Little Axe

Little Axe

Little Axe is the recording name used by US blues musician Skip McDonald, also known as Bernard Alexander. He is from Dayton, Ohio, and was born in 1949. Under this name he develops a style that combines blues with dub and other influences, while his listed genres are blues and electric blues.

Background

McDonald learns blues guitar on his father’s instrument from the age of eight, and by the age of 12 he is performing doo-wop. After finishing school, he leaves Dayton with the Ohio Hustlers, though the group breaks up after moving to New York City. His first professional work comes with the Entertainers, who tour the east coast through the mid-1970s.

He later moves to Hartford, Connecticut, where he meets Doug Wimbish, then playing with Wood, Brass & Steel. That group records a self-titled album for All Platinum Records in 1976. McDonald and Wimbish continue playing together in clubs and colleges across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Sugarhill Records and On-U Sound

In 1979 McDonald, Wimbish and drummer Keith LeBlanc become the house band for Sugarhill Records. They play on early rap records including Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” and “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”. While LeBlanc works with Tommy Boy Records, he meets Adrian Sherwood and introduces his colleagues to him. The trio then relocate to London and join the On-U Sound circle, where they work as both a production team and a house band. They appear on many recordings for the label and later evolve into Tackhead.

After Tackhead disperses in the early 1990s, McDonald works closely with Sherwood, both on his own projects and as a guest musician or vocalist on releases by Junior Delgado, Bim Sherman, Dub Syndicate and African Head Charge. He often appears alongside Keith LeBlanc and/or Doug Wimbish on these recordings.

Little Axe recordings

McDonald is the main force behind Little Axe from around 1992. The name draws on Bob Marley’s “Small Axe” and gospel singer Willmer “Little Ax” Broadnax. The debut album, Wolf That House Built, appears in 1994 and presents a personal blend of blues and dub. A partial earlier release appears in Japan under the title Never Turn Back.

The second album, Slow Fuse, is also well received and includes tabla player Talvin Singh; the voices of Kevin Gibbs and Sas Bell are added on the record. After a long gap, Hard Grind appears in 2002 as the first release in four years on the revived On-U Sound label, combining raw blues and reggae. Champagne and Grits follows in 2004 on Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records. Stone Cold Ohio is completed in 2006, with production and mixing by Adrian Sherwood and an emphasis on gospel within the blues-and-dub framework.