks are strong and well done and the song rolls and somewhat softly drives us home to a great conclusion to a really fine album. The piano continues to excel and the sax and trumpet add spice to the mix as the songs takes us to the end of a delightful set of fourteen superb songs.
This is a wonderful album. From start to finish, Bourne and the rest of the cast deliver outstanding performances to enjoy. The listener’s life is better off with the hour spent with this music; I truly loved it. If you love jump blues and swing with great vibes from KC and NOLA, then this is for you. This is a superb album and needs to be in your music collection!
