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Big Joe Jumps Again!

Ann Rabson | Hartwood, VA USA | 09/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There's a wonderful new recording which is a real delight for those

of us who love down-home blues piano playing and singing. It's the

latest by the shamefully under-recorded blues shouter and

powerhouse of the 88s Mr. Big Joe Duskin. It's "Big Joe Jumps

Again," Yellow Dog Records YDR 1133.



There's nothing artificial or overly polished about Joe's style.

It can be gentle or hard-driving, but it always feels completely

natural.



Even though Joe is a true original I can hear echoes of blues

history in his playing. This is a man who has obviously been a

listener as well as a player.



The recording starts with a short snippet of a rocking version of

Lowell Fulson's "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone." One of my

only complaints about this recording is that it includes several

short pieces like this that end abruptly. Just when I get into

them, WHAM! they're over. That's also the case with "Down the Road

a Piece" and "Just a Closer Walk with Thee." I find this

frustrating. I want to hear MORE! Fortunately there's a longer

version of "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" later in the

recording, with a very different groove - kind of a slow "Linda

Lou" shuffle. "North To Alaska," yes, that Johnny Horton song, is

another of those snippets, but it's worth a little frustration to

hear it arranged as a boogie woogie!



I was really delighted by Peter Frampton's soulful and sympathetic

accompaniments of Joe on "Every Day I Have the Blues" and "Key to

the Highway." It just shows that my prejudice against rockers is

as off the mark as most prejudices prove to be. These cuts show a

fine blues sensibility. Really a treat.



The other backing musicians do a terrific job of supporting Joe.

They never dilute what makes his music special, which is a common

pitfall for musicians backing an inventive artist. Great job,

fellows. The "Black Mountain Blues" track features vocals by

Bessie Smith-influenced Shawna Snyder. This cut allows us to see

that Joe is an excellent accompanist, a role which, in my opinion,

requires even greater skill and sensitivity than being the star.



Roosevelt Sykes' love song to "Miss Ida B" and his vengeful "Get

Out of My Way," as well as that old tale of "Betty and Dupree," are

told with such a traditional feel that I forget it's the 21st

century.



"Black Rat Swing" by Memphis Minnie (and, I believe, one of her

husbands named Joe) turns up here renamed "One Dirty Rat." Joe has

put his own very original stamp on this tune, bringing to it a

groove that suggests a funky version of Brother Ray's "What'd I

Say." Very, very cool!



Joe's own composition "Mean and Strange" is a very effective lament

about a love gone wrong. His singing reminds me of what first

appealed to me about the blues: that bewildered, wronged, lost and

lonely thing. Even the piano part feels that way to me.



"Sloppy Drunk Blues" is a tune I love. So many great artists have

performed this gem, including Lucille Bogan, Leroy Carr John "Sonny

Boy" Williamson, Jimmy Rogers and so many more. Joe's version is

certainly one of my favorites.



Like so many bluesmen I've known from his generation, Joe is a

wonderful storyteller. The cut "The Preacher and the Devil's

Music" represents that side of Joe.



I highly recommend that you catch Joe live, telling his stories and

making his music with power and grace. I think Joe is a gem, a

real deep and original bluesman. This fine recording captures his

magic and will bring joy and pleasure to any lover of the blues.



HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.



- Ann Rabson"

Yellow Dog Records Has a Real Winner With This One!

Steve Emerine | Tucson, AZ United States | 09/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a jazz fan, I usually only like blues in small doses, but "Big Joe Jumps Again!" caught my attention with the first track, "You're Gonna Miss Me," and kept me all the way through to "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," the final tune. And then I went back and played it again. Big Joe Duskin does a number of tunes Joe Williams sang, but he does them in his own wonderful style. Ann Rabson, an East Coast blues expert whom I don't know, said it better than I can in her review for amazon.com. Suffice to say that a jazz guy from the Southwest agrees with her. Thanks to Yellow Dog Records for this real blues treasure!"

Outstanding

Joseph Reader | USA | 06/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For the first time in a long time, I have just played straight through a CD (this CD) three times in the same sitting. This CD is thoroughly enjoyable, both musically and sonically (i.e., it is very well recorded). I think many people will like this music even if they generally aren't great blues fans (in the way that many people like Ray Charles but don't necessarily like other artists of the same genre). This is simply great music that just happens to be blues. This music has great bounce, rhythm and texture to it, but it's not over-loud and "electrified." At the risk of going overboard here, this might be my new favorite blues disc."