Rollin’ and tumblin’

Blues entertainer Guitar Shorty must be seen to be fully dug. His stinging, biting big guitar tone and confident, brawling voice—which remind me of both Lonnies of the blues, Brooks and Mack—are mightily represented on his most recent albums, Roll Over, Baby and Topsy Turvy. But note the album titles. These are the clues. On any given night you may be witness to a somersault or a headstand—while he’s still throwing down brilliant licks, mind you. These are all reasons that a young Jimi Hendrix went AWOL on weekends in Seattle to see Shorty play in the early ’60s; Buddy Guy always tips his polka dots to Shorty as a big-brother influence. Shorty is effervescent, whichever way he is pointing.