Eric Bibb: Friends (2004)

Friends is the accurate and revealing title for New York bluesman Eric Bibb's tenth album since 1997. There are 15 cuts here, each of them featuring rootsy folk and blues collaborations with different "friends" in differing small group settings. The set starts with a killer acoustic slide duet between Bibb and Guy Davis on the nugget "99 Ѕ Won't Do." The contrast between Davis' sweet and smoky delivery and Bibb's husky wail akin to Blind Willie Johnson's in places -- offers a double-sided dimension in interpretation for the listener, as well. Elsewhere, Charlie Musselwhite gives a killer snaky harmonica performance on "Six O' Clock Blues." Taj Mahal makes two appearances; one in a duet on "Goin' Down Slow," and one in a trio with Bibb and Malian guitarist Djelimady Tounkara on a medley of the traditional "Kulanjan" and Bibb's own "Sebastian's Tune." Speaking of Mali, and Mahal, Bibb also covers the elder bluesman's classic "Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes," with the great kora player Mamadou Diabate that rivals the original. There's also a gorgeous version of Guy and Susanna Clark's "The Cape," with guitarist Martin Simpson, Bibb's moving "For You" with Ruthie Foster, and "Tain't No Such Thing," a bright new folk song written and sung with legendary folksinger Odetta. Mohan Veena ace Harry Manx performs with Bibb on the high lonesome, droning blues of "Needed Time," and with Kristina Olsen on her "If I Stayed." The set closes with the tender "Dance Me to the End of Love," (an original, not the Leonard Cohen tune) with the Lovin' Spoonful's Jerry Yester playing piano. In addition to the many performers on this collection, there are 15 different engineers! Given that most records of this type are mixed bags at best, with "star-studded" collabs serving to muck up or water down rather than enhance performances, Friends is an anomaly. There is nothing that's obvious or overblown here, everything is subtly shaded, and the performers serve the songs and not themselves. The listener gets no sense of back-patting or self-congratulation, only the great pleasure of hearing this music in a revealing, emotionally honest way. Bravo. ~ All Music Guide

Tracklist:
01. 99 1,2 Won't do (With Guy Davis)
02. Six o' Clock Blues (With Charlie Musselwhite)
03. Goin' Down Slow (With Taj Mahal)
04. Lovin' In My Baby's Eyes (With Mamadou Diabate)
05. For You (With Ruthie Foster)
06. The Cape (With Martin Simpson)
07. 'tain't Such A mMch (With Odetta)
08. Needed Time (With Harry Manx)
09. If I Stayed (With Kristina Olsen)
10. Connected (With Michael Jerome Browne)
11. Ribbons And Bows (With Byron Myhre)
12. Just Look Up (With Micheal Jerome Browne)
13. Cowgirl Queen (With Led Ka'apana)
14. Kulanjan/Sebastian's Tune (With Taj Mahal & Djelimady Tounkara)
15. Dance Me To The End Of Love (With Jerry Yester)
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Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton: Play The Blues: Live From Jazz At Lincoln Center (2011)

United by dalliances with purism as young men and an abiding love of classic blues and jazz, Eric Clapton and Wynton Marsalis are a more comfortable fit than it may initially seem. Both musicians are synthesists, not innovators, stitching together elements from their idols in an attempt to preserve the past while bringing it into the present, so their sensibilities are aligned and, in 2011, they're amenable to a partnership that explores their common ground. So, Clapton and Marsalis held a series of concerts at New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center in April of 2011, the guitarist selecting the songs (apart from "Layla," performed upon the request of bassist Carlos Henriquez), the trumpeter picking the band and working up the arrangements, using King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band as his template yet finding room for piano and, of course, guitar. Clapton's choice of songs leans heavily toward the '20s -- so much so that the dip into postwar electric blues via Howlin' Wolf's "Forty Four" feels a bit of a shock -- and the arrangements are faithful to classic New Orleans jazz yet loose, never quite hidebound to tradition and finding plenty of space for every one of the players to roam; Clapton and Marsalis surely solo plenty, but so do trombonist Chris Crenshaw, clarinetist Victor Goines, and pianist Dan Nimmer. There's not much ego on display -- even the inclusion of "Layla" doesn't feel forced, thanks to Marsalis' inventive New Orleans funeral arrangement of this overly familiar tune -- but the joy is palpable and the chemistry natural. Compared to Wynton's duet albums with Willie Nelson, this is both more traditional and riskier, and compared to Clapton's latter-day duets with B.B. King and J.J. Cale, this finds the guitarist none too deferential. These are consummate musicians united by playing music they love, and their passion resonates so strongly it's hard not to enjoy Clapton and Marsalis playing the blues. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

New York City's premier jazz venue got the blues last April when Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton performed together in Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center for two sold-out shows dedicated to vintage blues. The extraordinary collaboration, billed as Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues, paired these musical virtuosos with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as they brought to life a repertoire of songs selected by Clapton and arranged by Marsalis. This CD/DVD combo features selections taken from the two public concerts (April 8-9), as well a special performance for Jazz at Lincoln Center's annual gala (April 7). Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play The Blues - Live From Jazz At Lincoln Center.

Tracklist:
01. Ice Cream ( 7:38)
02. Fourty-Four ( 7:12)
03. Joe Turner's Blues ( 7:48)
04. The Last Time ( 4:18)
05. Careless Love ( 7:43)
06. Kidman Blues ( 4:20)
07. Layla ( 9:08)
08. Joliet Bound ( 3:50)
09. Just A Closer Walk With The (Feat. Taj Mahal) (12:20)
10. Corrine, Corrina (Feat. Taj Mahal) (10:21)
Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play The Blues
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