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If you like
Texas roots blues you might check out Downsville Blues by Tomcat
Courtney on Blue Witch Records. The CD will be released on May 20.
Courtney,
78, is a native of Texas but he’s lived everywhere, including San Diego,
Calif., which he’s called home for decades. The title track is about his
hometown, about 8 miles from Waco, Texas. Although he’s had a few
self-produced CDs in the past, Downsville Blues is his first national
release.
Courtney’s
guitar and that of Chris James sizzle throughout the new CD. Throw in
amazing harmonica work from Bob Corritore and you have a genuinely fine
product. Other musicians on the CD are Patrick Rynn, Brian Fahey and
Willie “Big Eyes” Smith on drums. The CD was recorded in Tempe, Ariz.,
and produced by Corritore.
“The rest
of the world is about to discover what San Diego has known for 35 years:
Tomcat Courtney may well be the closest connection to Texas country
blues tradition extant,” wrote Bill Dahl in the liner notes.
Courtney
began as a dancer after World War II, took up the harmonica, and
eventually settled with the guitar.
Song after
song on Downsville Blues rings true with Texas and Delta blues. “Cook
My Breakfast,” which opens the CD, finds Courtney growling in duet with
Corritore’s harmonica. The title track dips into his soul:
Well I was raised in a shack
Down by a
railroad track
That old
train came along
I bordered
on and never looked back
One day I
decided I’d go back home
Back to
that old place, Lord where I used to roam
But that
house, by the tracks, Lord, it was gone
Old
neighbor he came around
He said
that old house by the track had burned down
It’s been so long, since I was back home
Courtney
also wrote “Disaster Blues” following Hurricane Katrina in 2005:
I met a homeless man this morning
Ah he was
looking very sad
I met a
homeless man this morning
He was
looking very sad
He said ‘I
lost everything in the world
Everything in the world that I had’
He said it was down in Louisiana
Down in New
Orleans
Down in
Louisiana
Way down in
New Orleans
I said it
was the worst disaster
It was the
worst disaster I’d ever seen
You know
the wind was blowing
You know
the rain was coming down
You know
the wind was blowing
You know
the rain was coming down
You know
the levee broke
And it flooded the lower end out of town
Courtney
also carries on the tradition of saucy, uptempo blues with “Shake It Up
Baby”, “Four Wheel Drive”, and “Bottle It Up And Go”:
I said mama killed a chicken
Thought he
was a duck
Put him on
the table with his lunch sticking up
You gotta
bottle it up and go
You see you
high-powered women
Sure ‘nuff bottle it up and go
Robert J.
Hawkins wrote in a San Diego entertainment guide that Courtney called
San Diego his own. “Make no mistake: For 20 years, Tomcat Courtney was
the Texas Teahouse and the Texas Teahouse was Tomcat. When he'd come to
that old Ocean Beach flytrap and strum his brand of blues, the tables
would fill and the Teahouse would stand for something more than the end
of the road for a bunch of washed-out surf bums and motorcycle hoods.
They were a couple of beat-up old roadhouse dogs. Cigarette smoke, stale
beer and the blues clung to both of 'em. And they both wore it all with
a touch of threadbare dignity. Inseparable”, he wrote.
“Tomcat
Courtney is the older of the two, too. Born in 1929. In Texas. He
learned to pick listening to fellow Texan Lightnin' Hopkins and traveled
the same rough-and-tumble dusty roadhouse circuit until he answered the
siren's call of California. One visit to San Diego in 1971 was enough to
convince Tomcat that he'd found a home. A year later, he found the
Teahouse. They had a standing date, once a week. It lasted two decades.
For 20 years Tomcat Courtney worked in the kitchen of a Mission Valley
hotel and spent his nights picking the blues either solo or with his
revolving band of talented sidemen, the Bluesdusters.”
Hawkins
said about Courtney, “He’s a showman. With his band the Bluesdusters,
you'll hear some familiar B.B. King, Freddie King, John Lee Hooker and
Lightnin', among other greats, mixed into his sets. And you'll hear his
own compositions. But it isn't about flash. It is about feeling.
Courtney doesn't shred chords. He heals busted dreams by singing the
blues.”
Courtney
has also played for many years at The Rhythm Room in Phoenix. He’ll have
a CD release party there in May. Also in May will be a special
performance at the Delta Groove Showcase in Clarksdale, Miss. He’ll be
performing with other legends such as Big Pete Pearson and Dave Riley.
Corritore
has on his website: “San Diego-based blues guitarist/vocalist Tomcat
Courtney was born in Waco, Texas in 1929, where he grew up on the music
of Lightnin' Hopkins and T-Bone Walker, both whom he knew personally.
Tomcat is a stunning vocalist and guitarist with a beautiful down-home
approach to the blues ... He has become a prominent elder statesman of
the San Diego blues community...”
Find out
more at
www.bluewitchrecords.com on the
Internet. You can also order Downsville Blues from the same site.
-Roderick
Harrington
MusicCityBlues.org
(May 15, 2008) |
|
There is nothing like a
trip down along Highway 61 to make a blues lover feel right at home.
And, there's no better soundtrack for a "road trip" of this nature than
a CD from a genuine, down-to-earth bluesman who's literally lived every
note he's played. We are talking about none other than Tomcat Courtney
and his debut CD on Blue Witch Records entitled Downsville Blues. It's
an exercise in plaintive, "storytelling" blues from a native Texan who
has a deep affinity for the blues the way Lightnin' Hopkins or Sonny and
Brownie used to play 'em.
Tomcat left Texas in
the Seventies and landed in San Diego, where, by his own accounts, he's
been "working four nights a week since I got here!" His deep vocals and
sparse, understated guitar lines are ably complemented by his ace
back-up band, who all happen to be members of the Phoenix, AZ, Rhythm
Room All-Stars. They are: Bob Corritore on harp, Chris James on guitar,
Patrick Rynn on bass, and Brian Fahey or Big Eyes Smith on drums. These
guys, along with Tomcat's gritty delivery, give this one a definite,
"back-porch pickin' feel.
Check out his uncanny
way with a lyric, too. A consummate teller-of-tales, Tomcat writes from
personal experiences and societal topics as well. A mean-spirited lover
who "just won't let me ride" owns a big 'ol "Four Wheel Drive”. A killer
slide attack permeates "Cryin' Won't Help You”. A long-ago hometown
visit where nothing seems the same any more is the theme of the title
cut, while the destruction and hopelessness of Katrina is the focus of
"Disaster Blues."
While we were at the
Blue Witch Revue in Clarksdale at the Ground Zero Blues Club on May 9,
Tomcat told the audience that "this is my favorite song on the album,"
and it's ours, too---"Cook My Breakfast" kicks the set into high gear
when Tomcat exhorts his lover to bring "biscuits, nice and round, and a
jelly roll, sweet and brown!!"
Many thanks to Beth
Lipham of Blue Witch Records for giving us this CD during the Blues
Awards show on May 8. It was the perfect CD for our ride down 61 to
Clarksdale, and here's hoping that Downsville Blues brings Tomcat
Courtney well-deserved prominence in the blues world!!
-Sheryl and Don Crow
|
San Diego CityBeat
(May 14, 2008) |
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The ’cat’s meow
One listen to Tomcat
Courtney and it’s clear this guy ain’t faking it. His powerful, honeyed
voice aches with every rotten thing ever done to him, while his jagged
guitar weeps with the knowing grit of experience. But the fact that the
bluesman calls San Diego home isn’t half as surprising as the fact that,
at age 78, Courtney will release his first album, Downsville Blues, on
May 20.
Growing up in Texas in
the 1940s, Courtney watched heroes like Lightnin’ Hopkins and T-Bone
Walker spin tales of lost love, broken homes, and bad luck. They
inspired him to pick up the guitar, but it wasn’t until he started tap
dancing in a tent show that he knew he could sing.
“It was a Memphis-style
show, and there was a girl who couldn’t remember the words to ‘St. Louis
Blues,’ so I starts singing it behind her so she would remember,”
Courtney tells CityBeat in his Southern-fried brogue. “They liked
it enough to have me do it in the show…. I never knew I could sing
before that.”
After getting married
and having kids, Courtney left his performing days in the rearview
mirror. He toiled to support his family with odd jobs—dish washer, fry
cook, etc.—for nearly a decade before he began playing again in juke
joints and roadhouses throughout the South. When his band broke up
during a tour stop in L.A., Courtney liked the weather so much he
stayed.
“I liked San Diego, but
L.A. had more joints to play,” he says. “Then I got some regular gigs in
San Diego, so I moved down there.”
Courtney established
himself as a fixture at the Texas Teahouse in Ocean Beach and now plays
regularly at the Turquoise Café (Wednesdays and Fridays) in La Jolla and
Chateau Orleans (Thursdays and Saturdays) in Pacific Beach.
And while the raw
appeal and unvarnished soul captured on Downsville Blues makes you wish
he hadn’t waited so long to release an album, it’s a debut worth waiting
for.
“I had so many jobs all
around that I never worried about making no record,” Courtney says. “But
this is a real blues record because I lived it.”
-Paul Saitowitz
Phoenix New Times (May
22, 2008) |
|
Not to get
all "purist",
but it's no secret that blues — along with its bastard child, rock 'n'
roll — has been "gentrified" to within an inch of its life. (Cripes,
songs by the Who and the Clash are being used to sell cars.)
There are hundreds of modern blues albums that exude as much vehemence
and passion as John Mayer. All the more reason to be, dare we say,
excited about the national debut of Texas-bred, San Diego-based
singer/guitarist/ songwriter Tomcat Courtney. Born in 1929, this chap
was at the crossroads (no pun intended) of rural acoustic and urban
electric blues styles, just like legends Lightnin' Hopkins and John Lee
Hooker. Melt-your-mind originality? Nope — but Courtney has this
virtually feral cry in his voice, an echo of the field hollers
that were part of blues' origins, something that's damn rare in
contemporary my-baby-done-left-me merchants. The sizzling, buzzing
guitars of Courtney and Chris James are rich with barbed, in-the-red
distortion. Producer Bob Corritore's amplified harmonica has massive
presence with a serrated edge that could cut you if you got too close.
Recorded in Tucson, Downsville Blues will likely be one of the
best blues discs of '08.
-Mark
Keresman
TheBluegrassSpecial.com (May 26, 2008) |
|
In his national debut
as a recording artist, 78-year-old Texas bluesman (transplanted to San
Diego 35 years ago) Tomcat Courtney is focused on the basics of life: in
the slow grind of “Cook My Breakfast,” he demands only that his woman do
exactly as the title suggests, but leaves it for the listener to decide
whether grits is groceries or if he has something else in mind when he
growls, “Turn my damper down, baby/Don’t you burn my coffee pot.” As he
does on six other of the dozen tracks here, Bob Corritore sweetens the
suggestiveness with some sensuous, shimmering harmonica musings.
Fashioning a dark-tinged boogie on the top strings of his electric
guitar, Tomcat opens “Shake It Up Baby” by declaring, “Sugar’s
sugar/salt is salt/if you can’t shake it up, baby/it’s not my fault,”
then keeps the boogie rumbling as he runs through a checklist of
fundamental necessities, such as whiskey and gin, before concluding,
“you ain’t my friend/if you can’t shake yo’ stuff.” Which is not to
suggest a surfeit of depth in Tomcat’s oeuvre. The spare, dark
“Downsville Blues” is a haunting reminiscence of a trip back home that
finds people and places unrecognizable from what he once knew, a feeling
of displacement Courtney heightens with a stark, serpentine guitar solo
complementing the restrained emotion in his sorrowful vocal. And the
personal toll of Hurricane Katrina is measured in the anguished tale of
a homeless man who lived to bear witness to the tragedy in “Disaster
Blues”, a song in which the lyrics say enough on their own but are lent
added punch by Tomcat’s angry, distorted guitar and Corritore’s fierce
harmonica protestations. Blending Delta, Chicago, and Texas guitar
stylings with the laconic, undaunted voice of experience, Tomcat
Courtney makes an impression, and then makes it stick. Downsville
Blues wears well.
-David McGee
Living Blues (Issue
#196, Vol. 39 #3) |
|
Well, it’s about time –
after more than 40 years on the California blues scene (first in L.A.,
since 1972 in San Diego) with not much in the way of discography (three
titles on Advent’s 1974 San Diego Blues Jam anthology and the odd
self-produced cassette or CD), Texas native Tom “Tomcat” Courtney
finally has his first national release under his own name.
For the
occasion, Blue Witch producer Bob Corritore took Courtney into a Tempe,
Arizona studio with the empathetic support of guitarist Chris James, who
first played with Courtney back in 1980 at age 13. On five tracks, it’s
just the two guitarists playing amplified and dirty, with Corritore
adding his harp to another and full band backing with the addition of
Patrick Rynn on bass and Willie Smith or Brian Fahey on drums. The play
list starts off with a trio of basic musical metaphors – food (“Cook My
Breakfast”), automobiles (“Four Wheel Drive”), and animals (“Wolf That
Howls”). Next up is “Shake It Up Baby”, a Texas boogie from the
Lightning Hopkins bag. In the main, though, Courtney’s style is more
reminiscent of other Southwestern bluesmen such as his in-laws John and
Smokey Hogg, Lowell Fulson in his early duets with his brother Martin,
and the enigmatic Ernest Lewis. There is also evidence of Chicago
influence, especially on “I Wonder”, which incorporates the “Smokestack
Lightning” riff, and “I’m So Glad”, where Corritore’s upper register
harp lends a Jimmy Reed-like feel. There are but three outright covers,
“Meet Me In The Bottom”, credited here to Mance Lipscomb, Tampa Red’s
“Crying Won’t Help You”, and a “Bottle It Up And Go” that has something
of a late-Muddy Waters sound. “Disaster Blues” is a topical commentary
on Katrina in the Hopkins mold, while the two most personal lyrics are
“Downsville Blues”, on which Courtney returns to his hometown outside
Waco (and yes, it’s actually named Downsville) to find that much has
changed, and “Railroad Avenue”, which evokes earlier Courtney
masterpieces like “Freebasing Again”, and “The Girl Next Door” in which
he sings of his girl who “gets with her so-called friends, you know it’s
a shame the tings that she do/Drinking wine and smoking crack”.
Even at
78, Courtney’s voice is powerful, dynamic, and soaked with blues
feeling, and Corritore has provided a perfect musical setting for him.
It’s a shame that he had to wait this long to get the exposure he
deserves, but it’s certainly better late than never. Mark it down as one
of the year’s essential purchases.
-Jim
DeKoster
Big City Blues
(June/July 2008) |
|
Texas country blues musician Tomcat Courtney was born nearly 80
years ago in Marlin, Texas but has called San Diego home for the past 35
years, where “I ain’t makin’ a fortune but I play like four or five
nights a week”. With this aptly titled, 12 song project – unexplainably
his first on a major label – it’s easy to see the reason for his
popularity.
Marvelously accompanied by his long-time pal Chris James on guitar,
producer and burr-toned harmonica master Bob Corritore, bassist Patrick
Rynn and alternating drummers Brian Fahey and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith,
Courtney’s half-shouted, fiercely earnest vocals and elemental, Smokey
Hogg influenced guitar playing are the perfect environment for his
down-to-earth, cliché unburdened songs. He also has fun with the set’s
three well-chosen covers – songster Mance Lipscomb’s gently surging
travelogue “Meet Me In The Bottom”, a slide guitar-accented
interpretation of Tampa Red’s classic testimonial “Cryin’ Won’t Help
You” and the traditional, dozens-oriented “Bottle It Up And Go”, with
Courtney’s sly vocal verve nicely paced by Corritore’s feisty harp work.
Corritore’s complementary note-bending also adds plenty of heft to the
majority of Courtney’s striking originals. I’m probably most fond of his
topical commentaries which have a J.B. Lenoir-like quality and ring to
them – such as “Disaster Blues” (about the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina) along with “Railroad Avenue”, that deals quite frankly with a
former wine-drinking, crack-smoking girlfriend and the autobiographical
title tune about a depressing visit back to his old hometown. But the
other revelations such as the Muddy Waters-sounding “Cook My Breakfast”,
the modern day man’s lament “Four Wheel Drive” (a la Chuck Berry), a
slow-grinding hips-melter titled “Shake It Up Baby” and the harp
squalling, easy-rocking “I Wonder” have my eyes wide as well. As liners
writer Bill Dahl notes, “It’s high time that San Diego shares Tomcat
with the rest of us”. Couldn’t agree more.
-Gary
von Tersch
Blues & Rhythm
(UK) (June 2008) |
|
CD of the month!!
Tomcat Courtney has to
be one of the blues' best-kept secrets. Born in Marlin, Texas in 1929,
he grew up in the small town of Downsville where his piano playing
father operated a juke joint. Tomcat started out as a dancer, as a
teenager he left town with a travelling circus that visited nearby Waco.
Its hoofer had been drafted into the armed forces and it was looking for
a replacement and he got the job by recommendation. However he could
sing, and when the circus drummer heard him trying to teach the show's
girl singer the lyrics to “St Louis Blues” his vocal talent was
recognised. After the war he moved to Lubbock and worked as a cook and
dishwasher while learning guitar. He married the niece of Smokey Hogg
and had guitar lessons from John Hogg. For 35 years he has been resident
in San Diego, headlining at local joints like the now defunct Texas
Teahouse, and holding down a regular gig at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix
(with Chris James and Patrick Rynn) as members of the Rhythm Room All
Stars. Tomcat is at home in San Diego, stating, "I ain't making a
fortune but I work four nights a week”.
I must admit that
Tomcat Courtney was a name I was not familiar with. He appeared at the
1999 Utrecht Blues Estafette, and I was impressed enough to purchase one
of his self produced CDs from him. He made his recording debut in 1974
on the Advent LP San Diego Blues Jam, however this is his debut
national release.
Courtney's guitar and
vocals are teamed up with James (guitar), Rynn (bass), session producer
Bob Corritore on harp and Willie Smith or Brian Fahey on drums. His
gritty vocals and spare guitar combine to produce a CD's worth of
genuine downhome twin guitar Texas blues in the Lightnin' Hopkins
tradition, combined with material recorded with a rhythm section and
harp. He wrote nine of the songs, with one credited to Mance Lipscomb,
one to Tampa Red and one to that well-known tunesmith public domain.
“Wolf That Howls”,
featuring the guitars of Courtney and James, is a solid number in the
Hopkins tradition, it's followed by another Hopkins styled number,
“Shake It Up Baby”. “Downsville Blues” was prompted by a return to his
home town, of course things have changed: “asked my old neighbour "don't
you remember me?", he say "I'm crippled and blind and can hardly walk or
see”, it's been so long since I been back home”. “Meet Me In The Bottom”
brings Lil' Son Jackson to mind, “Cryin' Won't Help You” features
bittersweet slide, and Corritore's harp augments the guitars on
“Railroad Avenue”, which was inspired by an ex-girlfriend.
Looking at the band
cuts, “Cook My Breakfast” jogs along to a “Rock Me Baby” rhythm, while
“Four Wheel Drive” has an Elmore inspired riff combined with a Willie
Smith backbeat and Corritore's blues harp. “I Wonder” utilises a Howlin'
Wolf inspired riff, Corritore (who is a seriously underrated harp
player) is really on the money on this cut. “I'm So Glad” is firmly in
the Jimmy Reed tradition with Corritore once again demonstrating his
mastery of the blues harp. “Disaster Blues” is a Hurricane Katrina
themed blues, Smith keeps a light reign on his drums and the twin
guitars and harp combine to produce one of the better blues on this
topic I've heard. The jaunty '”Bottle It Up And Go” is as good a version
of this old warhorse as I've ever heard.
I was very impressed
with this release; Courtney is a very fine tunesmith and a superb
singer, and combined with the always-imposing guitar of Chris James and
the superb harp playing of Bob Corritore (who is always supportive in
any style without ever being over the top). If this is an example of the
quality of the product coming from the Blue Witch stable then I eagerly
await their next release. I vote ten out of ten for this one!
-Phil Wight
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (May 27,
2008) |
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New blues
from the old school
Do you,
like BlueNotes, enjoy finding a "new" blues artist -- especially one who
is 78 years old, Texas-born, and raised around his father's juke joint?
That would
be Tomcat Courtney, a throwback to old Texas country blues, now located
in San Diego, and who's making his national recording debut with
Downsville Blues (Blue Witch Records).
Courtney is
one of those good old-fashioned bluesmen whose style takes you back to
the real thing, but whose lyrical touch can be up to date.
This is an
excellent album from a bluesman who learned his craft when the blues
were still young. Nothing fancy -- simple and effective guitar work,
powerful vocals -- just straight blues, no chaser.
The title
track is a poignant and spare memory of the little town outside Waco,
Texas, where Courtney spent his youth (he was born in Marlin, Texas).
Other cuts are similarly stark and spare, whether about traditional
blues topics or Hurricane Katrina.
His father
was a piano player who ran a juke joint in Downsville, and the harsh
simplicity of those times cuts across this CD with mostly originals by
Courtney, plus a few traditional chestnuts.
Blue Witch is to be commended for
releasing albums like this. It's music that we would most likely never
hear otherwise.
-Jim White
BluesVan.hu (Hungary)
(2008-06-17) |
|
Írásaimban folyamatosan
igyekszem a hazánkban kevésbé ismert blues előadókra/zenekarokra
fókuszálni, így kapóra jött a Blue Witch Records május 20-án megjelent
kiadványa. „Blue Witch Records Is The Biggest Little Blues Label In
The Country”, írják a kiadóról, és azt hiszem, nem tévedek, ha azt
mondom, ezt Tomcat Courtney Downsville Blues című albuma csak
erősíteni fogja.
A San Diego-i Tomcat
Courtney 1929-ben Waco-ban (Texas) született, Lightnin' Hopkins és
T-Bone Walker zenéjén nőt fel, akiket személyesen is ismert. A fiatal
feltörekvő bluesman, mivel szerette a táncot és az éneket, utazó
cirkuszokban is fellépett. A ’60-as években Kaliforniába kötözött, majd
a ’70-es évek elején San Diego-ba, ahol azóta él.
Az első felvételei az
Advent Records által 1974-ben megjelentetett San Diego Blues Jam
című lemezen voltak hallhatók.
A Downsville Blues című
albumon a ritmusszekciót a legendás chicagó-i dobos Willie “Big Eyes”
Smith és a basszusgitáros Patrick Rynn alkotja. Willie hosszú ideig
Muddy Waters zenekarának a tagja volt. Szájharmonikán Bob Corritore
játszik, vele Courtney 2007-ben ismerkedett meg a gitáros Chris James
által, aki szintén szerepel a lemezen. James 13 évesen, a ’80-as évek
elején csatlakozott Tomcat bandájához.
A legjobb texas country
blues tradíciókat követő Tomcat Courtney rendkívüli dalszerzői
képességekkel rendelkezik, erőteljes énekét, jellegzetes gitárjátékát
tizenkét számon keresztül élvezhetjük.
A Blue Witch Records
érdeme, hogy egy ilyen nagyszerű blues zenész felvételeit nemzetközi
szinten is mindenki számára elérhetővé teszi.
-Attila
Horváth
MySpace.com/RobsBluesBlog
(June 16, 2008) |
|
78-year old Tomcat
Courtney was born in Marlin, Texas in 1929, but he spent most of his
youth in Downsville, a small town not all that far from Waco. Influenced
by the likes of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb, and B.B. King,
Courtney honed his craft at roadhouses and jukes throughout Texas and
the southwest. He left Texas for San Diego in the early ‘70s and a few
of his tracks appeared on the old Advent Records album, San Diego
Blues Jam.
Courtney self-produced a few releases over the years, but these were
never distributed and are now long unavailable. Thank goodness for Blue
Witch Records and Bob Corritore’s Rhythm Room house band (the
appropriately named Rhythm Room All-Stars) for getting Courtney into the
studio and putting out this terrific and long overdue CD release.
Downsville Blues is packed with nine killer originals and three
covers including the traditional Delta favorite “Bottle Up and Go”,
Tampa Red’s great “Cryin’ Won’t Help You”,
with some amazing slide guitar along with a spirited cover of Mance
Lipscomb’s classic “Meet Me in the Bottom” which Courtney makes his own.
But it’s the original compositions that grab you and won’t let go. Great
songs like set opener “Cook My Breakfast”,
“Four Wheel Drive”,
and “I’m So Glad” display Courtney’s provocative lyrics and his wry
sense of humor in short order. There isn’t a bad track here, and with
fine support from the All-Stars: Corritore on harp, Chris James on
guitar, Patrick Rynn on bass, and Brian Fahey or special guest Willie
"Big Eyes" Smith on drums, Courtney has assembled one of the finest
backing bands you can get. Top this off with Courtney’s own fine guitar
work and his down and dirty vocals, and you have one exceptionally
engaging performer who commands your attention throughout this
invigorating and thoroughly satisfying CD.
-Rob Lehrian
|
AustinSound.net (June
4, 2008) |
|
You don’t have to be in
the Lone Star State to hear some good Texas blues. In his 1990 book
Time Passages, George Lipsitz talks about Delta blues musicians and
their trek on the Illinois Central north to burgeoning blues scenes in
St. Louis, Memphis, and Chicago. Those living in the Southeast traveled
to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the Big Apple. But Texas guitar slingers
like Johnny “Guitar” Watson, T-Bone Walker, and Lowell Fulson cut out
West, where they were instrumental in carving a space for the blues in
Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. Contemporary players like
Rod Piazza, William Clarke, Mark Hummel, and countless others owe their
musical careers to the work those Texas pioneers did in California.
Texas native Tomcat Courtney, who transplanted to San Diego in the early
1970s, is part of that tradition, and his first national release,
Downsville Blues, on the Phoenix, Arizona-based Blue Witch Records
label is a fine display of down-home West Coast blues shot through with
Texas style.
The
78-year old blues sage was born in Marlin, Texas in 1929, but grew up in
the appropriately-named Downsville, a small community nestled southeast
of Waco along FM 434. Courtney’s father ran a juke joint there, where he
played ragtime piano. The young up-and-coming bluesman had a penchant
for dancing and singing, and honed his craft with a traveling circus
outfit in his teens. Courtney later moved to Lubbock, and made his home
in San Diego in 1971. His first recording came in 1974 with an
appearance on the compilation San Diego Blues Jam on Advent
Records, but it would be some 37 years before Courtney debuted a record
with national distribution.
Downsville Blues
is chock full of unpretentious, gimmick-free, real deal blues. Joined by
harmonica player Bob Corritore and legendary Chicago drummer Willie “Big
Eyes” Smith, who is best known for his long tenure in Muddy Waters’
band, the twelve song program features nine originals and three
well-chosen covers. The album opens with “Cook My Breakfast”, a
mid-tempo number where Corritore’s sparse harp work bolsters a bit of
masculine pomp and sexual boasting with lines like “I want a jelly roll,
you know I want it sweet and brown/I want a jelly roll this morning,
make it sweet and brown/Don’t you burn my jelly roll baby, you better
turn my jelly roll around”.
Willie
Smith provides a sturdy shuffle backbeat on the metaphor-heavy “Four
Wheel Drive” and the traditional “Bottle Up and Go”, and slows things
down for the solemn post-Katrina “Disaster Blues”. Courtney’s vocal and
stripped-down guitar shine on the funky “I Wonder” and the sorrowful ode
to his hometown on the title track. Jimmy Reed fans will dig the steady
mid-tempo groove of “I’m So Glad”, and Courtney borrows one from the
Tampa Red playbook with the defiant slow blues “Cryin’ Won’t Help You”.
Two of the most interesting compositions on Downsville Blues, “Wolf That
Howls” and the closing “Railroad Avenue”, open with provocative guitar
intros that seem to draw from Middle Eastern influences.
It’s a
shame that an artist of Courtney’s stature has had to wait so long to
see the release of a high-quality recording like this one, and Blue
Witch Records, which has been consistently producing solid blues since
opening shop in 2001, deserves praise for bringing his music to a
national audience. Courtney definitely has the goods, and Downsville
Blues will stand out as one of the most honest blues recordings of
2008.
- Roger
Gatchet
Blues Lovers United of San
Diego Newsletter (May 2008) |
I was stopped at the
window of a local taco stand the other day and the nice man helping get
my order together quickly called his coworkers over and said, "listen to
the music!" I looked up to see what was going on and realized he was
pointing at me. Suddenly, the window was filled with four friendly and
excited faces as they begged for me to turn up whatever it was I had
playing. "Is that Muddy Waters?" one young man asked. "No, it's Tomcat
Courtney", I replied. "Oh, wow! This is some great s*#%! Too bad we
can't go see this guy." When I informed them that he lives in San Diego,
you'd have thought I'd just handed over a winning lottery ticket. What
can I say? Good blues are contagious.
Downsville Blues
is full of music you'll want to hear again and again. And you'll find
yourself having to wrest the CD out of the hands of curious blues lovers
who want to borrow it. Don't let them. Make them buy their own copy.
This is Courtney's
first national release, and it's a shame it's taken so long for the rest
of the world to hear what a treasure enlightened San Diegans have been
enjoying for a few decades. There's nothing super flashy or loud about
Tomcat, and that's fine by me. That other stuff is a dime a dozen, but
this? You can't buy this sort of genuine, down-to-earth goodness, and he
shares his experiences with humility and humor. Every note is authentic
and rich. Forget the smooth production (and it is), you still get a
full, gritty sound and feeling from every tune. Years of urban living
haven't erased or dulled those Texas roots a bit.
Joined by locals Chris
James (guitar) and Patrick Rynn (bass), as well as by producer Bob
Corritore (harp), and Brian Fahey and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith take turns
on drums, Tomcat Courtney strums and sings his way into your world with
instant classics like "Cook My Breakfast" and "Railroad Avenue". The
title track is a bittersweet journey back home, something most of us can
relate to. While many things can and do change in our lives -- losing
our childhood homes, parks paved over, shops torn down, family and old
friends moving on -- the blues helps us through those times and it sure
is comforting to have Tomcat by one's side.
Perfect any time of the
year, there's a certain pleasure having this CD playing all summer. Pop
it in your car's CD player or have a seat on your back porch and sip
yourself some lemonade. Let the heat and sweat roll off you while you
listen to the coolest 'Cat in town.
-Joan Hunt
ABS Magazine (France) (Mai
2008) |
Emule de Lightnin’
Hopkins et de Lil’ Son Jackson, la discographie de Tomcat Courtney est
malheureusement réduite, elle se résume ŕ une poignée d’excellents cd
auto-produits qui méritent d’ętre activement recherchés, plus une
apparition sur le 33t intitulé « San Diego Blues Jam » qui avait
vu le jour sur le label Advent. Installé en Californie depuis le début
des années 70, si ses enregistrements sont peu nombreux, il n’en reste
pas moins l’un des piliers du blues de la ville de San Diego et a
toujours un agenda chargé toutes les fins de semaine. Ici, sur le Vieux
Continent, on avait eu la chance de l’applaudir lors de sa venue en
Hollande au Blues Estafette in 1999. Il aura fallu attendre finalement
ce printemps 2008 pour qu’un label s’intéresse enfin ŕ cet artiste de
premier plan, natif de la bourgade de Marlin au Texas. C’est ŕ Bob
Corritore (qui a produit la session) ainsi qu’ŕ la jeune et efficace
compagnie Blue Witch Records, que nous devons ce compact réussi de bout
en bout. Si, bien sűr, l’ombre de ses illustres aînés plane au-dessus
des compositions de Courtney, ses textes interprétés sur des tempos
hypnotiques dédiés ŕ nos soucis quotidiens – ŕ l’opposé des sempiternels
« my baby left me this morning » - sont la marque de fabrique de
cet authentique bluesman. Nous retrouvons également sur ce compact celui
qui, tout jeune adolescent, fit ses premičres armes dans la formation du
maître, ŕ savoir le guitariste Chris James, suivi comme son ombre par le
bassiste Patrick Rynn. Willie Big Eyes Smith est présent ŕ la batterie
sur trois titres et naturellement, ŕ l’harmonica, on retrouve le
toujours excellent Bob Corritore. Il va de soi que ce superbe compact
est difficilement contournable et nous laisse une nouvelle fois plus que
perplexe sur les choix artistiques hasardeux faits ŕ la « va vite » par
les divers labels de blues aux Etats-Unis qui, au cours de ces derničres
décennies, ont superbement ignoré ce musicien au talent unique.
-Jean-Luc Vabres
BluesSource.com (July
1, 2008) |
Nobody except a Blues musician should call themselves “Tomcat”. If
you do, be prepared to back it up! Tomcat Courtney can definitely back
it up. This cat has been unrecognized for years outside of San Diego,
CA, where he has been living and playing the Blues since 1966, having
traveled around the Southeast. He married the sister of Smokey & John
Hogg and learned by listening to Lightnin’ Hopkins and T-Bone Walker.
Sitting in on the CD are Chris James, Bob Corritore, Patrick Rynn,
Brian Fahey and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Quite a lineup for a debut CD,
but Bob Corritore knows how to display the talents of this fine
Bluesman. I’ve been listening to this CD & playing it for a few people
who really loved it. It has a truthful, down-home flavor that is “back
in the day” I predict this to be a frontrunner for Debut Act of the
year.
With all that fine backup, Tomcat Courtney digs through his
repertoire of influences like Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb, Tampa
Red, Howlin’ Wolf and others so influential in the Blues. His style is
easy and infectious, especially for fans of straight-out Blues. You
won’t be disappointed by this effort. It just keeps working on you. Be
sure and add this to your library, and go “cattin’” with Tomcat
Courtney.
(C) 2008, Gary W. Miller,
BluesSource.com
Twój Blues
(Poland) (nr
33 lato 2008) |
We wkładce do
najnowszego, a pierwszego oficjalnego wydawnictwa Tomcata Courtney’a,
jedno zdanie doskonale oddaje zaskoczenie jakiemu zostaniemy poddani po
usłyszeniu pierwszch dźwieków z „Downsville Blues”: Jak to możliwe,
że tak długo nie słyszeliśmy jego twórczości?
„Downsville Blues” jest pierwszym oficjalnym wydawnictwem tego
teksańskiego muzka. Niemniej nie jest to jego pierwsza płyta w ogóle.
Artysta ma w swoim dorobku wiele wydanych własnym sumptem i
sprzedawanych na koncertach albumów.
W
nagraniu tego „debiutu” uczestniczyli tak znani muzycy, jak chociażby
Willie „Big Eyes” Smith. Na album złożyło się dwanaście kompozycji
utrzymanych zarówno w konwencji akustycznego, jak i elektrycznego bluesa.
Znalazło się tam również kilka utworów w stylu Johna Lee Hookera,
którego to płyta „Boogie Chillen”, jak wspomina sam Tomcat, stała się
przyczną tego, iż chwycił za gitarę.
Wcześniej Tomcat miał do czynienia z muzyką pod inną postacią: w jej
takt stepował w objazdowym cyrku. Gdy zaczęła się wojna, co przetrzebiło
męską część cyrkowej trupy, awansował do roli wokalisty. Śpiewał do
zakończenia wojny, a następnie pracował jako kucharz i pomywacz. W
czasie wolnym grywał po różnych klubach i z różnymi składami, wydając
płyty własnym nakładem.
Tyle o
samym Tomcacie. Co do muzyki, to jest to album pełen niezmiernie
ciekawych kompozycji. Zarówno gra, jak i śpiew niemalże
osiemdziesięcioletniego muzyka są na najwyższym poziomie. Kompozycje
zawarte na „Downsville Blues” dostarczają nam tego, co najlepsze w
bluesie. A więc mamy utwory, w których słyszmy tylko głos i gitarę. W
innych natomiast gra już pełen skład z harmonijką. Zrestą harmonijkarz i
producent Bob Corritore doskonale wpisał się w konwencję albumu i jego
gra dostarcza wiele przjemności. Całej płyty słucha się doskonale. Dawno
nie słyszałem tak świeżo brzmiącej muzyki, granej z takim luzem i
przjemnością, dla samej radości grania.
Po kilkukrotnym przesłuchaniu płyty przeszło mi przez myśl, że
istotnie szkoda, że nie słyszałem wcześniej o twórczości Tomcata
Courtney’a. Ale teraz wpisuję go na listę muzyków, na których kolejną
płytę czekam z niecierpliwością. A na koncert jeszcze bardziej.
-Paweł
Yoda Jodko |
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