It is quite appropriate that one of
Steve Freund's albums is titled
"C" for Chicago. Although the singer/guitarist is a native New Yorker and presently lives in San Francisco,
Chicago blues is his specialty.
Freund used to live in the Windy City, where he was employed by heavyweights like
Sunnyland Slim and
Koko Taylor -- and it was where he recorded
I'll Be Your Mule in 2000. This CD was produced by guitarist
Dave Specter, a bluesman with strong
jazz leanings.
Specter (who also produced
"C" for Chicago) definitely knows his
jazz; he could spend hours telling you about the contributions of
Charlie Parker and
Thelonious Monk. And because some (though certainly not all) parts of
I'll Be Your Mule are
jazz-influenced,
Specter was the perfect producer for this CD.
Freund is especially
jazz-minded on
B.B. King's
"Fine Lookin' Woman," Big Bill Broonzy's
"Ramblin' Bill," and the instrumental
"Bill Reed's Blues." And yet, he isn't a
Jimmy Witherspoon type of artist, or a disciple of
Jimmy Rushing and
Joe Williams.
Freund is an electric Chicago-style bluesman whose roots are
Chess Records,
James Cotton,
Buddy Guy, etc. But that doesn't mean that
Freund (who wrote or co-wrote seven of the CD's 13 tracks) can't have some non-Chicago influences. Having a
Chicago blues orientation doesn't mean that he can't be influenced by
Texas blues (including
Albert Collins) or incorporate
jazz elements occasionally.
Freund doesn't have a great voice -- quite honestly, he's a better guitarist than singer. But he usually gets his points across, and while
I'll Be Your Mule isn't a masterpiece, it is a decent and sincere, if derivative, outing. ~ Alex Henderson
