Black Patti – Satan’s Funeral (2021)

Black Patti, named after a short-lived Jazz/Blues record label in 1927, has dedicated themselves to the early roots of acoustic blues. The German duo consists of professional musicians Peter Crow C. (guitar, slide, harmonica, vocals) and Ferdinand Kraemer (a.k.a. Mr. Jelly Roll, guitar, mandolin, vocals). Taking the road typically less travelled by today’s performers of this genre, Black Patti draws upon inspiration provided by early Blues artists to write and arrange their own music. With a two-voiced harmony, impressive instrument mastery and a capturing stage presence, Black Patti has taken the European Blues scene by storm, with their own nuanced version of early American Blues. Black Patti writes and plays their own innovative Songs, arrangements and interpretations of early, traditional American Blues.

Enthusiastic about their new album, world-famous Comic Artist and Blues fan R. Crumb has drawn the Cover Artwork for “Satan’s Funeral“ (2021). (press release)

And here´s their 3th album:

I’ve known Black Patti since they first began playing together ten years ago. They’ve always drawn their material from the best of the early blues artists and added original arrangements. Now they’ve gone over to the Lord’s side on their latest album, and once again they interpret the best of the early artists and their songs – Blind Roosevelt Graves, Reverend Gary Davis, Eddie Head. Skip James, and a host of others. I love their original harmonies and fine instrumental work. Give this album a listen. It’s a blessing. (David Evans)

If you want to explore early twentieth century fingerpicked guitar or if you just feel that your soul could use a bit of dusting off, this should raise your spirits. (Lonesome Dave Fisher)

Black Patti with Robert Crumb (May 2022):

With honest positive no-nonsense music, the Black Patti duo knows how to cheer up humanity in these days where no one really understands what all the “new normal” entails. (Eric Shuurmans)

Personnel:
Peter „Crow C.“ Krause (guitars, harmonica, vocals)
Ferdinand ‚Mr. Jelly Roll‘ Kraemer (guitars, mandolin, mandola, vocals)

Titel:
01. Black Patti Is Coming (Krause/Kraemer) 2.54
02. God Don’t Like It (Traditional) 3.40
03. Be Ready When He Comes (James) 3.09
04. I Saw The Light (1) (Davis/Red) 2.56
05. Lonesome Valley (Traditional) 3.57
06. Down On Me (Head) 3.13
07. Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind On Jesus) (Graves) 3.18
08. Where Is That Place? (A Tribute To Jack Owens) (Krause/Kraemer) 4.33
09. I Saw The Light (2) (Davis/Red) 3.42
10. Everyday Will Be SundayGet On The Road To Glory (Smith) 2.58
11. Get On The Road To Glory (Bunn) 3.06

*
**

More from Black Patti:

The official website:

Black Patti – Red Tape (2017)

The duo of Peter Crow C. and Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Kraemer from Munich, Germany focuses on the sound of prewar blues… either covers or originals. The name Black Patti is taken from a short lived Chicago record label from 1927 that lasted less than a year. Their intent is sincere. The instrumentation of acoustic guitars, mandolin and harmonica is great.

Both musicians sing, often in harmony, and wrote all the material themselves on this excellent release. The only other musicians involved are double bassists Ryan Donohue and Uli Lehmann who add a bottom line pulse to several songs. The material is traditional in terms of styles with ragtime and Piedmont well represented.

The mandolin is not often heard in modern blues though there are exceptions such as Rich Del Grosso and specialist guitarists who play occasionally, such as Billy Flynn. As such this disc is a real change and the jingling tone of the mandolin on opener “Ask Your Mama” sounds great. The two voices combine well and there is no issue with accents as both sing well in an adopted language. Lyrically “Evil Queen Of Diamonds” harks back to earlier traditions of the good man being done down by an evil girl (and the gambling allusion does no harm either!).

Peter had a hand in writing all songs bar one here, the exception being Ferdinand’s’s “Good Bye Little Baby” which borrows the riff (and some of the lyrical theme) of SBW’s “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” with the two vocalists singing in a call and response style. The album title comes from “Red Tape Blues” which brings age-old concerns about money up to date with reference to ‘plastic card’ with a chorus that reprises the ‘Glory Hallelujah’ refrain in a deceptively jaunty presentation of some tough facts about debt.

“I Shouldn’t Have Done It” is an attractive tune with another good chorus as the pair confess to a number of misdemeanors involving alcohol and an unlikely partner: “She was six feet four had no front teeth, she took off her wig and there was nothing beneath”. Peter’s harmonica is featured on the hillbilly tune “Wooten Stomp” and the fast-paced “I’ll Never Come Back Home”. “Frenchmen Street Rag” takes us on a trip to New Orleans while “A Stroll With Mr Roll” is an autobiographical piece about mandolin player Ferdinand of whom it is said (perhaps tongue in cheek) “when he is on tour he buzzes like a bumble bee”. The album closes with “Nagging Blues” that could quite easily pass as a vintage song but is another of Peter’s tunes.

This is a well recorded disc that will be of definite interest to acoustic blues fans, especially those who appreciate the mandolin. (bluesblastmagazine.com)

Personnel:
Ferdinand „Jelly Roll“ Kraemer (mandolin, guitar, vocals)
Peter „Crow C.“ Krause (vocals, guitar, harmonica)
+
Ryan Donahue (bass, background vocals)
Uli Lehmann (bass bei 05.)

Tracklist:
01. 01. Ask Your Mama (Krause/Kraemer) 3.29
02. Evil Queen Of Diamonds (Krause/Judge) 3.53
03. Good Bye Little Baby (Kramer) 3.15
04. Red Tape Blues (Krause) 3.37
05. A Little Bit Friday (Krause/Kraemer) 4.08
06. I Shouldn’t Have Done It (Krause/Judge) 3.39
07. Wooten Stomp (Krause/Kraemer) 2.48
08. Frenchmen Street Rag (Kramer) 2.36
09. That’s My Sugar (Krause) 2.01
10. I’ll Never Come Back Home (Krause/Judge) 3.01
11. A Stroll With Mr. Roll (Krause) 2.53
12. The One That Is Always True (Krause/Kraemer) 2.33
13. Nagging Blues (Krause/Judge) 2.10

*
**

Black Patti with Robert Crumb (May 2022):

Live November 2021:

The official website:

Black Patti – No Milk, No Sugar (2015)

And here´s a very unique and special duo from Germany:

The blues has often been declared dead and gone, but one of its best attributes is the ability to survive and reinvent itself. Certainly, we lament the passing of the old vanguard masters. But let’s be optimistic: When mourning the loss of the originators, new musicians always emerge to carry on the tradition. Sometimes they descend directly from the orbit of the legendary masters, but often they seemingly come out of nowhere, or from places least expected. When that happens, it is often a refreshing and exciting renewal.

Take Black Patti, one of the best country blues duos to come out of Germany, and certainly one of the biggest blues talents ever to come out of that country. The duo started out in Munich in 2011, the capitol of Bavaria, a place better known culturally for lederhosen and beer gardens. But the duo founders Peter Krause, born 1967, und Ferdinand Kraemer, born 1990, had other ideas. Their passion was for the old, purely acoustic blues, and they are still committed to this musical genre today. The duo sometimes invites other musicians who are not part of the core duo to join them, such as Ryan Donohue on upright bass, but that depends on the size of the venue and purse of the gig.

The duo took its name from a defunct US record company. Black Patti was a small, obscure Chicago record label of the pre-WWII era. It was founded in 1927 by Mayo Williams, who named his label after a now virtually forgotten African American opera singer, Sissieretta Jones, a “Soprano Who Shattered Racial Barriers,” nicknamed Black Patti because she looked similar to the Italian singer Adelina Patti. The label lasted for only seven months and issued 55 releases before going broke. Their peacock logo was revived decades later by the well-known Yazoo label. That’s also where the Bavarian duo took its brand, and they also cover a few songs from the Black Patti label’s repertoire.

Some blues musicians give themselves exotic-sounding stage names that often become more famous than their own. That’s as common today as it has always been, and Black Patti is no exception: When the Munich lads get on stage or into the studio they appear as Peter Crow C. (Krause) and Mr. Jelly Roll (Kraemer). These pseudonyms are their artist names, both humorous and somewhat self-ironic. Ferdinand Kraemer’s selection is a personal tribute to the great Jelly Roll Morton because his first name was Ferdinand, too. And Peter Krause explained that his puzzling moniker “Crow C.” is derived from the phonetic pronunciation of his last name, as they would say it in Texas.

Unquestionably, these guys are the real deal. They have released three CDs, and all are deeply rooted in the old-time blues. (thecountryblues.com)

And here´s their debutalbum from 2015.

I know that if you two had sat down with Son House and Willie Brown and Joe Martin in Robinsonville in 1930, and did any one of the “Moon Going Down” numbers the way you did “Future”, there would have been a lot of smiles all around, and you would have been as thoroughly welcomed by them as Al Wilson was in 1964, and for the same reasons. I was really moved by that number and by the closing Patton number. So much respect for the material and yet so much originality.” (Phil Spiro)

“Here’s the ideal combination of serious study of the great blues masters and a contemporary spontaneity. Black Patti don’t just try to recreate old sounds, although they have the talent to do so.

Instead, they make the songs their own with original arrangements that still remain true to the aesthetics of the tradition. I’ve seen the best and the worst of the Blues Revival for more than fifty years. Black Patti represent the revival’s young generation, and they’re taking it in a good direction.” (Dr. David Evans)

In other words: A hell of a record !

Personnel:
Ferdinand „Jelly Roll“ Kraemer (guitar, mandolin, vocals)
Peter „Crow C.“ Krause (vocals, guitar, harmonica)

Tracklist:
01. 01. Morning Train (Traditional) 3.16
02. Jelly Roll Swing (Krause) 3.05
03. You Got To Take Sick And Die Some Of These Days (Morganfield) 3.39
04. The New Early In The Morning (Williamson I) 3.28
05. Busy Bootin‘ (Arnold) 2.57
06. Future Blues (Brown) 3.28
07. Black Patti Boogie (Kruse/Kraemer)
08. Please Baby (Sheiks) 3.08
09. I’m So Worried About My Baby (Kramer) 3.11
10. The New Shake That Thing (Sheiks) 3.18
11. Big Mama’s Door (Hart) 4.17
12. I’m Goin‘ Home (Patton) 3.20

*
**

And the cover of their latest album was drawn by none other than the legendary Robert Crump … because he likes kMusic so damn much: