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Home | Delmark News Blog | “Iguana demonstrates that the blues is still alive and even always evolving,” says ROOTIME.

“Iguana demonstrates that the blues is still alive and even always evolving,” says ROOTIME.

September 23, 2020 Leave a Comment

Great review by Rootime’s writer Dani Heyvaert.

We were only recently spoiled with “High Times in The Dark”, the fourth album by The Claudettes, the band around singer Berit Ulseth, in which Johnny Iguana plays a rather prominent piano role, or there is already a new project of the piano playing, whiskey -drinking and Havana-smoking dude, who has been making nice weather in the Chicago live scene for quite some time. Hailing from Philadelphia, but arriving in Chicago via New York, was soon noticed by Carey Bell and Junior Wells, but was probably first noted with us through his work on Matthew Skoller records. Later we saw him pass with Billy Boy Arnold, James Cotton, John Primer, Lil ‘Ed and Lurrie Bell over a period of nearly thirty years, during which he established himself as one of the liveliest and wildest blues pianists in the USA.

This project is the first in which “Ig”, as they call him over there, although his real name is simply Brian Berkowitz, performs as a bandleader and he gets very nice company there: Bob Margolin delivers guitar sounds on the opener sung by John Primer “ 44 Blues ”, borrowed from Roosevelt Sykes,“ You’re an Old Lady ”and“ Stop Breaking Down ”by Sonny Boy Williamson – the latter with harmonica and vocals by Matthew Skoller, and Big Bill Broonzy’s“ Hot Dog Mama ”, that the record may close and that here is sung by Billy Boy Arnold, who also sang and played harmonica on “You’re an Old Lady”, on which the almost legendary Billy Flynn plays guitar, just like on the two closing songs . Lil ‘Ed’s highly recognizable guitar spices up Otis Spann’s “Burning Fire” and Elmore James’s “Shake Your Moneymaker,” while Willie Dixon’s “Down in The Bottom” is played and sung by John Primer.

That sounds like a “Chicago Legends” line up, which will be completed by drummer Kenny Smith and bassist Bill Dickens, who both also have a curriculum from here-to-Tokyo. You would expect a straightforward blues record, but this is not at all, or at least not entirely: the blues classics are nicely complemented by Iguana’s five own compositions, which regularly let go of the boogie-woogie wild man in him and not to be moved is to allow a little bit of punk and rock’n ‘roll every now and then, like in “The Land of Precisely Three Dances” or shifting the accent completely to New Orleans in “Big Easy Women”, for example.

The surprise of the record, however, is “Lady Day & John Coltrane” by, yes Gil Scott-Heron, where Phillip-Michael Scales, the guitar-playing cousin of the late B.B. King performs a beautiful, soulful vocals against a pounding Iguana piano. Altogether, this results in a very varied record, with which Iguana demonstrates that “the blues” is still alive and even always evolving. There are quite a few people walking around who think blues are “always the same”, or at least “too much of the same”. After forty minutes, anyone who listens to this CD will have no choice but to agree that this perception is completely wrong….

(Dani Heyvaert)

ORDER CD, DOWNLOAD OR STREAM, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW…!

Johnny Iguana’s Chicago Spectacular!

ORIGINAL FLEMISH TEXT:

Nog maar net werden we verwend met “High Times in The Dark”, de vierde plaat van The Claudettes, de band rond zangeres Berit Ulseth, waarin Johnny Iguana een nogal toonaangevende pianorol speelt, of daar is alreeds een nieuw project van de pianospelende, whiskey-drinkende en Havana-rokende kerel, die sinds geruime tijd het mooie weer maakt in de live-scene van Chicago. Afkomstig uit Philadelphia, maar via New York in Chicago terecht gekomen, werd algauw opgemerkt door Carey Bell en Junior Wells, maar werd bij ons vermoedelijk het eerst genoteerd via zijn werk op de platen van Matthew Skoller. Later zagen we hem nog passeren met Billy Boy Arnold, James Cotton, John Primer, Lil’ Ed en Lurrie Bell in een periode van een kleine dertig jaar, waarin hij naam vestigde als een van de levendigste en wildste bluespianisten van de USA.

Dit project is het eerste waarin “Ig”, zoals ze hem ginds noemen, al heet hij van zijn echte naam gewoon Brian Berkowitz, optreedt als bandleader en hij krijgt er bijzonder fraai gezelschap: Bob Margolin levert gitaarklanken op de door John Primer gezongen opener “44 Blues”, die van Roosevelt Sykes geleend werd,”You’re an Old Lady” en “Stop Breaking Down” van Sonny Boy Williamson -dat laatste met harmonica en zang van Matthew Skoller, en Big Bill Broonzy’s “Hot Dog Mama”, dat de plaat mag afsluiten en dat hier wordt ingezongen door Billy Boy Arnold, die eerder ook al zong en harmonica speelde op “You’re an Old Lady”, waarop de lichtjes legendarische Billy Flynn gitaar speelt, net als op de afsluitende twee vermelde songs. De heel herkenbare gitaar van Lil’ Ed kruidt Otis Spann’s “Burning Fire” en Elmore James’ “Shake Your Moneymaker”, terwijl Willie Dixon’s “Down in The Bottom” ingespeeld en -gezongen wordt door John Primer.

Dat klinkt alvast als een “Chicago Legends”-line up, die nog vervolledigd wordt door drummer Kenny Smith en bassist Bill Dickens, die beiden ook een curriculum hebben van hier-tot-in-Tokyo. Je zou dan een rechttoe-rechtaan bluesplaat verwachten, maar dat is deze plaat helemaal niet, of minstens niet helemaal: de bluesklassiekers worden mooi aangevuld door de vijf eigen composities van Iguana, die geregeld de boogie-woogie wildeman in zich loslaat en niet te beroerd is om af en toe een straaltje punk en rock’n’ roll toe te laten, zoals bij voorbeeld in “The Land of Precisely Three Dances” of helemaal het accent richting New Orleans verlegt in bij voorbeeld “Big Easy Women”.

Dé verrassing van de plaat vind ik echter “Lady Day & John Coltrane” van, jawel Gil Scott-Heron, waar Phillip-Michael Scales, de gitaarspelende neef van wijlen B.B. King een schitterende, soulvolle zangpartij neerzet tegenover een beukende piano van Iguana. Dat levert, alles tesamen, een heel gevarieerde plaat op, waarmee Iguana aantoont dat “the blues” nog altijd leeft en zelfs nog altijs evolueert. Er lopen nogal wat mensen rond, die blues “altijd hetzelfde” vinden, of minstens “teveel van hetzelfde”. Wie naar deze CD luistert, zal na veertig minuten niet anders kunnen dan beamen dat die perceptie totaal niet klopt….

(Dani Heyvaert)

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