Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 28, 2025: Harmonica

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/68751.html

Theme: Harmonica.

Jerry Jeff Walker- Harmonica Talk

Bein’ Free (Atco)

Sonny Terry

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee- Harmonica Blues

Sonny Terry’s New Sound (Folkways)

Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi- Freight Train

Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train (M.C.)

Paul Rishell & Annie Raines- Key to the Highway

I Want You to Know (Tone-Cool)

James Cotton with Joe Louis Walker & Charlie Haden- Country Boy

Deep in the Blues (Verve)

Michael Jerome Browne with JJ Milteau & Eric Bibb- Shake ‘Em on Down

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Vince Halfhide with Steve Marriner- Sonny Boy Said

Vince Halfhide (Vince Halfhide)

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band- Blues with a Feeling

An Anthology: The Elektra Years (Elektra)

Corky Siegel

Corky Siegel- Movement I – Filisko’s Dream

Symphonic Blues No. 6 (Dawnserly)

Corky Siegel- Movement II – Slow Blues

Symphonic Blues No. 6 (Dawnserly)

Corky Siegel- Movement III – Allegro

Symphonic Blues No. 6 (Dawnserly)

Larry Adler- Blues in the Night

Harmonica Virtuoso (Audio Fidelity)

Paul Reddick- Breathless Girls

Sugar Bird (NorthernBlues Music)

Mike Stevens- Clarinet Polka

The World is Only Air (Borealis)

Saul Broudy- Bei Mir Bist Du Sheyn

Travels with Broudy (Saul Broudy)

Shtreiml- Uncle Tibor’s Spicy Paprikash

Spicy Paprikash (I.J. Rosenblatt)

Toots Thielmans- Five O’Clock Whistle

The Soul of Toots Thielmans (Dr. Jazz)

John Sebastian & David Grisman- Harmandola Blues

Satisfied (Acoustic Disc)

Grant Dermody- Waterbound

Lay Down My Burden (Grant Dermody)

Charlie Musselwhite- Blues Up the River

Mississippi Sun (Alligator)

Marc Nerenberg- This Time Around: A Banjo Harmonica Duet

Little Birdie: Birds, Beasts & Banjo Blues (Marc Nerenberg)

Next week: Remembering Garth Hudson (1937-2025).

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday August 3, 2021

 Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/52944.html

Theme: David Amram and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – Celebrating two iconic musical legends at 90

David Amram, classical composer and conductor, jazz musician and composer, folksinger and songwriter, turned 90 on November 17, 2020. Legendary folksinger and storyteller Ramblin' Jack Elliott, travelling companion to Woody Guthrie and significant influence on the young Bob Dylan, turned 90 this week on August 1. I’ve known Jack since 1971 and David since 1974, have worked with both of them numerous times over the years, and have learned much from them. Both Jack and David are still going strong and performing at age 90.

Ramblin' Jack Elliott- New Stranger Blues
A Stranger Here (Anti-)
David Amram- The Water is Wide
A Tribute to Steve Goodman (Red Pajamas)

Mike Regenstreif & Ramblin' Jack Elliott (2010)

Ramblin' Jack Elliott- Will James
South Coast (Red House)
David Amram & Ramblin' Jack Elliott- Going North
No More Walls (Flying Fish)
Ramblin' Jack Elliott- South Coast
South Coast (Red House)
David Amram with Ramblin' Jack Elliott & Odetta- Home On the Range
At Home/Around the World (Flying Fish)

David Amram- Song of the Rain Forest
Latin Jazz Celebration (Elektra)

David Amram- The Fabulous Fifties
Subway Night (RCA)
Ramblin' Jack Elliott- 912 Greens
Kerouac’s Last Dream (Appleseed)
David Amram with Lynn Sheffield- Pull My Daisy
No More Walls (Flying Fish)

Ramblin' Jack Elliott- Pastures of Plenty
South Coast (Red House)
David Amram & Colorado Symphony Orchestra- Variation III: Pampa Texas Barn Dance
This Land: Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie (Newport Classic)
Ramblin' Jack Elliott- I Ain’t Got No Home
South Coast (Red House)
David Amram & Colorado Symphony Orchestra- Variation VI: Street Sounds of New York B) Klezmer Wedding Celebration and Middle Eastern Bazaar
This Land: Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie (Newport Classic)
Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Arlo Guthrie & Sonny Terry- Hard Travelin’
Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin’ soundtrack (Rising Son)
David Amram & Colorado Symphony Orchestra- Variation VI: Street Sounds of New York D) Block Party Jam and Finale
This Land: Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie (Newport Classic)

Mike Regenstreif & David Amram (2004) photo by Ron Petronko

Ramblin' Jack Elliott- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Kerouac’s Last Dream (Appleseed)
David Amram- Dreams of New Orleans
Southern Stories (Chrome)
Ramblin' Jack Elliott & Tom Russell- The Sky Above and the Mud Below
The Long Ride (HighTone)
David Amram- Credo
Subway Night (RCA)

David Amram- Waltz from ‘After the Fall’
No More Walls (Flying Fish)

Next week: The Legacy of Stan Rogers: A postage stamp celebration

Find me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Happy Traum – Just for the Love of It

HAPPY TRAUM

Just for the Love of It

Lark’s Nest Music

happytraum.com

Ten years ago, reviewing Happy Traum’s then-new album, I Walk the Road Again, in Sing Out! magazine, I noted, “It’s been much too long, more than two decades, since Happy Traum, a former editor of Sing Out! magazine, released a solo album. Happily, the long wait has resulted in a very sweet gem of a CD.”

Another decade has gone by, but the wait for Just for the Love of It, another very sweet gem of a CD, was worth it. As usual, Happy has impeccable taste in choosing a program of great traditional folk and blues songs or contemporary songs written in the tradition and even better taste in the way he arranges them with both reverence for his sources and the originality of his always creative fingerpicking guitar and warm singing. He also surrounds himself – track to track – with just the right set of supporting musicians for each song and arrangement.

Because I have multiple versions of every one of these songs in my collection (in some cases many versions) there’s an instant familiarity to every track. But, despite, that familiarity, Happy made each and every one of them sound fresh the first time listened to the album – and they still sound fresh no matter how many times I’ve played the CD.

The album kicks off with Happy’s interpretation of Brownie McGhee’s version of the traditional “Careless Love Blues.” I have versions of Brownie playing the song solo and with Sonny Terry on harmonica. With Happy doing a great job on guitar and vocals, John Sebastian does an equally great job on harmonica.

Other favorite tracks include the traditional “Deep Blue Sea,” learned from Pete Seeger and featuring David Amram on pennywhistle and terrific harmonies by Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams; a contemplative, solo version of Pete’s “Sailing Down My Golden River”; an arrangement of the traditional “Things Are Coming My Way” that is, like so many Georgia Sea Island songs, completely infectious; and a defiant-sounding version of Woody Guthrie’s classic “I Ain’t Got No Home,” that also features a great harmonica part by John Sebastian.

There is also a full-on version of Bob Dylan’s “Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood),” featuring Happy’s son, Adam Traum on slide guitar and harmony vocals. This song was one of several duets Happy recorded with Dylan in 1971 for Dylan’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 album.

There are another eight songs on Just for the Love of It. I could just as easily have cited any of them as a highlight. I hope it’s not another decade before Happy decides to do another album.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Guy Davis – Kokomo Kidd

GUY DAVIS

Kokomo Kidd

M.C. Records

guydavis.com

As I said two years ago in the intro to my review of Juba Dance, over the past two decades, Guy Davis has been one of the premiere interpreters of traditional acoustic blues and one of the songwriters whose in-the-tradition work has kept the genre vital and alive in modern times. In the hands of Guy and a few of his peers, the traditional blues forms remain timeless – as relevant now as they were 30, 50 or 80 years ago. All of the recordings Guy has released since the limited edition Guy Davis Live in 1993 (repackaged as Stomp Down Rider in 1995) have been both a homage to Guy’s musical forebears and a crucial contribution to contemporary music.

Guy is in great form on Kokomo Kidd with eight new songs and five covers – a couple of which are very pleasant surprises.

The album opens with the bouncy “Kokomo Kidd.” Guy assumes the persona of Kokomo Kidd, a seemingly ageless bootlegger/dealer/pimp/fixer, who supplies liquor, drugs and women (or men) to top Washington politicians during Prohibition and through to the present where he continues as an ultimate dirty trickster. Guy’s banjo playing sets the rhythm, his voice tells the story in a kind of blues-based pre-rap style, and the bottom is filled by some terrific tuba playing by Ben Jaffe of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Other favorites from among Guy’s originals include “Taking Just a Little Bit of Time,” which celebrates stepping out of the hectic pace of contemporary life “for just a little bit of time”; “Shake It Like Sonny Did,” a great tribute to country blues harmonica legend Sonny Terry (who I had the opportunity to know and work with in the 1970s); and the delightfully catchy “Maybe I’ll Go,” a nod to Mississippi John Hurt.

With the support of Professor Louie on Hammond organ, Guy moves into classic soul ballad mode on the powerful “She Just Wants to be Loved,” an empathetic piece about a lonely woman who has never found the love she’s spent her lifetime looking for.

The most moving piece on the album is “I Wish I Hadn’t Stayed Away So Long,” in which Guy poignantly laments that his life as touring musician meant the he “got home too late to say goodbye” when his mother (the legendary actress Ruby Dee) died.

Guy Davis & Mike Regenstreif (2006)

Among the songs Guy didn’t write are three blues standards. Among them is Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster” done in classic Chicago blues style with Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica. 

The pleasant surprises I mentioned are a soul ballad version of Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” and a reggae version of Donovan’s “Wear Your Love Like Heaven.” Both songs so familiar and yet so fresh-sounding in these interpretations.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Dave Ray – Legacy

DAVE RAY

Legacy

Red House Records

redhouserecords.com

After Bob Dylan, the most significant musicians to come out of the folk scene around the University of Minnesota, circa 1960, was the trio of Koerner, Ray & Glover – guitarist-singers “Spider” John Koerner and Dave “Snaker” Ray and harmonica player Tony “Little Sun” Glover. Along with such seminal figures as Dave Van Ronk in New York and Eric Von Schmidt in Cambridge, Koerner, Ray & Glover paved the way for all of the blues revivalists who followed in their footsteps.

The tracks on classic Koerner, Ray & Glover albums like Blues, Rags & Hollers and (Lots More) Blues, Rags & Hollers only occasionally featured all three musicians. Most songs had one or another of the trio performing solo or in duos with one of the others and Ray’s cuts highlighted the sets.

Ray went on to a long career working occasionally with Koerner and Glover – I remember meeting and hearing them at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in the 1980s – as well as in duos with Glover, fronting his own bands, and as a solo artist. Ray, who died of lung cancer in 2002 at age 59, kept on playing until the end.

Legacy is an exhaustive 3-CD set that collects 55 recordings – most of them previously unreleased – made over the course of his 40-year career. We hear him mature from a teenaged guitarist trying to imitate Lead Belly to a fully developed master of both rural and urban blues styles.

The recordings on the first CD cover the years from 1962 to 1987. While early tracks like “Alabama Women” and “Fannin Street” sound imitative, we quickly hear him find his own blues voice and begin to offer more fully developed interpretations of songs like Brownie McGhee’s “Lonesome Road,” with Glover offering more than credible Sonny Terry-style harp, and Blind Blake’s “Fighting That Jug.”

The 21 songs on the second CD were recorded between 1988 and 1994 and are highlighted by Jimmy Reed’s “Take Out Some Insurance,” with Ray on electric guitar, Tommy Johnson’s “Big Road,” on which he plays an electric 12-string, and Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues,” on which he plays acoustic 12-string. All three tracks, and many others on the disc, feature some excellent harp work by Glover.

The 18 songs on the third CD date from 1995 to 2002. By this time, Ray was a fully developed blues artist. His versions of such pieces as Tommy McClennan’s “Shake ‘Em On Down,” Joe Callicott’s “Fare Thee Well,” Blind Blake’s “That Will Never Happen No More,” and even a bluesified version of Bill Monroe’s bluegrass classic “With Body and Soul” are a constant delight. And, again, all of those tracks feature great contributions from Glover on the harmonica.

Legacy is a great reminder of an important, if under-appreciated, artist no longer with us. The 32-page booklet includes photos and an excellent essay and song notes by Glover.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif