More Iowa beef. Old-time blues ooze from the very bones of Patrick Hazell on Blue Blood, who uses naught but Hohner Marine Band harps and a 1916 grand piano with the genuine plinky, honky-tonkin' tone you never hear anymore.

14 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Harmonica Blues, JAZZ: Boogie-Woogie

Show all album songs: Blue Blood Songs


Details:
Patrick Hazell is an incredible performer whether it be on the piano, harmonica or belting out an emotional Blues piece. For, Blue Blood, Patrick Hazell brings back Blues music at it's best. No studio gimmicks, just raw roots emotion-filled Blues presentations of the highest songwriting quality make up the contents of the album. Though some of the songs leave a bit to be desired in sound recording quality, this is quickly overlooked with the high quality instrumental performances and magnetic melodies. A great example of a perfect and charismatic performance is found on the instrumental, "Easy Time Blues". For, "Easy Time Blues", one finds Hazell presenting an exhilarating slow Blues, solo piano performance. The complex piano phrases that Hazell unleashes in the structure of this piece is sure to amaze even the most experienced musician.
On the other side of the spectrum, Hazell surprises all with a Soft Rock piece, "Unspoken Words". The song has an infectious melody which Hazell magically presents with his grand piano and harmonica. A true break from the Blues genre, this instrumental adds variety to the album while being extremely rich in entertainment value. Hazell does incorporate a drummer, C-Boy James, for some of the songs on the album. The use of the percussion is minimal and usually simplistic in structure. This lends to the overall raw quality which makes the songs so appealing to the Blues fan searching for meaty presentations.
What one finds on this album is a musician who is a master on the piano, with skills that are seldom heard today. Hazell is easily placed in the ranks among Big Maceo Merriweather, Johnny Jones, Otis Spann and Henry Gray. His harmonica playing is unique while showing influences of Little Walter, Big Walter Horton and Junior Wells. His vocal style is very much his own with an ability to captivate his audience while maintaining a soulful presentation well within the boundaries of the Blues genre.
If one is ready to re-examine the roots of Blues, Patrick Hazell has Blues bleeding through virtually every note on the album, Blue Blood.

Larry Belanger
Downeast Reviews
PO Box 703
Sabattus ME 04280