Blues from the Atlantic Provinces
by Paul-Emile Comeau
Blues music has become such a universal genre in recent decades that it's no surprise that almost every nook and cranny of North America has some sort of blues activity in its midst. This has long been the case for Halifax, Nova Scotia, but in recent years many of the best blues performers in the Atlantic region have actually arisen out of New Brunswick, a province with only a small black population. That may explain, in some small measure, why the bands coming out of that area generally don't stick too closely to prescribed blues formulas. In fact, one could question whether some new term other than blues wouldn't be more appropriate to describe these and so many other white blues performers.
The Moncton region has recently produced some of the better-known performers. On Blues du Jour [GPCD002 c/o Dist. Fusion 111], the second CD by Glamour Puss, the band sticks to original material, and, since the group consists partly of Acadians, it performs four songs in French. The band, which won the East Coast Music Association award for Blues Band of 2000, has recently released a CD recorded at the 10th Annual Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival in Fredericton. Electric & Alive! [02 50891 c/o Tidemark], which includes more covers than originals and no repeat material from Blues du Jour, shows the band at its best.
The set leads off with Freddie King's "Hide Away," the first of three high-energy instrumentals scattered throughout the set, the other two being the equally famous "Green Onions" and "Peter Gunn." The live feel adds much to the energy of the performance, and the sax player helps to add a distinctive touch to the group's sound. This time, however, the band limits itself to only one song in French, a close copy of a well-known hit by the late Gerry Boulet called "Caline de Blues." Four of the five members take turns at lead vocals at least twice.
If Glamour Puss tends to ram the blues home, Hot Toddy, a group based in Fredericton, takes the blues into an altogether different direction. The duo released a self-titled debut CD in 1998, one that mixed studio tracks with live ones, and added an acoustic bass player to the (mostly acoustic) guitar, Dobro, and harmonica for the follow-up CD, Shoe Factory [self-produced HT02]. Like the first album, this one also consists of a mix of originals and covers. The group manages to come up with fresh folk-blues arrangements and subtle flourishes that give a whole new twist to such songs as Tommy MacLennan's "Cross Cut Saw," Little Walter's "My Babe," Leon Redbone's "She's My Gal," and "Down By the Riverside." Hot Toddy performs with a delicate touch but manages to make its blues enthralling.
An equally impressive trio who are based in a nearby town (with less than a thousand population), is Isaac, Blewett & Cooper, who also have two CDs to their credit. Like Hot Toddy, these musicians are masters of nuance, and they also like to take the blues form and stretch it. The group's first CD, Walk On [self-produced IBNC1-1997], is divided equally between covers and original songs. With two guitars and a cello, this isn't your run of the mill blues band. What other group offers thanks to both Robert Johnson (with three of his songs on the CD) and Pablo Casals? The trio also does an original tribute to "Django." After the group's auspicious debut, it broke up for a while and then re-formed for Mud River [self-produced IBC-CD-02], an even stronger and more expansive follow-up. All the songs are penned by one member or another this time, and a few guests contribute organ, percussion, and background vocals. The distinctive vocals leave a lasting impression and the haunting songs are modern, yet reflective of the land and waterways of the band's hometown. Whether the group's music should still be called blues is debatable, but it's ultimately a moot point.
Lisa MacDougall left her native New Brunswick to settle in Halifax, where she worked for years as a backup singer. Her debut, Turn Around [Tidemark 02 50818], may not be blues in the strict sense of the word, but there is certainly a blues undercurrent to much of her material and style. Most of the songs are either originals by MacDougall or other locals, or covers of songs by such writers as Martin Sexton and Ricki Lee Jones. There is a wistful quality to her style, which is sensual and soulful, and the production is effectively understated. Her rendition of The Manhattans' "Kiss and Say Goodbye" is different enough to stand on its own. MacDougall comes across as a late-night torch singer who has been influenced as much by soul singers of the 60s and 70s as by blues performers.
One showman whose blues credentials are beyond question is Dutchie Mason, the man B. B. King once baptized "The Prime Minister of the Blues." In 1998, Dutchie's 60th Birthday [Tidemark 02 50795] event was organized at the Halifax Metro Centre, and the event was later released on CD. Mason, who has both recorded and toured extensively for over three decades, only shows up on the last three tracks, but there's quite a buildup by the who's who of the local blues community to crank things up till he arrives: The Nova Scotia Mass Choir, Bill Stevenson, Doris Mason, and Frank McKay and The Lincolns (a band whose origin goes back to the 60s). Rock veteran Sam Moon sings "Caledonia," which he closes with some unusual vocalizing.
Dutchie ends the album with his takes on "Born Under a Bad Sign," "There Ain't Nobody Home," and "Mystery Train." Both the musicians and the audience were in a party mood and, as with the Glamour Puss live set, the "crank it up" leitmotif doesn't always make for the best home listening, but a change of mood was not in the cards that night.
The Carson Downey Band, on the other hand, sticks closer to the blues. Downey found his calling when he joined up with Joe Murphy, one of the most high-profile blues performers in the area. All the Way [Loggerhead 76974 2194-2], the Downey trio's debut, won a dozen awards and consists of all original material. The Downey style owes as much to rock as to blues and, as a singer and guitarist, Downey shows traces of Hendrix mixed with Texas and Chicago blues. By adding Hammond B3, horns, and backup singers, the producer has come up with an imposing sound.
Matt Minglewood, who performed at Dutchie's party, is a Cape Bretoner who started his career as a rocker in the 60s, had a couple of gold albums in the 70s, and explored country in the 80s, but always with blues brewing close to the surface. His latest release, Drivin' Wheel [Norton NORT99-1 c/oTidemark], has him going back to his rock/blues roots. Except for Lennie Gallant's "Black Spruce River," Sonny Boy Williamson's "Somebody Help Me," and the title track (David Wiffen's well-known gem), the songs are all original. The first track, "How High is High Enough" has an anthemic quality to it. Neither Minglewood's material or production is consistently impressive and the roadside rock approach sometimes sounds a bit dated and pedestrian, but, in general, the album is a reasonably strong comeback.
The Blues Merchants have been playing the blues around Sydney, Cape Breton, since the mid-90s. Four of the six members are songwriters, so there is no need to resort to covers. While one could just as easily classify the group's self-titled debut [self-produced BMCD-00] as roots rock, the blues strand is obvious in both the arrangements and the playing. A few songs, including "When My Ship Comes In" and "Looking Forward," are especially memorable.
Besides winning his share of blues awards, John Campbelljohn had some success in Europe, especially in Germany. Campbelljohn, who lives in the Halifax region, was highly influenced by Sonny Landreth and so puts the emphasis on his strong slide playing. He also writes his own material. Some titles on Hook Slide + Sinker [Nood 003] are promising by themselves: "The World is Crazy," "Non-Conformist Blues," and "Baby Boomer Blues." Campbelljohn, who is supported by a bass player and drummer, released the more recent Nerves of Steel [Herman's/Taxim HE 023-2] on a German label, and the album continues in the same style. On "No Philosopher," the lead-off track, the Cape Breton native asserts his iconoclasm with such lines as "Will it hurt your Celtic colors/ If I paint them blue sometime." Although Campbelljohn isn't quite in Landreth's league, his songs are well crafted and well rendered.
Making the leap to another island, Saint John's, Newfoundland, has produced its share of blues performers, even if a few of them, such as Peter Narvaez and Denis Parker, are adopted sons. Parker is a British native who recorded two late-60s albums for the Harvest label as part of the Panama Jug Band. He then moved to Saint John's, where he kept on playing with bluesman Roger Howse and others. His latest, Snowman Blues [self-produced DMP-01], is divided evenly between original songs and others by Tommy MacLennan, Big Bill Broonzy, and Gatemouth Brown, all songs performed mostly with one or two other musicians helping out. In some respects, Parker is comparable to Geoff Bartley in style and approach.
Two local musicians who appear on a few Snowman Blues tracks are Scott Goudie (a painter, guitarist, and blues singer) and Neil Bishop (a guitarist). Goudie's Renata, a very obscure album from 1982 on which Bishop also played, is one of the most original blues-based albums to ever have been released in the region. The Gig [Day Job Theatre] is a live session that the duo recorded in a bar back in 1994. It's hard to be too enthusiastic about such overly familiar songs as "The Thrill is Gone," "Mojo," and "Flip Flop & Fly," but those are the exceptions. They also perform strong renditions of John Martyn's "Head & Heart," J.J. Cale's "Sensitive Kind," and Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." A new version of the "Renata" instrumental is once again a standout.
Wade Pinhorn, an impressive blues pianist who played on The Gig session, also plays on a few tracks of Foundation [self-produced], Darrell Cooper's debut of electric blues. Cooper sticks fairly close to the tried and true formula, which doesn't always work to his advantage. The first three tracks, namely "Shake Your Moneymaker," "You Upset Me Baby," and "Crossroads," are overly familiar and challenging enough to make them difficult to make one's own. It doesn't help that his vocals sometimes sound forced. On the other hand, Cooper's renditions of Don Nix's "Same Old Blues," John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" (with effective, understated vocals), and a few others work well and show his true potential.
Chris Badcock is another young singer and guitarist and Big Red, formerly The Dirty Kitchen Blues Band, is the name of his trio, one that mixes blues with rock. On ...from a Dirty Kitchen [self-produced], the group's debut, Badcock sticks mostly to original material except for good covers of Long John Hunter's "Rooster" and "Chevrolet," the old jug band favorite. There are still some rough edges, but he'll be another name to watch on the local scene.
