January All-Stars

Blind Willie’s - Atlanta

Jan. 17

By Hal Horowitz

With only a handful of shows to cement their legendary status, Catfish Hodge and his January All-Stars set out on a short dozen-date East Coast Jaunt that brought them as far south as Atlanta.  Led by the effervescent, portly, balding Hodge, and powered by his extraordinary group featuring Brian Auger on keyboards, the under-recognized Tom Principato on guitar, The Nighthawks’ propulsive drummer/vocalist Pete Ragusa, blistering tenor sax player Ron Holloway and steadfast jazz/swing bassist Steve Wolf, the All-Stars plowed through a pair of hour-long sets the left the packed venue breathless.

            Shifting between easy-rolling rhythmic funk of the Little Feat variety, sizzling jazz (Auger’s searing instrumental cover of Eddie Harris’ “Freedom Jazz Dance” came early in the first set), smoking R&B and low-boil blues, the ensemble was loose and limber but had their intricate changes rehearsed like a group that had jammed together for decades.  It was thrilling to experience the powerful, Jimmy Smith styled sound of Brian Auger in an intimate club setting; here’s a musician who, with The Trinity and later with The Oblivion Express, used to play packed arenas.  Nimbly switching from piano to organ—often with one hand on each—Auger juggles subtle fills with lightning-fast solos that elicited midtune standing ovations from the stunned crowd.

            Holloway’s meaty sax, Raguzza’s nimble drums (and occasional vocals) and Princiapto’s acrobatic guitar runs gelled on every tune, with each musician grabbing, but none stealing, the spotlight.  Hodge took the majority of the vocals—when there were any—acting as ringmaster and jovial emcee to this incendiary congregation of musicians.  Busy schedules keep these guys on the road in other outfits throughout the year, so they don’t have time to capitalize on this incredible ensemble for more than two short weeks.  Someone needs to capture this band on tape to expose the world to what it’s missing.

            A highlight of my year, and one of the most consistently exhilarating evenings I’ve spent hearing live music in a long time, the show revealed that The January All-Stars have the ingredients in place to become a full-time project if they wish.  Make your plans now for January 2002.