Blacks, Whites & The Blues

Mark T. Small’s Blacks, Whites & the Blues covers tunes from the 1890s through the 1950s, tracing the evolution of the blues as an art form. But this album is more than a historical exercise. Small interprets everything from ragtime marches like “A Georgia Camp Meeting” to the modern blues standard “The Thrill Is Gone” with visceral feeling that goes beyond scholarship. Rather than present the songs chronologically, Small jumps back and forth between eras, veering from the simmering strut of Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster” into the hip-swinging slide of “Hesitation Blues” (first recorded in 1914) without strain. His growling vocals on Muddy Waters’ “Trouble No More” and Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago” are balanced by the laid-back charm he brings to “Old Gray Mare.” Throughout, Small plays a variety of vintage acoustic guitars (along with a 2008 Fender Telecaster) with great finesse, infusing Mississippi Fred McDowell’s Delta blues classic “61 Highway” with downhome snap and rendering Scott Joplin’s ragtime tango “Solace” with nuanced elegance.