Jessie Mae Hemphill – She-Wolf – High Water Recording Company/HMG 6508

Primal, raw, droning, and swaggering, this 15-song set by the granddaughter of Sid Hemphill, the blind American multi-instrumentalist who reigned in the north Mississippi hill country region in Senatobia and recorded for Alan Lomax, churns, lurches, and whines with the economical presentation inherent in the players from north Mississippi hill territory.  Sparse, deep, and moving within its heaving blues weight, Hemphill’s guitar and diddley bow (a single string instrument) push the proceedings forward with her swaying style.  Her vocals convey the burdens of her times with a gentle yet spot-on emotional conviction.  Her song spirits range from those arising from affairs of the heart, yearning, fiscal insecurity, celebration, religion, to outright confidence, and Hemphill’s capable nurturing, all come across as those felt deeply within her.  The song boundaries are austere, with Hemphill and her guitar, diddley bow, and tambourine, and vocals are supplemented only by Calvin Jackson’s and Joe Hicks’ minimal percussion efforts, David Evans’ guitar offerings, and Compton Jones’ tambourine and percussion box efforts. 

The beauty in Hemphill’s work is how, despite its spare approach, pulls the listener in quickly and holds with rapt attention.  The listener’s head will wobble from side to side in a reel and rock stupor, such is the trance Hemphill’s music affords.

This exemplary outing, while not quite essential, is awfully close to such status, and belongs in any blues collection.

Pick this one up!