In the Mix

Not the Daniel Day Lewis kind, the James "Blood" Ulmer kind. New York Doll David Johansen invoked the title of P.T. Anderson's new movie in introducing Ulmer at a terrific show I caught on Saturday night at the Jazz Standard in Manhattan that was a dual tribute to Hubert Sumlin and Howlin' Wolf. That's Wolf, who died in 1976, on the right, and Sumlin, who's very much alive, on the left.

Wolf, of course, is one of the the three great W's that recorded for Chess Records in the 1950s and '60s, along with Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson. Sumlin was his right hand man, the guitarist who elegantly snarling lines were the backbone of Wolf standards like "Goin' Down Slow" and "Little Red Rooster," which were aped by British blues boys such as Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones.

Sumlin is a revered figure in blues circles, and the show at the Jazz Standard, billed as "Howlin' For Hubert," featured a fabulous band of well-dressed guys in hats (besides the hirsute Johansen) who were delighted to be on stage seated next to the man who once stood next to Wolf. Not only Johansen, and Ulmer, but also bassist Tony Garnier, who leads Bob Dylan's band, and Jimmy Vivino, who plays guitar in Max Weinberg's band on the Conan O'Brien show. The 76 year old Sumlin, with a feather in his fedora, was the nattiest among them.

Sumlin's never been much of a singer, though he handled himself fine on his one turn at the mic on "Sittin' On Top Of The World." But he can still turn a concise, memorable phrase on his axe. And it was thrilling to see him takes turns with Vivino, who, besides being the younger brother of Uncle Floyd is no slouch on his instrument, and Ulmer, a hellacious guitarist with a stabbing style who took the emphasis off of Wolf's catalog briefly with a version of Muddy Water's "I Just Want To Make Love To You" and "Katrina," from Bad Blood In The City: The Piety Street Sessions, his ornery Vernon Reid produced platter that came out last year on the late Joel Dorn's Hyena Records.

But along with all the guitar players, the guy who really made the show work was Johansen. Wolf was a marvel when he was alive, feral, ferocious and funny, with a powerful voice that seemed to emanate from a deep, deep well. But while Johansen, when soaking wet, might weigh about one-third of what the blues great born Chester Burnett did, he has a pretty marvelous croak of his own.

And while Johansen may be better known for other things, like his Buster Poindexter lounge lizard days or his years with the glam-punk Dolls both back in the 1970s and ever since he and Syl Sylvain reformed the band with the underrated 2006 comeback One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This, he's always had an affection and a feel for the blues. The Dolls covered Sonny Boy's "Don't Start Me Talkin'" on their second LP, and one of Johansen's most successful incarnations has been as David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, a unit whose metier is ancient blues and folk.

All this is to say that Johansen leading this group was about a vivid and vital of an homage to Wolf as I could imagine. And Johansen's mixture of camp theatricality and thoroughly engaged musical sincerity, along with a driving rhythm section, three terrific guitarists and a set list that included "300 Pounds Of Joy," "Built For Comfort" and "Evil" all added up to a stinging, swinging show, a freewheeling celebration that also left some blood on the floor.

If you have a hankering to catch Sumlin sometime soon, his schedule is here. A blues cruise that leaves from Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday along with Rosie Ledet, Shemekia Copeland and Taj Mahal seems as good a place as any to hear him.

There's an excellent DVD called The Howlin' Wolf Story that came out in 2003 I highly recommend you can pick up here.

As for Johansen, he can be heard on his six hour free form Mansion Of Fun radio show on Friday afternoons on Sirius Satellite Radio's Sirius Disorder channel. And after doing a few Xmas week shows in New York, the Dolls are back on the road. The old tarts will be looking for a kiss at the New Alhambra Arena in South Philadelphia, usually the site of sweaty men pounding and clutching at one another, on Valentine's Day.

And just for fun, here's a smokin' clip of Wolf from 1964, doing "Shake It For Me." Sumlin is seated to his left, Willie Dixon is on bass and Clifton James on drums.