Quickies: Two blues...and Adrian Belew!

by Pico

Stacks and stacks of jazz records sit on my desk waiting to be reviewed, but I would be remiss if I didn't hat tip a few new records from some of my other favorite genres. It's shaping up to be another banner year in the world of blues, but you'd scarcely know it from reading this site lately. The last time a fresh blues release got mention here was back in August. Whoa, it's high time to circle back!

And so, I selected a couple of recent records by guys we've saluted on these virtual pages before, because it's worth noting that their mojo hand is still strong. I also tossed in the latest by eccentric prog guitarist from King Crimson, Adrian Belew. And what does this Adrian Belew record have in common with the ones by Otis Taylor and Robert Cray? All should be on your Christmas wish list, that's what.

Otis Taylor Pentatonic Wars and Love Songs

Otis Taylor might very well be the greatest bluesman of the 21st century. Not the best blues-rocker, not the best Delta bluesman or soul-bluesman; just the best straight-up bluesman. That's because when I listen to any Taylor record, I hear strong echoes of the Delta blues, while detecting a restless musician who pushes the dusty genre forward with unusual instrumentations and combinations with other primal forms of music.

He's rarely demonstrated that formula better than he does for Pentatonic Wars and Love Songs. Even more so than the last Taylor reviewed here, Below The Fold (2005), Taylor takes chances and comes out a winner every time. Amazingly, his adventurous spirit never leads him away from his individual approach to the blues: lines and riffs that repeat insistently so you don't lose the message or the emotion. And a sad, soulful and sometimes simmering voice that's able to pull it all off convincingly.

Pentatonic lives up to the latter part of its title, with the songs offered here all about love, but the love stories are often somber and often dreary. Songs celebrating the joy of love don't appear that often, because Otis Taylor's music is not about celebrating. Musically, it's very much organic and rootsy, but also...jazzy. You don't need to have sharp ears to notice that the piano player is better than average, and sure enough, the credits say it's Jason Moran. The drums are not manned by some slouch, either; Nasheet Waits contributes his distinct, subtle percussion work to the proceedings. But perhaps the unorthodox addition to Taylor's blues is Ron Miles' cornet. It really does bring home the connection between early jazz and early blues in the first part of the prior century. When Taylor stretches out as he does on the rumbling, model piece "Walk On Water," it's Taylor's vocal alone that distinguishes the song from avant garde jazz. A few tracks later, it's just Taylor on acoustic guitar for "Dagger By My Side," and yet both are logically a product of the same man. Irish blues-rock guitarist extraordinaire Gary Moore also contributes to a handful of tracks, too. And as has become now routine, Taylor's daughter Cassie plays bass and lends her lead vocals to a couple of tunes.

Alas, it's really impossible to adequately describe what puts Otis Taylor at or near the top of the heap among undiluted blues artists. His music has to be listened to understand. When the blues is done right, it forces you to listen intently to appreciate in a way words can never do. Pentatonic Wars and Love Songs is a good example of the indescribable blues.




Robert Cray This Time

Robert Cray's era of peak popularity from the mid-eighties to the early nineties was due to his strong crossover appeal. Back then, he was a blues man at heart, but poured in a lot of soul and just a little bit of rock. His songs were modernized twists on the old themes of love found, love lost and every facet of relationships in-between. Cray had the perfect pipes to fit this style. And let's not overlook his clean, impeccable guitar playing, either.

Twenty years and many albums later and Cray stays close to this winning combination. Someone could easily level the criticism that his records don't vary much at all, and it's true, one Robert Cray album sounds like any other Robert Cray album for the most part. But if you dig that Cray sound like I do, then that's quite alright. This Time sticks to the pattern, and it's almost too easy to find the similarities between songs of his salad days and the songs on this album. Back in 1991, his Midnight Stroll began with a number "The Forecast (Calls For Pain)" that used inclement weather as an analogy for a relationship going sour. This time, his opener "Chicken in The Kitchen" uses culinary skills as the proxy for a faltering romance. And in case you didn't catch it from the lyrics, Cray's still-intact chops on guitar gets the message across. "Love 2009" has a title that will soon lose its freshness but the snappy mid-tempo song itself benefits much from Cray's crisp rhythm guitar work. "That's What Keeps Me Rockin'" is his obligatory blues shuffle and after all these years, it remains own of his strong suits.

Like all other Cray releases, this one is attributed to "The Robert Cray Band," and the credit he gives to his band is well-deserved, especially longtime keyboardist and songwriter Jim Pugh. But this album also marks the return of Richard Cousins, an underrated bass player who was part of the band when it was spinning off all those radio hits. It's just speculation, but perhaps the presence of two living links to the glorious past inspired Cray to make a record that not only keeps him sticking with his old recipe, but also cook with a little more inspiration than usual. Regardless, This Time is one that no Robert Cray fan will want to be without. More casual fans are not likely to be disappointed, either.




Adrian Belew Power Trio e

Guitarists who played in Frank Zappa's band early in their career (Steve Vai, Mike Keneally) usually go on to greater success but like their old mentor, take paths not usually taken by rock stars. Adrian Belew falls squarely into that category. He was already good enough when he left The Mothers to tour and record with David Bowie, The Talking Heads and The Tom Tom Club. Ultimately, he ended up in a band being put together by another guitar giant Robert Fripp and the resulting outfit was impressive enough for Fripp to resurrect the hallowed King Crimson moniker. But Belew had other sides he wanted to showcase, so he recorded with some old acquaintences from his old stomping grounds in Cincinnati (The Bears), and made a slew of solo albums, sometimes recording them at a breakneck pace.

Nowadays, Belew's main labor of love is his Power Trio. Even though he probably could have had his choice of big name musicians to fill in the bass and drums roles, Belew plucked the brother and sister combo of Eric and Julie Slick out of obscurity instead, much as Frank Zappa put Belew himself on the road to the big leagues when Zappa discovered him back in 1977. Likewise, Belew was impressed with his first meeting with the Slick siblings when he performed with them at the Paul Green School of Rock (yes, the school that inspired the Jack Black movie) in February, 2006. A mere three months later, Belew announced he was forming his Power Trio with them, and the three soon afterwards toured both domestically and abroad for the next two-plus years before laying down the tracks for e in early 2009.

The Slicks weren't brought on board to perform simple, melodic power-pop of the Beatles that Belew admires, but to play the challenging and unpredictable instrumental rock that has much more in common with King Crimson. Listening to e, you can't detect any irony at all in the band's name. It's 11 tracks all named after alphabetical letters ("a", "b", "c", "d", "e"). Some of the letters are broken out into suites ("a", "a2", "a3") and it's all composed by Belew. At the same time, the pieces were performed live in the studio, although Belew layers in effects so deftly, it often sounds like five-peice band, not a trio. "c" is the most killer track, a repeating pattern of chord ascents and descents that Belew carefully layers and his crack rhythm section holds up with a steady, steely groove that heats up so much toward the end, Belew can be heard shouting "yeah!" in an obvious sign that the band is killin' it. There's not single letdown among rest of the selections, though, and it's clear the young proteges can bring it: check out Julie's muscular bass lines on "a3" or Eric's trick snare/high hat work on "e2" (performed live in the video below).

The tradition of older master musicians bringing in players from younger generations into their band keeps the music alive, vital and connected to its great accomplishments of the past. You see that done much more often in jazz and blues than in rock, but Adrian Belew understands its importance, having benefitted from this tradition more than thirty years ago. Julie and Eric Slick don't have promising vocations in music because they play in Belew's band, but because they play like they belong in it. e represents the continuation of a long, notable career of one musician and the beginning of what will likely be long and notable careers of two more.



Purchase: Adrian Belew Power Trio - e