Album Notes

ACCLAIMED WILLIE MCBLIND BAND RELEASES SECOND HARMONIC BLUES ALBUM BAD THING

The Willie McBlind band’s timing is consummate. In this stagnant decade for the blues, with most of the idiomatic action sadly relegated to the obituary column, the New York City-based quartet fronted by virtuosic guitarist Jon Catler and talented singer Meredith “Babe” Borden offers a singularly exciting type of electric blues. Willie McBlind uses the pitches or tones found between the notes of the traditional Western scale to create a mesmerizing pitch-and-rhythm vernacular Catler calls “Harmonic blues.” Behind the entertainment, attentive listeners feel a fervid creative intelligence and a heart present in the microtonal blues of the new Willie McBlind album, Bad Thing--set for release on June 1, 2009, courtesy of FreeNote Records. In addition to Jon and Babe, Neville L’Green plays fretless bass and Lorne Watson adds drums and percussion. Guest Hugh Pool sings on one track.

Certainly no one knows the music better than Jon and Babe: “On this new CD, we have developed our approach to Harmonic Blues and taken it to a new level. The songs are more hard-hitting [than those of our previous album, 2007’s Find My Way Back Home], with more range in vocals and dynamics. There are adventurous arrangements of songs by blues heavyweights, and a couple of the songs also have some strong political/social undercurrents. Several were mixed by legendary producer Jim Gaines [whose extensive credits include Stevie Ray Vaughan and Santana albums].This release is dark and explosive, and energized by the experiences, gigs, and traveling the band has done since the release of the first CD.”

Paramount to Willie McBlind’s Harmonic Blues sound are Jon’s Harmonically re-tuned fretted and fretless guitars, all fascinatingly tuned to the 64-tone Just Intonation system. Pitches and intervals (the difference between two pitches) are the crux of Jon’s fascinating artistry, with his microtonal guitars modulating to different keys while sounding more or less in tune. His open tuning gets results, wondrous results, similar to modal Indian music, to John Coltrane’s sonic explorations, and to the psychedelic trance-music of the 1960s and recidivist jam-band present. There’s something of Otis Taylor’s droning blues to it also. Remarkably, Jon’s bottom-line aesthetic is both traditional and radical: he’s connecting with the subtle microtonal guitar sounds achieved by past pitch-and-rhythm masters Robert Johnson and Charley Patton. For good reason then, Willie McBlind’s Harmonic Blues is also known as “Electric Delta Blues.”

On Bad Thing, Babe’s three-octave singing now has something of the miraculous to it, and the unearthly aspect is her ability to enunciate words in a way that taps into the immediacy of Jon’s guitar playing and singing. “Finding the emotion, the simmer, in blues is challenging and that’s my own personal journey as a singer,” she says, having been raised up on opera and Aerosmith blues-rock. “I can easily travel this road for the rest of my life and still have a huge amount more to learn as a singer.” Monitoring her learning process pays off in dividends—Babe always cuts straight to the soul.

Bad Thing’s blue-ribbon program—consisting of six original compositions and three covers-- runs 47 minutes with nary a throwaway moment. The opening instrumental, “13 O’ Clock Blues,” sets a provocative groove while having an historic aspect. Catler explains, “Willie McBlind shows that, for the first time in music, the 13th Harmonic of each blues chord represents the new limit of consonance.” The edgy jump-blues “Bad Thing,” one of four numbers mixed by Gaines in Memphis, shows how flawlessly and naturally Catler unleashes his lava-flow of guitar vocabulary as Babe intones fractured epigrams like “train I ride off the track/cream don’t rise to the top” that stand as wry political/social commentary. Inspired by a visit to a horse’s stall (!), “Primo” rides hard with the bass line kicking against super-chromatic sliding guitar chords; the guitar-produced Harmonic Cloud that envelops the song near its end sure sounds like a mysterious sonic blessing from Jimi Hendrix.

The equally compelling “Blood Moon,” based on a Mississippi Fred McDowell tune, with vocals by Jon and Babe, finds the band conjuring a wild musical-emotional climate appropriate for the song protagonist’s hard choice on whether to leave someone behind or stick around though one’s situation is precarious. Blind Willie Johnson’s old-as-sin “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” is transmogrified into a modern blues-guitar piece de resistance complete with fond nods to Johnson’s slide playing on the original recording. Jon and Babe mention that “Storms”—still another Just Intonation guitar stunner--“tells the story of people’s resilience while in the midst of navigating personal turbulence and loss.” There’s plenty of vocalized and instrumental “dark clouds rolling” before Babe sings at the chorus like a shining ray of hope. She reveals she “felt the presence of a recently departed loved one speaking through the guitar solo.”

The world would be a better place without all the lame renditions of great Robert Johnson songs in creation; fortunately, the four Willie McBlind band members seize “Stones in My Passway” as their own without sacrificing the essence of the original recording. The passion and conviction of Babe’s vocal matches up well with the dogged earnestness slammed out by Jon, Lorne, and Neville. The guitar solo is thrilling to hear. Willie Dixon’s “It Don’t Make Sense” (You Can’t Make Peace)” shows its durability and capacity for storing new emotional nuances in Willie McBlind’s treatment; Babe applies her personal stamp to this performance with assurance, every bit as secure as the rest of the band in evoking a state of war by song’s finish. A measured rumination over an ailing man’s last request to see his beloved again, “One Lucky Man” impresses as much for Hugh’s intimate singing as it does for Jon’s typically inventive guitar investigation, here in a lyrical mood.

“Stunning”—DownBeat
“Plenty of blues grit”—All Music Guide
“Poetry in motion”—Rolling Stone
“Rejuvenating the blues”—Hudson Current (N.J.)

Other Info and Reviews

If you're a traditionalist who believes the only way to keep blues alive is to reprise songs in their original forms on accoustic instruments, you probably won't care much for this record. But if you're a musical evolutionist who thinks blues is an art form to be reinterpreted and reappraised, you'll find this second album from four-piece band Willie McBlind intriguing.

"Bad Thing" is a swirling, undulating jam session and a sizzling conflagration of musical styles ranging from Aerosmith to John Coltrane to Willie Dixon.  Take the album's opening instrumental, "13 O'Clock Blues": Though it follows the essential I-IV-V blues progression, guitarist Jon Catler's use of a unique microtuning technique gives the song a mildly dissonant sense of being out of balance.  Similarly, the rhythmic vibe of the title cut bows to the more traditional elements of Johnny Winter, but the guitar and bass textures are Black Sabbath-like in their depth and weight.

"Primo" gives a proper taste of the rhythm section - bassist Neville L'Green and drummer Lorne Watson.  Catler's guitar returns as the centerpiece on "Blood Moon," an indulgent, spooky number with guitar lines punctuated by Catler's vocal growl and singer Meredith Borden's mewl-and-howl harmonies. Borden's vocal dominates "Stones in My Passway," one of the album's funkier cuts: One minute she's uttering a deep, sensual moan, the next she's letting loose an earth-shattering scream. On the Robin Trower-esque "It Don't Make Sense," Borden's vocal soars with the long lines of Catler's guitar.

The album is sufficient in its production values and workman-like in its mix. Producer Catler does yeoman's work behind the board, presenting a soundstage that's well-suited to the record's musicality. Bad Thing might not be earth-shattering, but as an evolutionary approach to the blues, laced with elements of jazz harmonies and hard-rock instrumentation, it's worth a listen.

Michael Verity http://www.freenotemusic.com/site/press/BluesRevue_FebMarch2010.html

Many elements comprise the spirit of the authentic blues, from the weary, lonesome and forlorn lyrics and voices to the bent, plaintive notes coaxed from weather-beaten, jury-rigged instruments. It's that off-kilter, almost microtonal aspect of true blues tonality that is too often overlooked by cover artists and wanna-bes who reduce the music to three chords and the truth. Guitarist Jon Catler and the other members of Willie McBlind work near-miracles in bringing that raw aspect of the blues sound to the forefront. In this case, Catler's instrument isn't a well-worn pawn-shop acoustic guitar, but rather a highly specialized tool that could come off as a cheap gimmick—or sound like crap—in the wrong hands. Catler plays a 64-note Just Intonation guitar, using close frets and fine tuning to wedge 64 separate tones into the space of an octave normally occupied by the 12 tones of the Western scale. The authenticity of Catler's vision and mission are made clear from the first few bars of "13 O'Clock Blues," where a slightly odd vibe of something amiss quickly evolves into serious blues power. This ain't just some white guy with a new toy; Catler knows his stuff and conveys it with deep energy and conviction. His fretless guitar work is equally convincing.

It helps, too, that Catler has a rough, saw-edged voice that complements both his playing and the smoother tones of band mate Babe Borden. Bassist Neville L'Green and drummer Lorne Watson provide tight backup for the two lead voices, in typically rollicking blues-band style. They give the impression of a band that has been working the road for years. Borden's finest achievement is her ability to match Catler's microtones without flaw or hesitation. She is fully her own woman, never trying to emulate Etta James, Koko Taylor or anyone else.

Most of the compositions are Catler's originals, with a few expected covers thrown in. Of the new tunes, "13 O'Clock Blues," "Blood Moon," and the hellacious title track are the highest points, but there's no real filler to be found here. Blind Willie Johnson's "Nobody's Fault But Mine," somewhat overdone by everyone from Led Zeppelin to Christian rockers The 77s, manages to sound fresh again in Willie McBlind's collective hands. Ditto Robert Johnson's classic "Stones in my Passway" and Willie Dixon's lesser-known "It Don't Make Sense," where Catler and Borden again pull off the almost ancient spirit of the blues.

Of all the contemporary "white-guy" blues bands making the circuit today, of all the guitar icons that have gearheads and shredders clamoring for more, Jon Catler and Willie McBlind represent a major step forward in the evolution of American blues. Yet they do so without losing any of the music's heart, which is perhaps the best achievement of all.

Personnel: Jon Catler: 64-tone Just Intonation and fretless guitars, voice; Babe Borden: voice; Neville L'Green: bass; Lorne Watson: drums, percussion; Hugh Pool: vocals.

Todd S. Jenkins http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=35263

Tracklist

1. 13 O'Clock Blues 6:32
 2. Bad Thing 3:26
 3. Primo 5:53
 4. Blood Moon 4:25
 5. Nobody's Fault But Mine 3:49
 6. Storms 3:37
 7. Stones In My Passway 4:38
 8. It Don't Make Sense (You Can't Make Peace) 7:02
 9. One Lucky Man 7:35

Listen To Samples Here 

About Willie McBlind

Internationally recognized musician and composer Jon Catler may well be the most innovative blues guitarist active today. His keen interest in microtonal guitar and Just Intonation dates back decades to his Berklee College of Music days. Jon was mentored by the storied avant-bluesman/composer La Monte Young, performing in La Monte’s Forever Bad Blues Band on American and European tours; these days, Jon performs alongside La Monte in the Just Alap Raga Ensemble. Jon is the author of The Nature of Music, which has had several printings, and he founded FreeNote Records, whose CD catalog includes two Willie McBlind titles, the Catler Brothers’ Crash Landing, his Evolution for Electric Guitar and Orchestra, and a collection of microtonal transcriptions of birdsong named Birdhouse. He has performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, at Quebec’s Festival d’Ete, at Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, and, among other venues, at various NYC clubs. Among many other projects, Jon organized the 2008 Blue Apple Blues Festival, held at Crash Mansion on The Bowery.

Meredith “Babe” Borden has been a featured singer in the premieres of works by Meredith Monk, Philip Glass, and Scott Wheeler, respectively. She’s been featured in settings like the American Festival of Microtonal Music, the Queen’s Chamber Band, the globe-trotting rock musical troupe Hair, the opera Waking in New York (as gospel-blues singer Compassion), off-Broadway theatrical and touring groups, as well as numerous regional and summer stock companies. Along with the two Willie McBlind albums, Babe also sang lead on the Birdhouse and Evolution for Electric Guitar and Orchestra albums. Originally from Massachusetts, like Jon, Babe has been a charter member of Willie McBlind since the first gigs in 2004.

Lorne Watson and Neville L’ Green are skilled musicians in a variety of genres but possess a special flair for Jon and Babe’s Harmonic Blues. Before settling in Brooklyn, Lorne studied with widely respected music teacher Robert Hohner at Central Michigan University and worked with the microtonal Stone Crazy Blues Band and others in Seattle. Among his many projects is Loop 2.4.3., an avant-classical percussion duo. Originally from Sydney, Neville L’Green made a name for himself in Down Under music circles before relocating to NYC several years ago. As with Lorne, he is in demand for all sorts of work, but nothing quite like Willie McBlind.

There is no easy way to prepare oneself for the harmonically charged psychedelic blues of Willie McBlind. Featuring microtonal pioneer Jon Catler and the highly versatile Babe Borden, Willie McBlind incorporates Just Intonation tunings that brings new life to the blues.

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