Kansas City has been fertile ground for great American music for the past century – creating feisty blues with an attitude that’s shaped big bands, jazz, rhythm and blues, jump blues, and even the formative years of real-deal rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s. This album’s songs are shaped from a blues that comes from another kind of clay. Kansas City is not deep South blues; it threads its coat from a Big Band fabric, with jazz, rhythm & blues, jump blues & ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll without a chaser.
The inspired blues roots of the South is there, but it’s been shaken through a colander of musical history. It’s dirt, soil, with the roots & branches still nestled in it. Not yet, muddy but dusty & fertile.
Instead of Muddy Waters, it’s fried in Louis Jordan batter; instead of Robert Johnson, it has T-Bone Walker scuffs on its shoes. There’s an effervescence to it.
Those are the deep roots that nourish the music of the Mike Bourne Band. Inspired by the genre-defining music of Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker and other blues giants, Bourne has recorded and performed with the legendary likes of Otis Rush, Sam Lay, Barrelhouse Chuck and beyond.
There are 14 feisty hours on the face of Kansas City O’clock (Dropped Oct 31/Overton Music/60:03). Its showcase introduces foreign ears to the storied music of Kansas City. Its style, attitude, & well-nourished blues ancestry.
It’s a big-band/swing approach to the blues, with honking sax & arrangements that are exciting arrangements. Mike Bourne doesn’t have a compelling voice, but he does have a Cab Calloway-Louis Prima energy that’s the diesel that runs rich in these tunes.
The opener is bracing. It will remind younger listeners why their grandparents knew how to dance when the melodies were stripped of all discipline. “Can’t Be Anybody But Myself” is a hot number. More of a jump-blues with a detour through the R&R tradition is the cool “Beer In the Morning.”
Wow. Nice arrangement, great playing. The saxes pump like a tug boat smoke stack. Surprisingly, what makes this all the more engaging is the slightly laid-back vocal production. Good choice. It captures a “live” feel.
“Too Old To Be Young” is entertaining like the old ‘40s Ted Lewis & his orchestra. Sharp trumpet solo, well-generated sax, zealous guitar with a steady one-two beat & rolling piano notes come together in a masterful arrangement. Bourne’s vocals are a bruised croon, incisive & savvy.
Some finger-breaking piano on the upbeat New Orleans-gumbo-oriented “Caffeine Blues.” A well-shaped piece rooted in the ‘40s vocal style. Bourne has strikingly beautiful melodies to go along with his expressive voice. “Three Blind Mice” has a little Dr. John jambalaya vocalizing anchored to a bellowing sax.
As Bourne explains: “Blues and roots music is empathetic and real. I relate to the songs that inspire me and lyrics like ‘Don’t worry about a thing, cause nothing’s gonna be alright’.” That inspiration is what drives his latest swinging album, Kansas City O’Clock, a joyous romp filled with KC musical styles – 12 sparkling originals and a pair of classic covers. Bourne has gathered a supporting cast of more than 20 excellent musicians whose mission was to pump the necessary effervescence into all these tracks. Musical mission accomplished!
The fun begins with the rocking “Can’t Be Anybody But Myself,” with its self-explanatory message and a furious sax solo from KC’s Dougan Smith. “Beer in the Morning” shares its hard-rocking plea for “barley and hops” to start the day: “Give me a Coors, Miller or Bud, cause all I want is my breakfast suds.” The relaxed swing of “Too Old To Be Young” explores an age-old dilemma” “I’m too young to be old, too old to be young.” Lyrical piano by KC vet Jim Beisman introduces the New Orleans rhythms of “Caffeine Blues,” percolating with a rollicking lament for his morning joe.
I was inspired to do this after the success of “Crusin Kansas City” This one was more ambitious with more musicians and instrumentation for the arrangements. News? This week it just hit #2 on theUSA Roots and Blues Charts, right behind Buddy Guy’s record. That was pretty cool to see. And we continue to get support from our residency gig, THE BLACK DOLPHIN, a great jazz club in the arts district only a few blocks from historic 12th Street and Vine,- an interview with us said Mike Bourne.
“Kansas City O’Clock” kicks open the door to a swinging Kansas City world: “A whole big kingdom of a really good time,” closing with a few bars from Leiber and Stoller’s classic, “Kansas City,” Wilbert Harrison’s giant 1952 hit. “Kick’n A Deuce” is a tough R&B instrumental fueled by Bourne’s swampy guitar. “YOLO” is lively, lighthearted advice wrapped up in one sentence: “You only live once, so don’t think twice.” The very traditional “Three Blind Mice” gets a rollicking update with clever contemporary wordplay and a new ending: “You better run now mouse … you busted.”
This isn’t meat & potatoes blues. It’s more espresso cheese cake with a maduro cigar.
We highly recommend owning this CD and enjoying it this coming Christmas. You can purchase the CD right here.
