Harpman JT Ross originally hails from Chicago, but is now based in LA.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, his influences include a range of harp masters from
Chicago (Little Walter, Junior Wells and James Cotton) and the West Coast
(William Clarke). The Clarke connection is reinforced with the release of
"Loaded," his debut CD, where he is joined by members of Clarke's band.
The album opens with "I've Got To Know," the first of several tracks
written by producer Jimmy Morello (which appeared on his 1998 CD "The Road
I Travel" on JSP Records). It chugs along nicely and offers newcomers a
first taste of Ross' big fat harp sound. It is swiftly backed up by another
three Morello tunes, where Ross puts the band through their paces and they
come up to the mark collectively and individually, and lays down some tasty
licks on chromatic and diatonic harps.
Following an uptempo interpretation of Jimmy Reed's "Ain't That Lovin' Ya
Baby?" Ross really comes into his own on the instrumental, "Doggin' It." If
the sign of a master harp man is how well he handles a chromatic, this one
shows that Ross is right up there with the best of them. It is a cracking
tune that bounds along very energetically, before Ross digs into the
Morello songbook once more.
After romping through Clarke's "Pawnshop Bound," which features some Jerry
McCain-like "Scratch My Back" interludes, Willie Dixon's "Young Fashioned
Ways," where Ross sings through the harp mic, and one more Morelli
number"Can't Get No Rest," Ross polishes the chromatic for one last shot.
"Top Hat" is an easy going, finger snapping jazzy number, where Ross'
playing once more calls to mind William Clarke.
"Loaded" is one of the best debut albums of the year. JT Ross is a mighty
fine harp player, with a good voice. The only minor drawback is the lack of
original material, but Ross is still only in his early 20's, so there's
plenty of time for the songwriting talent to develop. Pairing him with
William Clarke's band was an inspired move for his first album, but I hope
it does not mean that he ends up being labeled as the new William Clarke.
"Loaded" shows that Ross is a major harp talent that is well worth checking
out.
www.southsidela.net
www.jtross.com
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