Geoff Muldaur is not strictly a Blues player and singer..he plays other stuff as well as do most here, but when he sings Blues material there are few of any race that are his equal. He is also a highly accomplished guitarist . I had the pleasure of hearing him tonight at the Jalopy theatre in Brooklyn, he did two Walter Davis numbers with intricate Jazz chorded guitar parts that worked well in translating Davis' mood of lonesome menace from Piano to guitar. He did a version of Wild Ox Moan with one of the most beautiful falsettos I've ever heard. He played John Hurt's Chicken backed up by his two wonderful singer daughters Jenny & Clare Muldaur. What kind of voices do you get when you breed a Maria D'Amato with a Geoff Muldaur..Fucking great ones mate! He payed tribute to Levon Helm spoke about his time in Woodstock with Better Days, his band with Paul Butterfield, and sang a couple of Bobby Charles tunes which I've heard before, (Small Town Talk) I wish I could say I was a fan of Charles' music but I'm not ('cept for Walkin' to New Orleans) . He spoke about the time Charles dragged him off down a labyrinth of back roads till they came to a roadhouse with a sign saying "BLUES TONIGHT" and found that the bill consisted of Jimmy Reed and Lightnin' Hopkins. He also told the tale of dropping out of college at 18 moving to New orleans busking on Rampart St. and heading off to texas with four other guys and 5 brooms to sweep Blind Lemon's grave clean.
I was more than just disappointed that the usual circle of young Blues-Jug Band players that hang at Jalopy (you know who you are and I hope you're reading this you twenty-somethings) were MIA. Really dudes, you wouldn't even KNOW about Jug Bands if it weren't for Muldaur & Kweskin.
I was more than just disappointed that the usual circle of young Blues-Jug Band players that hang at Jalopy (you know who you are and I hope you're reading this you twenty-somethings) were MIA. Really dudes, you wouldn't even KNOW about Jug Bands if it weren't for Muldaur & Kweskin.