Another month, another set of great new releases to let blues fans know about. Lots of Mississippi blues love in this particular edition of FBF, so let's get started!!!
Sean McDonald - Have Mercy! (Little Village Foundation): Another great release from this label, featuring another young artist with a vast knowledge of what came before and the ability to bring it to the present. Kid Andersen and the Greaseland regulars are on hand to give young Augusta, GA native superb backing. He was raised singing in the church, is a nimble guitarist, and the tracks are a mix of classic blues and R&B tunes and some nice originals. I'm telling you that the future of the blues is in good hands, thanks to artists like McDonald and others, as we'll see below. This is a fine set of classic-feeling blues, R&B, and soul that will put a big smile on your face and a hop in your step. It's definitely one of my favorites of the year.
Jimmy Burns & Soul Message Band - Full Circle (Delmark Records): Burns, born in Dublin, MS but a Chicago resident since he was 12, is one of my favorite vocalists and his career actually dates back to the mid-60's - some of his 45's are hard-to-find collector's items. This set, recorded with the Chicago-based Soul Message Band, led by B3 master Chris Foreman, features soulful, jazzy remakes of several of Burns' late 60's/early 70's sides, along with some of his personal favorite tunes, plus a couple of soul jazz instrumentals by the band. Burns turned 82 earlier this year, but he is still pretty active on the Chicago blues scene and he sounds great on these tracks....I listened to the originals on YouTube and he sounds as good now as he did fifty years ago. One of the perks of buying the album is reading the liner notes about Burns' memories of the original recordings - his memory is as amazing as his voice.
Various Artists - Jacktown USA (Emerald Tiger Artist Management): Did you know that musical artists from Mississippi have received more Grammy Awards and nominations than any other state? Did you know that the city of Jackson, MS has the nation's highest concentration of Grammy Award winners per capita? Recently, the book Jacktown USA (by Kamal King and Joe Lee) was released profiling nine current and prominent Mississippi blues and soul artists, and a companion CD was also released separately with tracks by eight of the artists - The Jacktown Sons (an R&B group), blues men Dexter Allen, Eddie Cotton, Zac Harmon, Stevie J Blues, Chad Wesley, and Ra'Shad "The Blues Kid" McGill, and the sibling acapella group Four Washington. The legendary composer arranger Benjamin Wright is also profiled in the book. The book and the CD should be part of any blues fan's collection, and the best thing is that there are even more great blues and soul artists in the area that deserve to be heard. No wonder Jackson is called The City With Soul!
Hudspeth & Taylor - Kimuziki Live in Des Moines (Hudtone Records): I absolutely loved this Kansas City duo's second release, Ridin' The Blinds, so I was excited to see this new release, which was recorded live at the Central Iowa Blues Society's Winter Blues Festival this past February. Guitarist Brandon Hudspeth's fretwork is pristine (he also is a member of the K.C. blues rock band Levee Town) as he backs singer/percussionist Jasson Taylor' robust vocals on these nine tracks, three written by Taylor and featured on their first album (Folie a Deux) and six excellent interpretations of blues standards from Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf. These guys operate like a well-oiled maching and it shows on each tune.
Bob Corritore & Friends - Early Blues Sessions (VizzTone / SWMAF): Harmonica player Corritore is a blues mainstay in Phoenix, proprietor of the Rhythm Room, one of the finest blues clubs, and hosting his own radio program on Sunday nights at KJZZ-FM since the 80's. He's also a produceer and has released multiple albums of his own, where he usually invites his many friend to play. Most of these friends have taken time to record songs with Corritore while passing through Phoenix and he has released several albums compiling these recordings in his "From The Vault" series. The latest one goes back to the mid 80's and these tracks have never before been released, including tracks from Jimmy Rogers, Henry Gray, Bob Margolin, Robert Lockwood Jr., Chico Chism, Lil' Ed Williams, Pinetop Perkins, Clarence Edwards, King Karl, Dave Riley, and Lowell Fulson. Best of all is a never-before-released track with Corritore and Little Milton recorded in 2002 that really made my day.
Also, a pair of singles from a couple of Mississippi blues men, beginning with one mentioned a few paragraphs above, Stevie J Blues. He's been very active on the blues and southern soul circuit since the pandemic, releasing a couple of albums and numerous singles. I first heard him acccompanying Bobby Rush on Live at Ground Zero and his wonderful 2004 album, Folk Funk, and he's played with a lot of major southern soul and blues artist over the years, while cutting his own albums in the process. He also graciously sat down with FBF for a Ten Questions With....post a few years back. His most recent single is a tasty cover of J Blackfoot's "Your Mouth Wrote A Check" on PKMG LLC. His version is a bit funkier than the original, but he pays respect to that version while giving his interpretation a fresh sound....he's a terrific guitarist and singer. He's already released several other fine singles over the year, so be sure to check them out.
Another Mississippi blues man making a lot of noise these days is Harrell "Young Rell" Davenport. I first noticed him on Facebook several years ago as he shared his videos while learning to sing and play the blues. Let's just say that he has put the work in (he knows a lot about the history of the music and puts it to good use) and the blues world has noticed. He only recently graduated high school but he's been playing guitar and harmonica since he was seven years old. It's been fun to watch him interact with many of the current blues stars and he's recently been making the rounds at numerous festivals. He plays the blues with a sincerity and authenticity that is breathtaking when you consider he's still in his teens. He's issued a couple of singles this year, including his latest, "Fatherless Child" (Rell Tone Records), an original tune that describes the pain and uncertainty of growing up without a father. It's an amazing and powerful performance and bodes well for the future of this young man.
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