blues in church, blues in church

March 24, 2007 performance review by Ronald K. Baker

A cold rain didn't seem to dampen spirits Saturday night as close to three hundred faithful and curious showed up for the guitar wizardry of Albert Cummings IV. I have to admit I was among the latter group having previewed Cummings new CD "Working Man's Blues" online. Would this concert fly in Pittsfield? Was this guy any good? Would I enjoy myself? Well two out of three ain't bad.

Cummings took the stage unannounced with his accompanists, Aaron Scapin on drums and Dan Broad on bass. Immediately the sound of the Fender Guitar blasted forth from the stage which, I guess, doubles as an altar. I have to believe the choir doesn't suffer from the same sound problems that Cummings group encountered in the cavernous cathedral of wooden church pews and vaulted stained glass windows. It was like getting two guitars for the price of one. You got the first blast of the guitar from the amp and then a second dose as the sound swirled around the high ceilings and walls. The music he was actually putting out was in and of itself impressive. Having it pass by you twice was unfortunate. Cummings is skilful at accompanying his own leads with a nice balance of chord licks that make you think you're hearing two players. But when you add the bounce you've got four or more guitars to sort out.

The bass was muddy and indistinct except during a bass solo when a bi-amp feature seemed to kick in. But the top end amp was on one side of the stage while the lower end was on the other. This made for a dichotomy or musical schizophrenia, if you will, that detracted from the excellent musicianship. The group should have been miked up with a soundman controlling the output.

The sidemen were steady and persistent. It's probably good that the drummer didn't realize how futile his efforts were. He may have packed up and gone home. His tenacious snare backbeat was the only sound that was able to compete with Cumming's massive wall of guitar sound. And at putting out that huge sound he was masterful. Every once in a while during a high powered improvisation he would bend strings together and flail at them with such a frenzy that his body would go rigid except for the blur of his strumming right hand. At this his fans in the audience would erupt in hoots and whistles along with applause. He looked a bit like he was being electrocuted but they loved it. He gave it to them several times.

And the group certainly did work. They segued from one selection to the next rarely pausing even for a sip of water. This went on for an hour and a half non stop. Once when they came to a group tacet and they all seemed to stop at once, often called "breaking it down," the audience almost fell forward having been braced against the backs of chairs for so long by the sheer force of sound coming from the stage. This also occasioned spontaneous applause. Why would people clap when you stop in the middle of a song? Whatever...

Cummings deserves credit for making a trio sound like a much larger group. His voice was strong and gymnastic. He did not try to sound overly black as some white blues singers do. However, he did not sound particularly authentic either. His songs mainly came off as guitar solos that had words added rather than songs that had guitar solos in them. Of course the lyrics were mostly barely discernable in that sound mix. I found none of outstanding note or import. I guess when a fairly well off white guy quits making a terrific living building and designing kitchens to sing about a cold empty bed, that's what country music is for. But go ahead Albert!

The group was cordially received by the audience. But it was not a slam dunk from what I could detect. There was a solid core of devotees who would always scream for the razzle-dazzle as some do for piano glissandos of dubious technical merit yet often wildly popular. Albert Cummings strove to alter the standard 12 and 16 bar blues pattern with extensive variations. But it was still a whole night of "blues."

Owing to the threat of wintry weather and having slaked my curiosity, I left the session before their acoustic set. I heard about that the next day. I wish I had stayed to hear it. I'm sure bringing the bass and drums into their proper balance could only have enhanced the rather formidable presence on the stage that is Albert Cummings.