|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Tuesday, November 09, 1999 |
The Jeff Pitchell band from the Northeast, was organized in 1996 and appeared at Bluestock in Memphis in 1997. Though the group's name alludes to Vaughan, guitarist, singer and songwriter Jeff Pitchell is much more than a modern-day Stevie Ray clone. Named Connecticut's best guitarist at 15 years old, Pitchell has performed and recorded with Clarence Clemons, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Cocker, Jeff Healey, J. Geils, James Cotton, and Roomful of Blues. He recently opened for B.B. King and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Pitchell's voice is as smooth as aged wine on One Day Away. The title cut, a race between Pitchell's Strat and Jonathan Chatfield's trebly piano, hits the highway and jumps from 0 to 60 in a flash. The vocal duet with Rick Derringer on "Unsung Hero of the Blues" becomes a verse-by-verse tradeoff wherein the players question who's got more blues. The guitar showdown avoids showboating: Though Pitchell can sling heat with anyone in blues, he and Derringer offer a primer in the power of restraint. On Texas shuffles like Doyle Bramhall's "Too Sorry" his guitar does sound like Vaughan's, but that's true of a lot of players.
I'm a sucker for "Ain't Nobody's Business," and Pitchell's deliberate, twisting cover is worth play after play. Supported by Chatfield's B-3, Pitchell wrings passion from his six strings while his smooth-dark voice delivers the song's timeless advice. Pitchell also knocks Leon Russell's "I'd Rather Go Blind" and King Curtis' ponderous "Let Me Down Easy" out of the stadium, and his expertise is evident in the easy flow of "When It All Comes Down." With his solemn vocal bedrock, stinging B.B. King-style string work, and dynamic ebb and flow, it's obvious Pitchell has much to offer.
Review by
Art Tipaldi
Blues Revue
"America's Blues Magazine"
November 1999
Issue No. 52 |
| News Home Back |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| | |
| |
| | | |
|
| | |
|
|
|
 |
|
|