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Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne

An Old Rock on a Roll

(Stony Plain; US: 21 Jun 2011; UK: 21 Jun 2011)

Pianist Kenny Wayne may be known as the “Blues Boss”, but there’s nothing blue about his latest release, An Old Rock on a Roll. As the title might suggest, he’s mixing his blues background with rock ‘n’ roll. There’s a big influence of boogie-woogie in his playing, and the results sound like an update on the roots of rock.  It’s not hard to imagine him playing with Fats Domino or maybe Big Joe Turner (or even Jerry Lee Lewis, for that matter). Even though there’s nothing groundbreaking here, Wayne’s music doesn’t sound trapped in the past. It is indebted to tradition, but it’s got an updated sound (aided by Duke Robillard’s production), and the general exuberance throughout the disc keeps it feeling continually fresh.

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Justin Cober-Lake lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife, kids, and dog. His writing has appeared in a number of places, including Stylus, Paste, Chord, and Trouser Press. His work made its first appearance on CD with the release of Todd Goodman's first symphony, Fields of Crimson. He's recently co-founded the literary fly-fishing journal Rise Forms.


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