Samoa Wilson with the Jim Kweskin Band

Samoa Wilson with the Jim Kweskin Band - Live the Life - 2004 - Blix Street Records

"From swing to gospel, it's a gorgeous, fun sound." The Boston Herald, Aug. 14, 2004

"But the best moments come when she sings with Kweskin on the happy "What A Little Moonlight Can Do." Tab Newspapers, Boston, Aug. 12, 2004

Samoa Wilson, the Boston-bred roots singer, was raised on folk-influenced Americana classic Americana music. Jim Kweskin is a great family friend, and eventually the two artists merged their talents. Samoa joined Jim's current band in 1997. "Live the Life" is Samoa's first "real" album. As in the "Now and Again" album, she has again recorded with the great Jim Kweskin Band, but here she sings eight solo numbers, two duets with Jim, and two Jim Kweskin Band instrumentals. Just like the "Now and Again" album, "Live the Life" is another glorious slice of authentic Americana music. Jim Kweskin (and his Jug Band) is one of the greatest Americana/folk traditionalists and preservationists of modern times, and has made some classic albums. However, on this album, Samoa Wilson is the "icing on the cake". Her gorgeous, pure voice has to be heard to be believed. Find out more about Samoa Wilson, Jim Kweskin, and the brilliant Jim Kweskin Band with Samoa Wilson's "Now And Again" album @ JKWEK/SAMOAW/N&A

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

I'm Gonna Live The Life - Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey
Sun Goin' Down - Samoa Wilson
What A Little Moonlight Can Do - Harry Woods
Organ Grinder's Swing - Irving Mills, Will Hudson, Mitchell Parish
Some Of These Days - Shelton Brooks
Oh Papa Blues - Ma Rainey
Choo Choo Ch'Boogie - Denver Darling, Milt Gabler, Vaughn Horton
Dedicated To You - Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin, Hy Zaret
Can't Help Lovin' That Man - Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II
C Jam Blues - Duke Ellington
St. Louis Blues - W.C. Handy, L. Mario Henderson
Goodnight My Love - Mack Gordon, Harry Revel

MUSICIANS

Samoa Wilson (vocals)
Jim Kweskin (vocals, guitar, banjo)
Titus Vollmer (acoustic guitar)
Matthew Berlin (bass)
Leo Blanco (piano)
John Ramsey, Jerome Deupree (drums)
Mickey Bones (military snare drum)
Paloma Ohm (drums, alto sax)
Bruce Millard (mandolin)
Matt Leavenworth (fiddle)
Geordie Gude (vocals, harmonica)

REVIEWS

Jim Kweskin, whose history goes back to the birth of the Cambridge folk scene, said he revived his respected jug band and his career a few years ago for just one reason: to introduce listeners to the young vocalist Samoa Wilson. That’s understandable. Wilson has a sweet, soft-edged guileless voice that’s easy on the ears, whether she’s delivering her own heartbreaker "Sun Going Down" (made more poignant by crying slide dobro) or sashaying through standards ranging from a blithe, fiddle-driven "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" to the Ma Rainey homage "Oh Papa Blues." The expert band get turned loose, too, with the instrumentals "Organ Grinder’s Swing" and Duke Ellington’s "C Jam Blues." Which makes this album well-balanced and thoroughly entertaining. © TED DROZDOWSKI, © 2005 Phoenix Media/Communications Group, www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/music/otr/documents/04187440.asp

It's testament to the Boston-bred, folk-influenced American roots singer that her own composition, the bluesy and romantic "Sun Going Down" -- which she wrote at the tender age of 16 -- could follow her rendition of Tommy Dorsey's "I'm Going to Live the Life I Sing About" and not only measure up, but surpass it in emotional intensity. Samoa Wilson's upbringing was filled with classic Americana music and multi-instrumentalist Jim Kweskin (founder of the early-'60s group the Jim Kweskin Jug Band) was an extended family member, so it was only a matter of time before they merged their talents. She joined his current band in 1997 and appeared on four tracks from Now and Again, Kweskin's first album in over 20 years. This colorful solo project grew naturally out of that, and Kweskin fans will be happy to note that the band is in full swing between vocal passages on witty, spirited tracks like "What a Little Moonlight Can Do." Geordue Gude's harmonica drives the front-porch blues of "Organ Grinder's Song," one of the few instrumental tracks between Wilson's solo numbers and vocal duets with Kweskin. The production is sparse and straightforward, lending a historical authenticity to classics like "Oh Papa Blues," originally recorded by Ma Rainey in 1927. Other unforgettable covers include the singalong "Choo Choo Ch-Boogie" and a heartfelt twist on W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues." © Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide