POP MUSIC REVIEW : Long Beach Offers Every Hue of the Blues

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more concise presentation of all the varieties of styles covered by the term the blues than what was on display Saturday, the first day of the 15th annual Long Beach Blues Festival.

The music on the Cal State Long Beach athletic field ranged from the spirited, gospel-inflected singing of 92-year-old Diamond Teeth Mary McClain to the hyped-up, frat-rock of thirtysomething Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey, from the haunted, rural moans of 90-year-old Jack Owens to the innovative urban hybrids of Robert Cray.

McClain (a half-sister of Bessie Smith) charmed the sun-drenched crowd of 7,000 with earthy performances of secular and spiritual songs, part of a “Ladies Sing the Blues” segment that also featured Barbara Morrison and Big Time Sarah.

Guitarist Owens was even earthier, performing with his partner, 64-year-old harmonica player Bud Spires, in a rare appearance by the pair outside of their homes in Mississippi. This is about as primal as the blues gets: brittle, yet determined picking and craggy voices that sound as if they’ve grown right up from the ground.

Louisiana native Jesse Thomas offered a more citified take, reflecting the time in the ‘40s and ‘50s that he made Los Angeles his base of operation.

Of the younger performers, headliner Cray took the day with grace, finesse and, above all, imagination, avoiding blues-rock cliches in both his singing (a low-key descendant of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding) and stunning yet subtle guitar playing. He and his band shifted from full-bodied Memphis-style R&B; to delicate, jazz-like interplay and back with deceiving ease.

In contrast, Healey and his band seemed all flash. The guitarist, who plays with his instrument lying flat on his lap, reeled off slick licks in settings that drew on such role models as Cream and Stevie Ray Vaughan. But he relied on showy party tricks in which the speed of his guitar flurries seems to count more than the content.

Sunday’s conclusion of this well-run festival, produced by public radio station KLON-FM (88.1), was to include a tribute to Chess Records featuring, among others, Bo Diddley, Junior Wells and Lowell Fulson.