I am definitely a blues novice. Just recently I was listening to The Blues Brothers and one thing I liked about them was the horns. But generally artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker don’t feature horns. Who are some artists that do feature horns similar to The Blues Brothers?
Nomenclature can be a bitch under the Blues umbrella, but you may have better luck looking into Soul music - Wikipedia than Blues as such.
The Electric Flag maybe?
And if that Wiki article doesn’t turn up anything you really like, look over The Blues Brothers - Wikipedia for other clues.
One album that comes to mind if you like your blues with some horns is Robert Cray - Midnight Stroll. Here’s a good example off that album.
If you like jump blues - i.e., fully-orchestrated swing blues - then you’re all set.
- **Louis Jordan **- his Best of, called No Moe! is essential - more fun than anyone should be allowed to have
- T-Bone Walker
- Brian Setzer Orchestra
- Stuff by **Roomful of Blues **and Duke Robillard
Albert King used a lot of horns in his rhythm section. Check out I’ll Play the Blues for You.
Gatemouth Brown, one of my favorites, also has a lot of horn section stuff. The Original Peacock Recordings and American Music, Texas Style would be good places to start.
If the movie got you interested in the blues band with horns, you might also enjoy The Commitments (1991) which delves into what it takes to put together such a band. Fun movie!
You might want to check out Big Joe Turner, especially his stuff from the 1950s.
Just out last week - Revelator by the Tedeschi Trucks Band.
Tedeschi’s been singing blues for years and her husband, Trucks, fronts his own band when he’s not playing in the Allman Bros or touring with other heavyweights like Clapton. He’s one of the very few people allowed to play any of the late great Duane Allman’s guitars.
This is the first time they produced an album together and they said that the idea was to put together a family old style blues band.
Check out a live version ofBound for Glory,
or a cover of Family Stone’s A Simple Song.
One more just for fun.
Albert King, as mentioned above. A lot of the hit records he did for Stax had Booker T. on keys (a lot of piano) and plenty of horn arrangements, maybe done by Booker T. as well.
B.B. King as well – like on “Live at Cook County” – I believe that’s Ron Levy on piano and, I’m pretty sure a guy I took some piano lessons from is on trumpet back there also.
I believe there’s good horns on “Freddie King Is A Blues Master,” with James Booker on piano on at least part of the tracks.
But I think it’s right to start looking under “soul” for more Blues Brothers type things. One of those compilations of singles from Stax/Volt, and another search through New Orleans hit singles (Lee Dorsey, and so many others) would be good to start with.
Seconding the idea that you should be searching for soul or old-school R&B rather than blues…
Thanks for all the info, everyone!
Had to chime in with a late response:
Roomful of Blues
Tower of Power (more blues/jazz/funk fusion)
BB King - Live at the Apollo
Walter “Wolfman” Washington