A Romantic Jewel Pulled Out of Luther Kent's Trick Bag

If there were a single artist in which Louisiana music lives and breathes, it would have to be "Big Luther" Kent, a world class singer whose latest CD, "Classic Songs," gives voice to the depth of feeling that turns blues and jazz into poetry.

For nearly 40 years, Kent's "trick bag" of musical styles has set clubs, theaters and festivals on fire with raunchy, low-down blues, sizzling r&b dance tunes, and romantic favorites that pluck the heartstrings with their timeless beauty. It is these classic love songs that compose the new CD, recently released by Club Louisianne to a devoted audience awaiting more of Kent's virtuosity.

That's just what they're getting in "Classic Songs," with the magic of piano, muted trumpet and a rich, deeply sensual voice that lingers upon and caresses the beauty in 11 old favorites including "Willow Weep for Me," "Come Rain or Come Shine," "What a Wonderful World," "Georgia On My Mind," "Stormy Weather" and "You Don't Know Me."

It's a melodic "vibe" Kent heard in his head and wanted to reproduce in the studio. The CD's romantic mood "taps upon all the styles of music that have moved me over the years," he says. "I just want people to enjoy it, like I have and still do. The songs on this record have endured for years. They are great songs, and every one of them has stood the test of time."

The same can be said of Luther Kent, born Kent Rowell in New Orleans on June 23, 1948, with a vocal grit and growl that made him a natural as a down-and-dirty blues singer. From the first, he was that and much more.

As far back as Kent can remember, his German and Italian family loved to play music together in their living room. Kent started out on piano and drums, never expecting to sing, but after the family moved to Baton Rouge, a teacher secretly entered him in a school talent show. Terrified, the 13 year old sang "In the Still of the Night" and won the competition. By age 14, he was singing with a local band and had signed his first recording contract. Montel Records released "I Wanna Know," and two more singles followed. The artist was off to a running start.

Over the next few years, Kent sang with The Greek Fountains, a busy, popular band in demand regionally, then criss-crossed America with his own, 9-piece r&b band, Blues, Inc. In 1970, he and Duke Bardwell sang for Cold Grits and Black-Eyed Peas, a red-hot r&b group that signed with Ode Records. From there, Kent auditioned in New York to sing lead for Blood, Sweat & Tears. He toured with the band in 1974, 1975 and briefly in 1976, while the band's regular singer was on hiatus.

In 1977, RCS Records released Kent's first LP, "World Class," a lush array of original symphonic ballads and sassy blues tunes like Earl King's funky "Trick Bag." Recorded in Boulder, Colorado, and at Abbey Road Studio in London, the CD is still selling today.

The "Trick Bag" groove was hot and smoking, so Kent circled a band around the sound and Charlie Brent's horn charts. For the next 10 years, Luther Kent & Trick Bag was the number one late-night r&b band in New Orleans. After midnight, superstars like Joe Cocker, Etta James and Ricky Lee Jones ended up onstage in the French Quarter with Kent and the band, which recorded three select albums: "It's In the Bag," "Luther Kent & Trick Bag Live," and a Christmas gospel album featuring Pete Fountain and Allen Toussaint.

These days, Kent's rolling all of this talents into one very big "trick bag." His 11-piece band, Luther Kent & Trick Bag, plays all over the U.S. and splits into trios and quartets for special events. Kent is also singing with an all-star Texas group, The Fabulous Chicken Hawks, which has Charlie Brent on saxophone and as its arranger.

While "Classic Songs" might seem like a departure for Kent, it's only a change of pace. The CD, recorded with pianist Bruce Elsenshon and trumpeter Bobby Campo, features the quiet, sensitive side of this incredibly versatile singer--one who brings to each cut the intrinsic beauty of the song and a rainbow spectrum of feeling and melodic creativity: "You can feel and hear the blues in these songs," Luther says, "but I'm not singing blues or jazz. I'm singing great songs and expressing them in my way."

With the release of "Classic Songs," Kent proves himself a Louisiana virtuoso capable of sliding from any musical genre to another with perfect clarity and ease. "Classic Songs has given me a chance to stretch my identity and to experiment," the artist says. "Music is my love and my passion, and it's still fun because I'm doing exactly what I want to do.