{"id":23271,"date":"2022-07-05T05:30:45","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T09:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=23271"},"modified":"2022-07-05T07:52:29","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T11:52:29","slug":"album-review-jose-ramirez-major-league-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/05\/album-review-jose-ramirez-major-league-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Jose Ramirez — Major League Blues"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Jose Ramirez self-released his debut album, Here I Come<\/i>, in 2020. The Costa Rican guitarist quickly drew positive notices for that release, capped by a Blues Music Award nomination. With his band he took second place at the Intentional Blues Challenge. Navigating through the pandemic-stricken globe, he managed a successful tour through Portugal, Spain, Germany, Switzerland Belgium and the Netherlands in late 2021. And in February through March 2022 he toured across the Eastern half of the United States; a second leg with more dates on the Eastern seaboard commenced in April.<\/p>\n

Along the way, he inked a deal with Chicago-based blues label Delmark, cutting his second album. Its title is a nod to Ramirez\u2019s ascendancy from journeyman guitarist to high-profile act: Major League Blues<\/i>.<\/p>\n

While Anson Funderburgh\u2019s expert production gave Here I Come<\/i> a polished character, Ramirez\u2019s partially self-produced Major League Blues<\/i> has a more intimate vibe. The instrumentation is vastly sparer \u2013 almost like a demo recording \u2013 the effect of which is to bring Ramirez\u2019s vocals and guitar into sharper focus. His clean and assured licks coexist seamlessly with his everyman singing. And though he\u2019s still a rising star, Ramirez is comfortable sharing the spotlight on the opening (title) track with guitarist Jimmy Johnson.<\/p>\n

Ramirez is also confident enough not to go full-throttle all the time on Major League Blues<\/i>. The album\u2019s second track slows things way down for the smoky romantic blues of \u201cI Saw it Coming.\u201d With shades of Bobby \u201cBlue\u201d Bland, the track underscores Ramirez\u2019s understanding of (and appreciation for) soul and r&b. Roosevelt Purifoy\u2019s extended organ solo brings a gospel feel to the track, and the cavernous ambiance of Ramirez\u2019s solo on \u201cI Saw it Coming\u201d wrings every bit of emotion out of the guitar.<\/p>\n

The loping \u201cBad Boy\u201d helps emphasize Ramirez\u2019s command of blues\u2019 many sub-styles. A haunting number, \u201cMy Love is Your Love\u201d is a slow burner. Ramirez leans into long, sustained notes and subtle, glistening chording on \u201cWhatever She Wants.\u201d Midway through \u2013 between organ and guitar solos \u2013 the arrangement switches to a stuttering beat before settling back into its core groove.<\/p>\n

Some well-placed ambient sounds add character and mystery to the stomping \u201cHere in the Delta.\u201d As its title suggests, \u201cForbidden Funk\u201d inches toward the edges of the blues idiom, and features some tricky percussion work from Antonio Reyes. Kenny Watson Jr. provides solid, kinetic basswork that rarely calls attention to itself; a close listen reveals its inventiveness.<\/p>\n

Ramirez\u2019s Latin American roots aren\u2019t always obvious in his songwriting, arrangement or approach to his instrument. But that character is front and center on \u201cAre We Really Different\u201d; the track is strongly reminiscent of Santana\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Beyond Ramirez\u2019s singing and playing, the most prominent component of Major League Blues<\/i> is the keyboard; it figures significantly into all ten of the album\u2019s tracks. Even when used subtly \u2013 as on \u201cGotta Let You Go\u201d \u2013 those keyboards greatly inform the character of the record.<\/p>\n

Ramirez closes his major label debut album with a thoughtful, gospel-flavored blues ballad, \u201cAfter All This Time.\u201d Shelly Bonet\u2019s brief and bravura guest vocal break takes the song to another level. Eschewing the guitar fireworks that characterize many young players, with Major League Blues<\/i> Jose Ramirez displays calm, assured confidence and a mastery of his instrument.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jose Ramirez self-released his debut album, Here I Come, in 2020. The Costa Rican guitarist quickly drew positive notices for that release, capped by a Blues Music Award nomination. With […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,49,65],"tags":[4875],"class_list":["post-23271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-new-release","category-review","tag-jose-ramirez","cat-9-id","cat-49-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23271"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23305,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23271\/revisions\/23305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}