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of a jaunty harmonica and very fluid acoustic guitar should have you gliding across the floor.
‘Jelly, Jelly’, is a very nice slow slice of the Delta, a lonesome vocal is underpinned by a splendid
mixture of understated acoustic slide and a desolate harmonica. The spirit of Slim Harpo is
infused into the head shaking ‘Blind Owl Boogie’, the enticing, urging guitar meshes well with
the hoarse, honking harmonica. The punchy; ‘How Long Can This Last?’ melds a rising, burnishing
horn section with loose rolling, vamping piano and a splendidly honking harmonica. The short
and sweet harmonica and vocal ‘Leaving Trunk’, is a very fine example of Douglas’s playing skills.
‘Good To Me’, is quite simply, a splendidly funky, strutting ensemble piece where all enjoy a good
time. This mood is continued with John Mayall’s ‘Sonny Boy, Blow!’ here a wonderful rolling
piano and train shuffling harmonica roll you away. The highly enjoyable and subtly understated
‘Riding With The Devil’, takes us back to the Delta with the enticing combination of Dobro and
harmonica. A sweetly gentle piano ballad from the olden days entitled ‘Looking Over A Rainbow’,
ends the album with an equally sweet vocal that is reminiscent of one Harry Nilsson.

Very nice indeed!

Brian Harman

Jewel Brown—Thanks For Good Ole’ Music And Memories—
Nic Allen Music Federation MF22JBO10

Jewel began singing in the church when she was a child and played
her first professional show when she was just 12 and in her
teenage years became a professional recording artist. During the
Mid-fifties, she and Clyde Otis together recorded a number of hit
duets for Liberty Records. In the early sixties she progressed to
singing in Jazz Clubs all across America, some of which were
owned by the infamous Jack Ruby. This was not her only claim to
fame, for Jewel was further noted for her performances during her
time with Louis Armstrong and his All-Star Band, between the
years 1961 and 1968, this tenure was only curtailed when he fell ill. Undaunted, Jewel continued
with her career by headlining shows, mostly in Las Vegas.

She was happily performing until the early seventies, when she decided to bow out of the
limelight. This decision was not connected with any professional dissatisfaction but purely a
desire to give full time care to her ageing parents. Jewel went on to enjoy many business successes
especially so, in the world of insurance in which, she retired from in 2000. Although retired, her
work has been duly recognised, for in 2007 she was inducted into the Blues Smithsonian and in
2015 she received a congressional acknowledgment for her contribution to the arts. Later, in
2020, Sylvester Turner the Mayor of Houston pronounced that December 12, 2020, would be
Jewel Brown Day.

Now, in her eighties she has returned to music with this album in collaboration with Nic Allen.
The ten numbers here range in styles from sultry and sensuous to upbeat funk, her soft and
mellow vocals are not dissimilar to Mavis Staples, the opener ‘Jerry’, with the aid of RADS
Krusaders & Live! ‘In the Clutch’, is a pulse raising Latin horn infused soul twister where Jewel
mixes a Jazz inflected holler with a sensitive, mellifluous vocal. An attractively bubbling and
cruising urban funk groove is evident on the call and response of ‘Which Way is Up’. Another
sensual groover is the soul/jazz infused toe tapper ‘Nitches and Glitches’,

The ephemeral and affecting gospel influenced ‘Pain and Glory’, has Jewel delivering a solemn a
cappella spoken word testimony of the power of faith, underpinned by a male chorus gently
asking why? ‘On The Road’, is a delightful late-night jazz-inflected piano ballad, where a mellow