Sending Sydney Spann

An integral member of the nonpareil Muddy Waters band of the 1950s and '60s, pianist Otis Spann took his sweet time in launching a full-fledged solo career. But his own discography is a satisfying one nonetheless, offering ample proof as to why so many aficionados considered him then and now Chicago's leading post-war blues pianist.

Otis Spann may not have been the blues, but he was sure close to being the blues pianist. Spann provided wonderful, imaginative, tasty piano solos and better-than-average vocals, and was arguably the best player whose style was more restrained than animated. Not that he couldn't rock the house, but Spann's forte was making you think as well as making you dance, and the tracks on Otis Spann Is the Blues will do both.

Pianist Otis Spann played in Muddy Waters' band from 1953 to 1970, and was instrumental in creating the electric Chicago blues sound. These 11 tracks were recorded in the mid-'60s by Down Beat magazine editor Pete Welding, and were previously released as Otis Spann's Chicago Blues on Testament Records. This reissue omits the solo Spann material from the original disc and highlights the group recordings featuring S.P. Leary, Johnny Young, James Cotton, Willie Dixon, and Muddy Waters. While not as revolutionary as the records Spann played on with Muddy in the late '50s, you can't deny this lineup of seminal Chicago bluesmen doing what they did best.

This release includes 16 rare and previously unissued Otis Spann tracks recorded between 1964 and 1969. Featuring the blues piano genius in both a solo context and supporting a bevy of Chicago artists in a variety of settings, this plows through Pete Welding's old Testament tape vaults to uncover new treasures by the carload. Muddy Waters is listed on the front cover and, indeed, 12 of the 16 songs here are played in his company, most of it in the unusual role of backup musician to Spann. The compilation begins with five songs from a Martin Luther King tribute concert in 1968 featuring Spann and Waters on acoustic guitar performing as an "unplugged" duo, including a heartfelt "Tribute to Martin Luther King" standing next to his own tribute to Big Maceo Merriweather, "Worried Life Blues"…

In January of 1969, British power blues quintet Fleetwood Mac came to Chess Records studios to jam with the likes of Willie Dixon, S.P. Leary, Honeyboy Edwards, and longtime Muddy Waters' pianist Otis Spann. The sessions were so rich and fruitful that three-fifths of the Mac (specifically bassist John McVie and guitarists Peter Green and Danny Kirwin) impressed Spann enough to cut a record with them at the same sessions. While the classic "Country Girl" and a seven-minute "Someday Soon Baby" (which features a lengthy intro from Green on which Spann can be heard barely off mic telling the rest of the band to "let him play on") ended up on the Mac's Blues Jam at Chess double set: remaining cuts included "Dig You" and "Walkin'" and are a near perfect match of Spann's exciting, emotive singing and the Mac's youthful muscle…

This is the deep blues featuring arguably Chicago's greatest blues pianist playing with one of the best bands Muddy Waters ever fronted. Besides Otis and Muddy(who only plays on a few tracks) the band features Sammy Lawhorn on one lead guitar, Luther Georgia Boy Snake Johnson on the other lead, Mac Arnold on the electric bass, Francis Clay on the drums and George Smith on the harmonica. If you know anything about the history of the Chicago blues in the sixties, all of these names should be familiar. These guys are great individual players and a great tight band. This is the quintessential Chicago sound. These guys know when to fill, when to lay out and when to just plain let it all out. They can solo for two measures or take their time. This is an almost perfect blues band. At the center of the sound is Otis with his great soulful voice and his wonderful playing.

Back before the electric guitar became the primary focal instrument of the blues, two-fisted piano players dominated the genre, and record companies flocked to record them. Chess Records was no exception, and this two-disc, 45-track anthology shines the spotlight on four of the best who ever sat on the piano stool at the Chess studios. The first disc begins with 20 tracks from Eddie Boyd (eight of them previously unissued in the U.S.), full of introspective reflection and the darkest of moods. Kicking off with one of his big hits, "24 Hours," and the dourness of Boyd's work reaches epic proportions on tunes like "I Began to Sing the Blues," "Third Degree," and "Blues for Baby," the latter featuring stellar jazz guitar runs and chordal work from Robert Jr. Lockwood…

Dessner originally composed Impermanence for the Sydney Dance Company and choreographer Rafael Bonachela, which the company performed as a new work with Australian String Quartet. The performances took place at Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney, Australia – running February 16 to 27, 2021 and then the production was presented in Adelaide on March 10 and 11.