*** Al Copley & the Fabulous Thunderbirds

GOOD UNDERSTANDING

(Bullseye Blues)

It takes only the first two tunes to get a good understanding of Al Copley's mastery of blues piano. On the opening "Doin' It" he makes like Professor Longhair, swingin' and funkin' on a syncopated New Orleans groove as if it were kid stuff. Then he cools down to simmer on his original ballad "Sunshine Moonlight," spinning sensitive melodies under Kim Wilson's wanton vocals, just waiting for the breaks when he comes on like Otis Spann -- turning those melodies into intricate spiderwebs, knit in fast spiraling flourishes. He'll work two notes till they seep into the heart, till you want the singer to get the girl so bad you're upset over it. Then he'll move back into the tune with a rhythmic flourish that cues Duke Robillard's guitar to sing.

The CD's ensemble playing is as tight as the friendship of these players, which goes back to the early days of Copley's charter membership in Roomful of Blues. But of course Copley's best friend is his piano. Which is why he can shift from barrelhousing (Amos Milburn's "Bad Bad Whiskey) to blue soul (Buddy Guy's classic "A Man and His Blues") with a flick of his wrist over the black-and-whites -- and sound as if he were born to play it all.

-- Ted Drozdowski