CD Reviews

JÖRG DANIELSEN – Chicago Blues Straight Outta
Buenos Aires

Wolf CD 120.985 (53:01)

Blues & Rhythm

Vienna, Austria-besed singer and guitarist Jörg Danielsen
previously recorded for Styx Records and given his location, a
release for Wolf makes sense. Less expected perhaps is that it was
recorded in Argentina, There is a thriving blues scene there, and
this combination works well, certainly on the evidence of these
fourteen tracks.

The leader is backed by seven local musicians, with material from
Jerry McCain, Magic Sam, and Magic Slim, plus Leo Nocentelli’s
Got The Blues’ and Amos Milburn’s ‘Houseparty Tonight’. Most of
the material is original though, and well worth a listen, Jörg is a fine,
slightly mellow singer and his songs range from the rockin’ ‘n’ rollin”
“‘Backwoodsman Blues’ and the hokum-ish ‘Whal More Could I Do?”
to straight west side Chicago sounds such as ‘She Belongs To Me’,
and club soul – try ‘Walk The Dag’ — whilst the backing musicians
are always right on the bulton. It’s an impressive CD.

Norman Darwen (Blues & Rhythm)

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La Hora Del Blues:

If Wolf Records introduces an album with the words Chicago blues, we can fully trust the result will be real Windy City blues. This is the case of singer and guitarist Jörg Danielsen who presents this new album recorded in Buenos Aires with the collaboration of a large group of Argentinian musicians like Jorge Costales on harmonica, guitar players Federico Verteramo, Martin Burguez and Daniel De Vita, Alberto Burguez on piano, Christian Morana on bass and Germán Pedraza on drums. The recording gathers a good selection of blues songs, most of them Danielsen’s own composition, plus three covers coming from Magic Sam, Morris Holt and Jerry McCain. The group sounds fresh, well teamed and reliable, always displaying a very genuine sound. Fourteen songs, one of them sung in Spanish, give shape to this Wolf Records album, with some musicians who deeply know what is expected of them to perform with solvency a more than interesting songs that, according to Danielsen’s own words, communicate a good dose of sarcastic, happy, sad and cynical black humour. GREAT. Read Here

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50 Years of Como MS Blues

La Hora Del Blues:

Besides an extensive Chicago blues catalog, Austrian Wolf Records label gathers in its archives a valuable collection of historical recordings, made by its owners Andreas and Hannes Folterbauer to some of the most legendary blues names, not only coming from Mississippi Delta but also from other areas where rural blues could be easily found after the II World War. Now Wolf Records releases an album with a selection of those recordings, most of them done in Mississippi, specifically at Como area, with such genuine artists like Jessie Mae Hemphill, Fred McDowell (recordings courtesy by Arhoolie Records and Smithsonian Folkways), Ranie Burnett, Eli Green (recordings courtesy by Arhoolie Records and Smithsonian Folkways), Othar Turner and RL Boice. The album includes nineteen songs performed by those historical musicians, who represent the old traditional blues school that is still an important part of the feeling and love how southern Afroamerican people still express their deep feelings and experiences. I can only recommend these historical recordings and thank Wolf Records again for their amazing effort to keep the roots and blues tradition alive. ESSENTIAL. Read Here

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Black Grooves

The hill country around Como, Mississippi produced several significant country blues artists. Less than an hour south of Memphis, the relatively isolated region also gave birth to a unique blues style that was distinct from the more popular Delta blues tradition. This new compilation from Wolf Records includes both well-known and lesser-known artists from Como, including Fred McDowell, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Eli Green, Ranie Burnette and Othar Turner—all born between 1901-1923. R.L. Boyce, the last living bluesman in Como and Othar Turner’s nephew, represents the younger generation.

Many of the tracks on this anthology have never been released and were recorded by producer Hannes Folterbauer in the homes of the musicians during his trips to Como in 1975, 1991, and 2017. The exception are the tracks featuring Fred McDowell and Eli Green, which were all originally issued on the Smithsonian Folkways album You Gotta Move (1989).

50 Years of Como Ms Blues is a fine introduction to the hill country style within a narrow geographical region, tracing the lineage of performance practices from one generation to the next. Biographies of each musician and discographic details are provided in the liner notes. Read Here

Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss