Jean Jacques Milteau

Memphis

SSC3011 2003-05-13

Apple

Track List

T.M.C.P - 5:01
Heart Of Gold - 3:33
Bon Ton Café - 4:49
The Change Has Yet To Come - 5:01
Memphis - 3:13
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - 4:44
Junior Parker - 4:35
City Of Angels (To The City Of Lights) - 4:12
Royal Shuffle - 2:30
Master Lester - 3:59
Things Are Gonna Change - 5:18
Poppa Willie - 5:25
At Least, On Time - 4:08
The Feeling Is Real - 2:48

Musicians

Mighty Sam McClain - vocals
Jacquelyn Reddick - vocals background
Lester Snell - keyboards, fender rhodes, wurlitzer, organ
Jim Spake - saxophone, sax baritone
Michael Toles - guitar
Laurent Vernerey - percussion
Bobby Rangell - saxophone, sax alto
Dave Smith - bass
Denis Benarrosch - percussion
Mighty Mo Rodgers - keyboards, vocals, wurlitzer
Steve Potts - drums
Jean Jacques Milteau - harmonica
William C. Brown III - vocals, vocals background
Little Milton - vocals, guitar
Sebastian Danchin - guitar
Manu Galvin - guitar
Jack Hale - trombone
Jacqueline Johnson - vocals background
Andrew Love - saxphone, sax tenor

Buy CD

For me, Memphis is a sound. The roar of the powerful Hammond B3, the silk-smooth groove of the Wurlitzer, the scorching hot guitar staccato and, most of all, the magic of voices. Gospel-drenched soul voices, coming from so far away that they make you shiver and weep as they come oozing out of a juke joint on East McLemore, of a church on Union, of a club on Beale. Once again, the tiny Marine Band harp opened doors for me, giving me access to the Memphis sound, providing me with an introduction to singers and musicians I’ve admired and loved all my life.

Reviews

French bluesman Jean Jacques Milteau delivers an earthy tribute to a city steeped in the "tradition" on Memphis. Recorded at Royal Studio in the city in question, Memphis features Milteau's muscular harmonica along with such blues luminaries as Mighty Mo Rodgers, Little Milton, and Mighty Sam McClain. Whining and growling through such stellar original tunes as the second-line funk of "Bon Ton Café" and the driving Motown-sounding title track, the real revelation here is how Milteau and company reinterpret pop tunes as blues. Rodgers turns Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" into a rustic and soulful plea, while Milton gives Sting's "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" an ominous edge. This is mainstream blues at its best.
Matt Collar, All Music Guide

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