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Adam Hall guest stars with German Rhythm & Blues outfit Bluesin' The Groove on Mess Around . An album of fine quality R&B replete with a heavy dose of blues, spiced with a pinch of jazz, by a four-piece combo.
Awarded Best National (German) Blues Album for 2013 by Bluesnews!
Available from Timezone Records
Also available via digital download on iTunes | AmazonMp3
“When Adam Hall, a young singer and trumpeter from Australia, returned to Europe in 2012 little did he know what would come out of his trip. A year before he had first been taken there by a friend, US R&B sax star Big Jay McNeely, who told him he should meet a German blues pianist by the name of Christian Rannenberg. Big Jay had fond memories of touring and recording with Christian since the 1990s. In late May 2012 Adam was met by Chris and hosted by a sax player by the name of Tommy Schneller.
It’s hard to imagine that the place where that happened is not Berlin, Hamburg or Munich, but a small city called Osnabrueck. Actually that was not purely by chance as Osnabrueck has long been hailed as “Germany’s blues capital” for being a fertile breeding ground for many of this country’s blues and R&B musicians, a fact that has much to do with the musicians I’m talking about.
While jamming with Bluesin’ The Groove, Adam Hall quickly recognised their mutual love for the rich fields of vintage R&B ranging from Atlantic Records-style vocal groups to the peculiar and vital heritage of New Orleans music. A few gigs together proved to be successful and well received. Promptly they decided to seize the opportunity with both hands to make a record.
What these musicians cut in two days at a studio in Osnabrueck should be seen as a definitive example for contemporary small band Rhythm and Blues.
A CD without exception full of fine quality R&B replete with a heavy dose of blues, spiced with a pinch of jazz, by a four-piece combo? Yes, that’s right, the sessions only involved a singing trumpeter, a sax player, a pianist and a drummer. To listeners wondering about the bass player: No, there isn’t any, just Christian Rannenberg’s left hand pounding out the bass runs.
Be assured, the sound is remarkably full and the musicianship throughout is exemplary. To show that good music is no subject to fashion they did a fine pick of mostly vintage R&B classics from the 1950s. They do justice to every number, combining the rollicking mood of R&B with easy charm in rhythmic relaxation and with overall a feeling of ‘joie de vivre’. It’s real music to satisfy deep-seated human needs in the fundamental realities we have to have every day. In Adam’s case this has probably a lot to do with party, as can be deduced from several tracks. ”
So grab a drink, settle back in a chair and enjoy some prime joyful R&B music, largely preferable to many productions with fastidiously rehearsed big arrangements.
Mess Around is available now.
