The Claudettes – Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium! | Album Review

The Claudettes – Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium!

Yellow Dog Records

www.theclaudettes.com

www.yellowdogrecords.com

12 tracks / 35:51

The Claudettes are a completely different group than the two-piece house band that used to help advertise drink specials from the stage for its namesake, Miss Claudette. Since I first heard them on Infernal Piano Plot…Hatched!, they have transformed from a piano and drums duo to a quartet, and this expanded roster has given the group a lot of headroom to explore new themes and sounds.

Johnny Iguana (not his real name) is a founding member of the group, wrote all of the songs, plays a truly mean piano, and adds backing vocals into the mix. He was joined in the studio by Matthew Torre on drums, and Zach Verdoorn on guitar, bass and backing vocals. These are all fine musicians, but they hit the jackpot when Berit Ulseth joined the The Claudettes as their singer two years ago. Her vocals are a wonderful blend of jazz and blues and I cannot really come up with another singer to compare her to; her sound is truly her own.

The band’s new CD, Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium!, was cut mostly live at Soil of the South in Valdosta, Georgia by Mark Neil, who made the instrumentalists play the songs over and over again until they got them just right. So, there is not a lot of studio trickery and overdubs going on here, just refined talent. The group laid down twelve relatively short tracks, each of which tells an intriguing story without getting bogged down by egotistical soloing or other nonsense.

The Claudettes are hard to pin down to any one genre, which is a hard one to swallow for those who are hardcore fans of any one type of music. There is a definitely a blues influence, but there is also a heavy jazz theme, and to lesser degrees you will hear rock, boogie-woogie, punk, and god know what else. All of these elements add up to a wonderful slice of Americana, and the results are very listenable.

Their set kicks off with “Don't Stay With Me,” which presents one side of the story of unequally yoked lovers who are in a relationship that is nearing its end. This frustration is presented in the music by Verdoorn’s smoothly distorted guitar while Torres’ heavy drums create a sense of tension that does not let up until Ulseth utters the final line, “You're just as sweet as can be, but please, don't stay with me.” This mood does not lighten for the next track, “November,” which is about someone who is barely keeping it all together as they age. Johnny does a nice job of holding down the bottom end here, and I hear something new with his playing every time I listen to this song.

The sound gets a little more playful with “Give it All Up for Good,” in which Berith sings about how people addicted to social media are becoming apathetic and are disconnecting from each other. This is an easy tune to get stuck in your head, thanks to the thumpy bass part, Iguana’s hammering piano, and the catchy breaks with group harmonies. In a similar vein, “Naked on the Internet” discusses how nothing ever really goes away once it is online. This song is a bit of a departure from the others as Berith shares the lead vocals with one of the fellows (I don’t know who…), and the listener is treated to brief solos from Johnny, Zach, and Matthew, which is saying a lot as this song is not much more than two minutes long.

There is not enough room to write about all twelve of the songs on the album, but they are all thoughtfully written with lyrics that cover both the troubles with relationships and the increasingly terrible social situation in our world. I must point out though, that there is a lovely instrumental on the playlist too, and that would be the title track. “Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium” shows what the rest of the band is doing while the listener is distracted on the other tracks by the clever lyrics and sultry vocals. And what they are doing is laying down a sick jam, as these guys can really play: Iguana has a killer dexterity and a righteous touch on the keys, Verdoorn is ultimately versatile and has wicked bass and guitar tones, and Torre is a frickin’ drumming machine. Damn.

Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium! is a fine album, but the Claudettes put on an excellent live show too and the band’s energy and musicianship are first rate. They bought a new van and are touring endlessly around the United States, and they even have some European dates coming up. Head over to their website to hear some samples and to see where they are going to be playing next – I have seen their new line-up at the Viper Room and they are amazing - trust me, you want to see them in person!

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Mitch Woods – Jammin on the High Cs

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This CD review was originally published in the January 16, 2016 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Mitch Woods – Jammin’ on the High Cs

Club 88 Records / VizzTone Label Group

www.mitchwoods.com

www.vizztone.com

17 tracks / 68:45

Not every blues fan has the resources or time to be able to attend the annual Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, which is a seven-day floating musical festival that tours the Caribbean. This event is a fabulous opportunity to meet your favorite blues artists and hear more live music in a week than many people experience in a lifetime. If you cannot make the cruise, the next best thing would be listening to a copy of Mitch Woods’ Jammin’ on the High Cs.

Mitch Woods is an amazing showman and an American treasure. He is a classically trained pianist who joined the blues fold after relocating from New York to the San Francisco in the early 1970s. Mitch and his band, the Rocket 88s, have released nine albums over the years and their unique blend of Chicago blues, boogie-woogie, and West Coast jump blues is infectious. Woods’ Club 88 Piano Bar has become a fixture on the Blues Cruise, and you never know who might end up sitting in for a song or two. Jammin’ on the High Cs was recorded over two days on the January 2015 voyage and does a nice job of capturing the overall mood of the experience.

“Piano Bar” might not be the best description for what was going on here, though. This is not Billy Joel tinkling the ivories for a miserable crowd that is “sharing a drink they call loneliness.” While Woods does lead the upbeat show from his bench behind the piano, during this hour-plus long set he is joined by a band that includes guest singers, horns, guitars, and even an accordion.

It might seem that a crowded piano bar on a cruise ship might not be the optimal location to record a live album, but this disc is very well produced. Credit for this goes out to the engineering work of Mark Brasel and Scott Burnett, and the mastering of Davis Farrell. Is everything about the recording perfect? Not particularly, but it is enjoyable to listen to and the lively and fun atmosphere carries over very well.

Things certainly get out to a rousing start, with members of A Roomful of Blues joining in with Woods on “Big Mamou,” and their horns are simply wonderful. They appear on a few more tracks, including “Rip it Up” featuring the guitar of Tommy Castro, “Bright Lights, Big City” with Lucky Peterson on vocals, and “Eyesight to the Blind” led by Billy Branch on vocals and harp. As you will hear throughout the disc, Woods has the ability to attract talented folks!

Branch also appears along with Coco Montoya on a stripped-down version of “Boom Boom.” And Club 88’s take on the classic “Rock Me Baby” also has a healthy dose of Montoya’s guitar over Mitch’s hearty voice and hammering keys. And the guest artists just keep on coming: Victor Wainwright and Julia Magness trade verses with Mitch on “Tain’t Nobody’s Bizness,” and it sounds like Victor sat in on the keys as well (this song was the highlight of the disc for me). Popa Chubby sat in for a few tracks, and Dwayne Dopsie brought his Zydeco squeezebox in for “Jambalaya” and a saucy take on “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” which closed out the set.

Interspersed with these songs are asides and anecdotes from Mitch, and his sense of humor and storytelling ability are as good as his skills behind the keyboard. These breaks include the history of how Club 88 came to be, musing about the advantages of cruising in international waters, and a funny story about some folks trying to hold their Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at Club 88.

If you like piano-driven blues or if you have always wanted to go on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Mitch Woods’ Jammin’ on the High Cs is a must buy. There is not a bad song on it, and many of them are probably already your favorites. If you want to see the show in person, this year’s cruise is sold out but there is still time to save up a few bucks for next year!

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Don Scott – Slidin Sideways

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This CD review was originally published in the October 15, 2015 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Don Scott – Slidin’ Sideways | Album Review

Self Release

www.donscottblues.com

10 tracks / 40:31

Minnesotan Don Scott has been playing the blues for five decades, and his current blend of roots and blues is unique as it brings the music down to its most basic levels. He has toured the world, both as a solo artist and with numerous bands that include the Dust Bowl Blues Band (a founding member!), Lazy Bill Lucas, Mighty Joe Young, and the magnificent Janiva Magness.

Over the years, Don has cut six CDs, the latest of which is Slidin' Sideways. This is a cool release with six originals, four covers and the bare minimum of instrumentation. Scott takes on the vocals and guitars, with pianist Raul Altamirano joining in on a few tracks. So, there are no drums, bass, keyboards, or harmonica to be found and because of this, these arrangements wind up with a raw roots mood and sound.

This ten-song set is bookended by live tracks that Scott and Altamirano recorded at Loot in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. This beach town is the perfect setting for Don's kind of blues, and he kicks off the album with the title track, an original instrumental. He cranks out five minutes of righteous slide work on his National guitar as Raul adds a bit of his best honkytonk. And the set finishes up with Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle" which gives Raul a bit more room to stretch his legs as Scott belts out the vocals.

The standout cut on Slidin' Sideways is "Some Other Day," a song about the plight of the modern soldier. Scott plays a heavy Spanish guitar under heart-wrenching lyrics of how much more we should be doing for those that have given so much of themselves to our country. This song is followed up by the jaunty "Blue Blake Rag," which is a jolting transition. Don does some amazing guitar work on this one over the steady beat provided by Raul's hammering left hand.

The roundup of covers is pretty cool, and they include cool stuff like Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's "Kidney Stew," and Roosevelt Sykes' "Persimmon Pie" (how risqué!). But the coolest of these is Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys' "My Shoes Keep Walkin' Back to You," which has also been done very well by Ray Price, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Costello. This is heady company and Don Scott holds his own with just his hard-hitting guitar to back up his plaintive wails of loneliness.

You will find that all of the songs are neat, but there are a few production issues with noise and volume levels that mean this might not be the slickest CD that you have heard recently. Despite these nit-pickings, Slidin' Sideways is a fun album, and Don Scott has talent galore that translates into a wonderful live show. It would be a great idea to head over to his website to check his gig schedule, as he gets all over the country. There are gigs in six states from Arizona to New York on his schedule right now, and you can be sure that more will be added soon.

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Henry Carpaneto – Voodoo Boogie

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This CD review was originally published in the March 5, 2015 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Henry Carpaneto – Voodoo Boogie | Album Review

OrangeHomeRecords

www.orangehomerecords.com

12 tracks / 66:23

A long path was traveled to produce Italian pianist’s Henry Carpaneto’s debut album, Voodoo Boogie. The journey started in New Orleans after a tour with famed blues guitarist Bryan Lee when the two of them headed into the studio to lay down the keyboards and Lee’s guitars and vocals. After two years, Lee sent the tracks along to Henry in Italy where the bass, drum, and saxophone tracks were recorded. The final three tracks were finished up in London with guest artists Otis Grand on guitar and Tony Coleman on the drums. The final results are very good, with a strong set of piano-driven blues that should please most blues fans.

Henry Carpaneto is the top blues pianist in Italy and is constantly working, but his reach extends beyond the European continent to the home of the blues in the United States. He appears at major festivals and shows across America, including recent gigs at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and the Blues Memphis Awards. He has worked with a fine group of solid musicians over the years including Guitar Ray & the Gamblers, Jerry Portnoy, Lea Gilmore, Sonny Rhodes, Paul Reddick, and Big Pete Pearson.

Voodoo Boogie comes in at well over and hour and is made up of eight songs written by Lee and four neat cover tunes. The first track is the original tune “Drinking and Thinking” with a heavy beat and a sweet guitar and piano intro. Lee has a very effective tenor voice to go along with his perfect guitar phrasing, and Carpaneto bangs out a complicated honkytonk piano part throughout. All of this is set over the rock-solid beat of the house band of Andrea Tassara on drums and Pietro Martinelli on the double bass.

Henry switches to the Wurlitzer for “My Brain is Gone” which is a well-written 12-bars blues track with jazz influences. Lee knows how to build a song as well as he plays the guitar, which is no small feat, and he and Carpaneto trade solos in this mid-tempo piece that will put a smile on your face. “Angel Child” brings Paolo Maffi’s saxophone into play on the album. This slow 12-bar blues song uses the age-old theme of lost love to good effect, and hearkens back to the transition of blues to rock in the mid 1950s.

The three London tracks feature classic big band blues leader and guitarist Otis Grand and B.B.King’s drummer, Tony Coleman. There is Louis Jordan’s jump blues classic “Caldonia,” so of course Maffi’s saxes are prominently featured as well as Grand’s red-hot leads. Another fine selection is B.B King’s “Rock Me Baby” and Lee does a respectable rendition of the Beale Street bluesman’s classic vocal sound as Coleman keeps time on his hi-hat.

Just to show you that Henry has a bit more in his bag than the blues, the band tears off a quick ditty, the Latin-themed “Mambo Mamma” which might not be the most politically correct tune in the world “She’s not fat, she’s just tall…” but it certainly is a fun song! They also throw a little boogie-woogie into the mix with “Turn Down the Noise,” which provides a nice break in the heavier blues action.

The album draws to a close with one last original, “Blind Man Love,” which is five minutes of slow-tempo juke joint glory. An old-time feel is attained through Lee’s dirty guitar (which features a fabulous solo) and Carpaneto’s saloon piano sound that benefits from a strong right hand. When the song is over do not pop the disc out right away, as there is a bonus track hidden at the end that provides one last taste of Henry’s piano magic.

Henry Carpaneto’s Voodoo Boogie is a testament to the value of hard work, perseverance, and good communication. It stands together as a singular body and does not sound like a mishmash of different pieces that were stuck together, which is a real danger with projects that were spread out like this one. Henry and Bryan can be proud of the work they did here, as the result is a solid set of piano-driven blues that is worthy of your valuable listening time and a bit of your hard-earned money.

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: Craig Brenner – Live at the Old Mint

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This CD review was originally published in the July 24, 2014 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

Craig Brenner – Live at the Old Mint |Album Review

Self Release

www.craigbrenner.com 14 tracks / 53:15

There is just not enough good boogie-woogie music being recorded anymore, and fortunately the drought has ended with Craig Brenner’s first new album since 2009, Live at the Old Mint. He has assembled a collection of blues and boogie-woogie tracks from his live shows that will surely lift your mood!

Craig is one of the best-educated pianists around; after attending college in Florida he moved to the Hoosier State in the mid-1970s to study at the Indiana University School of Music and he never left. Since then, Brenner has studied classical, jazz and boogie-woogie piano with the masters of each genre, and has received multiple grants from the Indiana Arts Commission. He is serious about his craft, and it shows in his performance.

This certainly is a live album, but this is not just a recording of one show at the Old US Mint in New Orleans (and it really is an old mint, in case you were wondering). This CD is actually a collection of 14 songs culled from 5 different performances spanning seven years. Included are 10 songs from two shows at Old US Mint, three more from two shows from Artsgarden in Indianapolis, and a track from a radio show that he and his wife did in 2013. This set avoids being a hodgepodge thanks to the wonderful job of mixing and mastering done by Jacob Belser of Primary Sound Studios in Bloomington, Indiana – for the most part there is a very consistent sound, feel and flow to the music.

Brenner produced this album himself, and it includes six compositions that he wrote as well as a nice collection of songs that could easily be the final exam for a musician that is seeking a doctorate in blues and boogie-woogie piano. One of these is the first song in the set, “I Stepped in Quicksand” written by the legendary jazz and blues pianist, Charles Brown. Craig takes this one on his own, and there is a fun jazz influence on this one that goes well with his thin, yet pleasant, tenor vocals. The piano sounds clear on this one and there is only a hint of hiss and sibilance, which is to be expected on a live recording of this type.

From there he heads into one of his own compositions, “To Boogie or Not to Boogie,” one of the eight songs on this disc that he recorded with Alfred “Uganda” Roberts on congas. I would never think of combining congas and hard-hitting piano music, but it works on this straight-up boogie-woogie tune, probably because of the talent behind those drums. Roberts is a Crescent City native who turned his percussion work into a career that included performing and recording with heavyweight artists that include Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, The Meters, Snooks Eaglin, Gatemouth Brown, Willie Tee and Dr. John.

The covers are all super-cool! They include gems like “Train Blues”, a faithful rework of Lux Lewis’ “Honky Tonk Train Blues” which has a glorious saloon piano sound. Or Brenner’s version of Pinetop Smith’s 1928 seminal hit “Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie,” his joyous hammering of Professor Longhair’s “Hey Now Baby,” and the familiar sounds of Jimmy Forrest’s “Night Train.” But the standout of these has to be “Mess Around,” a song written by Atlantic Records president and founder Ahmet Ertegün which was one of Ray Charles’ first hits in 1953. The audience really gets into this song and claps along as Craig hoots the vocals and Roberts keep the beat with his congas. This must be something to see live, and of course everyone can commiserate that they don’t want their little girl to mess around.

One of the more fun tunes is Brenner’s original “Crawdad Shuffle” that he performed with his significant other, Lori, at the Indiana University Radio-Television Center in Bloomington in 2013. This instrumental features Mrs. Brenner on a rubboard which is placed far forward in the mix, and Craig almost takes a supporting role to its hypnotic scrapings. The rubboard and congas are not ordinarily leading instruments, and it is fascinating that Brenner can pair up with these percussion instruments and allow them to shine.

The tunes on this CD go by quickly, and before you know it the final track, “Carolina Shout,” will be coming through your speakers (or headphones). Recorded at Artsgarden in 2011, this James P. Johnson song from 1921 has no vocals or accompaniment, just Craig showing incredible timing on what has to be one of the most difficult songs to play correctly. This ragtime song has some jazz influence with a tremendous dynamic range and rhythms that are as tricky as they come. Craig totally nails it, and it is the perfect way to close out the set.

Live at the Old Mint is a good effort from Craig Brenner and a fine showcase of his piano and songwriting skills. If you are not a fan of boogie-woogie, do not let this one scare you off. There is still plenty of blues, ragtime and even jazz to be found on this disc, and you will certainly find something that you like!

Mahalo!

Blues Blast Magazine Album Review: The Claudettes – Infernal Piano Plot…Hatched!

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This CD review was originally published in the March 13, 2014 edition of Blues Blast Magazine. Be sure to check out the rest of the magazine at www.bluesblastmagazine.com

The Claudettes – Infernal Piano Plot…Hatched! | Album Review

Yellow Dog Records

www.theclaudettes.com

www.yellowdogrecords.com

13 tracks / 39:32

House bands are almost an extinct species, but there are still a few club owners that are willing to shell out dough every week to make sure that their customers have consistently good entertainment while in their establishments. Johnny Iguana and Michael Caskey are fortunate enough to have a regular house gig, but there is no house anymore. In 2010 Miss Claudette hired them to play at her bar and grill in Illinois, but after it closed down in 2011 she kept them on the payroll to keep the entertainment going.

She keeps this piano and drums duo, known as The Claudettes, busy by booking them in clubs and off-beat locations such as video rental outlets and office supply stores. Often she will set-up her own bar within the club and sling bizarre drink specials that the guys advertise from the stage, sometimes with lighted signs around their necks. It would be hard to make this stuff up!

Despite this bizarre back story, do not write this project off as shtick as both men are accomplished musicians. Iguana (born as Brian Berkowitz) and Caskey have played and recorded alongside artists that include Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Chuck Mangione, and Koko Taylor. After getting to know each other through countless performances, The Claudettes have finally hunkered down in the studio and cranked out their debut album, Infernal Piano Plot…Hatched!

And what you get with this disc is 13 high-octane tracks, 12 of which are originals that were penned by Iguana (Berkowitz), with nothing but piano and drums instrumentals. That is all: no vocals, horns, guitar, or guest artists – not even a Howlin’ Wolf cover. They describe their music as a blend of jazz, blues, punk, soul and space echo, or what they define as “Cosmic Cartoon Music.”

Johnny Iguana hits his piano hard from the first track, “Stumblin’ Home Satisfied,” a song with a 12-bar blues base and a heavy back-beat from Caskey’s drum kit. The recording is clean, with bright piano and organic-sounding drums. It sometimes sounds like Iguana has three hands, notably in the faster sections of tunes like “Motörhome” and “Land of Precisely Three Dances.” Those years spent touring with the Junior Wells Band and Otis Rush certainly honed his skills, even on non-blues songs such as these.

The sole cover on Infernal Piano Plot…Hatched! Is a respectful take on Little Brother Montgomery’s “Tremblin Blues.” It is a little faster than other versions I have heard before, but Johnny has the phrasing and feel down pat. The drum line is unconventional with its intermittent spouts of energy, but adds a sense of drama that is not found in the original.

Things draw to a close with “Do You See it Too?” which is a combination of jazz with some classical elements. The innovative drumming with a heavy kick drum and off-beat snare that accompanies this song is yet another reminder that these two are in perfect sync throughout the album, and it unquestionable that they are kindred souls that are on the same mission. This is the standout track, and was a wise choice for their finale.

The Claudettes took a chance by going their own way with Infernal Piano Plot..Hatched!, and their ambition and hard work have been rewarded with a fabulous album. This is not easy-listening by any stretch of the imagination, but it is fabulous music that is unquestionably danceable and refreshingly unique. This is 40 minutes of high-energy fun, and if Johnny Iguana and Michael Caskey can maintain their momentum, Miss Claudette will have to start booking them into larger clubs, and maybe even shopping malls!

Mahalo!