NEW RELEASES - CHUCK BERRY, DUKE ELLINGTON, CHRIS CONNOR

CHUCK BERRY - SAN FRANCISCO BLUES

One of the weirdest Chuck Berry albums ever – and one of the greatest, too! The sound here is very different than the hard rockin Berry of the early days – and the record's got kind of a laidback, trippy, and slightly bluesy approach – one that has Chuck singing in these homey vocals we really love, and playing guitar with this kind of watery tone that's really unique – almost airy, but still with a bit of bite – and really quite hard to peg! Backing is relatively spare – electric and acoustic piano, rhythm guitar, bass, and drums – and the whole thing is very rootsy, with tracks that include "Your Lick", "Festival", "Bordeux In My Pirough", "My Dream", "Viva Rock & Roll", "Lonely School Days", and "Let's Do Our Thing Together".  Dusty Groove

DUKE ELLINGTON - ELLINGTON 65

Hey, we like this album – and if you don't, we're willing to fight about it! Sure, you might call it a sellout – as The Duke's playing arrangements of mid 60s pop tunes like "Fly Me to The Moon", "More", "The Second Time Around", "Blowin In The Wind", and "Never On Sunday" – but the sound is actually pretty darn hip, with a strong swing to the whole album, and a good groove that brings life into the songs on the set. The overall feel is like some of the hipper Basie backings at the time – very in the pocket playing, and short jazzy renditions of songs that we like in any form – but which come off here even more nicely with some real jazz touches from the Ellington group! ~ Dusty Groove

CHRIS CONNOR - WITCHCRAFT

A lovely side by Chris Connor for Atlantic, recorded not too long after her stint at Bethlehem – where she'd perfected an icy cool style of singing that's still to be matched to this day! The album features larger arrangements by Richard Wess – but still has a light jazzy feel, intimate in approach, despite the larger musical backings. Chris' voice is at once personal and removed – a razor's edge of emotion, repressing some impulses, and opening up surprisingly at other moments. Titles include "Skyscraper Blues", "The Lady Sings The Blues", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "When Sunny Gets Blue", "Just In Time", "Baltimore Oriole", and "How Little We Know".  ~ Dusty Groove