look: The Calvin Owens Show - I Ain't Gonna Be Yo' Dog No Mo' - Sawdust Alley, 2006 - BUY

listen:

Never Saw It Coming

Best Worst Day

Black Night

buy:

After being bandleader for B B king for twenty-one years, Calvin Owens is now in command of the cream of the crop when it comes to big band blues. His blues orchestra is second to none and if anybody is thinking about starting one should use Calvin's CD's as a class entitled: This Is How To Do It Right 101.

With nine different guest vocalists, no style gets overlooked from the blue-eyed soul of Tommy Castro to Trudy Lynn's smooth as silk to Calvin provides the perfect background to compliment any and all. Even rap has its moment with the rapped introduction to Gloria Edwards Handcuffed to the Blues.

The featured soloists include Tommy Castro (guitar) Hamilton Loomis (guitar), David Maxwell (piano), Guitar Shorty (guitar), Shelly Carroll (tenor sax), Dr. Michael White (clarinet), and a host of others, plus the trumpet and flugelhorn and vocals of Calvin Owens.

Bottom line is if you're looking for a big fat horn filled CD then look no farther. It just doesn't get any better than this.

(©) 2007, Tim Richards
BluesSource.com