Hubert Sumlin – Jazz Standard (New York, NY)
What the hell would the leader of a glam/pre-punk band and a free-jazz guitarist be doing playing alongside Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s longtime guitarist, for a series of club dates? As it turns out, all three of them share stylistic ties: David Johansen covered Sonny Boy Williamson in the early days of the New York Dolls and recently fronted a roots group called the Harry Smiths, while guitarist James Blood Ulmer has taken up as a bluesman for his last few albums.
Sumlin himself made his name with Wolf for all of his Chicago recordings from the mid-1950s to the mid-’70s. After Wolf’s death in 1976, Sumlin made sporadic albums, including a 2000 disc with fans Eric Clapton and Keith Richards, but mostly did session work and gigged endlessly, carrying on Wolf’s legacy more than any of his former bandmates.
For a mostly sold-out four-night stand in Manhattan (with two shows nightly), Sumlin seemed to feel his age (76) after battling off lung cancer for the last few years. Appearing in a sharp black suit with a fedora, he remained seated for the show, playing to an appreciative middle-aged crowd. Johansen, decked out in bifocals and a leather jacket, squatted next to him, though he’s enough of a showman that his mannerisms and facial expressions still made him entertaining to watch, especially as he sang to Hubert and acted out “I Ain’t Superstitious”. Johansen doesn’t possess Wolf’s deadly yowls, but he has a good bluesy growl and added some fine harp playing to “Little Red Rooster” (which he worked up into a frenzied pace with the band) and “300 Pounds Of Joy” (even if he doesn’t look the part). Sumlin was more low-key in his playing, sounding jazzy and occasionally getting overshadowed by bandleader/guitarist Jimmy Vivino (from Conan O’Brien’s house band).
Business picked up mid-set with the arrival of Ulmer, who applied his wobbly wail and funky guitar to “I Just Want To Make Love To You” and his own tune “Katrina”. Sumlin contributed a sweet, sad solo to the later song. He added dirty and rocking breaks to John Lee Hooker’s “Crawlin’ King Snake”, played wild leads on “Killing Floor”, and traded riffs with Johansen’s harp on “Who’s Been Talking”. Organist Brian Mitchell also got in some ghostly leads as Johansen kept calling out for him to solo.
When Sumlin sang “I’m Leavin’ You” near the end, expressive as his pipes are, it was obvious why he was known better as a guitarist as he bounced riffs between Vivino and Ulmer in a triple-ax showdown. By the end of the hour-long, twelve-song set, the old blues master was thanking the crowd, saying that he’d like to play more. Having finished half of an eight-show stand, he’d soon be able to prove himself again, and Wolf would live another night.