Lisa Mann's Northwestern All-Stars: "The Great Women In Blues" (2025) CD Review

Groove Now is a special concert series held in Basel, Switzerland, focusing on the blues. In 2023, bass player and singer Lisa Mann put together a great group of musicians from the Pacific Northwest to perform at that concert series, the theme of their show being "The Great Women In Blues." The group included Louis Pain on organ, Ben Rice on guitar, Jason Thomas on guitar, and Jimi Bott on drums. Joining that group was the incredible vocalist Terrie Odabi, based in Oakland. And now that show has been released as The Great Women In Blues. The disc contains just over an hour of music, so I'm guessing it's not the complete show. But I don't know. I also don't know if the songs have been rearranged at all, as the tracks fade out at the end, making that a possibility. What I do is the music on this disc is absolutely fantastic.

The album opens with "Wade In The Water," delivered a cappella by Terrie Odabi. She gives us just a brief, but wonderful and captivating, taste of the song, then tells the audience a bit about the music. She also sings a bit of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," and talks about what those songs meant to the people singing them originally, how those songs helped. This track functions as an introduction to the night. Terrie Odabi then leads the band in a strong rendition of "I Sing The Blues," a song written by Earl Bridgeman and Philip Wootten, and performed by the great Etta James. The band jams here, and that jam features some particularly good work on guitar. It's great that the band gets opportunities to stretch out on several of the songs during the set. While there is a lot of wonderful stuff on guitar, it is Terrie's powerful, passionate vocal performance that is the driving force of this rendition. "I want to sing the blues for you, baby, all night long." And that leads to a bit of "Wang Dang Doodle," just the repetition of the words "All night long," which are included in the Etta James rendition, but here delivered in the way those words are sung in that Willie Dixon number. She ends by telling the crowd, "I want to sing the low-down, the low-down, the dirty, filthy, nasty, dirty blues for you." Oh yes!

"I Don't Hurt Anymore" was written by Donald Robertson and Jack Rollins, and recorded by country singer Hank Snow. That same year, it was recorded by Dinah Washington, who took it in a different direction and had a rhythm and blues hit with it. The version here was inspired by that Dinah Washington rendition, and features Lisa Mann on vocals. She delivers some excellent work, with a couple of playful touches. This track also contains some delicious work on organ, as well as some really nice stuff on guitar. That's followed by The Staple Singers' "Why? (Am I Treated So Bad)," which was the lead track from that group's 1966 album Why. These guys ease into it with a nice instrumental section, that spoken word part about trouble on the bus from the original recording being cut here. What we get instead is some captivating work on guitar, and then Terrie Odabi comes in, singing the title line. This is a very cool rendition.

Next up is Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "That's All," which was an adaptation of Washington Phillips' "Denomination Blues." These guys deliver an excellent rendition. "We gotta get more love and understanding/Every day of our lives/And that's all." No argument from me! This track contains some outstanding work on guitar, and another passionate vocal performance. That's followed by "Let The Juke Joint Jump," a song written by Vasti Johnson, and covered by Koko Taylor on her Force Of Nature album. "Say you want to party, have a good time." Oh yes, we do. And this song ought to be of some help in that endeavor, with its groove, and with its energetic vocal performance. Approximately halfway through the track, they bring things down. "I came to have a good time," Terrie tells the crowd. She gets the audience engaged, though it takes a bit of teasing and cajoling and prompting. Soon those folks are singing, "Let the juke, juke joint jump."

The song "5-10-15 Hours" was written by Rudolph Toombs, and originally recorded by Ruth Brown. Lisa Mann gets this one started on bass, and right away it's clear this band is going to have some fun with this song. The track features a delicious, sexy, raw vocal performance by Lisa Mann, and a wonderful lead by Jason Thomas on guitar. There is a playful spoken word section in the middle, in which Lisa tells the crowd, "I like the idea of making love for five, ten or fifteen hours, but you know what, it's just not practical." And then she sings, "Wont you give me five, ten, fifteen minutes of your love." That's followed by "Ball And Chain," which was written and recorded by Big Mama Thornton. The first version of this song that I heard was that by Janis Joplin, which was probably the same for a good number of people who are reading this. This rendition begins with some strong, expressive guitar work. And oo-wee, what a vocal performance! "Why you want to do these mean things to me/You know, you know I love you, baby/And I'm sick and tired of being in misery." The guitar is unleashed, allowed to fly and soar and tear into the fabric of our shared reality. This is a tremendous rendition.

"So Good To My Baby" was written by Rose Marie McCoy and Leroy Kirkland, and recorded by Big Maybelle. The band is swinging here, delivering a totally delightful version of the song. Things then get a bit mellower at the beginning of the Etta James song "I'd Rather Go Blind," a wonderfully soulful number. These guys give us such a great, powerful, moving rendition, certainly a highlight of the disc. The album concludes with Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle," which was teased a bit earlier. A lot of folks have covered this one, including Koko Taylor. The first version I heard was performed by the Grateful Dead. And like the Dead, the band jams here. "Did you have fun? Did you have a good time?" she asks the crowd. And she gets the audience singing "Pitch a wang dang," while she sings "All night long." That's a cool section. And the energy is fantastic after that. At the end, there are band introductions.

CD Track List

1. Wade In The Water
2. I Sing The Blues
3. I Don't Hurt Anymore
4. Why? (Am I Treated So Bad)
5. That's All
6. Let The Juke Joint Jump
7. 5-10-15 Hours
8. Ball And Chain
9. So Good To My Baby
10. I'd Rather Go Blind
11. Wang Dang Doodle

The Great Women In Blues was released on May 23, 2025 on Jay Ray Records.