Memphis Heat

Born in Memphis, Tennessee on September 3, 1915, Peter Chatman . through recordings made in Chicago for Okeh Records, had become famous as Memphis SI im the Barrelhouse Pianist before he reached the age of 3D. He first visited Chicago when he was 16, having decided that he wanted to see the world and that the only way he could do i t was by hoboeing around on freight t r s i n s . He stayed in Chica-go exactly fourteen d ay s . Whereas Chicago was more eventful than Memphis, it sometimes became a li ttle too eventful for comfort crime and misery were the keys to the Windy City in the early Thirties. Memphis Slim's life is a story of s ur-v i v e l « through all the changes that music underwent in the 35 years since he has been playing piano professionally. Here, we have something really special Memphis Slim recor- ding with the Canned Heat group - Henry Vestine and James Shane on guitars, Joel Scott l+i Ll . who takes over the singing from Memphis Slim on "Five Long Years", Richard Hite or Antonio de la Barreda on b a s s , and Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra on drums together with the most famous horn-section in the USA. James Mitchell, Wayne Jackson, Ed Logan, Andrew Love and Jack HaIe are the Memphis Horns, and they give these recordings a richness that is seldom heard on a modern Blues album; to hear them filling out "Memphis Heat" is areal pleasure. Made in 1973, this album features Memphis Slim's piano and strident vocals, but the other musicians have contributed enormously to make the record "hot". It is difficult to single out any one musician for special praise, so suffice it to say that this album is best heard as a group effort, one on which the fusion of piano and horns with one of the finest rock groups to have an understanding of the Blues produces the real ";"Memphis Heat".