Gerald McClendon - Down At The Juke Joint

Size: 114.7 MB
Time: 47:28
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2024
Styles: Blues, Soul, R&B
Art: Front

01. Back Where You Belong (3:36)
02. It's Too Late, She's Gone (4:49)
03. Down At The Juke Joint (3:38)
04. House Ain't A Home (4:41)
05. So Long (3:40)
06. Talkin' Smack (3:20)
07. Only Time Will Tell (3:22)
08. She's Tryin' To Drive Me Crazy (3:08)
09. Cryin' Time Again (3:57)
10. You Make Me Happy (4:30)
11. I'll Be In Your Corner (5:24)
12. Your So Fine (3:16)

Sweet soul music – It's that magical music whose classic sounds made history with legendary artists like Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Solomon Burke to name just a few. Those greats have disappeared, leaving only the echoes of their soulful essence. But there's one soul stirrer whose voice still caresses a lyric like a lover should – Chicago's Gerald McClendon. He's a shamefully unheralded classic R&B stylist with a voice so smooth and a feeling so deep that he's known as “The Soul Keeper." And best of all, he's got a new album to showcase his rich vocal stylings.

McClendon's latest, Down At The Juke Joint, on Delta Roots Records, overflows with throbbing old-school soul, with songs created by criminally talented songwriter, drummer, and producer Twist Turner, and brought to life by the soul keeper's passionate pipes. The dozen songs here offer a heartfelt selection of lover's laments and smooth ballads meant for late nights filled with languorous glances and slow dancing.

The opener, “Back Where You Belong,” sets the mood with a sensual sax wrapped around remorsefully smooth vocals: “She didn't leave a card or a letter, not even a see you later / Come on home, back where you belong.” The regrets flow on with the tearful “It's Too Late, She's Gone” – “I tried to apologize, teardrops in my eyes / But it's too late, too late, she's gone.” The mood shifts with the upbeat “Down At The Juke Joint,” a rhythmic ode to good times: “You can come as you are, check your attitude at the bar / sit down and have a taste, don't let the whiskey go to waste.” Then the mournful “House Ain't A Home” opens the door to more love lost: “You see a house ain't a home / When your baby pack up and gone.”

On the melodic “So Long,” McClendon smoothly turns the tables on a lover as he's the one to say it's over – “I can't take it no more, think I'll walk out the door / I said so long, baby I'm gone, so goodbye.” There's a funky feeling to open “Talkin’ Smack,” with another strong vocal turn – “Tryin to play me, for a fool, you see / But you’re only foolin' yourself, it don't matter to me.” “Only Time Will Tell” is a gorgeous love song, built atop a towering vocal effort and subtle sax work: “Our love grows stronger, every day / deeper and deeper, in every way.” The whimsical “She's Tryin' to Drive Me Crazy” takes a lighthearted approach to an over-eager suitor: “Well she's tryin' to drive me crazy, but I just won't give her the key.”

In the melancholy of “Cryin' Time Again,” McClendon weaves a tapestry of despair: “Darkness is all around me, I wonder will I ever see the light.” Somehow the unspoken joy in his voice suggests that he will. As if to answer “Cryin' Time,” the lilting lyricism of “You Make Me Happy” promises a love-filled life: “More precious than diamonds, shine just like gold / Our love grows stronger, it never grows old.” The promise of undying love sparks “I'll Be In Your Corner” with the vow that “I'm the one who'll treat you right.” All of which leads into the closer, “You're So Fine,” where he makes a poignant request: “if you'd only give me a chance, to make you smile to make you laugh.”

“Down at the Juke Joint” is a soulful journey of deeply rich vocals and luxurious musical arrangements, all elegantly wrapped around the many shades of love by the soul keeper –Gerald McClendon. Sweet soul music, indeed. ~Jim White

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Vince Salerno & Gerald McClendon - Blues From All Points

Size: 92.8 MB
Time: 39:50
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2021
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Hip City (2:35)
02. Antidote For Love (4:08)
03. Do Drop In (4:06)
04. Street Walking Woman (3:07)
05. Highway 49 (3:35)
06. Flame To Ash (3:46)
07. Bessie's Blues (4:15)
08. Ay-Tete Fee (2:35)
09. Cleo's Mood (3:32)
10. Harpacordia (3:13)
11. Blues And Trouble (4:53)

Hot on the heels of their acclaimed 2019 Pravda CD veteran Chicago Grabbing the Blues by the Horns, saxophonist/harpist Vince Salerno and vocalist Gerald McClendon return with a tough encore disc expanding even more daringly on their eclecticism than on its predecessor. Long a fixture on the Windy City blues scene, Vince unleashes his horn on an extraordinarily wide-ranging musical menu encompassing swinging blues (T-Bone Walker’s “Street Walking Woman”), zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier’s “Ay-Tete Fee,” and John Coltrane’s “Bessie’s Blues,” where he switches to baritone sax from his customary tenor. A double helping of Jr. Walker (“Cleo’s Mood” and “Hip City”) allows Vince plenty of room to wail in his upper register, and he whips out his harmonica for the blistering traditional Chicago blues “Highway 49,” slathered in slashing slide guitar by Thomas Klein. Gerald sings everything with soul-dripping, impassioned power, including the hard-rocking originals “Antidote To Love” and “Do Drop In.” The splendidly solid rhythm section is headed by highly versatile keyboardist Thomas Linsk. Nearly half of the album is fresh material, including the rollicking instrumental “Harpcordia.” The driving “Blues And Trouble” finds McClendon shaking the rafters vocally, Klein peeling off two choruses of laser-beam guitar, and Vince magically trading fours with himself on bari and harp. is the best kind of pandemic salve Blues From All Points imaginable, making the body move and healing the soul. ~Bill Dahl

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Gerald McClendon - Let's Have A Party

Size: 119.3 MB
Time: 50:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2021
Styles: Chicago Blues, Blues Soul
Art: Full

01. Keep On Keepin' On (3:06)
02. If It Ain't The Blues (3:47)
03. Let's Have A Party (4:01)
04. Pretty Girl (3:55)
05. Pack Your Bags And Go (5:44)
06. Ghetto Child (4:55)
07. You Got To Be Strong (5:32)
08. Throw This Dog A Bone (3:54)
09. Start All Over Again (3:07)
10. I Just Can't Help Myself (5:24)
11. I Just Can't Take Anymore (4:03)
12. Funky Stuff (3:25)

Chicago’s Gerald McClendon is the very definition of “old school.”This stellarvocalist has been performing R&B and classic soul music in the style of Motown, Stax and Atlantic Records for decades,taking great pride in doing his music the way it was done in the 60s and 70s by the Masters, earning him the moniker ”The Soul Keeper.”McClendon returns with a new album of this “old school,” Soul, Blues and R&B, Let’s Have A Party, on Delta Roots Records, borrowing the title from a Sam Cooke classic, but making a statement all his own. He teamed up again with songwriter, drummer, and producer Twist Turner for 12 originals tracks, capitalizing on the formula they created for his successful 2020 release,Can't Nobody Stop Me Now. The duo reassembled the great team of over a dozen players to work on the follow-up project recorded at Delta RootsSound Studios in Chicago. Drawing again on the talents of guitar men Melvin Taylor, Rico McFarland, Rusty Zinn and Joe Burba, keyboardists Tony Llorens, Sumito Ariyoshi, Brian James and Jim Pughand incorporating The Delta Roots Horns, includingJohn “Boom”Brumbach and Skinny Williams, and,of course,Turner handled all the drummingplus strings on two tracks. The album opens with a message we all need to hear in these troubled times, “Keep On Keepin’On,” with McClendon’s words of encouragement echoed by Skinny Williams’ sublime saxophone. He then paints the picture of a man whose life has been full of heartache and trouble on the easy shuffle, ”If It Ain't The Blues.” Johnny B.Gayden delivers the fatfunky bass line while McClendon recites the necessary ingredients for a good time on the title track, “Let's Have A Party.”The Soul Keeper serenades a special lady on the sweet doo-wop flavored ballad “Pretty Girl.” He plays the role of man done wrong during the scorching rebuke “Pack Your Bags And Go.” The R&B portrait of a wayward soul, “Ghetto Child,” is a picture of troubled youth that can be seen on the streets of every city in America. The piano driven gospel sermon,“You Got To Be Strong,” continues the album’s theme of hope and determination. McFarland spars with McClendon on ice pick lead guitar for the edgy blues groove “Throw This Dog A Bone,” a radio ready track with Albert Collins’flavor. The romantic ode toforgiveness,“Start All Over Again,” has a sweet country style. Rico McFarland bends the strings while McClendon bends a knee and confesses his sins on the slow burning “I Just Can’t Help Myself.” Burba lets loose a soaring guitar solo on the gut wrenching blues “I Just Can’t Take Anymore,” as McClendon pushes the emotional boundaries. Acclaimed Chicago guitarist Melvin Taylor sits in for the finale, “Funky Stuff,” tossing out hot licks to rev up the Windy City block party and closeout the set with West Side style. Fans of “old school”soul and R&B will enjoy ‘Let’s Have A Party,’ from keeperof thesoulflame,Gerald McClendon.~Rick J Bowen

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Shun Kikuta - Rising Shun Plus / In A Room

Album: Rising Shun Plus Size: 175.5 MB
Time: 76:04
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric Blues, Chicago Blues
Art: Front

01. When You Feel Lonely (Feat. Billy Branch) (5:33)
02. Hard Hard Miles (Feat. Gerald McClendon) (4:37)
03. Love On Track (Feat. Gerald McClendon) (3:47)
04. Voodoo Woman (Feat. Koko Taylor) (4:03)
05. Yer Blues (Feat. JP Williams) (4:29)
06. Let's Jam (6:21)
07. Old Soul (6:35)
08. Love Love Love (Feat. Gerald McClendon) (4:04)
09. Nikko Waraku Shuffle (5:10)
10. You My Love (4:36)
11. Look Out Baby (4:22)
12. Rockin' Nikko (1:26)
13. Double Faced (5:12)
14. Japablues (New Take) (4:59)
15. Slip My Mind (5:58)
16. Gyoza Blues (New Recording) (4:46)

This work was released in 2018 by remastering 11 songs of "Rising Shun" released in 2007 and adding 5 new songs. Japanese and American artists such as Koko Taylor, Billy Branch, JW Williams, and Jamsbee gather. Recordings were made in Chicago and Utsunomiya.

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Album: In A Room Size: 105.3 MB
Time: 45:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2021
Styles: Acoustic Blues
Art: Front & Back

01. I Just Wanna Make Love To You (5:16)
02. Chicago Midnight (6:14)
03. Blues Ni Koishite (4:24)
04. Look Out Baby (Feat. El Jose) (5:00)
05. Stormy Monday (4:08)
06. People Get Ready (3:46)
07. Old Mississippi Road (4:53)
08. Delta Lightning (0:45)
09. In A Room (3:36)
10. One Day Is Hot, One Day Is Cold (5:02)
11. You Are The One (2:07)

One of the top blues guitarist, Shun Kikuta's first acoustic solo album. In 2020 while his touring was limited by COVID 19, he decided to focus making an acoustic album. Total of eleven songs and eight of his own and other three are the well known covers. One of them features France's young blues ace, El Jose and recorded duo in France.

Shun is an internationally renowned musician traveling around the world. Shun resided in Chicago, known as a home of blues, over two decades and he was a regular guitarist of Koko Taylor, "Queen of the blues" for nine years until her passing. He also was a long time member of 2010 Chicago Music Awards winning band J.W.Williams & Chi-Town Hustlers. Currently he focuses on his own group "Shun Kikuta Band" and "Blues Company". Performed with: B.B.King, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Bo Didley, Robert Lockwood Jr, Hubert Sumlin, James Cotton, Kenny Wayne Shepperd etc.. Recorded with: Koko Taylor "Old School"-Grammy Award nominated, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, Billy Branch, Eddie Shaw, Nellie"Tiger"Travis, etc.. ? TV and movie appearance: "An evening with B.B.King" as a band leader and performed with B.B.King. "Kennedy Center Honors" to honor Morgan Freeman sharing a stage with Koko Taylor, Pinetop Perkins, Honey Boy Edwards and Willie "Big Eye" Smith. "Father and Sons", a part of the seven series of "THE BLUES" movie directed by Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood and 5 other directors. Performed on: Chicago Blues Festival, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Notodden Blues Festival(Norway), Japan Blues Festival, Jakarta International Blues Festival, Beijing Blues Festival etc... ? Discography: Live In France (2020), Good Times Roll/Blues Project (2019), Blues Company (2018) , Rising Shun Plus (2018), Best of Shun's Blues (2013) and 12 leader/collaborated albums. Instructional materials: Lively Blues Guitar (CD+Book, 2017), Call & Response (DVD, 2014) and 6 other books and DVDs. Shun was on the cover and featured musician of BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE Dec 29th 2011 issue. ? Besides performing, Shun teaches guitar, blues history and ensemble in regular basis through workshops and private lessons. Shun also is a music writer in last two decades. He has published his book "The World's Blues Alleys"(Rittor Music-Japanese) and has had his own articles on magazines and papers as well.

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Gerald McClendon - Can't Nobody Stop Me Now

Size: 106,4 MB
Time: 45:10
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues Soul, Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Can't Nobody Stop Me Now (3:02)
02. Where Do We Go From Here (3:41)
03. Groove On Tonight (2:06)
04. She Don't Love Me Anymore (3:38)
05. Runnin' Wild (3:02)
06. It's Over Now (4:20)
07. Mr. Wrong (4:10)
08. I Started Over (3:29)
09. You Can't Take My Love (3:43)
10. Why Can't We Be Together (4:02)
11. Cut You Once (5:08)
12. I Think About You (4:43)

Chicago-born singer/songwriter/performer Gerald McClendon earned the moniker “The Soul Keeper” by being one of the most versatile and dynamic R&B and soul stylists “The City of the Big Shoulders” has to offer. He has a voice with tremendous range that draws instant comparisons to other great singers such as Otis Redding, Ben E. King, Marvin Gaye, Z.Z. Hill, and Wilson Pickett. He is a master storyteller and provocateur, who will entice and entertain.

McClendon’s latest release, “Can’t Nobody Stop Me Now,” is a collection of a dozen new songs about love and lust, fatal attractions and heartfelt devotions that will tug at your heartstrings and lure your feet onto the dance floor. For the 2020 Delta Roots Records release, McClendon teamed up with the claimed producer Twist Turner to record at Sound Studios in the heart of Chicago. The duo employed a team that included Art Love on bass, three great guitar players, Herb Walker, Joe Burba and Mike Wydra, and three keyboardists, Roosevelt Purifoy, Sumito Aryioshi and Brian James, along with Skinny Williams on saxophone and John “Boom” Brumbach on trumpet. Turner, who has worked with over 40 Grammy winning artists, laid down the drum tracks as well as handling producer duties.

The album opens with the horn-driven title track ‘Can’t Nobody Stop Me Now’ with McClendon laying out his plan to leave the past and hard times behind him, take control and fulfill his dream. The blazing tenor sax of Skinny Williams introduces the passion play ‘Where Do We Go From Here’ with McClendon pouring his heart out on the dramatic blues number. He then demonstrates that he is versed in the art of persuasion on the smooth R&B tune ‘Groove On Tonight.’

Williams delivers another great solo on the desperate ballad ‘She Don’t Love Me Anymore.’ Taking cues from his mentor Z.Z. Hill, McClendon chastises a bad girl on the bumpin’ ‘Runnin’ Wild,’ then channels Bobby “Blue” Bland on the piano-driven track ‘It’s Over Now.’ He spells out his manly attributes on the cheeky track ‘Mr. Wrong,’ before sharing more testimony to his selfreliance on the uplifting number ‘I Started Over.’

McClendon expresses his vulnerability on the delicate hymn, ’You Can’t Take My Love,’ and the haunting love song ‘Why Can’t We Be Together.’ The tawdry tale of a man in the doghouse, ‘Cut You Once,’ plays out over an easy funk groove with hot-horn jabs. The team then pulls out all the stops for the dramatic finale ‘I Think About You’ unleashing sweeping horns and churning Hammond B3.

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Mother Blues With Gerald McClendon - Sleeping While The River Runs

Released: 2005
Size: 135.1 MB
Time: 58:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Styles: Blues Soul / Electric Blues
Art: Front

1. Pass You By [3:10]
2. Smokescreen [2:33]
3. Keep You From Harm [3:28]
4. Leaves Tremble On The Tree [3:04]
5. Going Down For The Last Time [4:23]
6. Common Ground [3:15]
7. Bed Down [4:46]
8. Sleeping While The River Runs [3:35]
9. Come To Me [2:48]
10. Thin Line [3:32]
11. Me & Ian [2:36]
12. Glory Train [4:51]
13. Habit Of The Heart [3:29]
14. Chalk Line [5:23]
15. Walk With Me [2:30]
16. Where's The Fire [2:58]
17. Sleeping (Reprise) [1:34]

Listen to any form of American music. Rock & Roll, R&B, Soul, Jazz, Hip Hop. What you're hearing is some reflection of the blues. Blues is the foundation. The base. It's the mother of all that came after.

Mother Blues is a veteran group of Chicago area musicians brought together by a common love of the blues, and by a desire to explore musical boundaries. They write and perform music that touches on every corner of the blues universe, and they expand on what they find.

One key element is lead singer Gerald McClendon, often described as the most soulful voice in Chicago. His voice may growl, soar, or cajole - but it always engages.

Mother Blues represent over seventy-five years of playing and recording on the Chicago blues scene - in the company of artists as diverse as Buddy Guy, Son Seals, Carl Weathersby, Sharon Lewis, Carey and Lurie Bell, Diamond Jim, Joanna Connor, Larry McCray, Quintus McCormick, Tommy McCracken, Jan James, War, Robin Trower, among many others. Separately, their paths have led through every club from Chicago to New York to Memphis.

Singer Gerald McClendon is one of the most evocative and versatile blues/soul singers on the scene. Gerald has shared space on recorded compilations with Chicago blues staples from Pinetop Perkins and Otis Clay to Billy Branch. Whether bringing new emotional immediacy to classic material, or painting on fresh canvas - his voice will impact you. He'll grab your ear, your heart, your mind. Gerald's voice carries a message from soul to soul.

As a teenager, guitarist/composer Steve Bramer was self-schooled on B.B. King records borrowed from the Walgreen's cutout bin in Morgantown, West Virginia. His first regular gig was every Thursday through Saturday with the Black Elks Club house band (Lee Collins and the New Breed) in Lansing, Michigan. Since making Chicago his home in 1990, he's backed, opened for, hired, jammed or recorded with everyone from Koko Taylor to Michael Coleman.

The Mother Blues rythym section chores have been handled by a number of Chicago music scene veterans. The emphasis is always on groove first.

Working from a solid foundation in standard blues forms, the music touches on every established blues hybrid (Blues/Rock, Jazz, Country, R&B) while also managing to break new ground. The singing has been compared to classic blues/soul stylists (Bobby Blue Bland, Little Milton, Otis Redding). The playing is openly respectful toward masters/innovators (Vaughan, King, Hendrix) while establishing a unique voice and vision. With appropriate nods to the wealth of material in the classic blues catalogue, Mother Blues focuses almost exclusively on their own original compositions.

Mother Blues respects the past by carrying it forward. The music cries, sweats, breathes, screams. It's going to make you feel something. And its going to get some butts up out of some seats.

Check out Mother Blues and see why they are on the cutting edge of a new wave of Chicago bands bringing new dedication, and new direction, to contemporary blues.

Sleeping While The River Runs

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