Blues In Britain

Live Reviews

John Hammond
Jazz Cafe
16th February 1999

John Hammond has suffered too long in the shadow of his father and in the name of the music he promulgates. His father, an A&R legend was responsible for the signing of artists such as Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Springsteen, Steve Ray Vaughan and promoting Robert Johnson.

His second millstone is the very music he plays - country blues. A style of playing crackling from the archives of oblivion fettered with the legends of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House and the inevitable Robert Johnson.

This is the music that John Hammond chooses to make breathe and vibrant again. Stained with the hollow accolades of "earnest" and "foremost interpreter". Hammond was a product of the blues element of the 60's folk-based Coffee House circuit, a contemporary of Spider John Koerner and Dave Van Ronk.

In recent years he has managed increase his following and profile with three Grammy Nominated albums. It hardly seems possible that the still youthful and lean New Yorker has been treading the boards for nigh on 40 years.

The first three numbers are like blues equivalent of Glaswegian kiss. There are no fluid electric grooves like Source Points' "Mellow Down Easy". This is full on energy, consummate guitar playing, assured vocals and a harp that's keening and abrasive. The big problem is that of a solo performer - irrespective of the quality and competency of a performer it's damn hard to retain an audiences' attention for two sets. The same issues lie with duos and trios -which is the limitations on textures and voicings.

Given this, the highlight of the first set was a stunning vocal and slide piece on "Come On In My Kitchen" which was wracked with the earthy passion of Blind Willie Johnsons' "Dark Was the Night". The old British Blues circuit standards of "It Hurts me too", "Spoonful" and the spooky yodelling "Wolfisms" on "How Many More Years" were hungrily consumed.

"My Time After A While" was suitably Buddy Guy'd with falsetto vocals and the track succeeding "Walkin Blues" - "Hard Times" an even more concentrated distillation of deep blues that was the first sets' tour de force.

The set finisher was a rollicking gut-buster which was as damn near a riot with a foot-stompin, harp howlin', I'm gonna mash down on a slide, playing blues man you're ever gonna' get and let me kick down the door while I think of it.

Yeah, John Hammond, guilty, a near perfect bloody replica of Charley Patton to Lightnin' Hopkins. Authentic as hell, honed to the bone, still missed out on three grammys' - yep probably the last raw deal gone down.

Set List Included - Cherry Tree / Come On In My Kitchen / Spoonful / It Hurts Me Too / How May More Years / Worried Life Blues / My Time After A While / Walkin Blues / Hard Times / Preachin Blues / Kind Hearted Woman.

Paul Bradbeer

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