Sacramento-based blues, swing and jump masters Little Charlie & the Nightcats are a study in contrasts. Between the seriousness of their musicianship and their wry lyrical vision, the band's music is simultaneously technically brilliant, soulful and loads of fun. It's been 30 years since world-class guitarist Little Charlie Baty and harmonicist/ vocalist/ songwriter Rick Estrin first teamed up and took jump and swing jazz and mixed it with hard Chicago blues, rockabilly, bebop and Estrin's sharply original songs. One critic said their sound is like "Charlie Christian playing in Little Walter's band." Estrin's horn-like harmonica solos and wise-guy vocals blend perfectly with Baty's explosive guitar style, earning the group critical, worldwide recognition. "Endlessly impressive," raves the Associated Press. "Marvelously entertaining and brilliantly played," agrees the San Francisco Examiner.
Make no mistake. Little Charlie & the Nightcats are not new to the scene nor are they a modern day revivalist band bent on recreating classic songs already done to perfection. They are originators. Their utter mastery of American roots music-from Chicago blues to Texas swing to proto-rock'n'roll to jumping jive and bebop-is fueled by Baty's jaw-dropping guitar acrobatics and driven by Estrin's winning original songs, cutting vocals and deep harmonica playing. The Village Voice simply calls Little Charlie & the Nightcats "the class of the field." Live, Little Charlie & the Nightcats are unparalleled, exhibiting showmanship that goes all the way back to the old-school. According to Baty, "Our philosophy is that you should entertain people with the music. The music can stand on its own, but the theatrics and energy is another level to let the people know that we're enjoying what we're doing."
On their latest album, That's Big! (AL4883), the band is obviously enjoying what they're doing, as they cover a wide array of sounds and styles -- all from their original point of view. While still displaying their usual knack for tongue-in-cheek twists of phrase, the songs on That's Big! display a rootsy inventiveness that's a bit more serious than some of their past material. I Know She Used To Be Your Woman could be an old Sonny Boy Williamson II song. Money Must Think I'm Dead could be a Louis Jordan creation. That's Big perhaps could have been recorded by the Coasters. But no, these are all Rick Estrin originals. And there's nothing with which to compare the instrumental tracks Bluto's Back and Bayview Jump. That's simply because nobody plays guitar like Little Charlie, who is, according to Estrin, "the most talented guy I've ever known." Fellow Alligator recording artist Rusty Zinn guests on two of the album's 14 original songs.
With each new Little Charlie & the Nightcats release, it becomes clearer and clearer that not only are these cats great musicians, Rick Estrin is a songwriter of unparalleled skill. His songs are constantly compared to those of Willie Dixon and the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller. Estrin won the 1993 W.C. Handy Award for his composition, My Next Ex-Wife, and has written songs for a growing legion of famous fans. Three of his songs found their way onto Grammy-nominated albums: Don't Put Your Hands On Me (from Koko Taylor's Force Of Nature), I'm Just Lucky That Way (from Robert Cray's Shame + A Sin), and Homely Girl (from John Hammond's Trouble No More with Little Charlie & the Nightcats serving as his backing band). Hammond recruited Little Charlie & the Nightcats to back him on his next release as well, and he took them on the road, where they found themselves sharing stages with Robert Cray and The Allman Brothers Band. Other artists who have covered Estrin songs include Little Milton, Rusty Zinn, Kid Ramos and Mark Hummel. For Estrin, songwriting is an important art form. "I like songs that tell stories," he says, "songs that are well-crafted and meaningful." Besides Dixon and Leiber and Stoller, Estrin cites Sonny Boy Williamson II, Percy Mayfield and Baby Boy Warren as his main songwriting influences. As a harp player, Estrin has few peers. "Rick Estrin sings and writes songs like the brightest wise guy in all bluesland and blows harmonica as if he learned at the knee of Little Walter," raves Down Beat. "Estrin is a heralded genius of the harmonica, as well as a foremost songwriter," says The San Francisco Bay Guardian.
Matching Estrin's prowess lick for lick are Baty's wild, seemingly impossible guitar excursions. From Charlie Christian-like jazz to Chicago blues to West Coast swing and rockabilly, Baty has all the techniques mastered. He seamlessly blends various elements into a guitar sound that is his alone. Guitar World declares, "Baty's straight blues playing is eye-popping...he stretches solos to the breaking point, skittering on the edge, where one wrong note will bring the whole thing crashing down." "Little Charlie Baty plays as much guitar as Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy put together," raves The Village Voice. "He is one of the most fluent guitarists working in any genre." Rounding out the Nightcats are drummer Jay Hansen and bassist Lorenzo Farrell, both veterans of the Bay Area's Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums.
Baty first met Estrin in the early 1970s while Baty was a harmonica-playing UC Berkeley student. With Rick already an accomplished harp player, Baty decided to switch to guitar full time and the two formed a blues band. After relocating to Sacramento, Baty quickly emerged as a take-no-prisoners, one-of-a-kind guitarist, equally at home playing swing, jazz, blues, or any variations he could imagine. With the addition of a drummer and a bass player, Little Charlie & the Nightcats were born.
In 1986 the band sent an unsolicited tape to Alligator Records. Alligator president Bruce Iglauer was blown away. He flew to Sacramento to see the band perform and was sold. Their debut album, All The Way Crazy (AL 4753), was released in 1987 to overwhelming success. Almost immediately they went from playing small Sacramento blues clubs to performing concerts and festivals around the country and around the world.
The band's following albums, 1988's Disturbing The Peace (AL 4761), 1989's The Big Break! (AL 4776), 1991's Captured Live (AL 4794), 1992's Night Vision (AL 4812), 1995's Straight Up! (AL 4829), and 1998's Shadow Of The Blues (AL 4862) solidified their reputation as one of the most adventurous and sophisticated blues bands around. 2002's That's Big! continues their success, with reviews and features running in The Chicago Tribune, The New York Post, The Washington Post, The Houston Chronicle, GuitarOne, Guitar Player and many other national and regional publications. The band also was featured in a 20-minute interview and performance segment on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition.
Guitarists, harp players, songwriters, fans and critics remain overwhelmed. "Can anyone name a better guitarist than Little Charlie?" asked Blues Revue. "Who can out-tough Rick Estrin? Little Charlie & the Nightcats play some of the deepest blues out there." Little Charlie & the Nightcats constantly criss-cross the country to play hundreds of live performances every year, including major blues festivals in Chicago, San Francisco, Cincinnati, New York and Portland. They've played The Montreal Jazz Festival, San Diego Street Scene and Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival. "We're good at putting on a show," boasts Estrin. "People don't go out to see people who look like them. They want to see something special. I was schooled in this business to be a showman, and that's what you get when you come to see us."
With their continued non-stop touring, the band, like their music, remains in constant motion, attracting new fans across the country and around the world. "The blues needs converts," noted The Village Voice, "and Little Charlie & the Nightcats make a few new believers every night."
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