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WINNING SPINS
JIMMY SWEETWATER’S BLUES ARE
firmly planted in Florida soil. Although he was
born in Massachusetts and now resides in San
Francisco, the harmonicist and percussionist
spent formative years around the Gainesville
area. The rural environs, not to mention the
opportunity to hear blues artists such as
Willie Green and to pal around with rock and
blues icon Bo Diddley, helped to inform the
authentic feel of his country blues. With
heroes such as Aleck Rice Miller (Sonnyboy
Williamson II), Charlie Musselwhite and
George “Harmonica” Smith, Sweetwater
developed a gritty, down-home style that’s
short on flash and long on substance.
This sparse, soulful aesthetic is at the core
of Dirt Road by the Tracks, Sweetwater’s latest
recording. Accompanied by the masterful Craig
Ventresco on acoustic guitar, Sweetwater
sings and blows harp in a laconic manner
that conjures images of tree-lined, Northern
Florida backroads with moonlight dripping
off the moss. Of course, there’s plenty of wit
in Sweetwater’s delivery, too. You can hear
the sly wink of Lightnin’ Hopkins in the
opening “Mojo Hand,” in which Sweetwater
calls up the mix of humor and menace that was
Hopkins’ trademark. His mumbly baritone
also brings to mind the late Texas blues legend,
and his exaggerated phrasing will bring a
smile to many blues lovers. (Also check out
the hilarious video for the song, posted at
Myspace.com/jimmysweetwater.)
Sweetwater and Ventresco engage in a couple
of instrumentals, both of which were written by
the pair. “Red Plays the Blues” provides an
excellent showcase for Sweetwater’s grits-andmoonshine
chromatic harp. On “Washboard
Blues,” Ventresco displays an articulate fingerpicking
style that calls up ragtime and Delta
antecedents as Sweetwater punctuates his
playing with a variety of colors and textures
pulled from his washboard, which is rigged
with bells and cymbals.
Sweetwater’s vocals stand out on a read of
Willie Dixon’s “Bring It on Home,” and he
seems to take inspiration from one of his
main influences, Sonnyboy II. Ventresco lays
down a chugging backbeat as Sweetwater
works his vocals and harmonica into the locomotive
rhythm, blowing diatonic harp notes
that belch smoke and recall the insistent
rumble of iron wheels. The singer revisits his
hero again on Sonnyboy’s “Don’t Loose Your
Eye,” in which his voice somewhat resembles
the manic tenor of Ric Estrin.
Lonesome and image-laden, the title song
is a masterful evocation of deep country
blues. “The daylight ends where the iron
meets the road,” Sweetwater sings in his
backwoods baritone. “The piles of dust in
your mind, they’re the heaviest load.”
Ventresco offers some of his finest picking
here, echoing the emotions of the singer.
Meanwhile, Sweetwater lays back in the mix
with some subtle yet heartfelt harp blowing.
Sweetwater also personalizes Muddy Waters’
“Deep Down in Florida,” offering shoutouts
to Tampa and St. Petersburg, as well as an
Alachua County city that means quite a bit to
him. “Yeah, I can’t forget about you, Newberry,”
he sings, “that’s where my little wife she
come from.” A tip of the hat is proffered to
the late Brownie McGhee, as well, with a
frisky read of the (barely) double-entendre
“Key to My Door” and the original “Things Are Not
Right,” which sounds like a Brownie and Sonny Terry
romp but one that deals with modern issues such as
global warming.
Closing out this gem of a recording, which just
passes the 30-minute mark, a rendition of “(I’m
Gonna) Move to the Outskirts of Town” does indeed
change the address of this usually urbane tune. A
favorite of Louis Jordan and B.B. King, the song
finds a decidedly more rural residence thanks to
Sweetwater’s textured harp and dark, misanthropic
vocals, as well as Ventresco’s fine acoustic picking.
Dirt Road by the Tracks shows why Sweetwater
has been a sought-after sideman in the Bay Area and
beyond. His personality, as well as his seasoned chops, shine through
on every track and leave listeners hungry for more.
Jimmy Sweetwater and guitarist Chet Honeycutt will perform Dec. 10 at Blue
Jean Blues in Fort Lauderdale, Dec. 11-12 at the Hurricane Grille in Marathon,
and Dec. 13 at The Green Parrot in Key West. Visit
Jimsweetwater.com for more.
JIMMY SWEETWATER
By Bob Weinberg
http://www.jazzbluesflorida.com/home.htm