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Kokomo: Blues and Beyond

It's been quite fascinating to watch the 10 year metamorphosis of Kokomo from the boutique blues trio Kokomo Blues (main man singer/guitarist Derek Jacombs, flanked by the flying Bullot brothers, Grant and Roger, on harp and bass) to the looser and larger aggregation/s on this album. Still centred on Jacomb's compositions and vocals and Grant Bullot's personal harp sound, Kokomo is now aided and abetted by bassist/multi-tasker Nigel Masters. This anniversary album features remixes, previously unreleased tracks, exhumations from 'lost' albums, collaborations, contributions from various visiting firemen, nods to the past and some hints of a possible future. For newcomers, 'Blues And Beyond' is a good introduction to Kokomo now. Their sound inhabits roughly the same territory as Bob Dylan's new album 'Love And Theft' (not a comparison to be made lightly), hovering somewhere between blues, country and folk (and, here'n'there, a touch of Leon Redbone-like vaudeville). There's an old tongue-in-cheek conundrum: "can a blue boy play the whites?" Well, he may begin by imitating black originals, but if he is true to his own code, he certainly can, in his own fashion. This intelligently put together limited-edition album is a class act. Note, too, that not many Kiwi bands have actually been able to release a decade-celebratory album that isn't only greatest hits or nostalgia while still being very much alive and working their buns off most weeks of the year, as Kokomo does. Released on Jayrem Records.

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