Blue Moon Marquee - Bare Knuckles & Brawn

Album: Bare Knuckles & Brawn
Size: 93,2 MB
Time: 40:11
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Gypsy blues/Jazz
Art: Front, back

1. Big Black Mamba (4:33)
2. Smoke Rings for My Rider (2:39)
3. Fever Flickering Flame (3:43)
4. Hard Times Hit Parade (4:11)
5. As I Lay Dying (2:31)
6. High Noon (4:14)
7. The Red Devil Himself (3:14)
8. Big Smoke (3:10)
9. 52nd Street Strut (3:33)
10. Wayward (4:09)
11. Lost & Wild (4:08)

Upon reading the title Bare Knuckles & Brawn, from Canada’s Blue Moon Marquee, one might expect a CD full of hard-driving numbers that prove Saturday night’s all right for fighting. Imagine this reviewer’s surprise on finding eleven original songs that bring back the big-band sound of the 1940s, complete with horns, ragtime beats, and lead vocals reminiscent of Louis Armstrong’s. The lyrics also hearken to earlier days, expanding upon song names such as “High Noon,” “The Red Devil Himself,” and “52nd Street Strut.” Those who prefer their blues on the raunchier, meatier side won’t find much to chomp on, but those who like it smooth and hot will simply adore this album. It’s also great fuel for inspiration in quiet moments, meant to silence mental chatter and let one’s thoughts flow.

“This album, to me, represents a combination and evolution of our last records,” says front man A.W. Cardinal. “I believe it features some of our best recorded work, and we were able to do it with some of the best possible musicians.” Bassist and vocalist Jasmine Colette adds, “We recorded [it] in three days. I like all the grit and pulp with my music, so the warm sound of the tape made it come together. All the songs were written…in the last year of our travels, in relation to the air of the times, characters we meet, cities we walk in and the weather we feel.” Blue Moon Marquee currently makes their home in an island shack on the coast of the Salish Sea in British Columbia. Joining Cardinal and Colette are guest musicians Darcy Phillips on piano and Hammond B3; Jerry Cook on tenor sax, baritone sax, and clarinet; Jimmy “Hollywood” Badger on drums; Jack Garton on trumpet; and Paul Pigat on guitar for “The Red Devil Himself.”

“Big Black Mamba” starts things off, a unique meditation on the snare of fossil fuels: “I asked for water; she brought me gasoline. That’s the meanest gal I’ve ever seen. Big Black Mamba, you got me moaning low, dirty mis-treater from the stars of Texaco.” Up-tempo love ballads “Smoke Rings for my Rider” and “Fever Flickering Flame” follow, guaranteed to make even the dead rise from the grave and dance. Cardinal’s guitar is cardinal on both, a prime example of his instrument of choice conversing with listeners via musical notes. “Hard Times Hit Parade” slows things down, the perfect background music for a film noir scene. Dig Darcy Phillips on his Hammond and the melancholy horn solo, echoing in one’s ears like a night breeze.

“As I Lay Dying” contains the album’s title in a pithy piece of lyrics: “The world was built [with] bare knuckles and brawn.” A.W.’s vocals are at their Armstrong-iest here. Earworm “High Noon,” according to the band, “is a reference to Black Elk, a holy man of the Oglala Lakota people and the perseverance of Native peoples.” The next two tracks will make guitar lovers swoon, especially “Big Smoke” for traditionalists. “52nd Street Strut” is a rat-a-tat tribute to Billie Holliday, featuring Jasmine Colette’s velvety voice. “Wayward” and “Lost and Wild” close things out, with the final song wistfully bringing “What a Wonderful World” to mind. Blue Moon Marquee has demonstrated that their name should be in lights once more with the classic sound and big-band bravado of Bare Knuckles and Brawn! /Rainey Wetnight, Blues Blast Magazine

Personnel: A.W. Cardinal (vocals, guitar); Jasmine Colette (bass, vocals); Darcy Phillips (piano, organ); Gerry Cook (saxophone, clarinet); Jimmy “Hollywood” Badger (drums); Jack Garton (trumpet); Paul Pigat (guitar).

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Blue Moon Marquee - New Orleans Sessions

Album: New Orleans Sessions
Size: 89,0 MB
Time: 38:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2024
Styles: Blues/Jazz/Roots
Art: Front

1. Black Rat Swing (3:39)
2. Ain't Going Down (3:19)
3. Let's Get Drunk Again (3:48)
4. Shake It And Break It (3:08)
5. Trickster Coyote (2:43)
6. What I Wouldn't Do (5:42)
7. Red Dust Rising (3:36)
8. Saint James Infirmary (4:30)
9. Some Ol Day (4:22)
10. Got The Blues So Bad (3:35)

Hailing from the wilds of Alberta, Canada, A.J. Cardinal and Jasmine Collette (a.k.a. Badlands Jass) dubbed themselves Blue Moon Marquee ten years ago, merging musical talents as well as ideals. An apt moniker, because it, and the old-time-styled music that they present, sounds as blues cool as a smoky nightclub or a front porch under the stars. And fortunately, it arrives much more frequently than a blue moon might suggest. New Orleans Sessions is the sixth Blue Moon Marquee album, and on it, Cardinal and Collette have focused their natural grasp of everything that sashays, swings, skitters, and drags a lowdown tail over, on music made in New Orleans, and sounding like it.

The album was cut live off the studio floor at Big John Atkinson’s Bigtone Records in New Orleans in two afternoons one year apart. Besides Cardinal on guitar and vocals and Collette on bass and vocals, the band features pianist B.C. Coogan, sax player Danny Abrams, and either Nicholas Solnick or Brett Gallo on drums. Atkinson adds harmonica to two songs, the grungy original “Trickster Coyote” that Cardinal plays fitting, first-rate guitar through, and Lonnie Johnson’s more upbeat “Got the Blues So Bad.” Four of the ten songs are Cardinal/Collette compositions, the remainder blues nuggets from the early to mid-1900s. Everything blends seamlessly, a testament to the historic material chosen, the strength of Cardinal and Collette’s songwriting, and the legitimacy of the performances.

The album jumps right up on the snappy rhythms of Memphis Minnie’s “Black Rat Swing,” Collette singing with the sweet trill of Brenda Lee and more than a bit of bottom register soul folded in. The band shuffles gleefully, Coogan and Abrams standing out formidably on piano and sax. Cardinal sings like Tom Waits on a Howlin’ Wolf bender. Comingled with Collette’s singing, whether in call and response during Leadbelly’s “Ain’t Going Down,” or in unison on Bo Carter’s “Let’s Get Drunk Again,” their voices create a beautiful stir amid such raw music making. In a word, they are perfect together.

On “What I Wouldn’t Do,” an original lowdown ballad about being head over heels in love, Cardinal takes the lead alone, his emotion in gravel-pitted lockstep with the drama acted out by the band. Talk about real deal! Blue Moon Marquee’s previous album, Scream, Holler, & Howl, was awarded a Juno for Blues Album of the Year. They also swept the Maple Blues Awards, winning Album, Songwriter, Acoustic Act, and Entertainer of the Year. If the vibrant New Orleans Sessions doesn’t earn more of the same and then some, I’ll eat my voodoo top hat, peacock feather and all. /Tom Clarke, Making A Scene

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Blue Moon Marquee - Scream, Holler & Howl

Album: Scream, Holler & Howl
Size: 125,5 MB
Time: 54:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Blues/Jazz mix
Art: Front

1. Scream, Holler & Howl (3:54)
2. Thunderbird (4:34)
3. Hound Dog On A Chain (3:21)
4. Thick As Thieves (3:29)
5. Lowlands (4:09)
6. Come On Down (4:05)
7. Long Black Train (4:14)
8. Country Man (5:01)
9. My Wild Rose (3:26)
10. Medicine Man (4:08)
11. Old Alberta (4:23)
12. Red Dust Rising (3:52)
13. Another Night To Cry (5:53)

Canadian Roots Blues duo Blue Moon Marquee announce the release of their latest CD, Scream, Holler & Howl, on their own Blue Moon Marquee Music label. The new CD was recorded at Afterlife Studios.in Vancouver, British Columbia, and produced by the band, along with multi Blues Music Award-winner Duke Robillard and Erik Nielsen. Scream, Holler & Howl shines a bright spotlight on the prodigious talents of A.W. Cardinal (vocals and guitar) and Jasmine Colette (upright bass/vocals), along with guests Darcy Phillips (piano, Hammond organ); Jerry Cook (tenor and baritone sax); Matt Pease (drums); Paul Pigat (guitar); Bonnie Northgraves (trumpet); and Señor Erik (tambourine). Duke Robillard adds his stellar guitar work on several tracks, too. The album’s “Baker’s Dozen” 13 tracks include 11 original songs, plus two distinctive takes on songs written by the legendary Lonnie Johnson: “Another Night to Cry” and “Long Black Train.”

“To say A.W. and Jasmine are old souls is an understatement to say the least,” says co-producer and legendary guitarist Duke Robillard in the album’s liner notes. “They are poised for worldwide recognition in an amazing genre-bending ride through American blues and folk, gypsy jazz, Native American themes, jump blues, swing and more. These century-old traditions have been redefined and delivered in a new light here. They are astounding in their depth, groove and soul on this recording. Written, played, and recorded here in a heartfelt and natural old-school way for the world to hear, feel, dance, drink or be alone with. For me, working with them in the studio was inspiring and a re-confirmation of my own belief in the power of roots music. Special thanks go out to Afterlife Studios, with their long history of great recordings and real echo chambers, vintage gear, and great engineer Erik Nielsen, who converged magically with all these musicians to make some damn memorable music.”

Blue Moon Marquee writes and performs original compositions influenced by anything that swings, jumps or grooves. A.W. Cardinal (vocals/guitar) and Jasmine Colette a.k.a. Badlands Jass (vocals/bass/drums) have played for a vast gamut of crowds at jazz clubs, Lindy Hop dance halls, folk venues, blues haunts, hospitals, prisons, markets, motorcycle joints, dive bars, and prestigious festival stages.

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Blue Moon Marquee - Gypsy Blues

Size: 97,7 MB
Time: 41:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Gipsy Blues, Blues Jazz
Art: Front

01. Trickster Coyote (3:13)
02. Hoodoo Lady (2:21)
03. Saddle Sore (2:49)
04. Runaway Lane (4:04)
05. Pour Me One (2:26)
06. Double Barrel Blues (3:41)
07. Ain't No Stranger (4:51)
08. Spy Hill (3:55)
09. Tossin' and Turnin' (3:41)
10. Shading Tree (3:10)
11. Driftin' (2:24)
12. Gypsy Blues (4:56)

The latest from blues outfit Blue Moon Maruqee is an album in conversation with their previous recordings. On their previous album, Lonesome Ghosts, they began referring to their music as “Gypsy Blues.” Now they have a new album called just that. Gypsy Blues is even talking with Stainless Steel Heart — an album that was out when they were still called A.W Cardinal — in the form of redone versions of the album’s “Shading Tree” and “Driftin.'”

Hearing the new version of these new songs (the latter is now called “Driftin’ Blues”) alongside their first iterations is instructive in showing how A.W. Cardinal and Jasmine Collette’s music has changed. Cardinal now sings with a rough growl that adds a certain intensity to some of his songs, and his songs place a greater emphasis on bluesy electric guitar riffs. The original version of “Shading Tree” almost sounds like a folk song; on Gypsy Blues it gets particularly fearsome when Cardinal sings the line about a raging bull.

As per usual, Blue Moon Marquee makes plenty of use of the 12-bar blues—right off the bat, in fact, with “Trickster Coyote” and “Hoodoo Lady.” Both songs feature a fairly simple idea (attraction to an alluring but dangerous lady) but with the former featuring a morphing image and the latter a static one.

The band switches things up often enough that the album doesn’t become stale. “Pour Me One” is especially exciting; you can almost tell right away that the song will be shorter because Cardinal is singing and playing faster, as though he’s trying to sing the blues in a punk style. On the opposite end of the spectrum, “Ain’t No Hill” is nice and leisurely, with some lazy guitar licks slowly ushering the listener into a song with Collette on vocals.

If you’re on the lookout for fiery lyrics, look to “Runaway Lane” for brushes with death or “Double Barrel Blues,” where Cardinal implores you: “Gonna pull that trigger/Better pull it twice” and “Put your buckshot right in my side.” The easy bluesiness is the best part of their music; it never quite ventures into full on blues-rock, retaining a bit of folk and roots to make music that is simultaneously roaring and restrained.

Gypsy Blues

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