Wayne Baker Brooks

The son of blues great Lonnie Brooks, Wayne Baker Brooks may have been born into Chicago blues royalty, but that doesn't mean he hasn't paid his dues along the way. He joined his father's band as a roadie in 1988, and started playing guitar in the band in 1990. In 1997, he formed the Wayne Baker Brooks Band while continuing to work with his father and his guitar-playing brother, Ronnie Baker Brooks. In 1998, in addition to appearing in the film Blues Brothers 2000, he also co-wrote Blues for Dummies with his father and Cub Koda, earning his first Real Blues magazine award (Keeping the Blues Alive) for the effort. In the next few years, he also had cameos in Barbershop and Barbershop 2 and was asked to perform at the 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Chicago.

Brooks started his own label (Blues Island) in 2003, releasing his solo debut, Mystery, in 2004, an album of very contemporary blues that also draws on soul, funk, and even a bit of hip-hop. Brooks had a big year in 2004: in addition to releasing his debut, he was featured twice on The House of Blues Radio Hour with Dan Aykroyd, won five(!) more Real Blues magazine awards (including Best Chicago Blues Tune and Best Chicago Blues Album in the Modern category as well as Best New Talent), and headlined the Chicago Blues Festival with his father and brother. In 2005 the Brooks family received a lifetime achievement award from the Poconos Blues Festival. Wayne Baker Brooks continues to play with his father, as well as fronting the Wayne Baker Brooks Band.

By the time Wayne Baker Brooks released his debut album, he had played the blues in Lonnie Brooks' band for almost 15 years, served as a roadie for two years before that, and led his own band for seven years (in addition to still playing with his dad). Clearly, he did not rush into a recording career. Instead, he paid his dues and took the time to find his own voice: a course a less savvy bluesman might not have made, especially considering Brooks' family legacy. It was a wise decision, because Mystery is not just a strong debut, it's a fully formed new vision that updates the sound of the blues without falling into the same tired blues-rock clichés. Instead, Brooks adds some soul, funk, and even a little hip-hop to his solid blues foundation and comes up with a great set of all-original tunes. Right from the opening title cut, you know this isn't your standard blues album. It opens with a tremoloed Fender Rhodes vamp with an acoustic rhythm guitar doing one thing in one ear and an electric doing something else in the other. And, are those turntables in the mix?! Yep, but it's a subtle touch like so many others throughout the album (and they're judiciously used on just two cuts).

Brooks is a strong, soulful singer; he's got a big, meaty Gibson tone; and his solos often don't go where you're expecting them to. The production is crisp without being slick, and it's got a nice open mix. Brooks knew what he wanted from the tunes, and his arrangements are impressive. Hammond here, Clavinet there, horns on a couple tracks, some tasty slide, and well-done backing vocals all add variety, but Brooks' singing and guitar playing are always the focus. He's equally at home on uptempo numbers ("Sooner or Later," "It Don't Work Like That") as he is on the slower numbers like the soulful "Exiled." He brings a bit of the funk to "Baby Stop," and "Nu Kinda Blues" is just what it says with its pumping bass, scratching, and killer harmonica playing over a ZZ Top-style groove. But despite these additional influences, Brooks is a bluesman to the core, albeit a very modern one, and that becomes clear every time he starts playing his guitar (and check out the exchanges with Lonnie on "It Don't Work Like That").

Mystery is not just a great album; it marks Wayne Baker Brooks as someone to keep an eye on as the blues enter the 21st century. As Wayne himself said, "Blues purists might not get my music but blues has to breathe fresh air sometimes." Amen to that. --by Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide