TORONZO CANNON

Leaving Mood

Delmark

By Brian K. Read

Aesop said it best: “You are known by the company you keep.”  To judge by the company that Toronzo Cannon has on his new Delmark CD, “Leaving Mood,” it’s clear he’s a blues man becoming better known every day.  Filled with powerful original material, and stories that resonate of a blues life in full swing, this release brings together the kind of company you want to invite back again and again.

Toronzo is stepping his game up a notch on the blues scene.  If you’ve seen him play live, as I did recently at Rosa’s Lounge on the West Side, you know he’s got the talent and the energy to sing and wail on guitar all night long.  Leaving Mood captures that energy in full.  There’s just too much great material on this record to ignore!

It’s hard to go wrong with a knockout crew like Lawrence Gladney on backing guitar, Marty Binder on the drums and a deep-pocket bass played by Larry Williams.  Stir in Roosevelt “Hatter” Purifoy on keys, a sprinkling of guests like guitar great Carl Weathersby, hot harp by Matthew Skoller, and it’s one great recipe for the blues!

The blues is truly a family affair for Toronzo, rich with childhood experiences at gatherings where relatives would bring their instruments and party with the blues.  He grew up a stone’s throw away from the legendary Theresa’s, a club where his Uncle worked; he would often sneak a listen there as a kid, and so the blues became part of his DNA.  Later in life, he drew upon those memories, crafting his own blues.

Toronzo’s songs reveal truths and observations in life, including some from the seat of the CTA bus he drives when he’s not making music.  “She Loved Me,” the CD’s opening track, is steeped in the deep blues sound of Muddy Waters, with lyrics that tell a tale of love that winds a woman up in jail.  Talk about some mean streets!  

Troubles of another kind are told in a minor key, on “I Can’t Take Her Anywhere,” when a woman he takes to a club starts one scene after another.   “You’re A Good Woman” he sings on another tune, but “not a good wife.”  Toronzo gives us a glimpse of life through his eyes; then he lets his guitar do the rest of the talking, blistering one minute, soft and full of soul the next.  “I want to write stories that talk about more than just shuffling down the street,” he told me.  “I want stories folks can relate to.”

The songs on which Carl Weathersby contributes his guitar are masterful arrangements that give Toronzo a chance to really stretch out on his axe. The chords on “Hard Luck” are R&B gems, moving with ease between minor and major changes.  Who is the “Earnestine” he sings about, finding her in a bar?  You’ll know her type, once you hear the song.

Matthew Skoller really lays down some mean harp on Toronzo’s unique tune, “Open Letter,” a gritty, soapbox song, with vocals sung through a harp mic, in which he delivers some hard truth about musicians or club owners “who lack integrity, and will do anything to get a gig…which messes up the scene.”  Sure sounds familiar.

The title track, “Leaving Mood,” pays some musical tribute to another of Toronzo’s influences, Jimi Hendrix.  Like Jimi, Toronzo is a lefty.  I asked him if it influences his playing?  Or his song writing?  “I guess I think different, playing left handed.”  The song tells about love that “has a way of changing the things you do.”  Enough said.

You’d better get out to see Toronzo and his band when you get a chance, as he may be on another of his international tours soon.  They love him in Africa, and in Europe, and for good reason; he plays some damn GOOD blues, as folks everywhere are finding out.  Leaving Mood captures the essence of this blues man with stories to tell, lots of good friends to help him along, and something for every blues fan to love.

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