What are the highlights you like to hear while listening to the blues.  Is it scorching blues guitar riffs?  A very funky horn section or some sexy and sultry saxophone?  Good ol' boogie woogie piano or a lot of hot Hammond organ playing?  Strong rocking rhythm?  Outstanding, versatile vocals that knock your socks off?  Well, If you picked "all of the above", then SMILING JACK SMITH'S new disc "THIS BLUE BEFORE" will surely get you smiling like JACK.

 

    The musicians appearing on this excellent disc are: JACK SMITH, writer of all tracks, on vocals and guitar; DAVE VIDAL on guitar; MILES BLACK on piano, clavinet and B3; QUIQUE VILLAFANE on drums; KEN LISTER on double bass; MIKE HERRIOT on trumpet and trombone; MONIK NORDINE on baritone sax; PHIL DWYER on tenor sax. 

 

    On the very funky opening track it doesn't seem like JACK has too much to smile about - again!  After returning home and realizing his lady is no longer his, he gets a bad case of the "DEJA BLUES"....all over again.  This is a great track for introducing the listener to the band.  It features just enough nice work on each instrument to make you want to hear a lot more.

 

    "DON'T YOU BREAK MY HEART" opens slowly with PHIL getting real sultry on the tenor sax and the other horns providing him equally sultry backup.  As for the vocals, if there's such a course in music schools called "blues singing" this is the song they'd have to study.  Undoubtedly one of this discs best tracks.

 

    Unfortunately for JACK, and in spite of music being a comfort and whiskey dulling the pain,  "THE BLUES COME BACK AGAIN".  Another great track on which MILES gets it going, first on piano then again on the B3 and the horns are in a constant tight groove. 

 

    "I FOUND THE BLUES AGAIN".....something JACK seems to do a lot.....has several nice tempo changes, and when the tempo is up, it's way up.  MILES again rips it up on piano and KEN & QUIQUE provide some hot and rockin' rhythm. 

 

    "EL PESADO" is an all too short instrumental featuring three very nice leads from DAVE on guitar, MILES on organ and PHIL on tenor, while the rest of the band is cruising in a nice tight jam.  A few more minutes of this, I could have easily taken.

 

    One of my all time favorite vocalists is VAN MORRISON and on "SAVE MY LIFE" I would have sworn I was listening to him.  I always thought his style of delivering a song was incomparable - until now.  I'm stunned at how well JACK sung this song.  This one is all about the vocals.

 

    In addition to "WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND AGAIN" being very upbeat, it's also very uplifting.  It took ten tracks, but SMILING JACK is smiling again.  This is one of those very well written songs in which the lyrics should be lived - by everyone - rather than sung.  Even the musicians' solos sound happy. 

 

    On the title and closing track, JACK never felt "THIS BLUE BEFORE", and he sounds it.  Other than to use the word amazing, I can't even begin to describe the style of vocals on this track.  They're soft but very deep, partially being sung, partially being spoken and sometimes almost being whispered.  This seven minute track, which features some of the best blues guitar riffs heard on this disc and features an absolutely beautiful trumpet solo by MIKE, is another one of the discs best.

 

    With eight months and about 30 - 35 more reviews ahead of me, as of now, this is the one to beat if you're going to win the BLEWZZY.  Give JACK SMITH a look at www.smilingjacksmith.com and tell him the Blewzzman said he's got something for you to smile about.