Product Description
Winner of the 2024 Blues Foundation AND Living Blues Magazine "Keyboardist of the Year" award, and Downbeat magazine's critics award for favorite keyboardist, Kenny "Blues Boss" is having a very good year. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jus' Blues Foundation and is a member of the Boogie-Woogie Hall of Fame. Capping it off is his remarkably adventurous new album, "Ooh Yeah!" that stretches the boundaries of instrumentation for the blues, including matching non-traditional instruments like the banjo with a trombone heavy horn section.' Wayne kicks off the album with the high energy title song with a call and response-style lyric and a gospel/boogie-woogie beat.
In this, Kenny's 80th year he is not slowing down, performing across North America, at European festivals, and on the high seas as a featured solo piano attraction on Blues Cruises, his virtuoso playing peppered with telling tales from a life in the Blues filled a plethora of musical adventures.
KENNY “BLUES BOSS” WAYNE
Ooh Yeah
Stony Plain
For his 80th trip around the sun, piano man Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne recorded an album of 12 original songs we can all celebrate – basking in the boogie woogie legend’s mastery of keys, vocals, and soulful lyrics. Ooh Yeah delights with a diverse selection of songs highlighted by Wayne’s barrelhouse piano. Along with dashes of funk and Southern soul, happy and sad lyrics, there are a few interesting quirks – a banjo – allowing for introspection and some fun.
The opener, the title track, is a flat out fast boogie woogie ready made for dancing and partying. It’s followed by the more serious “Watcha Gonna Do Now” about climate change and how we are responsible. It starts out with a cool banjo solo and continues with a funky beat. One of the best is “Sailing With The Sunset,” the record’s only instrumental, a New Orleans gem with a terrific horn section. Big fun and sure to get everyone on the dance floor.
On the heavier side, is “I Wish Things Were Different,” a sad, forlorn song that brings tears to the eyes. It’s about Wayne’s wife, who is now living in a nursing home, and how unexpected events change relationships. Also thoughtful is “My Point Of View,” a ‘70s feel tune asking people to listen to one another and come up with solutions to world problems. The song is made more interesting with a smooth guitar solo by James Anthony.
“Try It Out” is an upbeat country funk song, heavy on the banjo, which Wayne decided to re-introduce as an African derived instrument. The vibe also invokes gospel revival. The record ends with another winner, the five-minute “That Crazy Monkey,” about an old monkey trying to jump train tracks. Wayne, born in the Chinese year of the monkey, decided to write a song about a monkey trying to prove that he can still do what he did as a younger monkey. Something tells me this is a recounting of a real adventure.
Ontario-based Wayne was born in Spokane, Washington, but grew up in California. With the encouragement of his father, the Rev. Matthew Spruell, Wayne played gospel music. An uncle introduced him to boogie woogie, and he went on the win Canada’s Best Blues Album award in 2006, and the 2024 Blues Music Award for Piano Player of the Year. His 2022 album, Blues From Chicago To Paris, a tribute to Memphis Slim and Willy Dixon, was also a hit.
Ooh Yeah features local guests, including guitarists Anthony; and Jimmy Bowskill on guitar, banjo, and bass. The gifted horn section hails from Quebec. Ooh Yeah surely pushes the boundary as a blues album – an adventurous endeavor – but take Wayne’s advice and try it out!
– Karen Nugent