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

[MundHarp@xxxxxxx]

Kirk "Jellyroll" Johnson is a GREAT harmonica player as well as being a  
really good person...
BUY his music!
FIRST CLASS harp playing...
Best wishes,
John "Whiteboy" Walden,
Just now in bonnie Scotland.
 
 
In a message dated 6/8/2013 5:14:30 A.M. GMT Daylight Time, pt@xxxxxxxxxxxx 
 writes:

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. ItÂs jazz, but it
has that Soul and Rhythm and Blues feel to  it.

Of course none of that matters if you donÂt have the musical  vocabulary to
match the songs and instrumentation. Believe meÅ 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 guyÂs 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  ÂCome Rain Or Come Shine 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:

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

ÂSugar ~ I am going to say it, and will take the  heatÅ.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, ÂKiller Joe & ÂBlue
Bossa.Â

ÂPreacher and ÂWillow  Weep For Me 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

pt@xxxxxxxxxxxx

http://www.ptgazell.com
http://cdbaby.com/all/gazell
http://www.youtube.com/gazell