There's a wonderful new recording which a real delight for those of us who
love down-home blues piano playing and singing. It's the latest by the
shamefully under-recorded blues shouter and powerhouse of the 88s Mr. Big
Joe Duskin. It's "Big Joe Jumps Again," Yellow Dog Records YDR 1133.

There's nothing artificial or overly polished about Joe's style. It can be
gentle or hard-driving, but it always feels completely natural.

Even though Joe is a true original I can hear echoes of blues history in
his playing. This is a man who has obviously been a listener as well as a
player.

The recording starts with a short snippet of a rocking version of Lowell
Fulson's "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone." One of my only complaints
about this recording is that it includes several short pieces like this
that end abruptly. Just when I get into them, WHAM! they're over. That's
also the case with "Down the Road a Piece" and "Just a Closer Walk with
Thee." I find this frustrating. I want to hear MORE! Fortunately there's
a longer version of "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" later in the
recording, with a very different groove - kind of a slow "Linda Lou"
shuffle. "North To Alaska," yes, that Johnny Horton song, is another of
those snippets, but it's worth a little frustration to hear it arranged as
a boogie woogie!

I was really delighted by Peter Frampton's soulful and sympathetic
accompaniments of Joe on "Every Day I Have the Blues" and "Key to the
Highway." It just shows that my prejudice against rockers is as off the
mark as most prejudices prove to be. These cuts show a fine blues
sensibility. Really a treat.

The other backing musicians do a terrific job of supporting Joe. They never
dilute what makes his music special, which is a common pitfall for
musicians backing an inventive artist. Great job, fellows. The "Black
Mountain Blues" track features vocals by Bessie Smith-influenced Shawna
Snyder. This cut allows us to see that Joe is an excellent accompanist, a
role which, in my opinion, requires even greater skill and sensitivity than
being the star.

Roosevelt Sykes' love song to "Miss Ida B" and his vengeful "Get Out of My
Way," as well as that old tale of "Betty and Dupree," are told with such a
traditional feel that I forget it's the 21st century.

"Black Rat Swing" by Memphis Minnie (and, I believe, one of her husbands
named Joe) turns up here renamed "One Dirty Rat." Joe has put his own very
original stamp on this tune, bringing to it a groove that suggests a funky
version of Brother Ray's "What'd I Say." Very, very cool!

Joe's own composition "Mean and Strange" is a very effective lament about a
love gone wrong. His singing reminds me of what first appealed to me about
the blues: that bewildered, wronged, lost and lonely thing. Even the piano
part feels that way to me.

"Sloppy Drunk Blues" is a tune I love. So many great artists have
performed this gem, including Lucille Bogan, Leroy Carr John "Sonny Boy"
Williamson, Jimmy Rogers and so many more. Joe's version is certainly one
of my favorites.

Like so many bluesmen I've known from his generation, Joe is a wonderful
storyteller. The cut "The Preacher and the Devil's Music" represents that
side of Joe.

I highly recommend that you catch Joe live, telling his stories and making
his music with power and grace. I think Joe is a gem, a real deep and
original bluesman. This fine recording captures his magic and will bring
joy and pleasure to any lover of the blues.

This recording should be available in early September from
www.yellowdogrecords.com or Amazon.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.