CD Review: Bob Corritore, Taboo

Recommended

In his brief liner notes, harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite states, "Not many people can do an all instrumental harp CD and keep it interesting all the way through." He implies that his friend Bob Corritore has succeeded. I'm afraid I'll have to give that a definite "maybe." While the harmonica is sometimes called a "Mississippi saxophone," the difficulty of making an instrumental harp CD traces to the fact that it's not capable of produciing the variety of sounds most other instruments can. Consequently, it's more suitable in a supporting role.

Bob Corritore is one of the hardest-working and most widely-respected blues harmonica players on the blues scene. He plays in the '50s amplified Chicago style pioneered by Little Walter. He has recently released other Delta Groove albums accompanying singers Tail Dragger, John Primer and Dave Riley. According to his website, he is featured on over 50 CDs. Working out of Phoenix, Corritore is also a record producer, club owner and radio disc jockey. He is well connected in the blues word, and his e-newsletter is must reading for blues fans.

Ten of the twelve songs on the CD are Corritore originals, one of them co-written by guitarist Junior Watson. The two covers are interesting choices. Willie Egan (or Egans) is an obscure country blues singer and pianist who had releases on several small Los Angeles labels in the '50s, and recorded two CDs in London in the '80s. I can't find "Potato Stomp" in his discography, so maybe he wrote it for someone else.

Does anyone remember the brief "exotica" fad of the late '50s? Led by pianist Martin Denny and vibist Arthur Lyman, a number of small groups recorded faux-Hawaiian instrumentals with various percussion instruments and birdcalls in the background. The genre's biggest hit was Denny's "Quiet Village," but Corritore resurrects Lyman's "Taboo" for this album. It's good to hear it again. The retro cover of this CD is no doubt inspired by the covers of exotica albums.

"Taboo" is one of several indications of Corritore's is concern with introducing variety into the CD. Most of the tracks feature guitar solos, and some include sax, piano or organ solos as well. While eight of the songs are up tempo, my favorites are his three slow blues. Corritore turns up the intensity several notches with his wide vibrato. However, these three tracks are more similar than different.

The two songs featuring Jimmie Vaughan on guitar and Papa John DeFrancesco on organ, along with Doug James on sax, remind me of the jazzy R&B of Bill Doggett's combo. Here's "Mr. Tate's Advice," a swinging enough affair, although it probably won't knock your socks off.

"Fabuloco (For Kid)" is a Tex-Mex outing, dedicated to Kid Ramos of Los Fabulocos, who has been battling cancer. Corritore's strongest up tempo performance is "T-Town Ramble," a Chicago-style blues done to the background of "Got My Mojo Workin'." Unfortunately, the remaining up tempo songs are fairly simple and sound a bit like filler.

While there are some excellent tracks on this CD, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. While Corritore has made a valiant effort, he hasn't fully met Musselwhite's challenge.

Tracks:  Potato Stomp; Many a Devil's Night; Ruckus Rhythm; Harmonica Watusi; Taboo; Harp Blast; Mr. Tate's Advice; Fifth Position Plea; Fabuloco (For Kid); Shuff Stuff; T-Town Ramble; Bob's Late Hours.  (45 min.)

Personnel:  Bob Corritore, harmonica; Doug James, tenor, baritone saxophone (3 tracks); Junior Watson, guitar (10 tracks); Jimmie Vaughan, guitar (2 tracks); Fred Kaplan, piano, organ (10 tracks); Papa John DeFrancesco, organ (2 tracks); Kedar Roy, bass (10 tracks); Richard Innes, drums (10 tracks); Dowell Davis, drums (1 track); Brian Fahey, drums (1 track); Todd Chuba, percussion (1 track).

Video of the Week #62

Here's the Jimmy Giuffre Three playing "The Train and the River" over the opening credits of Jazz on a Summer's Day, a documentary film of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. Giuffre plays both tenor sax and clarinet, along with Bob Brookmeyer, trombone and Jim Hall, guitar, who is barely visible.

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Jim Hall (1930-2013)

On Impulse

Those of us who grew up listening to jazz in the '60s will never forget bringing home those spiffy LPs with the orange and black fold-out covers that promised some of the best music of the day. Their beautiful cover photographs sometimes led to an impulse purchase.

Impulse Records was founded in 1961 as a division of ABC-Paramount, under the direction of producer Creed Taylor. One of their first releases was Genius + Soul = Jazz by Ray Charles, a big hit. Shortly after that, they signed John Coltrane, who had over 20 Impulse releases and defined the label's image for most listeners. Ashley Kuhn's definitive history of the label is entitled The House That Trane Built.

After Coltrane's death in 1967, Impulse seemed to concentrate too heavily on avant-garde material and sales declined. Nevertheless, they hung on until 1977, releasing over 400 albums in all from such diverse artists as Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Gabor Szabo and Pharoah Sanders. The label was revived less successfully in the late '80s and early '90s.

Impulse Records will be reactivated on July 15. It's first new release will be Viper's Drag, by New Orleans pianist and singer Henry Butler and trumpeter Steven Bernstein and the Hot 9. Here they do a slightly incomplete version of the New Orleans standard, "Iko Iko."

Forthcoming releases are anticipated by Charlie Haden, Jean-Luc Ponty, Kenny Barron, Madeleine Peyroux, Randy Weston and others. Some of these will be older recordings that were not previously released.

The label will be a division of Universal Music France and will be under the direction of Jean-Philippe Allard. Universal also owns Blue Note and Verve. Don't expect Impulse to release the kind of non-commercial material they featured in the '70s. “For me it's important that jazz is not a failure,” Mr. Allard said. “Without compromising the music, I want commercial success.”

This is the second historic jazz label to be revived recently, A little over a year ago, Sony began releasing jazz albums on the OKeh label. Recent examples include Bill Frisell's Big Sur and Jeff Ballard's Time's Tales.

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"If It's a Hit, It's OKeh"

Video of the Week #61

This is terrific. Mississippi Fred McDowell plays slide guitar and sings "Shake 'Em On Down" and "Good Morning, Little School Girl" in a 1969 video. The latter song was a hit for John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson (#1) in 1937.

The written introduction says that McDowell's style is typical of the Mississippi delta blues. That's not correct. McDowell's is Northern Mississippi hill country blues. It is played at high volume in juke joints and is intended primarily for dancing rather than listening.

Wayne Henderson (1939-2014)

Three boyhood friends began playing together as the Swingsters at Phyllis Wheatley Junior High School in Houston in 1952. They were Wilton Felder, tenor saxophone; Joe Sample, piano; and Nesbert "Stix" Hooper, drums. When Joe Sample went to Texas Southern University, he met added trombonist Wayne Henderson to the group. Their musical partnership lasted 25 years, recording first as the Jazz Crusaders, and later as just the Crusaders. Sadly, Wayne Henderson died April 5 in Culver City, CA, of heart failure brought on by diabetes. He was born in Houston on September 24, 1939; he was 74.

After high school, the group played on the Gulf Coast under various names, eventually moving to California in the late '50s. A number of different men played bass with the group, all probably feeling like odd men out. They began their career playing straight-ahead hard bop. When they signed with Pacific Jazz Records in 1961, they took the name the Jazz Crusaders. Here they are on television in the early '60s playing the title song from their first album, "Freedom Sound."

Although they were sometimes called the Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers of the West Coast, their blues and gospel influences produced what they called the Gulf Coast sound. The four permanent members shared songwriting responsibilities almost equally. Here is one of Henderson's more highly regarded compositions, "The Young Rabbits."

The music most jazz fans consider to be their best is collected on the 6-CD Mosaic set, The Jazz Crusaders: The Pacific Jazz Quintet Studio Sessions. As they moved through the '60s, they began to cover pop hits. This was a sign of things to come. In the early '70s, they changed their name to the Crusaders, Sample began playing electric piano, they added an electric guitar and bass, and they switched to a jazz-funk fusion style. This brought them their greatest commercial (but not artistic) success. Five of their recordings made the R&B charts between 1972 and 1984; some of them crossed over to the pop charts as well.

Internal disagreements eventually led to the group's demise. Henderson was the first to leave in 1975. He devoted much of the rest of his career to producing both jazz (Roy Ayers, Chico Hamilton) and pop artists (Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell). In recent years, he led his own group, called the New Crusaders, and participated in reunions of the original group. Here are Henderson and the New Crusaders in 2012 performing his best known composition, "Keep That Same Old Feeling," which was a hit in 1976.

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George Duke (1946-2013)

Chico Hamilton (1921-2013)

Video of the Week #60

This week's video is the Bill Evans Trio playing "Waltz for Debby," from a 1965 British TV show, Jazz 625. The other musicians are Chuck Israel, bass and Larry Bunker, drums.

If you'd like to watch the entire program, which is 1 hr, 11 min, and contains 11 songs, here it is.

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Remembering Jeff Kelley (1947-2013)

Today is the first anniversary of the death of Western Pennsylvania bluesman Jeff Kelley. The Jukehouse Bombers will pay tribute to Jeff at the Westsylvania Jazz and Blues Festival in Indiana, PA, on May 24. I wrote this piece exclusively for the Bluesletter of the Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania. It appeared in their July 2013 issue. Today seems like a good time to share it with you.

On April 12, Western Pennsylvania lost one of its most generous and talented bluesmen. Jeff Kelley died of cancer in Indiana (PA) Hospital at the age of 65. You may know him best as the winner of the 2007 BSWPA Blues Challenge in the solo/duo category.

Jeffrey Dean Kelley was born in Mt. Pleasant, PA, on May 28, 1947. He graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School and earned his B.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in 1969. He was awarded a Doctor of Chiropractic from the National College of Chiropractic in Lombard, Illinois. He opened his practice, his day job, in Clymer, PA in 1988. He lived in Clymer and was known to many of the locals as “Doc.”

Jeff began playing the guitar and singing in 1964 as part of the '60s folk revival. While at IUP he was part of a group of musicians who hung out at a coffee shop called The Grotto, in the basement of an Indiana church. He formed a Simon and Garfunkel-style two-part harmony folk duo with Steve Colantti.

Over the years, Jeff played roots music in a variety of styles. With his talent and versatility, he was invited to join a number of bands, with names like the Folkmen, Cowbuoy, Madison Blues Shoes, and the Beale St. Blues Band. He played in several genres of folk music with his longtime close friend and companion, LaVona Reeves. Beginning in 1992, he and Colin Finan had a yearly gig at the Coney in Indiana playing Irish music on St. Patrick's Day. When playing solo, however, his greatest commitment was to country blues of the '20s and '30s. He performed in bars and at blues, folk and arts festivals. He played expertly in both the Mississippi Delta and Piedmont styles, recreating songs by the likes of Robert Johnson, Son House, Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt. His favorite was the Rev. Gary Davis. And just for fun, he'd mix in a few contemporary songs by folks like Bob Dylan, as well as some of his own compositions.

Photo by Frank Olma

Although Jeff was a far better singer than most of us, it was his guitar playing that was his biggest attraction. He played both six and twelve string guitar, and was an expert with a slide. As one of his colleagues commented, other guitarists liked to watch him at work because his playing was always so precise. He never missed a note. 

Jeff was known for his modesty and his willingness to share his skills and knowledge. Back at The Grotto one time, he posted a note on the bulletin board offering free guitar lessons to anyone who was interested. Over 60 people signed up. They had to split the class, with his friend Rob Black teaching the beginners and Jeff taking the advanced class. He was a great radio guest, whether playing in the studio or just spinning his favorite records, since he was a blues historian who knew the background and history of so many songs.

Fortunately, Jeff received some long-overdue recognition during his last decade. He had a regular monthly gig at the Brown Hotel in downtown Indiana from 2003 on. In 2006, he accomplished the lifelong dream of releasing a CD, Classic Acoustic Blues, featuring 14 examples of his masterful country blues singing and playing. In 2007, he came to Moondog's, entered and won the opportunity to represent the Blues Society the following year at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Here's a radio appearance of Jeff's at around that time.

Among his proudest moments were the times when his daughter Sarah played with him and LaVona at Indiana Memorial Park and at the Brown.

Jeff Kelley, LaVona Reeves and Jeff's daughter Sarah at Indiana Memorial Park

Sadly, Jeff's health declined in the last couple of years. He lost a leg due to serious blood clots. Friends held a benefit concert for him at the Rose Inn outside Indiana in July, 2011. The road back was difficult, since he lost his callouses due to months of inactivity, but he made a triumphant return to the Brown Hotel last Fall. This Winter, he was diagnosed with cancer. It was typical of Jeff that when he met a friend at the cancer treatment center, he asked her not to tell anyone. Jeff has inspired us all with his courage and dedication.

Death don't have no mercy in this land

Death don't have no mercy in this land

       Come to your house and he won't stay long,

 Look in the bed, find your brother gone.

Death don't have no mercy in this land.

                                    Rev. Gary Davis

If you'd like to purchase a copy of Jeff's Classic Acoustic Blues CD, please contact Colin Finan at colinpfin@yahoo.com.

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Westsylvania: The Lineup

Video of the Week #59

Here's some essential Southern soul. From the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967, Otis Redding sings "I've Been Loving You Too Long."

My favorite up-tempo Otis is "I Can't Turn You Loose." This horn riff is still played at college basketball games, at least in the ACC. I'm not sure what TV show this is from, but the date is 1966. It's not a lip-sync.

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Westsylvania: The Lineup

The first annual Westsylvania Jazz and Blues Festival will be held in Indiana, PA, on May 24. Either the organizers had more money than I thought, or they've negotiated some real bargains. The headliners are the Poogie Bell Band, with guest star, Pittsburgh trumpeter Sean Jones, and Louisiana slide guitarist Sonny Landreth. Biographies of the headliners can be found here, so I'll just give you some samples of their music.

Sonny Landreth

What you need to know about Sonny Landreth is that he is one of the best slide guitarists in the country. You'll want to get a front seat, so you can watch his hands. He is based in Lafayette, LA, in the Southwestern part of the state, between Baton Rouge and the Texas border. It's known as the gateway to Acadia, and ground zero for Cajun culture. Landreth plays a combination of zydeco, New Orleans R&B and Louisiana swamp blues, not unlike the repertoire of folks like Tab Benoit or Kenny Neal. Here he is playing "Zydeco Shuffle."

Landreth is known for his guitar playing rather than his singing. In fact, his latest CD, Elemental Journey, is all instrumental. To give you a sample of his singing, here is one of his signature tunes, "Congo Square."

Poogie Bell

Poogie Bell is a drummer, known primarily as a sideman with Marcus Miller and a number of other jazz, funk and R&B groups. For the least ten years, he has led his own group. Here they are doing the Crusaders' song, "Keep That Same Old Feeling."

Sean Jones

Sean Jones is one of our best contemporary post-hard bop jazz trumpeters, as can be heard on his six Mack Avenue CDs. He is the director of the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra, whose future is uncertain, since they were associated with the now defunct August Wilson Center. (It's not their fault; they always filled the place.)

Here's a favorite of mine, "Look and See," from his latest CD.

Jones and Bell might appear to be a stylistic mismatch. However, Jones is extremely versatile, and, in fact, he also played with Marcus Miller. (A two hour Miller concert featuring Jones can be found here.) The danger, however, is that in adjusting his style to play with Bell, he will give a performance that is less than that of which he is capable.

The rest of the lineup consists of one local blues band, the Jukehouse Bombers, and five jazz groups, the Chop Shop, the Dad Band, the Electromotives, the Old Masters and the Westsylvania Jazz All-Stars, a high school group. The Jukehouse Bombers will pay tribute to the late Indiana County bluesman, Jeff Kelley, who died last year. You can read more about these groups and get updated information about the festival here. When I get a time schedule, I'll post it.

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Westsylvania Jazz and Blues Festival

Update: Westsylvania Jazz and Blues Festival