Unlike so many ragtime/blues revival
pickers
who constantly recycle the classic repertoire, Katzman writes the bulk
of his own material. His blues are in a convincingly rural style
which draws from both the Piedmont and (more often) Mississippi Delta
regions,
occasionally both at the same time as on "Frogtime Stagger"
demonstrates.
His writing has a definite melodic flair,
rhythmic
bounce, disciplined wit, and an ear for unhackneyed figures (note "Bad
Mouth' Woman" for example) and lyrics which could have come straight of
a 78. However, his rags, in both the classic and Gary Davis
idioms
tend to take complicated turns which deflect them off their logical
course.
Aside from an occasional bit of stiffness and an awkward phase here and
there, he plays them respectably well, but not with as much enthusiasm
as his blues.
Kicking Mule hints that Ruby Green is a
pseudonym
for a well-known Bay Area singer. To these ears, both her voice
and
style very much resemble Terry Garthwaite's, though there's a rawness
to
her singing (particularly on "Washerwoman" which also boasts excellent
interplay between Katzman on slide and Goldstein on 12-string) which I
wouldn't automatically associate with Garthwaite. Personally, I'm
convinced that Garthwaite and Green are the same person, but whoever
she
is, Green's as good as they come.
Texas Jazz
October, 1980
James Sallis
A superb tribute to early American blues styles, with
original
music by Nick Katzman, who also plays outstanding guitar on all cuts;
vintage
vocals by Ruby Green; and with Ray Goldstein’s second guitar on
three
cuts.
This album stands well apart from most country blues
recordings.
Katzman and friends have come to clear, individual voice thru the
tradition,
an extremely difficult task and one which to my mind puts them
alongside
Ry Cooder, John Hammond and the handful of others who have managed to
pull
it off.
Garden
State Night Life
1980
B L U E
S S I
N G E R
E X U D E
S
C L A S S
**** -- Highly Recommended
A real winner.
Nick Katzman,
who studied under Rev. Gary Davis, clearly knows the country blues
inside
out. Though he wrote the words and music for 11 of the 13
selections
here, every tune captures the heart and soul of Delta Blues well enough
to sound like a traditional classic from “way back when.”
Katzman’s slide
guitar
is an additional
delight, but the biggest plus is vocalist extraordinaire Ruby Green
whose
rich, informal, throaty delivery exudes personality and class.
Roy Greenberg
Just when it seemed
that interpretive
guitarists had hit upon every possible permutation of the
country-blues,
along comes Nick Katzman with his latest album to show that thoughtful
musicians can indeed do something fresh in the idiom. Many
contemporary
guitarists who use the blues as a basis for fancy instrumental work
often
make the mistake of elevating form over substance. That mistake
often
produces technically sensational but soulless recordings.
Katzman gives no
quarter to his
peers as a dazzling technician, but his original compositions retain
all
the grittiness of the Delta and Southeastern bluesmen he
emulates.
His intricate approach to fingerpicking produces a sound so rich that
it
would do credit to two musicians.
Consequently,
Katzman’s
Scott Joplin
style classical rags are flawlessly executed but properly dainty, while
his 12-bar blues are as muscular and driving as one could want.
Vocalist
Ruby Green joins him on several tracks, displaying a pleasantly
understated
way of delivering a lyric, but her role is clearly secondary to that of
her sidemen. Sparkling Ragtime & Hardbitten Blues fully lives up to
its title.
