Johnny Iguana has been pounding the piano around Chicago since 1994, making his reputation playing with
Junior Wells, then building a career by supporting blues titans while also stepping out on his own as the leader of the cabaret rock & roll band
the Claudettes. This 2020 session is the first of his albums to be credited to
Iguana himself, and as the title
Chicago Spectacular suggests, it's a riotous celebration of the Windy City, grounded in its traditions and featuring such Chicago stalwarts as
Billy Boy Arnold,
Bob Margolin,
John Primer,
Billy Flynn, and
Lil' Ed. That lineup when paired with such recognizable song selections as "44 Blues," "Down in the Bottom," "Shake Your Moneymaker," and "Stop Breakin' Down" may be familiar territory, but they're the hooks to lure the uninitiated into an album that shows how vibrant Chicago blues can be.
Iguana pairs these classics with such clever originals as the jumping "Land of Precisely Three Dances" and the bossa boogie "Big Easy Women," then recasts
Gil Scott-Heron's "Lady Day and John Coltrane" as a barroom rocker. Those warhorses aren't necessarily played straight, either.
Johnny Iguana finds a sweet spot between jumping piano R&B and gutbucket blues, placing the rhythm in the forefront and keeping things lively and swinging throughout. The result is a blast, an album that celebrates Chicago traditions while tweaking them with a big grin. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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