Sugaray Rayford is a relative newcomer to the blues scene. A Texan who has a background in gospel music, he has been based out of Southern California for a few years and most recently has become a member of Delta Groove Music’s “house band” The Mannish Boys. Rayford has a commanding stage presence and the question was whether that could translate to this, his first solo CD, Dangerous, which was released on September 17, 2013. It is a solid effort which features a mix of originals and covers. Two of the original tunes were written by another Sugar Ray, that being the highly acclaimed and accomplished Norcia out of Rhode Island. Three songs were written by the album’s co-producer and label president Randy Chortkoff. My runaway favorite however is the Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown tune Depression Blues which features Ron Dziubla doubling up on tenor saxophone and Dave Melton doing the same on trumpet. The song also includes the guitar work of Chris “Kid” Andersen. This tune represents the CD’s high water mark. Rayford performed with the Mannish Boys on Saturday May 17^th on the festival’s main stage.

The twenty plus year association of Joe Kubek and B’nois King continues with the Dallas duo’s second outing on Delta Grove Music which also hit the streets on September 17,2013. The album appropriately entitled Road Dog’s Life has these blues-rockers demonstrating that you can actually have addition by subtraction. Gone are Kubek’s pedals, wah-wah and otherwise. What this gives the listener is a rhythmic crunch in Kubek’s playing that was often absent in recent recordings. Additionally, it brings the taut, sinewy guitar lines from King out from under an avalanche of blues-rock histrionics which have plagued some of this band’s previous recordings with other labels. As always the warm voice of King is put to good use on mostly original material. Our Jukebox selection K9 Blues is one of these originals which also features the harp playing of Kim Wilson who guests on three of the album’s twelve tracks. This is the strongest outing by the Texas tandem in years. Kubek and King were backed onstage by members of The 44’s to make for a true Texafornia musical experience.

Nikki Hill is a young and exciting talent had two releases last year. They include a four song EP entitled, Soul Meets Country with Deke Dickerson. The two are backed by the Bo-Keys. That came on the heels of her debut album entitled Here’s Nikki Hill. This is a fun, rockin’ romp through some American roots musical idioms. The 28 year old is backed by her husband, guitarist Matt Hill. His playing adds some grit to this material and makes for a nice rough edge throughout the proceedings. Nikki Hill is an emerging star with a lot of upside. The album is full of original material and it is one of these tunes that I chose for our jukebox selection. The album’s opening track, Ask Yourself bounces out of the jukebox like a bucking bronco.

The 44s with Special Guest Kid Ramos' Americana on Rip Cat Records was releasedback in April of 2012. 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 sophomore release represents a giant leap forward for this Southern California based band. The 44’s not only backed up Smokin’ Joe Kubek & B’nois King at the festival but closed out The Back Porch Stage on Saturday night where they were joined by guitarists Kid Ramos and Matt Hill from the Nikki Hill Band. The most recent addition to this band is a nineteen year old harmonica player, Jacob Huffman. He is a young shot in the arm for this sometimes stodgy musical genre.

Matt Hill and the Deep Fryed 2’s May, 2012, release on the Vizztone Label Group is entitled, Tappin’ That Thang. The title track and song titles like Same Old Fucking Thing give the listeners a heads up that some of this material might not be appropriate when kids are around. Who am I kidding? What kid hasn’t heard this stuff before? Maybe it is not appropriate when old timers like me are in the room. Either way, Hill and his partners in crime, guitarist Paul Niehaus and drummer Joe Meyer have created an album of rough and ready rockers in the mold of Chuck Berry meets Nick Curran. I went with the Matt Hill original, Caramel Baby which no doubt is an ode to his wife, Nikki Hill, an exciting performer and a scintillating vocalist who sings some background vocals on this record. We will be hearing big things from both of these young stars on the rise.

Pianist and organist Fred Kaplan’s 2012 self released CD entitled, Hold My Mule, remains one of my favorite albums to be released in the past couple of years and is in fairly steady rotation in our Jukebox at the JUNCTION. It is a generous 17 song helping of instrumental originals. The CD features long time Kaplan collaborators, guitarist Junior Watson and drummer Richard Innes. They are joined by bassist Kedar Roy and talented sax man, Gordon Beadle. The CD receives my highest recommendation. I could have gone in any number of directions but I dropped a nickel on a calypso imbibed blues number, entitled Tropical Ivories where both Watson and Beadle take simply beautiful solos. Kaplan played with The Mannish Boys at the festival.

Kirk Fletcher is a guitarist who has worked very steadily since his debut appearance at the Doheny Blues Festival in 1999 when he performed as the DBF Talent Search Winner. As a founding member of The Mannish Boys he again performed with that ensemble here in 2014.  He has performed with the Hollywood Blue Flames in 2002 and 2009. He backed up Charlie Musselwhite in 2006 and was on stage with the Fabulous Thunderbirds in 2007. He has backed up Kim Wilson and James Cotton as well as Big Pete as recently as 2012. His most recent album, My Turn came out in 2010 on Delta Groove Music. My favorite from this offering is Kirk’s take on the instrumental tune by Jesse Ed Davis, Natural Anthem.

Greg Allman’s 2011 release, Low Country Blues on Rounder Records has been out for three years now. I thought it might be a good time to check out a song from this album. Allman takes a stab at some of his favorites. He covers tunes by Sleepy John Estes, Skip James, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters and others. My favorite from this fine album is the Amos Milburn tune Tears, Tears, Tears. This is a strong album of covers which also features one original tune entitled Just Another Rider. This tune, co-written by Allman and long time Allman Brothers band guitarist Warren Haynes, updates Allman’s famous tune Midnight Rider which was originally heard on the Brothers’ second studio album Idyllwild South. Allman headlined the festival on Saturday.

Kid Ramos has something old that, for many blues music fans, might be something new. On April 15^th, Rip Cat Records re-issued the long out of print album, Two Hands One Heart. This record has been a personal favorite of mine for nearly twenty years. Guest vocalist Janiva Magness sings on three tracks, but it is Ramos’ old buddy Lynwood Slim who steps up to the mic to sing on ten of the album’s original sixteen tracks. The album has a decidedly west coast, jump blues sound with jazzy T-Bone Walker inspired guitar lines thrown liberally into the mix. With that in mind, I chose the T-Bone tune, You Don’t Love Me as our jukebox selection. It is material like this that Kid was seemingly born to play and Slim was born to sing. In short this album is one of the great blues releases of the last generation. Ramos, like Fletcher, is a Doheny Blues festival veteran who has played in many musical situations through the years and this year was a featured player with The Mannish Boys and sat in with The 44’s as well.  

March 25^th marked the much anticipated release date of singer and harmonica player John Nemeth’s eighth album, Memphis Grease. It is his first studio album in four years and his debut on Blue Corn Music. The CD was recorded in Scott Bomar’s Electraphonic Studios in Memphis. John was backed by Bomar and his band the Bo-Keys which are the perfect fit for Nemeth’s soul-blues sensibilities. The brand new CD, like everything else in Nemeth’s catalogue, is first rate. If there are two things that seem to be in short supply when it comes to contemporary blues albums, it is good original songwriting and great vocalists. Nemeth has always had both these bases covered and Memphis Grease is no exception. Ten of the thirteen songs in this program are, in fact, Nemeth originals, but our jukebox selection comes from the Otis Rush songbook and is the album’s opening track, Three Times a Fool. Nemeth’s performance marked his second appearance at the festival and his first since 2010. The Bo-Keys made their Doheny Festival Debut on Saturday, May 17^th.

The Silver Kings are Southern California based revivalists who are intent on recreating the sounds of early post war electric blues. On their 2013 CD Tough Times that is exactly what they do. This trio consists of the album’s producer Mark Mumea on guitar, vocals and suitcase drum and Big Jon Atkinson, who was featured in last month’s BLUES JUNCTION, on vocals, harmonica and guitar. Upright acoustic bass chores are handled by Jerry Careaga. Strict attention to vintage recording techniques and equipment give the entire proceedings an authenticity that is startling. The album’s closing track Goin’ Down to Eli’s is my jukebox pick. The Silver Kings, like virtually all bands, have had some personnel changes and currently feature San Pedro Slim on vocals and harmonica. It is this line-up which played the Breakfast set on Saturday, May 17^th.

JW-Jones is a thirty four year old guitarist and vocalist who already has seven albums under his belt. His most recent is the 2012 release entitled, Seventh Hour. It features Jones playing with the same tandem that backed him up at the Doheny Blues Festival. They are Laura Greenburg on bass and Jamie Holmes on drums. The Ottawa, Alberta, Canada, based Jones began his recording career back in 2000 and immediately caught the attention of some of the biggest names in the business. Jones has had his heroes on his own records including Kim Wilson, Junior Watson, Little Charlie Baty, Richard Innes and Gene Taylor among others. However it is his live performance which he admits is his calling card and that well crafted stage show was a hit with the Doheny crowd. For my jukebox selection I went back to Jones’ 2008 album Bluelisted and the instrumental Heavy Dosage which features the cadre of west coast all-stars mentioned above.

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