Clayton Doley - Bayou Billabong (2015)

Per Dictionary.com:
bayou (noun) American, chiefly Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States
1. a marshy arm, inlet, or outlet of a lake, river, etc., usually sluggish or stagnant.
2. any of various other often boggy and slow-moving or still bodies of water.

billabong (noun) Australian
1. a branch of a river flowing away from the main stream but leading to no other body of water; a blind or dead-end channel.
2. a creek bed holding water only in the rainy season
__________________________________________

Australian Clayton Doley is a superb Hammond B3 and keyboard player who calls himself a blues man but categorizing his music isn't that simple. You could safely classify his work as both jazz and R&B, or based on his voice just as easily believe he is a lounge act (the latter isn't meant to be an insult) because, despite the earthiness of his music, Doley's voice is too smooth to be associated with the likes of Buddy Guy or John Lee Hooker. Instead, he bears a resemblance to Harry Connick.

Doley has had a long career down under and around the globe. He's had residencies in Sydney and Toronto. He's played with Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn (Booker T & the M.Gs.), Joe Bonnamassa, his fellow countryman Jimmy Barnes, members of Tower of Power, and many more.

The album title is a result of Doley's new eight song CD, Bayou Billabong, being recorded in both Sydney and New Orleans and using musicians from both locations. Each track employs a horn section of trombone, trumpet, and sax playing on the sessions in their own countries.

Also featured on this fine new set are members of Trombone Shorty's band and an outfit called The Treme Funktet. A trio of female backing singers that should remind you of the Raelettes assist everywhere.

The only instrumental is the title tune that includes contributions from Ganga Giri playing Australia's indigenous musical instrument, the didgeridoo. He adds some interesting and unusual flourishes to what is otherwise a very funky track. Doley takes a hot riff from this piece and reuses it in a completely different arrangement on "Starting Right Now" that proves how diverse you can be with one, identical, short bar of music.

Connick fans should be happy with the poppish "I Live for You." Derwin "Big D" Perkins handles electric guitar and his solo on "We're Still Changing" is a real jazzy treat.

There is a law that every blues album must allow space for a song about drinking to excess and "Waiting for Coffee" satisfies that requirement but, like the rest of the record, it isn't a downer.

All of the songs are Doley originals and are, according to the artist, inspired by "the great New Orleans piano masters."

Doley also has an excellent website.

Comments

Post a Comment

WHAT'S HOT THIS WEEK!

Slower Than Slow: 16 RPM Records

Image
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequent
Read more

The Late Dickey Betts Discusses How Jimmy Carter's Friendship With The Allman Brothers Band Helped The Candidate Win The 1976 Presidential Election

Image
Below is a music related tribute I originally wrote for President Jimmy Carter over a year ago when he first entered hospice care in February 2023. I expected it would only be a short time until he passed. When he didn't, I decided to save it until October 1, 2024 to celebrate his 100th birthday should he make it to that milestone.  However, with today's unhappy news about the passing of Dickey Betts (1943 - 2024) I decided it is time to finally post the article because the great second guitarist of The Allman Brothers Band is quoted in it. Betts' most famous songs with the outstanding sextet are "Revival," "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," "Blue Sky," and of course,  "J essica," and  "Ramblin' Man." Because most blogs and websites will likely post more traditional news stories and tributes, I hope this essay serves as something a little different and as an homag
Read more

It's Real Life: An Alternate History Of The Beatles - A Short Story, Radio Play And Full Length Novel By Paul Levinson (2022 and 2024)

Image
In a July 2023 blog post I discussed an alternate history of the most famous rock band of all time. It's Real Life: An Alternate History Of The Beatles was written in 2022 as a short story and radio play by Professor Paul Levinson of Fordham University. Since then, the author has expanded it into a full length novel that includes his original story as chapter one. Below my original post you'll find a link to a fascinating  podcast where Levinson discussed his book with NBC's Chuck Todd followed by an  intriguing  email question and answer session that Levinson graciously gave to Bloggerhythms. _______________________________________ In 2005, novelist, playwright and rock musician, Larry Kirwan - best known as the leader of New York City's renowned Celtic-rock band, Black 47  - used his vivid imagination to write  Liverpool Fantasy , a novel about what could have happened to each of the four Beatles if they hadn't hit the big
Read more

Buried Treasure: Richard Betts - Highway Call (1974)

Image
After Duane Allman died, it could be said that Forrest Richard (Dickey) Betts saved The Allman Brothers Band. He was responsible for four of the seven songs on Brothers and Sisters , their first album without brother Duane who passed away in a motorcycle accident before their previous album, Eat A Peach , was completed. Betts was the man who brought the country music influences to his famous outfit. He wrote and sang lead on "Ramblin' Man," the only Allman's single to ever crack the top 10. The smash hit soared to #2 and was only kept out of the top spot by Cher's "Half Breed." What is probably the band's second most famous song is also on Brothers and Sisters . It's the rollicking, seven-and-a-half-minute instrumental, "Jessica," also written by Betts who was listed at #58 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. With Betts performing at the top of his game he decided it wa
Read more

Why Do 45 RPM Records Have Big Holes?

Image
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi
Read more