Kim Wilson – Blues And Boogie – Severn Records CD 0070 

The Fabulous Thunderbirds played my hometown area’s premier music club, Vegetable Buddies, sometime in its storied run during the period 1976-1980.  I can’t for the life of me remember the exact year, but, that show is still spoken about with reverence.  I can distinctly remember the last time I saw The Fabulous Thunderbirds; it was at Merrillville, IN’s Star Plaza Theater on April 17, 1990.  The band opened for Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.  The show’s encore was so magnificent, as Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Ray proceeded to play one guitar, with Jimmie seated picking the strings, and Stevie Ray fretting the notes. 

During The Fabulous Thunderbirds’ opening set, I was captivated by Jimmie Vaughan’s collected, economical Texas guitar stylings, and his sense of cool.  However, it was Kim Wilson’s vocals, deep, soulful harmonica playing, and overall stage presence that commanded the bulk of my attention.  Kim’s voice seemed akin to a very old soul, one that had seen and experienced the full scope of life’s travails, and his harmonica playing was steeped in the traditions set by the forefathers of modern blues harmonica; Little Walter, James Cotton, Lazy Lester, Walter Horton, Slim Harpo, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and a host of others whose influences were apparent. 

Wilson, though, is no mere impressionist.  In having been tutored by the likes of blues greats Muddy Waters, Eddie Taylor, Luther Tucker, Eddie Taylor, George Smith, and Pee Wee Crayton, it was inevitable that Wilson would combine his broad skill set into a package that represents one of the most complete still out there. 

In 2007, Wilson brought his Blues Allstars show to a venue in LaPorte, IN, just down the road from my hometown, one on which he had west coast guitar great Rusty Zinn, famed Muddy Waters band bassist, Calvin “Fuzz Jones, Chicago blues piano titan, Barrelhouse Chuck, and Muddy Waters band alum, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, on drums.  It was a smaller venue with a highly-elevated stage, one that gave a sense of grandiose excitement.  Wilson and his crew put on a clinic of how blues ensemble work should be performed.

Then in 2008, Wilson brought his Blues Allstars show to both Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago, a show I gleefully made the 90-mile trip west to see, and to my hometown’s Midway Tavern & Dancehall, carrying the superb Randy Burmudes, bassist for The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Barrelhouse Chuck on piano, in-demand blues guitarist, Billy Flynn, the fine South Bend, IN guitarist, Little Frank, and legendary timekeeper, Richard Innes, on drums.  Both shows were awe-inspiring outings that showed how bluesmen with many miles on their tread know how to present the blues.  In Chicago, making the show extra special, Lonnie Brooks sat-in with the band, playing guitar and singing, as did Buddy Guy, who sang a soulful blues with the band.

Finally, in 2010, Wilson returned to my hometown’s Midway Tavern & Dancehall with his Blues Allstars aggregation, with Little Frank, Flynn, Barrelhouse Chuck, and Innes in-tow, but also having famed Larry “The Mole” Taylor of Canned Heat renown on bass.  The band cranked-out one phenomenal blues after another, playing off of each other with respect and admiration for not only one another, but the blues, as well, while Wilson repeatedly walked the crowd blowing his harmonica on extended musical journeys.  I again was reminded why I hold him in such high regard.

This 2017 Severn Records release, as Wilson attests in the CD’s notes, was a labor of love and deference for both the blues musicians who participated on the project, and obviously, for those blues influences that still motivate Wilson to this day. 

It is probably best to detail the incredible lineup of blues giants who furthered this collection to its exalted end.  On guitar, Big John Atkinson, Nathan James, Billy Flynn, Bob Welsh, and Danny Michel deployed their astounding individual and collective skill sets.  On bass, we find Troy Sandow, Big John Atkinson, Kadar Roy, Larry “The Mole” Taylor, and Nathan James, all providing unwavering bottom-end work.  Barrelhouse Chuck solely lends his mighty blues piano chops to the proceedings.  Keeping immaculate time are Richard Innes, Marty Dodson, and Malachi Johnson.  Horn work is on stupendous display via west coast great, Jonny Viau.  Of course, soulfully and confidently singing is Kim Wilson, his voice a musical instrument unto itself, bringing the full emotionality of any blues to life, while his stunning blues harmonica work, whether on a diatonic or chromatic model, brays, mourns, rejoices, and glides along with the mood of any one particular blues cut, enriching the song considerably.

Wilson’s choices of blues here are a blended assembly of his reservoir of inspirations, including pieces by Sonny Boy Williamson II, Big Maceo, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Magic Sam, Little Walter (of course), Elmore James, Lightning Hopkins, and Jimmy Rogers, among others, interspersed with his own opuses.  One of the most unique and thrilling aspects of Wilson’s music is his ability to pay homage, yet make each blues his own, infusing it with his full complement of blues brilliances.

There is nothing on this collection that is over-played or disrespected; each blues selection is given the devotion it demands.  Again, the ensemble playing amongst the project’s participants is proper, as everyone, as they say, “stays in their lane”.

When I consider this project’s participants, I am saddened by those who are no longer with us, plying their musical skills to audiences everywhere.  Barrelhouse Chuck, Richard Innes, and Larry “The Mole” Taylor are all gone.  However, via this outing, yet again their individual legacies are secure.

This Kim Wilson release, without qualification of any sort, comes highly-recommended.  Those who like their blues performed with veneration and spirit, will find much here to savor.  Seek this one out!