Ladyva (Vanessa Gnagi) — “Steam Train Boogie” — Independent
I don’t know how I could have let this album slip by last December — maybe I was lost in a Christmas haze. I’ve posted a couple of times about Ladyva’s fine boogie-woogie piano music, the first time in June of 2021.
Since then, I’ve been impressed by the fact that this post has received more page views here at the Roadhouse than anything I’ve ever published. Someone, or more than someone, visits it almost every day.
And I just happened to be poking around the interwebs recently and noticed that Ladyva (Vanessa Gnagi – (Very useful bio here) released a new album last December. It’s filled with her rollicking original keyboard stylings, and adds a couple of delicious classics, plus her vocals on three of the ten tracks. So it seems like it’s worth a visit.
She opens with her own sturdy piano/vocal version of the Muddy Waters classic, “Got My Mojo Working,” then chugs along the original “Steam Train” track. A “Lobster Groove 2.0” boogie follows, then she rolls through the Albert Ammons classic, “Boogie Woogie Stomp.” (Ammons was one of the founding fathers of that musical piano style, along with Meade Lux Lewis — Ammons’ long-time friend — and Pete Johnson in the mid-1930s. Ammonds’ “Boogie Woogie Stomp has been described as “the first 12-bar piano-based boogie-woogie, imitated by many jazz bands.)
“To Whom Do I Want to Lie” is a an elegant original, grammatically correct, slow and soulful ballad featuring Ladyva’s vocals again, then the original “Quarantine Boogie” stomps through with “Ladyva’s Stomp” rocking onward. “Return to the Blues” is a gorgeous, torchy slow blues.
“Jumpin’ the 88s,” which does just what it says, and “You’ve Got This,” a sly uptempo vocal, close out this session.
Ladyva is not a newcomer to her music. She’s been pounding the keys since she was 14, but does not seem well-known on this side of the pond. That’s a shame. Her piano work is impeccable, her boogie-woogie style is foot-tapping fun, and her vocals add another dimension to her craft. Listen and tap along.
Here’s a video of “Steam Train Boogie”
Track list & credits:
“Got My Mojo Working” (Muddy Waters)
“Steam Train Boogie” (Ladyva)
“Lobster Groove 2.0” (Ladyva / Silvan Zingg)
“Boogie Woogie Stomp” (Albert Ammons)
“To Whom Do I Want to Lie” (Ladyva)
“Quarantine Boogie” (Ladyva)
“Ladyva’s Stomp” (Ladyva)
“Return to Blues” (Ladyva)
“Jumpin’ the 88s” (Silvan Zingg)
“You’ve Got This” (Ladyva / Ryan Tubridy)
Blues Roadhouse 