As a guy whose name I don't remember very well said, "all the music I like comes from there, it comes from the blues...", after 'The Quill' which perpetuates the hard rock of the 70s, here is an artist who ultimately, even if the final result is somewhat different, is not that far from the Swedes, I named 'Jean-Jacques Milteau' who, at 74 years old, is doing like a charm and we offers yet another album with "this key to the highway" that is his harmonica which has made him accompany numerous artists for over forty years and which he is certainly the only one to have put so much forward in the same way as guitars and keyboards, because the instrument is often relegated to the background. This time, it's with covers of blues standards (see the list below) and, for the occasion, he has surrounded himself with four quality blues singers with the Dane 'Mike Andersen' also a guitarist, the Canadian 'Harrison Kennedy' who is 82 years recorded in 2018 'CrossBorder Blues' with 'Jean-Jacques Milteau' and the cellist 'Vincent Legal' (all three are on tour at the moment), the American 'Carlton Moody' (member of the country group 'Moody Brothers') and the American 'Michael Robinson' who worked with 'Quincy Jones' and the 'Golden Gate Quartet'. In short, beautiful people for 10 compositions that 'Jean-Jacques Milteau' illuminates with his harmonica either in solos that one would think were written for this instrument or by playing cat and mouse with the singer by coming to pose here and there are a few little flourishes that are always well placed and which contribute beautifully to the success of each title. We can also emphasize that the other musicians actively participate in this groove present at every moment in particular thanks to a quality double bass/drums/percussion rhythm section and that all these timeless titles are not a simple copy/paste of the original but that 'Jean-Jacques Milteau' adapted them in a beautiful way to allow the harmonica to be highlighted even more, sometimes light and luminous, sometimes filled with a beautiful sensuality or even sometimes more melancholy.In summary, 'Jean-Jacques Milteau' continues to offer us quality albums which, as always, highlight talented artists at the service of an instrument that he is one of the only ones to master perfectly and which becomes a central element to the point of forgetting that on this blues album, no guitar is present!Track list for 'Key To The Highway:01 – Maggie’s Farm (B. Dylan) – Chant : Mike Andersen 02 – Chain of Fools (D. Covay) – Chant : Harrison Kennedy03 – New Key to the Highway (M. Robinson/J. Dalgaard) – Chant : Michael Robinson04 – Rainy Night in Georgia (T.J. White) – Chant : Carlton Moody05 – Love the One You’re With (S. Stills) – Chant : Michael Robinson06 – Sunshine of Your Love (E. Clapton/J. Bruce/P. Brown) – Chant : Mike Andersen07 – Stuck in the Middle With You (G. Rafferty/J. Egan) – Chant : Carlton Moody08 – Takin’ It Back (H. Kennedy) – Chant : Harrison Kennedy09 – What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) (J. Bristol/H. Fuqua/V. Bullock) – Chant : Michael Robinson10 – Angel from Montgomery (J. Prine) – Chant : Carlton Moody
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