Lil’ Jimmy Reed and Ben Levin - Back To Baton Rouge

LIL' JIMMY REED WITH BEN LEVIN - BACK TO BATON ROUGE TRADITIONAL BLUES LABEL: NOLA BLUE RELEASE DATE: MAY 19, 2023 Bluesmen Lil’ Jimmy Reed and Ben Levin are kindred spirits at opposite ends of the career spectrum with 23-year-old Levin in the sunrise of his and 85-year-old Reed in his sunset and yet they have discovered a wonderful synergy working together on material they both hold dear - “down home blues.”

 

Their new ten-song set, Back To Baton Rouge, pays homage to the region where Reed (born Leon Atkins in Hardwood LA) grew up and earned his moniker Lil’ Jimmy Reed as a teenager playing guitar and harmonica on the Chitlin Circuit. Levin is a rising star in the blues world from

Cincinnati, who has modeled his piano playing after the authentic sound of his heroes such as Professor Longhair, Pinetop Perkins, Otis Spann, and Ray Charles since he began playing professionally at 15. The pair came together for a track on Levin’s 4^th album, Take Your Time, and an instant bond was created. 

The duo recorded five covers and five new originals in WVXU studios, Cincinnati OH, with Levin’s father guitarist, Aron Levin, bassist Walter Cash Jr. and drummers Ricky Nye and Empress of blues drums, Miss Shorty Starr. Naturally, the album begins with a Jimmy Reed tune from the 50’s “Down In Virginia,” an easy shuffle that transports us back to the fateful night Atkins earned his stage name. Ben Levin was so inspired by the moniker story that he co-wrote with Lil’ Jimmy “They Call Me Lil’ Jimmy,” as a biographical blues showcase, which is delivered with pride. The tongue twisting “Wish You Wouldn’t” has Reed and Levin trading solos over a knee-deep groove. Jimmy plays an icy lead over the boogaloo beat on the salute he wrote for his newfound friend’s hometown “Cincinnati’s The Place To Be,” and the Levin’s followed suite fashioning the title track “Back To Baton Rouge,” for Reed as an authentic Fats Domino styled Louisiana R&B number. 

It’s said rock ‘n’ roll was invented when piano players “straightened out” the Boogie Woogie and drummers followed their lead. One of those pioneers was Joe Liggins of the Honey Drippers, who Ben and Jimmy acknowledge in a faithful arrangement of “In The Wee Wee Hours.” The slow burning “Engine Light” is another collaboration from likeminded souls, who understand the complexities of a deep groove. Jimmy Reed’s 1965 single, “I’m The Man Down There,” may have been a response to Elmore James’ hit “One Way Out,” and the fellas play the Big Boss Man twobeat convention with conviction and fire. A chirping lead guitar kicks off the slinky “A String To Your Heart,” a deep cut from Reed’s Vee-Jay Records catalog. Everyone stretches out on the album finale, “Mailbox Blues,” paying more homage to Baton Rouge’s favorite son Slim Harpo. 

To date Lil' Jimmy Reed has performed in more than forty countries around the world. Back To Baton Rouge should take him to even more amazing destinations and experiences in his sunset years.Rick J Bowen 

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Betsie Brown, Blind Raccoon, betsie@blindraccoon.com