Dennis Gruenling featuring Doug Deming and the Jewel Tones’ Rockin’ All Day is one of two October releases on the Vizztone label group that highlights the New Jersey native, who is one of the artists featured in this month’s ezine. Gruenling is backed by guitarist and vocalist Doug Deming and his fine band the Jewel Tones. Dennis discusses his life in music and this fine album, in an interview that we did this past November. The song I selected for our Jukebox is the album’s closing track, Hotso. It is a jumpin’ instrumental piece that features, as you might suspect, spectacular harp playing by one of today’s unique voices on the instrument.

Doug Deming and the Jewel Tones featuring Dennis Gruenling’s album entitled, What’s it Gonna Take is the companion piece of sorts to Dennis’ album. Detroit native Doug Deming now resides in Florida and has joined forces with Dennis Gruenling to create one of the great tandems in blues music today. His band the Jewel Tones are Andrew Gohman on upright and Fender bass and Devin Neel on drums. Anthony Smith plays harmonica on one of the album’s eleven tracks. The tune that really grabbed me was one of seven Deming originals, Lucky Charm.

John Nemeth is also one of the featured artists in this month’s BLUES JUNCTION. Read an interview I did with John that also took place this past November. John has two new live albums out. These represent the sixth and seventh releases of his relatively short but already spectacular career. From his album, Blues Live I chose a tune that originally appeared on his 2009 Blind Pig Records release, Love Me Tonight, entitled Just Like You. It is a rocker that features the guitar tandem of A.C. Myles and Kid Andersen. Like the rest of the thirteen tunes on this record it is a John Nemeth original.

John Nemeth’s Soul Live is the companion piece to Blues Live. These titles pretty much tell the consumer what to expect. If you have had the chance to catch one of Nemeth’s live shows, these albums capture the intensity of that experience. In the ten years since his 2002 release entitled Jack of Harps, the 37 year old Nemeth has emerged as one of the truly bright lights on the scene. These twin releases not only highlight Nemeth’s terrific singing and fine harp playing, but showcase one of the most consistently good songwriting to come along in a very long time. In my view this is what truly has separated him from the pack. I chose the album’s opening track, Blue Broadway which originally appeared on his Blind Pig debut, Magic Touch.   

The Elgins are yet another band to have two new releases in 2012, the first of which has been out for a few month’s now and it is appropriately entitled, Back to Chicago. This band was the subject of our November Monthly Artist Spotlight feature. Read an interview I did with one of this band’s guitarists, Mark Mumea. This album was conceived to be a vehicle for the great vocalist Johnny Dyer. Mumea recruited like-minded players from Scandinavia, guitarist and vocalist, Frederik Zahl Marken and pianist and vocalist, Oyvind Stolefjell. They are joined by members of Johnny Dyer’s old band the L.A. Jukes, vocalist and harp player Mark Bukich and drummer Bob “Pacemaker” Newham for this session. As this band was assembled for the sessions Dyer was taken ill and only able to cut four tracks. I chose one of these, the Muddy Waters tune, Sad Sad Day.

The Elgins follow up to Back to Chicago is entitled simply, Volume 2. This album goes  further into the windy city’s cultural past and explores the musical territory between 1945 and 1953. The record captures the sound of Chicago Blues in the pre–Chess days before the emergence of rock and roll as an influential piece of the musical landscape. On these sessions the band employs recording techniques that one could find on the small independent labels that were making records back in the day. I selected the Leroy Carr classic, Blues Before Sunrise.

James Harman’s Bamboo Porch Live at Little Village Volume 1 is the first CD by the prolific songwriter, singer and harmonica player since 2003’s Lonesome Moon Trance. On this October, 2012, release Harman is backed by guitarist Nathan James, bassist and harmonica player Troy Sandow, drummers Steve Magalian and James Michael Tempo who is the longtime percussionist with the James Harman Band and the subject of an interview by Alex Gardner in this month’s ezine. The live recordings took place in a new theater in the Northern San Diego seaside enclave of Carlsbad. The CD has songs that were laid down using an acoustic duo, The Bamboo Porch Quartet, an acoustic trio and the full five piece James Harman Band. One of the tracks that feature the full JHB is entitled, Pink Alligator. The track is imbibed with the famous Harman wit and all things that make this recording so fun.

Nathan James & The Rhythm Scratchers' Delta Groove Records debut, What You Make of It, came out on March 20th. The 33 year old James moves away, for the moment anyway, from the solo acoustic blues that has been the hallmark of his already prolific career. He is joined here by bassist and harmonica player Troy Sandow and drummer Marty Dodson for a more eclectic and electrified presentation. James has been the long time guitarist in the James Harman Band and Harman guests on one track. Two songs even feature the horn section of Johnny Viau and Archie Thompson. The Jimmy McCracklin classic Later On is given a fresh take by the uber-talented wunderkind, Nathan James.

I have always enjoyed it when scribes refer to an album by the Phantom Blues Band (PBB) as a solo release. How can a band make a solo record? Well I get it. They mean that this ensemble made a record in which they are not backing up Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt or Curtis Salgado as they do on his terrific new CD that also came out earlier this year. Individually or collectively the members of this appropriately named “band” are all first call studio musicians whose recording credits are as long as my arm. The PBB have a new Vizztone Records release, Inside Out, which is their third “solo” album to date. I selected the tune, Shame Shame. It is another Jimmy McCracklin tune. McCracklin is an often overlooked giant in the blues music world and may be the oldest living blues musician.

Lurrie Bell’s April 2012 release entitled, The Devil Ain’t Got No Music, is, in the strict sense of the word, a gospel album. The CD however is not infused with the ebullience one typically associates with gospel music. It is a desperate search for salvation sung as if that redemption may not come soon enough. It is a powerful gripping statement by the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. Joe Louis Walker is also on board for a few tracks and he makes fine contributions to this outstanding album. There are some gospel standards here as well as newer material. I went with a song written by Joe Louis Walker entitled, I’ll Get to Heaven on my Own.

The Igor Prado Band’s Blues and Soul Sessions is an absolutely stunning album which is a very creative tour de force that sounds like the title should be ‘Sao Paulo’s tribute to Memphis Soul’. Igor is too smart for that as he doesn’t want to draw direct comparisons between his band and the famed Memphis house band which includes Booker T. and the M.Gs, the Memphis Horns and Isaac Hayes among others. The fact is these Brazilians can hold their own and prove it on this recording. The Igor Prado band includes brother, Yuri Prado on drums and bassist Rodrigo Mantovani, who channels Donald “Duck” Dunn for the entire program. The boys from Brazil are joined in the studio by an array of guest musicians including vocalists Curtis Salgado and Tia Carroll. If you would like to learn more about Igor Prado he was interviewed in the August edition of BLUES JUNCTION.  I went with an Igor Prado original instrumental tune entitled, Funky Screwdriver.

Milton Hopkins & Jewell Brown have been fixtures on the Houston blues scene for decades. Hopkins' career includes stints with Grady Gaines and the Texas Upsetters during and after the period that they barnstormed with Little Richard. Hopkins also had an eight year run with B.B. King’s orchestra in the 70’s. He has backed up some of the biggest names in blues and r&b including the great Sam Cooke. He is joined by longtime Houston resident and former Duke/Peacock recording artist, vocalist Jewell Brown. Hopkins who is a cousin of Sam “Lightnin” Hopkins and Brown went to Austin to record this record with some of the great musicians who reside in that noted hotbed of music. They are joined by pianist Nick Connelly, guitarist Mike Keller of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, the ubiquitous sax man Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff and others. The result is a solid uptown, mostly up-tempo CD. I dropped a nickel on a Milton Hopkins original guitar instrumental entitled, Evening Breeze.

B.B. and the Blue Shacks' July, 2012, release, Come Along on Cross Cut Records is another gem from this terrific German Band. The band consists of front man vocalist and harmonica player Michael Arlt, his older brother Andreas on guitar, bassist Henning Hauerken, Bernhart Egger on drums and Dennis Koeckstadt on keyboards. In classic Blue Shacks fashion they offer up an eintopf of blues styles that include r&b, west coast blues and jump blues all with heavy doses of soul. What makes this one of the best albums by these Bavarian blues men is that they allow themselves to stretch out a little more instrumentally than on previous albums. The album also features all original tunes. Raise Your Voice is an up tempo shuffle that we have been dancing to out here at the JUNCTION.

Billy Boy Arnold sings Big Bill Broonzy is the April, 2012, Electro–Fi release by an old master who seems to get better with age. This collection of tunes finds Arnold covering yet another pre-war blues master. On his previous outing the consummate Chicago blues man covered tunes by John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson. There isn’t a bad track on this disc and I could have gone in any number of directions but I chose to go with one of my all-time favorite Broonzy penned tunes, Goin’ Back to Arkansas. This song parts company with the original most notably with Rick Sherry’s playing of a clarinet. This is a great choice which imbibes the tune with a wonderful old timey feel. Guitarists Eric Noden and Billy Flynn, as well Beau Sample on acoustic bass make great contributions and seem to have a real feel for this type of material.

As the year comes to a close Fred Kaplan’s spring release, Hold My Mule continues to be one of my favorite albums of the year and a strong contender for 2012 album of the year consideration. This all instrumental affair finds the consummate blues pianist in the company of long time musical cohort’s guitarist Junior Watson and drummer Richard Innes. They are joined by New England based tenor saxophone giant Sax Gordon and Northern Californian bassist Kedar Roy. The opening track Barn Burner sets the mood for the album as it puts the listener right smack in the middle of a sweaty dance floor in the late 1940’s. Read an interview with Fred Kaplan where he discusses the making of this extraordinary album in the August edition of BLUES JUNCTION.

When the guitar Gods made Junior Watson they broke the mold. His approach to the instrument is like no one who has ever played. Sure he owes a great deal to his idols Oscar Moore, Earl Hooker, Bill Jennings, Pee Wee Crayton and especially, Tiny Grimes, but Watson formed his own voice years ago and subsequently has become one of the most influential and respected guitarists of his generation. His brand new release Jumpin’ Wit’ Junior is only the third solo recording in his long career. It is, in many ways, the companion piece to Fred Kaplan’s brand new album in that each record shares many of the same players. Kaplan’s piano playing for instance is all over this record. Of the album's 15 tracks, all but three are instrumentals. I have been grooving to the tune Velvet Mood, where you can hear Watson’s influences coalesce around his own spontaneous voice. Fred Kaplan’s exceptional piano playing is also featured on this number.

Junior Watson’s Live from Outer Space is a Blue Beat Music release. It was actually recorded in outer space... if you are from another planet. For the record, no pun intended, it was recorded at the Torre Alfina Blues Festival in Italy on the third planet from the sun in 2007. Watson is backed by an Italian band, The Little Red Wagons. He kicks off the record with one of his signature instrumentals Junior’s Bounce. It is eight and a half minutes of cool. This album is pure Watson with a lot of swinging, some singing and lots of stinging guitar lines. The song selection on this CD reflects Watson’s musical sensibility and at times his quirkiness. If you are a Junior Watson fan and don’t have this September, 2012, release, correct this situation immediately. By the way, this record is a break from Watson’s tradition of releasing one album per decade as this September release is his second CD to come out this year.

Rick Holmstrom’s Cruel Sunrise on M.C Records was the August 28^th release by another west coast guitarist. Holmstrom has recorded with William Clarke and was a long time member of Rod Piazza’s Mighty Flyers. He has recorded two fine albums with Johnny Dyer and has released albums under his own name. He continues to be the guitarist in Mavis Staples fine band which includes bassist, guitarist and saxophonist, Jeff Turmes as well as percussionist Stephen Hodges. These three make up the Rick Holmstrom Trio, who play on this CD. This album comes in two versions. A single disc of all Holmstrom originals. You can also get it super-sized with a deluxe edition that includes a second disc of guitar instrumentals. I chose a tune off disc one entitled, I Owe You Everything which is one of two numbers on the record sung by Mavis Staples. This CD is given a full review in the October edition of BLUES JUNCTION.

The 44s with Special Guest Kid Ramos' Americana on Rip Cat Records was released back in April. The tune Lady Luck is a funky soul infused number that has a deep groove and a very cool horn arrangement by the record's other special guest, Ron Dziubla. This song, as well as the rest of this fine album, represents a giant leap forward for this Southern California based band. The 44’s had their official CD release party on April 22, 2012, at the world famous Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, CA. There is photo essay of that show in the May edition of BLUES JUNCTION. Also, there is a complete review of this CD in that month’s edition of our archives.

On March 13, 2012, Alligator Records put out an album by Janiva Magness entitled, Stronger For It. It is a very soulful, contemporary sounding blues album. Magness wraps her warm voice around material written by songwriters ranging from Ray Willie Hubbard and Ike Turner to Tom Waits and others. It is, however, the material she co-wrote with the album's producer and multi-instrumentalist Dave Darling that may be the most compelling. One such number is the CD's opening track, There It Is, where Magness uses her art as a cathartic vehicle for very personal expression. Janiva Magness was our Monthly Artist Spotlight back in April. At the time of our interview, Stronger For It was number one on the Roots Music Charts.