The past few weeks seem both simultaneously a whirlwind and frozen in time. While the situation outside is changing by the day, if not by the hour, those of us who are stuck inside have no choice but to deal with the monotony that comes with isolation. Practicing social distancing is nothing if not tedious. To cope with the new normal, some people try to maintain a regimented routine, others binge a show, play games with family, arrange virtual meet-ups with friends, take daily walks—all in the pursuance of normalcy, entertainment, comfort. 

As self-proclaimed audiophiles and music-lovers, we are luckier than most. We know what makes us happy and what calms our nerves. Not only that, but our hobby seems to have been designed specifically for the situation we now find ourselves in. We have been “stockpiling” gear, and curating our perfect systems for years, and now (albeit under terrible circumstances) we have all the time in the world to enjoy what we have made. Now is the time to sit back, relax, and listen to our music. 

Nordost is a company made up of music lovers, and we are all excited to put some good hours in on our systems. We thought it would be fun to show you how we’re listening while cooped up at home, and we would love to see where you are enjoying your music too. Feel free to share pictures of your system in action!

I think we can all agree, there are worse places to be forced to spend time than in front of a sound system. Today, let’s all be thankful for the music, and the systems that allow us to enjoy it so beautifully!

Real music lovers can find the melody in everything. From the park to the concert hall, our friend Nelson Brill is always on the hunt for great sound. In this blog, Nelson takes us to three spectacular blues concerts around the Boston area, featuring artists Buddy Guy, Kingfish, and Peter Parcek.

TAKE ME TO THE BLUES CLUB – PART 1

By Nelson Brill         December 22, 2019  

CHICAGO – JUNE 10: Christone Kingfish Ingram performs on stage at The Chicago Blues Festival on June 10, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. (Photo by James Fraher/Redferns)

The blues continue to shake, rattle and roll in the hands of old masters and young seismic players. It is always a joy to get out to hear live blues and support a local blues club or theatre. I had the great fortune, on October 17th, to catch the electrifying master of Chicago blues, Buddy Guy (82 years young!), and his band perform at the beautiful Cabot Theatre in Beverly, MA., (the “Cabot”; http://www.thecabot.org). The newly-restored Cabot is one of those music venue gems in our region that offers a beautiful historic space, an inviting community feel and a staff that clearly cares about Good Sound (as exemplified at this concert where the music, no matter how loud and blustery, was heard crisp and coherent).

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Buddy Guy, always the consummate showman, partnered with his tight- knit band to put on a memorable show at the Cabot. On his opening “Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues!” Guy bounded onto the stage with great flourish and excitement, his voice ageless and strong: full of baritone heat and his soulful treble yelps that flutter with expressive yearning or comic relief. His electric guitar strutted in common vehicle with his voice: a searing, dancing vehicle of groove.

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Guy strikes his guitar strings with stinging perfection, each note isolated and crisp, sent on its way by the dramatic flick of his wrist outwards (like sparks sent into a night sky). He can also create big resonant heat by playfully gyrating his hips or belly against his guitar body in his prance of shimmer and shake. At one point in this concert, during Guy’s radiant extended version of his soulful ballad, “It Feels Like Rain,” Guy swiped a towel against his hotly amplified guitar strings and danced to its whoosh of colors – all the while smiling broadly (with his mischievous, playful grin).

Guy’s grooving band kept pace with him all night, barreling through such locomotive Chicago blues classics as Willie Dixon’s “Hoochie Coochie Man” and Muddy Water’s “She’s 19 Years Old”. Guitarist Ric Hall ignited “Hoochie Coochie Man” with a dynamic solo shimmering with quick trills contrasted with a sliding flurry of colors up and down his guitar. Keyboardist Marty Sammon complimented all of Guy’s greasy, flowing action with his own keyboard prances, highlighted on a classic Bobby Rush song where he twinkled light bluesy chords contrasted with his rustling runs.

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All this drama was tethered down by punctual bass and drum, highlighted by drummer Tom Hambridge’s delivery of precise thunder to stoke the band. Hambridge, (who has produced many a great blues album, including several of Guy’s) opened the concert with his own set, accompanied by keyboardist Sammon. Singing next to a small drum kit, Hambridge delivered a garland of bluesy tunes, including his smart and comic tune, “Upside of Lonely”, with Sammon’s barrelhouse runs rippling creatively under the current of Hambridge’s tight cymbal and snare.

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Guy was also joined on stage by one of his young protégés: guitarist and singer Quinn Sullivan of New Bedford, MA., who joined Guy in a closing rollicking jam. The two guitarists leapt in glowing rapport to B.B. King’s “Five Long Years” with Sullivan delivering a gust of blistering runs and searing high holds while Guy focused on a bright parade of stinging notes, prickly and animated. Smiling and joking as they played, the two guitarists stood shoulder to shoulder to nestle in their colorful rumbles while the capacity audience hollered and swayed along to the blistering grooves.

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Guy has mentored and inspired countless young guitar slingers, like Boston-based Sullivan (http://www.quinnsullivanmusic.com) and another young standout blues guitarist from Boston, Tyler Morris (http://www.tylerdmorris.com). Another of Guy’s notable young protégés is Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, hailing from Clarksdale, Mississippi.

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A few years ago, I took a trip with a buddy to the Delta to travel the historic Blues Trail (a highly recommended trip for any blues fan – see http://www.msbluestrail.org), and one of the stops along the Blues Trail is the historic town of Clarksdale. There we met a local blues harp legend, Deak Harp (http://www.deakharp.com; who owns a small music store in town) and Deak told us to stay around to attend a concert by Kingfish at the legendary Red’s Lounge in Clarksdale, one of the few remaining juke joints in the Delta. We returned that night to hear Kingfish in the intimate and welcoming Red’s, surrounded by members of his family, friends and other blues fans (who had traveled around the globe to experience the Red’s Lounge magic). I still recall how Kingfish took over the small stage at Red’s, leading a tight band in blistering How’lin Wolf and Willie Dixon tunes, spiced with his own fresh funk and soul.

Buddy Guy has now taken the young Kingfish out on national tour and set him up with Tom Hambridge to produce Kingfish’s new self-titled debut record on Alligator Records (http://www.christonekingfishingram.com).

The CD is an excellent introduction to this young Delta blues artist and highlights include Kingfish’s funky duet with Guy on their rocking “Fresh Out”; his knotted chords and leaps on the steamy “Before I’am Old” and his flowing acoustic guitar rambles and vocals on the dreamy, “Been There Before.” Some other cuts on the recording show less originality, but Kingfish imbues even these more predictable outings with his soulful vocals and dynamic guitar. The recording’s sonic quality is not audiophile quality, unfortunately, as it suffers (like many a modern blues recording) from a hyped-up “pop” treble energy that lends excess sibilance to Kingfish’s normally buff baritone and adds thinness and glare to his naturally fluid guitar churn.

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Touring in support of his debut record, Kingfish recently performed in Boston on the intimate stage of The Porch Southern Fare & Juke Joint in Malden, MA. (http://www.theporchsouthern.com). Accompanied by his tight band, Kingfish took the stage with all the confidence of a veteran bluesman churning power chords and adroit runs with effortless precision. He shifted seamlessly from the boogie commotion of “It Ain’t Right” (creating breakneck runs to the pulsing groove laid down by drummer Chris Black and bassist Paul Rodgers) to a beautiful quiet acoustic version of “Listen,” a soft-spinning ballad that utilized Kingfish’s crisp guitar strums along with earthy deep vocals.

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Kingfish also graciously invited local blues guitarist and songwriter Tyler Morris to the stage to join him in a blistering youthful exchange. The two guitar slingers joyfully conversed on BB King’s “The Thrill Is Gone” with Kingfish rendering spinning, stinging notes in colorful boogie while Morris contributing beefy amplified holds and frisky, sparkling flourishes on his scorching guitar. Here were two young protégés of Buddy Guy dipping their buckets into the rich well of the blues tradition to inspire their own fresh takes: deep toe-tapping blues, heart-felt and soulful.

And speaking of heart-felt and soulful, there was another recent Boston blues-love fest that must be mentioned, as it too shook the rafters of a local club and made for another memorable evening of rollicking blues. This was the concert held on December 19th presented by Boston radio station WUMB (http://www.wumb.org) on the intimate stage of the inviting Burren, located in Somerville, MA. (http://www.burren.com). The concert was a special gathering of local blues musicians led by virtuoso guitarist, singer and songwriter, Peter Parcek (http://www.peterparcekband.com), who brings a gale-force presence and creativity to everything his blistering electric blues (and roving curiosity) seeks.

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Parcek was joined by a host of sterling local musicians, including Marco Gilvino on drums (a creative presence on his drumkit and a great producer in his own right – see Strange Angels: In Flight With Elmore James [Sylvan Songs Records] – my pick for best Blues record of 2018); Joe Klompus on bass; Tom West on keyboards; Jonathan LaMaster on violin and Danielle Miraglia on guitar and vocals.

From classics to Parcek originals, the band strode forth on the locomotive thunder of Parcek’s electric guitar. Parcek covers all styles of the blues with aplomb. He loves to grease his guitar neck with quick runs and splintered ends of notes, (like little barbs of sharp glow), and also loves to let his tumultuous slides wring out all their amplified heat and fuzz into the surrounding air. Parcek’s earthy vocals, with their touch of light grit and grain, make for an expressive vehicle with his guitar: surging and soulful or fire-alarm audacious. At the Burren, Parcek attacked the classic boogie of “Kokomo Blues” with an inventive slip and slides of notes, sputtering in short trills or letting his unspooled long slides luxuriate in their falling heat. He took up his slide guitar to ignite the fuzz-ladened storm of his new original, “World Upside Down,” erupting in a swath of harmonics and big holds that billowed outwards in resonant, vibrating thunder.

Parcek’s All-Star band followed Parcek’s every creative flight, reveling in their collective synergy and zest. Gilvino employed a number of creative additions to his drum kit (a tambourine attached to the top of his hi-hat; shakers attached to his drum sticks) to spice his deep, steady pulse and his propulsive low thrums. Klompus teased with isolated bass notes and fleshy pulls, especially loving his interplay with West, whose gliding keyboard notes always hit the grooving target with their melodic flow and velvety pulse. The combination of the band’s electric blues with LaMaster’s fiddle was another cool twist, animated with new colors and LaMaster’s swooping phrasing and deft plucks.

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When the silken-voiced Miraglia took to the stage, the band fell in with her dulcet spirit on a smartly grooving Dylan tune, rolling along on Miraglia’s silvery lithe phrasing, (adding earthy husk to her most fervent high reaches). The band played a final holiday salute, Chuck Berry’s “Run, Rudolph, Run”, busting out of the gate with Parcek and Miraglia exchanging frenetic guitar quips joined by West’s barrage of barrelhouse runs. Parcek, (always the intrepid, open-hearted bluesman), was all smiles in hurling forth his final, tumultuous guitar hold to cap this merry night of blues at the Burren.

You can read more of Nelson’s concert reviews at www.bostonconcertreviews.com.

Real music lovers can find the melody in everything. From the park to the concert hall, our friend Nelson Brill is always on the hunt for great sound. In this blog, Nelson brings us to The Berkshires to see what Tanglewood had in store for their audiences this summer. 

CLASSICAL MUSIC UNBOUNDED: A DAY SPENT AT TANGLEWOOD

By Nelson Brill         July 23, 2019  

On entering Tanglewood, the idyllic summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (“BSO”; http://www.bso.org), there is always a distinctive welcoming call that you will hear. It is the sound of songbirds that might mix on the summer air with the clarion call from a lone trumpet or a rising note from a soprano’s aria (all coming from Tanglewood’s practice sheds that dot its majestic grounds).

On the early morning of July 13th, I heard this same welcoming call as I entered the Bernstein Gate at Tanglewood to walk to the famed Koussevitsky Shed (the “Shed”) where a morning rehearsal (led by BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons) was taking place. As I sat down at the Shed, I heard several audience members buzzing about the BSO’s performance the previous evening when the young Canadian pianist, Jan Lisiecki, made his Tanglewood debut in performance of Edward Grieg’s Piano Concerto. (“Did you hear that young man at the piano – astounding!”). I happen to also take a seat next to HK Gruber, the composer of Aerial, Concerto For Trumpet and Orchestra, (“Aerial”) one of the pieces that the BSO was rehearsing that morning. Interacting with composers and musicians informally is one of the many special treats at Tanglewood. This summer has brought the opening of Tanglewood’s new education and concert facility, the Linde Center, along with the activities of its Tanglewood Learning Center (http://www.TLI.org) making Tanglewood’s music education programs and community activities even more accessible.

It was a special musical treat to eavesdrop on the BSO’s rehearsal of Aerial, which featured the gifted trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger as its soloist. Aerial turned out to be a fascinating journey in which Gruber has the soloist perform on an assortment of trumpets and mutes to create a swirling pallet of horn colors. Hardenberger moved effortlessly between his tiny piccolo trumpet (sounding brazen and sharp, but when muted, producing soft, piercing bursts); a small polished shofar (producing different breathy sounds as Hardenberger cupped his fingers around its opening) and a silver trumpet ( with a sound that could be crisp or clarion but also vaporous and gauzy when played through a stand-mounted mute).

photo by Hilary Scott

Hardenberger’s metallic frolic was the perfect vehicle to explore Gruber’s colorist inventions in his Aerial. These included Hardenberger’s jazzy bursts and riffs on piccolo trumpet (in duet with a strutting tuba or a racing bass string) or his vaporous trumpet growls (which combined with quiet string holds and the resonant flutter of a marimba run to create a meditative soundscape). Aerial also contained a startling march where Hardenberger’s trumpet joined in an off-kilter jam session with the orchestra, brazen and dancing forth. The conclusion of Aerial was another surprising bolt of color: Hardenberger held a single lingering note on his piccolo trumpet and walked to the side of the stage where a piano sat. He then held this note, blowing softly into the strings of the piano, to create a solitary whisper that slowly evaporated into the stillness of Tanglewood’s morning air.

After this first rehearsal of the piece, Gruber approached the stage to consult with Nelsons and Hardenberger and then several passages were rehearsed again. In one section, Nelsons instructed the brass section to play softer so that a saxophone run could be heard more distinctly. In another section, he and Hardenberger requested that the woodwinds create a more dynamic wave action to a colorful run, working on accenting certain beats so that they created an undulating wave of sound (demonstrated by Nelsons as he gestured his baton up and down, waving his arms in a wavelike motion).

photo by Hilary Scott

In addition to the unique opportunity to catch an early morning BSO rehearsal at Tanglewood, there is also the opportunity to catch a great student performance of a work you may not have heard. On this afternoon, there was a concert given by students of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (“BUTI”; http://www.bu.edu/tanglewood), led by their conductor, Bruce Riesling, in performance of Desert Transport, an exciting work by composer (and BUTI alumnus) Mason Bates.

I had been looking for a chance to hear a live performance of Desert Transport ever since I heard the fantastic recording of it by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (“BMOP”), led by their intrepid conductor, Gil Rose, on their superb CD/SACD Mothership [BMOP Sound; http://www.bmop.org]. This earlier performance, (recorded in the airy confines of New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall), is full of sonic treats and stellar musicianship. The music on this recording is bracing and lustrous, riding on prodigious brass flourishes, creative electronic effects, layered string sections (providing a juicy thrum) and a soundstage that is deep and wide.

The BUTI Young Artists performance of Desert Transport at Ozawa Hall was likewise potent and full of collective verve. Bates’ journey moved from sprawling canyon lands (represented with airy string holds and sweeping waves of woodwind colors) to meditative Native American chants (whose recordings are layered over the soft swells of strings) to a helicopter ride over the desert landscape where the sound of its rotating blades are heard in the strings’ quick pounces on their bows and in a crackling of percussion. The BUTI Young Artists dug deep to deliver all of these colorful details of Bates’ music, working as a coherent unit- even on Bates’ most demanding surges. The finale, with its huge bass drum whips and swirling string and brass choruses, sounded like a vast, cataclysmic roar in the crisp acoustic of Ozawa Hall.

As twilight descended on Tanglewood, the Prelude Concert, (usually presented by Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center before the evening concert) was a more intimate gathering focused on chamber music. This evening, there was a shimmering performance of Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio in G minor (1846), by pianist Mathilde Handelsman, violinist Wei Lu and cellist Jonah Krolik.. Schumann’s piece is filled with dreamy light melodies, delivered with sweet and lilting touches in the hands of these three alert partners. Handelsman was particularly fine at her piano, lacing her notes with soft pedal touches that allowed each note to flow graciously into her partner’s embraces. The vivid acoustics of Ozawa Hall allowed for every cello plunge, violin soar and piano glow to be heard crisp and clear into the lingering shadows of the lawn.

This graceful performance of Clara Schumann reminded me of a new favorite recording involving another piano Trio, The Hermitage Piano Trio, (“Hermitage”) performing chamber works by Sergei Rachmaninoff. This recording was made in the airy confines of another treasured Hall of our region, Mechanics Hall, (located in Worcester, MA.) and produced by the esteemed audiophile team at Reference Recordings (“RR”)(http://www.referencerecordings.com).

In contrast to Clara Schumann’s lilting melodies, here we have the deep, soulful meditations of Rachmaninoff played with elemental and unflinching power by the Hermitage. For instance, the final movement to Rachmaninoff’s Trio Elegiaque no. 2 is a searing example of how violinist Misha Keylin, cellist Sergey Antonov and pianist Ilya Kazantsev combine into one intense vehicle to reveal all the drama, virtuosity and controlled combustion of this finale. Kazantsev’s piano is thunderous, his poignant held chords reveling in their sustained attack and airy decay. His touch on piano is both cataclysmic and enveloping. Antonov’s cello and Keylin’s violin surge in and around Kazantsev’s thunderclaps, all beautifully captured on this recording in their earthy tones; their spare runs and their entwining, soulful holds.

The RR team is unrivaled when it comes to capturing the ambience of a given recording space; the natural image dimensionality of players on a stage and the tactile aliveness of an acoustic performance. This new Hermitage recording joins another earlier RR gem, (another of my favorites) also recorded at Mechanics Hall.

This is a recording of the Concord Chamber Music Society (“Concord”; comprised of members of the BSO) in performance of music from contemporary composers Chris Brubeck, Michael Gandolfi and Lukas Foss. Here is a journey filled with sparkling acoustic instruments delivering all the spunk, creativity and motion of this music that defies characterization, moving as it does from classical, jazz, bluegrass and beyond. The recording is superb in its presence and its tactile life. For instance, there is nothing more delectable than hearing the rotund, woody sound of Thomas Martin’s sinuous clarinet play in duet with Wendy Putnam’s off-stage lithe violin, and listen as Putnam moves gradually onstage to join her partners in Brubeck’s shimmering Danza Del Soul. This is the stuff of music-lovers’ dreams and audiophile pleasures.

Back at Tanglewood, the gala evening concert on July 13th involved a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s dynamic and sumptuous Requiem, under the direction of Andris Nelsons, with the full Tanglewood Festival Chorus and four stellar opera singers adding their vocal glories to Verdi’s soaring drama.

photo by Hilary Scott

This concert brought out the best in Tanglewood’s communal and musical spirit. A capacity and diverse crowd of young and old gathered on Tanglewood’s grand lawn before the Shed, dining on picnic blankets and strolling the grounds. As the performance began, the large crowd hushed to a whisper (the only noise being the singing of crickets) as a full moon rose over the Berkshires.

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There were many highlights to this starry performance. The duets performed by soprano Kristine Opolais and mezzo-soprano Oksana Volkova were spectacular vocal creations; their sweet and powerful voices entwining beautifully. Opolais’ dulcet soprano was tender, fluid and when called upon, intensely passionate in her highest soars. Volkova possessed a full bodied and glowing voice, perfectly suited to bring passion and warm phrasing to Verdi’s dramatic score. Tenor Jonathan Tetelman was a sparkling vocal presence with his own vocal passion and fluid athleticism. At one point, he held a fiery high note with bravado and then effortlessly descended with a song filled with rapid pitch changes, (all unwavering in their expressive intensity). Bass Baritone Ryan Speedo Green was also indefatigable. His blasts of deepest swagger echoed into the night. He also possessed a beautiful way with soft lyrics and harmonies, caressing his deep phrases with tenderness, cushioned in quiet orchestral and choral passages. The Tanglewood Festival Chorus rang out with their own sumptuous vocal energy, spreading their radiant voices over the lawn (into the Berkshire Hills beyond) on their most regal crescendos. When Nelsons held his hands high to signal one of Verdi’s dramatic moments, the earth around Tanglewood felt like it was shifting under the thunder of human voices and instruments in full regalia, proclaiming their leaping unity in musical purpose.

Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood; Boston Globe

Tanglewood’s glorious season continues…See http://www.bso.org for all upcoming concerts and programs this summer.

You can read more of Nelson’s concert reviews at www.bostonconcertreviews.com.

Real music lovers can find the melody in everything. From the park to the concert hall, our friend Nelson Brill is always on the hunt for great sound. In this blog, Nelson takes a closer listen to blues music as it inspires choreography, plays in our home systems, and is performed in concert.

THE BALM OF THE BLUES-PART 1

By Nelson Brill    May 21, 2019

The blues continue to inhabit our musical lives, enriching and uplifting our spirits and keeping us in stride in these difficult political times. One enduring example of how the blues are a spiritual balm (and continue to move people forward) is found in the radiant choreography and dances performed by one of the world’s treasured dance companies, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, (“Alvin Ailey”; http://www.alvinailey.org). Alvin Ailey celebrated their 60th anniversary with a series of performances held at the Boch Center Wang Theatre on May 2nd through May 5th, presented by Celebrity Series of Boston (http://www.celebrityseries.org).

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Since its world premier in 1960, Alvin Ailey’s signature masterpiece, Revelations, (choreographed when their founder was only 29 years old) has been performed around the globe. To commemorate its 60th year, Alvin Ailey performed Revelations to conclude each of its Boston programs. Revelations is an intimate reflection upon Ailey’s childhood growing up in Texas, deeply influenced by his church, its music and the writings of Langston Hughes and James Baldwin. The first scene, (which Ailey described as “getting up out of the ground”) finds a group of dancers dressed in earthen tones aligned in a tight circle. The group raises and lowers its arms and limbs to create a slow-motion wave of rising and falling bodies, like a flock of birds gathering into the sky from some low point in the earth. This evolving action is propelled by music from Ailey’s childhood: church spirituals deep in their majestic pulse and brewing fervor.

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In later scenes, male dancers stalk the stage in long, leaping bounds to the striding spiritual, “Sinner Man,” or flow in swirling, entwined pairs to the uplifting pulse of the spiritual, “Wade In The Water” (dipping their toes in flowing blue fabric as it is stretched across the stage).

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The final scene of Revelations is a dazzling frolic where dancers twirl, swirl and partner in high-stepping glee in celebration of life, love and joy– all to the booming sounds of the spiritual, “Rocka My Soul In The Bosom of Abraham”. The capacity audience at the Boch Center leapt to their feet at the conclusion of Revelations (clapping and singing along to “Rocka My Soul”) clearly moved by the brilliance of the dancers and Ailey’s vision: from sorrow to spiritual uplift in the comforting embrace of the blues.

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Seeing Revelations performed after so many years inspired me to listen to one of my favorite audiophile recordings of powerful traditional spirituals re-arranged in brilliant fashion by singer Mavis Staples, herself a veteran of the civil rights struggles and a treasured voice today in the fight against racism and inequality.

On her incendiary recording from 2007, We’ll Never Turn Back [Anti Records CD] Staples and her kinetic band, (which includes producer Ry Cooder on guitars and mandolin) pounce on such traditional songs as “Eyes On The Prize”; “This Little Light Of Mine” and “Turn Me Round” and ignite them into molten-hot music, demanding to be heard. Her original, “My Own Eyes” is another stunner: her own musical version of Revelations as she marches through her own civil rights movement history with her father, Pops Staples, as her inspiration. Her band is a churning boogie of blues and toe-tapping power. Mavis’ guttural growls; her deep gospel vocal plunges and her soaring chants are captured radiant, harmonically rich and kinetic on this great recording, ensnared in an airy soundstage swept by the layered, resonant sounds from her tightly grooving band. This is how a blues album should to be recorded, without the hyped-up treble and thinness of so many marred blues recordings I have heard.

There’s no stopping the 79-year old Mavis and her fiery blues: she has come out with a new album, Live In London [Anti Records] and is set to release another new recording soon.

Her Live In London is another shot of gospel and blues messages (straight to the political heart) with her band captured up-close in searing flow at London’s Union Chapel. Mavis’ voice is still a gale force, (captured a bit thinner here than on We’ll Never Turn Back) with guitarist Rick Holmstrom fierce on his unleashed guitar solos – boisterous and brightly lit – as the charismatic Mavis shouts out: “We’ve got work to do!”

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The elemental force of the blues also took center stage in several Boston area concerts, where volcanic electric guitars and harmonicas served to deliver spiritual uplift to capacity crowds.

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The first of these concerts was a magnetic gathering of blues musicians to honor the legacy of brilliant bluesman James “SuperHarp” Cotton (1935-2017). This tribute concert was held at the Narrows Center For The Arts in Fall River, MA. (http://www.narrowscenter.org), a venue for live music that is always reliable for its good sound and its welcoming community feel. The show was hosted by Boston rocker and harpist, James Montgomery, and Holly Harris, host of Boston radio station WUMB’s blues show (http://www.wumb.org). Fittingly, an empty chair was kept onstage for Cotton (in case his spirit come by for a listen, as Montgomery urged).

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Longtime Boston blues legends Annie Raines and Paul Rishell opened the show with their sparkling presence, plying their harp, guitar and vocals in delicate sprays of notes on their sparkling “Got To Fly!”. Harpist extraordinaire Jerry Portnoy moved to a different groove with a silken fluid softness to his harp, pushing it to a regal bluster when fully launched. Harpist Rick Estrin, adorned in a silver suit, took off like a rocket on his harp: snarling, blurting down deep and at one point, holding his harp in his mouth lengthwise (without any use of his hands!) to shimmy and shake his body to his cascade rockous of sounds.

Rick Estrin -Daily Republic

Young California harpist Kyle Rowland was another stunning Cotton protégé with a gale force of sounds to accompany his expressive vocals- sensual and dynamic (coupled with Bob Margolin’s bracing slide guitar) on Muddy Water’s classic, “Mannish Boy”. Another master harp player, Cheryl Arena, (originally from Boston), delivering down-home grit and silvery soars (and the lightest of breathy throbs) on Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Help Me.”

James Montgomery-The Valley Advocate

The bands that accompanied these gifted harp players were also on fire (inspired by Cotton’s spirit) led by James Montgomery’s charismatic and muscular presence on his harp (leading his own boisterous band) and with guitar greats Kenny Neal and Darrell Nulisch adding their own urgency and funk. Another highlight was the reunion of Cotton’s touring band who delivered a slinky-tight rocking focus to the celebration. The finale was a roaring version of Cotton’s classic, “The Creeper”, where everyone gleefully piled in. On this last tune, Cotton’s guitarist, Rico McFarland, jammed with several harpists, including the roguish Mark Hummel, who unleashed a torrent of sounds from his harp (piercing high and mercurial), next to McFarland’s tightly churning guitar.

Tinsley Ellis-In My Time Photography

James Cotton’s spirit also infused another Boston concert of feisty Chicago and jump blues glory. On March 28th, guitar legends Tinsley Ellis, Coco Montoya and their stellar bands played a fabulous double bill at The Center For The Arts In Natick, MA. (“TCAN”; http://www.natickarts.org). TCAN is another stellar venue in the Boston area for getting up close and personal with live blues because the venue is intimate, welcoming and reliable for providing excellent sound.

Tinsley Ellis and his power trio (bassist Devin McCann and drummer Eric Dravinsky) opened the show with their spirited combination from Ellis’ southern rocking roots to his smoldering Chicago style blues. Ellis is the total blues delivery system. He possesses a big, expressive voice that invites you into the drama of every song. On his opening “Sound of a Broken Man” taken from his new album, Winning Hand [Alligator Records; http://www.alligator.com], his rounded baritone was full of bold expression as his guitar leaped and stung in short bursts around it. Hearing this tune live was much more satisfying than on his CD because, for whatever reason, the blues hero label, Alligator Records, continues to produce magnificent artists with sound that is frequently pop- thin on vocal richness and instrumental tones, along with, at higher volume, treble glare. (Their LP editions tend to be slightly better in this regard). Winning Hand suffers from this same fate, particularly on Ellis’ high guitar notes, recorded thin and unnaturally wiry, instead of tonally substantial and glowing.

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Back at the concert, on his sterling “Gambling Man,” (also from Winning Hand), Ellis sang high and fervent with a great feel for the slow brewing nature of this gem as he let it evolve from a pulsating surge to a rumbling furnace of guitar soars and bass drum heat. Ellis’ guitar styling was a perfect foil for his expressive vocals. For instance, he held onto low guitar notes seemingly forever, (like relishing the burnt ends of barbecue) then slid up his neck to scorch high notes and bends. He also loved to let his fingers fall precipitously to create a swift “zing” of metallic sounds. These were all showcased on his fantastic slow cooker, “Saving Grace,” (also from his new album) and on the rocker, “Cut You Loose”. On this last leaping number, Dravinsky’s closed hi-hat and McCann’s bopping bass propelled Ellis into a dancing ride, (hitting sly string bends and quick twisting holds up top), as his expressive vocals ran perfectly in their stride.

The Morning Call

With his own bolt of lightning, guitar legend Coco Montoya swept onto the TCAN stage with his band (Eric Robert on keyboards, Nate Brown on bass and Rene Beavers on drums) and took off with their own stew of Chicago blues funk and swing. Their version of a Sly Johnson song was all slinky funk with rolling bass lines, Montoya’s stinging guitar and Robert’s juicy keyboard romps. Robert was a showstopper all night on his electric keys. He provided rolling and glittering piano grooves to shake the walls of “Love Jail” (written by Montoya for his mentor, Albert Collins). On Montoya’s rolling and grooving “Tumbleweed”, he washed the length of his keyboard with dashing flourishes and tight barrelhouse runs.

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With his guitar nestled against his large frame, Montoya moved effortlessly from jazzy rifts to stinging holds, always on the lookout for another creative riff or bright-hued line. Like a kid, he sometimes gleefully discovered a simple combination of notes or chords which he decided to churn, over and over, to create this rush of crashing sounds and a crescendo of colors. His vocals were a bit thin and less expressive in character than Ellis’, but there was no stopping his enthusiasm for the sharp concise whip of his guitar solos or his elemental back-beat.

Tinsley and Montoya-Baltimore Beacon

The concert’s finale, where both bands took the stage, was an electrifying moment. Ellis and Montoya dueled side by side; each taking a turn. They started deliberately and slowly, feeding slow funky patterns (with Ellis slurring notes and Montoya stinging isolated notes). They then took off on a collective soar, (with their bandmates riding the groove effortlessly), into a gallop of jazz rifts, furious blues swing and cataclysmic high holds that had the capacity crowd on their feet roaring their approval.

If you would like to read Part II of The Balm Of The Blues, or more of Nelson’s blog reviews, visit www.bostonconcertreviews.com.