Pinetop Perkins + Willie “Big Eyes” Smith - Jazz Alley (Seattle, WA; May 18-19, 2010)

It goes without saying that Mississippi Delta and Chicago Blues serve as two cornerstones in the foundation of American popular music. Delta Blues were first recorded in the 1920s with Chicago Blues following shortly thereafter. The major differences between the two are that the Chicago style is electrified and generally faster than that of the Delta.

Pinetop Perkins, who is nearing his 97th birthday in July, is believed to be the oldest touring Delta bluesman. He started playing the blues, mostly piano, in the late twenties and has had so much fun he hasn’t stopped since. Willie “Big Eyes” Smith affectionately calls Pinetop “The Man From the Last Supper.” Willie is a Chicago-by-way-of-Arkansas bluesman who has had quite a career himself. He is an award-winning drummer, accomplished harmonica player, and vocalist. Pinetop and Willie were both longtime members of Muddy Waters’ band.

In this day and age, it is getting rarer and rarer to witness live performances of blues musicians with direct, first-hand ties to the Delta and Chicago scenes. This is exactly what took place at Dmitriou’s Jazz Alley in Seattle two nights in a row. Pinetop Perkins, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and the rest of the band convinced the audience they were witnessing something legendary, something special, by schooling them in the blues one song at a time.

This was the first show I had the privilege to see at Jazz Alley. I arrived early because I wasn’t sure what the seating arrangement was like. I entered and took a perfect seat at the bar with a full view of the stage. Imagine my surprise when I sidled up to the bar and was seated next to the band, who were just hanging out and enjoying a drink before the show.

Shortly after 7:30 the band took to the stage with “Little Frank” Krakowski on guitar, Bob Stroger on bass and ”The Amazing” Jimmi Mayes on drums. They started off slow with an instrumental blues number played to perfection.

Throughout the night, everyone on stage (except Krakowski) took their turn at the mic. What he didn’t say through the microphone, he said through his flawless fretwork instead.

First up on the mic was Jimmi Mayes. “I had the privilege to play with a great young bluesman. His name was Jimmy Reed,” Mayes said as the band broke into Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City.”

Bob Stroger took over vocal duties and declared “It’s gonna be a party tonight!” He sang on the next two numbers, even singing half of one song without the microphone, intimately to the audience, but loud enough that everyone could hear.

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith was introduced and took the stage, instantly upping the ante with masterful harmonica and energetic vocals. The set featured selections from Willie and Pinetop’s new album, Joined at the Hip. “Gambling Blues” is a traditional Delta-style song showcasing Willie’s harmonica, while “You’d Better Slow Down” was a faster Chicago-style number. Willie and the band kept it up-tempo and fun. Not only was the audience having fun but the audience could see the band were truly enjoying themselves as well. Next, Willie broke out the autobiographical “Born In Arkansas,” which told of his growing up there and his journey up to Chicago.

They never neglected to play the classics, including Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Eyesight to the Blind.” The song featured another great harmonica solo from Willie along with his powerful vocals and some precision guitar work once again from Little Frank.

Willie then proudly introduced Pinetop as he rounded the audience to take his place upon the piano bench. The rest of the band started out playing softly at the beginning of “Chicken Shack” to spotlight the still-dexterous fingers of Pinetop tickle the ivories and bring the piano to life. The band returned to full volume to close out the song as a fun, juke-joint romp.

The band kept the tempo up with the energetic “Down in Mississippi” from the album Pinetop Perkins and Friends. Pinetop belted out the lead vocals while the rest of the band provided the backing vocals in a fun sing-along style.

“Got My Mojo Working” was one of the many highlights of the evening. It was a high-energy, rocking rendition featuring Pinetop and Big Eyes trading vocals back and forth.

“The ladies call me Pinetop Perkins, some call me the grindin’ man,” Perkins stated on “Grindin’ Man.” It was the perfect song to showcase his original style of blues piano playing.

After this song, Pinetop left the stage and Willie and the band closed out the show with “I Would Like to Have A Girl Like You.”

Jill and I were fortunate enough to return the second night and meet the majority of the band before the show. I exchanged hellos with Pinetop, Jill captured some fantastic backstage images, and I was able to ask Willie a couple questions. His nickname Big Eyes? It was given to him by Muddy Waters one day when Muddy realized Willie was the only band member without a nickname. “We’re gonna have to call you something,” Waters said.

As for his new album with Pinetop, Joined at the Hip, Willie said “Whatever Pinetop wants, goes.”

We also had a chance to quickly meet and speak with “The Amazing” Jimmi Mayes, who made sure to tell us to check out an album called First Rays of the New Rising Sun. Yes, he played drums on a couple Jimi Hendrix tracks.

The set the second night was similar to the first. One highlight was “Walkin’ Down the Highway,” off of the new album. It featured another amazing, technically perfect solo from the guitar of “Little Frank” Krakowski and a mean harp solo from Big Eyes. Little Frank’s solo was so hot that Willie jokingly had to cool him off by waving a towel. Also, halfway through the set the band brought local harmonica master Lee Oskar up on stage, setting up dueling harmonicas with Big Eyes. The two-harmonica lineup added yet another dimension to the music.

Two nights at Jazz Alley with Pinetop Perkins and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and it’s still not enough. These two nights were definitely something special to all those lucky enough to attend. The music was exhilarating, the history was fascinating and the band members Jimmi, Bob, Frank, Willie and Pinetop were a class act. Thank you, gentlemen. You make the blues a heck of a lot of fun.

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