TRACTEUR HAMMER

In a time when the regional flavor of the blues is being diluted, guitar-slinger Long John Hunter is Texas Blues with a big ol' "T". Fame has eluded this legend of the Tex-Mex roadhouses for way too long and Border Town Legend is wicked redemption. From the first bristling notes of "T-Bone Intentions," you know you're in for a hot time. This CD is a flat-out party. Propelled by a crackerjack outfit of brassy horns, Hunter fires up a spicy mix of jump blues, soulful laments, and joyous rave-ups. "Ole Red" is a stone-cold butt-shaker, "Arkansas" is smoky, seductive R&B at it's best, and no guitarist is left standing once the "Lone Star Shootout" has ended. Even more astonishing, all but one of these tracks are Hunter-penned originals. Make a run for Border Town Legend or die trying. -Genevieve Williams

Alberta Hunter was one of the most prominent jazz and blues singers of the early inter-war years, working with many of the major names of the period, as well as being a noted song writer. This great-value 94-track 4-CD set covers the two decades which comprised the greater part of her core recording career - she recorded only a couple of times after 1940 while she was travelling to entertain troops, and retired from the business to take up nursing when her mother died in 1957, returning to singing in her 70s after she was obliged to retire from nursing. Her style spanned the blues and jazz genres, in that while her accompaniment was often jazz-flavoured, the songs were very much in the blues idiom. She worked with solo or small band accompaniment, collaborating with many luminaries of early jazz, such as Eubie Blake, Fletcher Henderson, Clarence Williams, Fats Waller, Lovie Austin, Tommy Ladnier and Perry Bradford, with the likes of Louis Armstrong Lil Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and Buster Bailey featuring in the groups she worked with. Also included are recordings she made in London in 1934 with the Jack Jackson Orchestra. This anthology comprises a very high proportion of the recordings she made during the period, and is a thorough overview of her work, so provides a comprehensive showcase for her unique talent.

Double 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Charlie Hunter's 1995 Blue Note debut Bing Bing Bing! Was a groove-heavy tour-de-force that announced the arrival of a virtuosic new guitarist on the scene. Hunter's unique concept on his 8-string guitar allowed him to lay down a bass line and play chords as well as a melodic line at the same time, producing music that was at once impressive and irrepressible. With his powerful trio featuring tenor saxophonist Dave Ellis and drummer Jay Lane plus contributions from trombonist Jeff Cressman, Ben Goldberg, pedal steel guitarist David Phillips, and percussionist Scott Roberts, Hunter delivered a 10-song set of propulsive originals including "Greasy Granny" and "Fistful of Haggis" plus an unforgettable cover of Nirvana's "Come As You Are." Hunter would go on to record six more excellent albums for Blue Note, and also gain notice for playing on D'Angelo's 2000 neo-soul masterpiece Voodoo. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes.