Search - Champion Jack Dupree :: Blues From the Gutter

Immortal music from the master

Steven R. Sims | Australia | 01/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hey blues piano lover, I really think you should get hold of ALL of Champion Jack Dupree's recordings! Failing that, make absolutely certain you get this one - buy, beg, borrow, or steal.



Recorded as a stereo album in 1958 in New York, Jack never sounded better, backed here by a small group including sax and electric guitar. Every track is memorable: Strollin' - "All you got to do is put one foot in front of the other!"; Can't Kick The Habit; Junker Blues (revisited from 1944 original); Nasty Boogie (it is!); Stack-O-Lee - "Stack-O-Lee, shot Billy De Lyon; and he shot him two or three times".



It was just after this recording that Jack decamped to Europe for many years, recording many sides especially with with John Mayall, until his triumphant return "back home to New Orleans" in the late 1980s.



Only drawback is short playing time (37:17) but with quality like this... just play it again! I have twice given my copy away when I wanted to give someone a single blues CD - the music is accessible to all, and at the same time it's as blues as blues can be."

Yeah, this is a good one

R. B. Wise | WV, formerly NOLA | 11/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I heard Champion Jack first on WWOZ New Orleans and nibbled on this CD. I love good barrelhouse piano and there is not a weak track on the disk. With guitar in places, sax in places, both in places, and they blend well. Like a good club set.



On to the next ...."