Home |  Artist  | CD'S  |  Books/video |  Blues in the Schools  |  Tours/Schedule   | Merchandise | Photo Gallery  | Frute-Catz Club  Blues Links  

Fruteland Jackson – "Tell Me What You Say (Electro-fi 3401) Down Beat Magazine July 2007 Issue By Frank John-Hadley - PDF 

DOWNBEAT JAZZ MAGAZINE - Fruteland Jackson: Tell Me What You Say (Electro-Fi 3401; 52:321 *** Forthright and intelligent. singer-guitarist Jackson has the style and improvisational instinct to carry on as one of the premier acoustic blues artists today. On his fourth recommendable album, this Chicagoan shows full awareness of the emotive prop­erties of the blues as they pertain to song topics like war Blues Over Baghdad." quietly stunning) and gossip ("It's All Good," steeped in irony). Canadian friends playing piano, cello, trumpet and other instruments deliver the fitting low-spark accompaniment.

---

Fruteland Jackson – "Tell Me What You Say (Electro-fi 3401) Blues Revue June/July 2007 Issue By THOMAS J. CULLEN III - PDF

Chicago folk-blues ambassador Fruteland Jackson's third release for the Electro-Fi label contains two of the hardest-hitting slow blues social commentaries of recent vintage. The stark "Blues Over Baghdad (Forget Me Not)," musically evocative of Robert Johnson's "Hellhound On My Trail," is dedicated "to those who bought the bullets, and to those who bought the farm," a sentiment underscored by Kevin Fox's haunting cello, while "The I. R. S." captures the nightmarish anxiety caused by an impending audit thanks to trembling vocals and Chris Whiteley's warbling harp.

The disc's lone cover is a countrified duet with Diana Braithewaite on that immortal slice of Americana "You Are My Sunshine," which some might find out of place among the rest of the fare. Jackson is joined on various tracks by pianist Julian Fauth, percussionist Bucky Berger, and Whiteley on guitar, harmonica, and trumpet. Jackson's original tunes are a varied lot. Highlights include "I Won" (co-written with Johnnie Mae Dunson), a hardy, slow-rolling piano blues in the style of Otis Spann; "My Baby Left Me All Alone in E Minor," a throbbing beatnik blues inspired by Howlin' Wolf; "It's All Good," a jaunty affirmation of life that contains some of Jackson's best picking; and the yearning a cappella title track, co-written with Keith Brown.

Vocally, Jackson recalls Josh White, while his guitar playing is firmly rooted in prewar traditions. The overall mood of Tell Me What You Say is mellow, but that by no means diminishes the passion or purpose of an album that requires listeners' rime, patience, and attention — three things that are often in short supply today.

 

---

Blues 2.0

By Robert Fontenot - BLUES REVUE MAGAZINE - Spotlight

FRUTE strength: An adventurous acoustic artist, Jackson knows it’s all about the songs.

The title of Fruteland Jackson’s latest release — one of the finest blues albums of this young decade — does not refer to the fact that it’s his sec­ond effort for Electro-Fi Records. Rather, Jackson’s announcing his intention to update the language of blues. Like software, this music can indeed be made more accessible with an upgrade, but there’s always risk of creating something incompatible with tradition. The main difference between Jackson and a thousand lesser lights is that he’s changing the content, not the form, which is why the most relevant blues album of 2003 happens to be built around musical styles that went out of favor when they dismantled the WPA. When this man declares “I Can Still Rock and Roll,” he’s not talking about music.

Jackson’s secret weapon is his song-writing; his mastery of prewar idioms is frightening in its totality. (The vocalist/ guitarist also has created an award-winning curriculum for teaching blues in American schools.) He’s well versed in Piedmont, Delta, field hollers, country blues, and more, and it lends his crusade an air of authenticity. Even artists who understand and can write ragtime, for example, are seldom able to craft complex bridges such as the one in “Moon Man Rag”; fewer still would think to downshift from acoustic boogie to a sultry half-time strut and back again in the seductive “Laura Marie.” 

Throughout Blues 2.0, Jackson’s commitment engenders pure beauty, resulting in transcendent mo­ments such as “How Could We Live Without Love,” an acoustic meditation laced with torchy jazz trumpet. These are not museum pieces. The lyrics are where Jackson most fully modernizes his approach. The afore­mentioned “Love” mines philosophical depths most modern roots artists can’t with its elemental, almost haiku-like verses, while “Sometimes Bad Man Blues” manages to evoke sympathy for the hard work liars and scoundrels have to do to keep up their fronts. Even when the mood gets lighter, his observations remain on the mark. In “Moon Man Rag,” he delivers a number of sly puns on the terminology of menstruation, then sums it all up: “I don’t understand, I’m still in the dark/Maybe they should call it a question mark.” He mentions Viagra in “My Pencil Don’t Write No More” and, on the title track, declares he’s “traded in my hammer for a hundred e-mails.” From another artist, it might seem like pandering, but the musi­cal and emotional authenticity of the per­formances carry the ring of absolute truth, something essential to making this music relevant to non-fans.

Learning to play blues is easy, consid­ering the thousands of people who (barely) make a living at it. But speaking the language like a native is something else entirely, and Fruteland Jackson, thank God, knows how to do both — and how to translate for the rest of us.

 

---

Fruteland Jackson – Blues 2.0

Electro-Fi  E-fi 3380

Blues In Britain Magazine  - Mick Rainsford

Fruteland Jackson is one of a dozen on the acoustic blues scene, one of the finest performers in the genre, whose own compositions sit easily with classic blues songs of the past, evoking that feeling of timelessness that is a composite characteristic of the genre.  “Blues 2.0” is his follow up to “I Claim Nothing But The Blues”, and it not only matches the artistry he showed on that set, but eclipses it, a tribute to his talent as both a songwriter and a performer.

The title track is a  stunning opening to this set; a field holler, in the Leadbelly mould, with Jackson’s plaintive and anguished vocals extolling the fact that he still considers himself a “modern day slave”, the starkness of the delivery further enhance by a chanted chorus, the solitary instrument a “big boom drum”.  “Long Distance Love Affair” is a gem of a blues that rides an hypnotic banjo,  (Ken Whitely) rhythm, Jackson proclaiming his blues in a voice shaded with elements of Jefferson, McTell and Arnold; Whitely is again outstanding on the wistful “Blues On The Banjo”, and the Tampa Red styled “Moon Man Rag”, where Jackson’s jaunty vocals are a sheer delight.

“I Wonder” is a melancholy blues with laconic vocals and shimmering slide; melancholy again being the order of the day on the delightful loping harp, (Chris Whitely), and guitar driven “My Pencil Won’t Write No More”, one of only two covers on this set, the other being a highly rhythmic “Big Road Blues”, with lilting harp and urgent vocals. 

Mel Brown guests on three tracks, providing the rollicking piano on “Laura Marie”, a fine blues that is enhanced by sudden changes in tempo; and he provides the sinewy electric guitar on “I Can Still Rock And Roll”, Jackson’s vocals laced with latent menace as it rides a “Dimples” styled bass riff.

The set is rounded out by the plangent blues ballad “How Could We Live Without Love”, Chris Whitely providing poignant muted trumpet, and “The Lonely Traveler”, a heartfelt and poignant tribute to the late Jimmie Lee Robinson, replete with quirky guitar licks and the trademark whistling., making this an essential purchase for all lovers of quality acoustic blues.

Words 1147

Ratings 9

---

    LIVING Blues Magazine 2004

FRUTELAND JACKSON- Blues 2.0

Electro-Fi 3380

Along with others such as Corey Harris, Guy Davis, and Alvin Youngblood Hart, Fruteland Jackson has taken acoustic blues into the 21^ century while remaining firmly rooted in the music's tradition. Born in Doddsville,

Mississippi, in 1953, Jackson came north to Chicago while still a youngster, but he reaches back to the south for his musical inspiration.

Much like his first Electro-Fi release, 2000's / Claim Nothing But The Blues, Blues 2.0 presents Jackson in a variety of settings, beginning with the title track, which fuses a modern-day office worker's lament with old-time work song rhythms. The next song. My Pencil Don't Write No More, comes from Bo Carter, who, along with the rest of the Chatmon family, seems to be one of Jackson's main influences. The only other cover among the disc's thirteen titles is Tommy Johnson's Big Road Blues, which takes on something of a folksy quality thanks to Chris Whitley's Sonny Terry -style harmonica. Jackson is not really a cover artist, though, and the rest of the compositions are his own. He adds a touch of humor on / Can Still Rock And Roll, a more sophisticated (and optimistic) take on the aging theme visit­ed by Junior Kimbrough on / Done Got Old and Robert Pete Williams on I've Grown So Ugly, and on Long Distance Love affair, which owes a musical debt to Robert Wilkins' That's No Way To Get Along. The set's highlight,

Big City Blues

Fruteland Jackson

Blues 2.0 Electro-fi 3380

The blues of Fruteland Jackson are a great example of how traditional folk styles passed on through the generations can concoct a modern sounding yet thoroughly antique style. Through study and physical encounter Fruteland has become a master. His vocal qualities are extraordinary they are full of howls and vibratos and the lyrics themselves are steeped in the oral musical tradition of story telling. All the above account for the reverence I that Fruteland receive from the "Blues in I the Schools" programs around the country. His new CD is composed of mostly original material with rustic old blues grit that makes the listener wonder if the sounds are coming from an old 78. The leading track is perhaps the best I and tells a good story by way of a field | holler. Using the crash of a hammer as I the only backing rhythm track, the words | convey a man whose ready to quit his job I and become self-employed. Bo Carter's | "My Pencil Don't Write No More" shares I writer's credits with Jackson. Fruteland is | a serious slide player and the Delta sound I can be heard on "I Wonder" where the guitar imitates vocal pitch. "I Can Still I Rock & Roll," has a lowdown sound created by strumming the bottom end of the guitar. Mel Brown plays the electric guitar I on this track and his complementary lines I finish the song. Tommy Johnson's "Big | Road Blues" is the other non-original and I is done a bit more up-tempo from the original. A nice change comes on "How I Could We Live Without Love" Here, Chris | Whitely plays a melancholy and muted trumpet alongside Fruteland's acoustic guitar. "Moon Man Rag" is a bright tune whose melody recalls an old minstrel feel. The song features Ken Whitely on banjo. Whitley’s playing adds a real country sound to the song. "Lucky Lady" has a two-chord structure and Fruteland's voice is on high as he howls the last words of each phrase in a long whole note. An excellent falsetto seems natural for Fruteland and another one featuring this ability is "Blues on the Banjo." It takes you back to a time when banjo was king. The last track is a sad one as Fruteland performs a tribute to Jimmie Lee Robinson called "The Lonely Traveler." Jimmie's blues often addressed the public to their own faults and self-destruction. This track is unhurried and to the point. It mentions the details of his cancer and subsequent suicide. This CD is an enjoyable recording that will be favored for years to come. — Dirk Wissbaum

 

IT Talent Agency 

( I.I.T.Y.W.Y.B.M.A.D