Magness Cum Laude: Blues With Honors

When it comes to female blues artists these days, Janiva Magness has been moving to the front of the class. You can talk about her being named the Blues Foundation’s Blues Music Awards B.B. King Entertainer of the Year in 2009 and Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year in 2006, 2007, and 2009, talk about the incredible reviews and buzz she’s been getting in the blues press, and talk about her 8th and latest album “The Devil Is An Angel Too” (Alligator, 4/2010), but you have to see her live.

People have heard me whine about bands lacking an applied use of dynamics and tempo change-ups all the time who end up sounding too samey-samey, but not in this case. With Magness’ varied delivery and the bands range, forget the awards, forget all the hype, just go see them, dance, relax, have a good time. You won’t be disappointed. They crank, they mix it up, Magness is fun to watch and she knows how to work the crowd.

Comparisons to singing styles of performers like Irma Thomas, Marcia Ball, Susan Tedeschi, even Janis Joplin are inevitable. But her warm throaty tones and inflections coupled with her style and stage presence really bring blues to a new level. And her backing band of Zach Zunis on guitar, Jim Alfredson on keys, Gary Davenport on bass, and Matt Tecu on drums not only can stand on their own against any funk, boogie, or blues band touring right now, but together with Magness they really work the music.

Janiva MagnessOpening with a couple jam instrumentals of the 12-bar/groove variety, after an intro by Zunis, Magness sang the solo opening of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” – or it could have been an extended solo opening of her “I’m Feelin’ Good” off the new album – before being rejoined by the band for the remainder of the song. This was an interesting start in that it focused everyone just on Magness’ voice after the initial warm-up by the band. Several songs of the new album followed including “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down”, “Walkin’ In The Sun”, and the slower “Save Me”.  She wailed on “Homewrecker” also off the new album, and had supporting vocals from Alfredson and Davenport on a few of the numbers.

Just before the break, Magness alluded to her tough background which I’m not going to dwell on here, but as many other reviews have stated, she’s earned the right to sing the blues. She’s a spokesperson for the National Foster Care Coalition and spoke openly about her support of this cause.

After the break and a nice number with a surf-rock motif followed by a killer funk jam, Magness rejoined the band on stage for a long set of shuffles, funk, soul, and blues. An incredible delivery in her voice, she knows her projection and range well. I laughed a couple times at some of the change ups she did in her voice including one song where she threw out a nasally Aretha Franklin attitude-esque style that I don’t see other women performers do, and another where she screamed out a lyric holding the microphone down by her waist and it was neither harsh nor muddy but crystal clear!

Zach ZunisAlfredson had plenty of style with his Hammond organ and Fender Rhodes piano styles, from honky-tonk to Count Basie minimalism accents. Davenport was understated with his bass but always “right there”, and while he proved he could punch it out during a solo break, he was at his best laying down some funk with drummer Tecu, who was rock steady and able to throw in style and dynamics all his own. Zunis on guitar, however, was fun to watch. Pulling notes out of his guitar with upward stretches on tip-toe to downward dives with the guitar, to leaning out from the stage with all the appropriate grimacing you could possibly stand to enjoy watching, his enthusiasm was a great complement to Magness’ strutting and presence.

Next off for a couple shows in Denver before heading off to gigs in Taos and beyond, if you’re in the area, catch their act, buy some CD’s, talk to the band, and most of all: enjoy!

This performance is another one of the great blues acts produced locally by A Music Company, Inc who is also pulling together “Blues Under The Bridge” on July 17th. Learn more about upcoming events being brought into town by A Music Company at their website, amusiccompanyinc.com.