BUDDY BLUE
Sordid Lives (Bizarre/Planet Records)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Buddy Blue may be best remembered as a founding member of roots rockers The Beat Farmers, but in the days since then he's stayed active as a producer (with a notable association with Screaming Jay Hawkins), writer and player of his own brand of "greasy jazz," essentially jump blues infused with the sensibility of a bebop era hipster. He cites jazz heroes like Cab Calloway, Slim Gaillard and Babs Gonzalez, and his music evokes the seamier side of the jazz story, the reefer and hip flask side.

While most of the tracks here are better described as "jazzy" than as jazz in any academic sense, Blue would pretty much reject any academic approach to jazz anyway. Rather than get caught up in the categorization game, let me just say that this is music that's produced with tangible affection and that results in a whole lotta fun. Prudent application of good bourbon or your favorite herbal supplement wouldn't hurt your appreciation, but if you're possessed of an open mind, a broken heart and/or a sense of humor, no external enhancements are really necessary.

Track List:

Upsettin' Me * Conversation With The Bottle * Horn Rims * Jesse's Back In Town * Uptown At Minton's * St. James Infirmary * Monk Side Story * Nobody * Baby's Got The Blues * Blues In The Night * Pray For Rain * Slim Jim * Wretch's Lament

[Pick this up at www.discomat.com.]

© 2003 - Shaun Dale