After garnering critical success from their 2016 International Blues Challenge win, Seattle roots-duo Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons are back with their new album A Black & Tan Ball, due out July 28. The 13-track collection, featuring vocals and instrumentals from harmonica legend Phil Wiggins, will present reinterpretations of blues standards from artists like Lead Belly, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Lane Hardin.
Ahead of the album’s release, the group has shared “Longin’ For My Sugar,” a soulful, melancholy tune originally recorded by Leroy Carr that meditates on the pain of a failed romance.
“Leroy Carr was one of America’s blues piano greats,” say Hunter and Seamons. “His playing and singing style were laid back, sophisticated, and helped usher in the urban blues style found in the early days of the Chicago blues scene. Sharing the stage with the beautiful styles of Scrapper Blackwell, the two of them brought an elegance and finesse to urban blues.”
The duo also extol the virtues of collaborating with Wiggins on Carr’s track, noting “Playing this song with Phil was a testament to his dexterity, virtuosity, and ability to really absorb the true roots of a song.”
Listen to “Longin’ For My Sugar” below.