Ben Levin
Before Me
VizzTone
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Start listening to Before Me
(VizzTone) from Cincinnati-based teenaged piano
player Ben Levin and you may think you've
wandered into a 1940s-era barrelhouse. The
production work, Levin's tickling of the
ivories, Bob Margolin's downhome guitar playing
and the rest of the backing instruments all
combine to present an old school blues vibe.
Really, there's outstanding stuff throughout the
dozen cuts on Before Me.
Margolin especially stars on the
opening cut, Big Bill Broonzy's "I Feel So Good," as
does harmonica ace Bob Corritore while Levin belts
out the vocals over his exquisite piano playing.
Following that is a Levin original, "Pappy," that
has his fingers flying across the keyboard on this
mid-tempo shuffle. Quite frankly, I haven't heard a
young piano player this talented in a while. "This
Morning" is a driving Albert King instrumental, with
Corritore providing the harmonica interludes, at
times making his harp sound like an entire horn
section, while Margolin tears off the appropriate
guitar solo.
Next up is a slower, late night
blues, Big Jay McShann's classic "Confessin' The
Blues," and like many cuts on this album it feels
like this one was recorded 80 years ago instead of
more like 80 days ago. It's such a tasteful,
jazzy blues, with Levin's vocals well-suited to the
material. (Reminder --- this kid is still under the
legal drinking age in most states!). Corritore and
Margolin again contribute laidback solos that are
just right for this song. One might think that
"Before Me" comes out of the Fats Domino or
Professor Longhair songbook, but instead it's a
Levin original showing that this young man has a
strong dose of the Crescent City coursing through
his veins. That New Orleans feel also shows in the
album's first instrumental number, "Creole Kitchen."
Special guest drummer on "Lonesome
Whistle Blues" is 93-year-old drummer Phililp Paul,
who also played on the original version by Freddy
King way back when. Paul also sits in on a Levin
original, "Load Off My Back." We get another slow,
late-night jazzy blues with "So Soon," a Levin
original that could have been written decades before
this young man was born. Chris Douglas shines with
his very nice upright bass accompaniment.
"Load Off My Back" is a slower
shuffle with the emphasis on the backbeat, again
featuring Paul on drums, while "Lightnin'" is a
James Cotton back alley Chicago blues that returns
Margolin and Corritore to the stage to tear it up on
their respective instruments. Levin does a great job
on the Buddy Griffin classic "I Wanna Hug Ya, Kiss
Ya, Squeeze Ya," singing his soul out while
Corritore contributes a mighty fine harmonica solo.
Wrapping up this surprising disc is
a slow, late-night blues instrumentalist, "Open
Late," co-written by Levin, Margolin and Corritore,
giving each of the three instrumentalists their
chance in the spotlight.
Levin's release of Before Me
continues a fantastic run of exciting new blues
artists under 30 now making a lot of noise on the
international blues scene. It's reassuring that new
blues cats like Levin, Kingfish, Katarina Pejak,
Heather Newman, Ally Venable, Vanessa Collier, Ina
Forsman, David Julia and others are continuing to
develop and are keeping the blues alive. Let's
support these new artists on the scene by buying
their music and attending their live shows!
--- Bill Mitchell