Dave Specter

Live At Space

Delmark Records

Born in Chicago’s Northwest Side, in 1963, guitarist Dave Specter began to learn to play the guitar at the age of eighteen. His teacher was Steve Freund, who taught Specter between the latter’s duties at the Jazz Record Mart and Delmark Records. Freund ultimately organized a concert tour for Specter alongside Sam Lay and Hubert Sumlin. Contacts made while working at B.L.U.E.S. nightclub secured gigs as a sideman to Johnny Littlejohn, Son Seals, the Legendary Blues Band, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, and Robert Lockwood Jr.. Specter appears on over forty albums as guitarist or producer. By 1989 Specter had organized his own backing band, known as the  Bluebirds. By 1998 Specter had released six albums on the Delmark imprint, the first being 1991’s “Bluebird Blues”. His influences were T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, and jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell.

Specter has twelve previous albums on Delmark including 2004’s “Is What It Is” recorded with Freund and Barrelhouse Chuck; 2008’s CD/DVD “Live In Chicago”  recorded with Jimmy Johnson, Tad Robinson, and Sharon Lewis; and 2014’s “Message In Blue” recorded with Otis Clay. His last studio album was 2019’s “Blues From the  Inside Out. In 2021 Delmark released “Six String Soul” a thirty year retrospective. The band on this new album “Live At Space” includes Specter, guitar and vocals; Brother John Kattke, organ, piano, and backing vocals; Rodrigo Mantovani, bass; and Marty Binder, drums. Included are seven originals and six selected covers.

A Rhumba beat opens “Rumba & Tonic”, an original instrumental, with some Hammond organ and piano from Kattke, while the rhythm section lays down the strong founation. “Alley Walk” is another instrumental, this time a walkin’ blues with some blistering guitar. On “Homework” a 1965 cover, of a song written by Al Perkins and Dave Clark, was  recorded by Al Perkins and Betty Bibbs, “I must be a fool waistin’ my time going to school, I can’t do my homework anymore…oh, baby, what can I do, I’m going around in circles, what can I do…I can’t do my homework any more”.

“Blues From the Inside Out”, with Kattke on piano, “well tough times can fill your heart with  doubt, your livin in a trick bag of trouble, you got blues from the inside out, now you don’t  have to drink the moonshine, just pay your dues and play these blues from the inside out”.  “On Your Way Down” written by Allen Toussaint and recorded in 1991, “since the beginning it hasn’t changed yet…it’s the same friends you meet on the way up, you’ll see on the way down”. Specter states he was inspired by Mavis Staples when he wrote “March Through the Darkness”, “don’t ever slow down, march through the darkness until you see the light, and in our country let your voice be heard, march through the darkness, march, march into the light”.

“Chicago Style” where ever I go, whenever I travel…from Junior Wells to Buddy Guy to  Magic Sam…Chicago style is my thing, it’s the blues and the sound…from the West Side to the south…stay awhile and hear the blues, Chicago style”. “Same Old Blues” written and  recorded by Don Nix in 2002 “mornin’ rain…as I sit in my room…it’s the strain of the same  old blues, I can’t help but thinkin’ that the sun used to shine on my back door, it’s the strain of those same old blues”. “The Stinger” is another infectious instrumental.  “Deep Elem Blues” written by brothers Bob and Joe Shelton and recorded in 1946, featured is Kattke on piano, as Specter sings “when you do down to deep elem, put your money in your shoes, oh lord, sweet mama, you got those deep elem blues…oh lord, sweet mama, your  daddy’s got them sweet elem blues”. “Bluebird Blues” was written and recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson in 1970, “bluebird, bluebird, please take this letter down south for me, cause I’m stuck in Chicago, and I’m just as blue as I can be”. “Ponchatoula Way”, “well I’m going to  the river, Ponchatoula way, well going down to Mississippi, I’m going down to see my baby, she’ll be so happy I came around…yes I’ll be going down to Ponchatoula way, down in  Louisiana where my baby used to stay”. The closer is “Ridin’ High” another instrumental  written by Sam Maghet a.k.a. Magic Sam, with Kattke on the Hammond organ.

Dave Spector and Delmark Records have been together for over three decades. With “Live At Space” Specter writes a new and exciting chapter on this his fourteenth album. This is 21st century Chicago blues, anchored in tradition and open to the future, as good as it gets

Richard ludmerer

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