Geoff Muldaur CD Review - by J. Blake

(New York, NY)

Geoff Muldaur emerged as a music artist in the 1960s as part of the era's growing folk, blues & folk-rock scenes. Among the many groups and musicians he has played with over the years, Muldaur was one of the original members of The Jim Kweskin Jug Band of Cambridge, Massachusetts as well as the Woodstock based group, Paul Butterfield’s Better Days.

In 2008 Muldhaur’s longtime friend and fellow musician, Stephen Bruton, was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Shortly after, the two veterans entered the studio with a formidable group of roots music all-stars and recorded an excitedly authentic and entertaining exploration of traditional American folk, blues, country, ragtime and jug band music.

The fruit of those sessions is a band and album both named GEOFF MULDAUR AND THE TEXAS SHEIKS. The album, which was released in fall of 2009, features a collection of traditional arrangements and songs penned by arists that include Big Bill Broonzy, Skip James and Robert Johnson. It is undoubtedly these songs, All By Myself, Hard Time Killin’ Floor and Travellin’ Riverside, that blues fans will gravitate to, but the album as whole is a fun listen and will transport you to a simpler time, when banjos, mandolins, dobros, standup basses and fiddles didn’t seem so out of place in popular music.

This album may not satisfy the standard electric blues fan, whose tastes may lean more toward blues-rock, but fans of delta blues, folk, bluegrass, country and even some jazz, may be pleasantly surprised that collection of songs played this well and authentically, with production values as high as this, could be released in 2009…the same year as such notable dreck as The Black Eyed Peas’ Boom Boom Pow and I Gotta Feeling.

Sadly Stephen Bruton passed away in May of 2009, before the release of GEOFF MULDAUR AND THE TEXAS SHEIKS, but with albums like this one, his music and in turn his spirit lives on…as does, thankfully, the music of a nearly forgotten era in American history.

*If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy: The First Family of Jazz

Thanks and keep reading American Blues News!!!

Copyright © 2010 - J. Blake. All Rights Reserved

NEW YORK: A Few Minutes With Robben Ford - by J. Blake

Just after 8pm on Wednesday August 19, 2009, Robben Ford took the stage at B.B. King’s Bar & Grill in NYC, accompanied by drummer Toss Panos and bassist Andy Hess. That night’s show was dedicated to the late Les Paul, and the trio represented the deceased music icon admirably. The rhythm section was extremely tight and as always, Ford was in great form. Spectators were treated to an abundance of Ford’s blues rooted jazz/fusion guitar-style and soulful vocals.

The band is currently promoting Robben Ford’s first officially released live album; an energetic and “smoking” Concord Records release titled SOUL ON TEN. Like the concert captured on the CD, Wednesday night’s set was comprised of a combination of original material from previously released studio albums, expertly crafted blues covers and more recent Ford compositions. Definite highlights from both the recent NYC performance and the new live album include an Elmore James/Jimmy Reed medley of Please Set a Date & You Don’t Have to Go, an upbeat and very exciting arrangement of Howlin Wolf’s Spoonful, a wah-wah driven rendition of Kevin Sandbloom’s Supernatural as well as Ford’s original compositions How Deep in the Blues (Do You Want to Go) and the more recent Earthquake.

Earlier that afternoon, just before his soundcheck, Mr. Ford was nice enough to sit down with me to discuss his career, his influences, his new album and much more.

J. Blake: I’d like to first, thank you for sitting down with me for a few minutes.

Robben Ford: You’re welcome.

JB: I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time and I actually learned how to play blues lead guitar from one of your lesson books and tapes.

RF: Is that right?

JB: So this means a lot to me and I appreciate it.

RF: Thank you.

JB: I was hoping we could start with talking about how you started with playing the saxophone and then maybe talk about why you ended up switching to guitar.

RF: Well my first instrument was the saxophone and I started playing it at age ten and the guitar was something I just sort of fooled around with, because there was a guitar at the house. My father had been a…kinda a guitar player/vocalist early in his life, but shortly…by his twenties, he was married and having kids. So you know…but, he showed me my first chords on the guitar, because there was just a guitar there. There was a guitar at the house. I’m just a musician. I fool with piano, guitar…if there was a musical instrument I was going to fool around with it.

And so basically I started to excel at the guitar and in my first band which was at age 13, I was playing saxophone, guitar and lead vocal and I just…as I say, just started excelling at the guitar and getting more excited about it and then I heard Mike Bloomfield with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and that really lit me up to get way into the guitar. I came back to the saxophone a little later, because my interest in jazz grew and I liked saxophone players so you know, when I was 20 I was writing most of my own music, most of it instrumental and I was playing both guitar and saxophone in a band. And when I was finally hired to play with Tom Scott and the L.A. Express and tour with Joni Mitchell…I was 22 at that time…the guitar was obviously my calling, so I just went for it.

JB: You actually brought up two points I’d like to discuss. One was…you hear a lot of guitar players, specifically people like Santana talk about saxophone players, like John Coltrane, being a big influence of their playing and their lead work. Being someone that has played both saxophone and guitar, do you think that the saxophone players that you admire shaped your playing in a way that is maybe different then the guitar players that have not played saxophone?

RF: Well I don’t know how much it has to do with playing the saxophone, as listening to it. I don’t think it really matters…you don’t have to play it. It is just listening and learning how those people phrase. There are things that happen on the saxophone that are not necessarily natural for the guitar and certainly vice versa. But really it is just a matter of what you listen to and it is something that I always try to advise guitar players to do. Please don’t listen to only guitar players. You really need to listen to other instrumentalists and it will assist you tremendously in sounding like yourself and in developing your own sound and style…because you sound like who you listen to. That’s just the way it is man.

JB: That’s interesting. I’ve noticed that today it seems like guitar players that have their own specific “sound” seem to be falling by the wayside and when you hear blues guitarists these days, they either sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan or Eric Clapton.

RF: Everyone sounds like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Stevie Ray Vaughan sounded like Albert King!

JB: Yes well clearly everybody picks and chooses things from other players, but it just seems like today everybody just sounds like everybody else and it is kind of disappointing.

RF: Yeah…

JB: You also brought up the fact that you’ve played with Joni Mitchell.

RF: Brought up the fact?

JB: Yes

RF: You mean just a moment ago? Oh I see…

JB: You’ve played with a lot of great people…George Harrison, Miles Davis and you’ve played with Jimmy Whitherspoon…

RF: Yes Miles Davis and Jimmy Whitherspoon, those are names that people (blues fans) probably connect with a little bit.

JB: Yes and clearly playing with those artists…that had to be a thrill. I even read that Miles Davis called you personally on the phone.

RF: He did.

JB: Can you talk a bit about what it is like to play with artists of that caliber?

RF: Well for one thing it’s a tremendous compliment and a confidence booster and there is always something to learn and it is always, or usually anyway, something different. You know Jimmy Whitherspoon, Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell of course, I mean in all three of those situations and they are actually the outstanding ones; I’ve played with a lot of other people as well, but those three people, were people that I had so much respect and admiration for and loved there music, that I loved being in a supportive role. You know, it’s like “I’m here for you…I’m one of your troops man and you put it down and I’ll pick it up…just let me know what you need and I’m there for you.” It was that kind of a feeling and so it’s a beautiful beautiful thing. Musicians…there’s a great quote that says “how do you get a musician to complain?” Do you know this joke?

JB: No

RF: Get him a gig. (we both laugh) You know you can work for any number of people and just not like it. You know you’re there for the paycheck and these situations…I would’ve played for these people for free on some level or I wouldn’t have cared what I was getting paid. To have the opportunity to be in the situation was so…special. And it is very rare. It’s rare for even musicians who spend their entire lives in music to get an opportunity with people like “that”. Those three people are very outstanding and so I thank my lucky stars for having the great pleasure of making music for those people and I learned …you know…it totally shaped me as a musician and as band leader.

JB: Sure…wow that’s great, thanks. So you have a new album?

RF: Yes

JB: SOUL ON TEN?

RF: That’s it.

JB: Would you like to talk about the title and what it means?

RF: “What it means.” (he laughs) No….

JB: Okay…well I’m always interested in artists and the process of song selection. On this album, you cover Spoonful and of course you write songs as well…I guess what I’m asking is how do the songs come together for a CD or an “album.”

RF: You mean like I why play the music I play on a record?

JB: Well for instance, why was it on this CD that you decided to cover Spoonful?

RF: Well I never would’ve recorded that song in the studio. It just never would’ve happened and so to be making a live record was one of the reasons why I went ahead and did it, because it kind of needed that live context to be convincing…as a performance from a white guy from California. And I always liked the song and always wanted to perform it, but the situation just wasn’t right…you know, until having the band that I made the record with…that band was able to play it for one thing, because people have to really understand the blues, they have to really “get the blues” to record something like that. So there are several reasons…the fact that it was a live recording, the fact that I had the right band to do it and that I finally found an arrangement that I liked…those three things were why I felt comfortable recording Spoonful on this record.

A lot of the other things on the record have been recorded before on studio albums, but the band live is just a whole other ballgame man and I really feel like we captured the band live on this record. You know the performances are really good and the band sounds great. We had a very good engineer recording it. We were in the right room to record it. So everything came together to make this live record happen and people have asked for a live album in the past…fans have always wanted a live record, but I’m glad it didn’t happen until now.

JB: You grew up in California at a type that was ripe for great music and more specifically guitar playing. Did you get a chance to see a lot of those guys in your youth?

RF: Yes I saw absolutely everybody. You can’t name a guitar player that I didn’t see and every guitar player was a “blues guitar player”. So it was an excellent time for guitar, for sure.

JB: Out of curiosity, are there any specific performances that you saw that still today you look back and think “wow that was one of the greatest shows I ever saw”?

RF: Yeah, the first time I saw Cream, first time I saw Jimi Hendrix…the only time I ever saw Jimi Hendrix. Actually it was the only time I ever saw Cream (he laughs) and the bands that I always I just couldn’t wait for them to come back were the Butterfield Blues Band and the Electric Flag, Mike Bloomfield’s band. So particularly with guitar, those guys and then of course B.B. King and Albert King. The list just goes on and on…Ten Years After, the first time I saw Ten Years After with Alvin Lee…just blew my mind! Canned Heat, Henry Vastine was a great blues guitar player…the list just goes one and on. I saw everybody.

JB: Clearly Bloomfield had a huge impact on you, did you ever have the opportunity to play with him?

RF: (he shakes his head “no”) I met him once very briefly and I heard later that he was a fan.

JB: Well that had to be thrilling.

RF: It was.

JB: Sadly last week or so, we lost the great Les Paul. Did you ever play with Les?

RF: I did. I met him at the Iridium one night. I just introduced myself. I stood in line with everybody else…introduced myself and then I was invited a little while there after, a few months later I was invited to play his 90th birthday party at the Roseland Ballroom. So I came out for that. I played a little bit with him. I played my own thing and then there was a jam with him and Larry Carlton and me.

JB: Cool. I’m just curious…obviously music is what you’ve decided to do for a living, but is there anything else that you’re really passionate about?

RF: Hmm…

JB: I read that you studied Buddhism for awhile. Is that still something that is important to you?

RF: Yep. It’s something I would like to have more time for…for you know, that kind of practice and I’m going to take that time. Basically…by the end of November, I’m going to really take some time to myself…to practice Buddhist meditation and do some retreats and Qigong, which is a Chinese form of yoga that I’m into.

JB: Is there anything else you’re into? Are you a movie guy?

RF: No

JB: Is there anything else you’re passionate about….

RF: I love art…and cooking! (he laughs)

JB: Well that’s important. I do as well.

RF: And they are the same thing…art, cooking and music.

JB: Well I know you’re busy and still have to do a soundcheck.

RF: Yeah I need to get out there.

JB: I just want to thank you again for sitting and chatting with me.

RF: Thank you man!

Copyright © 2009 - J. Blake. All Rights Reserved.

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NEW YORK: Les Paul Remembered - by J. Blake

On Thursday August 13, 2009, the music world lost a musician, a composer, an innovator, an inventor, an engineer and a legend. Less then an hour from Manhattan, in a hospital in White Plains, New York, Les Paul died of complications from pneumonia. He was 94 years-old and remarkably played almost every Monday night at the Iridium Club in New York City, since 1996 (and before that at a club called Fat Tuesday in NYC, since 1984)!

He was born Lester William Polfuss on June 9, 1915 in Waukesha Wisconsin. He began playing harmonica at age 8, then moved to the banjo and even tried his hand at the piano before settling on the instrument that he would become known for, the guitar. By age 13 he was playing country music professionally and by 19 was living in Chicago playing both “hillbilly” music (under the name “Rhubarb Red”, an alter-ego that he also used on his first record in 1936) and jazz (as Les Paul) live on the radio. In addition to his own debut record, 1936 also found Paul backing legendary blues vocalist, Georgia White, on a record for the Decca label.

Les Paul is often credited with inventing the “solid-body” electric guitar in the late-1930s, most notably a 4”x4” piece of lumber, fitted with a guitar neck, bridge and pickups that he affectionately referred to as “The Log”. Though Paul’s contributions to the design and evolution of the solid-body guitar are significant and should not go overlooked, it is important to note that in actuality Leo Fender and Adolph Rickenbacher were also, independently developing and marketing their own versions of the instrument roughly around the same time. What is certain is that the nature of the solid-body minimized feedback through the amplifier and maximized sustain, allowing the sound generated from the vibrating guitar-strings to resonate longer before becoming inaudible; two elements that eventually made ”the sound” of rock ‘n’ roll and electrified blues possible.

Musically, the remainder of the 1930s and the majority of the 1940s found Les Paul leading his own trio (first in New York and then with a different line-up in California), backing the likes of Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters, as well as recoding several of his own albums for Decca Records. In 1947 he built his own acetate disk multi-track recording system in his garage and recorded a version of the song Lover (When You’re Near Me) which featured Paul playing 8 different electric guitar parts, some of which at varied speeds. The following year Capitol Records released the recording as a single, with a similarly recorded version of Brazil as the B-side. Despite the record’s bizarre sound (one that even today sounds oddly futuristic, with a flair of kitsch), it became a hit.

In 1949, following a horrible automobile accident that almost cost him his right arm, Les Paul married singer/guitarist Mary Ford (whom he originally teamed up with in 1946). Using the very first magnetic audiotape multi-track recording machine, (which Paul built by modifying a reel-to-reel tape recorder given to him by Bing Crosby as a gift) the couple created a string of multi-layered pop hits for Capital Records, including versions of How High the Moon and Tiger Rag (among others). In addition to Les Paul’s multiple guitar parts, the recordings featured several layers of Ford vocally harmonizing with herself. Their chart-topping success in the early 1950s made them household names, with their own NBC radio program and a television series titled The Les Paul and Mary Ford at Home Show.

In 1951 Les Paul was offered a business proposition that would further immortalize him and his name for generations, long after his music would go out of fashion. Due to the success of the Fender Telecaster in 1950 and in an attempt to boost their own sales, Gibson Guitar Corporation approached Les Paul asking him to provide his input and endorsement for a new Gibson guitar. Though the extent of his actual contributions to the instrument remain controversial (most sources attributing all significant design aspects to Gibson president Ted McCarty), it is for certain that it was Paul’s endorsement that made the high-priced guitar a success. The original Gibson Les Paul guitar was released in 1952 with a gold finish, to emphasize the fact that it was an instrument of high quality. Though throughout the years the popularity of the model has gone up and down, it has remained a staple of rock, blues and popular music since its inception. Everyone from Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend and Jimmy Page to Freddie King, Hubert Sumlin, Michael Bloomfield, Peter Green and even Slash have all used a Gibson Les Paul at some point during their prolific musical careers.

Unfortunately by 1955 Les Paul and Mary Ford’s “luck” and success ran out and despite several attempts at reviving their careers, they could not get the streak going again and eventually parted ways in a bitter divorce in 1964. Besides an LP consisting of mostly remakes in 1967 and two collaborative albums with Chet Atkins in 1976 and 1978, Paul spent the majority of late-60s and 1970s in retirement. The 1980s found him playing live once again, with a weekly residency at two different jazz clubs (Fat Tuesday and The Iridium Club, as mentioned above) in New York City from 1984 until his death in 2009.

During his 81 year career, Les Paul was undoubtedly one of most influential figures in music of the last 100 years. He was not only a gifted and versatile guitarist, he was an inventor and an innovator that pushed the art of playing guitar and the medium of recording music to its limits, forcing it to make leaps and bounds forward in their evolutions. His significant technological contributions to the industry are too numerous to list in such a short article and he has been bestowed just about every honor and award that several different industries have to offer. He has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and even the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is truly a music legend and without the fruits of his labor, the arts of making and recording music would not be where they are today.

I am happy to say that I did have a chance to see him perform live a couple of years ago and I am sad that I did not take the initiative to see him play more often. For a man in his 90s he was full of life, fire and energy. He was a consummate showman and that is exactly what you got when you went to see him…"a show", not just a concert. By the time I saw him his, hands were riddled with arthritis and he was half a century past his prime. So his guitar playing was certainly not what it used to be, but he was very funny, telling jokes and delightful anecdotes from the stage. One thing that you probably wouldn’t imagine about the music icon is that his sense of humor was a little risqué. He wasn’t quite “dirty”, but his jokes and stories were often laced with sexual innuendos and he was quite flirty with the ladies. His playing may not have been “amazing” by that time, but he was quick-witted and very entertaining. Toward the end of his performances he would ask if anyone played guitar and he would pick people out of the audience to come up on stage and sit in on a song or two. He was incredibly generous in that way and being able to play with him was something that I always wanted to do. Unfortunately when I attended his show, I was seated toward the back of the club, missing my opportunity to share the stage with the legend, but I am blessed to just be able to say that I saw him…and for that I’m grateful.

He will be missed......

RECOMMENDED LISTENING

Jazz at the Philharmonic “Body And Soul”

The year was 1944 and Les Paul was living in California playing with his jazz trio. On July 2nd he was asked to be a last-minute replacement for Oscar Moore at the inaugural "Jazz at the Philharmonic" concert in Los Angeles. Les Paul took the stage that night with the likes of Nat ‘King’ Cole (on piano), Johnny Miller, Red Callender, Lee Young and a booming horn section that consisted of Shorty Sherock, J.J. Johnson, Illinois Jackson and Jack McVea.

Forget the multi-tracking, the inventions and the “futuristic” sound of the Paul/Ford records. If you want to hear Les Paul play…and I mean really play! You need to check out this CD. The recording quality holds up surprisingly well considering its age and the technology used at the time. The entire band is amazing throughout the entire album and Paul and Cole’s give-and-take during the two parted “Blues jam” (split in two because the recording tape ran out during the lengthy instrumental) is really about as good as music gets. It is a must for all music lovers.

Copyright © 2009 - J. Blake. All Rights Reserved.

Here is a memorial that Nelson caught at a local venue. He is sadly missed.

NEW YORK: The First Family Of Jazz - by J. Blake

It was December 1997, I was in college and I was desperately trying to figure out what I was going to get my Father for the holidays. If I recall correctly he seemed to be on a big jazz-kick at the time and of course, like many Italian families, mine consisted of a long line of Sinatra fanatics. So I completely lucked out when one night, while I was watching Late Night with Conan O’Brien (not to be mistaken with the new Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien) the musical guest was a young singer/guitarist that completely rocked (for lack of a better term) a version of the Vincent Rose, Al Jolson & BG DeSylva composition, Avalon (made famous by the Nat ‘King’ Cole Trio). The artist’s name was John Pizzarelli and he was promoting a CD titled OUR LOVE IS HERE TO STAY.

The following morning I went out and bought it for my Father. I gave it to him for Christmas and in a slightly ironic turn of events, I was the only one that listened to it during that entire visit and I happen to do so several times (a ritual that continued with Pizzarelli CDs for the next 5 or 6 Christmases*). The minute I got back to school I went out and bought myself a copy of OUR LOVE IS HERE TO STAY, along with an album titled DEAR MR. COLE (a Pizzarelli tribute to the Cole Trio, featuring bassist Christian McBride) and a couple of CDs that John recorded with his legendary Father, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli.

I played them for my suite-mate (Chris) and we both instantly fell in love with the music of the Pizzarellis. One day Chris came running into my room exclaiming that both Bucky and John were going to be performing at our college theater! After months of eagerly waiting, we of course went to the show and it sealed the deal. We were both completely and officially hooked. After John and his trio performed an entire set, Chris and I looked at each other and said “this is the greatest guitarist we’ve ever seen!” Then for the second set John and Bucky came out and played guitar duets and we had to instantly retract our previous statement, because Bucky easily seized the title right out from under his son. It was definitely the best live show I had seen up to that point and even though I was only the ripe young age of 19, I had already seen Clapton, Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley, Ray Charles and B.B. King (among others). The musicianship of John, Bucky, Martin (John’s younger brother and bassist) and Ray Kennedy (John’s then pianist) was astounding and John’s charm and humor really made it an amazing “performance”, not just a concert.

After that, he was officially one of my favorite musicians and member of a very select group that I called my “guitar-heroes”. For the next few years I followed his career, buying his CDs and trying to turn other people I knew into fans, but for some reason I didn’t see him again live until 2002. My best friend (Dion) and I saw him at a jazz festival in Connecticut that summer. It was an outdoor event and in a complete stroke of luck we somehow ended up getting to the show over 2 hours early; enabling us to watch the rehearsal/sound check. John was playing with a local big band that night and they were going over the set list. It was fascinating to watch the process and then amazing to see how that set list came alive during the actual show, especially with Bucky added into the mix. That day, during the hour or so between the rehearsal and the actual show, I got to meet John briefly and actually hangout a bit with his brother/bassist, Martin. Little did I know then, that arriving so outrageously early to that show would lead to a professional and personal friendship with the Pizzarellis that has now lasted 7 years.

During those 7 years I have seen John and Martin perform more times then I can count and they are consistently amazing. This past week their shows at New York’s legendary jazz club, Birdland, were no exception. For 5 nights (2 sets a night) they wowed New York’s jazz-going public with an event they called The Pizza Party, named for Arbors Records’ recent CD release titled PIZZArelli PARTY. Like so many things involving John and Martin, both the shows and CD were a family affair. The John Pizzarelli Quartet (featuring Martin on bass, pianist Larry Fuller and drummer Tony Tedesco) were joined by Bucky on guitar (but for only the first 2 nights), Pizzarelli regular Harry Allen on tenor saxophone, newcomer Aaron Weinstein on violin and Rebecca Kilgore and Jessica Molaskey on vocals (Jessica also happens to be John’s lovely wife and Radio Deluxe co-host, as well as a Broadway veteran).

The live sets were made up of mostly material from the CD, which is a laid back collection of classic jazz standards, jazz rarities, smooth/walkin’ blues instrumentals and clever Pizzarelli penned homages. As all great live performances do, the Birdland shows added a new energy to the material; the Gershwin classic Lady Be Good swung even harder live than the recording and with the Pizzarelli original Strollin’ Over to Nola (Gonna Play Some Blues), John’s playing took on a much more classic “blues” feel. Other highlights, for both the CD and shows, include John’s original instrumentals Joe and Zoot (a tribute to Joe Venuti and Zoot Sims) and You Be the Judge (a tribute to bassist Milt Hinton), as well as the very rare and all but forgotten Gershwin, Harburg and Arlen composition, I Knew Him When; in which Kilgore and Molaskey's vocals provided a poignancy to both the live performances and CD with their beautiful vocal duet.

You may have missed the PIZZArelli PARTY live, but I strongly recommend that you try to catch any or all of these performers when they’re playing (or singing) in a city near you and of course the CD is now available for purchase. So as John would say “I urge you all to buy in bulk.”

*as a little postscript...it may have taken a few years, but I’m happy to say that the minute I dragged my Father to a live Pizzarelli show….he too became a fan.

Keep Swingin',
J. Blake

Check out some NYC Blues with J. Blake & The Earthquake at: www.myspace.com/jblaketheearthquake or http://www.livebluesworld.com/profile/JBlakeTheEarthquake as well as on Facebook.

***live photographs supplied by flickr4jazz

ALBUM OF THE WEEK:

PIZZArelli Party (Arbors Records)