Young guns and old hands

Ellis Hooks: Up Your Mind, Evidence Records

Ellis Hooks is a young African-American singer/guitarist whose sound is vaguely reminiscent of Robert Cray, with a strong debt to sixties soul and R&B.

Hooks, however, is a much rougher and tougher performer than Cray, a bluesman noted for his smooth approach. Where Cray refines the hard edges, Hooks lets the rawness prevail on his debut American disc.

Produced by Jon Tiven in New York City, “Up Your Mind” contains all the hallmarks of a Tiven production: big sound with Tiven and his band playing on all cuts, guest stars like drummers Omar Hakim and Anton Fig and material long on blues and R&B tradition with a rock sensibility. Tiven never fails to put his stamp on everything he does, but that is the mark of a successful record producer.

Hooks co-wrote all the tunes in association with Tiven and his bass playing wife Sally (did you expect anything else?), and there’s nary a dud in the bunch; in fact, most of the material is quite good.

Be aware that Ellis Hooks does not play electric guitar at all on this disc, despite the cover photo. Jon Tiven assumed the role of lead guitarist (again, why am I not surprised?).

In conclusion, Ellis Hooks’ “Up Your Mind” is an auspicious domestic debut for this promising artist.

Chris Bell: Hell Is Too Hot For Me, Silver Ridge Records

With the relative paucity of young African-Americans pursuing a career in blues these days, it’s encouraging to find young, black blues talent anywhere in this country, even in the mean streets of Los Angeles.

Singer/guitarist Chris Bell is a mainstay on the concert/festival/club circuit all over Hollywood and southern California. Bell is a forthright performer, whose adherence to blues tradition is encouraging and refreshing. I never understood black guitarists imitating Stevie Ray Vaughan, and fortunately, Bell doesn’t tread those steps, preferring a sound much closer in spirit to Albert King, certainly a huge influence on many young blues guitarists these days.

Vocally, Bell is a gruff-voiced shouter with a deep growl. Although he occasionally over-emotes, his vocals are by and large quite effective for the material. On guitar, he also exhibits a debt to B.B. King, particularly on “Cold-Hearted Woman,” which will remind listeners of King’s hit, “The Thrill Is Gone.”

Bell keeps his tone clean and clear for the most part, eschewing tricks. As previously stated, he’s largely a traditionalist. “Opposites Attract” is a rolling shuffle with strident solo guitar. “Deli Man” is loaded with sexual double entendre, for decades a staple with blues players of all types.

Chris Bell deserves a wider audience. Let’s hope his new disc does it for him.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Gospel Of The Blues, MCA Records

For years, blues musicians have found themselves torn between the world of sin and the church. Sister Rosetta Tharpe defied every stereotype imaginable in her long and prosperous career.

She played guitar as well as any man, including single string solos. She sang gospel, but found just as much success among secular audiences. She worked in dance halls, churches, ballrooms, saloons, black theatres and jazz festivals, and on radio and television both here and abroad. She played with the orchestras of Cab Calloway and Lucky Millinder and also recorded with gospel artists. Her appearance at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre raised eyebrows and the ire of her gospel fans, as did her blatant crossover into blues territory.

Included here is a fine overview of Rosetta Tharpe’s 1930s and 40s recorded output, both sacred and secular. One will hear the blues running throughout the music as a frame of reference, even on the gospel numbers. On guitar, Tharpe was no slouch, and vocally, she was unsurpassed perhaps only by her main rival, Mahalia Jackson, who, unlike Tharpe, never strayed from sacred music. Sister Rosetta was, in short, a pretty amazing musician in her prime.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe is well remembered today and has proven herself a strong influence on artists like Maria Muldaur, Tracy Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Osborne, Phoebe Snow, Janis Ian, Angela Strehli and many others.