New Blues and Soul News – 9/17/2019
New Blues and Soul News – 9/17/2019
Jimmy Carpenter – Soul Doctor (Gulf Coast): “”I have been a Jimmy Carpenter fan for 20 years, from the first time I heard him play with Jimmy Thackery. He’s always been one of the premier sax players around. But Jimmy is also a stellar songwriter and singer. His voice is at its best on ‘Soul Doctor’, Jimmy’s best record to date. This album oozes cool and rocks hard with a classic sound that only Jimmy Carpenter can bring to the table.” (Mike Zito): http://jimmycarpenter.net/about_jimmy/) Carpenter has spent many years in New Orleans and his style has become a singular blend of the DC and NOLA styles with a noticeable slice of rock’n’roll. He also wrote or co-wrote seven of the ten songs on offer and plays guitar to his sax and singing. His main backup group is Cameron Tyler (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Jason Langley (bass), Trevor Johnson (guitar), Chris Tofield (guitar, backing vocals), and guests Nick Schnebelen and Mike Zito (guitar on one song each), Red Young (Hammond B3, piano and Wurlitzer), Al Ek (harmonica), Doug Woolverton (trumpet) and Mark Earley (bari sax) and backing singers Carrie Stowers, and Queen Aries. This should be hie best release yet! I regret I am unable to find any samples from this release.
Annika Chambers – Kiss My Sass (VizzTone): Annika Chambers grew up singing in the church. She did two tours of duty in the military and during that time was encouraged by her commanding officer to sing the “Star Spangled Banner” for one of the base ceremonies. She was an immediate success and after doing numerous gigs in the service eventually chose singing as her career. This is her second release and her blend of gospel, blues and burning soul is unique and compelling. This set offers songs like Gary Nicholson and Jessi Alexander’s “That’s What You Made Me”, Mack Rice’s “What’s Your Thing”, Angela Strehli’s “Two Bit Texas Town” and a killer version of Chris Smither’s “I Feel The Same”. She also co-wrote “Brand New Day”. The disc covers several styles as well. This is a solid disc from beginning to end and comes highly recommended. Definitely, a talent to keep an ear out for! Click here to listen to the opening song from this disc.
Giles Robson – Don’t Give Up On The Blues (American Showplace): Harmonicat Giles Robson offers his second release after serving as a harp player and singer about a year ago on his first disc with Joe Louis Walker and Bruce Katz. Well, Katz is back smacking those elephants’ teeth like crazy, while Aaron Lieberman’s melting down his guitar and a rhythm section with Antar Goodwin on bass and Ray Hangen on drums are as solid as granite. Robson is positively blowing down the walls! All of the songs are Robson originals. This IS a certified Professor Bebop “Wax Devoid Of Cracks”! Click here to listen to the opening song on this disc.
J.P. Soars – Let Go Of The Reins (Whiskey Bayou): This is Soars sixth release and he has amped up the blues and sound consistently. He leads the group with his guitar, strong vocals, dobro and dulcimer and is backed by Chris Peet (bass), Tab Benoit (drums, pedal steel and acoustic guitar), and Tillis Verdin (Hammond B3). There’s blues rock and some solid funk, even Django Reinhardt’s “Minor Blues”. The style shifts from J.B. Lenoir’s “Been Down So Long” and The Ozark Mountain Daredevils’ “If You Wanna Get To Heaven” and seven originals by Soars. A really solid disc. Click here to listen to Soars’ version of J.B. Lenoir’s “Been Done So Long”.
New Soul:
Ms. Jody – Get It! Get It! (Ecko): Ms. Jody is back with a new disco-style dance release with synth in the foreground throughout, but there is something new! Certainly, she is the top disco style entertainer, but two of the ten songs take a different theme. First is “Got To Make A Change” a social/political plea that we all must work together to make changes that support and value all people in order to save our country from sinking into oblivion from our own actions. The second song acknowledges that “Haters Gonna Be Hatin’” and laments that fact but reminds us that each of us can help overcome the hate trap if we don’t allow ourselves to justify using the same behavior and being swallowed up in that same stance. As far as I know, this is the first release in this style of music to take on this topic and to urge us not to justify that behavior of stance. Click here to listen to “Got To Make A Change” and here to listen to “Haters Gonna Be Hatin’”.
Kopasetically,
Professor Bebop
