She has been called the queen of rhythm and blues: Ruth Brown. This 70-year-old blues singer has made a new CD: R + B = Ruth Brown. She is then accompanied by an excellent band, The New Orleans Band, in which guitarist Duke Robillard, organist / pianist Bobby Forrester and trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis play. It turned out to be a surprisingly good CD, with 13 excellent songs. The CD opens with the
… swinging That Train Don't Stop Here. Special is Brown's duet with Bonnie Raitt in I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town, a song she has loved since it was a hit for Louis Jordan in the 1940s. Also great are the other guests: Johnny Adams (vocals) in I Don't Know and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (guitar) in False Friend Blues. One song written on her life is Too Little Too Late. Brown's life may not have always been easy, but it now produces a beautiful CD. Brown can certainly be counted among the greats in the genre of rhythm and blues, blues and even in bluesy jazz. (JW)more