Magic Dick & Jay Geils

Magic Dick & Jay Geils - Bluestime - 1994 - Rounder

Jay Geils was often the forgotten man in the band that bore his name. Though Geils was a fine blues rock guitarist, it was Peter Wolf's vocals and Magic Dick's harmonica solos that made the J. Geils Band a legendary live act in the '70s, and it was the songs written by Wolf and keyboardist Seth Justman that gave the band its pop breakthrough in the early '80s. Geils's grasp of the rhythmic requirements of the Chicago blues provided the foundation for everything the band did, however, and it provides the solid basis for this likable album with Magic Dick. The J. Geils Band began in 1966 as a trio (Geils, Dick, and bassist Danny Klein) exploring the music of the Chicago blues giants. Now Geils and Dick are doing it again--nine of the 13 tracks on the new album are credited to Muddy Waters, Little Walter or Sonny Boy Williamson--only this time they have the maturity to let the material breathe. Instead of cramming every possible note into each song, these older, wiser musicians have pared down their arrangements to the essential notes. This allows Geils's swinging, jazz-inflected guitar solos to unfurl with natural ease and for Dick to more fully harmonize his solos. Dick proves a competent lead singer, but he lacks the special edge of a Wolf, much less a Waters. As a result, the instrumental performances are the best part of Bluestime. © Geoffrey Himes, amazon.com

An album strongly dependant on harmonica and guitar, this debut recording from two great artists contains songs from Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, plus some good originals. The blend of Jay Geils' taste in '40s and '50s guitar styles, and Magic Dick's vocals and unique harmonica playing works really well. "Bluestime" is a good gritty blues album, and should appeal to fans of both artists, and to blues fans in general. Try and listen to Magic Dick's "Freeze Frame" album, and Jay Geils great "Jay Geils Plays Jazz" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

I Got to Find My Baby Little Walter
Pontiac Blues Sonny Boy Williamson
Can't Hold Out Much Longer Little Walter
She's the No Sleepin'est Woman Dootsie Williams
The Stuff You Gotta Watch Muddy Waters
Nine Below Zero Sonny Boy Williamson
I Stay in the Mood Joe Josea
Too Young to Die Sonny Boy Williamson
Little Girl Little Walter
Full Court Press Magic Dick, J. Geils
(I'm The) Coolest Cat in This Car M.Ward
Iodine in My Coffee McKinley Morganfield
Roller Coaster/Crazy Legs/I Got to Go McDaniel Jacobs

BAND

Magic Dick (Harmonica), (Vocals)
J. Geils (Guitar), (Steel Guitar)
Jerry Miller (Mandolin), (Guitar (Rhythm)
Michael Ward (Bass), (Piano)
Steve Ramsay (Drums)

ABOUT MAGIC DICK

Born on May 13, 1945 in New London, Connecticut, Magic Dick arrived in post-war America to the Atomic Bomb, World Peace, Bebop and Rhythm & Blues. Dynamic change and growth in the arts and technology would be the hallmark of this era and by the time he was eight Dick knew that music, painting and physics would be his primary interests. The trumpet was his constant companion and served as a springboard to the harmonica in his sophomore year at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts where he met J. Geils and Danny Klein and became a founding member of the J. Geils Blues Band in 1968. By 1969 the band had moved to Boston and joined forces with Peter Wolf, Stephen Jo Bladd and Seth Justman. In 1970 the J. Geils Band recorded their first of nine albums for Atlantic Records and toured incessantly, jamming with many of the blues greats including Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and James Cotton. The band developed a reputation for 'getting crazy' and devastated audiences for fifteen years with their high-energy style of Rhythm & Blues and Rock & Roll. These recordings showcase Magic Dick's innovative harmonica playing, which served as a strong distinguishing sound for the band. A series of five albums for EMI America followed culminating in the Platinum album Freeze Frame, released in 1981, which ascended to #1 on the Billboard album charts, spent four weeks there, and remained on the charts for a total of 70 weeks. The album's first single, "Centerfold," spent six weeks at #1 in Billboard. Freeze Frame's title track followed "Centerfold," peaking at #4. Subsequent to The J. Geils Band, Magic Dick performed as a guest artist harmonica soloist for Patty Smyth, Debbi Harri, Full Circle, The Del Fuegos and Ryuici Sakamota, among others. In 1992, Magic Dick and J. Geils formed the band Bluestime featuring Magic Dick on harmonica and vocals and J. Geils on guitar. Magic Dick's years of experimentation and searching for new sounds and stylings for the harmonica cultivated a strong desire to improve the flexibility and quality of the harmonica so as to better fit into contemporary music yet retain the best characteristics of harmonica sound and cultural history. This development continues to this day in the recordings of Bluestime on Rounder Records, which feature prototypes of Magic Harmonicas’ expanding the role of the harp now, and for the future. Magic Dick's intense drive to extend and enlarge the cultural history of the harmonica is shared in a balanced and fruitful union with Magic Harmonicas co-inventor and partner Pierre Beauregard. © www.magicdick.com

ABOUT JAY GEILS

Jay Geils needs no introduction to the legion of music fans that made The J. Geils Band one of the leading acts in the history of rock and roll. After a 25-year career with over 10 million records sold, a Grammy nomination, five gold records, one double platinum record, multiple television and movie appearances and tours with The Allman Brothers Band and The Rolling Stones, the band decided to quit at the top of their game with the number one single and number one album on the charts. Free to pursue his first musical loves - classic jazz and blues - and take the period out of his name, Jay teamed with J. Geils band mate, Magic Dick, for two successful blues recordings as the band Bluestime. Tours of Europe, Japan and the United States followed, as well as tours with Jay’s longtime idol and friend, B.B King. In 1999, The J. Geils Band re-union tour was the hottest ticket of the summer season, performing once again to sold-out shows in stadiums across the United States. In 2002, their hit single, “Give It To Me,” was chosen by the Heineken Beer Company for their television ad campaign in Europe and America. A fan of jazz since he was a child growing up in New Jersey and Manhattan, Jay would accompany his father to see many of the greatest jazz musicians alive at that time, including Louis Armstrong, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Steeped in this tradition, Jay teamed with jazz guitarist Gerry Beaudoin in 1994 and has come full circle. “I started as a trumpet player, but got side tracked by the guitar and the blues and folk revolution sweeping the world in the 1960s,” remembers Jay. “I was fortunate to play and record with many great blues and rock musicians including Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker, Peter Frampton, Duane Allman and, of course, The J. Geils Band. It was an exciting time in my life, but I look forward to the future performing the music I first loved, classic jazz and blues.” 2004 saw The J.Geils Band, “America’s ultimate house party,” nominated for entry into the prestigious Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. During the summer of that year, Jay also joined his good friend B.B. King onstage for a number of his blues festival tour dates. © www.stonyplainrecords.com