Two good sets from Eddy Clearwater backed by the Jazz Club house band were somewhat marred by a bad mix which buried several of his vocals and left pianist Alan Youngblood almost inaudible at one side of the room. Nevertheless, Clearwater took only a short time to win over a packed audience. His approach to his music is perhaps best summed up by one of his own compositions, There's a Party at My House, and that is what he proceeded to host. Chicago blues is his bag, the most obvious of his influences being Chuck Berry and Otis Rush. Two fast numbers, I Wouldn't Lay My Guitar Down and Two Times Nine, were pure Berry right down to the duck walk, but the highlights were strong renditions of Rush's All Your Love and his own I Came Up the Hard Way, a minor key blues of a similar stamp. Clearwater growled his way effectively through Muddy Waters' Hoochie Coochie Man and played some fine economical solos. With blues half the trick is tone and although it took him a certain amount of experimenting with the controls on his guitar before he got one he was happy with, when he had it right the sound had authority. There was one blues pop tune, the catchy Love Being Loved By You, dedicated to his manager who also happened to be his wife, and the inevitable Sweet Home Chicago on which the band were perhaps a little looser than they should have been for such a hoary old chestnut. Generally speaking, for the first night and with minimal rehearsal, they held it all together well. Tony Fernandez on the kit provided his customary drive and Youngblood played several strong solos, as did guitarist Michael Johnson although as an accompanist he could have contributed more by playing less. The balance will presumably be sorted out, but one problem that will not go away is the leakage of sound into the room from a disco elsewhere in the building. During quiet passages this is a serious distraction for both audience and musicians. More soundproofing perhaps? Eddy Clearwater, The Jazz Club, July 16
