The Alexis P. Suter Band featuring Garth Hudson – Just Stay Live – Recorded Live at The Falcon
Nola Blue Records – 2026
11 tracks; 1 hour, 5 minutes
Alexis P. Suter has long been one of the most authentic and commanding voices on the blues scene. She has been nominated for three Blues Music Awards and has garnered notice outside her native Brooklyn and second home in the Hudson Valley. Her ninth album was recorded live at The Falcon in Marlboro, New York, a perfect wood-paneled room for blues and roots music, which has been a regular haunt for Suter over the years. What makes this album different in her catalog is the presence of the late, great multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson from The Band on piano and accordion.
This was recorded in 2011, which would have made Hudson 74 years old, still in command of his powers. The second track on the album is simply titled “Garth Piano Solo”. It’s a 5:02 tour-de-force with multiple movements that shows Hudson’s sensitivity, creativity, and classical and blues chops. You get the feeling it was never performed before or since that night. It made this old Bandophile emotional. The band jumps in and joins him at the end of the song for a magical and organic moment. He is also singled out by the leader on the long, jammy Suter Band original “Rise”. Hudson passed away last year at the age of 87 and he didn’t record much in the last 25 years of his life, so that makes this album not just a joy, but a valuable historical document. Thank goodness they recorded this professionally and saved it. Alan Douches recorded, mixed, and mastered it.
Suter’s voice is front and center on the album, starting with the show-stopping opener, the Blind Willie Johnson standard “John The Revelator”. Her bassy, powerful vocals are like a hurricane blowing down the Mississippi River. You can hear a lot of the great indigenous American music styles like blues, gospel, rock, and soul in her delivery. Vicki Bell’s background vocals provide a wonderful counterbalance to Suter’s bombast, a little honey stirred into the tea. The main band comprised of Jimmy Bennett (guitar), Ray Grappone (drums), and Peter Bennett (bass) shines and the special guests have their moments as well, Linda Pino (vocals), Benny Harrison (keyboard), and Connor Kennedy (guitar). “Whistling in the Dark” is a powerful original (written by Bell and Bennett) that fits in among the notable covers like Gregg Allman’s “It’s Not My Cross To Bear” and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”. The amount of time that Hudson spent with Dylan over the years makes that one even more poignant.
The original number “Hole That I’m In” brings a New Orleans vibe. “Turn On Your Love Light”, popularized by Bobby Blue Bland, flipped the switch for the rhythm section and brought the fun late in the set. Kennedy provides an Allman Brothers-eque solo over a showband-kind-of-groove. Suter brings the band down to a whisper a la “Shout” before they kick back in (“a little bit higher”) for the big finish. The final track is a George Harrison cover “Isn’t It a Pity” (from the 1970 masterpiece All Things Must Pass) that Suter hadn’t previously recorded or released. She released it as a single on Harrison’s birthday. All in all, Just Stay Live is a very enjoyable live blues record that makes you jealous you weren’t there that night.
