Nat Dove & The Neo-Classic Blues Ensemble
Real Texas Piano Blues
TCM356
Once upon a time, every decent juke joint had a piano in the corner that was wheeled out nightly when the piano player showed
up to play the blues, and the room filled with folks spending their meager pay and doing their best to forget the woes of everyday life.
Eventually, guitar took over as the instrument most associated with the blues. After all, in the often unstable life of a blues musician,
it was a hell of a lot easier to strap a guitar to your back and hop a train than to drag a piano down the road. Pity really, because piano
adds a dimension to the music that can’t be duplicated by other efforts. On Real Texas Piano Blues vocalist and pianist Nat Dove,
originally from Mumford, Texas, and his Neo-Classic Blues Ensemble remind us of that by delivering blues with a piano backbone
as the focus of the 12 songs (all Dove originals).
His first recordings as pianist and music arranger were on the original 1963 hit recording of Little Johnnie Taylor’s "Part Time Love",
and Nat also spent many years playing as part of the Original Hound Dog Band backing Big Mama Thornton. Dove’s career has spanned
the globe, including a period he spent living in Paris, France, during the 1970’s when he was appointed Composer-in-Residence at the
American Cultural Center. He also lived, played and taught in Japan. Eventually he returned to the states to serve as Professor of Blues,
Music, History and Culture at the University of California, Bakersfield and became the director of the Bakersfield Blues Preservation
Society.
The songs on Real Texas Piano Blues tell the stories of life in an entertaining, often comical way; classic piano lines carrying
straightforward messages. "Welfare System" gets to the center of the problem of today’s program – in the disguise of helping keep
a family together it often actually pulls them apart. "Has The World Gone Mad?" examines the mess we’ve made of Mother Earth.
Particularly resonating in today’s world where everyone wants to blame something else for the sorry state of their lives, "If Your Ship
Don’t Come" reminds us that if you’re not happy with how your life is, maybe it’s time to accept responsibility, take control and become
the master of your own destiny. "Wad Of Money" reminds us that although there are many things money can buy, true love is not one of
them. On Real Texas Piano Blues Nat Dove brings to the table world class boogie woogie piano blues for the soul.
- Blue Lisa -
Southwest Blues CD Review - February 2007
Current Reviews - 2007 Reviews
