Sunday, July 26, 2009

Josh Miller & the Blues Revue

The last time Leroy performed was January 10, 2009 with the Josh Miller & the Blues Revue. That night, Josh said he no longer felt comfortable with the name of the band since Leroy Cooper had joined, so he was now just going to call the band The Blues Revue.

The band's repertoire spans the history of blues of all styles from all cities; N'Orleans, Dallas, Chicago, Memphis and others. But that night, the entire show was dedicated to Coop. All songs performed were from recordings he had played on during his lengthy career. It was truly a tribute to the man who had played with so many recognized blues musicians but rarely got a mention. Five days later, Coop passed away.

Last night I saw Josh Miller & the Blues Revue for the first time since the funeral. The drummer was new but he settled in perfectly with Josh on guitar and vocals, and Kenny Clarke on his Hammond organ.

The content was different - a wide variety of blues with Josh's soft and raspy voice showing his usual humility. The one song I had never heard him do before was Amazing Grace. He and Kenny played it to honor those he had lost this year, the first of which was Coop.

I was reluctant to see Josh for fear that the emotional impact would be overwhelming. To my surprise, Josh had recovered and I found that I had, too. Listening to him was very soothing. It only surprises me that more people don't recognize his name.

This video was shot in a small club but features Cooper on sax. Listen up!

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