Robert Finley at the Jazz Cafe

Robert Finley played an entertaining show to a sell out crowd at the Jazz Cafe last night. Just a few years ago, after plying his trade as a carpenter for many years, he was busking on the streets of Memphis and other Southern US cities. Robert is partially sighted and was declared legally blind and forced to retire from carpentry in 2015. But that marked the start of his new career as a blues singer. His breakthrough to success came in 2016 when he recorded his first album 'Age Don't Mean A Thing' for Big Legal Mess Records having been discovered by the Music Makers Relief Foundation, a non profit organisation. Ironically his current age (a mere 69) was a recurring theme throughout last night's show, as he mentioned it several times. I first saw Robert at the Blues and Barbecue Festival in New Orleans in 2017 and and his latest show - his second in London in recent years - marked the launch of his fourth album 'Black Bayou'. Many of the numbers he sang, in a powerful and very soulful voice with some surprisingly high notes at times, came from that album. But he began with the autobiographical 'Sharecropper's Son' from the 2021 album of the same name, which was inspired by his early life in Bernice, north Louisiana. He continued with the soulful 'Miss Kitty' from his new album and another from that source included a plea to be kind to the elderly in 'Nobody Wants To be Lonely'. Other songs included the powerful 'Medicine Woman' from 2017, and the upbeat 'Tell Everybody', 'You Got It and I Need it', 'Waste of Time' and, as an encore, the swamp blues of 'Alligator Bait', all from 'Black Bayou'.

Supporting Robert vocally was his daughter Christy Johnson who, together with a grand daughter, provided background vocals on his new album. Christy is a fine vocalist in her own right and did good solo versions of 'I'd Rather Go Blind' and 'Clean Up Woman' and there are plans for her to record an album, Robert said. Much of Robert's recent success has been down to the interest of Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and his Easy Eye Sound label. But it's Robert's sheer force of personality, despite rather mediocre backing from his band. that made this Jazz Cafe show one to remember. Judging by the enthusiastic response of the big crowd he will be back.