BILLY BRANCH AND THE SONS OF BLUES
''BLUES SHOCK''
JANUARY 21 2014
51:43
1 /Sons of Blues
Billy Branch / Sterling Plumpp/feat: The Chicago Horns/4:30
2 /Crazy Mixed Up World
Willie Dixon/feat: The Chicago Horns/4:48
3 /Blues Shock
Billy Branch/4:47
4 /Dog House
Bobby Bryant/5:58
5 /Function at the Junction
Lamont Dozier / Brian Holland / Eddie Holland / Frederick Long/3:41
6 /Going to See Miss Gerri One More Time
Billy Branch/6:26
7 /Back Alley Cat
Ariyo/2:20
8 /Boom Boom
John Lee Hooker/4:48
9 /Slow Moe
Billy Branch/4:35
10 /Baby Let Me Butter Your Corn
Billy Branch/feat: The Chicago Horns/4:27
11 /Song for My Mother
Billy Branch / Minoru Maruyama/5:23
Kenny Anderson /Trumpet
Ariyo Sumito Ariyoshi /Organ, Piano
Billy Branch /Harmonica, Vocals
Ronnie Baker Brooks /Guitar, Vocals
Dan Carelli /Guitar
Mello Cello /Cello
Nick Charles /Bass
James "Pie" Cowan /Congas, Tambourine
Billy Dickens /Bass
Hank Ford /Sax (Tenor)
Nanette Frank /Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background)
Anne Harris /Violin
Johnny ''Fingers'' Iguana /Hammond B3
Mae Koen /Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background)
Justin Jon Kopp /Bass (Upright)
Diane Madison /Vocals (Background)
Bill McFarland /Horn Arrangements, Trombone
Oggie Merced /Congas
Mose Rutues /Drums, Vocals
Andrew "Blaze" Thomas /Drums
Peter Vale /Bongos
REVIEW
By Mark Deming
Harp master Billy Branch has been a figure of the note on the Chicago blues scene since he was discovered by Willie Dixon in 1969, and after more than four decades, he's grown from a young buck bringing new blood to the blues scene to an elder statesman who stands tall for the music's traditions. Blues Shock arrives ten years after Billy Branch last released an album, but it sounds like he and his latest edition of the Sons of Blues are still in fighting shape, playing tight, straight-ahead blues with force, imagination and wit. Branch's muscular harmonica work is still the heart of this band, and his soloing is fine indeed, but Branch has made this an ensemble set, with his musicians -- Dan Carelli on guitar, Sumito "Ariyo" Ariyoshi on keyboards, Nick Charles on bass, and Moses Rutues on drums -- getting plenty of room to shine and show off their impressive instrumental skills. Branch's first loyalty is to Chicago blues, but Blues Shock is a stylistically diverse set, finding room for funky grooves ("Sons of Blues"), vintage soul ("Function at the Junction"), upbeat dance numbers ("Baby Let Me Butter Your Corn"), jazz-influenced instrumentals ("Song for my Mother") and string-laden ballads ("Going to See Miss Gerri One More Time") along with traditional-sounding numbers like "Crazy Mixed-Up World," "Back Alley Cat," and "Dog House." And along with typical tales of hitting the clubs (the title tune) and dealing with the opposite sex ("Dog House" and "Slow Moe"), Branch delivers a moving tribute to Chicago's musical past, "Going to See Miss Gerri One More Time," inspired by the story of Gerri Oliver, who ran the Palm Tavern, Chicago's premiere African-American nightclub of the '30s, '40s, and '50s. Billy Branch is a man who strives to keep traditions alive, but he isn't about to let his music grow stagnant, and Blues Shock shows there's plenty of fun and fresh ideas to be found in a form as time-tested as Chicago blues. It's a great set.
BIOGRAPHY
By Bill Dahl
In the '70s, harmonica man Billy Branch was one of the young upstarts helping to keep the Chicago blues sound alive; in the 21st century, he's matured into one of the Windy City's most venerable blues talents, and as a musician and educator, Branch has spread the word about the blues across the country and around the world. Branch has led the Sons of Blues, his backing band, since the mid-'70s, and despite numerous personnel changes, the SOBs have never wavered in their dedication to pure, unadulterated Chicago blues. Born in Chicago in 1951, Billy Branch moved with his family to California when he was five, but in 1969 he returned to attend the University of Illinois, where he studied political science. Branch had taken up the blues harp, and he was spotted by legendary songwriter and producer Willie Dixon, who recruited Branch to replace the great Carey Bell in his band the Chicago Blues All-Stars. After graduating from college, Branch abandoned his plans to become a lawyer and went into music full-time, touring with Dixon and forming his own band, Billy Branch & the Sons of Blues; the initial lineup featured Lurrie Bell (Carey Bell's son) on guitar and Freddie Dixon (Willie's son) on bass. In 1984, Branch & the Sons of Blues released their debut album, Where's My Money; by this time, the lineup had changed to Carlos Johnson (guitar), J.W. Williams (bass), and Mose Rutues (drums), and the membership of Branch's group would remain fluid in the years to come, though Rutues would spend more than a quarter century with the band. Branch also co-starred on Alligator's 1990 summit meeting Harp Attack! with fellow harp masters Junior Wells, Carey Bell, and James Cotton; he busied himself as a sideman (cutting sessions with Koko Taylor, Eddy Clearwater, Syl Johnson, and Johnny Winter, among dozens of others), and taught with an innovative "Blues in the Schools" program that brought blues history to young people in schools in America, Mexico, Europe, and South America. Branch has received three Grammy nominations during his long recording career, and two W.C. Handy Awards. In 2014, after a ten-year layoff from recording, Branch and his latest lineup of the Sons of Blues returned with a new album, Blues Shock.
''BLUES SHOCK''
JANUARY 21 2014
51:43
1 /Sons of Blues
Billy Branch / Sterling Plumpp/feat: The Chicago Horns/4:30
2 /Crazy Mixed Up World
Willie Dixon/feat: The Chicago Horns/4:48
3 /Blues Shock
Billy Branch/4:47
4 /Dog House
Bobby Bryant/5:58
5 /Function at the Junction
Lamont Dozier / Brian Holland / Eddie Holland / Frederick Long/3:41
6 /Going to See Miss Gerri One More Time
Billy Branch/6:26
7 /Back Alley Cat
Ariyo/2:20
8 /Boom Boom
John Lee Hooker/4:48
9 /Slow Moe
Billy Branch/4:35
10 /Baby Let Me Butter Your Corn
Billy Branch/feat: The Chicago Horns/4:27
11 /Song for My Mother
Billy Branch / Minoru Maruyama/5:23
Kenny Anderson /Trumpet
Ariyo Sumito Ariyoshi /Organ, Piano
Billy Branch /Harmonica, Vocals
Ronnie Baker Brooks /Guitar, Vocals
Dan Carelli /Guitar
Mello Cello /Cello
Nick Charles /Bass
James "Pie" Cowan /Congas, Tambourine
Billy Dickens /Bass
Hank Ford /Sax (Tenor)
Nanette Frank /Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background)
Anne Harris /Violin
Johnny ''Fingers'' Iguana /Hammond B3
Mae Koen /Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background)
Justin Jon Kopp /Bass (Upright)
Diane Madison /Vocals (Background)
Bill McFarland /Horn Arrangements, Trombone
Oggie Merced /Congas
Mose Rutues /Drums, Vocals
Andrew "Blaze" Thomas /Drums
Peter Vale /Bongos
REVIEW
By Mark Deming
Harp master Billy Branch has been a figure of the note on the Chicago blues scene since he was discovered by Willie Dixon in 1969, and after more than four decades, he's grown from a young buck bringing new blood to the blues scene to an elder statesman who stands tall for the music's traditions. Blues Shock arrives ten years after Billy Branch last released an album, but it sounds like he and his latest edition of the Sons of Blues are still in fighting shape, playing tight, straight-ahead blues with force, imagination and wit. Branch's muscular harmonica work is still the heart of this band, and his soloing is fine indeed, but Branch has made this an ensemble set, with his musicians -- Dan Carelli on guitar, Sumito "Ariyo" Ariyoshi on keyboards, Nick Charles on bass, and Moses Rutues on drums -- getting plenty of room to shine and show off their impressive instrumental skills. Branch's first loyalty is to Chicago blues, but Blues Shock is a stylistically diverse set, finding room for funky grooves ("Sons of Blues"), vintage soul ("Function at the Junction"), upbeat dance numbers ("Baby Let Me Butter Your Corn"), jazz-influenced instrumentals ("Song for my Mother") and string-laden ballads ("Going to See Miss Gerri One More Time") along with traditional-sounding numbers like "Crazy Mixed-Up World," "Back Alley Cat," and "Dog House." And along with typical tales of hitting the clubs (the title tune) and dealing with the opposite sex ("Dog House" and "Slow Moe"), Branch delivers a moving tribute to Chicago's musical past, "Going to See Miss Gerri One More Time," inspired by the story of Gerri Oliver, who ran the Palm Tavern, Chicago's premiere African-American nightclub of the '30s, '40s, and '50s. Billy Branch is a man who strives to keep traditions alive, but he isn't about to let his music grow stagnant, and Blues Shock shows there's plenty of fun and fresh ideas to be found in a form as time-tested as Chicago blues. It's a great set.
BIOGRAPHY
By Bill Dahl
In the '70s, harmonica man Billy Branch was one of the young upstarts helping to keep the Chicago blues sound alive; in the 21st century, he's matured into one of the Windy City's most venerable blues talents, and as a musician and educator, Branch has spread the word about the blues across the country and around the world. Branch has led the Sons of Blues, his backing band, since the mid-'70s, and despite numerous personnel changes, the SOBs have never wavered in their dedication to pure, unadulterated Chicago blues. Born in Chicago in 1951, Billy Branch moved with his family to California when he was five, but in 1969 he returned to attend the University of Illinois, where he studied political science. Branch had taken up the blues harp, and he was spotted by legendary songwriter and producer Willie Dixon, who recruited Branch to replace the great Carey Bell in his band the Chicago Blues All-Stars. After graduating from college, Branch abandoned his plans to become a lawyer and went into music full-time, touring with Dixon and forming his own band, Billy Branch & the Sons of Blues; the initial lineup featured Lurrie Bell (Carey Bell's son) on guitar and Freddie Dixon (Willie's son) on bass. In 1984, Branch & the Sons of Blues released their debut album, Where's My Money; by this time, the lineup had changed to Carlos Johnson (guitar), J.W. Williams (bass), and Mose Rutues (drums), and the membership of Branch's group would remain fluid in the years to come, though Rutues would spend more than a quarter century with the band. Branch also co-starred on Alligator's 1990 summit meeting Harp Attack! with fellow harp masters Junior Wells, Carey Bell, and James Cotton; he busied himself as a sideman (cutting sessions with Koko Taylor, Eddy Clearwater, Syl Johnson, and Johnny Winter, among dozens of others), and taught with an innovative "Blues in the Schools" program that brought blues history to young people in schools in America, Mexico, Europe, and South America. Branch has received three Grammy nominations during his long recording career, and two W.C. Handy Awards. In 2014, after a ten-year layoff from recording, Branch and his latest lineup of the Sons of Blues returned with a new album, Blues Shock.
