Ramblings On My Mind - February 2012

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Greg Johnson / CBA President

Look at the upcoming shows happening in Portland this month. If you cannot find something that is going to excite you with everything happening, then as Albert King once said, “If you can’t dig this blues, you got a hole in your soul.” You’d think it was the middle of the summer was so many different artists coming through and the special events going on. There are Mardi Gras parties, an IBC winner, Blues Music Award nominees, the CBA Sweetheart Dance, a Mississippi guitarist, a tribute to British blues, acoustic, electric, harmonica, a brand new festival and even more. How much more can you ask for? Portland has the blues goin’ on without doubt!

I am personally standing on pins and needles as I head to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge. I have strong belief in both of our representatives this year, Madman Sam and the Robbie Laws Band. It’ll be another fine showing of our local artists as we continue to convince people from elsewhere that the Pacific Northwest has a wealth of talent that runs very deep. Good luck to both our acts and all those from our sister societies throughout the region.

At this time our Board of Directors, though we have exceptional members, is really lacking in numbers. I have received interest from a few people who are considering joining up, but we definitely need more people on board to help us with all the happenings and programs we want to succeed. Please let any of our current Board members know if you may have a desire to help out or attend one of our monthly meetings to see how things are run. Please let us know if you want to attend a meeting so we can let you know where it will be held as we often bounce between our location in Tigard and downtown in The Pearl. If you do not have the time to be on the board, volunteers for our efforts are always welcome, too.

Hopefully, if you signed up to be a member in the past couple months, you have already received your membership card. We are trying to catch up, but we ran into a little glitch with the change in the newly elected officers and the computers used. The format changed in the database programming and we had to upgrade to make everything work. But now that it has been resolved we should be back on track. If we missed you, my apologies, but let us know and we’ll get it straightened out for you.

We hope that you come out to the Sweetheart Dance on the 11^th. This event continues to become one of our premier happenings each year. It’ll give you a chance to visit a newer venue for us, Vie de Boheme. It is always a good idea to support any new venue that offers live music, blues or any other style you may enjoy. Without your support they will not last. Another recent addition the past couple months has been The Grapevine in Beaverton, with a Thursday night jam and a variety of bands on the weekend nights. Also there is a new piano bar downtown called Ivories that often has blues-related entertainment. Let us know if you hear of any new locations so we can all check them out. And tell them advertising in the BluesNotes gives them a direct link to the people who want to hear the blues most. Also tell them listing their shows in our monthly calendar is free. If they do not tell us, we can’t tell you. And nobody wins when that happens. Support our local venues and the musicians as much as you can. Keep our local music scene strong and continuing!

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Additional Information

CD Reviews

The Big Payback

Big James And The Chicago Playboys

webCDReview_BigJames

Blind Pig Records

Big James Montgomery may have his feet set firmly planted in the Chicago blues scene, but he has definitely been dangling his toes in the Mississippi River getting a nice drenching of Southern soul. In fact, he may be delivering the most funkified, soulful blues sounds in the Windy City since the passing of Junior Wells. And the best format to hear Big James And The Chicago Playboys is obviously on stage where he brings forth a commanding presence from behind his trombone. That is why we should stand and shout in celebration that Blind Pig has blessed us with The Big Payback, a live recording of the band performing at Paris’ Lionel Hampton Jazz club from 2009. Full of the funk and sass that makes a Big James’ show so dynamic, this disc will get your heart pumping quickly.

Not typical of blues bands, Big James And The Chicago Playboys use their horn delivery as the forefront of the outfit. It doesn’t matter if they’re covering James Brown or George Clinton numbers where you’d expect just that. But they’re also using that horn lead on the deepest of Chicago blues numbers as found on the two covers of Magic Sam in their performance. Yes, guitarist Mike “Money” Wheeler can singe his strings with the best of them, but there is a reason why this band has been named five times by Living Blues magazine for best horns. And it is clearly shown throughout the disc. They get especially funky on the Johnnie Taylor classic “Jody Got Your Girl And Gone” and the soulful R&B just explodes with the reading of Otis Clay’s “Trying To Live My Life Without You.”

Along with such superb takes on all of the cover songs, Big James throws in three fantastic originals that speak out for themselves. The opening track “The Blues Will Never Die” sets the show’s pace with the pulsating horns punctuating Big James’ voice and proves to be his own personal statement on why he sings the blues. “Coldest Man I Ever Knew” takes on life’s lessons as being delivered by a father who tells him he will not be around forever and how he should act around others. And the third of the original numbers, “Low Down Dirty Blues,” is just that, a slow dirty blues that may bring thoughts of Luther Allison’s gritty vocal and burning guitar approach. But once again, throw in the horns and you know this pot of blues stew is about to boil over.

To show how much fun the band is having while they play, the closing track is a quirky cover of Deep Purple’s anthem “Smoke On The Water.” The crowd erupts to the onset of the number, recognizing those familiar riffs right off. But the band takes it on as a punchy instrumental, blending the keyboards, guitar and horns as only Big James And The Chicago Playboys can carry it in their own tradition. A nice playful way to close out a superb disc.

So if you think Chicago blues is all about the guitar, dispel that thought and pick up The Big Payback. This one’s going to get your funky groove moving and convince you that the horns belong in the blues in a big way! Check out Big James And The Chicago Playboys and see just what I’m driving at ya!

Total Time: 48:01

The Blues Will Never Die / Big Payback / Coldest Man I Ever Knew / All Your Love / Jody’s Got Your Girl And Gone / That’s Why I’m Crying / Trying To Live My Life Without You / I’ll Stay / Low Down Dirty Blues / Smoke On The Water

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