JT

"LIVE" 2009 scores 9 of 10

Blues in Britain Issue 97 (dec 2009)

JT Lauritsen & The Buckhot Hunters - Live Hunter Records - HRC 00309

Scandinavia has a long and healthy relationship with the blues. They
have also produced several high quality blues bands of their own.
Included among them has to be Norway's J.T. Lauritsen and the Buckshot
Hunters. Their sixth album captures the band live in their home country,
with Memphian Billy Gibson on harp.

Band leader Lauritsen's accordion lends a cajun/zydeco feel to the
band's soulful sound which works surprisingly well. The opening track
("What Am I Living For?") is a good microcosm of the band's quality:
good vocals, a fine groove, and some nifty accordion. The band are
really tight and seamlessly switch tempos from rocking grooves like "The
Bug" to slow burners like the excellent "Broken Circle" with its great
churchy organ.

While most of the tracks are covers, they all get the J.T. Lauritsen
stamp. Indeed, the band's sound is fairly unique, although they do sound
uncannily like Flaco Jimenez as they polka into Dwight Yoakam's "Buenos
Noches From a Lonely Room". Things then build to a climax, rounding off
with the terrific soulful "That's How I Got To Memphis".

"Live" shows that J.T. Lauritsen and the Buckshot Hunters are an
excellent band. They do not just serve up a straight re-tread of their
studio recordings, but add something extra; the addition of Billy Gibson
on harp is an unexpected, but welcome bonus. If you have not yet
discovered the joys of J.T. Lauritsen, it is never too late to start,
and "Live" is as good a place as any to begin.

Rating: 9 - Gordon Baxter

(Blues in Britain).