#428 : Thorbjørn Risager - Come On In

2020 – Ruf Records 

By Phillip Smith; Jan.18, 2020

I’ve been a big fan of Thorbjørn Risager since reviewing his Too Many Roads album in 2014.  This eight-piece band from Denmark has been playing together for seventeen years, and continually raise the mark with every release.  Rooted in blues, and infused with elements of jazz, swing, gospel, and rock, Risager’s music is some of the best recorded today.  Their new album Come On In is absolutely stunning.  Backing Risager while he takes lead on guitar and vocals, is Emil Balsgaard on piano/keys, Joachim Svensmark on guitar, Kasper Wagner on assorted saxophones, Hans Nybo on tenor sax, Peter W. Kehl on trumpet/flugelhorn/trombone/sousaphone, Søren Bøjgaard on bass/moog/synthesizer, and Martin Seidelin on drums/percussion. 

Title track “Come on In” rolls out with a fetching pulse from Seidelin while Risager lures me in with his cool-as-hell voice and etheric guitar licks.  I love the slide on “Last Train”.  This fabulous, hard-driving blues tune is marvelously infectious.  “Two Lovers” is beautifully written and performed.  Risager constructs a dreamy and hypnotic atmosphere in “On and On”.   There’s a deep soulful energy about this one, that draws me right in.  With the dials set at eleven, they tackle “Love So Fine” with searing guitar, pounding keys, and a backline of brass.  This powerful jam is a great one to rock out to. 

Thørbjorn Risager and the Black Tornado have unquestionably won me over yet again with Come On In.  It is such a splendid album to usher in the new year.           

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For more information about the artist, visit this website https://risager.info     

Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado - Change My Game

Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado

Change My Game

2017 – Ruf Records

By Phillip Smith; June 25, 2017

It’s been almost three years since I reviewed Thorbjørn Risager’s award winning studio album, Too Many Roads.  I loved that album.  His latest release, Change My Game is just as tight and sophisticated.  With Risager front and center on vocals and guitar, The Black Tornado consists of pianist/organist Emil Balsgaard, guitarist Peter Skjerning, tenor saxophonist Kasper Wagner, saxophonist Hans Nybo, trumpet player Peter Kehl, bassist Søren Bøjgaard, and drummer Martin Seidelin.  As this tight-knit band from Copenhagen puts it, “Change My Game” is not just an album title, but also the guiding ethos that has driven this band from the start. 

Risager’s vocals on “I Used to Love You” are suave and debonair. They sound great sitting in the mellow dreamlike atmosphere of reminiscence which the Black Tornado beautifully conjures up.  “Dreamland” is contagious from the beginning; I love its callback to Eighties soul-rock.  Skjerning delivers up some killer guitar riffs which play very nicely with the big full keyboard sounds from Balsgaard.

Like a moth to the flame, I’m quite drawn to the swampy blues of “Holler ‘N’ Moan”.  Saturated with nice and greasy slide guitar, and sung with conviction, this track feels so good to listen to.  There’s a sweet heaviness to the way Risager sings “Lay My Burdon Down”.  He magnificently paints this one in a gloomy melancholy light.  Risager closes with a masterpiece called “City of Love”.  In a musical sleight of hand, he inventively shapes this one from a Texas blues boogie into a mind-blowing, psychedelic treat complete with horns and swirling keys.

Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado have scored big again, continuing their tradition of excellence in music with Change My Game.  Like a big, juicy steak, this is music one can delightfully sink their teeth into.  

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Lisa Lystam Family Band - Give You Everything

2016 –  Ramasound Records

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 29, 2016

I have nothing but the best things to say about the latest album from Lisa Lystam Family Band, Give You Everything.  Hailing from Sweden, this terrific blues band is fronted by vocalist Lisa Lystam, who has been called “The New Swedish Sensation” by Jefferson Blues Magazine , the world’s oldest blues magazine still in print.  Along with Lystam, this amazing band consists of guitarists Mattias Gustafsson and Fredrik Karlsson, drummer Patrik Thelin, bassist Johan Sund, and Mikael Fall on harmonica.  Blues singer, Ida Bang also appears as a backing vocalist.  Bang, together with Lystam, are known as The Tornadettes when performing with the acclaimed Danish bluesman Thorbjørn Risager.  Risager also makes a guest appearance on the album singing alongside Lystam in the beautifully melancholy duet “Something is Wrong”.   

It’s hard to beat the riveting blues-funk-infused “Give You Everything”.  Delicious and swampy, it’s a jamboree of outstanding slide guitar, sweet harp, and vocals dripping with attitude.  “Changes” is one hell of a track as well.  Lystam attacks this with a more soulful approach, while the rhythm section keeps the energy high.  This favorite of mine closes out with a heaping dose of bodacious SRV-inspired guitar licks.  Lystam’s vocals on “Worship Me” are rocking and sexy, while the dual guitar gives the song its unique hook.  The swampy slide in “Get Up and Move” is wonderful, and rich.  I could listen to this bluesy treat all day long. 

This fabulous group of musicians is blessed with an amazing amount of talent, excelling in both writing and performance.  I really hope I get a chance to see them play live sometime.    

Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado - Too Many Roads

2014 – Ruf Records

By Phillip Smith; June 21, 2014

Thorbjørn Risager was an unfamiliar name to me prior to hearing his spectacular new album, Too Many Roads, recorded with his band, the Black Tornado.   But I can tell you this much, I will remember his name from now on.  This eighth release from Risager, is a sheer delight and is sure to be a reckoning force on the blues scene this year.  In a nutshell, it’s twelve well-crafted songs delivered via a tight group of musicians operating together like a well-oiled machine.

Risager grabs the listener and pulls them in on the first few bars of the lead song, ‘If You Wanna Leave”, with gritty guitar riffs, reminiscent of George Thorogood , Eric Clapton-like vocals and soulful horn accompaniment. Title track, “Too Many Roads”, follow.  I feel like I’ve been dropped on the corner of the Crossroads in Mississippi when I hear this song about making the right choices.  The way it oozes that endearing swampy sound… it doesn’t get much better than this.

I love the way Risager’s strong gravelly vocals rides atop the killer guitar riffs in “High Rollers”, all with the attitude and energy of the Rolling Stones.  This track, about taking a chance in the game of love, makes me wants to break out the air guitar and play along.   

The beautifully remade “China Gate”, from the 1957 film, takes the listener to a quieter and more solitude spade.  Pouring emotion into every note sung and played, Risager and the Black Tornado make this exceptional song stand-out.   

With a touring schedule that consists of 80 – 100 shows a year, all that’s left to do is cross our fingers and wait for a U.S. leg of the tour.