The Randy Oxford Band
Review of
"All The Buzz!"
by James Middlefield

 

For years, Randy Oxford has been pumpin' his trombone slide around the Northwest. You could find him in horn sections with Little Bill and the Blue Notes, as the excitement in the Junkyard Jane Band, as special guest on albums produced by musician friends, at jams he instigated and promotes from Federal Way to Kent and back, and at any number of guest appearances. Now he is leading his own band, hand picked by him for their drive, talent and proximity. And with the help of executive producer Jane Henderson, Randy has put out a CD with the most inventive amalgamation of original sounds and orchestration the Northwest has heard on a blues album in years.

The cd starts from a slight buzz of a bumble bee and revs up to a racing car engine growl from Randy's horn. It combines the Texas tinged vocals of Virginia Klemens, the Chicago/Bloomfield school-of-guitar grooves of Jerry Lee Davidson and Steve Blood, the New Orleans sound from Randy's trombone, the R&B drumming of Riky Hudson and the solid bottom end from bassist Jack Kinney. The CD, of course, features Randy's trombone extensively but at the same time, each player in this band gets a chance to shine.

Virginia Klemens is the lead vocal on 10 of the 13 songs. Her voice is loud, proud and full of personal, individually recognizable style. She's got a sort of southern drawl with the raw gutsiness of Janis Joplin on top. Guitarist Jerry Lee Davidson takes a turn on vocals with 'Texas Hurricane', a song he co-wrote with Marge Sampson. It burns with low tones from Jack Kinney's bass and Randy's horn and slithers with steamy slide of Tacoma's Steve Blood.

Of the thirteen tunes none is less than four minutes long and the longest is another original written and sung by Jerry Lee called 'Moscow Blues' coming in at over 7 minutes. There is ample opportunity to enjoy the exciting instrumentation of this band. It's definitely a blues CD but not your ordinary blues. About half way through drummer Riky Hudson leads the band down an R&B road with his vocal delivery of 'Peach' written by "The Artist" who has been known also as "Prince". You'll enjoy the graphics on this CD too. The cover illustration by local illustrator Phil Chestnut depicts each member of the band as a bee flying out of a trombone.

And not since Paul Delay's "Heavy Rotation" has there been a CD name as likely to get mentioned in Blues circles and radio airwaves. "All The Buzz!" is sure to be the buzz around here for 2004. Get your honey and take a listen. Surely, the Northwest is just the start for this talented band.

1. Washington Blues Society
2. Mark's Online Music Source in the Mogs, Inland Empire
3. Blues To Do