Born in the Delta
In the space of eight short years (1910-'18) in the Mississippi Delta, history's most important generation of bluesmen was born. Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Elmore James are all gone now, and, by 1997, Pinetop Perkins was almost the last of that fabled generation still playing.Perkins was born in the Delta, as the title of his new album states, and he still reflects the rhythmic intensity of that place and time. In his 80s, his voice has lost much of its old power and range and he's now content to recycle old standards, but his boogie-blues piano playing is as spirited as ever and his vocal and keyboard phrasing has become more succinct and telling with each passing year. In 1980, Perkins, drummer Willie Smith, and harmonica player Jerry Portnoy left the Muddy Waters Band and co-founded the Legendary Blues Band. These three have reunited onBorn in the Deltawith help from guitarist Tony O and bassist Brad Vickers. The songs are familiar chestnuts such as Elmore James's "Look on Yonder Wall," Memphis Slim's "Everyday I Have the Blues," and Jimmy Reed's "Baby, What You Want Me To Do," but Perkins's quintet give them a stripped-down elegance that's a pleasure to hear, even if the Waters alumni are long past their peak performances. On Paul Gayten's "For You My Love," the five musicians play the syncopated New Orleans rhythms with such tight-knit rapport that they might as well be five fingers on one hand.--Geoffrey Himes