Modern blues come in many hues. Here are three different brush strokes:
Jeremiah Johnson sings with a country snarl and plays guitar with a power trio of Jeff Girardier/b and Benet Schaeffer/dr along with guests Nathen Hershey/key and Frank Bauer/sax. The album is mostly boogie and blues, with an instrumental thrown in for good to show the Albert Lee-inspired chops. The team has an Aerosmith feel on pieces like “Mind Reader” and a juke joint groove on “Talk Too Much.” A couple slower pieces like “Here We Go Again” keep the moods changing, but this band is made for smoky low ceilings.
Ally Venable also sings and plays guitar along with Bobby Wallace/g, Zach Tery/b, Elijah Owings/dr and guests Steve Krase/harp and Randy Wall/key. The album is mostly her songs which have a 70s blues rock sound, but she does a nice read of the hip “Messin With The Kid” and Bonnie Raitt’s “Love Me Like A Man.” Her voice is full and throaty, and the team hits hard on “Trainwreck” and the title track. Lots of fun here.
Trumpeter Al Basile also dips into the blues, but it’s more jumping with a KC or NO feel, as the horns make for the grooves here. Hints of Louis Jordan pop up all over, as on “I’ve Got to Have Meat (With Every Meal” and there’s always humor around the corner as on “Keep Your Love, Where’s My Money?” He’s got the voice of a seasoned watch salesman in Times Square, and when guitarist Duke Robillard joins in on “Like a Woman, Like a Man” and “Like Under the House” with Doug James’ bass clarinet, you can feel the breeze through the magnolia trees.