Make Room for the Blues
An important part of the Chicago blues scene for decades, bassist and singer Willie Kent only began recording his own albums fairly recently.Make Room for the Blues, Kent's fourth for Delmark Records, is chock full of heavy grooves and rich vocals, in the best Chicago style. Kent is a master of mood; he goes from nice and easy ("Do You Love Me?") to lighthearted ("3-6-9," "Me and My Baby") to bittersweet ("Address in the Street") from one track to the next. Most of the material on the CD is Kent's own, testimony to his considerable songwriting abilities, and he's got a rich, versatile vocal style to go with it. There's some fine guitar work from Billy Flynn and Jake Dawson, and Kenny Barker turns in some excellent piano, but underpinning it all is Kent's rock-solid bass. --Genevieve Williams