CD Review
Dr. Blues and his Screamin' Blue Orchestra
Something Old, New, Borrowed 'n Blue
(Sheppard Records 814815912-1)
by David Coffin
Review date: Auguast 2001
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1999 KBA Award Winner
Achievement for Blues on the Internet
Presented by the Blues Foundation
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Guitarist Carl "Dr Blues" Stone grew up in Chicago and was deeply affected by blues and jazz traditions from an early age. He cites his early influences as Junior Wells, Red Garland, Big Walter Horton and Joe Pass amongst others. During his early years in Chicago he was a regular at many of the Windy City's blues and jazz clubs while his career followed the path of jazz session guitarist. After 20 years in the studio, Stone decided to return to his blues roots, the hard way - playing out, night after night. It was in a smoky, loud club just north of Boston that he was eventually 'discovered' by legendary Hammond B-3 player, Rod Levy. Levy appears on this disc as part of The Doctor's recording quartet with a rhythm section of Michael Ward and Warren Grant.
SONB'n'B features 11 tracks of small combo, jazzy blues and bluesy surf music led by Stone's guitar. Two tracks feature the vocals of Claudette Bouchard on standards "How Long" and "Just a Little Bit" while the rest of the disc is a mix of original and cover instrumentals. The Doctor takes on two Thelonius Monk covers - "Misterioso" and the closing "Well You Needn't." Some might see this as a bold move on a blues disc, but, hey, fellow guitarists - most of Monk's catalog is blues based; there are just a lot of spaces between the notes that need to be handled with care. Inevitably, by playing in this genre, comparisons will be made to Danny Gatton or Ronnie Earl. Suffice to say, The Doctor is a great player, with his own style and with a good selection of material. The Doctor is in!
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http://www.sheppardinc.com
This review is copyright © 2001 by David Coffin, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission. For permission to use this review please send an E-mail to Ray Stiles.
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