Review - Bluesman by Rob Vollmer and Pablo G. Callejo
Using the structure of a blues song as its own structure — and taking the kind of legendary subject matter of the music itself — “Bluesman” is both a a studied examination of the lives of blues performers in the 1920s and an infectious crime tale taking place within that sleazy underbelly.
Lem Taylor travels the south with his partner, two men on the run in service to their creative souls. It’s a desperate high that causes them to tramp around, trespassing to get a night’s sleep and impersonating ministers to get a free meal. These are petty crimes, little transgressions against society required for survival.
A life of charming crime that translates into performance bravado takes a turn for the worst after a triumphant show at Shug’s roadhouse, when the pair become involved with two women and their questionable acquaintances. Following the devastating events of one night, Lem finds himself on a flight for his life, while the local sheriff stares down the deadly barrel of racism, a signal to the redneck royalty of the area that blacks exist to be punished for the crimes of their social masters.
Author Rob Vollmer mixes historical scholarship of his scenario with great characterization — the characters are as vivid as the world Vollmer evokes and they swirl around the twelve-bar lilt of legends, eventually transforming the dirty reality into another mysterious tale of blues musicianship. Spanish artist Pablo G. Callejo is a superstar here, with his stark wood cut style black and white rendering the terror and obsession related through Vollmer’s story into certain emotional terms.
“Bluesman” takes the best qualities of the music of the era — the humanity and the mythological ambiance — and translates them brilliantly into a suspense drama well worth seeking out.
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