It is quite appropriate that one of
Steve Freund
's albums is titled
"C" for Chicago
. Although the singer/guitarist is a native New Yorker and presently lives in San Francisco,
Chicago blues
is his specialty.
Freund
used to live in the Windy City, where he was employed by heavyweights like
Sunnyland Slim
and
Koko Taylor
-- and it was where he recorded
I'll Be Your Mule
in 2000. This CD was produced by guitarist
Dave Specter
, a bluesman with strong
jazz
leanings.
Specter
(who also produced
) definitely knows his
; he could spend hours telling you about the contributions of
Charlie Parker
Thelonious Monk
. And because some (though certainly not all) parts of
are
-influenced,
was the perfect producer for this CD.
is especially
-minded on
B.B. King
's
"Fine Lookin' Woman,"
Big Bill Broonzy
"Ramblin' Bill,"
and the instrumental
"Bill Reed's Blues."
And yet, he isn't a
Jimmy Witherspoon
type of artist, or a disciple of
Jimmy Rushing
Joe Williams
.
is an electric Chicago-style bluesman whose roots are
Chess Records
,
James Cotton
Buddy Guy
, etc. But that doesn't mean that
(who wrote or co-wrote seven of the CD's 13 tracks) can't have some non-Chicago influences. Having a
orientation doesn't mean that he can't be influenced by
Texas blues
(including
Albert Collins
) or incorporate
elements occasionally.
doesn't have a great voice -- quite honestly, he's a better guitarist than singer. But he usually gets his points across, and while
isn't a masterpiece, it is a decent and sincere, if derivative, outing. ~ Alex Henderson