Olivia Cuttill: …And Writing And Singing And Tunes To Be Swingin’ (Olivia Cuttill Music OCQ001D)
Although trumpeter Cuttill has worked with the likes of Nikki IIes, Cleveland Watkiss and Nikki Yeoh and has appeared at, inter alia, Ronnie Scott’s and the London Jazz Festival, I blush to confess that I’m not familiar with her work, but on the basis of this, her second album, I plan to rectify that oversight. (Her well-received first album, The Whole Damn Plan was released in January 2024 just a few months after she graduated from the Leeds Conservatoire.)
Apart from a spirited version of Bobby Timmons’ Moanin’, all the tracks are her own compositions. Her love of various New Orleans music genres often shows throughout a programme of engaging songs which ranges from ebullient swingers to lyrical, yearning ballads, culminating in the rather glorious Cryin’ Time. On A House Down By The Station she has incorporated a collage of contributions by her late grandfather, jazz pianist Jeff Cuttill.
Her bright and vivacious playing forms a pleasing partnership with the rich vocals of Issey Chivers. They are joined by the trio of Tom Harris (piano), Josh Vadiveloo (bass) and Miles Pillinger (drums) who provide sterling support, and on some tracks guests include tenor saxophonist Alex Fisher and a bevy of backing singers incorporating members of Cuttill’s family.
Magic Sam: All Night Long (Blues Joint 8037 – LP)
Samuel Gene Maghett died aged 32 in 1969. At the time he was under contract to Delmark Records but label boss Bob Koester was preparing to release him so that he could transfer to Stax Records, and it is intriguing to ponder on how his music would have developed and what influence it would have had on the Stax sound and the soul/R&B scene in general. Certainly, his example had an effect on a number of musicians involved in the British blues boom of the 1960s, such as Peter Green and Eric Clapton, as well as numerous US guitarists including Mike Bloomfield, an influential player in his turn. As far as I’m concerned, though, there is nothing to beat checking out the fountain-heads.
This collection features 20 tracks cut for the Cobra, Chief and Crash labels between 1957 and 1966, including All Your Love, Love Me With A Feeling and All Night Long, plus two Cobra cuts (Love Me This Way and Magic Rocker) which apparently were previously unissued. An intriguing curio is the two-part Square Dance Rock, recalling Sam’s early interest in hillbilly music and featuring A.C. Reed on tenor sax.
The album is an absolute corker throughout and transports you magically to the Chicago West Side of six decades ago. The sound is as raw-edged as the performances but clear nonetheless, enabling appreciation of the work of distinguished sidemen like Willie Dixon, Odie Payne, Boyd Atkins, S.P. Leary, Little Brother Montgomery and Johnny “Big Moose” Walker.
