You might not have heard this. It is a bit obscure, but it’s possibly the best Mike Bloomfield record. Certainly up there with Super Session and the Electric Flag albums. Recorded across two weekends in February 1969, it’s a jam-style blues record played with that taut, stinging style and tone that Bloomfield had.
Although it’s thought of as a Bloomfield record, in actual fact it’s credited to ‘various’. It’’s more of a jam session with Baritone Saxophone – Snooky Flowers, Gerald Oshita,
Bass – John Kahn, Congas – Dino Andino, Drums – Bob Jones,
Lead Guitar – Michael Bloomfield, Piano – Mark Naftalin, Tenor Saxophone – Noel Jewkis, Trumpet – John Wilmeth.
Nick Gravenities and Taj Mahal also feature on a track. Bloomfield left a legend as a blues player that was bigger than his back catalogue, and this record is often forgotten and is in the shadow of Super Session and the Live Adventures records, which is a shame because we are not overburdened by Bloomfield records by his death in 1981.
It has a lovely under-rehearsed blues jam feel, which is what it was. And some of the performances at the same concerts that produced this album were included on My Labors, Nick Gravenities’ album.
It got a major label release on CBS, possibly because Super Session had been such a big hit #12 in the USA but it didn’t chart. If you want a collecting task, you could do worse than collect every album that Bloomfield is on. Brewer and Shipley’s Weeds is particularly good and also features Jerry Garcia.
Various – Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West
