JW-Jones
By Mike O’Cull
Hot shot Canadian blues guitarist and vocalist JW-Jones turns COVID-19 isolation into musical inspiration on his new release Sonic Departures. The set dropped August 14th, 2020 on Solid Blues Records and proves beyond a doubt that Jones is still fired up even though the virus has interrupted his touring life. Jones won the title of Best Guitarist at the 2020 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee and was anticipating a big year on the road before the pandemic shut the world down. Instead of declaring the whole year a wash and waiting things out, Jones forged bravely ahead and completed this album from tracks that his band had recorded last year in The Before Times. The resulting set is nine songs of guitar, vocal, and horn section glory that will keep a lot of blues fans going until live shows come back.
“I knew I had to do something productive to stay positive,” said Jones, “I took some tracks my band had recorded last year, and dove in with renewed energy and focus, as well as some new technology. I bought recording hardware and taught myself how to use it. I re-recorded all of the vocals, added a new guitar solo to one track, played a second guitar on another, and the band did drum and bass overdubs on a few tunes.”
Engineer Eric Eggleston of Johnny Hall productions shared his screen and audio live over the internet as he monitored through his studio speakers and he and Jones did the mixing and production together from their homes. The songs they recorded feature a 17-piece band with a 13-piece horn section that was tracked pre-COVID. In addition to Jones’s touring band, Will Laurin (drums/vocals) and Jacob Clarke (upright and electric bass/vocals), Jones brought longtime band-mate Jesse Whiteley back into the fray on keyboards and to write some of the horn charts. Kaz Kazanoff of the Texas Horns also crafted amazing big-band arrangements for two of Jones’s original songs.
Jones starts his virtual party with the rollicking “Blue Jean Jacket,” an upbeat shuffle that sets a wonderful tone for the rest of the album. Jones is clearly not sitting around moping about things. Rather, his sense of joy here is palpable and everyone on the track swings hard and takes flight. Jones’ smooth vocals and stinging guitar lead the parade but the ensemble sound is tight and uplifting. He follows with the R&B-influenced “Same Mistakes.” It’s a different flavor of soulful music but is just as effective as its predecessor. Jones infuses both of these cuts with trace elements of classic pop and radio hooks that turn them into instant ear worm material, not just guitar jams.
One of Sonic Departures’ best moments is Jones’ stomping big-band arrangement of the Everly Brothers’ iconic hit “Bye Bye Love.” Jones and friends turn the eternal guitar-strumming brilliance of the original into a full-on ballroom rug-cutter that exudes an irresistible energy. It’s the kind of cover that pushes a crowd over the cliff into kinetic abandon and will 100% make your day better.
“Snatchin’ It Back” is funky and fun. Jones beseeches his love interest in earnest over an uptempo soul groove that’s sure to get your shoes shuffling. He’s an extremely capable singer who absolutely shines on this kind of R&B material. Each of the nine songs on Sonic Departures can stand on its own merit, so be sure not to miss Jones’ killer version of “The Things That I Used To Do” and the laidback pocket of the final song “When It All Comes Down.”
JW-Jones has done a superb job of making lemonade out of the lemons the pandemic has handed out to us all and Sonic Departures is guaranteed to make you forget about all of it for a little while. You should be listening to it right now.
JW-Jones Online
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