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25 October 2011
D’Mar & Gill: American Music With An African Beat
D’Mar & Gill’s "Real Good Friend" is more than just a good album: it’s a
significant one. For despite what some record companies would have us
believe, this CD proves that it is still possible to develop an original sound
while playing traditional delta blues and that blues music does not need to be
poorly played and crudely recorded to pass as "authentic".
Derrick "D’Mar" Martin and Chris Gill are an acoustic drums-and-guitar duo from
Mississippi. Recorded live in the studio, their debut album holds eight Gill songs,
one co-written instrumental and a cover of the Willie Dixon classic, "My Babe".
Chris Gill, who handles most of the lead vocals and plays guitar, originally learned
his craft at the feet of Bentonia legend Jack Owens and went on to play with Taj
Mahal, Doug MacLeod, and Kim Wilson. D’Mar plays a hybrid drum kit with
congas in place of the snare and toms and sings; he has spent sixteen years
playing for Little Richard and working with the likes of Bobby Rush, Big Jack
Johnson and Roy Gaines.
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Impeccable credentials, no? Then let’s horrify
the purists: at the time of writing, Gill’s
website advertises that the repertoire of his
regular band The Sole Shakers includes both
"Wonderful Tonight" and "Mustang Sally", and
D’Mar & Gill’s own ReverbNation page
misspells Jack Owens’ name, suggesting Gill
spent many a night "soakin’ up the blues at
the Subway in Jackson" with the guitarist from
Cannibal Corpse instead. For his part, D’Mar
leads a 10-piece Nu Funk orchestra on the
side and has produced everything from hip-
hop to classical music on his Airtight label...
Which of course just goes to show that when
the music is really good, none of the hype
matters anyway – and "Real Good Friend" is a
brilliant release.
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The genius is in the arrangements: it’s the combination of the two players that
makes this music special. Without D’Mar’s syncopated beats, the music would be
merely traditional; by providing percussion that appears simultaneously modern
and ancient, he transforms the songs and changes the atmosphere. Yet without
the conservatism in Gill’s singing, slide playing and songwriting, would there be
enough for the fusion-minded drummer to reinvent, to jump off from...? As it is,
the guitar and the drums breathe like one big funky animal, postmodern in nature
and African in spirit.
The duo’s voices mix seamlessly, nowhere more so than on "My Babe", possibly
the finest track on the CD – to hear an oft-covered tune like that molded into a
new groove with such passion is worth the price of the album alone. Other
highlights include the funky title track, the Skip James-influenced "Tore Down" –
confirming the Bentonia connection! – and the closing instrumental “International
Blues Stomp“, which wouldn’t sound out of place on a second line-infected John
Mooney album. Incidentally, that tune was named after the International Blues
Challenge in Memphis, where D’Mar & Gill reached the semi-finals this year. Well
done, gentlemen!
ANDRES ROOTS
D’Mar & Gill: Real Good Friend. Airtight Productions, 2011
Chris Gill (vocals, guitar), Derrick "D’Mar" Martin (drums, vocals)
Produced by Derrick "D’Mar" Martin & Chris Gill
Links: D'Mar and Gill Reverbnation, Facebook, Chris Gill website, Blind Raccoon
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