Doug Collette

In deserved recognition of the seminal Southern band’s final concert a decade ago, The Allman Brothers Band: Live —Beacon Theatre New York City 10-28-14 has been issued digitally and as a set of three compact discs.

No figure has had a more profound effect on blues music than Robert Johnson. A grand(iose) statement, to be sure, but given the rarity of film footage and photographs of the man, plus the comparatively few recordings he made, his influence is all more astonishing. Forty-one tracks are collected on The Complete Recordings

While Johnnie Johnson was the leader of guitarist Albert King’s rhythm section (during the blues icon’s most prolific and musically significant period) and also served as one of the cornerstones of the St. Louis blues scene, the pianist is most famous for his long-time collaborations with seminal rock and roller Chuck Berry. Vastly underrated at the time but now justly recognized as an all-time great, Johnson’s skill and soul are readily apparent in the five-minute clip: this boogie is a masterclass for all twelve bar R&B and blues students. However, perhaps most illustrative in this clip from an Australian performance are the closeups of the man’s hands on the ivories. He displays a natural affinity for the complementary nature of rhythm and melody in this earthy, foundational style of music, so it’s hardly a coincidence that the audience becomes so animated by the time “Johnnie’s Boogie” is over.

In retrospect, the Grateful Dead’s 1979 recruitment of the late Brent Mydland was the first in a series of purposeful steps the group took to reconfigure its band chemistry in the wake of Keith and Donna Godchaux’ departure. The live albums of the early Eighties, Dead Set, and Reckoning, offer early indications of the varied benefits they derived from the keyboardist/vocalist/so ngwriter’s presence (as does Crimson, White, and Indigo 7/7/89) (from late in the decade following Garcia’s recovery of his health).

The instrumental pairing of tuba master Jim Self and guitarist John Chiodini is an unlikely one to be sure, but the two veteran musicians have nurtured an equally uncommon chemistry. It is a musicianly dynamic so striking, in fact, that the two inspire not just each other, but the various other players to whom they extend invitations to collaborate. On such meetings-of-the-minds as these two Basset Hound Records releases, the music skirts the edges of tradition, but ultimately finds the participants residing within and exploring unknown territory with joyous panache. It is difficult to tell whether it is the principals or their guests who are having more fun in stretching the boundaries of arrangements and style.

The role of pianist has been crucial to the evolution of jazz throughout its history. To that end, Art Tatum, McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans have achieved iconic status over the decades and, in more recent years, Brad Mehldau and Fred Hersch

Considered to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist, Otis Spann played on records by Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, while his own records featured accompaniment from B. B. King, Eric Clapton, and Fleetwood Mac, among others. Spann never called attention to his own musicianship in those settings but in this video of “T’Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do,” Otis displays the full range of his vocal and instrumental skills. And then there’s unmitigated relish he exhibits during the performance: it’s as if he’s savoring the chance to step out from the role of sideman to lead a band of his own and make the very most of the opportunity.

Satoko Fujii is that rare artist whose technical and intuitive talents are as readily apparent in collaboration with others as when she is working on her own. To that end, she seems bent on deeply exploring the seemingly innumerable combinations of musicians and instruments, in as wide a variety of settings available to her on both the stage and in the studio. The inspired blends of talent and skill she in turn leads, then contributes to, illustrate the breadth of her ambitions as much as the command of her talent. And, as fully evidenced on this pair of titles, those practical distinctions stand quite apart from her intangible gift(s) as a fully- functioning catalyst of inimitable flair.

Chuck Berry isn’t usually considered a blues artist, but his genius actually lies in the means by which he modified elements of the genre into a style immediately recognizable as his. Take this 1958 performance of “Johnny B. Goode:” the storytelling elements in the composition are as readily discernible as the high-spirited but precise guitar playing in the performance, both of which elements serve to bring the narrative to life. In addition to the infectious nature of such material, Chuck developed the flashy, good-natured stage presence depicted here that further imprinted a favorable impression on live audiences. Likewise, Berry’s prolific output as a composer led to a string of commercially-popular single releases, the majority of them issued on the landmark blues label Chess Records from the mid-to-late Fifties: little wonder his tunes were covered by artists ranging from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead!

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir: (paperback)