Consumer Guide Album

Super Black Blues Volume II [BluesTime, 1970]
On the first volume T-Bone Walker, Joe Turner, and Otis Spann joined an extraordinarily mellow studio jam that found all three in good humor and good voice--an unique document. This live sequel is a solid sampler, blues one step closer to jazz than Muddy Waters or B.B. King (who emcees). Turner and Cleanhead Vinson do their standards with a one-man horn section; Walker and Leon Thomas work with a combo that includes congas and bongos. Thomas is something of a ringer, but he certainly sounds a lot more earthbound here than with Pharoah Sanders. Recommended to blues fanatics, blues novices, and anyone lucky enough to find it in a bargain bin. B+