Keb' Mo'

So a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to take Claire to a great concert in Buffalo. It was by bluesman Keb' Mo', and is just happened to be the day before his 60th birthday! Which was actually pretty hard to believe seeing the way he danced and jumped around on stage!

Either way, I figured--what better to post about than our experience at the concert? Keb' Mo' has been making music for almost his entire life. He actually started by playing steel drums in a calypso band. For those of you not familiar with steel drums please watch this video that will show you what they're all about:



Now that we've got that taken care of... While Mo' is certainly a student of classic blues greats, and a respected keeper of the blues tradition, I really feel like his music provides a fresh take on a lot of what blues is.

His music is upbeat, positive, and tends to have much more band interaction than traditional Delta blues, or really even Chicago blues. His songs often had deep messages about our responsibility and what it takes to be a family man. It was wonderful to have such happy, light music combined with such amazing guitar and vocal talent!

I think one of the nicest parts of his show was how eager he was to interact with the audience. He played for us what he referred to as "the only song I know that mentions Buffalo," and frequently made jokes and entertained us with stories from his life.

Since this blog has never been particularly wordy, and I have no intention of it becoming so, let's get to some music. Here is "Tell Everybody I Know" from Keb's self-titled album:



The whole album is great, and he even has a very good version of "Come on In My Kitchen" a great blues standard.


And here it is! (Keb' Mo')

Blue and Sentimental

So recently I found an incredible album. I was perusing some Jazz reviews, and I stumbled on an article about great Texas Jazz Sax players. After a few listens I was lucky enough to encounter "Cobb's Blues" by Arnett Cobb.

Cobb lived in the early to mid 20th century, and was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He played with a number of smaller bands, but eventually found himself in Lionel Hampton's band (where he replaced Illinois Jacquet, another Texas Tenor!)

His sound is astounding. He has a throaty full sound, but often comes across sweetly and smoothly so that few should be put off by his style. The album I'm featuring today has a number of Jazz standards, inluding "Georgia on my Mind," and "Willow Weep For Me." The latter is a favorite of mine, whether it is Art Tatum, Clifford Brown, or Cobb, I love the feel and classic swing of "Willow Weep For Me."



This is off the album Blue and Sentimental by Arnett Cobb and the Red Garland Trio, but Cobb's playing is certainly the shining star.

Cobb with Lionel Hampton(left)

Here is the Album (Blue and Sentimental)