(4CD)
Although life hasn't been easy for Sayles, he seems to have come
through the traumas OK. They started in his childhood, when he was
shifted from his broken home to a long procession of foster homes. He
ended up joining the Army in the late '60s and was promptly shipped to
South Vietnam. His tour of duty ended in 1971, and he came back to
Massachusetts for a time. Sayles picked up the blues harp while he was
in Vietnam, and made a slow adjustment back to civilized society upon
his return from three years in the infantry.
He discovered the music of Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) after
he returned home, and learned all he could from those recordings.
Sayles began to make trips to New York City, Atlanta, St. Louis, and
other cities, playing on the streets for tips from passersby in 1974
and for several years thereafter. He worked when he needed money as a
day laborer. He hasn't had a real day job since then, patiently plying
his craft in clubs, on street corners and more recently, at blues
festivals.
What shows in Sayles' playing are the long periods of time he spent
honing his craft on the streets and in subway stations. His approach
as a solo artist was to get as full and band-like a sound as he could
with his harp. It appears to have paid off, because Sayles is unlike
other harp players; his playing is full of extended phrasing and
super-quick changes in register. Sayles uses the harmonica as a
melodic device while coaxing sharp, almost percussive sounds from it
as well.
Sayles began to develop his songwriting voice in the mid-'70s, and
his debut for the JSP label is far from a straight-ahead blues album.
On his second JSP release, Sayles artfully blends funky, gritty urban
blues sounds with original, down-to-earth lyrics, successfully
avoiding a lot of blues clichés.
Perhaps his first big break was being "discovered" by Ralph Rinzler,
an organizer for the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife.
Rinzler paired Sayles up with Pete Seeger, and after a variety of
festival appearances, Sayles ended up moving to Washington, D.C. By
the early '80s, while living in Washington, Sayles had begun to form
his first bands.
Sayles' first record, Raw Harmonica Blues, was issued in 1976, long
before blues became fashionable, on the Dusty Road label. Sayles
didn't record again for 15 years, when he got picked up by JSP
Records. I Got Something to Say has some prominent guests on it,
including Washington's most celebrated blues guitar player, Bobby
Parker. Also performing on the record is guitarist Deborah
Coleman.
Hip Guy was released in 2000. Each of Sayles' JSP recordings are
well-worth seeking out, even at import prices, because of his original
take on blues music. Sayles would be the first to tell you that he's
not a straight-ahead Chicago blues player. He takes a much more
mongrelized approach to the music, mixing in elements of New Orleans
funk, Chicago blues and rock & roll in his playing.