b) As (a), but  Duke Robillard (gtr) replaces Bullis

c) Bill Novick (clt) & Bob Pilsbury (pno)

d) Bob Pilsbury (pno, vcl), Tony Pringle (cnt), Duke Robillard (gtr)

The hypnotic effect of the blues, the haunting way the old singers bent the well-tempered, diatonic European scale, could change the way a trained musician thought about music, as it did for W. C. Handy, The African-American composer/publisher of "St. Louis Blues" (1914) and other standards of the early jazz repertoire. One night in 1903, as he waited for a train in Tutwiler, Mississippi, Handy heard something that fascinated him. "A lean loose-jointed Negro had commenced plunking a guitar beside me while I slept...As he played, he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar in a manner popularized by Hawaiian guitarists who used steel bars...The singer repeated the line three times, accompanying himself on the guitar with the weirdest music I have ever heard." There were many such encounters during Handy's early travels, and this vital folk tradition captivated him. It was, in fact, the basis of his tremendous success as a composer/publisher, beginning with "Memphis Blues" in 1912.

Of course blues was part of the mix in the earliest days of jazz in New Orleans.  As Jelly Roll Morton put it, the recipe called for "everything from blues to opera."  The Eagles repertoire has always included acknowledged classics by Morton, King Oliver, and other New Orleans giants -- as usual, not direct copies of the old recordings, but tributes played in the band's own way.  When planning this CD, however, cornetist Tony Pringle reports that the band had something else in mind: include some of the classics, yes, but also reach out to other corners of the blues tradition for some new repertoire.

To help with this outreach, the band wisely recruited master bluesman Duke Robillard, whose versatility and credentials go back to 1967, when he co-founded Roomful of Blues (see www.dukerobillard.com ).  Not surprisingly, Robillard's presence is more than mere imprimatur; staying with acoustic guitar, he solos masterfully and he fits beautifully into the rhythm section, especially effective, for example, on "Misty Morning."

"Misty Morning," from the Duke Ellington band's Cotton Club era, is classic Eagles' territory, the late '20's period when the New Orleans influence -- with bassist Wellman Braud and clarinetist Barney Bigard on board -- was strongly felt.

From the bedrock repertoire: "Riverside Blues," by "Georgia Tom" Dorsey and Richard M. Jones, was most famously recorded by King Oliver in 1923; Spencer Williams' "Mahogany Hall Stomp" (its second strain is a standard three-line blues progression) was of course a perennial Louis Armstrong showpiece; and Handy's "Yellow Dog Blues," in a Billy Novick arrangement based on Ellington's 1928 recording, is also core repertoire.

Novick's contributions here are considerable.  In a bow to the 1940s "jump blues" style typified by Louis Jordan's Timpani Five and others, he brought in Jordan's 1946 mega-hit "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," an obvious precursor of early rock and roll hits like Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock."  The Novick original, "Sonora's Blues," is a lyrical sensitive duet with Pilsbury.

"Tia Juana Man" is a blues cast in the Latin-American rhythm Jelly Roll Morton called the "Spanish tinge."  It was recorded in 1926 by singer Ada Brown with all-star accompaniment including cornetist George Mitchell, clarinetist Albert Nicholas, pianist Luis Russell, and banjoist Johnny St.. Cyr.

"When the Sun Goes Down" and "Don't (You) Start No Stuff" are by pianist/singer Leroy Carr, whose urbanized, crooning style --often accompanied by the guitarist Scrapper Blackwell -- was extremely popular from the late '20s well into the '30s.  The Eagles make this material their own, even re-casting the harmony on "When the Sun Goes Down."

In tribute to another famous blues duo, Sonny Terry (harmonica) and Brownie McGhee (guitar and vocals), Bob Pilsbury makes McGhee's "Sportin' Life" very much his own, with sensitive cornet and guitar support.  Somehow it sounds like Bob has lived this story.

"Steal Away" is from a 1929 recording by the great clarinetist Johnny Dodds, one of many casual dates he recorded for the Paramount label.  Once again there is some adjustment  to the original harmony, but the spirit of the original is intact. "Nothing Blues," an original by the legendary Scottish clarinetist Sandy Brown, gives the band a chance to swing out on the kind of loping eight-to-the-bar rhythm that has deep roots in the blues and barrelhouse tradition, but is just not often used by a traditional jazz band. (See, for example, any number of recordings by pianist Cow Cow Davenport.)

"KC Moan" is credited to guitarist Tewee Blackman, who recorded it with the Memphis Jug Band in 1924.

"Joe Avery's Piece" is a New Orleans parade band standard, its title referring to the New Orleans trombonist who is said to have originated it. (An alternate title is "Second Line," not to be confused with the Paul Barbarin composition of the same title.  To keep the confusion down, the latter is usually referred to in New Orleans as "Barbarin's Second Line.")

Butch Thompson -- August 2009

At last, here it is, our long promised Blues CD.  We are happy to have Bill Reynolds on this session -- Bill is our long time first choice when Pam is unavailable.  I think that Butch has said all that needs to be said about the music and all that remains is for you to plug it in your CD player or computer and enjoy.

Tony Pringle -- August 2009