"SO HERE IT IS,  SOME BLUES... THE PEOPLES MUSIC." ... Etta James

In the 1970's there was a TV commercial for Memorex tape that featured Ella Fitzgerald's amplified voice shattering a champaign glass sitting in front of a speaker. If they had hired Etta James for that commercial, that poor glass would exploded as soon as she walked in the studio. I love Etta James!

In her new Private Music release Matriarch of the Blues, Etta undoubtedly gets down to the gettin' down. She has proven herself ultra-versitile in her career and continues to prove a great singer defies genres. Her life's lessons are in her voice, that of a calming mother who's been there and understands but is not afraid to slap you around the room. We're listening Momma!

Etta James won't let you forget the Blues. Walking The Back Streets and Hog For Ya are expectedly lowdown along with an unexpectedly lowdown 6/8 version of the Rolling Stones' Miss You. Her versions of Ray Charles' Come Back Baby and Otis Redding's Try A Little Tenderness inject some sweet soul into those Blues. Once again Etta takes classics and makes them her own. Bob Dylan's Gotta Serve Somebody, a latin guitar enhanced version of Benny Latimore's Let's Straighten It Out and John Fogarty's Born On The Bayou, which starts out almost industrial and ends up almost zydeco, can make you re-assess your definitive version lists. The cool lesson ends up with a most groovy rendition of the rock and roll classic Hound Dog. As long as she keeps recording, we'll all be hound dogs snoopin' 'round her door.

Matriarch of the Blues is a family affair. Etta's sons Donto and Sametto produced the project and served as a rock steady rhythm section. Mike Finnigan on Hammond B3 and supporting vocals and original Meter man Leo Nocentelli on guitar are featured artists. Other contributing artists include; Josh Sklair and Bobby Murray on guitar, David K. Mathews on keyboards, Lee R. Thornburg, Tom Poole, Jimmy Z. Zavala on horns, and Ross Locke on percussion.