Release Date : March 20, 2026
By Phillip Smith; April 25, 2026
I’ve been listening to Laura
Chavez play for quite a while. The
list of artists she has collaborated with over the years is quite an extensive
one. She has played with Candye Kane,
Nikki Hill, The Mannish Boys, Monster Mike Welch, Vanessa
Collier, Chickenbone Slim, and Mitch Ryder, just to name a
few. It has been a personal treat to be
able to catch live performances of her playing with Nikki Hill and Chickenbone
Slim. After being nominated four
times in a row for best guitarist at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis,
Tennessee, she very deservingly won it in 2023. My Voice is Chavez’s debut solo
album and consists of ten stunning instrumentals. The record is rightfully
named “My Voice” because for Chavez, her guitar IS her voice. With Chavez on all guitars, she is
joined by Léa Worms on organ/piano, Tomek Germann on bass, Marty
Dodson and Denis Palatin on drums, and Antonio Econom on
percussion.
With a furious rhythm and a smokin’ bass, the record kicks off with a fabulous cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Born on the Bayou”. Chavez absolutely knocks this out of the park. The I love the Memphis groove rolling through “Shot-Zee”. Loaded with Booker T-inspired keys and Steve Cropper-ish guitar licks, this one reminds me to the sweet and funky sounds which Stax Records is known for. While on the subject of Stax, I dig it when Chavez and the band dust off the 1965 Booker T and the MG’s single “Chinese Checkers” for a delightfully-tight, soulful spin. My ears perk up as the calming and dreamy front-end of “The Wanderer” kick into a higher gear. Chavez’s performance is a genuinely amazing listen. As the Latin sounds of the Mexican traditional “El Cascabel” begin flowing into my ears, I am totally gob-smacked. It is musical perfection. The album ends with another Mexican folk song, “La Llorona”. Based on the folklore tale of a ghostly spirit seen around bodies of water, mourning her children who died by her very own hands in a fit of jealous rage, this song is the epitome of the blues. Dark and heart-wrenching, the song is beautifully played.
It only took one listen to Laura Chavez’s “My Voice” for it to become a favorite. This is a record guitar aficionados will surely want to give a listen to.
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For more information about Laura Chavez, visit her website https://laurachavez.com
Photo by Austin Britt