Search - Curtis Jones :: Lonesome Bedroom Blues

Curtis Jones

Bomojaz | South Central PA, USA | 03/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
The bulk of Curtis Jones's recordings were made prior to WW II (all available on 4 Document CDs). He made two LPs in the States before moving to Europe in 1962, where he died in 1971. This CD is a reissue of the Delmark LP made in 1962, and features Jones all by himself (an earlier Bluesville LP/CD added organ, guitar, plus rhythm, which only gummed up the works and cast him in an unsympathetic light).



Jones's piano playing is fascinating: he plays with a rock-steady left hand while his right goes off into uncharted, but very lyrical, territory. The instrumental ROLLING THE BLUES shows off his piano approach admirably, with an extremely vibrant rolling right hand on the keys clearly in evidence. STACKOLEE receives an unusually delicate treatment, also noted here for its brevity (some versions of this song go on for dozens of choruses). CURTIS JONES'S BOOGIE WOOGIE is a tip of the hat to Pinetop Smith and HIS boogie; he even copies some of Pinetop's vocal commands. Jones's voice is in the alto range and not very domineering, but always pleasant to listen to. This is, I think, Jones's best post-war album. Definitely worth checking out, especially by piano blues fans."