Another “Blue Train” on the Tracks

courtesy of Jazz Promo Services

This past April 1, Seraphic released a new album entitled Blue Train. That release date is a significant one, since those expecting a new take on the classic Blue Note album of the same name featuring John Coltrane will definitely be “April fooled.” Instead, the new release is the latest offering from Susie Blue & The Lonesome Fellas, which is basically a latter-day swing band featuring vocals by “Susie Blue,” which is the performing name assumed by Solitaire Miles.

As the advance material for this release observed, this is an album that “blends genres and eras - Jazz, Western Swing, Honky Tonk, and Blues.” Readers may recall that, when lockdown conditions due to COVID were at their height, it seemed as if too many album releases were languishing in what I called “the slough of insipidity,” when what was really required was more upbeat performances to keep spirits raised even in dark times. Upbeat is definitely the prevailing rhetoric on this “alternative” Blue Train album, which offers a generous share of originals with occasional glimpses towards past champion vocalists, such as Ruth Brown.

However, while there is more than enough content on this album to raise the spirits and keep them elevated, I have to confess that, after listening to only a few of the tracks, it was hard for me to resist the urge that I would rather be listening to Coltrane. To be fair, Coltrane is much more of an acquired taste, while Susie and her Fellas will be readily received with a warm welcome by those that just want to have a good time in their listening experiences. Nevertheless, it is important to point out that these tracks definitely deserve attentive listening. This is not the sort of the music that a bar or restaurant would want to provide as “background!” Most likely, as I become more familiar with Susie’s style, she may well have her own place in my own “foreground,” even if that place is some distance from Coltrane!