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THE MIDWEST BLUES BEAT by Eric Steiner A BELATED BLUE VALENTINE I may have been absent from last month’s issue of Midwest BEAT due to conflicting deadlines and travel dates, but I was certainly was thinking of all my Chicagoland blues readers when Valentine’s Day rolled around. Growing up, I was always told that the first girl I saw in morning would be my valentine for the whole day. As an adult, and a blues fan, I’m glad I woke up last month on Valentine’s Day to the sounds of recent blues releases from two mighty talented blues women – Candye Kane and Lorna Wilhelm. Haven’t heard of ‘em? Well, they’re just two of the most exciting blues women around. Candye Kane’s latest Bullseye/Rounder disc, "The Toughest Girl Alive," is a sassy send-up of some good-time, big-fun blues that only Kane can dish out. She’s overcome the suspicions of many blues purists out there, but it’s taken five CDs plus a whole lot of critical acclaim to live down her porn star and welfare mom background. Candye’s persisted through a lot, and when she’s doing rockabilly on “Je Níen Peux Plus Sans Ma Cadillac” or simply showing a lot of attitude on “(Hey Mister!) She Was My Baby Last Night,” she really lets loose. Check her out at: www.candyekane.com. You’ll see why House of Blues has included her on their 30 Essential Women of the Blues CD and why the 10th Annual San Diego Music Awards voted Candye Kane as “Best Blues Artist of the Year 2000.” My second blues Valentine was Lorna Wilhelm from Texas. Her CD, "I Feel Good With The Blues" (PoundCat Music) is a mixed bag of jazz, blues and swing, and she’d be right at home with local bands like the Chicago Rhythm and Blues Kings or Chicago Rhythm Oil (more about them later). Lorna’s got a sultry voice that just won’t quit, whether she’s singing her own stuff or covering Ike Turner’s “Fool in Love” or the classic “Cry Me a River.” The swing-scat blues of “Fat Cat’s Tattoos” is powered by producer Dick Gimble’s bass, and it certainly shows off Lorna’s vocal chops in a jazz vein. Another favorite is the late-night, knowing blues of “My Man Called Me” featuring Rob Page’s simmering sax and the fine, fine picking of Ken Frazier on guitar. Lorna’s pretty hard to pigeonhole, though. There’s something good on each and every track, and even if it’s flavored with a pinch of jazz, sass or just plain attitude, I Feel Good With The Blues feels right at home in my Texas blues collection. Sample her blues at www.lornasblues.com . STILL BREAKIN' THE BLUES... Last Fall, I had the great pleasure of seeing a true elder statesmen of the blues. John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers opened for Peter Green’s Splinter Group, and Mayall’s set was truly a high point of my blues year. This year’s Bluesbreakers are Joe Yuele on drums, Buddy Whittington on guitar, and Hank Van Sickle on bass. Mayall’s been a busy bluesman since releasing some of the most recognizable harp parts of all time on the classic ‘60s blues jam, “Room to Move.” If bluesmen were awarded stars like Hollywood royalty, John Mayall would deserve an entire Walk of Fame, not only for his 40-year career in the blues, but also to recognize the musicians he helped to discover and shape. Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor, to name but a few. Mayall’s two latest CDs (Purple Pyramid) reveal treasures from a little-known period and some great new blues. On "Reaching for the Blues: 1979-1981," Mayall’s covers of JB Lenoir’s “Mama, Talk to Your Daughter,” and Jimmy Reed’s “Baby, What You Want Me to Do?” are first-class. He honors John Lee Hooker on “John Lee Boogie,” and his band is up to the challenge on this up-tempo rocker. Mayall’s newest studio disc, "Padlock on the Blues," is a collection of upbeat, positive blues (and that’s not a contradiction in terms). Mayall has a knack for writing some of the most positive blues songs around, and this band is steeped in Chicago blues. Guests include John Lee Hooker, who haunts Mayall’s piano on “Bad Dream Catcher,” and “Ain’t No Surrender” is text book positive blues from one of its elder statesmen. By the way, Mayall still blows a mean harp, particularly on “Always a Brand New Road,” and he plays a mean slide, along with Hooker, on “Somebody’s Watching.” If you haven’t checked out John Mayall since his landmark "Turning Point" and “Room to Move” days, these discs will catch you up on what Mayall’s been doing. Beat boss Tom Lounges once told me of how he spent his 21st birthday in a blue funk at a John Mayall performance at a venue called, Second Hand Rosa’s in Merrillville. Sadly, that short-lived haunt became the present day home to a kid’s activity center called Celebration Station. Now that’s enough to give anyone the blues! BLUES UPDATES... I’m going to try something new with this column. Whenever I get some blues news worthy of repeating to Midwest Beat readers, I’ll pass it on in this new column sub-section called, "Blues Updates." Think of it as part of your blues continuing education. • Last year, I touted on the screens and pages of Midwest Beat a great guitar slinger from San Francisco named Jimmy Dillon. Radio consultants extraordinaire Jack Ashton and Tom Mazzetta are working their behind-the-scenes magic to promote Jimmy’s “Louisiana Rain” single from the Bedrock Records CD, "Rituals." • Chicago bluesman Mike Gallemore is playing with the legendary Sam Lay Blues Band. Mike’s new band is called Chicago Rhythm Oil, who are mining the roots of Chicago blues. They’re also in the studio. They incorporate their own original material along with a variety of cover tunes by artists such as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Delbert McClinton, Albert Collins, Elmore James, Albert King, Howlin’ Wolf and Freddie King. • Finally, Big Bill Morganfield’s second Blind Pig release, "Ramblin’ Mind" was released Feb. 13th. Muddy’s son took home the hardware last year as “Best New Artist of the Year” at the 2000 W.C. Handy Awards, and with Taj Mahal and Billy Branch helping out on his new disc, Big Bill’s got some great support for his sophomore. Ramblin’ Mind was produced by Dick Shurman at Studio Chicago. When we next meet up in these pages, it will be Spring... but until then, keep on singin’ the blues! |