Ron Carter Esperanza Spalding - Downbeat

Blues | By frank-john hadley
Strength Meets
Pyromania
Michael “Iron Man” Burks: Show Of
Strength (Alligator 4951; 62:11 HHHH) Michael
Burks came into his own while recording
his fourth album for Alligator, completed last
spring just before his unexpected death. The
man’s strengths were considerable, not sacrificed
in the least to cranked-up heat and volume.
His guitar fashioned prose of a rare type:
earthy but searching, its poignancy mirrored
by his rich, full-bodied singing voice. Supported
by his crackerjack band, this Arkansan
celebrated the individual human spirit whether
it meant working through the heartache of
his slow-sizzling original “Since I Been Loving
You” or bringing dry humor to soul singer
Charlie Whitehead’s gem of a cheating song,
“Can You Read Between The Lines?” Burks’
excellent singing voice and guitar even elevated
the everyday shuffle “What Does It Take
To Please You?” His version of Charlie Rich’s
“Feel Like Going Home” sends shivers down
the backbone of empathic listeners. Burks
wielded a power comparable to Son Seals.
Ordering info: alligator.com
Butch Thompson & Pat Donohue: Vicksburg
Blues (Red House 257; 59:00 HHH)
Butch Thompson, a pianist and part-time clarinetist,
and Pat Donohue, a singer and guitarist,
may be fixated on blues and jazz of the first
half of the 20th century, but the duo isn’t stuffy
or mawkish about it. Their appraisals of 14
songs from the past, especially a restoration
of barrelhouse piano originator Little Brother
Montgomery’s “Vicksburg Blues,” have a winning
dramatic definition. Just as clear and distinct
in emotional outlay are performances of
their own old-time tunes. It’s obvious they love
spreading the word about Montgomery, Blind
Blake, King Oliver and their other heroes.
Ordering info: redhouserecords.com
The Chris O’Leary Band: Waiting For
The Phone To Ring (VizzTone VTFR 002;
54:20 HHH) For several years a member of
Levon Helm’s Barnburners, Chris O’Leary
is an efficient singer and harmonica player
whose second album makes obvious his sure
way with Chicago and West Coast blues and
Louisiana r&b. Not one of the 13 songs he
wrote is memorable but neither do any of them
disappoint in the moment. A musician with a
healthy sense of humor, O’Leary fronts an OK
band that has a secret weapon in Chris DiFrancesco,
whose baritone saxophone gives the
group sound a darkly resonant dimension.
Ordering info: vizztone.com
Juke Joint Jonny: Pure And Simple
(Blues Leaf 9848; 46:39 HHH) Juke Joint
Jonny’s stock in trade is singing gruffly and
playing good slide guitar on original material
in the fashion of historical country blues and
Michael Burks
r&b. Recording on both coasts, the middleaged
New Jerseyite probes various emotional
states without fuss or pretense, never remiss
in his role as an honest entertainer. Bay Area
pianist Mitch Woods and Miami-based guitarist
Albert Castiglia are the best known of his
helpful sidekicks.
Ordering info: bluesleaf.com
Taj Mahal: The Hidden Treasures Of
Taj Mahal (Legacy 8287682294; 77:28/53:48
HH) One man’s treasure is another man’s
trash. These two discs of lost tracks from
1969–’73, one filled with Mahal studio sides
and the second a concert taped at Royal Albert
Hall, are pretty bad for a variety of reasons,
particularly his pitch-challenged and
indecisive singing. Only the three tracks from
an Allen Toussaint-produced session avoid the
abyss. The London concert is good to hear …
once. Go instead for the Columbia studio set
Happy Just To Be Like I Am, from the same
time in his career.
Ordering info: legacyrecordings.com
Dennis Jones: My Kinda Blues (Blue
Rock; 53:34 HHH) Dennis Jones, fronting
bands since the late 1990s, uses his Stratocaster
like a stun gun built with high amps.
His urgency is far more credible than that of
the general lot of guitar pyromaniacs because
there seems to be a lot of heart and soul behind
his every phrase. His vocals are just as
peppery and believable. Jones’ compositions
don’t pull any punches about his distain for
texting, for two-timing women and for selfrighteous
Blue Staters. Though certainly aware
of how Jimi Hendrix burned the midnight lamp,
Jones is his own man. DB
Ordering info: dennisjonescentral.com
paul Natkin
86 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2012