Smokin' Joe Kubek
electric lead and rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar,            slide guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, grand piano,               and guitar talkbox                                                          Bnois King
lead vocals, electric lead and rhythm guitar
Jerry Hancock
electric bass and percussion
Jas Stephens
drums and percussion
Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff
tenor saxophone and harmonica
Les Izmore
baritone sax
Gary Slechta
trumpet

Horns arranged by Kaz Kazanoff and             Smokin' Joe Kubek

Produced by Jim Gaines

Bullseye Blues & Jazz

11661-9617-2©

2000 Rounder Records Corp.

To listen to audio clips click on each song

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At his best, blues guitarist Smokin' Joe Kubek strains out low, emotional chords on all manner of guitars and on a Hammond B-3 organ. Either introspective and drawn-out or mean and gritty, Kubek can produce power or feeling with equal facility.

But on latest CD, "Bite Me," with Bnois King contributing vocals and rhythm guitar, Kubek and King seem to miss one another's vibe. King's clear voice enunciates too finely for Kubek's balls-out style, while Kubek seems to want to go faster than King on roadhouse numbers (rendering his progressions more obvious), and slower than King on lowdown ballads (glossing over the beauty of Kubek's notes). What rarely suffers is Kubek's slide-guitar work and mastery of effects. These aspects of his talent would be difficult to hold down no matter how mismatched his band might be.