These Blues
Brown was enjoying the peak of an astounding career resurgence when he recorded THESE BLUES in 1994. Amazingly, his powers were in no way diminished. It has been said before that Brown sounds here almost exactly like he did on his breakthough hits of the late '40s, when his urbane brand of post-Nat King Cole blues provided a blueprint for such artists as Ray Charles and Chuck Berry.
Backed by an excellent small combo, Brown tears into a set of blues and bluesy pop songs. He even goes solo on Duke Ellington's "I Got it Bad (And that ain't Good"). While his vocals are as insinuating as ever, it's Brown's piano playing that astonishes-an amazing mix of traditional blues licks, Erroll Garner-ish block chords, and quicksilver octave passages that seem to appear out of nowhere.

Honey Dripper
"Soothing" is not a word normally associated with blues, but its the word that best captures the experience of listening to Charles Brown, and Honey Dripper is no exception. Listening to it is like sipping a fine bottle of cognac. Seventy-two years old at the time of this recording session, Brown sounds agile, almost ageless. Indeed, time seems to stand still when he plays and sings in that same understated, urbane manner he popularized with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers back in the 1940s. Like his other recordings this decade, Honey Dripper features Brown's regular working combo, led by guitarist Danny Caron and including saxophonist Clifford Solomon. The songs range from straight-ahead blues to jazz ballads, with some straddling the line.