Piano Blues

Named after the rough and ready bars where labourers gathered to drink and dance, barrelhouse was a raucous form of piano blues that got the juke joints swinging. From early pioneers such as Cow Cow Davenport and Speckled Red to the boogie-woogie legends Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons, this collection charts the rise and incredible influence of this good-time blues.

Not only is Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne one of our foremost contemporary blues and boogie pianists, he's also extraordinarily well-versed on his chosen genre's proud history. Blues from Chicago to Paris pays rousing tribute to two of Chicago's postwar blues legends, piano-pounding Memphis Slim and bass-slapping powerhouse Willie Dixon. Focused in particular on the period when the two giants of the genre teamed up to tour the globe during the late 1950s and early '60s, the album presents a well-rounded collection of favorite songs as well as those innovative tunes that have inspired and influenced blues players ever since.

Thanks in part to the luridly alluring title and the enthusiastically informative liner notes by Bob Koester, this solid collection was many a young musician's introduction to the men who pioneered blues piano in the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt Sykes is the best represented artist here, and his leering vocals are hard to resist: After hearing the ribald metaphor of "Dresser Drawers," you'll never view furniture quite the same way again. His "Kickin' Motor Scooter" is truly a marvel of smiling euphemism, with the song devoted to boasts of how he's "A dangerous motor scooter…A tricky motor scooter!" Other artists, while not always as inventive lyrically, show a wide range of piano styles, from the bouncing syncopated jazz of "Stendahl Stomp" to the trickling upper registers and restrained bass coaxed by Curtis Jones from a battered old piano in "Tin Pan Alley Blues #2"…

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…

Diese beiden CD`s stammen aus der Anfangszeit der Mojo Blues Band. Mit sehr viel Abwechslung, ob Blues ( My Blues After Hours), Boogie (V.S.O.P. Stomp), Zydeco ( Hot Bricks), Rock`n`Roll (Sea Cruise), gefühlvolle Instrumental (Blues Stay Away), Blues Harp Stücke (Feelin Shakay) Piano Blues ( Just Messing Around)alles ist auf diesen CD`s zu finden. Noch dazu 2 grandiosen Stimmen , Erik Trauner, der Gründer der Mojo Blues Band und Dana Gillespie die für eine LP auch mal kurze Zeit Mitglied bei der Mojo Blues Band aus Wien war……

Thanks in part to the luridly alluring title and the enthusiastically informative liner notes by Bob Koester, this solid collection was many a young musician's introduction to the men who pioneered blues piano in the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt Sykes is the best represented artist here, and his leering vocals are hard to resist: After hearing the ribald metaphor of "Dresser Drawers," you'll never view furniture quite the same way again.

At age 83, pianist/vocalist Jay McShann was still at the top of his game and providing many lessons for the younger "swing" cats and kittens. He is the epitome of what can be done when jazz and blues are mixed equally, especially when the fun factor is liberally added in. While some might find this typical, many others should revel in the sound of one of this music's last living legends who is still doing it, and doing it very well at that. The chemistry between McShann and guitarist/session leader Duke Robillard is considerable and undeniable, and makes Still Jumpin' the Blues enjoyable throughout. With such solid support from Robillard and the band, McShann has nothing to worry about. Everything you might want is here: classic versions of "Goin' to Chicago," "Ain't Nobody's Business," and "Trouble In Mind"; a nice rearrangement with tempo shift from mellow to mid-tempo on "Sunny Side of the Street"; Maria Muldaur's sultry singing on "Come on Over to My House," and especially the Bessie Smith evergreen "Backwater Blues"; wonderful instrumentals like "Moten Swing" and "Say Forward, I'll March"; and even a little Hawaiian slide accenting "Hootie's K.C. Christmas Prayer".