JUNIOR WELLS

Southside Blues Jam

Delmark

By Mark Baier

Junior Wells’ Southside Blues Jam, originally issued by Delmark in 1970, was hailed by Rolling Stone as an “essential masterpiece” upon its release. Featuring Buddy Guy, Otis Spann, Louis Myers, Fred Below and Ernest Johnson, it represents Wells & Co. at their improvisational finest. Indeed, the lineup was Junior’s regular working band, one that had a weekly Monday nighter at the iconic South Side club Theresa's Lounge. Recorded live-in-the studio in Chicago in late December/early January of ‘69-‘70, it’s an amazing time capsule, a look at legendary artists at the height of their creative powers. Delmark’s generous CD re-release of this classic LP, featuring seven previously unreleased tracks and a 15-page booklet with commentary by Delmark boss Bob Koester and a dozen additional documentary photos put Southside Blues Jam on 2014’s “Top Picks ” list.

What’s all the fuss about? Otis Spann on piano for starters. From the first notes to the last, Spann’s piano artistry is interwoven into every hypnotic rhythm and dark corner on SSBJ. Spann virtually invented piano accompaniment for electric blues as a member of Muddy Waters’ historic Chess ensemble, and of course, that band also included an 18-year-old Junior Wells, making Spann’s appearance on SSBJ a natural fact. Equally important to the success of SSBJ are the presence of Louis Meyers, Fred Below and Earnest Johnson. Meyers and Below are best known for being members of Little Walter’s famed “Aces”, which recorded some of the most influential blues ever committed to posterity. What’s lesser known is that the Aces were actually Junior’s band at the time that Walter recruited them! Junior got the Muddy Waters harp spot vacated by Walter, and Walter got Junior’s band. Get it?

Earnest Johnson played bass with everybody in Chicago in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Aside from holding the bass chair in Muddy’s band, he recorded with Wells, Earl Hooker, Magic Sam and Memphis Slim to name a few. In the context of these recordings, the presence of so many respected and beloved side men brought a gravitas to the sessions that tempered Junior and Buddy’s more naturally chaotic inclinations. Rather than being a disjointed and unfocused effort like some of their recordings, SSBJ’s mix of exceptional band interplay with Wells and Guys’ explosive improvisational style make this recording memorable on many historic and artistic levels.

Having said all that, it’s very clear that SSBJ is the perfect name for this collection. It’s doubtful that Junior & Co. did any preparation to speak of, relying on their collective familiarity on the bandstand to carry them through a studio session, and therein lies the joy of SSBJ. With the possible exception of the two Sonny Boy #1 songs, “Stop Breaking Down” and “In My Younger Days,” every track is filled with improvisational expertise both lyrically and instrumentally (it’s worth noting that both of those tracks fall apart structurally at some point). Junior’s brilliant vocal riffing on “I Could Have Had Religion” and “Blues for Mayor Daley” is the stuff of legends. The ease with which he reinvents songs on the fly is pure instinct, honed by years and years on the bandstand. What’s somewhat remarkable, and quite enjoyable, is that with all the obvious improvising that’s going on, it never reaches the point of total chaos; that point at which it stops becoming enjoyable music, and disintegrates into an exercise in something else entirely.

Buddy Guy in particular, the feral musical force that he is, walks a fine line between bombast and exhilaration, especially when teamed with Junior Wells, but here on SSBJ, every note is pure musical inspiration. Certainly the restraint that Guy demonstrates on SSBJ is in no small way due to the presence of Spann and Below in the studio, almost like they were the adults in the room. No question that when a tune does break down musically, Below and Spann are there to pick it up and keep it going. Case in point was when Louis Meyers goes into the ending turnaround before the rest of the band was ready to quit; with one crack of the snare drum, Below had the train right back on the tracks. It’s classic stuff, the kind you thought only happened at local blues jams!

Of particular note is Guy’s sole vocal contribution, “Trouble Don’t Last,” a slow blues grinder in A; it’s an evocative emotional performance replete with call and response vocals courtesy of Junior. It’s a reminder how close the two were both personally and professionally that they were able to create such a memorable song out of thin air.

The Delmark reissue of SSBJ includes more than a half-hour of new material, culled from the hours of tape documenting this blues summit. Most of the additional cuts are Wells improving verses to songs he’s played thousands of times, but it doesn’t ever get tedious or sound haphazard at all. At the end of the day, SSBJ is simply the best live recording they could have made, absent the normal distractions of crowd noise and poor sound quality. Speaking of which, the audio quality is top notch on every selection, with every instrument given space and dimension in the mix. When listening to SSBJ it’s hard to imagine the instruments and vocals being mixed any differently. It’s very smooth and easy to listen to. Analog baby.

Kudos to Koester and the staff at Delmark for offering blues fans another 5 star recording. Very highest recommendation.

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