Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 28, 2025: Harmonica

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/68751.html

Theme: Harmonica.

Jerry Jeff Walker- Harmonica Talk

Bein’ Free (Atco)

Sonny Terry

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee- Harmonica Blues

Sonny Terry’s New Sound (Folkways)

Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi- Freight Train

Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train (M.C.)

Paul Rishell & Annie Raines- Key to the Highway

I Want You to Know (Tone-Cool)

James Cotton with Joe Louis Walker & Charlie Haden- Country Boy

Deep in the Blues (Verve)

Michael Jerome Browne with JJ Milteau & Eric Bibb- Shake ‘Em on Down

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Vince Halfhide with Steve Marriner- Sonny Boy Said

Vince Halfhide (Vince Halfhide)

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band- Blues with a Feeling

An Anthology: The Elektra Years (Elektra)

Corky Siegel

Corky Siegel- Movement I – Filisko’s Dream

Symphonic Blues No. 6 (Dawnserly)

Corky Siegel- Movement II – Slow Blues

Symphonic Blues No. 6 (Dawnserly)

Corky Siegel- Movement III – Allegro

Symphonic Blues No. 6 (Dawnserly)

Larry Adler- Blues in the Night

Harmonica Virtuoso (Audio Fidelity)

Paul Reddick- Breathless Girls

Sugar Bird (NorthernBlues Music)

Mike Stevens- Clarinet Polka

The World is Only Air (Borealis)

Saul Broudy- Bei Mir Bist Du Sheyn

Travels with Broudy (Saul Broudy)

Shtreiml- Uncle Tibor’s Spicy Paprikash

Spicy Paprikash (I.J. Rosenblatt)

Toots Thielmans- Five O’Clock Whistle

The Soul of Toots Thielmans (Dr. Jazz)

John Sebastian & David Grisman- Harmandola Blues

Satisfied (Acoustic Disc)

Grant Dermody- Waterbound

Lay Down My Burden (Grant Dermody)

Charlie Musselwhite- Blues Up the River

Mississippi Sun (Alligator)

Marc Nerenberg- This Time Around: A Banjo Harmonica Duet

Little Birdie: Birds, Beasts & Banjo Blues (Marc Nerenberg)

Next week: Remembering Garth Hudson (1937-2025).

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – April 2, 2024: The Musical Adventures of Jim, Geoff & Maria

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/64607.html

Theme: The Musical Adventures of Jim, Geoff & Maria.

Maria Muldaur, Geoff Muldaur & Jim Kweskin (1964) photo: Joe Alper

Geoff Muldaur and Maria Muldaur were both members of Jim Kweskin’s Jug Band in the 1960s – the pre-eminent jug band of the ‘60s folk revival – and this show will explore a few of the many directions that Jim, Geoff and Maria have taken over the past 60-plus years – including numerous collaborations with each other.

Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band- Jug Band Music

Jug Band Music (Vanguard)

Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band- Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me

Jug Band Music (Vanguard)

Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band- Wild About My Lovin’

Unblushing Brassiness (Vanguard)

Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band- Richland Woman

See Reverse Side for Title (Vanguard)

The Even Dozen Jug Band- Come On In

The Even Dozen Jug Band (Elektra)

Geoff Muldaur- Jelly Roll Baker

Sleepy Man Blues (Prestige)

Jim Kweskin- Make Me a Pallet On Your Floor

Relax Your Mind (Vanguard)

Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band- Chevrolet

See Reverse Side for Title (Vanguard)

Geoff & Maria Muldaur- Brazil

Pottery Pie (Omnivore)

Geoff & Maria Muldaur- Georgia On My Mind

Pottery Pie (Omnivore)

Paul Butterfield’s Better Days- Rule the Road

Paul Butterfield’s Better Days (Rhino/Bearsville)

Jim Kweskin- Sugar Babe

Jim Kweskin’s America (Reprise)

Maria Muldaur- Midnight at the Oasis

Maria Muldaur (Reprise)

Geoff Muldaur- Livin’ in the Sunlight (Lovin’ in the Moonlight)

Geoff Muldaur is Having a Wonderful Time (Reprise)

Jim Kweskin & The Neo-Passé Jazz Band- Jazzbo Brown

Jump for Joy (Vanguard)

Geoff Muldaur's Futuristic Ensemble- Futuristic Rhythm

Private Astronomy: A Vision of the Music of Bix Beiderbecke (Edge Music)

Maria Muldaur- He Ain’t Got Rhythm

Let’s Get Happy Together (Stony Plain)

Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur- Sweet to Mama

Penny’s Farm (Kingswood)

Jim Kweskin & Maria Muldaur- Let’s Get Happy Together

Never Too Late: Duets with My Friends (StorySound)

Geoff Muldaur's Futuristic Ensemble & Martha Wainwright- There Ain’t No Sweet Man That’s Worth the Salt of My Tears

Private Astronomy: A Vision of the Music of Bix Beiderbecke (Edge Music)

Jay McShann & Maria Muldaur- Confessin’ the Blues

Goin’ to Kansas City (Stony Plain)

Jim Kweskin & Samoa Wilson- Remember Me

Never Too Late: Duets with My Friends (StorySound)

John Sebastian & The J-Band & Geoff Muldaur- Minglewood Blues

Chasin’ Gus’ Ghost (Hollywood)

Jim Kweskin & Fiona Kweskin- Side by Side

Never Too Late: Duets with My Friends (StorySound)

Next week: Songs I’ve Heard Tom Rush Sing.

--Mike Regenstreif

 

Geoff & Maria Muldaur – Pottery Pie; Sweet Potatoes

GEOFF & MARIA MULDAUR

Pottery Pie

Omnivore Recordings

omnivorerecordings.com/shop/pottery-pie/

Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band were early favorites of mine when I was first getting into music and record collecting as a kid in the 1960s so I was already familiar with (and a fan of) the husband and wife team of Geoff & Maria Muldaur – stalwarts of the Kweskin band – when they recorded Pottery Pie in 1968, the first of two LPs they would release as a duo. Remarkably, Pottery Pie and the other LP, Sweet Potatoes, have just recently been reissued for the first time in North America.

Geoff and Maria alternated lead vocals on Pottery Pie, an album that seemed to point in directions both would go on to explore later on. Geoff’s version of “Death Letter Blues,” for example, is the kind of track he’d record some years later as a member of Paul Butterfield’s Better Days, while Maria’s version of “Me and My Chauffeur Blues,” presaged the tribute to Memphis Minnie she would produce years later.

Geoff’s other highlights on Pottery Pie include a great version of “New Orleans Hopscop Blues,” originally recorded by Bessie Smith, that combines an updated classic blues feel with a New Orleans-style horn arrangement, and a soulful rendition of “Prairie Lullaby,” a classic recorded by Jimmie Rodgers in 1932, that features great playing by Bill Keith on pedal steel and an uncredited fiddler (who I suspect may have been Maria).

And I must mention Geoff’s fun version of “Brazil,” a classic Brazilian jazz tune that would go on to give Terry Gilliam’s film its name when he used this recording in the movie.

Among Maria’s highlights is her sexy definitive version of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” and the traditional gospel song “Trials, Troubles, Tribulations” with nice harmonies from Betsy Siggins.

But my absolute favorite track on Pottery Pie is Maria’s gorgeous version of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia On My Mind,” with a sublime electric guitar solo by Amos Garrett, perhaps the first of many notable guitar solos Amos would play on albums with both Muldaurs.

GEOFF & MARIA MULDAUR

Sweet Potatoes

Omnivore Recordings

omnivorerecordings.com/shop/sweet-potatoes/

While Pottery Pie seemed to be equal parts Geoff and Maria, Geoff dominates Sweet Potatoes, their second and final LP, released in 1972. It’s a charming album, but just a tad disappointing that only three of the 10 songs featured Maria.

That said, some of my favorites of Geoff’s leads include “Havana Moon,” a very atypical Chuck Berry tune given a bluesy arrangement featuring Paul Butterfield on harmonica, and “Dardanella,” a New Orleans jazz standard whose intricate arrangement points at the kind of work Geoff would do decades later with his album of Bix Biederbecke material.

Another favorite is the languid but delightful version of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Lazy Bones,” with a lead vocal and patented guitar solo by Amos Garrett, that certainly presaged the duo album they recorded on Flying Fish after playing together in Paul Butterfield’s Better Days.

Maria’s three lead vocals are also highlights of Sweet Potatoes. These include “Blue Railroad Train,” a Delmore Bothers song that Doc Watson introduced to the folk revival in the mid’60s, and the title track, a lovely little number on which she’s accompanied by pianist Jeff Gutcheon, the song’s composer.

But my absolute favorite is Maria’s beautiful version of “Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be),” a jazz standard sung decades earlier by Billie Holiday. This version features another dreamy guitar solo by Amos as well as strings and woodwinds – including Geoff on clarinet. 

I should note also that the cover painting for Sweet Potatoes was by the great folk and blues performer and visual artist Eric Von Schmidt.

These two albums are much more than footnotes in the discographies of two artists would go on to give us – and still continue to give us a half-century later – much great music.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif