"Live & Extended!" Autographed CD

This packed show was recorded live, and the 12-track CD, Live & Extended, reflects all the energy of harmonica driven raw blues informed by 1970s greats such as James Cotton and Paul Butterfield. In fact, this outstanding record touches on nearly all of the great blues harpists - Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, Jerry Portnoy, Slim Harpo – even the enigmatic Sonny Boy Williamson I (John Lee Williamson.)
A Beale Street favorite, and one of the fastest rising younger blues stars, Santini, a harpist, singer, and songwriter, moved to Memphis from North Carolina in 2003. He wrote or co-wrote eight of the songs on Live & Extended, including two with Horton and one with Charlie Musselwhite. The record begins with the funky “One More Mile” originally written and recorded by Muddy Waters. Santini said this version is pure Cotton, his hero. You can hear echoes of both legends in the recording. The second track “This Time Another Year” is a standout. Written by Santini and Musselwhite, it’s a classic Chicago blues shuffle with a strong, slightly delayed backbeat. There’s a huge round of applause from the crowd after a hard hitting Santini harp solo, followed by a bridge featuring a mellow guitar riff, and a booming harp ending reminiscent of Musselwhite.
Williamson’s “Elevate Me Mama,” is a slow blues that definitely brings us back to Muddy’s bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Santini’s long harp solo sounds like Little Walter. The seven-minute, danceable “Evil Woman” is another gem with a terrific guitar solo, an audience clapping sequence, and Santini’s un-miced harp solo. “No Matter What I Do” is an ode to a lousy relationship. (She comes home with “buttons missing from your shirt.” That cant’ end well.) But the song has a commanding Portnoy-like harp solo, and Santini’s growly vocals make it even better. The one song on the record that strays a bit from straight up Chicago blues is “What You Doing To Me,” which seems a bit on the country side of the street. It was co-written by Memphis colleague and keyboardist Victor Wainwright. The two songs co-written by Big Walter Horton are lively rock ‘n’ rollers; and Slim Harpo’s “Got Love If You Want It” gets a shot of oomph on this CD. It’s the opener for the second set at the show and there’s another blast of applause. “With a great live audience fueling you, it’s a lot more inspirational, and allows you to give more to the audience,” said Santini.
Voila!

RELEASED 2015