In 1996 a blues guitarist from Dallas named Tutu Jones released a disc called "Blue Texas Soul" which, in the opinion of Sound Waves Magazine (me), was the best blues record of the year. For "Staying Power" Tutu figured he’d go one step further by writing, producing, and arranging all the material. Now I don’t want to come across like an hysterical Oprah Winfrey talking about a new book by Toni Morrison, but what we have here is another flawless recording by Jones. This disc is so good that if anyone out there buys it and doesn’t like it, see me and I will personally refund your money.
Jones, who obviously understands when he has a winning formula, has kept the same musicians for "Staying Power" that he used for "Blue Texas Soul." Back is Linny Nance on keyboards, Carl "HG" Caldwell on bass, and Brent Nance on drums. Actually Nance drums on about half the songs and Tutu does the drumming on the rest of the cuts. The ever popular Memphis Horns (Andrew Love & Wayne Jackson) are back again giving the music a rich, full sound. No other bluesman today, not even Robert Cray, make better use of the Memphis Horns than Tutu Jones. There’s tremendous chemistry between them.
The horns and the guitar simultaneously kick in on the opening tune, an upbeat soul-blues number, called "Daylight Caught Us Red Handed." This is followed by a more traditional blues song called "The Milkman Game." On this song Tutu’s expressive guitar moves front and center. A sweet, old-fashioned R & B song called "Can’t Leave Your Love Alone" finds Tutu’s wife Shiela singing background. The melodic "After Midnight", the first of two instrumentals, follows.
The disc is a mix of down home southern blues and soul music. Perhaps the most beautiful song is the tragically romantic "You Shatter My Heart." The Handy Awards have nominated Tutu in the past for best soul-blues artist. Just this tune alone should be enough for a certain nomination in 1999.
There’s been many great blues musicians that have come out of the state of Texas. From Gatemouth Brown, Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Z.Z. Hill, and Freddie King, to the Vaughan Brothers and Johnny Winter to name a small few. Tutu Jones already stands along side all of these giants. He IS the future of traditional Texas blues.
- Bill Harriman
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