Guy Schwartz

By now it's common knowledge that Texas has lent some pretty big names to the history of the blues, including Lightning Hopkins, Albert King and the Vaughan brothers. Hailing from the Houston area, Bluesguy Schwartz and the New Jack Hippies soundly continue the tradition with a CD full of good rocking and low-down blues plus inspired R&B. Featuring guest vocalists Gloria Edwards (hell of a voice!) and Heath Spencer Philip, the New Jack Hippies deliver a nice mix of 12 tunes on Blue Jack Hippies.

Through nicely wrought harmonies and capable lead work by Guy Schwartz, these guys (and one girl) raise some Texas dust. According to their website, this band of blues guys travel all around the country treating the folks to their brand of boogie woogie blues.

Song highlights include the contemporary blues of "Under Suspicion," Ms. Edwards's very cool blues vocals on "Ain't Got Time for the Blues," with some interesting horn arrangements which fits the song like a well worn glove, and their tribute song to Houston radio station KPFT, "Sunday is Our Time (for the Blues)." I can add some perspective to this song as I was happily listening to the blues show mentioned one Sunday morning as I was driving back to my then residence in Louisiana from Austin. Great tunes and a truly wonderful show to listen to through the always crowded freeways of Houston.

Mr. Philip belts out "Since My Baby Went Away" with an honest emotion rarely found these days. A novelty tune in "Right Now" sounds like the tune was recorded off an antique radio from the 40s. Very interesting. All tunes were written or co-written by Schwartz. Nicely done.

Take a listen to the little band from Texas. No, not ZZ Top but Bluesguy Schwartz and the New Jack Hippies. Also check out tour dates and CD info at bluesguy.com.

Bruce Coen

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Then - In BLUES BYTES'
Year End Review, Bruce said...
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As is the custom for Blues Bytes, we use the January Pick Hit to feature the reviewers' and readers' Top Ten Lists for the past year.


Bruce Coen
(Blues Bytes reviewer from California)

"Just want to say at the outset of my fav picks for the past year that I thoroughly enjoy writing reviews for all you blues fans around the world. It truly is one of my life's highlights. Keep the blues alive throughout 2002.

Here's the list in no particular order:

Buddy Guy: Sweet Tea. Guy finally releases his premier CD with guitar chords that pulsate through your body like a jackhammer. Raw, thundering and melodic all at the same time. Best blues CD of the year.

Alligator Records 30th Anniversary Collection. Wonderful two-CD sampling of Alligator's artist roster through their illustrious 30 year career as the best blues label in the country.

Bluesguy Schwartz and the New Jack Hippies: Blue Jack Hippie. Great south Texas band that's been around for years that beautifully incorporates all styles of blues into this unique release. Available at their website. Also check these "guys" out live if they breeze through your neighborhood.

Double Trouble: Been A Long Time. Great release from Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm band featuring a cool collection of guests.

Bob Dylan: Love and Theft. Not necessarily a blues release through and through but Dylan's feel and understanding of the blues filters in on almost every song making this CD ring true to most blues fans. This CD has also shown up on nearly everybody's Top Ten list of 2001.

Eric Clapton: Reptile. Another wonderful release by the master himself proving his stand alone guitar playing on tunes of blues, swing and jazz.

John Lisi: Blues For Chloe. Young lion out of Baton Rouge, the unofficial blues center of the world, with help from some of the area's best including blues legend Tabby Thomas. Find it at Lisi's site, www.johnlisi.com. This guy can lay down some scorching slide.

Clarence Gatemouth Brown: Back to Bogalusa. Every release from Brown continues his solid reputation as one of today's premiere players. This CD is no exception.

James Blood Ulmer: Memphis Blood - The Sun Sessions. We finally get to hear through the able assistance of producer Vernon Reid (Living Colour guitarist) this truly fantastic guitarist and his soulful blues.

Otis Taylor: White African. Super mix of blues beautifully realized by one of contemporary blues up and coming artists. "My Soul's in Louisiana" is worth the price of this CD alone.

Extra: Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey. Remarkable video documentary on the development of the blues built around interviews of the "quiet" bassman from the Stones coupled with Wyman's interviews of the legends including B.B. King and Buddy Guy. Currently running on Bravo.

That's it. See you next year.

Yours in the Blues, Bruce Coen


- Blues Bytes - September, 2001

"Calling this outfit a jam band may be accurate, but it's not complete. The multi-faceted Hippies take their cues from the compact disciplined stylings of bands like The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Little Feat and War, in addition to the likes of Phish and The Dead. If anything, call The New Jack Hippies a well-rehearsed jam band! And, as good as this band sounds on disc, it's usually more effective in a live setting - preferably under the sun with a cold beer in hand."
- Bob Ruggiero, New Times Newspapers


"Moses Guest, the John Evans Band, and Hayes Carll turned in good one-song performances. That goes double for Guy Schwartz and the New Jack Hippies featuring Gloria Edwards, whose Louisiana-fried version of Song of The Year nomination "The House is Burnin' Down" threatened to do just that..."
- John Nova Lomax, Houston Press

"Pulling from the great genre pool, The New Jack Hippies are a unique spin on bluesy, jam-style rock. Eclectic from the very sense of the word, the often large conglomeration of musicians is remarkably creative and cohesive."
-PJ Cooper, Houston Headline

"The New Jack Hippies have busted out of southeast Texas with their blues, rock, funk and tripped-out jams in tow..." -Colorado Springs In dependant

"....we have a very eclectic evening of music, and that eclecticism is personified by (The New Jack Hippies). The main core of this band up here, are two of my oldest and dearest friends from Houston, Texas. We grew up playing music together... and the thing about Texas that's great is that you get to play country, you get to play rock & roll, you get to play the blues, and you get to do just about anything you want. These guys play all kinds of music, and now they have morphed into one of Texas most popular blues rock hippie jam bands!" - Billy Block (Western Beat/CMT - Nashville)

Hailing from the Houston area, Bluesguy Schwartz and the New Jack Hippies soundly continue the (Texas) tradition with a CD full of good rocking and low-down blues plus inspired R&B.
-Bruce Coen, Blues Bytes (reviewing 'blue jack hippies' CD)

"Schwartz has been an uncontested guitar wielding presence on the Houston scene for decades...Given the mountain of songs he's written over the years... this Best Songwriter nomination is a belated payment for a long overdue I.O.U." -Houston Press - Quotes Collected By Guy Schwartz

Who needs the hassle of traveling to Austin, buying a wristband and then waiting in line with hundreds of other saps outside shows you can't get into?

Houston will have its own version of a certain well-known conference at the second annual South By Due East Music Festival, which will feature two days of music and poetry.

It's the brainchild of "guerrilla marketer" MArlo Blue and her boyfriend, local musician Guy Schwartz.

"Everybody that's on the bill is playing music because they love it, but they also like a little attention," Schwartz says. "It's another way to get exposure for bands who maybe weren't accepted to perform up in Austin."

Acts of all genres, including Zwee, Sonny Boy Terry, Drop Trio, the Hightailers, Opie Hendrix, Chango Jackson, Little Brother Project, Last Soul Descendants and the Rosta Jazz Avengers, will be featured along with Schwartz's own New Jack Hippies, on two stages.

A lot of the shows will be filmed; last year's flick can be viewed at www.hippies.tv.

Oh, and the whole thing is free.

Schwartz certainly has a background in musical diversity -- when his mother had jazz great Lionel Hampton over to dinner, his father played country records by Eddy Arnold.

Schwartz's latest project is a four-disc set on which he plays four different musical genres.

And he didn't have a problem finding diverse acts for this homegrown festival. "Most of us kept that week open anyway in case we were playing South By Southwest," he notes.

"And hey, now we don't have to go there!"

- Bob Ruggiero
- The Houston Press