The resumes of John Fohl, Joe Krown and Johnny
Sansone speak volumes about their talent. In their individual travels,
these three versatile bluesmen have played with such giants as Robert
Lockwood Jr., Jimmy Rogers, Bo Diddley, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert
Sumlin Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Luther "Guitar
Jr." Johnson. Collectively, they've released eleven albums
as bandleaders. Now they've pooled their instrumental prowess and
have returned to their roots. In just three months, the trio has
headlined Snug Harbor, the Maple Leaf, and Le Bon Temps Roule, and
a recent Old Point Bar performance was broadcast live on WWOZ-FM.
Word has spread so fast that Fabulous Thunderbirds lead singer and
harmonica ace Kim Wilson recently showed up - and sat in with the
band - at a gig at Liuzza's by the Track.
"Sometimes you don't get to really play
your influences as much as you'd like," says Sansone. This
is bare bones, three soloists, and the solos can go any way. This
is all meat and no potatoes."
The songbooks mined by the trio stretch back
to the 1920s and the esteemed piano/guitar duo Leroy Carr and Scrapper
Blackwell. From there, the trail leads to the folk-influenced blues
of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, the spare Delta-born, Chicago-bred
blues of Otis Spann and Robert Lockwood Jr., the slurred beat of
dual guitarist/harpist Jimmy Reed, and the Louisiana swamp blues
Lazy Lester and Slim Harpo. Add in touchstones like Fohl's love
for finger-picking icon Merle Travis, Krown's prowess with Kansas
City boogie-woogie, and Sansone's dead-on devotion to the piercing
rural stylings of Sonny Boy Williamson II, and it's the makings
of a trip through 20th century blues.
The trio released their first self-titled CD Sansone Krown &
Fohl in April 2004.
Sansone Krown & Fohl won a 2004 Big Easy Award in the
blues category.
