Jesse Fuller
Jazz, Folk Songs, Spirituals And Blues

The album I am writing about is one, or rather The album of my heart, if only for a simple reason, this is where my passion for blues began. It was the first album I listened to, but its value doesn't end there, because it is also and above all a really great album.
Jesse Fuller, nicknamed "The Lone Cat", was a sensitive, cheerful man with encyclopedic knowledge.
Fuller was one of the greatest one-man-bands, with a very personal style. He was the inventor, among other things, of a particular percussion instrument called fotdella (the name was inspired by his wife who called it "foot-diller"). The instrument is composed of a set of handmade pedals with padded hammers; pressing the pedals produces a bass sound, which allowed Fuller to accompany himself rhythmically on a 12-string guitar across various registers.
But let's talk about "Jazz, Folk Songs, Spirituals & Blues" recorded in 1958. The tracks, as noted in the title, come from various genres (only two are his compositions), and Jesse accompanies himself with guitar, harmonica, kazoo, and naturally the fotdella.
Fuller's interpretation is highly personal. The album opens with the traditional "Take This Hammer" (one of his favorite songs, as he says before starting), and you can already sense the originality of his performance. It’s a real rollercoaster, due to Jesse intensifying the sound and singing at particular moments, then suddenly everything drops and so forth until the end. This is a characteristic that permeates the entire album; Fuller, with intuition, sensitivity, and knowledge, always knows when to be vigorous and energetic, entertaining, or more introspective, as is perceived, for example, in the melancholic "99 Years". Playful and light-hearted is the instrumental version of "Tiger Rag" (by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band), spiced with an amusing harmonica solo that at a certain point is interrupted by some humorous scat singing, then the harmonica resumes to close. Other pieces that deserve at least a mention are the beautiful versions of "Stagolee" and "Hesitation Blues".
Fuller manages to make various genres his own, and in his music, the genuineness of the man he was shines through, and this is one of his albums that best testifies to this. Perhaps not a masterpiece, but certainly in some ways a unique album. Please allow me to give it five stars for the reasons stated at the beginning.