DAVE SPECTER - LIVE AT SPACE VOLUME ONE

Dave Specter and Delmark Records have been together for over three decades. Dave's acclaimed double album "Six String Soul" celebrated this amazing journey. Now, "Dave Specter Live at Space" writes a new and exciting chapter in this long and harmonious story on Dave's 14th album on Delmark. At home at Evanston's premier venue, SPACE, Dave and his smokin' tight band deliver a definitive live blues event, vibrantly captured in this recording. This is 21st century Chicago blues, anchored in tradition and open to the future.

• 1 Rumba & Tonic
• 2 Alley Walk
• 3 Homework
• 4 Blues from the Inside Out
• 5 On Your Way Down
• 6 March Through the Darkness
• 7 Chicago Style
• 8 Same Old Blues
• 9 The Stinger
• 10 Deep Elem Blues
• 11 Bluebird Blues
• 12 Ponchatoula Way
• 13 Ridin' High

DAVE SPECTER
Live At SPACE
Delmark Records
     For the fourth live album of his lengthy discography, guitarist Dave Specter selected his “home base,” the noted live music venue SPACE in Evanston, IL, as the site to record 13 tracks from different periods of his career, along with a few surprises. His support comes from some of Chicago’s finest with Brother John Kattke on keyboards, Rodrigo Mantovani on bass, and Marty Binder on drums.
     The first two tracks are reprised from his 2010 Spectified release. “Rumba & Tonic” rolls along as Specter lays down some eloquent guitar lines while Kattke switches from piano to organ, delivering memorable solos on both instruments. “Alley Walk” is another instrumental, this time with darker tone that would be a fine fit on the soundtrack for a film noir.
     The Otis Rush classic “Homework” has Specter working hard on the vocal, bolstered by Kattke’s simply stated fills on the organ. His singing makes a stronger impression on “Deep Elem Blues,” as does his beautifully constructed guitar soliloquy. Kattke’s rollicking piano excursion is a reminder of the depths of his talents. “Blues From The Inside Out” is the title track from Specter’s last studio album. Mantovani’s bold bass line propels the proceedings along at a jaunty pace, with plenty of room for Specter and Kattke to work their magic. Kattke pleads for peace and sanity on Specter’s soulful original, “March Trough The Darkness.”       
     Slowing the pace, the band steadily builds a beautifully constructed elegy on the Don Nix standby, “Same Old Blues,” Kattke’s vocal filled with the grief and resignation laid out in the lyrics. Another highlight is the instrumental “The Stinger,” with Binder’s forceful stick work setting the stage for the leader’s seductive six string explorations. Kattke’s spirited vocal on “Chicago Style” makes an impression, as does the stellar interplay between the guitar and piano.
     “Bluebird Blues” was the title cut on Specter’s 1991 album on Delmark, with Barkin’ Bill Smith on vocals. It is a joy to listen to the masterful rendition of the Sonny Boy Williamson tune, with the guitarist spinning a subtly mesmerizing solo sequence that sticks with you. Specter’s vocal on Allen Toussaint’s “On Your Way Down” misses the mark, but he finishes things off with a searing run-through of the Magic Sam instrumental, “Ridin’ High.”
     Over 76 minutes, Dave Specter and his Chicago brethren make beautiful music together, taking listeners on a journey through their vision the world of Chicago blues. It is a journey well worth taking.

– Mark Thompson