The Jelly Roll Kings are heroes of mine. I was exposed young to Lightnin' Hopkins, Junior Parker, Howlin' Wolf, Slim Harpo, and the local bands downhome. So I like my blues with juke tone.I went to see Big Jack with hopes of real juke. I listened to my J R Kings albums and swayed before going to the show. I was setting myself up.
Jack was everything I wanted in 'juke'. But in a way I hadn't anticipated. It was Big Jack and the Kids do it on the Road. Big Jack came on stage with a group of young guys who'd been with him only a few months. Jack is still shaking them down and teaching them. They are working out of the classic road van filled with dirty laundry and road weariness.
And they did classic tune after tune. Jack playing fat leads and rhythm chops, pushing the band. I won't give a list of tunes, they did so many. All done with the kind of southern downhome feel that makes dancing so smooth and natural. The kind that makes your shoulders and back gyrate slooowly.
I'm sorry to say that I didn't get the names of the band. They were quietly 'behind the scenes' concerned for the second guitarist who was having an elbow problem with his left arm. Tendonitis? He played his butt of while hurting, never taking his hand off the guitar neck.
The drummer worked his set with snap and drive holding the whole thing together. The bass player from Little Rock was hot with his thumb playing the old style thump. On funkier numbers he showed that he was able to play with two fingers and all the technique in the world. Then on the blues numbers he'd go back to the old style.
Big Jack has all the guitar chops. And he doesn't put them all into every song. Taste and timing, power and smooth, harsh and sweet, Jack varied it all night. And so danceable!
Big Jack is still working on this edition of the band. He tried to get them to play a rhumba and the guys played rock rhythm. And on the night's other messed number, the drummer thought they were playing the blues when Jack was doing an arranged Bill Wither's tune. Those fluffs aside, this band works real well and will be killer real soon. And Jack can cover for them right now.
Thanks to Biscuits for the fine booking and to Jack and the guys for a great night.
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