THE JIMMYS
LIVE FROM TRANSYLVANIA
AT THE SIGHISOARA BLUES FESTIVAL
BROWN COW PRODUCTIONS BCP 004
The Jimmys are a high-octane blues band from Wisconsin that employ a full horn section and come at you like vintage Motown, and, for us, more in the vein of Louis Jordan at his rowdiest. Jimmy Voegeli is the leader, on keys and vocals, with Perry Weber on vocals and guitar, John Wartenweiler on bass, Mauro Magellan on drums, Darren Sterud on trombone, and Pete Ross on sax. These guys went deep in the heart of Romania to the Sighisoara Blues Festival on March 28, 2015, to record a killer live show, aptly-titled “Live From Transylvania.” Six band originals and four covers make up the ten cuts, and everybody had a helluva good time laying this one down!
These guys have won multiple Wisconsin Music Awards, and sure know how to work a crowd. They lead off with an introductory instrumental, “Jacqui Juice,” and everyone takes a solo, with Perry getting in some fine B. B.-inspired licks. “Love Will Find A Way” is a Fifties-ish rocker driven by Jimmy’s piano and the horns, and the band hits a Stax groove on Sir Mack Rice’s “Cold Women With Warm Hearts.” Perry turns Freddie King’s “Lonesome Whistle Blues” into a smoldering, seven-minute slow-blues burner over Jimmy’s vocals, and they close the proceedings with another perennial favorite, a rousing “Ophelia.”
We had two favorites, too. “You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore” was written by an old friend of Pete’s, Jim Liban, and its pace is decidedly frenetic and the guitar work is, well, “Berry-licious!” And, another band original rocks just as hard, set over a rhum-boid boogie beat, “I Gotta Lose That Woman before I lose my mind!”
The Jimmys dedicated this set to Candye Kane. She played one night earlier, and put on a monster show, even tho her body was ravaged by the cancer to which she would sadly succumb on May 6, 2016. The fellows were captivated by her spirit, and “Live From Transylvania” remembers her joyful contributions to blues music and her fans all over the world. Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.
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