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clear the connection between central and east European Gypsy music and flamenco/ rumba, as well as being perfectly suited to warmly mellifluous crooning. The band, won- derfully fluent in the worlds of cimbalom (Vil- mos Oláh), violin and guitar (Lajos Sárközi), tenor sax (Gábor Bolla) and jazz piano (József Balázs), underpinned with the finest of judgement by Krisztián Lakatos’s double bass and Elemér Balázs’s drums and joined for some tracks by US soprano saxist Tim Ries, is equally at home with Grappelli-style smoky French/Belgian manouche or hinting at fla- menco and rumba with touches of palmas and Spanish guitar.
A luminous, heart-singing album to lift the spirits and calm the soul even on a bad- news day.
www.fono.hu Andrew Cronshaw
MIMMO EPIFANI Mandolinate A Napoli Rai Trade RTP0258
Mimmo Epifani is a talented mandolin player who is steeped in the traditional styles of southern Italy. He released an excellent album of original material called Zucchini Flowers around three years ago where Italian folk styles were tastefully mixed with jazz and even reggae influences, but on Mandolinate A Napoli, he explores the canzone repertoire of Naples and the album doesn’t include any of his own tunes or any radical stylistic experi- mentation. On this triple CD package, well known songs such as O Sole Mio, Torna A Sur- riento, Marinariello and Malafemmena are given refreshing interpretations as Epifani effortlessly strums through 35 instrumental versions of Neapolitan canzone in either solo arrangements or with sparse, unfussy accom- paniment from guitar or piano
There is a lot of material so you have to like the mandolin and Neapolitan tunes, but I found it a pleasurable experience. My copy came with an English version of the booklet and the album is probably produced partly with an eye to the tourist who has read Cap- tain Correlli’s Mandolin, but it is certainly a quality souvenir.
Can be found on Amazon. Michael Hingston
VARIOUS ARTISTS The Willie Dixon Story ProperBox 166
OTIS RUSH Double Trouble Complete Blues SBLUECD084
JUNIOR PARKER I’m Holding On Complete Blues SBLUECD085
ETTA JAMES
I Just Want To Make Love To You Complete Blues SBLUECD086
Willie Dixon was a giant, a big man in every way, who played his bass on hundreds of recording sessions, who composed more memorable blues songs than any any other writer, and who was a central and pivotal character who helped create and define the sound of modern Chicago blues. So is it possi- ble to do justice to someone with such a vast CV? Well, Proper Records have made a damn good effort with their 100-track box-set The Willie Dixon Story with each of the set’s four CDs devoted to a different area of Dixon’s activities. Disc 1 showcases Dixon as ‘The Per- former’ which includes tracks from Dixon’s 1940 recording debut as a member of The Five Breezes, his work with The Big Three Trio, with his long time friend pianist Mem- phis Slim, and sides recorded and released for
Chess under his own name. Disc 2 looks at Dixon ‘The Session Man’ with our man’s bass underpinning such classics as Muddy Water’s Got My Mojo Working and Mannish Boy, Chuck Berry’s Maybellene and Johnny B Goode, Bo Diddley’s Mona, Junior Well’s Hoodoo Man, Robert Nighthawk’s Sweet Black Angel, Little Walter’s Last Night and Sonny Boy Williamson’s Fattening Frogs For Snakes.
If Disc 2 wasn’t impressive enough, Disc 3 presents Dixon ‘The Songwriter’, which is where his true and everlasting legacy is to be found. If the only song Dixon had written was I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man he would have had earned a place in blues history, but along- side that classic Disc 3 presents The Seventh Son, My Babe, Spoonful, Pretty Thing, I’m Ready, Back Door Man, Diddy Wah Diddy and Wang Dang Doodle... all songs that have left an indelible mark. To round out the set Disc 4 looks at Dixon ‘The Record Company Man’ and his production work for Chess where he produced tracks for Howlin’ Wolf (including Smokestack Lightnin’ and The Red Rooster) and his work for Cobra that included ground- breaking sessions for Magic Sam and Otis Rush. Complete with a 24 page booklet, The Willie Dixon Story stands as both a fitting trib- ute to a pillar of the blues and as an overview of the post-war Chicago blues scene.
www.properbox.com
Snapper Music’s Complete Blues series has grown into quite a substantial library cov- ering a wide number of the better-known blues artists. Each album, with its distinctive uniform design, informative booklet notes, and excellent remastering, features a well- selected group of tracks that most certainly deserve to be kept in catalogue. The Otis Rush CD covers his very productive period from 1956 to 1960 that produced such bone- fide classics as I Can’t Quit You Baby, All Your Love, Double Trouble, and So Many Roads, So Many Trains. Rush’s soaring vocals with his occasional falsetto slides, and his individual guitar work, still cause the blood to course through the veins.
Willie Dixon
The Junior Parker boasts a few of his well-known titles like Driving Wheel, Next Time You See Me and his 1958 recording of Sweet Home Chicago, but also included are items that surprise with their down-home blues flavour that contrasts with Parker’s usual sophisticated style of delivery. Although compiled before the recent demise of Etta James, the event makes I Just Want To Make Love To You something of a tribute to the great vocalist even though it doesn’t contain Etta’s biggest hits I’d Rather Go Blind, Something’s Got A Hold On Me, and Tell Mama. However sequenced among the 23 tracks are all 10 from her legendary 1960 album At Last (and the booklet lists the original track order!)... and on all 23 tracks Etta’s voice is quite phenomenal... that gal sure could sing.
www.completeblues.com Dave Peabody ORCHESTRA COCÒ
Passe Partout – Canzoni d’Amore Felmay FY 7036
Augusto Crena and Marco Maturo (guitars) met Lucio Villani (bass and vocals) at the Djan- go Reinhardt festival in Samois and subse- quently formed Orchestra Cocò. The guitar playing is immaculate ‘manouche’ style accom- paniment, but without fireworks, as it is entirely subordinate to Lucio Villani’s vocals. Many of the songs have been popular hits in Italy and are re-worked here for the minimal- ist sound of guitars, bass and voice. In addi- tion are a few quirky choices like No Jazz and Petit Homme C’est L’heure De Faire Dodo (which you may know as Little Man You’ve Had A Busy Day) and – unfortunately – Winch- ester Cathedral. Watch them on YouTube for a taste of Lucio’s vocals. A curiosity.
www.orchestracoco.it www.felmay.it Jon Moore
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