Reviewed by Ralph Jones

Music companies send Boise Blues Society promotional copies of newly released CD’s. These of course help promote sales and expose local societies to new material and artists, as well as reacquaint us with older performers. The two CD’s that are being reviewed this month were recently received by BBS and represent a resurgence of traditional blues.

Traditional blues are alive, well, and experiencing a new appreciation nationally and on the local front. Night Train and their outstanding representation of the blues, Boise, and traditional format is a good indication of this trend.

This brings us to the subject of the first CD for review:

"Match Box Blues" is a compilation of 14 traditional songs, on the Inside Memphis Label. If you are not familiar with David Evans, he is the author of Big Road Blues (1982) and has been recording and playing with many of the luminaries of the blues since the late 60’s. Evans’ early career began with his playing with Alan Wilson, a founder of Canned Heat. Educated at Harvard and UCLA, he became director of Ethnomusicology at the University of Memphis in 1978. This position led to study of blues music and over the past 30 years the "rediscovery" of many little known and forgotten artists.

This is David’s tribute to many of the "legends" of the early Memphis and Delta area. Blind Lemmon Jefferson, Leroy Carr, and Scrapper Blackwell are just a few.

The only real way to experience this marvelous music is to listen. You owe yourself the pleasure of this outstanding collection. So go buy this one and enjoy many hours of good, basic blues done by one of the stellar "now" performers.