David William Kelly is a British blues singer, guitarist and composer, who has been active on the British blues music scene since the 1960s. He has performed with the John Dummer Blues Band, Tramp, The Blues Band, and his own Dave Kelly Band. His sister, Jo Ann Kelly, was also a blues singer, and she and Dave participated in many musical projects together. Kelly is a disciple of Fred McDowell.
At the Crossroads, saxophonist James Carter's third disc for the Emarcy, is the first for the label with his Organ Trio, which has been together since 2004. Produced by Michael Cuscuna, it's an indelible portrait of Detroit's historic jazz scene, envisioned in the present while looking ahead. All trio members – Carter, organist Gerard Gibbs, and drummer Leonard King, Jr. – either reside or come from there. This disc also showcases Carter's development from his earliest days shedding in the Motor City to his current status as a jazz virtuoso.
Former radio repairman Elmore James spent a good deal of time re-wiring his amplifiers, giving him a raw, distorted, and urgent sound on electric guitar that, coupled with his killer slide style, made him the Godfather of modern electric guitar, and few gunslingers can match his intensity or powerful, dirty sound (even when armed with a train-load of stomp boxes). This intriguing disc packages late sessions James did for Bobby Robinson's Fire imprint, including fine versions of "Sunnyland Train" and "Standing at the Crossroads," which features James' signature roaring slide guitar sound, a force of nature that will forever be his calling card.
Outstanding 9th studio disc by this awesome power trio from Denmark featuring Martin J. Andersen on guitar & vocals, Jesper Bunk on bass & Sigurd Jøhnk-Jensen on drums. Includes 11 tracks of supreme, powerful, blues-based, killer heavy guitar rock mojo that is guaranteed to kick your ass and melt the walls of your good hard rockin' six string jam:house. Martin J. Andersen is a modern day Danish guitar rock hero riff:master of world class proportions. MJA is a true Six String Renegade axeripper who gives serious guitar rock mojo a new name. Combined with excellent, soul-powered, melodic vocals and the musical talent to nail down strong, memorable songs, Andersen is the authentic real deal.
This is one of several albums this artist made in the early '70s that stand as a masterpiece of the acoustic country blues genre. Johnny Shines had begun recording in the mid-'60s, the albums done with electric guitar and full-combo backup, one of them reportedly cut after he hadn't picked up an instrument in years. It was as if he reinvented himself in the following decade, playing pristine and flawless acoustic slide guitar pieces complete with shuffling, stuttering, and stimulatingly complicated tempos. The message was that he had been a young sidekick to Robert Johnson and had absorbed everything, although no deal had been made with the Devil. Shines was a steady, dependable, religious, and forthright chap who lived in Tuscaloosa, AL, and held down a steady job as a construction foreman…