It is my unshakeable opinion that British artists will never be able to sing the blues – not through lack of feeling, a reason often put forward by critics, but because both the language and the vocal shadings of ‘tone’ and ‘colour’ are foreign to them. In fact the deep southern blues of either the Mississippi Delta or Texas are almost a foreign tongue. One might as well ask a Hungarian or Russian to sing Foggy, Foggy Dew. However, instrumentally it is a different matter, for we have many fine jazz musicians who have a great feeling for the idiom, and at times they can make beautiful music.
The disc under review is an instrumental and contains no vocals. It is produced by jazzmen who really know the blues (especially Korner himself and pianist Johnny Parker). The disc is very modern in outlook and contains much that is original. Very influenced by both Mingus and Monk admittedly, but none the worst for that. Purists will not, I think, be impressed, but those with a wider outlook will find a lot in this LP.
Space will not allow more than a brief mention, and readers will, I hope, excuse this very brief review of an intriguing performance. The first track, Blue Mink, shows the Mingus-Monk bias, but has enough original thought to stand on its own merits, which are considerable. As Charles Fox says in bis most interesting liner notes, the piece ‘builds like a pyramid’. It is most unorthodox in structure, the first and last choruses being only 10 bars in length. Yogi, too, is fascinating (in 3/4 time) with both Art Themen (first tenor solo) and Dick Heckstall-Smith in fine form. Rainy Tuesday is a straight 12-bar and contains an excellent solo from Alexis which is full of blues feeling. Sappho has some good Parker piano, and once again, Korner is well to the fore. Preachin’ The Blues is a far cry from the Robert Johnson version, but is my favourite track. Here Alexis plays an Eastern instrument called a bouzouki. A lovely sound to my ears. Johnny Parker’s two compositions Groovy and Chris Trundle feature his excellent piano.
A very good attempt to produce some personal music around the blues, which for the most part has come off admirably. Readers are advised to hear the disc and judge for themselves; it may not be to everybody’s taste, but I hope Korner’s efforts meet with success.
Discography
Blue Mink; Rainy Tuesday; Yogi; Sappho; Navy Blue (16 min) – Royal Dooji; Preachin’ The Blues; The Captain’s Tiger; A Little Bit Groovy; Anything For Now; Chris Trundle’s Habit; Trundlin’ (17 min)
Alexis Korner (g); Dick Heckstall-Smith (ten); Art Themen (ten/alt); Johnny Parker (p); Mike Scott (bs); Phil Seamen (d). Summer, 1963, London.
(Ace Of Clubs ACL 1187 12111LP 20s. 6d.)
