Release date: July 12, 2024
By Marty Gunther
If you’re tired of all the doom and gloom filling the blues these days, you’ll fall in love with the good vibe and positive messages buried in the grooves of this debut CD. They’re a new ensemble, but the Chicago Blues Lifters are composed of several folks at the forefront of music in the Windy City today. And they’ll keep your feet tapping as they dig a deep rhythmic ditch at the open and deliver a hypnotizing beat while they deliver a message that should raise your spirits throughout.
The 12-song disc was co-produced by a triple threat of talent: Grammy and Blues Music Award winning drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, Michael Freeman -- who won a Grammy for his work on 2010’s Joined at the Hip, with Kenny, his dad Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and Pinetop Perkins. Brian Vibberts, a seven-time Grammy winning producer/engineer in his own right, co-produced the Chicago Blues Lifters debut.
Ageless 93-year-old wonder Bob Stroger, who’s been at the forefront of the blues since working with Otis Rush in the ’50s, anchors the bottom on bass. Michael Avery -- who was born into the blues in the same West Side building as cousin Magic Sam – contributes vocals as does Stroger. Other singers include “Piano Willie” Oshawny (who’s worked with everyone from Jimmy Rogers and Willie Dixon to Nick Moss) and the powerful Kimberly “Hot Sauce” Johnson, who crisscrossed the world performing in musicals for years before returning to her Chicago roots and the blues. Add traditional blues player, young Joey J. Saye, to the mix on vocals as well as guitar, and you have a sound that combines the historic with the contemporary to give us an innovative approach to the blues.
But that just scratches the surface of the six-string talent on Blues Scouts. Billy Flynn, who learned his craft from the legendary Jimmy Dawkins and earned a Grammy for his work on the film Cadillac Records, is at the forefront of the disc, trading leads with Ari Seder, a jazz-trained fret master/bassist and a first-call sideman for everyone from Jimmy Johnson and Ronnie Baker Brooks to Toronzo Cannon. Rounding out the talent are Brian Burke, who sits in on bass on four cuts, and Matthew Stedman, who contributes violin on two others.
The sprightly shuffle that opens the Avery-penned “I Just Wanna Love You” will have you heading to the dance floor as Michael tells his lady that he’s unpacked his bags, is ready to stay and willing to keep her from any other man who wants to take her “honey love.” Seder and Saye help drive the message home mid-tune with Billy Flynn adding harp.
The spotlight shines bright on Kimberly for “Stick a Fork in Me,” a medium-slow shuffle that describes her all dressed for a night on the town and getting stood up by man who calls with lame excuses why he’s not going to come. The extensive list includes his car breaking down, he slept late, forgot the time and several more as Johnson declares that she’s found someone who’s twice the man he’ll ever be.
“You Hurt Me Baby” swings from the hip as Flynn takes command on six-string and lead vocals, complaining his woman never pays attention to him as he hopes “these old blues would get off of me.” His sweet single-note picking plays counterpoint to his verbal message. Then it’s Saye’s turn for his original, “That’s My Name.” A funky, medium-fast shuffle propelled by Piano Willie, it delivers an upbeat view of the inner city as it requests that, if the listener’s coming to Chicago, “call my name.”
Seder’s light and sweet guitar hook opens “Gone with Your Bad Self” as Avery tells a lady that she’s got class and style and that he wants to know her. Stroger takes center stage for “Chicago Shuffle,” a medium-fast number designed to get you up and dancing and delivered with an ensemble approach that features Johnson and Avery on backing vocals. The feel continues with “Get on the Lift,” which features Kimberly and promises a fix for any of your problems, no matter how large they are.
The mood changes with the introspective “Window Pane,” a country blues delivered solo by Saye. The next song is an immediate, jazzy shift to a contemporary, electric blues instrumental, “Ari’s Riff,” in which Seder and Flynn dazzle. Then it’s back to the South Side as the tempo slows and Johnson delivers another complaint about an unhappy relationship in “Too Much Too Little” before Stroger returns for a cover of his familiar “World’s in a Tangle.” The album closes with Oshawny’s unhurried barrelhouse original, “Fire Fire Fire,” about the feeling one gets inside, just prior to a night of romance.
Of special note is the CD’s packaging. The colorful glossy booklet provides photos and bios on each band member and also a profile about the artist who painted the Blues Scouts cover image. Dujuan Austin, Sr. is best known as a first call drummer on the Chicago Blues scene, whose late father Tim Austin was Buddy Guy’s longtime drummer. Little known fact: Austin is also an accomplished graduate of the American Academy of Arts, who specializes in realism painting.
The Chicago Blues Lifters deliver on all counts on their debut, creating a product that’s greater than the combined talents of everyone involved. Don’t miss it!
About the Author: The blues came calling for Marty Gunther in the 1960s, when he witnessed Muddy Waters, Mississippi John Hurt, B.B. King and Howlin' Wolf perform at the Newport festivals in his native Rhode Island. A longtime Chicagoan who's now based out of Ohio, he's a professional journalist and harp player who studied under Sugar Blue before co-founding the Nucklebusters, a band that's filled clubs in south Florida since the '80s.
To hear the music, visit: www.chicagoblueslifters.com/fyc/
For info: