New Born

June 1st, 2006

Title: New Born
Artist: Calvin Newborn
Label: Yellow Dog Records
Catalog No.: YDR 1157
Date: 2005
The story of seventy-year-old guitarist Calvin Newborn is steeped in Memphis legend—B.B. King helped him pick out his first guitar and his friend Elvis copped his stage moves. On New Born, he gives us a take on Jazz that’s Memphis all the way—recorded June 19 and 21, 2004, at Sam Phillips Studio and released on local Yellow Dog Records, this collection of mostly original compositions is full of bluesy elegance. A straight-ahead track like “Spirit Trane/Omnifarious” conjures up John Coltrane and Wes Montgomery, while “After Hours Blues” is straight Beale Street, but both exhibit the soulful sophistication of Newborn’s playing and the tight grooves of his octet. The disc sounds like a classic and looks like a classic, featuring excellent artwork and informative liner notes by Andria Lisle on the life of this underappreciated artist.