Doug Deming & the Jewel Tones

Doug Deming & The Jewel Tones is one of the shining lights of the Detroit blues scene. In spite of years on stages throughout the Midwest with his own band (formerly the Blue Suit Band) and roadwork with the likes of Alberta Adams and Lazy Lester, Double Down (Mighty Tiger) marks the guitarist’s breakthrough release. With cohorts Brian Miller (harp), Dale Jennings (bass) Don Greundler, Jr. (drums), and a handful of special guests, Deming breezes through a dozen superbly crafted originals like a man prepared to make his mark on a bigger map. Indeed, this stands its ground against anything released this year. The Rick Holmstrom and Steve Mugalian-produced effort was recorded in Culver City, California rather than on the home turf. While there is certainly more than a taste of left coast swing in Deming’s tone and execution, as Fred Reif points out in his concise liner notes, Deming is perhaps more influenced by Texan T-Bone Walker. From the opening lines of “Goodbye Baby,” Deming and company make it glaringly apparent that they are first-class players. Everyone shines here, and Deming and Miller interact particularly well on this uptempo number. They bring it back home for the following “Blackjack.” This is slightly more upbeat than Kenny Martin’s version on the Motor City Rhythm & Blues Pioneers set from earlier this year. Here the shades are more brilliant, if less warm. Guest Greg "Fingers" Taylor (ex of Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefers) proves himself a stellar blues man, as his harp lines inject “Bad For You” with a cross between Butterfield and Little Walter attitude. He returns for “Let Me Be,” on which in combination with Deming’s guitar and Denny Freeman’s piano he helps evince the classic Muddy Waters-Little Walter-Otis Spann lineup of nearly half a century ago without sounding intentional. The hipster grooves of “Make It Last,” co-written with Jennings, and the scorching “You Don’t Even Care,” a tune on which Deming sounds like he’s chasing Little Charlie Baty, again point to both the quality of the writing and playing captured here. If Greundler doesn’t call to mind Gene Krupa on the rollicking “HDF” (credited to the band) you need to get yourself back to classics school. The “Sing, Sing, Sing”-style intro is a feature for Brian Miller, who plays Benny Goodman to Greundler’s Krupa. Deming may not be the Charlie Christian in the stew, but that’s only because he laid low for the rest of the band. On “On the Midnight Shift,” courtesy of Chris Codish’s organ, the band revisits the groove of Super Sessions, while “Mr. Blues” lets Deming cut loose on the backside of Miller’s stellar harp work. “It’s A Crime” has a decidedly Elmore James groove to it, and “It’s All About the Digits” has a jazzy feel out of the Ronnie Earl book. By the closing instrumental title track, with its almost rockabilly feel, this listener was exhausted. Doug Deming may not be a household name yet, but this is the calling card of a man on his way. Double Down is one of the year’s best.

- Mark E. Gallo

If the efforts of Doug Deming don't garner him widespread attention and glowing reviews, there's something seriously amiss in the music industry, much more than anyone thinks. Hailing from Detroit's Motor City area with a guitar in his hands, the 52 minutes of swinging jump blues, gritty shuffles, and driving boogies parlay plenty of evidence to his talent. Perhaps one of the most impressive features of this CD is that each of the dozen tracks are originals, which in itself is a rarity considering the number of bands determined to mine the same territory, most showing the same results that come from beating a dead horse. From the opening deft licks that propel "Goodbye Baby", Deming employs all the necessary ingredients to deliver a solid and rewarding blues album; taste, tone, restraint, timing, and phrasing with his guitar plus worthy vocals, all of which should mark him as an up-and-comer. The storming Chicago thrust of "Bad For You" and the lowdown Chess-era approach of Let Me Be both find Greg "Fingers" Taylor working some rasping harp licks to great effect, but the regular slot held by Brian Miller isn't in danger as he offers his own nasty-toned solos, a potent chromatic grip in "Make It Last" and the throbbing jungle roll of "HDF". Deming and Miller plow through a fiery double shuffle in "Mr. Blues" as Dale Jennings and Don Gruendler hold rhythm chores steady while adding plenty of dynamics when things build to fever pitch, while on the brooding T-Bone Walker-ish "It's A Crime", the groove slows to a crawl allowing Deming plenty of room to toss a multitude of Texan guitar licks about with no grandstanding, and once the fuse is lit, he rises to the occasion with brilliant bends and double stops searing with thick tone. "You Don't Even Care" combines spellbinding guitar and harp chops behind a breakneck pace and Rick Holmstrom stops in playing tandem guitar lines for the closing title track, also featuring Steve Mugalian's percussive help. Denny Freeman, an elder statesman from Texas, handles piano duties for close to half of the tracks and he blends so well it's more like he's a regular as opposed to a special guest and Chris Codish's organ adds distinctly to a handful.

Doug Deming seems to be more of a throwback to a bygone era than a purveyor of modern blues in the 21st century and the recording reeks of 1950's Chicago Blues regardless of the liner notes saying it was tracked in California. While he's not yet a smoldering vocalist, he knows his limits and range and manages to stick comfortably within the confines of those areas, another sign of maturity. It's easy to understand why Doug Deming has worked with Johnny Dyer, Lazy Lester, Johnny 'Yard Dog' Jones and others, he's got the goods to go the distance. You can head to www.dougdeming.com for more information.

- Review By Craig Ruskey

Deming writes memorable songs....consistently outstanding
instrumentation....
- Review By Karen McFarland

Hotshot Michigan guitarist Doug Deming and this group (formerly the Blue Suit Band) have made their reputation backing such legends as Lazy Lester, A.C. Reed, Johnny "Yard Dog" Jones, and Detroit's own Alberta Adams. They display the same versatile professionalism on the disc produced by Mighty Flyers mainstays Rick Holmstrom and Steve Mugalian. A tight rhythm section (Don Grendler, Jr. on drums and Dale Jennings on upright bass) provide the steady beat for Deming's virtuoso guitar work. While special guests (Mugalian and Holmstrom), Greg 'Fingers' Taylor on harp, and a handful of other talented musicians) drop in and out of the mix. Fans of Texas blues a la Gatemouth Brown and T-Bone Walker will dig Deming's top-notch axe grinding approach. . . - Review By Andria Lisle

Double Down (Mighty Tiger 6007), the new album from Detroiters Doug Deming & the Jewel Tones, hits on heavy swing, slow grinds, gritty Chicago boogies, jazzy struts and charging jump -- all within the first five tracks. This all-original set shows Deming's accomplished songwriting and strong guitar work -- jumping a la Pee Wee Crayton ("Double Down") stringing like Thunderbirds-era Jimmie Vaughan ("BlackJack"), low-down like Lightnin' Slim ("Let Me In"), dirtying up Grant Green (the funky "On the Midnigt Shift"), rolling like T-Bone ("It's a Crime"). The singing is no embarrassment; Deming's pitch is good, and if his voice is a bit thin, he and producer Rick Holmstom make the most of what he has. Greg "Fingers" Taylor (harmonica), Chris Codish (organ) and Denny Freeman (piano) are key additions to the Jewel Tones' core of good, clean, real blues fun. - June/July 2003