Tag Archives: blues-rock

Return engagement for Steve Winwood

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At various times in his career, Steve Winwood had gone extended periods during which he rarely played live, the most recent from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. But since his exceptional return album, About Time in 2004, he has toured relentlessly in the States and Europe, including stints with Eric Clapton.

Steve Winwood at the Hammond B-3 with Karl Vanden Bossche on drums and Jose Neto, guitar, in background.
Steve Winwood at the Hammond B-3 with Karl Vanden Bossche on drums and Jose Neto, guitar, in background.

I’ve seen Winwood about a dozen times in his career since 1968, seven times since 2004. Winwood played the MGM Grand Friday night, his third trip to Foxwoods since the release of About Time, with his usual five-piece band that includes a percussionist and sax player but no bass player. Winwood handles that with his left foot at the Hammond B-3, while providing adept, funky and soulful keyboard playing and still delivering with one of the best voices in the music world.

After the second song in his set, Hungry Man, from his Top 10 album from 2008, Nine Lives, he noted all the returning customers he spotted in the front of the 5,000-seat house, which was about 90 percent filled. He added that he and his band would be returning customers for a while also, a pronouncement that was received very enthusiastically.

The musicianship complementing one of the bonafide great talents in rock history is impressive: Jose Neto, who has been with Winwood since About Time, is on classical-electric guitar, as well as a Fender Strat for some tunes; Paul Booth plays tenor and soprano sax, flute, whistle, organ and sings background vocals; Richard Bailey handles drums with a fierce, worldly rhythmic fire; and Karl Vanden Bossche is the percussionist center stage on an array of congas and other embellishing tools of the trade.

Winwood’s band, with the exception of Neto, has changed personnel several times in the last six years, but this unit, which I saw open for Tom Petty at The Meadows in Hartford in 2008, has been together at least that long. And it sounds it. It’s a tight-knit, rocking, funky lineup that burns through a set of old and new songs with equal polish. Continue reading Return engagement for Steve Winwood →

Vulture sighting

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Them Crooked Vultures is a very heavy band. Not heavy as in heavy metal, heavy as in heavy hard rock.

Them Crooked Vultures Album CoverFeaturing three hard rock virtuosos in Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl, from Foo Fighters, who switches from guitar back to drums, his spot in Nirvana, and Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age on guitar and lead vocals, the group exhibits a competency and energy rarely found in the genre today.

Their self-titled debut album consists of songs that are virtually all guitar riff driven over a furious and powerful rhythm section, adorned with dark, devilish, often impenetrable (sometimes penetrable) lyrics. With titles such as No One Loves Me & Neither Do I, Dead End Friends, Reptiles, Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up and Caligulove, it’s hard to imagine anything else.

The grinding, churning rhythm section not only shows how adept Grohl is back on the drums, but also gives a strong indication of Jones’ contribution to Zeppelin, which was often lost or overlooked during that band’s heyday.

Homme is fully capable of handling the vocal and lead guitar duties, although they did add a second guitarist, Alain Johannes, on their recent Saturday Night Live appearance, during which they played Mind Eraser, No Chaser, a tune that might be termed their most accessible or commercial to crossover audiences, although nothing on the album really falls entirely in that vein, and New Fang, the group’s first single, with its complicated guitar rhythm over which Homme sings a completely different melodic structure, something always to take note of.

The group hits a three-song streak in the middle of their the album that is really quite brilliant in Elephants, Scumbag Blues and Bandoliers. In fact, by the fifth track, Elephants, the listener starts to realize how much Homme can sound like Jim Morrison. And this likens the overall sound of the band to The Doors as a power trio, minus Ray Manzarek’s keyboards. Continue reading Vulture sighting →

Grace Potter comes out at night

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Grace Potter belts out a lead with bassist Catherine Popper and rhythm guitarist Benny Yurco in the background at the Infinity Music Hall on Jan. 20.
Grace Potter belts out a lead with bassist Catherine Popper and rhythm guitarist Benny Yurco in the background at the Infinity Music Hall on Jan. 20.

In the fall when I purchased tickets for the Grace Potter and the Nocturnals show at the Infinity Music Hall this past Wednesday (Jan. 20), I really didn’t know too much about either Potter or her band.

I was looking for a show so we could go back to one of our favorite venues in Connecticut. The come-on promo at Infinity’s web site is what inticed me, plus the timing was right, the night and so forth.

After getting the tix, I explored the Net a bit and found a number of videos of the band, although I didn’t know at the time the band would be slightly reconfigured when the date came around. I was impressed. I found Potter obviously has a set of prodigious pipes, and although still fairly young, 27, has been playing for a quite a while — the band was formed in 2002 —and evidently has been touring relentlessly.

Her range is striking as she effortlessly hits stratospheric notes and although her voice has its own special quality and character, there are moments when she recalls Janis Joplin in phrasing and inflection, only with a smoother, more proficient delivery and attack than Joplin ever exhibited.

Potter at the B-3.
Potter at the B-3.

The music is blues- and soul-based rock with elements of country, reggae and American roots music at times. The band is strong throughout, but this is definitely a unit whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts, meaning they gel beautifully as a group. And, of course, they have an extraordinary frontwoman/singer, who plays a lot of Hammond B-3 and some guitar throughout the night.

No question Potter is what makes this outfit special. She writes interesting blues-drenched tunes with direct, quirky and glib lyrics. I was basically hearing everything for the first time, but I didn’t note a clinker of a tune in either of the two sets the band played.

The setlist and photos come from fans who are evidently much more familiar with the group than I and there is the feeling from them that this night was one that started cool and finished hot. It appeared from here that the set started hot, cooled in places and then was taken up a level during their return for the second set. Though many of the songs were memorable even at first listen and built on fiery, infectious grooves, I can’t think of one that was better than the opener, I’ve Got The Medicine That Everybody Wants. (Check out the video below from July, 2009). The only tune that felt out of place and curious was the cover of Take My Breath Away from the movie Top Gun, not because Potter didn’t sing it wonderfully, but it’s simply not much of a song. Continue reading Grace Potter comes out at night →

The 10 best for ’09

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Last year I picked five albums I considered the best of the year. This time I’m upping it to 10 with a few bubbling under and some added tidbits.

Derek Trucks Band Already Free1. Already Free, The Derek Trucks Band: Traditional blues with modern sensibilities and influences from jazz, roots and world music, all played by an array of accomplished musicians and one of the best slide players of our time.

2. The Deep End, Christine Ohlman and Rebel Montez: Stellar songwriting, impassioned vocals and infectious grooves highlight Ohlman’s fifth album, which also features an impressive roster of guests. Her best yet.

3. Electric Dirt, Levon Helm: On this electrified followup to his comeback album Dirt Farmer, Helm blends traditional roots music with elements of folk, blues, soul and gospel. The mix of new original material and classic covers works perfectly. The arrangements are clean and to the point and musicianship impeccable.

 4. Middle Cyclone, Neko Case: A wonderful concoction of folk, rock, country and pop interlaced with enigmatic lyrics and penetrating melodies. All topped with Case’s crystal clear voice.

bebel-gilberto-all-in-one5. All In One, Bebel Gilberto: Her best since Tanta Tempo in 2000, this work is alive with beautiful songwriting and Gilberto’s gorgeous, hushed, cool vocals. Aided by her pals Carlhinos Brown and Didi Gutman among others.

6. Soul On Ten, Robben Ford: A ripping, rocking live set with two live-in-the-studio cuts, filled with Ford’s interesting blues-based originals, some classic covers and his unique take on blues, rock and jazz playing.

7. The List, Rosanne Cash: A love letter to her father Johnny and her audience, giving back songs from his list of 100 that he gave to his teen-age daughter. Arrangements and execution by Cash and husband John Levanthal are enthralling. Continue reading The 10 best for ’09 →

Jeff Beck gives Tal a hand

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Back in April, I wrote about a remarkable concert given by Jeff Beck and his group at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut.

One of the sequences of the show that was absolutely startling was a solo taken by Tal Wilkenfeld, a 23-year-old bassist from Australia who looks no more than about 17, during which Beck takes off his guitar, walks over to the bass player and proceeds to accompany her by playing on just the E and A strings of her bass.

This video, produced by an astute videographer at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in New York gig the night before I saw Beck at Foxwoods, shows the duet. They play it fast and loose, having a lot of fun with it as they did at the Grand. Her virtuosity is overwhelming for someone so young. Just a treat to watch.

Can you pick out the melody and changes Tal plays at the end of the solo?

Under The Radar, No. 3: Fleetwood Mac, the forgotten years

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Between the departure of Peter Green and the arrival of Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac soldiered on in the early-to-mid 1970s re-fashioning their sound over six albums, a span of time and music that is largely forgotten by the general music listening audience.

Fleetwood Mac circa Heroes Are Hard To Find Band: Bob Welch, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie.
Fleetwood Mac circa Heroes Are Hard To Find Band: Bob Welch, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie.

On those six releases, there are nuggets worth discovering or revisiting and an indication of where the band would eventually wind up artistically, considerably distant from where it started.

Fleetwood Mac quickly became a British blues institution in the late 1960s with a lineup that included the rock solid rhythm section of John McVie, bass, and Mick Fleetwood, drums, along with Green, one of the U.K.’s preeminent blues guitarists and Jeremy Spencer, an Elmore James loyalist and early rock ‘n roll enthusiast.

Mac enjoyed single and album chart success in the U.K. and enjoyed good album numbers in the States for their self-titled debut, second release Mr. Wonderful, augmented by horns and guitarist Danny Kirwan, and third record English Rose, along with the compilation Pious Bird Of Good Omen.

After Green’s semi-involvement with an excellent fourth record, Then Play On, which has a muddled history of its own, founder Green left. It wasn’t until 1975 that Mac found mega-million selling worldwide success with Buckingham, Nicks and Christine McVie with the release of Fleetwood Mac and then Rumours in ’77, music in a much more pop-oriented vein but executed beautifully.

The years in between saw the release of Kiln House (1970), same as the lineup for the second album minus Green, Future Games (1971), which saw the departure of Spencer, the additions of American guitarist Bob Welch and singer/songwriter/pianist Christine McVie and the emergence of Kirwan as an equal if not dominant writer in the group, Bare Trees (1972), Penguin (1973), goodbye Kirwan, hello singer Dave Walker and guitarist Bob Weston, Mystery To Me (1973), so long Walker, and Heroes Are Hard To Find (1974), adios Weston.

Welch left after Heroes and a year later came the Buckingham-Nicks era. Continue reading Under The Radar, No. 3: Fleetwood Mac, the forgotten years →

From The Vaults: Hidden Treasures 6 & 7

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Back in the late 1980s, I remember seeing an ad in the back of a jazz magazine, either a Downbeat or Jazziz, for an album with four guitarists with Workshop in the title. It was a small, innocous one-column, black-and-white display on the rail of one of the pages.

guitar-workshop-in-la-coverWhat I recall that stuck in my head was that Buzzy Feiten, from Full Moon and the Larsen-Feiten Band, along with Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter, who had played with Steely Dan in that group’s early days, were on the album. At that time, I was never able to track the record down, which was on JVC, a company known more for its electronic innovations in stereo and TV equipment than producing records.

At the dawn of the Internet whenever I recalled the album, I tried searching for it with no luck. One problem was I couldn’t remember the title exactly. But in recent years, after probably doing a search on Feiten or Baxter, I came across this Hidden Treasure, Guitar Workshop In L.A., which also includes Teddy Castellucci and James Harrah, two other well-known and respected session players.

casino-lights-coverThe record turned out to be pretty much what I expected, a guitar workout with two tracks apiece for each player, then all four joining in on the two closing tunes. It’s a feast for lovers of funky and bluesy jazz-rock who can’t get enough melodic, tasty and proficient guitar playing from four outstanding soloists, all of whom work mostly on the West Coast but who also have East Coast roots. Count me in.

The added bonus is that is was recorded live to two-track by David Garfield and Alan Hirshberg, something that never fails to amaze me since the musicians capture the spontaneity of the moment while executing demanding charts with few if any flaws.

You’ll notice two Treasures are indicated in the headline. The second is a companion piece to Workshop of sorts, a live recording from Montreux, Switzerland at the 1982 Jazz Festival called Casino Lights,  which includes a plethora of ace musicians, including Feiten, his frequent collaborator keyboardist Neil Larsen, as well as guitarists Larry Carlton and Robben Ford, alto sax player David Sanborn, singers Al Jarreau and Randy Crawford, vibes man Mike Manieri and Yellowjackets.

It’s a mixed bag, all in a similar jazz-rock style combining L.A. and East Coast influences, all performed beautifully and caught live. Having two Larsen, Feiten tracks is worth the price of admission for me but if that’s not enough to entice you, rest assured the rest of the album is well worth the modest investment. Continue reading From The Vaults: Hidden Treasures 6 & 7 →

Return of the Beehive Queen

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Christine Ohlman hasn’t really been away. In the past five years, she has continued to work with her band Rebel Montez and as a singer for the Saturday Night Live Band, and released the retrospective Re-Hive last year.

the_deep_end_coverBut The Deep End, released this month, is her first record of new material since Strip in 2004. It is certainly worth the wait. A collection of bluesy and soul-infused rockers and ballads with emotional, heartfelt lyrics of love and loss, The Deep End is Ohlman’s most complete and accomplished work.

The album benefits from an impressive cast of guests who each add something special. Al Anderson plays guitar on two tunes, including the title track, Dion, Ian Hunter and Marshall Crenshaw each sing duet vocals with Chris, and Levon Helm, G.E. Smith, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, Catherine Russell, Paul Ossola and Andy York, guitarist from the John Mellencamp Band who also produces with Chris, are among the many contributors.

Chris and her band will debut the album at Cafe Nine in New Haven on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Chris sets the scene on the opener, There Ain’t No Cure, a gritty, infectious rocking track that features York on lead guitar and Hunter adding a duet vocal. The title track, one of Ohlman’s best compositions, follows with its Latin feel in the verse, interesting melodic twists in the chorus and telling lyrics that speak of loss, something Chris has endured in these past five years losing her mate and producer Doc Cavalier and longtime guitarist and collaborator Eric Fletcher. Anderson provides the lead work on the track in his signature country-blues style.

All the uptempo material is a delight. The grooves are deep and the playing exemplary. Ohlman is in fine form vocally throughout, bringing her unique soulful delivery that ranges from smooth as glass to rough and raspy. Among them — Love Make You Do Stupid Things, driven by Ambel’s chord-flavored lead style, the country-rock feel of Love You Right, again with Anderson, Bring It With You When You Come, which sees Rebel Montez guitarist Cliff Goodwin take a fiery, spitting solo, and Born To Be Together, on which Goodwin is again featured this time playing off the melody through what sounds like a Leslie speaker — are all highlights. Continue reading Return of the Beehive Queen →

Derek Trucks at the Garde

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It’s rare that I get a chance to see an artist more than once in a calendar year. It happened last night. I drove down to New London to see The Derek Trucks Band at the Garde Arts Center, a theater built in the ’20s, saved by the townspeople in the ’80s from becoming an open lot, and that is today completely restored and thriving.

derek-trucks-durhamI last saw the band at the start of their tour to promote the latest dTb album,  Already Free, back in February at the Waterbury Palace. That was an impressive show. I was familar with the group’s recordings in the studio at the time but hadn’t seen them live and it certainly was an eye opener. Simply put, dTb is one of the best bands out on the road today, Trucks is quickly becoming acknowledged as one of our finest guitarists, and along with Doyle Bramhall III probably the best practitioner of slide.

Seeing them again allowed me a closer look, not only because I was physically closer, about ninth row center, than in Waterbury, but also having seen them once I could focus in on various parts of the band while not being overwhelmed by the first experience of it.

For instance, I had a much bigger appreciation of bassist Todd Smallie this time. He was obscured in Waterbury from where I was and his sound not particularly distinct. I could see and hear him much better in New London and he showed himself to be a monster player at times, particularly on his solo spot that was a swinging, funky extended piece that played off the rhythm of Kofi Burbridge’s organ and took off into proficient flights in the higher register of the instrument.

I also noticed Mike Mattison has to be one of the most underutilized lead singers in rock and blues. It appears he’s not on stage for nearly half the set. Of course, that’s because dTb has always been an instrumental band first. It’s not a knock but he seemed absent more than at the first show. Continue reading Derek Trucks at the Garde →

From The Vaults: Hidden Treasure No. 5

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I saw guitarist Robben Ford play with Joni Mitchell during the Miles Of Aisles Tour at Woolsey Hall in New Haven in the mid-1970s. I’ve followed his career since, but not until the late ’80s did I start to take a closer look.

robben-ford-blues-band-coverEven then, I wasn’t familiar with everything he released. In the past few years I’ve become more acquainted with his various projects and finally had a chance to see him live at the Infinity Music Hall in Norfolk, Connecticut, in August.

Still, it wasn’t until relatively recently I found that along with his major label releases he also put out a couple of tributes to one of my favorite musicians, Paul Butterfield, on an independent label in the early 2000s with the Ford Blues Band, which includes two of his brothers, Patrick and Mark.

Ford like many other young players who started playing in the mid-1960s was influenced greatly by seeing the Butterfield Band when they played on the West Coast, including at the Fillmore West. It was the same here in the East with musicians I knew and worked with. Butterfield was one of the major influences on my band Pulse in the late ’60s.

Tributes are sometimes a hit-and-miss proposition. When I finally had a chance to listen to A Tribute To Paul Butterfield (2001), though, I was pleased that Robben and The Ford Blues Band had stayed faithful to the material they had chosen but also brought something new to it that makes it as fresh, vital and relevant as it was in the mid-to-late 1960s. It’s our fifth Hidden Treasure.

One of the things that makes this tribute work so well is the choice of material, which hits all of the various phases and the evolution of the Butterfield Band, with tracks from Butter’s six best albums. Continue reading From The Vaults: Hidden Treasure No. 5 →