Cahl's Jukebox, 7-29-10

Wednesday night blues:

1) Earl King: "Seduction"
2) John Primer: "Bad Blood"
3) Joe Louis Walker: "Got to Find My Baby"
4) Floyd Miles: "Mean Heartbreaker"
5) Johnny Heartsman: "The Butler Did It"
6) Junior Wells: Early in the Morning"
7) Magic Sam: "Blue Light Boogie"
8) J.B. Lenoir: "When I Was Young"
9) Fenton Robinson: "The Getaway"
10) Carey Bell: "Strange Woman"

Don Bryant: 'The Hi Masters'

Don Bryant's probably best-known as soul legend Ann Peebles' husband. Deep soul fans, of course, know him for his work as a songwriter for Hi Records — he penned Otis Clay's "I Die a Little Each Day" and co-wrote Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain."

The world be a little darker place without those tunes or ones he wrote for folks such as O.V Wright, Fontella Bass and Solomon Burke. In recent years, though, I've been turning more to Bryant's work as a singer. "The Hi Masters" is as good a place as any to start — you can buy it used on Amazon for a few bucks. If you're really serious about great soul, though, I'd try to find a reasonably priced copy of "The Complete Don Bryant on Hi Records." Either way, you're in for a treat.

Bryant rides the horns for most of "The Way You Look at Me"; when he gets off, he delivers some of the steamiest humming I've ever heard. He scorches "Doing the Mustang," an answer to "Mustang Sally." And on his rendition of Chris Kenner and Allen Toussaint's "I Like It That," Bryant's voice is filled with soulful mirth.

Bryant might have been even better when he sang ballads. My musician friends get giddy when talking about guitarists who are masters of sustaining notes. Me, too, but I don't know many pickers (or singers, for that matter) who could match Bryant. He squeezes every note on "I'll Go Crazy" into a sexy sauce — he sounds like a husky-voice Sam Cooke on the tune. His vocals on "A Lonely Soldier" are great, too.

Here's an audio clip of Bryant singing "I'll Go Crazy" and a video clip of Bryant making a cameo appearance as his wife sings "I Can't Stand the Rain."

Cahl's Jukebox, 7-21-10

The daily mix:

1) The Blues Gypsies: "Never Get Out of These Blues Alive"
2) Bud White: "White Horses"
3) Hank Williams: "Leave Me Alone With the Blues"
4) Hank Garland: "Call D. Law"
5) Eddie Bond: "Standing in Your Window"
6) Old Crow Medicine Show: "Poor Man"
7) Solomon Burke: "That's How I Got to Memphis"
8) The Coasters: "I'm a Hog for You Baby"
9) The Treniers: "The Moondog"
10) Rufus Thomas: "The Breakdown"

Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three: 'Riverboat Soul'

Pokey LaFarge and his pals in the South City Three are young enough to be my kids, but somehow they capture the sound and the feel of my grandfather's America ... maybe even my great-great grandfather's world.

His latest album, "Riverboat Soul," features ragtime and folk from Mark Twain's stomping grounds, but I hear echoes of the old Appalachian bluegrass pickers I listened to as a child. Some old Southern blues has seeped into LaFarge's musical DNA, too — the spirit of Hammie Nixon must certainly be tapping its foot as the joyful sound of LaFarge's kazoo hops from cloud to cloud in heaven.

LaFarge and his band tour relentlessly; I'm sure that in every cowtown they visit, LaFarge and his friends sop up the nuances of rural America that most folks think have been lost. I just wish Charles Kuralt were still around to chronicle their travels. He'd have loved this group. You will, too.

Cahl's Jukebox, 7-20--10

Today's mix:

1) Rank and File: "Amanda Ruth"
2) Joe Ely: "She Gotta Get the Gettin"
3) Dr. Feelgood: "Route 66"
4) The Kinks: "Holloway Jail"
5) Slobberbone: "Stupid Words"
6) The Shadows: "Kon-Tiki"
7) The Pillcrushers: "Time to Run"
8) Dave Hole: "You Got the Blues"
9) Billy Price and Fred Chapellier: "My Love Comes Tumbling Down"
10) Junior Kimbrough: "Leave Her Alone"

Blues Blog Special: Weepin' Willie, 'At Last, On Time'

Weepin' Willie Robinson didn't record his first album until he was 72, but he pours 50 years of experience on the road into "At Last, On Time."

"Weepin' Willie Boogie," in particular, is a musical autobiography filled with both pride and pain. And despite the song's name, it's really a smooth soul burner on which Weepin' Willie's vocals could easily be mistaken for Bobby "Blue" Bland's. Weepin' Willie, in fact, knew Bland from his early days in the music business. Then again, he had a lot of blues pals.

One of them, Mighty Sam McClain, arranged for Weepin' Willie to make the album after hearing the Boston blues icon say he'd like to make a record before he died. McCain also produced the album, wrote five of the tunes, and sang on several more. A couple more pals, Susan Tedeschi and Jimmy D. Lane, also contributed their considerable talents to the album — Weepin' Willie and Tedeschi's duet on "Fever" is sultry as hell.

Weepin' Willie's the star here, though, and he bounces through the bluesy "Big Mary's House" and oozes through my favorite track, "Dirty Old Man." You can hear the lecherous twinkle in his voice. Weepin' Willie died a couple of years ago at age 82 after smoking in bed. Thank god we have this album to remember him by.

Cahl's Jukebox, 7-19-10

Monday night blues:

1) Sleepy John Estes: "Rats in the Kitchen"
2) Kokomo Arnold: " Cryin' Blues"
3) Grana' Louise: "Big Annie's Fanny"
4) Johnny Dyer: "Hands Off"
5) Little Freddie King: "Dig a Hole"
6) Little Milton: "4:59 a.m."
7) Clifford Gibson: "Keep Your Windows Pinned"
8) John Dee Holeman: "Hello Central"
9) Son House: "Preachin' Blues"
10) Sonny Lowe: "Asking Too Much"

Jacques Pellarin: 'Sous D'autres Jazzitudes'

Accordion virtuoso Jacques Pellarin's "Menage A Trois," a song from his 2006 release, "Sous D'autres Jazzitudes," is only two and a half minutes long. But it's a lusty, romantic masterpiece played at breakneck speed.

Pellarin has a lot of speeds and tones. On "Un Air De Famille," for example, he coaxes passion out of his accordion with thick, rich notes that linger. Other highlights on "Sous D'autres Jazzitudes" include "Free Tango," "A Pesar De Las Appariencias," "Blush"and "Le Swing Des Carpates." On all of them, Pellarin and his bandmates combine elements of jazz and tango into an exciting brew.

Cahl's Jukebox, 7-16-10

Friday night jazz:

1) Anthony Braxton: "Opus 56"
2) Jacques Pellarin: "Menage A Trois"
3) Cecil Taylor: "Sweet and Lovely"
4) Gerald Wiggins: "La Coquette"
5) Michael Brecker: "El Nino"
6) Dizzy Gillespie and the Mitchell-Ruff Duo: "Blues People"
7) Mark O'Leary and Sunny Murray: "Body Politik"
8) Jack Wilkins: "Long Ago and Far Away"
9) Billy Taylor: "Mood for Mendes"
10) Kenny Garrett: "Tsunami Song"

Organist Gene Ludwig Dies

Gene Ludwig might not be a household name, but I don't know many B-3 players who ever played the instrument better.

Ludwig, who died Wednesday, had a thick sound that somehow never came off as heavy. That's probably because he moved so seamlessly from one idea to the next with effortless grooving spirals.

The Pittsburgh native's career spanned more than 40 years, including "Night Letter," an easy-rolling album recorded with Sonny Stitt in the '60s. His last decade, though, might have been his best. In addition to his own excellent albums — I highly recommend "Hands On" — Ludwig recorded extraordinary albums with guitarists Jimmy Ponder ("What's New") and Bob DeVos ("DeVos' Groove Guitar") as well as with drummer Cecil Brooks III ("Double Exposure"). Ludwig added a different feel to each album.

Here's a taste. RIP.