Throughout his long career Al Blake has sought out the essence of blues music and has presented it to his audiences with unflinching honesty, originality, style and verve.

When people think of Al Blake and his music many things are likely to come to mind. It is universally agreed upon that he is a consummate blues man. He is a world class harmonica player. He has an instantly recognizable singing voice that is dripping with deep southern soul. Blake is also a blues guitarist that is deeply rooted in decades old traditions, yet plays in a style that is all his own. He is famous for his song writing. He is also well known as being the founder and leader of the legendary Hollywood Fats Band.

Setting all this aside for a moment, I think of Al Blake a little differently. I think of him as an arranger. In discussing this aspect of his artistry recently, Al told me he thinks of himself as a designer. That may in fact be a more apt description. Either way, I think it is fair to say, he knows where stuff goes. He knows where things fit and how they fit together. He has a very instinctual feel for what belongs and what doesn’t. This applies to many things in his life but the greatest example can be heard in his music.  In my view it is Al Blake, “the arranger / designer” that makes this album very special.

Al Blake grew up in Oklahoma City where he first learned to play the guitar and harmonica. His first exposure to blues music came via his nanny Ruby Anderson. She exposed the youngster to the black AM radio stations that could be heard broadcasting across the southern plains. By the time he was in high school the radio and in the “chitlin’ circuit” nightclubs he would visit in his segregated hometown. Freddy King’s performances in particular left an impression on Blake. The young Oklahoman and the Texas Cannonball even discussed the music that was central to his life and would very soon become deeply ensconced in the soul of Al Blake.  

Blake moved to California in 1964 where he began to absorb the music that was being played by national touring blues musicians who frequented Los Angeles’ Ashgrove, Troubadour and McCabe’s’ Guitar Shop as well as Huntington Beach’s Golden Bear.  In the early 70’s, he toured with Luther Allison and played in his band before meeting up with some musicians whose impact on the young Oklahoman and the blues world at large would be profound.

One night at the Ashgrove in 1970, Freddy King introduced young Al Blake to an even younger guitarist who was only sixteen years old. His name was Michael Mann who recently had been given the nickname “Hollywood Fats” by Buddy Guy., He would soon go on to play with Muddy Waters, Albert King, J.B. Hutto, Jimmy Witherspoon and John Lee Hooker.

Not long after that, at a Muddy Waters show at the Whiskey a Go Go on the Sunset Strip, Blake met pianist Fred Kaplan. Waters even let Blake and Kaplan sit in with him that night. Soon thereafter Blake and Kaplan began performing together as a duo.

Hollywood Fats began playing with Blake and Kaplan when he wasn’t touring. In 1976, the three were joined by the rhythm section of bassist Larry Taylor and drummer Richard Innes. The Hollywood Fats Band was born.

As the band’s principal songwriter, vocalist and harmonica player, Al Blake fronted an ensemble which is still considered one of the great blues bands of that or any era. It was for good reason that west coast -based blues masters such as Big Joe Turner, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Roy Brown, Margie Evans, Lloyd Glenn, Albert Collins, Finis Tasby and Percy Mayfield sought out the Fats Band as accompanists. They also were the go-to back up band for national touring artists such as Johnny Shines, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Joe Willie Wilkins, Louis Myers, Otis Rush and others.

Their 1979 album, which was actually recorded three years earlier, simply known as The Hollywood Fats Band, and later re-titled Rock This House, has been re-issued several times over the past thirty plus years. It is considered a classic and an essential entry in any blues music library. Charlie Lange, whose resume in the blues industry is as long as my arm but these days is perhaps best known for his 40 plus years as blues DJ and founder of Bluebeat Music, referred to the album as, “A seminal moment in modern blues.”

On December 8th 1986, the virtuoso guitarist Michael “Hollywood Fats” Mann died at the age of thirty-two from a heroin overdose. The blues revival which had been ignited in the 80’s and was revving at full throttle throughout the 90’s raced on by without The Hollywood Fats Band. As musicians, bands and recordings came and went, the legend of The Fats Band only grew and served as a barometer for excellence that many could aspire to but very few, if any could attain.

In the wake of the death of his friend and musical colleague, Blake stepped away from the business of making music for a time. He returned to the studio a decade later and recorded the 1997 album entitled Mr. Blake’s Blues. These recordings again paired him with other members of the now legendary Hollywood Fats Band. They were joined by guitarists Junior Watson and Kid Ramos for this fine album. Blake followed that recording with Dr. Blake’s Magic Soul Elixir. That 2002 release featured the same core of musicians along with one of Blake’s young protégés, Kirk “Eli” Fletcher on guitar.

The success of Soul Elixir led to the reforming of the Fats Band. As a tribute and out of respect for the fallen genius of the blues guitar, the band called themselves, The Hollywood Blue Flames. Starting in 2005, the group, led by Blake, also featured both Junior Watson and Kirk Fletcher on guitar. They made three exceptional albums on the Delta Groove Music label over the next few years. These three recordings, which were produced by Blake, Soul Sanctuary, Road to Rio and Deep in America continued the tradition of distinguished recordings that began with these musicians three decades earlier.

In 2014 Blake released a wonderful collection of songs on an album entitled, Blues According to Blake… a Road Less Traveled. With limited production and distribution, as is so often the case in the blues world, that release fell through the cracks.

This Big Bag of Blues features music from all six of these albums. They were hand picked and arranged by Al Blake. These include tracks from the long out of print Blake’s Blues and Dr. Blake’s Magic Soul Elixir as well as Blues According to Blake which too few ever heard in the first place.

The big news is that Joe Bellamy, the recording engineer on almost every track Al has laid down in the past twenty pus years, has recently found several “lost” tunes by Al Blake. Bellamy found these recordings on a hard drive that somehow had been mislaid when he moved his studio up to the foothills of the High Sierra’ in northern California and away from the hustle and bustle of the L.A. music scene several years ago. They also appear on this career defining package and make up the bulk of these two CDs. These are tracks that have never before been released. For blues fans like me, this is like stumbling across the Holy Grail.

All of the recordings on Al Blake’s XX Large Bag of Blues feature Blake in solo, duo and trio settings. You can hear Al sing, play guitar and harmonica. He is joined by Fred Kaplan, the titan of the blues piano, as well as world renowned, blues harmonica master Kim Wilson on a handful of tracks where he lends some of the tastiest harp playing in his long and distinguished career. One song features the exceptional country blues guitar of Nathan James.   

Al Blake’s XX Large Bag of Blues is certain to remind listeners why they fell in love with blues in the first place. This blues music does not have any artificial sweeteners or additives. It is not pre-processed fast food for the masses. It isn’t watered down, diet blues for the blues-light crowd either. This package contains a double extra-large portion of the real thing. 

One of Al’s passions is the joy and spiritual solitude found in nature. He recognizes the natural order of things and this has rubbed off to his approach to his music. It is organic, timeless and has a naturalistic quality seldom found in this modern blues world. The natural beauty that Al finds in the rugged coastal hills and canyons here in Southern California is often overlooked by the millions of people who make this part of the country their home. The blues music of Al Blake is much the same way. Yet, you have found it. What you will soon discover (if you haven’t already) is that the music of Al Blake is worth exploring. That experience is its own reward.

This two-disc, twenty-seven song package features the timeless imagery, relaxed down home feel and stellar musicianship which is the hallmark of blues music at its very best. In creating his music, his way without regard to trends, fashions or flavors of the month Al Blake again presents to you, art for the ages.

- David Mac