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Christone \u201cKingfish\u201d Ingram \u2013 Live in London<\/i><\/b>\nHaving only just celebrated his 24th<\/sup> birthday days ago, Clarksdale, Mississippi-born Christone \u201cKingfish\u201d Ingram has already established himself at the forefront of the new generation’s blues artists. On the heels of a pair of superb releases \u2013 his 2019 debut and the Grammy-winning 662<\/i><\/a>, Kingfish returns with Live in London<\/em>, an album that presents his gifts in the best context possible. Because while his studio work is excellent, it\u2019s in the live performance format where he truly shines brightest. With sixteen songs across two discs, this set serves as an audio document of an artist in his prime. Drawing from both studio sets, Live in London<\/i> showcases the breadth of Kingfish\u2019s stylistic palette. The funky and fiery \u201cNot Gonna Lie\u201d (from 662<\/i>) is both a highlight and representative of what\u2019s on offer here: strong tunes and searing lead guitar work, backed expertly by a rock-solid bass\/drums\/keys ensemble. And owing to the flawless quality of both the audio and the performances, Live in London<\/i> can serve as an intro for the uninitiated.<\/p>\n
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Chris O\u2019Leary \u2013 The Hard Line<\/i><\/b>
\nThere\u2019s something truly special about a wailing harp that takes the blues into the stratosphere. And Chris O\u2019Leary is an exemplar of that quality. On The Hard Line<\/i>, he services up a soulful slab of down-home blues, with scorching lead guitar, honking horns and beefy backing from a rollicking rhythm section. This isn\u2019t groundbreaking music: you\u2019ve heard the chord progressions countless times. And the arrangements don\u2019t break beyond the traditional Chicago-styled blues idiom. But then, when the music and delivery is as tasty as it is on The Hard Line<\/i>, none of that is needed. Highlights include \u201cLost My Mind,\u201d a tune that will transport the listener back to the jump blues and swing of postwar America. \u201cAin\u2019t That a Crime\u201d is reminiscent of Stax-flavored soul-blues, with some entrancing Leslie-fied lead guitar. And the slinky \u201cLay These Burdens Down\u201d demonstrates that O\u2019Leary can simmer and<\/i> sizzle. Drawn from an interview with O\u2019Leary, Bob Margolin\u2019s liner note piece is a nice touch, too. Recommended.<\/p>\n
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Sam Ross \u2013 Live at the Mira Room, <\/i>Vol. II<\/i><\/b>
\nThis intimate set may have been recorded live onstage, but the audience is so obviously enraptured by the performance that they keep silent until each solo run is completed. A trio of Ross (on piano and sometimes Rhodes) with bassist Simba Distis (upright and electric bass) and drummer Dr. Mimi Mured runs through five Ross originals. Likely drawn from multiple performances (that would explain the instrument switch-ups) this EP nonetheless feels like a single set. And a very good one at that: with a you-are-there vibe, Live at the Mira Room, Vol. II<\/i> is thrilling jazz that will appeal to fans of Vince Guaraldi and (as the blazing, right on the edge of dissonant Rhodes runs of \u201cDear Chick\u201d suggest) Chick Corea. And don\u2019t miss that track\u2019s bass solo.<\/p>\n
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Marcel Smith \u2013 From My Soul<\/i><\/b>
\nSomething about the cover art had me thinking that From My Soul<\/i> would be a gospel record. Alas \u2013 and to my delight \u2013 no<\/i>. While gospel certainly informs the style of Smith\u2019s music, here it\u2019s that genre\u2019s fervor and passion, applied instead to secular songs. As soulful as you can get, this is a supremely classic-sounding sweet soul session. With sympathetic production from the esteemed Kid Andersen at his famed Greaseland USA studio, Smith\u2019s second album for Little Village Foundation is a winner. Listeners will be forgiven for thinking that \u201cIf You Miss Me\u201d is a recording from a half-century ago; only its crystalline fidelity gives it away as a new recording. But on tunes like the reading of Joe Liggins\u2019 \u201cDrunk,\u201d Smith displays a funky, modern-day (well, 1970s) sensibility. His reading of the soul classic \u201cTurn Back the Hands of Time\u201d is a delight as well. Half originals and half well-chosen covers, From My Soul<\/i> will touch your<\/i> soul.<\/p>\n
Jazz, soul and blues this time around. All well worth a spin, they are. Christone \u201cKingfish\u201d Ingram \u2013 Live in London Having only just celebrated his 24th birthday days ago, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,42,49,65,69],"tags":[5336,4624,3829,5338,5337],"class_list":["post-26867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-jazz","category-new-release","category-review","category-soul","tag-chris-oleary","tag-christone-kingfish-ingram","tag-dave-stryker","tag-marcel-smith","tag-sam-ross","cat-9-id","cat-42-id","cat-49-id","cat-65-id","cat-69-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26867"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27056,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26867\/revisions\/27056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/stryker_groove_street.jpg\")
Dave Stryker \u2013 Groove Street<\/i><\/b>
\nSwinging jazz with tasteful yet energetic electric guitar at its core, Groove Street<\/em> is the latest in an unbroken of excellent releases from Dave Stryker. His lean \u2018n\u2019 clean fretwork is melodic and tasty, and supported ably by his band mates Jared Gold (organ) and drummer McClenty Hunter. Tenor sax man Bob Mintzer augments the trio on this sprightly set, an appealing mix of Styrker originals, Mintzer tunes and classics from Wayne Shorter (\u201cInfant Eyes\u201d) and Eddie Harris (the incredibly funky \u201cCold Duck Time\u201d). Per jazz custom, everybody gets his turn in the spotlight, and nothing is wasted. The ensemble deftly balances subtlety and strength.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"