Jay Willie & James Montgomery

Cadillac Walk

Zoho Music

Connecticut based Jay Willie is the frontman for The Jay Willie Blues Band first formed in 2001 with Bob Callahan and Bobby T. Torello.  They are a Texas styled blues band playing both traditional and contemporary blues. The JWBB released their debut recording in 2011 with former Stevie Ray Vaughan bassist Tommy Shannon. In 2013 they signed with Zoho Music. This is Jay Willie’s sixth album for Zoho the last being JWBB’s “Jay Walkin’” released in 2017.

“Cadillac Walk” is a collaboration with singer and harmonica ace James Montgomery who formed The James Montgomery Band while attending Boston University. He released his debut LP “First Time Out” on Capricorn Records in 1973. Montgomery has toured with the Colwell-Winfield Blues Band, Aerosmith, The J. Geils Band, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, The Steve Miller Band, The Allman Brothers and The Johnny Winter Band among others. He has also played with everyone from Matt “Guitar” Murphy to Muddy Waters and B.B. King. His last recording was 2013’s “From Detroit…To The Delta” with special guests Winter on slide, and harp master James Cotton. This is Montgomery’s 17^th recording.

Willie states “I felt there was a musical compatibility with our tastes in music and mutually respected artists, past and present. In 2016, I asked Bobby (who also toured with Winter along with Montgomery) to contact James to see if James would front our band for an upcoming performance scheduled in Hartford…what a thrill it would be to have a blues legend and frontman that all of the band honored and had a strong mutual respect for. I was surprised and overjoyed that James agreed, and it was a great show and wonderful experience”.

The band on “Cadillac Walk” includes Producer Jay Willie, guitar, slide and vocals; James Montgomery, harmonica and vocals; recording engineer Paul Opalach, bass, lap steel, keys and simulated horns; and Bobby T. Torello, drums. The backing vocalists are Lee Ann Lovelace and Kyle Mangold.

Included are newly arranged versions of nine selected covers. The band opens with the Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller written “Three Cool Cats”, the flipside to The Coasters “Charlie Brown” in 1959, and Willie and Mangold harmonize. The title track, “Cadillac Walk”, was popularized by Mink Deville in 1977. “Neighbor, Neighbor” was written by Huey P. Meaux, owner of Crazy Cajun Publishing, and an R n’ B hit single for Jimmy Hughes on the Fame Record label in 1966. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was the Rolling Stones mega-hit in 1965, and this version is sung by Montgomery who plays some fine harp as Willie solos on guitar. Willie knows that Montgomery is proud of growing up in Detroit and Montgomery sings again on “Detroit Blues” first waxed by Tampa Red (Hudson Whitaker) in 1945; Montgomery gets that high reedy sound on his harmonica. “Give Me One Reason” was a 1995 hit for singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman and it propelled her career. “Eatin’ Dry Onions” was a 1966 single for inspirational author singer/songwriter and harp player Willie Cobbs on Soul Beat Records. “I’m Yours and I’m Hers” and “Mean Town Blues” are both from Johnny Winter, originally recorded on different labels in 1969, and two more of my favorites.

The only original, co-written by Jay Willie and Paul Opalach, is the instrumental “Montgomery Boogie” and the band’s performance commemorates this outstanding album.

Richard Ludmerer