By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
BLUES REVIEWS
Omar Coleman
T
he classic Chicago blues group
Mississippi Heat delivers a landmark
12th album with the multi-faceted Cab
Driving Man (Delmark.) It’s an impressive
accomplishment for any performer to produce a dozen consistently high quality
albums but for an outfit like Mississippi
Heat, with a frequently changing ensemble
and a band leader who works as a clinical
psychologist as a day job, it’s especially noteworthy. The group has been pumping out
well-crafted blues for 25 years and judging
from this release, Mississippi Heat will continue to create relevant music for a changing
music industry.
The liner notes for the 16-track CD point
out a few interesting facts about Chicago
music history. Cab Calloway, the legendary
jazz singer and band leader who was born in
New York and has always been associated
with his shows at Harlem’s famous Cotton
Club, actually got his start in Chicago. He
moved to Chicago and studied law at what is
now Malcolm X College but was quickly
sidetracked by the jazz scene. He was performing at Bronzeville’s Sunset Club when
he met Louis Armstrong who tutored him on
the art of scatting and the rest is history. Of
course in the end, Cab Calloway returned to
Chicago again for his pivotal role in “The
Blues Brothers” movie in 1980. Master harp
legend Big Walter Horton also made a cameo
appearance in the movie and it was Horton
who first inspired Mississippi Heat founder
Pierre Lacocque to become a blues musician
as a teen.
18 illinoisentertainer.com novemer 2016
But its Cab Calloway’s musical legacy
and unsung Chicago connection that serves
as the inspiration for the album’s title track,
“Cab Driving Man.” The boogie woogie
blues track about a gregarious and engaging
cab driver displays undercurrents of
Calloway’s cabaret style and traces of the
“Minnie The Moocher” rhythm. The whole
album provides unexpected influences like
that, from Latin rhythms to R&B standards.
The opener, “Cupid Bound” sets the tone
with a feel good romp and lead singer Inetta
Visor wailing away about long-lasting love:
“I never planned to ever settle down/ I never
dreamed to be be one day /cupid bound.”
Engaging storytelling has always been a
Mississippi Heat hallmark and this collection
features 11 originals written by Pierre, three
by guitarist Michael Dotson and two well
chosen covers. It’s all a high energy, compelling blues package that requires focused
listening. Highlights include a haunting
blues lament, “Flowers On My Tombstone,”
about an abusive relationship where the
woman is “staying for the kids,” and the polished cover,”Don’t Mess Up A Good Thing,”
an R&B classic originally made famous by
Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure. Inetta is
joined by guitarist Giles Corey and the result
is a soulful blues stomp that begs you to spin
around the dance floor. “Rosalie” spins the
tale of being lost on a country dirt road to
whirling harp grooves and “Mama Kaila” is
a moody blues ballad about a difficult mother-in-law steeped in weariness and regret.
“Smooth Operator,” originally performed by
Sarah Vaughn, is smooth indeed and filled
with old school roots rock and Latin inflections. It might sound like a hodge podge of
sounds but Mississippi Heat’s tight musicianship ensures that the blues foundation is
always firm. No matter what your favorite
blues style, Cab Driving Man has you well
covered.
If there is even an inkling of fear that
Chicago blues has lost its fire all a naysayer
need do is catch Omar Coleman live. The up
and coming bluesman serves up a funk-filled
show that recalls untouchable blues icons
like Junior Wells and Bobby Rush. It’s always
a sweaty, hip-shaking good time whenever
Omar performs and those unlucky enough to
not have caught him live can grab the second
best thing by listening to his newest release,
Omar Coleman Live at Rosa’s Lounge
(Delmark). It’s impossible to listen to the
album’s 10 explosive tunes without dancing
and nodding your head, which is a good
indication of the seamless production. The
CD recreates the intimate, warm-spirited feel
of Rosa’s Lounge and it sounds like Omar is
blasting his harp right in front of you. The
sublime opener, a revelatory cover of Junior
Wells and Buddy Guy’s funk blues classic,
“Snatch It Back and Hold It,” bursts out with
urgent rhythms. Before you have a chance to
catch you breath, he slides into Johnny
Taylor’s blues soul hit “Wall to Wall.” That’s
just the first 10 minutes of the album and the
contagious blues grooves will still not allow
you to sit down. Omar tackles the Willie
Dixon classic “I’m Ready” with gritty style
and then roars into his signature “Born and
Raised” autobiographical tune; “Born in 73
on the West Side of Chicago,” he declares
like a blues savior. Pete Galanis adds a killer
guitar solo and it’s all you can do to keep
your body from swaying manically. The
entire CD is an excellent reflection of Omar’s
live show. Mixed with expertly interpreted
standards as well as originals, it’s a near perfect example of contemporary Chicago blues.
From his mellow “Raspberry Wine” and his
soulful ballad “One Request,”,to the rollicking Willie Dixon closer “Two-Headed Woman,”
Omar Coleman Live! treats you to the live blues
party that is an Omar Coleman show.