Lookin' At Lucky - Steve Kozak with special guest James Harman - New release review

I just received the newest release, Lookin' at Lucky, by Steve Kozak and it's quite good! This recording is packed with 12 solid tracks, 5 originals by Kozak and the balance by such names as Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Walter, JD Miller and William Clarke. Lookin' at Lucky opens with the title track, a bright swing blues with Kozak laying down cool guitar riffs and Dave Webb backing him up with notably nice keys. Blues Dance Party takes a rockin' boogie posture and again Kozak is right on the guitar attack. Kozak also sings these tracks and his voice is well suited to deliver the news. Your Funeral and My Trial features James Harman on harp along with the balance of Kozak's band. This track by Williamson is a a solid swing with an anchored beat.Chris Nordquist keeps this tight on drums and Webb and Harman sound like they have been playing with Kozak for years. Kozak plays a particularly hot solo on this track ... maybe Canada's best kept secret! Lay Low and Go Slow takes that Jimmy Reed lope and each artist gets his chance to put up. Harman, Webb and Kozak each take their turns showing their stuff and generating a great balance. Harman's track Is It Yes has the Latin beat and traces of N'awlins with the piano roll. This is a really nice track with well executed instrumentals. Little Walter track Little Girl is a nice slow blues that really finds Harman digging deep in to the Chicago sound. Come To Me is a a rockin' swing blues and with backing vocals by Catherine St. Germain and Kelly Brock, reminds me a lot of music done by Elvin Bishop in the early 70's. This is a great track. Big Walter song Need My Baby finds Kozak taking an understated initial approach on guitar but building as the tracks gets going. I Know You're Fine, a William Clarke track is a bit of a blues rockabilly track and Tim Hearsey plays some nice bass runs kicking Kozak up a notch on his guitar. James Harman's Read My Mind with heavy piano on the back beat sets a nice swing tempo. Another sweet piano solo from Webb tops this track and leaves a good trail for Kozak on guitar to close out. JD Miller's I Hear You Knockin', a boogie track has a strong lope to it as well great vocals by Kozak. Harman leads Kozak down the solid path and he rips off a nice finish to a really cool release. If you like Chicago style blues with harp and T-Bone walker style licks, you should really check this release out.

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