BLUES WAX

DELTA GROOVE BLUES REVUE FEAT. THE MANNISH BOYS (Live Show)

By Art Tipaldi

‘Twas the night after the Blues Music Awards and all through Beale Street there were so many musical choices and nominees playing it was hard to stay in one place. From Fiona Boyes and her all-star jam at the Pig on Beale to Michael Powers adding his guitar to the Rum Boogie stage, it was enough to drive a blues fan to drink (beers that is at the Flying Saucer.). All I needed was one look at the Delta Groove-Blue Bella All-Star Blues Revue line-up and six hours in the Gibson Lounge was a no-brainer.

     The evening opened with Nick Moss and the Flip Tops hosting the Blue Bella Revue. Moss, a triple 2007 BMA nominated artist as Guitarist of the Year and for his Live At Chan’s record as both Traditional and Album of the Year, and his wife Katie, founders of the Chicago label, presented a delicious platter of Windy City blues. Playing tunes from his Moss called musicians to the stage like Eddie Taylor, Jr., son of the legendary Eddie Taylor, Bill Lupkin, a Chicago harmonica player who has played with Chicago legends like Muddy, Wolf, Buddy, and Jimmy Rogers, and the Kilborn Alley Blues Band, whose 2006  debut recording on Blue Bella captured a 2007 BMA nominee as Best New Artist Debut.

     It should be noted that for a small label with only three artists on its roster, Blue Bella captured five 2007 BMA nominations. That speaks to the quality of the blues Nick and Katie Moss are devoted to record.

     After the stage was cleared of Blue Bellas, Delta Groove, another highly successful recent addition to blues labels, was ready to showcase it’s stars for the rest of the night. Founded in 2004, by Randy Chortkoff, an integral part of the LA blues scene for many years, the label was born with the mandate to keep traditional blues alive, and, at the same time, to discover those young  artists who are poised to carry the blues torch into this new millennium. His label and artists collected 12 Blues Music Awards in 2006 and another 10 this year. That’s an accomplishment few labels can boast.

     The show began with John Long, a 2007 nominee for Lost & Found as Acoustic Album of the Year. Accompanied only by acoustic guitar and rack harmonica, Long’s  tunes ranged from the foot stompin’ instrumental “Johnny’s Jump” to his 1920’s honky tonkin’ “Stranglevine.”

     The centerpiece of Delta Groove is the Mannish Boys, a 2007 BMA nominee as Band of the Year. Named for the Muddy Waters’ song, Chortkoff’s Mannish Boys’ Revue always offers an elite roster of blues luminaries. Like a team playing a championship game in front of adoring hometown fans, on this night playing in memphis, the home of the blues, the Boys were in rare form.  

     Because the musical line-up constantly revolves, each song offers a unique surprise. You might be listening to the leathery vocals of Finis Tasby or the finely aged Delta voice and harp of Johnny Dyer in a call and response with the triple guitar attack of Kirk Fletcher, Kid Ramos, and Frank “Paris Slim” Goldwasser. Add in the seasoned harmonica of Chortkoff, the piano work of Leon Blue, whose 45 years of work has put him together with every blues and R&B legend you can name, the colorful bass work of Larry Taylor, and the rock solid Chicago time kept by Richard Innes, today’s premier blues drummer and it was 90 minutes of the finest traditional blues.
     Highlights included six tunes from blues masters Johnny Dyer, who sang on “Mannish Boy” and “You’re Sweet” and  Finis Tasby who held court on “Mystery Train,” “I Get So Worried,” “Why Do Things Happen To Me,” and “Baby Please.” Though singers Dyer, Tasby, Chortkoff, and the soulful Bobby Jones vocalized the blues, it was Kid Ramos, Kirk Fletcher and Paris Slim’s all out guitar assault that mesmerized the packed house. As the individual solos became more intense and more frantic, it was easy to lose all track of time.
     To end the set, Chortkoff called another legend, the big voiced Big Pete Peterson to sing two songs from his critically acclaimed record, I’m Here Baby, with Bob Corritore on harmonica.

     By 11 PM, Delta Groove’s exciting young harp master, Mitch Kashmar joined Fletcher, Taylor and drummer Tony BRuniagal for thirty minutes of West coast styled harmonica. Al Blake and the Hollywood Blues Flames followed Kashmar. Made up of three original members of the Hollywood Fats Band, Blake on harp, Larry Taylor, and Richard Innes, Blake added Kirk Fletcher and Willie Oshawny on piano to recreate the sound that Fats and his band were famous for in the late 1970’s. With BMA nominations in both 2006 and 2007, the band is riding high on a new found popularity. On this night, Blake reprised “Everybody’s Blues” from the 2007 Road To Rio record as well as “Rock Me Baby.” “Fly Like The Eagle, Cry Like The Dove,” and “Miss Nitroglycerite.”

     It was close to midnight when Delta Groove’s latest artist, the legendary guitarist  Phillip Walker brought his red Gibson to the stage. Accompanied by his long time bass friend, Broadway, Walker added Mitch Woods on piano, Richard Innes on drums, and Kirk Fletcher on guitar for tunes like “Bad Blood” and “Lay You Down Baby” from his new Delta Groove release,

     All night long, Kim Wilson was havin’ a great time watching former and current members of the Fabulous Thunderbirds or the Kim Wilson Blues Band entertain. One knew that it  wouldn’t be long before Kim was coaxed to the stage. Following Walker’s set, Kim ran Blue Flames, Fletcher, Taylor, and Innes through a shufflin’ instrumental.

     In case you haven’t noticed, there was little rest for guitarist Kirk Fletcher, one of today’s premier young blues guitar slingers. Fletcher is currently the guitarist in the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the Mannish Boys, and the Kim Wilson Blues Revue. Before that he traveled with Charlie Musselwhite, Lynnwood Slim, the resurrected Hollywood Fats band with Junior Watson, and the any other West coast blues ensemble looking for the brightest young blues guitarist on the scene. Believe me when I say that in over three hours of playing, I never heard Kirk play anything the same way twice. His tasteful phrasing and deep soul and blues vision make him this generation’s blues guitarist of note.

     There was still one more Delta Groove act to come. As double 2007 BMA nominees, the Jackie Payne-Steve Edmonson band filled the final hour with its unique brand of soul blues. One of the best kept secrets on the West coast is soul blues legend Jackie Payne and his musical partner, guitarist Steve Edmonson. The Payne Edmonson soul revue started with “Mean Evil Woman,” a double timed Hooker styled horn and guitar boogie. On “Master Of The Game,” Payne employed a Bobby “Blue” Bland growl while Edmonson ripped off some strapping B.B. single string work. When these masters of the soul game turned down the lights on “A Fool Named Me,” Payne, like the soul great of yesterday, let down his manly self confidence to plead his mistake.

     When the Revue finally ended, every fan left with one thought, if this is Delta Groove’s Second Annual Revue, we can’t wait for the third at next year’s BMA weekend.