KILBORN ALLEY

Four

Blue Bella 1018

By Eric Steiner

I first discovered Blue Bella recording artists Kilborn Alley (also billed as the Kilborn Alley Blues Band) several years ago on DJ “Delta Frank” Black’s excellent blues show at WGLT-FM at Illinois State University (my undergraduate alma mater).  Delta Frank spun Kilborn Alley’s debut Blue Bella CD, Put It In the Alley, and I was hooked immediately after I heard this 2007 Blues Music Award-nominated disc. Three CDs later, this central Illinois-based quartet is back with another original set of equally fine music.

Since that debut, they’ve released Tear Chicago Down, and last year’s Blues Blast Award-winning Better Off Now, and now Four, which continues Kilborn Alley’s journey in delivering contemporary and traditional blues with their own distinctive soulful sound.  Andrew Duncanson’s vocals are perfectly suited for the soulful “You Were My Woman,” up tempo “”Rents House Boogie” and funky “22^nd Street.” Andrew shares guitar work with Josh Stimmel, and the engine room of Chris Breen on bass and Ed O’Hara on drums propel each song forward.

 Guests on Four feature labelmate Gerry Hundt on harmonica, Vince Salerno on sax, and Travis Reed (a member of Nick Moss’ band) on keyboards; whether the song features the core Alley quartet, or their guests, Four offers consistently solid helpings of blues.  The band finds a Memphis groove on “Good Advice” and recalls the halcyon days of Chicago’s Chess Records on “Sitting on the Bank,” but my favorite is Four’s closer --  a rambling 10:26 minute slow blues song called “Going Hard,” which showcases Duncanson and Stimmel’s considerable guitar chops. 

            Generations ago, young Chicago bluesmen competed in “head cutting” jam sessions, and I think that Andrew and Josh would’ve represented Kilborn Alley just fine, had they been born back in the day. Kilborn Alley has been recognized perennially at Chicago’s Blues Blast Awards, and I am glad that Four continues the band’s forward momentum on the innovative Blue Bella label.

Eric Steiner is president of the Washington Blues Society Washington Blues Society in Seattle, Washington, and a member of the Board of Directors of The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee. 

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