This is some rare footage! Charlie Musselwhite and a red-hot band at the Chicago Blues Festival in 1981, with a cameo by Big Walter Horton. Horton does one slow blues, playing in first position and being overshadowed by CM in third position. Not a wholly satisfying performance. Then Walter sits down on a chair stage center and starts a great A-harp (I believe; I'm tracking it by ear) crossharp boogie, solo--and then..........Well, you'll see. Tell me what happens!
And Joe L.: who are the other musicians? Guitarist is hot, sax is hot, drummer is kick-ass.
Musselwhite doesn't think Big Walter is in good enough shape to continue, so he shakes Big Walter's hand, leans over and says something like, "Hey, Shakey, thanks for coming, we'll get together after I'm done here."
But Big Walter doesn't get the message and the awkward scene that follows is edited out.
Indeed, Walter isn't in great shape, for whatever reason. I think it puts a bit of perspective on the situation when you consider Walter passed away within months of this performance. There are better recordings, made in the previous year(s)- such as the 1980 album where he is backed by Sugar Ray, Ronnie Earl, Mudcat Ward & Ola Dixon - that perhaps serve as a better swansong for Horton. ---------- www.myspace.com/markburness
I wasn't that impressed with the band. They sound kind of over-stimulated, although everybody but the guitar settles down somewhat after Horton comes out.
A wonderful audio documentary of Big Walter's later years is Bocce Boogie:LIve 1978. This was recorded during Walter's partnership with Johnny Nicholas and features Ray Norcia, Ronnie Earl, and Ted Harvey. It's a very relaxed groovy set recorded at the Boccee Club in Westerly RI as part of party for Johnny's brother's, George, wedding rehearsal party. BW's time with these guys in New England were his finest during his later years. He use to play pretty regularly with these guys and he was as comfortable with them as they were simpatico with him.
While the recording is a decidedly lo-fi affair, the performance quality makes up for it. A interesting add for any Big Walter fan. If its high quality polish you are looking for, Walter's Fine Cuts is a great record.
BW looks pretty played in this video. I love Charlie, and his bands's boogie, but there is nothing extraordinary about this performance.
Last Edited by on Dec 09, 2012 3:43 PM
The band are the Dynatones, in more recent years drummer Walter Shufflesworth has recorded with Gary Smith and plays on RJ Mischo's "West Winds Blowin'" CD.
Here's a track from Curtain Call, a live album Charlie & the Dynatones recorded the year following the Chicagofest video...
It also has great versions of Christo Redentor & Comin' Home Baby.
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Last Edited by on Dec 10, 2012 1:41 AM
Prior to using The Dynatones, Charlie had a great band that I saw several times with Tim Kaihatsu on guitar and Skip Rose on piano, it's unfortunate that it wasn't that band here. Often CM's bands have been heavy on the rock and light on the swing IMO. My favorite Musselwhite album was "Times Gettin Tougher Than Tough" recorded with Jimmy Witherspoons band.
Last Edited by on Dec 10, 2012 2:03 AM
The backing band is the Dynatones. They were based out of San Francisco. Walter Shufflesworth is the drummer. Rick Welter is the guitarist. Ray Arvizu played saxophone. I haven't seen Walter in a while. The other two guys passed away. Lots of great musicians have passed through the Dynatones.
While Walter may not have been at the top of his game, this was shortly before he passed away and was obviously quite frail.
There were a number of these shows at Chicagofest which were recorded and broadcast on TV. These were outdoor live performances recorded at Navy Pier. I had a copy of this and the Muddy Waters show on VHS tape. I wore them out trying to figure out the basics of harp playing back then.
