Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne is 80 years old but showing no signs of slowing down with his fifth album in the last eight years, “Ooh Yeah.” The boogie woogie piano player Wayne Spruell has assembled a diverse band to showcase his unique blend of rhythm and blues.
With nods to blues greats Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Otis Spann and Allen Toussaint, these original songs reinvent the sound of the masters and add some unusual elements that keep them sounding fresh. A couple of the songs feature Jimmy Bowskill’s banjo in a way that really works.
From the call and response to the title track’s boogie woogie to a latin rhumba instrumental to the Motown soul of some of the songs, Kenny’s vocals inspire and his band, with a powerful horn section and smoking saxophones, does not let him down.
They say blues is the one genre where you can grow old with dignity, and while there’s nothing dignified about “Ooh Yeah” Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne is taking advantage of a rush of creativity that belies his age.