RELEASE4D 30.4.2012
Pinetop Perkins was a three time Grammy Award winner and the beloved dean of blues piano players when he passed away last year, just four months shy of his 98th birthday. It is unquestionably a little slice of heaven for us to hear Pinetop once again on this previously unreleased after-hours set of masterful music. Heaven captures a beautifully intimate 1986 studio performance by Pinetop when he was "only" seventy three, and still at the peak of his powers. He performs solo on all but four tracks. The self-taught master pianist is in magnificent form, delivering thundering chords and glissandos, rolled chords, trilled notes, complex metrical substitutions, sly musical quotes - and of course his trademark lightly swinging boogie woogie. His strong, rough-edged voice conveys an authority that is complemented by a subtle playfulness and vulnerability. On this album, his vocals are supplemented by recently-recorded contributions from Willie "Big Eyes" Smith on "Sitting On Top of the World" (believed to be Smith's last recording) and Otis Clay, who captures the sweet agony of "Since I Fell For You."
Tracks: 1. 44 Blues 2. 4 O'Clock In The Morning 3. Relaxin' 4. Sitting On Top Of The World 5. Just Keep On Drinking 6. Since I Fell For You 7. Pinetop's Boogie Woogie 8. Ida B 9. Sweet Home Chicago 10. Pinetop's Blues 11. Willow Weep For Me 12. That's All Right