When artists such as Billy Lavender and Brad Webb walk into a club, it's not uncommon for the band to stop in the middle of a song to announce their entrance. When artists such as U2 and BB King are in need of talented singers, they turn to Memphis in search of local legends such as Reba Russell .
When the European blues are in search of legendary musicians, they turn to famed artists such as Blind Mississippi Morris, Danny Cochran or Russell Wheeler with his magical B-3 Leslie. Let's not forget Vince Johnson, whose smooth voice, stage presence, and entrancing harp transport us all to Beale Street. Memphis Livin is more than just an album. It's the very essence of the blues genre. Memphis Livin, featuring the finest musicians Memphis has to offer, encompasses virtually every form of blues from a Kansas City shuffle to the truly greasy northern Mississippi style. It has been said and remains true to this day, that Beale Street is the boot camp of the blues. If you can play there, you can play anywhere in the world.
Behind the blazing leads of Billy Lavender and the chest- thumping drums and percussion of Tony Adams, Memphis Livin will ensure that the blues spotlight remains where it belongs - shining brightly on the home of the blues and those real heroes who have dedicated their lives to ensuring this genre lives on for many more generations to come.
Reviews
Billy Lavender may not be a familiar name to many blues fans, but he is considered to be one of the best guitar players involved with the Memphis music scene. He has been playing for over forty years – and was part of the generation of left-handed guitar players that simply turned a regular guitar upside-down and never missed a beat, despite the strings being in reverse order. Taking the role as leader on this collaborative project, Lavender has gathered together a cast of veteran musicians and vocalists and turned them loose on a batch of original material that serves as a primer on the diversity of the Memphis musical tradition.
Lavender turns in a solid vocal on the roadhouse rocker, “Get Along” but his fiery guitar work really makes an impression. “All the People” is a soulful plea for love and understanding with a multi-tracked vocal from Lavender. Brad Webb joins Lavender for an acoustic duo take on the brief “If I Could”, with Webb’s dobro setting the mood for some fine vocal harmonizing.
Drummer/percussionist Tony Adams takes the vocal lead on the opening track, “Singing the Blues”. His deep, gritty voice is a great match for this raucous tune, with Lavender matching the singer’s intensity on his guitar. “Bad Boy” gives Adams the opportunity to show his skill as a blues singer while “Delta Time” finds him belting out the lyrics on a blues theme with a heavy rock-influence. The energy level skyrockets when Reba Russell digs into “Let’s Party”, her vocal raising the roof with help from Blind Mississippi Morris on harmonica. Even better is her performance on “Blue”, a slow blues tune. Russell’s voice adopts a sultry purr before easily sliding through her impressive range to belt out the chorus with conviction. She also takes the lead on “Bottom Line” and delivers another strong performance on this ballad, salvaging some interest on what is the weakest cut on the disc. With his gritty vocal style and some down-home harp playing, Vince Johnson makes the most of his time in the spotlight.
“Cold As Ice” finds him pleading with his woman to come back home and using his harp to convey just how strong his feelings are for her. Lavender contributes a concise guitar solo. Johnson and Lavender tear through the up-tempo “Shake It”, contrasting Johnson’s simple harp phrases with Lavender’s cool, precise guitar licks. Another highlight is “3AM”, another slow blues with a soulful vocal from Johnson and more of Lavender’s impressive guitar
work. Ken Dinkins handles all of the vocal arts on “Tonight”, a rock ballad that conjures up memories of Jimmy Hall and Wet Willie. “Just Chillin” has a brief vocal refrain over a deep, funky groove with Johnson’s harp taking the lead. While the assorted vocalists get much of the attention, the success of this project also rests on the stellar accompaniment. The unsung hero is Russell Wheeler, whose work on the Hammond B-3 organ consistently delights as he breathes life into each arrangement.
Dan Cochran and Mike Stoker share the bass guitar duties while Brad Webb covers the rhythm and slide guitar parts. Additional vocal help comes from Maria Spence and JoJo Jefferies. Collaborative projects like this can often fall short of the mark due to the difficulty of melding so many different styles and personalities into a coherent package. The fact that Billy Lavender makes it look easy is a testimonial to the lessons he has learned over his lengthy career. And he certainly has a talented group of musical compatriots helping him achieve his musical vision. This debut recording is a delight from start to finish. Can’t wait to hear more from Mr. Lavender !!!
While growing up in Memphis, Billy Lavender was influence by artists like Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. Learning from some of the masters, he developed one of the best blues and R&B guitar styles in town. He recently joined with his friend Steve Bryson of I55 Productions LLC to produce one incredible cd with an all-star cast.
Joining Lavender are Brad Webb on rhythm and slide guitars, dobro, sitar, and backing vocals, Tony Adams on drums, percussion, and vocals, Dan Cochran on bass, Maria Spence on back-up vocals, Russell Wheeler on the Hammond B-3 organ, piano, and strings, Reba Russell on vocals and back-up vocals, Blind Mississippi Morris on harmonica, Ken Dinkins on vocals, Vince Johnson on harmonica and vocals, Mike Stoker on bass guitar, and JoJo Jefferies on back-up vocals.
The opening number "Singing The Blues" now gets air time, featuring Tony Adams on vocals and Lavender and Webb tearing it up on guitar. "Let's Party" really rocks with Reba Russell, one of the hottest blues singers today. You can get a sample of just how good Billy Lavender can play guitar on this number with Blind Mississippi on Harmonica. Ken Dinkins steps up to the microphone on the next R&B smash "Tonight" with a sweet blend of Lavender's guitar and Wheeler's B-3 organ. Vince Johnson is featured on harmonica on the funky original "Just Chillin". Johnson continues on vocals with "Cold As Ice" sounding like the great Sugar Blue on harmonica. "Get Along" is one of the few cuts featuring Lavender on vocals with Webb backing him with his boogie woogie style piano. This one will get you on your feet in a hurry. The next number "Blue", one of the best cuts on the cd, features the sultry voice of Reba Russell blended with the sound of Brad Webb's sitar. Vince Johnson absolutely smokes on harmonica and vocals on the shuffle "Shake It" with Lavender coming in on guitar and Dan Cochran keeping a strong bass technique throughout. The band slows things down again with "Bottom Line" featuring the powerful voice of Reba Russell. The entire band is very strong on this song as they are throughout the entire album. Tony Adams comes right back growling on vocals with almost a swamp boogie opening on "Bad Boy" with Lavender hotter than ever on guitar. Johnson steps back to the microphone with the minor key blues number "3AM" forlorn because his "baby" has not returned home. Russell Wheeler brings out his incredible talent on the B-3 with Billy Lavender playing his lonely guitar solos. Lavender returns to the vocal
Mic in "All The People" with a host of back-up vocals. With Brad Webb playing the dobro and Lavender again blending his vocals with other back-up vocals "If I Could" almost sounds like a number written for the Fab Four. This remarkable cd closes with Tony Adams belting out "Delta Time" much like an early Cream blues number with Billy Lavender matching an Eric Clapton style guitar solo.
This Memphis style album of soul, R&B, and blues would get my nomination for best blues album of year! I would have to say this one sizzles!!!
-Reviewed by Rick Davis (Crossroads Blues Society)
"A long-time feature on the Memphis music scene, Billy Lavender is a native of the city, a left-hander who plays right-handed guitar upside-down and who got his first musical inspiration from rock band Grand Funk Railroad - now he is an excellent all-round player. For this set he has assembled a cast of local musicians - most likely to be familiar are harmonica man Blind Mississippi Morris and his frequent accompanist, Brad Webb on guitar, but vocals are shared around several top-notch singers and stylistically the music runs the whole gamut of Memphis sounds. Rocking Blues ("Let's Party" which has Mississippi Morris laying down some fine harp) to sweet soul, rockabilly to tough funk, moody rock to a Beatles inflected item, blues-rock to country; you'll find it all here. Vince Johnson takes front-man duties on several tracks, including the slow-ish blues "Cold As Ice" and the jazzy rocker "Shake It", and he also supplies some fine wailing harp. The overall feeling is of a bunch of friends jamming together and having a good time playing music they - and you will - like. A lot."
1. Singin the Blues 4:10
2. Let's Party 2:56
3. Tonight 5:42
4. Just Chillin 3:15
5. Cold As Ice 6:06
6. Get Along 2:04
7. Blue 5:15
8. Shake It 3:55
9. Bottom Line 3:41
10. Bad Boy 4:56
11. 3am 5:58
12. All The People 2:30
13. If I Could 1:43
14. Delta Time 5:21
With his currently released album, "Memphis Livin", Billy's talents are finally making their way off Beale Street and into the ears of blues lovers everywhere. As a local kid growing up in Memphis, he was inspired to be a musician by the wonderful melting pot of musical talents that have called Memphis home for the last four decades. Billy still calls the city his home and you just might catch a glimpse of him at a local club cutting heads if you are lucky.
Billy has been playing around the Memphis scene for years. He's played with any number of different bands, and is the guitar player that everyone calls when they're normal guitar player is unavailable. He's played with the Beale Street All-Stars and a number of other groups on Beale.
Billy plays a number of guitars, including three or four Fender Stratocasters, a Gibson SG, and even a Danelectro!
