Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis – Chicago Blues Session Vol.  11 – Wolf Records 120.857 CD 

Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1925, playing early in his life with Silas Green And The Rabbit Foot Minstrels, and then making stops in Detroit (where he met and played with John Lee Hooker), Cincinnati, Ohio, and back to Clarksdale and the Greenville, Mississippi area, Davis arrived in Chicago in 1958, establishing both a residence and a regular playing venue on the city’s famed Maxwell Street open-air market.  During his time on Maxwell Street, he regularly joined blues forces with harmonicist King David and drummer Eddie “Porkchop” Hines.

Before the subject Wolf Records label collection being examined here, Davis had a 1965 Elektra label album release entitled “Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis.” 

This 1989 Wolf Records release primarily finds Davis in a solo acoustic format, but also has him accompanied by Chicago blues harmonicist Lester Davenport and drummers Kansas City Red and Timothy Taylor on a few selections.  The blues here were recorded in 1988 and 1989 in Chicago at ACME Studio and Streeterville Studios, respectively, and were all mixed in Vienna, Austria.

Davis was still living on Maxwell Street at the time of these cuts, and is found throughout this collection in sterling form.  There is an unbridled enthusiasm to Davis’s style here.  His vocals are strong, extremely confident, and border on frenzied, at times.  His Howlin’ Wolf inflections are testament to the power he infuses into his blues.   You firmly believe the blues tales being weaved by Davis.  There is simply no other option.

Davis’s guitar may sound rudimentary, but listener beware if you accept that as gospel!  It is entirely effectual, with a driving, hypnotic superiority.  What Davis coaxes from his acoustic guitar moves, stirs, and entrances.

Overall, there is a haunting framework to Davis’s blues form; this is the blues tripped to its core.  It is raw, and this is the very core of the blues experience.

Davenport, Red, and Taylor never encroach upon Davis’s efforts; no, they satisfyingly augment his blues visions.  If anything, they prompt Davis to greater blues heights. 

The sound quality here is bold, and upon listening, it is akin to having Davis and his partners sitting in the same room as the listener; it is that dynamic.

It is astonishing how a minimalist blues recording such as this can slake one’s blues thirst, but this Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis expedition does so on every count.  No further effusive commentary regarding the high validity of this collection is necessitated.  This is authentic Chicago street blues provided by a man who knew that life well.

This CD comes with crowning regard and recommendation!