Ladies Man

At 91 and spry as a kit fox, dapper Mississippi native Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins is the reigning king of blues and boogie piano and, as the title suggests, still a charmer. Even when he's singing a tune as un-PC as "Big Fat Mama" ("with the meat shakin' on the bone"), his time-cured voice and playful phrasing have genuine appeal. Most engaging are the duets he sings with a half-dozen divas. They include Ruth Brown, whose wide-mouthed belting powers "Chains of Love"; Susan Tedeschi, who packs smoky beauty and soul into Ivory Joe Hunter's "Since I Lost My Baby"; and Angela Strehli, who puts her sassy Texas accent to work on her tribute "Hey Mr. Pinetop Perkins." Elvin Bishop plays elegant slide response to the call of Perkins's singing on "How Long." The hottest jamming, however, is on the instrumental "Pinetop's New Boogie Woogie," a two-piano variation on his signature tune. The joyfully dueling keys of Perkins and Marcia Ball offer a lesson in barrelhouse that crosses generations and their Texas and Delta roots. --Ted Drozdowski