One of the groups included is THE HOWLIN'
WOLF BAND with Hubert Sumlin, Henry Gray,
Calvin Jones, and Wild Child Butler
"Red Rooster"
"Sitting On Top of the World"
The recordings made with the Howlin' Wolf and with the Muddy Waters band were
the only ones done in a concert setting—live performances for an audience. The
night before any of the taping was done, after the sound check and with all the
players in the house, there was a roving free-for-all jam. "I was up there with
any number of different groups of musicians," says Shepherd. "One would go up,
someone else would come down, and each change changed the vibe of the whole
thing. That's how you become a better musician in my book, constantly playing
with different people, and learning different approaches and how to fit in. I
think you can get a vibe for how amazing that show was by watching the film."
From the Howlin' Wolf band, pianist Henry Gray
and guitarist Hubert Sumlin each sing a song. Sumlin was the young guitarist
that Wolf trained to deliver the signature Howlin' Wolf sound (Muddy Waters
stole Sumlin from Wolf, but Wolf eventually wooed him back.) "Playing with
Hubert, it was like I gained another father," says Shepherd. "We really had a
serious connection. He told me he'd played with everybody, from Clapton to
Stevie Ray Vaughan, ‘But you,' he said, ‘You're the one I've been waiting for. I
knew you were coming and now I know it's you.' Wow, what could I say to that? I
look forward to playing with him again."
Henry Gray was Wolf's pianist for a dozen years,
beginning in 1956. From Louisiana, he had already established himself in Chicago
as a popular session musician, recording behind Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Bo
Diddley, Jimmy Rogers, and Billy Boy Arnold. "Henry Gray played chords I've
never heard," Shepherd explains. "He's out there pushing the envelope even at
his age, throwing in stuff that sounds like it just barely belongs. On ‘Red
Rooster' he plays this solo, and at first I was wondering if he was playing out
of key, but he's not, he's just taking the song really far out. You've got to
know what you're doing to know that he's right. There's so much to learn from
these guys."
TEN DAYS OUT: Blues From The Backroads is a record that
will be played for years to come. Set in the present, it is built on the
strength of the past and it sings clearly to the future. "
http://www.tendaysout.net/