GReGG allMan tRiBute ConCeRt

The Allman Brothers, Sam Moore, Taj Mahal, Warren Haynes, Eric Church and several others have signed on to pay tribute in concert to Gregg Allman early next year. All My Friends: Celebrating the Songs & Voice of Gregg Allman will be held Jan.10th at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. The concert will be filmed and released later. Others on the eclectic list of performers include Natalie Cole, Jackson Browne, John Hiatt, Pat Monahan of Train, Martina McBride, Trace Adkins and John Hiatt. Special guests and more performers will be announced soon. Tickets go on sale Nov.1st at the Fox Theatre box office. Don Was will lead an all-star band lined up to help celebrate Allman, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

jIMMY dILLon uPdAte

Jimmy Dillon, is preparing a new album for release early in 2014, entitled Six String Man . In the meantime he is releasing an EP with a showcase release party in his hometown of Springwater in Mill Valley. A free premiere of the EP is currently available from www.jimmydillon.com

On December 28th Jimmy’s JD Big Band are performing a special show in Kona, Hawaii, the band features Lisa Fischer, fresh from performing with The Rolling Stones on tour, on vocals alongside Santana’s Tony Lindsay, plus David Matthews (keys) and Karl Perazzo (percussion) both Santana, Dewayne Pate (bass) of Robben Ford Band and Kevin Hayes (drums) of Robert Cray Band. Chuck Leavell will be joining for some later dates too.

FReYA RoY eP

Freya Roy is a talented young performer making a lot of people sit up. Just 17, she has appeared on ITV and is about to release her second EP, entitled Tomorrow. The EP launch party is at The Cut, in Halesworth, Suffolk, but a small tour includes gigs in Norwich, Cambridge, Bangor and The Bar Vinyl in Camden.

For more info, www.freyaroy. blogspot. com

RetuRn to FendeR

Fender has reintroduced the Starcaster and Coronado guitars/ bass in the form of the Modern Player series.

The updated Modern Player version has a C-shaped, maple neck with 22 medium jumbo frets, dual Fender Wide Range humbuckers with three-way toggle switching, volume and tone controls for each pickup, and an Adjusto-Matic bridge with anchored tailpiece. It’s available in three finishes. The short-scale Starcaster bass, which had previously only existed in prototype models from the 70s, has a thin, semi-hollow offset body with a bound maple top and back and f-holes. It has the same configuration as its six-string sibling, but sports a four-saddle Fender Hi-Mass bridge. The Coronado guitar, which, back in the 60s, was Fenders first hollow bodied electric guitar, is also back. It has a semi-hollow maple body with an alder centre-block and a bound top and back. There’s a C-shaped maple neck with 21 medium jumbo frets and dual FideliTron humbuckers; each of which has separate volume and tone controls. It’s complemented by an Adjusto-Matic bridge with floating F trapeze tailpiece. The Coronado bass features the same set-up, and is also available in the finishes as the Coronado guitar. For more info, visit www. fender.com for more info.

BLooMFIeLd BoX set

Guitarist Michael Bloomfield tragically passed away in 1981 at the young age of 37 years, but he left behind a rich musical legacy. Originally discovered doing session work by Columbia Records A&R legend John Hammond, Sr., demos the guitarist recorded for the label were shunted aside when Bloomfield became part of the ground breaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band. On February 4, 2014 Legacy Recordings will release From His Head To His Heart To His Hands, a career-spanning four-disc box set documenting the short but amazing career of Michael Bloomfield.

The anthology was produced and pieced-together by Bloomfield’s long-time friend and musical confidant Al Kooper. The three CDs in the From His Head To His Heart To His Hands box offer up 46 songs, ranging from the guitarist’s first demo recordings for Columbia Records, to his last public performance.

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Kooper arranged all the songs by theme, individual discs featuring Roots, Jams, and Last Licks, and the box includes a dozen rare, unreleased tracks including a transcendent live take of The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar, performed in 1980 with Bob Dylan. The box features Bloomfield solo tracks alongside material from his best-known bands (The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Electric Flag) as well as work that he did with Muddy Waters, Janis Joplin, and others.

The fourth disc in the box is a DVD which features filmmaker Bob Sarles’ documentary Sweet Blues: A Film About Michael Bloomfield. This box is a real treat for long-suffering Bloomfield fans, the guitarist’s back catalog largely in disarray and solo tracks hard to come by.

PRIMeR tIes the Knot

After 22 years of being together, Lisa Becker became Lisa Primer. In Lisa’s words, “John and I met in

1993 at Buddy Guy’s Legends. Earwig Records was having a CD release party for him for the CD: Stuff You Gotta Watch We fell in love instantly when we saw each other. His music swept me off my feet and I am still floating to this day! We truly were meant to be together. John says that God sent him an angel, and that angel is me!”

The world travelling blues slide guitarist ,who formerly played with Muddy Waters and Magic Slim married the love of his life on September 21st. I was honored to be one of the bridesmaids along with Jennifer Littleton and Karen Bown. and maid of honor Mary Olmstead. The wedding ceremony took place at Veteran’s Memorial Park in the small town of McHenry, in Northwest Illinois. There was a slight breeze and lots of sunshine. The ceremony was carried out by none other than Robert Hecko, who has owned the famous Chicago club Blues on Halsted for more than 30 years.

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