Cahl's Jukebox, 10-31-08

Friday morning jazz:

1) Burton Greene Quartet: "Bloom in the Commune"
2) Anthony Braxton: "Opus 23B"
3) Cecil Taylor: "Rick Kick Shaw"
4) The Vandermark 5: "Other Cuts (For Curtis Mayfield)"
5) Roswell Rudd: "Street Walking"
6) Matana Roberts: "For Razi"
7) Fred Anderson: "On the Run"
8) Ari Brown: "Lester Bowie's Gumbo Stew"
9) Douglas Ewart: "Alone, Not Lonely (Alone, Not Lonely)"
10) Reggie Nicholson Concept: "Bootblack"

Jazz Blog Special: King-Bluiett Trio, 'Makin' Whoopee: Tribute to the King Cole Trio'

Listen to Hamiet Bluiett's hipster version of "Route 66" and you might wonder how the track is a tribute to Nat King Cole. It is, though.

I think good humor was one of the trademarks of Cole's music and Bluiett certainly achieved that on his rendition of "Route 66," which is one of the highlights of "Makin' Whoopee: Tribute to the King Cole Trio." Bluiett envisioned the song as a musical road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles built around the non-stop patter of comedian Myrrh. It's hilarious. The song's also musically adventurous, and that certainly captures the spirit of Cole, who helped invent the concept of the jazz trio.

There's no mistaking Cole's imprint on most of the other songs. Bluiett's baritone saxophone, substituting for Cole's piano, is surprisingly elegant on tunes such as "Makin' Whoopee," "When I Fall in Love" and "Sweet Lorraine." Bluiett squawks occasionally — what else would you expect from a member of the World Saxophone Quartet? — but, for the most part, he settles into a sexy blues groove that's beautifully accentuated by the play of guitarists Rodney Jones and Ed Cherry and bassist Keter Betts.

The album closes with the coolest interpretation of "The Christmas Song" I've ever heard; I like to think that the deep notes of Bluiett's baritone are a pretty close approximation of Santa's laugh. Perhaps that's not what Cole had in mind when he recorded the song, but Bluiett wasn't trying to copy Cole. He just wanted to honor Cole as one of our greatest jazz pianists.

In the liner notes, Bluiett says: "When piano players do a tribute to Nat, they usually pick his vocal hits, not his trio stuff — probably 'cause he was too awesome a pianist. I don't have that problem. I'm a baritone player."

(Jazz Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older jazz albums worth checking out.)

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-30-08

The daily mix:

1) Bob Dylan: "Dear Mrs. Roosevelt"
2) Guy Clark: "Black Haired Boy"
3) Merle Haggard: "Sing a Sad Song"
4) John Hartford: "Dig a Hole"
5) Ernest Tubb: "Stand By Me"
6) Osborne Brothers: "Hillbilly Fever"
7) Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris: "Alone and Foresaken"
8) Sammi Smith: "City of New Orleans"
9) Loretta Lynn: "She's Got You"
10) Marty Stuart: "A Satisfied Mind"

'The Blues of Henry Gray and Cousin Joe'

Henry Gray's piano provided a sweet counterbalance to Howlin' Wolf's fierce vocals and guitar on some of the best blues records ever recorded.

Gray can play fiercely, too, but when I listen to him I always focus on the sweetness. He's a man who seems to always caress the keys, even when he's banging his keyboard in the barrelhouse style of Big Maceo and Roosevelt Sykes. Almost always, I hear the same kind of soul I find in the recordings of bluesy jazz pianists like Gene Harris and Junior Mance.

You could hardly call Gray's voice sweet, but it's filled with the passion of a man who sounds like he means every word he sings. I'd grab every one of Gray's recordings you can find. But if you're looking for a place to start, try "The Blues of Henry Gray and Cousin Joe." The album features Gray at his best. As a bonus, you get to hear some cuts by Cousin Joe, a New Orleans pianist and singer who, in many ways, is Henry Gray's musical soulmate.

Here's a clip of Gray performing "Cold Chills," which is featured on the album.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals: 'Cardinology'

"Cardinology," the new album by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, is pleasant enough, so why am I yawning as I listen?

I'm not one of the fans who thinks every Ryan Adams album should be "Heartbreaker, Volume 2." I thought "Gold" included some great songs. "Rock N Roll" rocked. The twang of "Jacksonville City Limits" sounded great. I even liked "Demolition."

My problem with "Cardinology" is that "Magick" is the only song on the album with any bite. The rest of the songs, though often pretty, don't have great hooks.

Adams is capable of greatness. His best work is distinctive and memorable. "Cardinology" is neither; it sounds to me like the album was recorded by a talented but boring cover band. Yawn.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-29-08

Wednesday morning blues:

1) Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson: "I Don't Know Why"
2) T-Bone Walker: "Blues is a Woman"
3) Percy Strother: "Somebody Else Is Steppin' In"
4) John Littlejohn: "29 Ways"
5) Eddy Clearwater: "Find Yourself"
6) Henry Gray: "Cold Chills"
7) Son Seals: "Looking at My Window"
8) Muddy Waters: "Forty Days and Forty Nights"
9) Tommy Ridgely: "Since the Blues Began"
10) Lazy Lester: "Patrol Wagon Blues

Mojo Project: 'Revolution'

Mojo Project's decision to feature a photo of a blender on its "Revolution" album cover was inspired because the band expertly blends electronic music with funk, flamenco, Brazilian and African beats. There's even a little rap and, it seems to me, some hints of gospel.

I haven't frequented dance clubs in 20 years, but I'd be shocked if this Spanish band's music isn't in heavy rotation. If not, the clubs need new DJs. At any rate, I'm hooked.

Here's a taste:

MTV Video Player

One of my favorite former students was raving this morning about MTV's video player. It's nice, though it took me three tries before I found an artist I was looking for. For some reason, there are no videos for Alejandro Escovedo or Chuck Prophet, at least that I could find.

Still, the player's pretty cool. Here's a video featuring Graham Parker performing "Get Started, Start a Fire" and another featuring Neil Young singing "Cinnamon Girl."

Note: You'll probably have to wait for commercials to play before the videos start.

Graham Parker - New Music - More Music Videos

Neil Young - New Music - More Music Videos

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-28-08

Tuesday morning jazz:

1) Curtis Amy: "Lonely Woman"
2) Leroy Vinnegar: "For Carl"
3) Cannonball Adderley: "The Weaver"
4) George Wallington: "Graduation Day"
5) Junior Cook: "Play Together Again"
6) Duke Ellington: "Blues for New Orleans"
7) Big John Patton: "The Shadow of Your Smile"
8) Don Pullen: "Poodie Pie"
9) Dimitri Vassilakis: "Swinging Second"
10) Horace Silver: "I Remember You"

Jessica Williams: 'Songs for a New Century'

"Songs for a New Century," an album of piano solos by Jessica Williams, is my new choice for music to listen to as I drift to sleep. I've also been listening to it a lot while I work because the music is so soothing.

I love the playful flights Williams takes against a blues backdrop on "Blessing in Disguise." The quiet classical overtones of "If Only" make it a perfect song for reflection. And I'm amazed how Williams uses the strings of the piano to create an Eastern feel on top of a simple melody for "Toshiko," a song for pianist and band leader Toshiko Akisyoshi.

I'm ordering several copies of "Songs for a New Century" to give as Christmas presents to everyone from a friend who teaches music to my young niece who's just starting to learn to play the piano.

For more information about the album, read Williams' own description of it. Her writing features the same kind of beauty and clarity that makes her music so wonderful.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-27-08

The daily mix:

1) Robert "Bilbo" Walker: "You Took My Love"
2) Roosevelt Sykes: "Feel Like Blowin' My Horn"
3) Chick Willis: "Stoop Down Baby, Let Your Daddy See"
4) Tony Joe White: "Even Trolls Like Rock and Roll"
5) Jerry Lee Lewis: "Who Will the Next Fool Be"
6) Ray Wylie Hubbard: "Purgatory Road"
7) Jack Williams: "A Natural Man"
8) Dion: "Gonna Make It Alone"
9) Carl Mann: "Look at the Moon"
10) NRBQ: "Wacky Tobacky"

Merl Saunders Dies

I love several Grateful Dead albums and I adore "Old and in the Way," a bluegrass collaboration between Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. But none of those recordings move me like the ones Garcia made with organist Merl Saunders, who died Friday.

An old girlfriend, a Deadhead, introduced me to their music because she knew I was as fanatic about Hammond B3 organists as she was about the Dead. I've been grateful ever sense.

Saunders softened Garcia's sound at times, adding layers of soul when they played songs such as Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street," Smokey Robinson's "I Second That Emotion" and Doc Pomus' "Lonely Avenue," which might be the bluesiest tune Garcia ever recorded. When they performed Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come," Saunders found a groove that merged the reggae beat with soul jazz riffs.

To me, that's the most amazing thing about Saunders. He played everything. On his own albums, you'll find Jimmy Smith-style soul jazz, blues, funk and rock. He could sing, too. Hell, he performed with B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis and Lionel Hampton. That's versatility. It's also cool as hell.

Here's a clip to remember him by. RIP.

Willie Clayton: 'My Tyme'

"A Woman Knows," a song from Willie Clayton's "My Tyme" album is one of the sweetest soul tunes I've heard in a long time. It's like a light version of some of Al Green's and Latimore's best ballads, and there's not a thing wrong with that.

Clayton sounds amazingly like Green on "Gotta Love" and he delivers an especially smooth reading of Aretha Franklin's "Angel." Some of the album's other tunes are too slick for my taste, but there's no denying that Clayton has one of the best voices in soul today.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-26-08

The daily mix:

1) The Fuzztones: "She's Wicked"
2) The American Breed: "Bend Me, Shape Me"
3) The Ghob: "We're Pretty Quick"
4) The Vibrators: "Disco in Moscow"
5) Robert Pollard: "Their Biggest Win"
6) Frank Black and the Catholics: "I've Seen Your Picture"
7) Kevin Ayers: "Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes"
8) The Jacobites: "Where the River Ends"
9) The Minutemen: "The Tin Roof"
10) The Raconteurs: "Call It a Day"

Make a Pledge to Vote

You still have a few days to make a pledge at Wilco's Web site to vote this year. In return, you'll get a free mp3 file of Wilco and Fleet Foxes performing "I Shall Be Released."

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-25-08

Saturday morning blues:

1) Johnny Shines: "Mean Mistreater"
2) Buddy Moss: "Red River"
3) Mance Lipscomb: "Come Back Baby"
4) John Jackson: "Black Snake Moan"
5) Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: "Standin' at My Window"
6) Sam "Suitcase" Johnson: "Sam's Comin' Home"
7) Tommy McClennan: "Bottle It Up and Go"
8) Mississippi John Hurt: "Spike Driver's Blues"
9) Cincinnati Jug Band: "Newport Blues"
10) Kid Cole: "Sixth Street Moan"

Blues Blog Special: Earl Gilliam, 'Texas Doghouse Blues'

I think most music fans would probably acknowledge that B.B. King's rendition of "The Thrill is Gone" is one of the sexiest grooves in history. On "Thrill Groove," Earl Gilliam reworks the tune using his organ and makes it sound thicker and saucier.

On his "Texas Doghouse Blues" album, Gilliam, a Texas bluesman who's played with Albert Collins, Gatemouth Brown and Lavelle White, shows why he's considered one of the great blues organists in history.

In addition to "Thrill Groove," the album features organ showcases such as "Twist 2," a funky little jazz groove; "Get Away Blues," an engaging blues song on which his organ is as smooth as his voice is shaky; and "Going Downtown," a rockin' blues scorcher.

He's a dynamic pianist, too. "The Doghouse" and "Petite Baby," for example, sound a bit like a blend of Roosevelt Sykes' barrelhouse licks and Charles Brown's seductive flourishes. Add I.J. Gosey, whose guitar work bears a lot of similarities to B.B. King's, and you have a gem of a blues album.

Here's a clip of Gilliam with Joe Hughes.



(Blues Blog Special is a regular features that examines older blues albums worth checking out.)

'Reggae Jamdown: The RAS Tapes'

A middle-aged woman near me stopped shopping so she could dance in aisles when The Eagles' "Hotel California" started playing at a store the other day. The song still resonates with a lot of folks my age. Me too, I suppose, but only when I hear Edi Fitzroy's reggae version.

Fitzroy's vocals sound more exotic, the reggae beats more hypnotic than the ones on the original. You're almost tempted to book a room at the Hotel California as you listen to the song, which can be found on a terrific reggae sampler called "Reggae Jamdown: The RAS Tapes."

This isn't your daddy's reggae — the songs on the collection, which was released in 1990, are electronically enhanced — unless your daddy is particularly fly. If so, you can bet he'll dig The Pinchers' "Pot of Coffee" because Jackie Mittoo, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Robbie Lynn and Asher provide the juice. He'll also bob a bit when he hears the dub of Sugar Minott's "Rub a Dub Style."

My favorite tunes on the album are Dennis Brown's "Revolution," Ini Kamoze's "Cool It Off," Gregory Isaacs' "Red Rose for Gregory," Jacob Miller's "Suzy Wong, Peter Broggs' "Bloodstain" and Hugh Mundell's "Let's All Unite." They're the kind of songs that would get me to dance in the aisles the next time I go to the store.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-24-08

The daily mix:

1) James McMurtry: "See the Elephant"
2) Chuck Prophet: "No Other Love"
3) Beck: "Lonesome Tears"
4) Marah: "Round Eye Blues"
5) Peter Bruntnell; "One Drink Away"
6) Ray Davies: "In a Moment"
7) Golden Smog: "If I Only Had a Car"
8) Drive-By Truckers: "A Ghost to Most"
9) Gene Clark: "So You Say You Lost Your Baby"
10) Ian Gomm: "You Can't Catch Me"

Updated photo

I'm getting older, so I figured it was time my profile photo reflected that. A friend took the new photo of me over the weekend while I was talking to a group of alumni.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-23-08

Thursday morning jazz:

1) Ray Barretto: "007"
2) Ornette Coleman: "European Echoes"
3) Kenny Drew Jr.: "Song for Manfredo"
4) Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq: "Güiro Blues"
5) George Braith: "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
6) Odean Pope: "Terrestrial"
7) Warne Marsh: "Blues in G Flat"
8) Buddy Tate: "Buddy's Blues"
9) Mary Lou Williams: "Rosa Mae"
10) Timo Lassy: "Live at the Timber Yard"

Aretha Franklin Interview

Soul fans should check out Richard Lipski's interview with Aretha Franklin for The Washington Post. In the interview, Franklin talks about her new Christmas album; she reflects on her relationship with record producers such as Jerry Wexler, Ahmet Ertegun and Clive Davis; and she scoffs at the idea of auto-tuned vocals (Franklin didn't even know what they were until Lipski explained the technology).

The Queen of Soul is still regal both in voice and character.

Reverend Raven: 'Live at Blues on Grand'

I'm picky when it comes to blues harmonica players, but Madison Slim plays "Bee Hive Baby," a tribute to Slim Harpo, with the kind of thick-bodied buzz the great harp master deserves. And Reverend Raven attacks his guitar with a swampy intensity that blends the best parts of Chicago and Louisiana blues.

"Bee Hive Baby" is just one of many great tunes on Reverend Raven's "Live at Blues on Grand," which also features a couple of Slim Harpo covers. Highlights for me include "I'm Your Honeyboy," a hard-hitting barroom blues tune, and "The Back Scratcher," a funky cover of the Frank Frost song.

I'm bummed I won't be able be able to catch Reverend Raven and his Chain Smoking Altar Boys when they play at The Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis this weekend — a group of my college friends are coming to town for Homecoming — but I'm sure they'll be back soon.

Don't miss Reverend Raven and his pals if they're playing near you. Just in case you need any prodding, check out this clip of "I'm Your Honeyboy" and you'll see what I mean.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-22-08

Wednesday morning blues:

1) Blind James Campbell: "Monkey Man Blues"
2) Big Joe Duskin: "You're Gonna Miss Me"
3) Smoky Babe: "I'm Broke and I'm Hungry"
4) Georgia White: "The Stuff is Here"
5) Yack Taylor: "I'll Make It Worth Your While"
6) Memphis Minnie: "Bumble Bee"
7) Ephraim Woodie & the Henpecked Husbands: "Last Gold Dollar"
8) Casey Bill Weldon: "I'm Just a Bad Luck Man"
9) Ma Rainey: "Here Me Talking to You"
10) Piano Red: "Put On Your Black Dress Baby"

Dee Dee Warwick Dies

When I was a teenager in the '70s, I mistakenly bought an album called "Turnin' Round" thinking it was by Dionne Warwick. Turned out it had been recorded by Warwick's younger sister, Dee Dee. I never regretted the purchase for a minute.

I lost that record when my basement flooded a few years ago, so this morning when I learned that Dee Warwick had died over weekend I pulled out a CD collection called "I Want To Be With You" instead. It's magnificent.

Her voice soars on a ballad called "That's Not Love," my favorite song on the album, as she explains the nature of true love. And it cuts through the horns and background singers on "Worth Every Tear I Cry." Dee Dee had a voice that demanded attention, the kind of voice that must have stabbed her former lovers in the heart every time they heard "I'll Be Better Off Without You."

Here's a clip of Dee Dee performing "We're Doing Fine." RIP.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-21-08

The daily mix:

1) Andrew Bird: "Two Way Action"
2) Grand Champeen: "Broken Records"
3) The Old Soul: "Robert Wyatt"
4) St. Thomas: "The Play"
5) Lambchop: " Long Long Time"
6) A.A. Bondy: "Rapture (Sweet Rapture)"
7) Close Lobsters: "Just Too Bloody Stupid"
8) Electrelane: "On Parade"
9) Superchunk: "Here's Where the Strings Come In"
10) The Dears: "22: The Death of All Romance"

Best Songs About Tattoos

I've been listening all evening to "Tattoo of Blood," an album by The Captain Howdy. It's hilarious, but what would you expect of a band led by Penn Jillette, the comedic illusionist, and Mark Kramer, a member of The Butthole Surfers, Ween and Bongwater?

The music's all great. The vocals aren't for everyone, though Deborah Harry joined the group for a couple of songs, including the title track, which was written and sung by Lou Reed. Undoubtedly, it's the album's best song. In fact, it's my favorite song about tattoos.

I could never get a one — I'm an especially fair-skinned man who's prone to skin cancer and I can't afford to have ink obscuring any moles that might be abnormal. Still, that doesn't mean that I don't admire fine tattoos ... like the one of William Faulkner one of my students once got. I'll bet Lou Reed could write a memorable song about it. Some of my other students have had tiger tattoos. Lord knows I'd never get one of those, even if I could — I have the world's biggest tiger phobia.

A few months ago, some of my co-workers and I were talking about tattoos and I made a joke about tramp stamps. I got in big trouble for that crack. How was I to know that one of the women in the office had one? Whoops.

Really, though, there are days when I'm jealous that I can't get a tattoo. So here's a list of some of my favorite songs about great ink. Think of them as virtual tattoos for a pasty-skinned music fanatic.

1) The Captain Howdy, Lou Reed and Deborah Harry: "Tattoo of Blood"
2) Duke Ellington: "The Tattoed Bride"
3) Rory Gallagher: "Tattoo'd Lady"
4) Ray Wylie Hubbard: "Crimson Dragon Tattoo"
5) The Who: "Tattoo"
6) The Mountain Goats: "Cobra Tattoo"
7) Arthur Lyman: "Hawaii Tattoo"
8) The Pretenders: "Tattoed Love Boys
9) Turbonegro: "Screwed and Tattoed"
10) Fountains of Wayne: "Red Dragon Tattoo"
11) David Wilcox: "This Tattoo"
12) Jennifer Hanson: "Half a Heart Tattoo"
13) Wally Dogger: "Tramp Stamp"
14) The Lash: "Bad Tattoo"
15) Smokey Robinson: "A Tattoo"
16) Kathy Mattea: "Coal Tattoo"
17) Little Feat: "Tattoo Heart"
18) The Long Blondes: "Swallow Tattoos"
19) Velcro Pygmies: "Tattoo Angels"
20) The Highliners: "Crazy Tattoo"
21) The Tombstones: "Jailhouse Tattoo"
22) Nancy Sinatra: "White Tattoo"
23) Laura Veirs: "Tiger Tattoo"
24) The Librarians: "the 9 ft. Tattoo"
25) Groove Doctors: "Blue Tattoo"
26) Twista: "Tattoo"
27) Ray Campi: "The Tattoed Lady"
28) The Doyles: "New Tattoo"
29) Caleb Sweazy: "Tattoo Teardrop Streaks"
30) Link Wray: "Tattoo"

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-20-08

The daily mix:

1) Roy Brown: "Boogie at Midnight"
2) Tiny Bradshaw: "Well Oh Well"
3) Gene Allison: "If Things Don't Change"
4) Cecil Grant: "Sloppy Joe's"
5) Ruth Brown: "I'll Wait for You"
6) Lavern Baker: "Young Woman Blues"
7) Shemekia Copeland: "Don't Whisper"
8) Trudy Lynn: "Love Jones"
9) Marcia Ball: "Red Beans"
10) Sweet Betty: "Bad Company"

Sunnyland Slim: 'Be Careful How You Vote'

I pulled out Sunnyland Slim's "Be Careful How You Vote" because it's election season; it's also one of my favorite blues albums.

I smile every time I hear the great blues pianist's short opening monologue for the title track: "Chilluns, tell you right now. You better watch and think about this song. Be careful how you vote, y'all." Then he launches into a fiery indictment of politicians who are likely to let us down. The music's fierce, too — Sam Burkhardt's saxophone solos are particularly biting.

Sunnyland Slim also skewers politicians on "You Can't Have It All," this time for ignoring the poor, but it's the instrumentals that make the song special. The interplay between Sunnyland Slim on piano and Eddie Lusk on the organ sounds almost like someone turned a church into a juke joint.

The album also features four of the greatest blues guitarists of all time — Hubert Sumlin, Magic Sam, Eddie Taylor and Lurrie Bell. They help make the album hop. As a result, songs such as "Workin' Two Jobs," "Chicago Jump," "Midnight Jump," "Past Life" and "I Had It So Hard" are some of the finest Chicago blues tunes I know.

Sunnyland Slim pored almost 80 years of living into the tunes on "Be Careful How You Vote" when he recorded them in the early '80s. If he were alive now, he'd be 101. Still, as I listen to this album, I can't help but wonder how cool the songs he would have written about Barack Obama's bid for the presidency might have been.

Be careful how you vote.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-19-08

Sunday morning soul:

1) The Lovettes: "Little Miss Soul"
2) Jimmy Dobbins: "What is Love (I Found Love)"
3) Carl Sims: "I'm Trapped"
4) The Mad Lads: "Patch My Heart"
5) Betty Wright: "Where is the Love?"
6) The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker: "Slinky"
7) Charles Wright and the 103rd Street Rhythm Band: "She Don't Believe"
8) Doris Allen: "A Shell of a Woman"
9) The Double Soul: "I Can't Use You"
10) The Admirations: "I Want to Be Free"

Mastercuts: 'Northern Soul'

I'm a fool for CD compilations that feature obscure soul tunes. One of the best I ever bought is a three-CD box set called "Mastercuts: Northern Soul."

The collection features tracks by a few familiar names such as Al Wilson and Barbara Lynn — "Now I Know What Love Is," a tune by Wilson, is a terrific up-tempo soul burner. The real gems, though, are by the more obscure acts.

A tune by The Admirations, for example, has found its way onto almost every soul sampler I've burned for my friends and students since I bought the box set in 2005. "The opening bass lines on You Left Me" sound all the world like a heart about to explode with sadness. Then you hear Kenneth Childs singing about his heart beginning to burst and you start to worry about your own ticker. The other Admirations tune on the collection, "I Want to Be Free," might be even better. A frenzied horn section drives some of the best soul harmonies you'll ever hear.

I'm also a sucker for "My Heart is Calling You," which sounds like a tune by a poor man's version of The Four Tops," and "Bettin' on Love" by Len Jewel, a self-assured singer with a deep voice and tons of charm. "Come On and Live" and "Stronger Than Love," a couple of perky tunes by a girl group called The Fabulous Jades, compare favorably to the best work of Diana Ross and The Supremes.

The tunes on "Mastercuts: Northern Soul" won't make you forget the ones by your favorite soul artists, but it certainly is nice to hear something fresh and sweet every once in a while.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-18-08

Saturday night jazz:

1) David Murray: "Black and Blue"
2) Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: "For Minors Only"
3) Frank Rosolino: "Love for Sale"
4) McCoy Tyner: "Monk's Blues"
5) Lem Winchester: "My Romance"
6) Rodney Jones: "Blue Days, Blue Dreams"
7) Grant Green: "I Wish You Love"
8) Tommy Flanagan: "Three in One"
9) Steven Bernstein: "Rock of Ages"
10) Sam Jones: "Sonny Boy"

Omar Sosa Concert at Purdue

I know Omar Sosa's not Santa Claus — he's much too thin. Besides, the flowing red suit he wore at Purdue Saturday night was much too stylish. Still...

• Sosa is one of the jolliest jazz musicians I've ever seen. He made goofy expressions and grinned as he led the audience in sing-alongs. He even danced around the stage with bassist Childo Tomas.

• Sosa and his band brought bags of musical toys, ranging from electronic devices that he used to exotic backdrops to his piano playing to a variety of African instruments, which Tomas, singer/percussionist Mola Sylla and drummer Marque Gilmore used to mesh a world beat with Sosa's jazz and Latin rhythms.

• And he spread happiness throughout Loeb Playhouse with his play. Some of the tunes were soft and lush. Others sounded like Thelonious Monk had grown up in Cuba, like Sosa.

Sosa didn't wiggle his nose and shout "and to all a good night" when the show ended, but he might as well have.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-17-08

The daily mix:

1) King Khan and the Shrines: "Took My Lady to Dinner"
2) The Oxford Circle: "Foolish Woman"
3) The Milkshakes: "I'm the One for You"
4) The Children: "I Can Feel It"
5) The Standells: "Little Sally Tease"
6) Chocolate Watchband: "Let's Talk About Girls"
7) The Exterminators: "Declaration of Independence"
8) Soul Venders: "Get Out of My Eye"
9) 13th Floor Elevators: "I've Got Levitation"
10) Jack-O and the Tennessee Tearjerkers: "Lookin' for a Love"

Nachito Herrera: 'Live at the Dakota, Vol. 2'

Nachito Herrera turned the Washington Mutual pavilion into a dance hall with his Latin jazz set at this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival. I don't know if he got everyone in the pavilion to dance, but I know there wasn't anyone around me whose butt wasn't shaking.

Most of the songs on "Live at the Dakota, Vol, 2.," which I bought at the festival, also seem to dare folks to listen while sitting down. "West Side Latin Jazz," for example, is performed at such a frenzied pace that most dancers would be exhausted two minutes into it. "Spain in the Twins" is a great dance tune, too.

The striking thing to me is the unpredictable paths Herrera often takes with his piano as he races the percussionists through the melodies. At times, his piano licks remind me of those of Henry Butler, the great New Orleans pianist who never settles for obvious notes. That's especially evident on "Tulipán," a ballad of sorts, on which Herrera surrounds Terry Burns' lovely bass lines with one wild flurry of notes after another. Imagine 10 humming birds pecking at a piano and you get the idea.

Herrera's Latin jazz renditions of two Wayne Shorter tunes, "Yes or No" and "Speak No Evil," are also highlights.

The Austin City Limits Music Festival introduces me to great artists every year. Nachito Herrera might be the best one yet.

Best Election Songs

The election's just a few weeks ago. To help you get in the mood, here are a few election songs. I don't know about you, but if I had the chance, I'd vote for Miles and Dizzy.

1) Miles Davis: "Vote for Miles"
2) Dizzy Gillespie: "Vote Dizzy (Salt Peanuts)"
3) Sunnyland Slim: "Be Careful How You Vote"
4) Ry Cooder: "One Cat, One Vote, One Beer!"
5) Steve Goodman: "Election Year Rag"
6) Canned Heat: "Election Blues"
7) Lyle Lovett: "Election Day"
8) Jack Teagarden: "I Swung the Election"
9) Rory Gallagher: "Smear Campaign"
10) Bonzo Dog Band: "No Matter Who You Vote For, The Government Always Gets In"
11) Alice Cooper: "Elected"
12) Johnny Clegg: "One Man, One Vote"
13) Mikey Dread: "Election Night"
14) Radiohead: "Electioneering"
15) John Lee Hooker: "Democrat Man"
16) Jimmy Durante: "Election Campaign Song"
17) Human: "Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Willie Nelson"
18) John Wesley Harding: "Election Night/You Will Be Cured"
19) Big Country: "Republican Party Reptile"
20) Eddie Kirkland: "Democrat Blues"
21) Todd Snider: "Conservative Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males"
22) Bad Religion: "Politics"
23) Jerry McCain: "Vote"
24) Cindy Berryhill: "When Did Jesus Become a Republican"
25) The Replacements: "Election Day"

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-16-08

Thursday morning jazz:

1) Matt Wilson: "Webb City"
2) Lee Morgan: "The Lion and the Wolf"
3) John Handy: "Sanpaku"
4) Joe Henderson: "Our Thing"
5) Vanguard Jazz Orchestra: "Lickety Split"
6) Malachi Thompson: "In Walked John"
7) Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band: "Watermelon Man"
8) Herbie Hancock: "Cantaloupe Island"
9) Sonny Stitt: "The World is a Ghetto"
10) Paul Gonzalves: "Funky"

Get Ready to Groove

At the Austin City Limits Music Festival in 2007, Charles Walker strolled onto the stage wearing a yellow doubled-breasted suit and looking like coolest guy at Zilker Park. But Walker's show with his band, The Dynamites, was hot. Their set gave younger folks a glimpse of what it must have been like at one of the Stax soul revues in the '60s.

That's why I was so excited this morning when one of my students informed me that Friends of Bob, a local music cooperative, is bringing The Dynamites for a show at the Lafayette Brewing Company on Dec. 6. I was just grooving to the band's CD in my car the other day. Must be some kind of funky karma.

Friends of Bob has also booked The Gourds, an Austin-based group that plays wild rock 'n' roll and zydeco with a twang, for a show at the Brewing Company on Nov. 9.

Here's a clip of The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker:

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-15-08

The daily mix:

1) Nappy Brown: "Something Gonna Jump Outta the Bushes"
2) Jimmy Castor: "Block Party"
3) Earl Bostic: "Deep Purple"
4) Ray Charles: "Ain't That Fine"
5) Mildred Anderson: "Hard Times"
6) Sonny Thompson: "Candy, Part 1"
7) Coleman Hawkins: "Blue Moon"
8) Don Byas: "Night and Day"
9) Billie Holiday: "The Very Thought of You"
10) Lee Wiley: "Street of Dreams"

Hanging With Don Was

I could spend days watching record producer Don Was' channel at My Damn Channel. OK, I already have.

Think of it as MTV for people with a brain. Don Was features videos by folks such as Jill Sobule, Buddy Miller, Sweet Pea Atkinson, The Detroit Cobras, Mitch Ryder and Todd Snider. There are some boss interviews, too.

Here are a couple of videos by Sweet Pea Atkinson and The Detroit Cobras. Enjoy.

Kenny Garrett: 'Sketches of MD, Live at the Iridium'

I've read several reviews that seemed disappointed with alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett's latest album, "Sketches of MD." Not me. I think it's an interesting blend of jazz, blues and funk that would please Miles Davis, for whom Garrett once played and named this album.

The title track, in particular, reminds me of Davis at his cosmic best. I also love "The Ring," a tune on which Garrett and tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders gently squawk around a bluesy melody. "Wayne's Thing" sounds like a jazzy cover of a Funkadelic tune. "Happy People" sounds like a bluesy calypso on which the band members have a lot of fun. So does the audience, which participates in a sing-along.

"Sketches of MD" isn't really a follow-up to "Beyond the Wall," Garrett's 2006 meditative masterpiece that also featured Sanders. It's more like a funky little jazz party at which the partygoers get a little out of control. And that's just fine with me.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-14-07

Tuesday morning jazz:

1) Benny Green Trio: "Ain't She Sweet"
2) Frank Morgan: "Nell's Blues"
3) Ron Carter: "Gone"
4) Kenny Burrell: "A Streetcar Named Desire"
5) Ray Brown Trio: "Paradise"
6) Wynton Kelly: "Action"
7) Art Farmer Quintet: "(I Got a Woman Crazy For Me) She's Funny That Way"
8) Thad Jones: "April in Paris"
9) Woody Shaw: "In Case You Haven't Heard"
10) Jon Faddis: "A NIght in Tunisia"

Neil Young to Release Album Chronicling 1968 Gig

"Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" is one of my favorite Buffalo Springfield songs, which is another way of saying it's one of my favorite songs. So I'm pretty stoked to learn that the tune will be included on an album Neil Young plans to release of a 1968 concert he gave in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Reportedly, the albums other tracks are "On the Way Home," "Mr. Soul," "Expecting to Fly," "The Last Trip to Tulsa," "The Loner," "Birds," "Winterlong," "Out of My Mind," "If I Could Have Her Tonight,""Sugar Mountain, "The Old Laughing Lady" and "Broken Arrow."

The album is due in late November.

Here's a clip of Young performing "Sugar Mountain."

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-13-07

The daily mix:

1) The Mountain Goats: "Magpie"
2) Clem Snide: "Estranged Half Brother"
3) Replacements: "Skyway"
4) Superchunk: "Sexy Ankles"
5) Turpentine Brothers: "People are Talkin'"
6) Vanilla Muffins: "The Drug is Football"
7) Me & Them Guys: "I Loved Her So"
8) Brian Jonestown Massacre: "Let's Pretend It's Summer"
9) Swag: "Louise"
10) Electrelane: "On Parade"

Carlos Del Junco: 'Steady Movin'

Canadian harmonica player Carlos Del Junco's new album, "Steady Movin'" will be categorized as a blues album by music retailers, and it should be. "Diddle It," for example, is a hopping blues instrumental. "Dull Blade, another instrumental," is also a blues tune, but listen carefully and you'll hear everything from surf rock to gypsy jazz.

"Mashed Potatoes Canada" is a funky blues tribute to James Brown with vocals by John Dickie. And the jazzy "The Simple Life" sounds as if it draws from Latin, Middle Eastern and Eastern European influences — Del Junco's harmonica sounds almost like an accordion at times. I don't know where "Bye for Now" came from, but I always picture cowboys sitting around a campfire when I hear it.

However you classify it, "Steady Movin'" is a great album. Check it out.

Marching Band: 'Spark Large'

If "Spark Large" gets enough exposure, Swedish indie rockers Marching Band will be headlining all the big music festivals in the States in a year or two.

I know the band's dreamy pop would be a hit with both my students and with some of my older friends whose first real love was The Beatles. It's hard not to be smitten by the harmonies of Erik Sunbring and Jacob Lind. The lyrics aren't anything special, but songs such as "Gorgeous Behavior" and "Make No Plans" are still memorable. They're the kind of tunes you'll find yourself humming for weeks.

Sample some tunes on Marching Band's myspace page.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-12-08

Sunday morning blues:

1) Bishop Dready Manning: "Hard Headed Children"
2) Sleepy John Estes: "The Girl I Love"
3) Sister Rosetta Tharpe: "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen"
4) Alberta Hunter: "Amtrak Blues"
5) Little Brother Montgomery and Annie Turner: "Deceived Blues"
6) Jesse Thomas: "Double Due Love You"
7) Ma Rainey: "Prove It On Me Blues"
8) Smokey Hogg:"What's On Your Mind"
9) Yank Rachell: "Blue and Worried Woman"
10) Blind Boy Fuller: "Rag, Mama, Rag"

Alton Ellis Dies

Alton Ellis, known as the godfather of rocksteady, died Friday. When he performed a love song, it was like hearing Jerry Butler backed by a reggae band. Ellis' voice was that smooth and sweet.

RIP.

Robert Johnson Photo

All blues fans should read Frank DiGiacomo's story in Vanity Fair about a New York guitar salesman who might have bought a rare photo of Robert Johnson on eBay.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-11-08

Saturday morning blues:

1) Charles Caldwell: "Alone for a Long Time"
2) Junior Kimbrough: "Done Got Old"
3) Black Ace: "Lowing Heifer"
4) Josh White: "Little Brother Blues"
5) Big Chief Ellis: "Hey, Baby"
6) Lee Gates: "My Wife Left me a Long Time Ago"
7) Jimmy Reed: "Cry Before I Go"
8) Raful Neal: "Down and Out"
9) Fenton Robinson: "Directly From My Heart to You"
10) Lurrie Bell: "Wicked Hearted Woman"

A Holiday With Janiva Magness?

Janiva Magness is playing at a blues festival in St. John, Virgin Islands, next March and it corresponds with Purdue's spring break. Hmmm.

Charles Caldwell: 'Remember Me'

I bought Charles Caldwell's "Remember Me" this week because it looked cool and because it was released by Fat Possum Records, which also introduced me to R.L. Burnside, Asie Patton and Junior Kimbrough.

Caldwell's music is every bit as good as that of his labelmates. This is raw blues played by a man who spent his life working hard at a factory and playing for free drinks at night and on weekends. Caldwell — who died of cancer shortly before "Remember Me," his only album, came out in 2004 — played tough blues with no pretensions.

On "Old Buck," for example, his guitar playing stings like a shotgun blast of rock salt. And his singing has a bite almost as sharp as that of the old coon dog he's singing about. On "Hadn't I Been Good," a simple song about love and betrayal, it sounds like every guitar stroke is shaving off a sliver of Caldwell's heart. The one constant on all the album's songs is a poignant sense of urgency. These are tunes Caldwell had been waiting his whole life to share.

In the liner notes, Caldwell asks Fat Possum Records' Matthew Johnson why it took so long to find him. I'm asking myself the same question. Why'd it take me so long to find a bluesman this great?

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-10-08

The daily mix:

1) Walter Wanderley: "Cried, Cried"
2) Jimmy Smith: "Fingers"
3) Larry Young: "Street Scene"
4) Skip Heller: "Lost Weekend"
5) Attila Zoller: "The Birds and the Bees"
6) Jim Hall: "The Answer is Yes"
7) Jimmy Ponder: "God Bless the Child"
8) Gene Ludwig: "My Shining Hour"
9) Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Harry "Sweets" Edison: "My Ideal"
10) Stanley Turrentine: "Willow Weep for Me"

The Harlem Art Ensemble: 'Live in New York'

The members of The Harlem Art Ensemble formed a supergroup of sorts, a dream team of groove.

That's clear from the opening notes of "Keep Talkin'," which opens "Live in New York," a gig recorded in 1990 but released just last year. Dr. Lonnie Smith's Hammond B3 organ notes start rolling out with an earthy soulfulness. Guitarist Jimmy Ponder joins in with some riffs that are as light and pure as Smith's are thick. Add Harold Ousley's funky saxophone and Bruno Carr's exquisite drum fills and you have a soul jazz tune as good as anything that came out of the '60s.

The group's tender rendering of Stevie Wonder's ballad "All in Love is Fair" is a showcase for Ousley. His play, soft and sweet, is especially poignant. Ponder gets his turn to take the spotlight with Wes Montgomery's "Bumpin' on Sunset," which might be my favorite track on the album. Ponder glides through the tune. Other highlights include a soulful version of Horace Silver's "Strollin'" and a bopping reading of Miles Davis' "Four."

The album includes liner notes in several languages, but they weren't really needed. This is soul jazz that needs no translation.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-9-08

The daily mix:

1) Nils Lofgren: "Keith Don't Go (Ode to The Glimmer Twin)"
2) Graham Parker: "Discovering Japan"
3) Ian Dury and the Blockheads: "Billericay Dickie"
4) Lou Reed: "Lady Day"
5) Tom Waits: "Jockey Full of Bourbon"
6) The Breeders: "Cannonball"
7) The Gun Club: "She's Like Heroin to Me"
8) Crazy Horse: "Beggars Day"
9) The Mekons: "Charlie Cake Park"
10) The Tallest Man On Earth: "The Gardener"

Thievery Corportion: 'Radio Retaliation'

I feel as if I'm getting a contact buzz just listening to the title track of Thievery Corporation's new album, "Radio Retaliation." I close my eyes and I see colors as the electronically juiced reggae beats float around me.

The Afro-beat of "Vampires," which feaures Femi Kuti, might be even better. It's a tune that will probably be popular with both the dance club set and with jazz aficionados. And the old-school funk of "The Numbers Game" sounds particularly good with some electronic enhancements. I'm digging the political vibe of the album, too.

I think Thievery Corporation sounds even better in concert — I've seen them live twice — than they do on their recordings. So I can't wait to see them perform tunes from "Radio Retaliation." I just hope my old heart doesn't start palpitating too much when I start to get a buzz.

Marcos Ariel: 'Alone With Jobim"

Brazilian pianist Marcos Ariel's certainly no stranger to the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim. He's recorded Jobim's music before. But it seems to me that his new album, "Alone With Jobim," is something different, something special.

Alone at his piano, Ariel communes with the spirit of Jobim's compositions. By stripping the tunes to their essence, Ariel shows us just how elegant they are. I'm willing to bet you won't hear a lovelier album this year. I know I haven't.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-8-08

The daily mix:

1) Brian Jonestown Massacre: "Let's Pretend It's Summer"
2) The Charlatans UK: "I Don't Want to See the Sights"
3) The Pixies: "Cecilia Ann"
4) Stephen Malkmus: "Alien Boy"
5) Roxy Music: "Whirlwind"
6) The Moving Sidewalks: "What Are You Going to Do?"
7) The Fleshtones: "You Don't Know"
8) The Clash: "Car Jamming"
9) The Good Feelings: "Shattered"
10) One Way Streets: "We All Love Peanut Butter"

Rock 'n' Roll Flashbacks: Francis Dunnery and The Dandy Warhols

FRANCIS DUNNERY: "TALL BLONDE HELICOPTER"
I don't know about you, but I'd love to hang out with a guy who starts a song by saying it's about severe emotional problems, followed by lyrics about wearing sandals because he smoked all his money and shaving his hair because he had fleas. Needless to say, Dunnery's "Too Much Saturn" is one of the quirkiest tunes I know. It's catchy, too.

The song is just one of several gems on Dunnery's "Tall Blonde Helicopter" album, which was released in 1995. "48 Hours" always sounds to me like a Nick Lowe tune that's been speeded up. In other words, it's a frenetic little pop ditty. Other highlights include the bouncy "Johnny Podell Song" and the sweet "Only New York Going On."

Here's a video clip of "Too Much Saturn":



THE DANDY WARHOLS: "THE DANDY WARHOLS COME DOWN"
I'd been looking for some jangly pop from a new band for a while in the late '90s and "The Dandy Warhols Come Down," released in 1997, certainly gave me the fix I needed with tunes such as "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth," "Minnesoter" and "Every Day Should Be a Holiday."

I loved the peppy vocals and the swirling instrumentals. "Cool as Kim Deal," the band's ode to the rocker from The Breeders and The Pixies, two bands I was obsessing over, didn't hurt either.

A lot of folks say "Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia" is The Dandy Warhols' masterpiece. Intellectually, I won't argue — it's a great album — but my heart will always be stuck on "The Dandy Warhols Come Down." The psychedelic instrumental tune "Pete International Airport" might sound excessive to some, but I don't care. A guy should be loyal to his first love.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-7-08

The daily mix:

1) Hobart Smith: "Graveyard Blues"
2) John Hammond: "In Your Arms Again"
3) Leadbelly: "Packin' Trunk"
4) Harrison Kennedy: "High Country Blues"
5) Jane Howard: "Kissin' Mule Blues"
6) The Delmore Brothers: "Alabama Lullaby"
7) Wayne Raney: "Lonesome Wind Blues"
8) Hank Williams: "Lovesick Blues"
9) Charley Pride: "Before I Met You"
10) David Allan Coe: "You Never Even Called My Name"

Blues Blog Special: Willie Kent, 'Ain't It Nice'

On his debut album, "Ain't It Nice," the late Willie Kent, one of the greatest of all blues bassists, slinks through the opening bars of "One More Mile." His gruff voice sounds smooth and sweet as he navigates the lyrics of the tune by Muddy Waters, one of his old employers. But with every note, both Kent and his band become a little more heated. By the end, Kent's almost shouting, and when that happens, you're reminded of all the great blues shouters who came before him.

Kent and his pals start jumping at the beginning of "Stranded" and never stop. "Come Home" sounds like a big basket of passion wrapped in Chicago blues. And "Feel So Good" is about as sexy a blues tune as you're ever likely to hear. Kent doesn't start singing until a couple minutes into the tune, but it's worth the wait. The whole album is.

(Blues Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older blues albums worth checking out.)

November Plans

I'm really hoping to catch two November shows in Indianapolis. On Nov. 8, Bob Schneider will be at the Music Mill and on Nov. 24, Susan Tedeschi and James Hunter will be at The Vogue.

I saw Schneider in Bloomington a few years ago and my friend Cindy and I still talk about the show. He was funny, engaging and rocking. I love Schneider's albums, but he's even more dynamic live.

I like Tedeschi's music a lot. I adore Hunter's. I missed him at the Austin City Limits Music Festival last year — it must have been because I went to see Bob Dylan at Stubb's Bar-B-Q — and I'd love to make up for it.

Bob Schneider:

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-6-08

The daily mix:

1) The Creole Belles: "Bernadette"
2) The Cajun Playboys: "Bosco Stomp"
3) Boozoo Chavis and the Magic Sounds: "Jolie Catin"
4) Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi Rollers: "Pop That Coochie"
5) Rosie Ledet: "Do That Thing"
6) Jude Taylor & His Burning Flames: "Cold Hearted Woman"
7) Travis Matte and the Zydeco Kingpins: "Crawfish Boogie"
8) Jo-el Sonnier: "I'd Like to Know"
9) Waylon Thibodeaux: "Vouve De La Coulee"
10) Fernest Arceneaux: "Whole Lot of Love"

Psycho Zydeco: 'Zydeco Factory'

I've been grooving to the music of Psycho Zydeco since I discovered the group a few weeks ago. The band members are from Australia, but they sound like they're straight out of the bayou.

I was hooked as soon as I heard "Frenzy," the first song on "Zydeco Factory," an album released in 1997. It sounds to me like a combination of C.J. Chenier and The Subdudes.

The traditional zydeco instrumentals along with bluesy guitar and saxophone riffs on tunes such as "Make Me Feel Alright," Don't Upset Babe" and "Rollin' On" make for a mighty peppy mix. "Working Chicken" sounds like a zydeco polka, which amuses me because a few of my friends and I were really into polka when we were in college. "In a Cajun Town" bears obvious country influences; it's also got a slow, sexy groove.

I also like Psycho Zydeco's 2006 release, "Get on Board." I even hear a bit of rockabilly on that album, especially on "Uncle Bud" and "Hot Rod."

"Surf Cowboy" is particularly wild. It sounds almost like Link Wray decided to record a Cajun tune. It's also interesting to hear a zydeco rave-up of War's "Cisco Kid." But I like the more traditional "Stay in or Stay Out — Pass the Dutchie" the best. It's a fun zydeco stomp. And fun is the operative word when you're talking about Psycho Zydeco.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-5-08

Today's mix:

1) Shirley Scott: "Things Ain't What They Used to Be"
2) Art Pepper: "Blues for Les"
3) Ben Webster and Joe Zawinul: "Too Late Now"
4) Dinah Washington: "Make the Man Love Me"
5) Lou Rawls: "This Bitter Earth"
6) Ruthie Foster: "God Bless the Child"
7) Kenny Burrell: "Angel Eyes"
8) Grant Green: "I Wish You Love"
9) Deep Blue Organ Trio: "I Thought About You"
10) Joe Williams with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra: "Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning"

Jazz Blog Special: Babatunde Lea, 'March of the Jazz Guerrillas'

It's Sunday morning and I feel sanctified after listening to the title cut of percussionist Babatunde Lea's "March of the Jazz Guerrillas," which sounds like someone let Charles Mingus loose in a church. The tune is a flat-out blues romp paired with some gospel-like vocals. Both the instrumentals and the vocals careen wildly out of your speakers. The devil better hide.

He probably won't be able to, though, if he sticks around long enough to hear the opening of "The Creator Has a Master Plan." Lea's percussion beats are mesmerizing.

"March of the Jazz Guerrillas" has just about everything a jazz fan could want in an album. "Descarga Para Ginny," which has a Calypso feel, is a killer dance tune featuring tenor saxophonist Richard Howell and pianist Hilton Ruiz. Lea's African rhythms drive "Abuse Of Reality Mambo," but it's Alex Blake's bass lines that lead the horn section and Ruiz down a winding road of beautiful aural vistas.

"Na Iwosan (The Healing)" is quiet jazz meditation ... the perfect tune for contemplating the wonders of a crisp October morning.

(Jazz Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older jazz tunes worth checking out.)

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-4-08

The daily mix:

1) The Allman Brothers: "Dreams"
2) Al Kooper: "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"
3) Paul Thorn: "It Don't Get Any Better Than This"
4) The Rolling Stones: "Sway"
5) The Remains: "Why Do I Cry?"
6) The Plimsouls: "Magic Touch"
7) Mott the Hoople: "All the Young Dudes"
8) Alejandro Escovedo: "Always a Friend"
9) The Futureheads: "Hounds of Love"
10) David Bowie: "Slow Burn"

Tortoise: 'A Lazarus Taxon'

I'll admit, I hated Tortoise when I first heard the band, but Sun Ra's tunes also made me cringe when I heard them 30 years ago. And I've certainly grown to love and appreciate Sun Ra over the years.

In many ways, the music on "A Lazarus Taxon," a three-CD box set of Tortoise's rarities, reminds me of Sun Ra's spaced out jazz. The tunes on the album are strangely relaxing and, yes, often other worldly. "A Grape Dope," for example, sounds like a fuzzed out soundtrack for a sci-fi flick starring horror king Vincent Price. It's gothic music for the next millennium.

This is music without a time stamp. Case in point: When I listen to "Vaus" and "Elmerson, Lincoln and Palmieri," I'm reminded of an old lute player who serenaded some of my friends and me in Colonial Williamsburg in the early '70s. I hear the ghost of Milt Jackson juicing up the tunes with his vibes. I even hear strains of the tunes Ennio Morricone composed for Clint Eastwood's spaghetti Westerns. And it sounds as if the Bang on a Can crew is providing muted percussion for the tracks.

Many folks, including my friend Greg Kline, would use the term soundscapes to define the ambient electronic sounds of Tortoise. Others call it post-rock, whatever that means. They can call it whatever they want. All I know is that I've been a fan of the band since I caught part of their set at the Austin City Limits Music Festival a few years ago. And I'm hoping I get to see the band live again soon ... maybe at next year's ACL.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-3-08

Friday morning blues:

1) Sonny Rhodes: "Crazy Fool Blues"
2) Koko Taylor: "Young Fashioned Ways"
3) Willie Mabon: "I Don't Know"
4) Ernestine Anderson: "Someone Else Is Steppin' In"
5) Lightnin' Slim: "It's Mighty Crazy"
6) Katie Webster: "Never Let Me Go"
7) Buddy Moss: "Pushin' It"
8) Homesick James: "The Woman I'm Lovin'"
9) Sippie Wallace: "Murder's Gonna Be My Crime"
10) Lonnie Johnson: "Don't Ever Love""

'Heartworn Highways'

I don't know what possessed me to pull out my copy of "Heartworn Highways" tonight. It probably had something to do with the fact that I just spent four days in Austin with some of my oldest and dearest friends and ate dinner this evening with some others.

The album, a musical companion to the documentary film of the same name about some of country and folk's most dynamic performers, always leads me down the dusty roads of my past.

My grandfather died in 1966 when I was just a kid, but when I listen to David Allan Coe's "I Still Sing the Old Songs," an ode to his own grandfather, I can recall every detail about the time Grandpa Abernathy took me frog gigging on a cold North Georgia evening.

Steve Young's "Alabama Highway" reminds me of a road trip I took with an old girlfriend in the '80s. We listened to a tape of Young's songs over and over again.

Songs by Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Larry Jon Wilson and John Hiatt trigger other memories. You probably know some of the tunes like Clark's "Desperadoes Waitin' for a Train" and Van Zandt's "Pancho and Lefty." I doubt you've heard some of the other tracks, like Wilson's "Ohoopee River Bottomland," but after one listen you'll swear you have.

That's because "Heartworn Highways" is filled with musical portraits every bit as vivid as the photo stories in old issues of Life Magazine. The tunes are detailed snapshots of times and places that live in all our hearts.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-2-08

The daily mix:

1) Buddy Miller: "Fire and Water"
2) The Ginn Sisters: "Hearts and Bones"
3) Eilen Jewell: "Where They Never Say Your Name"
4) BR5-49: "Let Jesus Make You Breakfast"
5) Chris Gaffney: "Six Nights a Week"
6) John Prine: "The Oldest Baby in the World"
7) Bob Dylan: "Went to See the Gypsy"
8) Roy Orbison: "Claudette"
9) Lucero: "Sweet Little Thing"
10) The Minus 5: "The Old Plantation"

Bobby Wellins: 'The Satin Album'

Some folks think Billie Holiday's last album, "Lady in Satin," should have stayed in the record company's vaults. Not me. I think it's one of her most emotional and powerful albums. Her voice, gruffer than ever, is indeed hard to listen to ... but only because it conveys so much anguish.

Scottish saxophonist Bobby Wellins apparently agrees with me because he recorded a tribute to Holiday's recording called "The Satin Album."

Wellins' album doesn't capture the painful tone of Holiday's sinewy voice; no one could. But the sparse sounds of his tenor saxophone do sound lonely and lovely, especially on "You Don't Know What Love Is" "It's Easy to Remember" and "But Beautiful."

I'd love to have heard Holiday singing these songs over the instrumentals of Wellins and his band. And, really, can you ask for a better tribute than that?

An Evening With Celia Cruz

I'd planned to attend a concert tonight, but I'm sick. Instead, I'm lying on my couch listening to Celia Cruz albums and working on seminars for Thursday and Friday.

I'm sorry I'm missing the show, but time spent with Celia Cruz is never ill spent.

Cahl's Jukebox, 10-1-08

The daily mix:

1) The Detroit Cobras: "Ain't Hittin' on Nothin'"
2) The Hentchmen: "Bewfre the Dog"
3) The Halo Benders: "Don't Touch My Bikini"
4) Pavement: "Painted Solider"
5) Guided By Voices: "Gonna Never Have to Die"
6) Mark Sandman: "Wig"
7) Tearjerkers: "Teeny Weeny Little Bit"
8) The Velvet Underground: "Foggy Notion"
9) The Music Machine: "Talk Talk"
10) Dave Davani: "Boot-Leg"