Artist:     11 Guys Quartet

Album:     Small Blues and Grooves

Label:     VizzTone

Release Date:     1.10.2020

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BUY DIGITAL

BUY PHYSICAL

Today it is rather common for blues and roots artists to have their own record label. Recently we’ve seen blues artists Samantha Fish, Mike Zito, Devon Allman and others go that route. For a long time, record sales have not nearly sustained most of the artists we write about on these pages. Touring, producing, and now label ownership are additional revenue streams to tap into. Maybe VizzTone president and harmonicist Richard Rosenblatt was a bit ahead of his time. In another sense, though, his band, 11 Guys Quartet, may be a bit late to the party. Heck, the band began playing together in the early ’80s, laid down these tracks in 2008, and decided to finally release a bit of modesty and these 14 instrumental tunes on CD.

Billy, Paul, Chuck and Rosy are a group of Bostonians known more formally as Chuck Purro (drums), Bill “Coach’ Mather (bass), Paul Lenart (guitar) and Richard Rosenblatt (harmonica). These are all short originals, composed and/or jammed by the band, most led by Rosy’s harp which has nice fat tone and a keen sense for both melody and groove. Surely, these are four guys bent on having some fun musical conversations interactively. They’ve no interest in wild improvisations, or even lengthy soloing. They are straight, unadorned live takes.

The group was originally named the 11^th Hour Band and they released Hot Time in The City Tonight in 1985, the first album on the fledging Tone-Cool Records label, a precursor to VizzTone. The four members played on and off together for the next few decades while they each had other pursuits, musical or otherwise. Yet, the chemistry and joy in playing kept bringing them back together.

The moods and tempos vary and it’s best to just let the CD roll continuously rather than land on a specific track or two. It doesn’t break any new ground but the close chemistry in the playing breathes right through the CD to give a warm listen.

—Jim Hynes