Quotes & Reviews
Reviews of Impromptu Blue:
"Impromptu Blue is Tucker's richest, slice-your-heart-straight-to-the-backbone offering yet. Maybe it's because he's challenged throughout the album by keyboard wizard Bill Heid and guitarist Dave Workman who don't cut him any slack. These guys can flat out play, and Tucker has thrown all of himself into the songs to maintain focus. And he does. Impromptu Blue is blues-drenched R&B approaching it's finest."
Chuck Thurman - Coast Weekly
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John Tucker, now a mainstay in Northern California, lived as a child in Natchez, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn. Absorbing both the Delta rhythms that inform country blues and the urban sounds of B.B King and Bobby “Blue” Bland, Tucker had both angles covered by his late teens. That mix can make for some real and powerful music, as proven by the exhilarating Impromptu Blue. Uptown in feel yet broad in scope, it’s a collection of great songs stylishly executed by a crack band.
Like King, Tucker possesses a big, powerful voice that betrays the influence of soul music, with flecks of Sam Cooke and the Motown giants surfacing now and then. He knows exactly what to do with Bland’s classic “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right”, working the song slowly from a warm breeze to a heat wave, straining at the top of his range as if he knows his words are falling on deaf ears. King’s “The Woman I Love” is a powerful shuffle with roiling piano by R&B legend Bill Heid and pungent guitar fills by the redoubtable Dave Workman. The Albert King-associated ballad “As The Years Go Passing By” is as down-and-dirty as you'd want. By combining a stately King-type vocal with a more dangerous, off-the-cuff style a la Junior Wells and with the power and presence of Little Milton, Tucker stakes out his own smoky intimacy, his own corner of the cosmic blues bar.
“Straighten It Out” has sly double-entendre lyrics and a supremely funky two-chord groove. Willie Dixon’s subdued boogie “Help Me” gets the full horn-and-organ treatment and features the album’s most affecting vocal. Midtempo shuffle “Lonesome Whistle Blues” is Heid’s showcase; its long solo rambles beautifully through the 12-bar landscape. A clean, crisp recording with plenty of bottom end supports Impromptu Blue’s first-rate performances. Wonderful stuff.
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“Originally from Natchez, Mississippi, John “Broadway” Tucker is a long-time resident of California’s Bay Area whose most conspicuous assets are a big shouter’s voice and a notable refusal to be musically pigeonholed. Mostly You (Messaround 003) from 1994 found him fronting a horn-driven show band on a program that mixed originals with songs from Cooke, Redding, Blande, et al; he turned to a stripped-down acoustic format on last year’s Mississippi To Monterey as he covered the likes of Waters, Crudup, and Tampa Red.
Now, on his initial offerings for the Blue Movie imprint, Tucker has brought back his horn section for a session that leans towards a contemporary blues sound. The set takes its name from its spontaneous nature, as producer-bassist David Price took advantage of a visit from Detroit keyboard ace Bill Heid to get Tucker into the studio, where the songs where chosen on the spot and laid down in one take each with no overdubs. It’s a tribute to the musicianship of everyone involved that the music never sounds sloppy or haphazard and never degenerates into extended jams.
The Playlist, while lacking any originals, is nicely varied. Tucker acknowledges his West Coast antecedents on Tin Pan Alley and Sometimey Woman (which Little Johnny Taylor cut for Galaxy in 1969), but he also covers B.B. King, A.C. Reed and Sonny Boy Williamson along the way, as well as soul-oriented fare with As The Years Go Passing By, Straighten It Out, and (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right. The resulting mix of tempos and moods is very effective. Heid’s piano is prominent in the accompaniment, with tasteful guitarist Dave Workman also getting some solo space.
Though not an innovator or a major artist, Tucker ranks high among the legions of regional performers who deserve wider attention, and Impromptu Blue is probably his most satisfying release so far. Given his versatility, it should be interesting to see what direction he takes next.”
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AMG EXPERT REVIEW: "Oakland/San Francisco-area bluesman Tucker sings in a manner undeniably derivative of Bobby "Blue" Bland, and he stands in this style quite strongly. A horn section adds extra juice, but it is the pianist/organist Bill Heid who really provides the spark that powers this full bodied authentic blues machine. Tucker's repertoire on this CD is well known to all, and quite enjoyably rendered. Most Bland-ish from the get-go is the cool 12 bar swinger "The Woman I Love" and classic ballad anthems "As the Years Go Passing By" and "If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don't Want to Be Right." Heid's piano work is most pronounced on the down home "Lonesome Whistle Blues," and especially upfront for the sweet swinging 12 bar jazz of "Tin Pan Alley." Firing up the B-3, Heid jams out on A.C. Reed's "I'm a Jealous Man," while steadying the band for Latimore's pop funk tune "Straighten It Out." The best overall cuts are the deliberate boogie based, dark & delicious "Help Me," and the swaggering swing of "Sometimey Woman," the period at the end of this solid program. Tucker's a sleeper that only Californian's may be aware of. The rest of the world, take notice before he gets put on a shelf. Recommended."
Michael G. Nastos - All Music Guide
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Veteran vocalist Tucker gets real live feel on this recording, the product of a single afternoon's work. Yet the experience of the musicians - Bill Heid on piano and B-3, Dave Workman on guitar, David Price on bass and Bill Turner on drums - makes every cut sound crafted and rehearsed.
Blues Access (Rooster Pick)
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John "Broadway" Tucker
I first became aware of Tucker back in the early 80s, when the Delta Snake was still a paper newsletter. He fronted the "Broadway Blues Band" and gigged in a territory that encompassed the SF Bay Area to Monterey. Their sound was simple, very hard blues and soul wrapped around Tucker's very powerful and emotional voice.
The thing that impressed me was that Tucker worked his butt off on the stage. He didn't go the full James Brown route, but certainly did a bit of the Otis Redding thing. I've never seen him play a show that didn't just blow away the audience.
He's still playing and recording now, primarily in the Santa Cruz and Monterey area. Although national recognition has escaped him so far, he has shown steady growth and increasing depth.
In his latest CD, "Impromptu Blue," Tucker essays a sort of return to his soul and blues with horn section after a previous effort that combined electric and acoustic blues. With a lot of sound behind him again, he cuts loose in the classic shouter style.
A good example is the opening number, "The Woman I Love." To the casual ear, it's a nice Chicago style shuffle with horns. Listen closely, and you hear a great, experienced vocalist in the Mighty Sam McClain or Otis Clay mold.
Another is his cover of "Tin Pan Alley." Normally that could be an automatic candidate for "filler cut" but here becomes like hearing it new for the first time. It's nuanced in ways that could only have been shaped by decades of experience behind the vocals.
This isn't music by a young blues artist still learning the genre. This singer brings the whole package to a show, and what would without him be a nice above average blues and soul outing becomes something that approaches the aura and authority of an 70s B.B. King record, and I don't say that lightly.
...and you if live in the Monterey area, you can see this singer up close, and it'll be as hot and real as the blues will ever get, believe me.
Al Handa - Delta Snake Daily Blues
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"Our favorite family vacation spot is the Monterey peninsula area of California. We go there for the beautiful coastline and redwood groves. But on the next trip I need to sneak out of the hotel room at night in search of a performance by Monterey area bluesman John "Broadway" Tucker. This fine blues singer has released two very different, but equally good, albums in the past year. Impromptu Blue (Blue Movie Records) is the latest, and showcases Tucker's soulful, earthy vocals in a jazzy blues setting, backed by a band led by the excellent pianist Bill Heid. All nine songs are covers, but Tucker and the band give each song their own style. "Tin Pin Alley" features wonderful piano from Heid. Tucker does his strongest singing on "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right," this version jam packed with soul and emotion. Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me" is given a much more uptown blues treatment than the original. The slow blues standard "As The Years Go Passing By" becomes a much jazzier tune, highlighted by the fine guitar work of Dave Workman. A very good album!"
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"This is an all star line up. You may not be familiar with all the participants but they be first team players all.
This was as the title suggests an impromptu session, and the end result is a testimony to the depth and strength of the players involved.
The vocalist John Tucker is a west coast veteran that can hang with the greatest of the stand up "soul merchants" including O.V. Wright. He goes for the note and his work on these nine covers tunes is beyond impassioned. Tucker seeks out the emotion required on each tune and then he cranks it up one notch. Interesting phrasing as well.
Keyboardist Bill Heid is particularly up in this mix as he should be , since he shares the billing with Tucker. Heid, is a veteran who has backed many of the great guitar players including Grant Green, Muddy Waters, George Benson and Roy Buchannon . He is equally adept on B3 or piano and gets plenty of opportunity to stretch on this release.
The first time I met [guitarist] Dave Workman was in a mutual friend's basement in the summer of 1964. When I was introduced to him he was playing a '64 SG Standard, really, really well, I think he was maybe 14 at the time. He has done more than anyone I know to insure that he continues to grow musically. His is a formidable talent that is woefully under recorded, and his position on this release is supplemental, and he is obviously being respectful of that role. Regardless, he is a stylist with few peers, a guitarist of the first rank, and a friend that got as good as everyone expected he would. If you love blues guitar you'll appreciate Dave's work on this CD and you will want to hear more - much more."
Shakin' Dave Hussong - Vintage Guitar Magazine
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"Born in Mississippi, lives in Monterey. This singer should be listened to because here's another remarkably talented unknown who has it all. One of the best versions of 'Tin Pan Alley' I've ever heard. His previous CD had him singing with acoustic guitar just to illustrate what he can do."
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John “Broadway” Tucker has been singing blues, r&b, and soul music since he was a child in the Mississippi Delta. Now he´s in his mid-years, and this music has become a part of him. This recording session was both a realized dream and an impromtu recording. The musicians that perform here are, for the most part, ones that John has known and worked with off and on for a long time, plus there are some members of his band. Bill Heid, who adds a great dimension with his piano and organ playing on this CD, was known and respected by John for a long time. In fact, a major reason for this recording session was because Bill was in town. The songs are all first takes, without dubbing, so it´s like being there in the studio with them.
Broadway´s vocals have a solid maturity to them. They vary from rough-edged to pleading, to melodic, depending on the song he´s singing. There´s a depth of soul in all of his songs. Bill is a seasoned piano and organ virtuoso who has recorded with prominent blues artists, as well as on his own. His easy-flowing, elegant style, especially on the piano, is a pleasure to hear. Lead guitarist, Dave Workman, plays some fine guitar solos. Bassist, David Price, and also the producer of the album, drummer, Bill Turner, and The Broadway Horns all add their special input to the album.
Some of the album highlights include the straight-ahead blues, “Lonesome Whistle Blues,” which has a great “train whistle” in it. The band plays a tender version of “As The Years Go Passing By,” while Broadway melodically stretches out the words to emphasize the meaning. Many of the nine tunes are R&B songs. There is particularly good energy and rhythm patterns in “I´m A Jealous Man.”
The songs on this album sound like the band has played together a long time, but they only were together three and a half hours. The results were an enjoyable selection of R&B and blues songs. John “Broadway” Tucker puts a lot of energy and heart into the tunes he sings and knows how to be a great entertainer. Thanks to Bill Heid for stopping by and adding his special piano and organ touches to the album. This productive recording session is worth listening to often.
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Nativo del Delta del Mississippi, ma transferitosi dagli anni sessanta nella West Coast, John “Broadway” Tucker è un cantante dalla voce possente, large e tenorile che sa esprimersi al meglio in un blues sofisticato ed aperto alle influenze del jazz, del soul e del r&b. Dotato di un timbro aperto e chiaro che lo fa ricordare al grande Jimmy Rushing, John Tucker prende il soprannome da un locale di Seaside dove si é esibito per oltre vent’anni prima della chiusura e dove ha incontrato e suonato con tanti musicisti dai piú disparati stili (storica fu l’esibizione assieme a Jimmy Hendrix dopo la sua performance al Monterey Festival).
Impromptu Blue è quasi una jam session nata dall’incontro di alcuni amici musicisti guidati dal bassista David Price che è anche l’artefice del progetto e mantiene la carica e l’impatto della musica live. Il cd è una raccolta di standard ben eseguiti ed interpretati in cui è messo in risalto la professionalita del quartetto e della sezione dei fiati che appare qua e la, in particolar modo sorprende il lavoro del pianista-organista Bill Heid capace di un fraseggio maturo ed originale in grado di portare e plasmare l’armonia verso strutture meno convenzionali.
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John 'Broadway' Tucker "Impromptu Blue". Blue Movie.
John es un gran cantante de los de la vieja escuela, un verdadero todo terreno. Su experiencia es de muchos kilates, pues ha cantado soul, r&b y demas musicas afines a la tierra donde nacis, es decir, Mississippi. Le acompaqa un cuarteto de lujo. liderado por el excelente y elegante pianista Bill Heid, un musico de grandes dotes tecnicas capaz de tocar jazz, bossa, o mzsica clasica. En definitiva, un amplio abanico de posibilidades dentro de la llamada musica afroamericana es lo que se recoge en este cd, que no es nada rutinario ni vulgar, sino todo lo contrario, variado, sofisticado y con clase. BUENO.
John is a very good singer, a heavy weight, trained in thousands of fights. He has a valuable enormous experience, because he has sung soul, r&b and other similar styles than can be found on his birthplace Mississippi. He is backed by four excellent musicians, leaded by Bill Held, a tasteful technical piano player, able to play jazz, bossa or classical music. In short, a cd with a wide range of possibilities into the afroamerican music, that is on the opposite side of a monotonous routine ordinary cd, and can only be cualified as a sophisticated first class work. GOOD.
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Reviews of performances and earlier recordings:
"Surprise of Saturday afternoon was the performance on the Garden Stage of urban blues shouter John "Broadway" Tucker, a practitioner of Big Joe Turner's loud, good-humored, musical style. On occasion Tucker uses three guitars, a pair of saxes, two basses, a couple of drummers and harmonica player Dave Wellhausen to back his big voice; delightfully, trumpeter Roy Hargrove joined in on Tucker's final, rousing, rendition."
Philip Elwood - Examiner Music Critic - San Francisco Examiner - September 17, 2000
"...it's hard to see how this guy could have gone unrecorded for so long."
Living Blues July/August '94
"Everything starts with the singing of John "Broadway" Tucker. Did I say singing? Let me make that singing, hollering, crooning, and just about everything else." "...this is the real stuff."
"...a very overlooked blues singer of the first order. John “Broadway” Tucker lives up to his name in every way.”
“Whether it's hard driving blues or heartfelt ballads or delta style 12 bar John has consistently delivered the goods. Top drawer.”
Mike Eckstrom (KAZU Blues programmer)
****
Living Blues Feature:
Breaking Out:
John 'Broadway' Tucker
“From Mississippi to Monterey”
By Scott Barretta
Historically the typical path of migration for Mississippi-bred bluesmen has been northward, but a significant number -- including Smokey Wilson, Robert "Bilbo" Walker, Johnny Dyer, Johnny Fuller, and K.C. Douglas -- have made California their home. Add to that list John "Broadway" Tucker, who spent his youth in Natchez and has been leading the Broadway Band from his base in Monterey/Seaside for nearly 20 years.
A stand-up vocalist, Tucker has been fronting bands since the mid-1960s and singing for audiences since he can remember, but his talents have been relatively unheralded beyond his idyllic coastal home.
Recently, however, he has gained broader attention through the release of two strong CDs -- last year's "Impromptu Blue" (Blue Movie Records) featuring pianist Bill Held, and 1999's largely acoustic "Mississippi to Monterey" (Messaround Records). These records suggest the diversity of Tucker's vocal interests -- Sonny Boy II to Sam Cooke to James Brown -- as well as his comfort in varied musical settings, although he has a predilection for a full-fledged soul show band.
In mid-August Tucker visited the offices of "Living Blues" on the University of Mississippi campus during his annual visit back to Mississippi to visit his mother in Greenville.
Tucker was born in Dermott, Arkansas, on October 2, 1943, but his parents, who worked as sharecroppers, moved to Mississippi soon after his birth. Tucker recalls as his earliest musical inspiration his father's gospel quartet:
"My mom and dad would travel around with my uncles and sing in a spiritual quintet. And they would come in during the week and rehearse. That's where I first fell in love with the voices. My dad remembered me trying to pull up on his leg and try to tap my feet and sing along with them."
Tucker's parents separated when he was seven and he began living with his paternal grandmother in Natchez. Although blues and R&B were discouraged in her household, Tucker recalls listening to the music on Nashville's WLAC, while his eyes were opened to the secular world at a local house of pleasure:
"Across from my grandmother's house was Jake Fisher's juke joint -- a Jewish guy who owned this place where everybody went on Saturday night. Every once in a while he'd have Papa George Lightfoot there. People would like to listen to me sing songs from the jukebox when they were drinking beer. My dad would be in the back room at the gambling table, and they'd say, 'Where's that son of yours?' As long as I was doing all right in school, he didn't care.
As Tucker entered his teens, he began visiting other clubs in town:
"One club called the Spot, my girlfriend's mother owned it. I'd go down there to sing along with the jukebox because it brought people in. Sort of like the karaoke now. I'd stand by the jukebox and sing along with the records. I liked to play Sam Cook, Roscoe Skelton, Little Junior Parker, Nappy Brown. It was my way of rehearsing for what I really wanted to do."
Around the same time, he also began sitting in with the Jesse Ware band at the Cross Keys club in Natchez, located across from the site of the 1941 nightclub fire memorialized by Howlin' Wolf in "Natchez Burning."
"I would sit in with them on this Roscoe Shelton tune, "Baby Look What You're Doing' to Me," (sings) "Baby, I got news for you."
In his late teens Tucker moved to Memphis, where he continued his "karaoke" singing at private parties and spent much of his time at the Flamingo Club on Beale Street, where he met many R&B stars backstage and made his stage debut during a talent contest:
"Nat D. Williams was the emcee and they had Junior Walker and the All Stars backing us up. I went on and did "You Know It Ain't Right," a Joe Hinton song. David Porter (of Stax fame) did "Funny How Time Slips Away." He beat me out at the talent show and I came in second."
Tucker recalls his conversion to the blues as resulting from a magical evening that began backstage at the Flamingo, there he met Sam Cooke, who chaperoned the under-aged Tucker to a late-night club:
"After the Flamingo closed up at 2 o'clock, all the musicians -- William Bell, the Valentinos, the Lyrics -- would go over to the Club Handy, on the corner of Beale Street and Hernando (now Rufus Thomas Blvd.) for the after-hour thing. And when the show was over Sam Cooke asked me, 'Aren't you going with us?' So I ended up being chaperoned by Sam Cooke.
"And B.B. King was playing that night with the Jimmy Charles Orchestra. That was the first time that I really dug the blues. Before I went to see that show I was into stuff like Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, that type of music. But that night I sat there and listened to B.B. King live, and I fell in love with his music right there."
In 1964, Tucker left Memphis after joining the Army. But his military service only solidified his commitment to music. He started singing with a trio during his first assignment at Fort Hood in Texas, and once stationed in Germany, he was recruited to do U.S.O. work with a group he formed.
"That got us out of our regular duty -- I was a cook. So all we had to do was do music for my last six months in Germany. The troops had 10 o'clock curfews, but we had automatic passes to go out after our performances, and that's when I started playing with German bands."
Tucker also had the opportunity to sit in with fellow servicemen Buddy Miles and Billy Preston. Despite offers to stay in Europe with the U.S.O., Tucker decided to return to the U.S. with his young family.
After a short reprieve from the military, Tucker reenlisted and was stationed at Fort Ord in Seaside, California, on Monterey Bay. He immediately began sitting in with local bands, and soon became a staple at local clubs. Tucker recalls as a highlight from this period the Monterey International Pop Festival in June of 1967 when many of the festival guests, including Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding's horn section, sat in with his band at Jimbo's Show Lounge.
Still in the military at the time, Tucker was assigned to Vietnam, and after completing his service in 1969, he settled in Los Angeles, where he took advantage of the G.I. Bill to enroll in the Sherman School of Music. As usual, he quickly fell in with the local R&B scene. After briefly moving to Oakland, where he performed at the Showcase Lounge, Tucker resettled in the Monterey area.
While working as a cook he met up with harp player David Holehouse, and it was during his time with the Holehouse Band that Tucker gained his nickname from his performances of "Boogaloo Down Broadway," a top ten R&B and pop hit in 1967 for Fantastic Johnny C. Corley. The Broadway Band also emerged from this group, allowing Tucker to pursue his broad interests in blues and R&B:
"I played the first Monterey Jazz Festival in 1981 [sic] (the first Monterey Bay Blues Festival) with the Holehouse Band, but we broke up because Holehouse thought we played too much funk music, and he wanted to play strictly Chicago Blues. That's when I formed the Broadway band."
Next year the Broadway Band will celebrate its 20th anniversary, and Tucker will soon be recording another CD with the band. While the band's membership has changed considerably over the years, a constant is Tucker's passion for singing and paying tribute to his heroes:
"When you cover a great song, you need to do it in your own way. I try to do any song. If I don't have the instruments to cover the songs right then I won't do them. Since I grew up around those guys, I feel I'm still going to follow their teachings. In other words, if you don't do it as well, then do it different. But you get close sometimes."
Tucker and the Broadway Band appear regularly in Monterey (at Sly McFly's on Cannery Row) and monthly at The Saloon in San Francisco. His first two CDs, "Mostly You" and "Mississippi to Monterey," are available on Messaround Records, while his most recent CD, "Impromptu Blue," is on Blue Movie Records.
Copyright 2000 Scott Barretta
