Dr. Wu and Friends
“Texas Blues” Project
Volume 1 Fort Worth Artists
Fort Worth has a proud history of contributions to the blues. Sadly (and unfairly) often overshadowed by its flashier big brother,
Dallas, Fort Worth never gets discouraged or gives in. Instead, it cultivated its twangy guitar focused blues in a hundred tiny, back
alley bars that have come and gone over the years.
Jim Ashworth and Bryan Freeze understand this. Texas Blues Project is the outcome of over 30 years of friendship between the
two, co-writing over 200 songs in a myriad of genres including rock, country and blues (11 of those songs appearing on this CD),
and playing in bands in many of the now infamous Ft. Worth bars of the 1960’s. Aware of the plethora of talent available in Cowtown,
Ashworth and Freeze have brought together many of the most notable musicians in the area – Buddy Whittington, Red Young, Danny
Cochran, Mouse Mays, Stephen Bruton and Rollo Smith, to name but a few. The mix is complete – no musician appears on all 12 tracks,
although vocalist Charlie Bassham and Freeze on guitar come the closest, making appearances on 11 cuts. Buddy Whittington provides
the knowing vocal delivery on the other track, a Lone Star Beer soaked version of “Jacksboro Highway,” a most fitting cover for this
collection.
Big, loud guitars, pounding drums, thumping bass lines and growling vocals dominate the disc. All the songs have a “boys night
out” swagger to them. (Maybe because out of the over 20 musicians featured here, there’s not one woman.) This is Saturday night,
beer drinking, dancing with sawdust on the floor music. Not a collection for blues purists, although there are a couple of cuts here
they would appreciate. But mostly this is blues for the working folk, which is where, if the blues purists care to remember, blues
came from in the first place.
Ashworth and Freeze sum that up perfectly in the ending song “Nothin’ Like Texas Blues” – ‘I learned the blues in Texas, playing
in a rock and roll band.’ Just like a whole lot of the rest of us. Luckily for us, Texas Blues Project is where it took them. And the cover
says “Volume 1” because they know over in Ft. Worth there’s a lot more blues to come.
- Blue Lisa -
Southwest Blues CD Review - October 2007
Current Reviews - 2007 Reviews - available at our store
