''Sweet Giant of the Blues'' is an album by blues pianist and vocalist

Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Miss ...

recorded in New York in 1969 and released by the BluesTime label.Wirz' American Music: Otis Spann Discography
accessed November 11, 2019

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Stephen Thomas Earlewine stated "''Sweet Giant of the Blues'', a 1969 session for Bluestime released in 1970, is one of his very last albums and if it can't be called definitive, it's nevertheless a robust example of his gifts. ... This is loose and unpredictable in a predictable fashion, delving into a little bit of Latin beats and rhumba and a whole lot of rock & roll ... Spann seems to seize the changes and enjoys playing with the band, never trying to play against his support".

Track listing

All compositions by Otis Spann except where noted # "

Got My Mojo Working "Got My Mojo Working" is a blues song written by Preston "Red" Foster and first recorded by R&B singer Ann Cole in 1956. Foster's lyrics describe several amulets or talismans, called ''mojo'', which are associated with hoodoo, an early African ...

" (

McKinley Morganfield McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

) − 3:03 # "Sellin' My Thing" − 7:23 # "Moon Blues" (Bob Thiele,

George David Weiss George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Weiss was born in a Jewish fa ...

) − 4:26 # "I'm a Dues Payin' Man" (Jim Rein) − 3:10 # "I Wonder Why" − 4:22 # "Bird in a Cage" − 6:06 # "Hey Baby" − 5:38 # "Make a Way" − 4:23

Personnel

− vocals, piano * Tom Scott − tenor saxophone, flute *

Louie Shelton William Louis Shelton (born April 6, 1941) is an American guitarist and music producer. Biography During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s Shelton was a session musician working in recording studios around Hollywood. Among his more notable session wo ...

− guitar * Max Bennett − bass *

Paul Humphrey Paul Nelson Humphrey (October 12, 1935 – January 31, 2014) was an American jazz and R&B drummer. Biography Humphrey was born in Detroit and began playing drums at age 8, taking private lessons in Detroit. In high school he played baritone hor ...

− drums *Mike Anthony − banjo, guitar (tracks 1, 3, 4 & 8)

References

{{Authority control 1970 albums Otis Spann albums Flying Dutchman Records albums Albums produced by Bob Thiele