Little Walter – The Essential Little Walter

While guitarists play to the stars and the horizon all around them, harpists on the other hand play to that three square feet of earth right in front of their toes … meaning that their sound isn’t wide and expansive, more that it’s personal, in the moment, earthy, and very magical. I wanted to play the harp since I first heard Bob Dylan blow his like a lonesome train, and there was something intoxicating about being able to carry a musical instrument wrapped in a bandana around in my back pocket; instantly able to delight all those within earshot. I never did get very good on those reeds that were sandwiched together between sheets of chrome, but I tell you, I never lost respect for the fundamental beauty, and the staggering array of annunciations a true artist was capable of bringing to life. Electric or traditional, the blues along with rock n’ roll would never be what they are without the humble harmonica.

Laced together by an astounding booklet, this two disc set from Little Walter spans his career with 46 tracks, covering his first hit 1952 “Juke,” right up to his cover of the Willie Dixon song “Dead Presidents,” [which is about money and not Presidents]. Little Walter Jacobs was one of the first of the modern bluesmen, the first commercially successful bluesman of the post war years, and considered royalty when it came to his style and application. He was a man who was idolized by fans and musicians alike, fusing a style all his own with that of the great John Lee Williamson and saxophonist Louis Jordan, both mentors and much more to Walter. Though perhaps the easiest thing for me to do would be to quote Paul Oliver from his book “The Blackwell Guide to Blues Records,” where he says, “He was a country bred musician with a modern sensibility of swing music, Walter created an amplified sound filled with dark haunting tones and flowing melodic lines that became an integral element in the emergence of Chicago blues.” Though if you were to ask me, I’d just rub the corners of my mouth and say, “Little Walter’s music was so far reaching and good that it should be downright illegal. If not for Walter, there would be countless artists who would be half of what they are without the man opening that door.”

At 13 Walter became a lingering part of the Chicago blues scene, playing street corners and market places, honing his skills, following other artists around until it was easier for them to let him sit in instead of ignoring him and his devotional penchant for learning all there was to know about the wind instruments. It would be an endless event for me to list all of the artists with whom Walter has played, perhaps a list of artists he hasn’t played with would be easier done, though I for one will never forget his outing with Muddy Waters and guitarist Baby Face Leroy, where Waters’ cut of “Rolling and Tumbling” featuring Walter, turned the number into the most powerful Chicago blues song ever recorded … one where Waters, Leroy and Walter forged their instrumentation into a seamless single voice.

So whether it’s the blues style of Chicago, Mississippi Delta, or his infusion with rock n’ roll, Little Waters was always present to add his masterful blues flavorings to countless recordings, meaning that you need to hear this collection to understand the elemental foundation of anyone who’s ever carried around harmonica wrapped in a dirty red bandana.

Review by Jenell Kesler