[Harp-L] CD Review of Jelly Roll Johnson¹s Latest Release: ³Come Rain Or Come Shine²

[PT Gazell <pt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It was early December 2012 when I got a call from my good friend Jelly Roll
Johnson. After a bit of Nashville chitchat, Jelly informed me that he was
about to record an EP of 7 songs.

This immediately got my attention since Jelly Roll does not take documenting
his playing lightly. In February I got another call from the maestro asking
if I would be interested in mastering the project. I said yes.

As soon as I got the mixes and started to listen I knew this was going to be
good. The instrumentation was the first thing that grabbed me. Jelly Roll on
harmonica, Pat Bergeson on guitar, (yeah that Pat Bergeson) Chris Brown on
drums (same drummer I have used on my last three CDs,) and Charles Treadway
on B3 organ!

That B3 organ with Charles kicking bass pedals is what makes this a sonic
delight. My first thought was, that it had that classic jazz sound to it.
You know, like a Cannonball Adderley or Gene Ammons LP. It¹s jazz, but it
has that Soul and Rhythm and Blues feel to it.

Of course none of that matters if you don¹t have the musical vocabulary to
match the songs and instrumentation. Believe me? these guys do!
Charles, Pat & Chris sound like they been out gigging 6 nights a week at all
the important venues nationwide. They know when to play, what to play, and
how to play with each other.

Which brings me to Jelly Roll. This guy¹s low key and humble personality
does not properly convey the musical prowess that has made him the first
call session player here in Music City for years.

That thick buttery tone, coupled with his relaxed approach to the beat has
always made me envious. Jelly never seems to be in a hurry with his
delivery, and that makes it twice as hard to pull off since there is no
place to hide. No gimmicks here, just great playing and exceptional control
and tasteful vibrato.

Check out the Title cut ³Come Rain Or Come Shine² to see what I am talking
about. This is about as deep in the pocket as it gets.

Two other cuts that really stand out for me are:

³Moanin² ~ There have been a lot of harmonica players covering this over the
years but Jelly Roll pretty much ends the conversation with this version.

³Sugar² ~ I am going to say it, and will take the heat?.Jelly Roll owns this
song! I have not heard anyone else do this on diatonic and hit all those
triplets in the melody. A real Third Position Minor treat. Fantastic solo!

Two other tracks feature Jelly Roll on Chromatic, ³Killer Joe² & ³Blue
Bossa.²

³Preacher² and ³Willow Weep For Me² round out the EP.

This is what harmonica playing should be like regardless of genre. Well done
my friend!

You can check out samples and purchase this CD at these two sites:

http://jellyrolljohnson.com/?page=music
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jellyrolljohnson2

PT Gazell

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