Chicago Blues Harmonica Project – Diamonds In The Rough (Severn Records).

This album, showcasing six of Chicago’s finest harp players also features The Chicago Bluesmasters who provide some excellent backing. The six players are Dusty Brown, Omar Coleman, Russ Green, Larry Cox, Harmonica Khan #1 and Little Addison and each are given two songs to impress. Dusty Brown serves up I Got To Go and He Don’t Love You. The former is a good tempo Little Walter song that epitomises Chicago blues and played by an elder statesman of the city. Brown is, in fact, at age 77 the oldest performer here. He has lost none of his vigour and although He Don’t Love You is of a slower pace it does project his tortured soul and experience. Omar Coleman’s two offerings are Jody’s Got Your Girl And Gone and You Don’t Love Me. From the oldest performer to the youngest and Coleman’s youth bursts out of his funky, modern blues. He often plays with John Primer’s band but is not a full time musician. Having said that, his singing and playing are very strong and it is clear that he is heavily influenced by Billy Branch. You Don’t Love Me is a great finish to the album. It has to be one of the highlights and why this guy is not in the upper echelons of blues is anybody’s business. Russ Green is the strongest player so far and, although he wrote How Many More Years, you can hear the Howlin’ Wolf influences. A Chicago native, he’s another youngster at 39 and has modelled himself on Sugar Blue. His second song is Everything’s Gonna Be Alright and I still reckon that he is the most powerful player from a selection of powerful players. This song sets up his power playing to perfection.

Next up is Larry Cox and he gives us the old classic, Mean Old World. Cox’s world weary voice is as you’d expect from the Tennessee veteran – Chicago blues at its best. He was given his first harmonica at the age of four by Sonny Boy Williamson #2 and you can’t get a much better start than that. Cox’s other offering is Goin’ To New York, a standard blues played to a slightly better than average standard by The Chicago Bluesmasters. They back all of the artists on the album apart from Harmonica Khan #1. Cox provides some great trills. The aforementioned Harmonica Khan #1 (real name George Meares-EL) is up next and his performance harks back to the players in old time Maxwell Street with his howling, foot stomping and bone rattling. Baby What You Want Me To Do is primitive stuff – I love it!! Khan’s other contribution is Next Time You See Me and he manages to keep up the primitive sound whilst modern technology keeps the sound clean. I would love to hear just one song in person. The last artist is Little Addison and he is completely different from Harmonica Khan #1. This is electric blues with all the trimmings. Addison’s history is as good as anyone’s having played with Elmore James in the 1950s, had Luther Johnson in his band in the 1960s and counted Muddy Waters as one of his friends. His other track, the slow blues of Respect Me, loses a little on the vocal by trying to be too emotional. It’s a powerful song though and the piano player sounds as if he’s playing his fingers off. These are, very surprisingly, his first recordings at the age of 70.

If you like Chicago blues or harmonica blues in any way then this album has to be in your collection.

www.severnrecords.com

Copyright David Blue 2006.