Blues groover Lucky Peterson is adept at guitar, piano and Hammond, but sticks to the B3 here on this smoking tribute to the organmeister Jimmy Smith. With his regular team of Herlin Riley/dr and Kelyn Crapp/g, he augments the session with guest appearances by trumpeter Nicolas Folmer and guitarist Philippe Petrucciani as well as bringing in the ringer Archie Shepp for both his smoky sax and blueswailing vocals.
With Folmer, the band shuffles off to Buffalo on a low ceililng’d juke joint take of “Night Train” while the team heads to Montgomery with Petrucciani’s guitar on a blues bopper “Blues For Wes.” The trios sizzles on Smith’s own “The Sermon” and goes into a hot calypso on “Jimmy’s Jumpin’” and gets heartfelt and personal during Leon Russell’s “Singin This Song 4U” with Peterson’s voice in intimate form.
With Shepp, the two trade vocal barbs while the tenorist gives a field holler sax shout on “Jimmy Wants to Groove and deliver a bluesy groove lead on by Riley’s ride cymbal on the classic “Back at the Chicken Shack.” This album is a pure foot stomping, two drink minimum, dim the lights joy. The son of a bluesman strikes gold again.