We don’t know that the Bentonia style of blues would ever have been considered exactly popular, although folks were probably at least a bit more familiar with it back in the days of Skip James. Only a few others have really been known for the style, including the likes of Henry Stuckey, Jack Owens (who, along with James, was taught to play by Stuckey), and, in turn, an Owens protege by the name of Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, who was once thought to be the last living link to the Bentonia blues.
But like those others before him, the 78-year-old Holmes is determined to not let the style end with him, having spent the last five-plus decades helping to promote the blues through both his long-running Bentonia Blues Festival and as proprietor of Bentonia’s Blue Front Cafe, established by Holmes’ parents in the late-1940s and now believed to be the oldest operating blues club in Mississippi. Holmes frequently can be seen sitting in with acts playing the Blue Front, and has served as a mentor to younger musicians interested in the Bentonia style from near and far, including, for example, Bolton, Mississippi product-now-based-in-Canada Robert Connely Farr and another guy from up north in Rhode Islander Ryan Lee Crosby.
Back in June, we previewed the first single from Crosby’s new album At the Blue Front, recorded, of course, at Holmes’ Blue Front Cafe, with Holmes even sitting in on guitar and vocals for half of the tracks. We’re pleased to report that the rest of the album is just as excellent as that first single we shared with you, with Crosby and Holmes taking on traditional numbers such as the opening, slow-chugging “Going Away” (complete with train whistle and all) and the creeping “Hard Times”, “Slow Down”, and “Tell Me” in addition to the “Catfish” about which we previously told you, incorporating some new music and lyrics along the way, as well as original tunes from Crosby in the shuffling “I’m Gonna Change” with its particularly poignant guitar, a “Mistreating People” that delves even further into Skip James territory with Crosby’s falsetto vocals, and a bit more uptempo “I’ve Been Worried”.
Crosby’s 12-string guitar adds some beautiful depth to these songs alongside Holmes’ guitar, with the pair trading off on vocals for all but one of the numbers that feature Holmes, joined by Jay Scheffler on harmonica and Grant Smith on calabash and percussion.
We recognize that the haunting, hypnotic, often repetitive sound of the Bentonia blues may not be for everyone, but At the Blue Front makes for a great way to either check them out or scratch that itch, depending on your experience with the Bentonia blues, entwining the all-around gritty sound of a longtime master with the cleaner, more youthful vocals of a newcomer to nicely document the evolution of the subgenre.
If you like what you hear, you’ll also want to check out Holmes’ latest album, Bentonia Blues/Right Now, recorded at these same sessions and also featuring Crosby on 12- string guitar and Smith on calabash & percussion!