It stands to reason that a musical performer who has been entertaining for 46 years, and in that time has 32 recordings under his belt, would have an extremely vast repertoire.
John Hammond fits the bill. His intense solo acoustic blues-style guitar, honed in coffee houses, concerts halls and festivals over the years, allows him a sense of freedom in presenting material to his audiences and in part, is the reason he is appearing in two shows this week at An Die Musik.
“I don’t plan a show, I just do whatever I feel like [doing],” Hammond said. “I’ve always done the [songs] I can make my own, put all of myself into.”
And until recently all these hundreds of songs were exclusively by other artists, musicians he loves and considers phenomenally talented: Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker.
But in 2005, a reinvention of the 64-year old Hammond took place when record producer, G Love (Garret Dutton III) was called on to create a new album. Love, who considers Hammond one of his own main musical influences, knew what he wanted from the artist.
“In 30 years, he hadn’t done any writing until a few years ago,” Love said. “There are now five of John’s [original] songs on this record and the title track is quintessential John Hammond.”
Hammond, who said he found his voice in composing, will perform some of these originals including “Eyes behind Your Head,” “Take a Fool’s Advice,” “Heartache Blues” and the title cut, “Push Comes to Shove” during the show.
The album is titled “Push comes to shove” and for G Love, it symbolizes what the record is about when he says “It’s raw, it’s dirty, it’s blues, but it still has a funky edge to it.”
Whether performing the work of other artists or his latest originals, the music never gets old or repetitive for Hammond.
“Every night is new; when I sing a song, it’s like the first time every time,” he said.
IF YOU GO
John Hammond
Venue: An die Musik Live
409 N. Charles St., Baltimore
When: 8 p.m. Thursday; 8:30 p.m. Friday
Tickets: $35/ $30 for students and seniors
Info.: 888-221-6170; 410-385-2638; www.andiemusiklive.com
