Blues Matters 113

TRUE GROOVE RECORDS PRESENTS

& THE BLUES ALL-STARS

Moanin’ at Midnight – European Tour 2020

ITALY

april 18: Amadeus Dischi, Porto San Giorgio

april 23: Donegal Irish Pub, Ancona

april 30: The Bronx House of Blues, Marotta

may 1: Blues Val D’Aso, Monte Rinaldo

may 2: Raduno di Blues, Marina di Altidona

U.K.

may 7: Cardiff, Wales

may 9: Inside The 22, Rugby, Warwickshire

may 10: Music Station, Tonbridge, Kent

ITALY

Aug 19: Servigliano American Music Festival

Aug 21: Grottammare Blues Festival

album out APRIL 18

tomasdoncker.net

Editor’s comment

I tell you folks there is never a dull moment at BM HQ or for the management team in putting together each tenderly cared for issue. Sometimes it can get more exciting than sex (well, age comes into it you know sometimes).

I remember, I was busy and my wife asking me “so do you want to come upstairs for sex?”. I replied “I can manage one of those things but not both!”.

BUT hey, we can listen to our blues music and that is for sure!

WELCOME to BM 113 PETE SARGEANT

Our team out there, spread around the world as they are, do their loving bit for the dedication and fun of it because we all love what we do in helping to deliver the news and the message that the Blues Matters!

It is so humbling when we receive your comments and praises and share them so we thank you all. We listen to your words and ideas and we ask if there is something

you’d like to see in our pages.

This is a sad issue indeed as we lost one of our longest serving writers/contributors and a good long-time friend in Pete Sargeant. There is a piece on Pete in this issue on page 86.

2020 has kicked off excitingly otherwise and we hope you feel that oozing out from between the covers. I had a call from a reader in New Jersey who ”had to let us know” he picked up the last issue at front of rack in his local Barnes & Noble. Another to say he had noticed us in store in Italy (but didn’t say where) so was spreading the word to his blues friends. Our schedule is filling for later in the year so if you are label, artist or tour manager reading this and have something going on later in the year that you would like us to consider for interview or feature - do get in touch as early as you can!

Despite the weather a lot of us are experiencing (and staying out of the way of the latest virus) we can all settle down with a copy of the magazine, shut the doors and cozy-down with a drop of what you fancy and some good sounds to go with a great read. So enjoy….

And keep on, keeping-on folks!

Our blues world is missing you...

BLUES MATTERS!

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Tel: 00-44-(0)1656-745628

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Contributing Writers:

Tim Arnold (USA), Roy Bainton, Eric Baker (USA), Steve Banks, Adrian Blacklee, Eddy Bonte (Bel), Colin Campbell, Iain Cameron, Laura Carbone (USA), Norman Darwen, Erik Damian, Dianne Dodsworth, Dave Drury, Ben Elliott (USA), Barry Fisch (USA), Sybil Gage (USA), Stuart A. Hamilton, Stephen Harrison, Trevor Hodgett, Rowland Jones, Jean Knappitt, Brian Kramer (Sw), Frank Leigh, Andy Lindley, Gian Luca (USA), Ben McNair, John Mitchell, Glenn Noble, Toby Ornott, Merv Osborne, David Osler, Iain Patience (Fr), Alan Pearce, Dom Pipkin, Sharon Ponsford, Simon Redley, Darrell Sage (USA), Paromita Saha-Killelea (USA), Pete Sargeant, Glenn Sargeant, Graeme Scott, Andy Snipper, Dave Stone, Matty T. Wall (Aus), Don Wilcock (USA), Dani Wilde, Steve Yourglivch, Bruce Alexander (USA), Yvette Jenkins, Adam Kennedy.

Contributing Photographers:

Arnie Goodman, Jennifer Noble, Erik De’Scathebury, others credited on page. COVER IMAGE BY Aloysius Lim.

We Remember: Martin ‘Noggin’ Norris, Robert Bonsey, Pete Sargeant

Original material in this magazine is © the authors. Reproduction may only be made with prior Editor consent and provided that acknowledgement is given of source and copy sent to the editorial address. Care is taken to ensure contents of this magazine are accurate, but the publishers do not accept any responsibility for errors that may occur, or views expressed editorially. All rights reserved. No parts of this magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise without prior permission of the editor. Submissions: Readers are invited to submit articles, letters and photographs for publication. The publishers reserve the right to amend any submissions and cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage. Please note: Once submitted material becomes the intellectual property of Blues Matters and can only later be withdrawn from publication at the expediency of Blues Matters.

Advertisements: Whilst responsible care is taken in accepting advertisements if in doubt readers should make their own enquiries. The publisher cannot accept any responsibility for any resulting unsatisfactory transactions, nor shall they be liable for any loss or damage to any person acting on information contained in this publication. We will however investigate complaints.

Our name says it all!

IT’S A HARVEST TIME IN SWEDEN FOR MR BO

BILLY BRANCH & GILES ROBSON DISCUSS THE BLUES

AN INSPIRING BACKSTORY, A MAN WHO HAS TRULY LIVED THE BLUES

THE ULTIMATE ROAD WARRIOR AND MASTER OF MAYHEM TALKS ICE CREAM IN HELL

LIGHT THE FUSE AND STAND WELL BACK AS WE CATCH UP WITH THE SLIDE MASTER RELEASES HIS DEBUT ALBUM AND SERVES UP A BIG SLICE OF THE HARLEM BLUES

A MAN WHO PLAYS HIS MUSIC FROM THE HEART, FOR THE HEART

OUR COVER GIRLS TALK VENOM & FAITH, SELF MADE MAN, TOURING, GEAR AND MORE HARD-ROCKING BLUES SINGER-SONGWRITER DISCUSSES WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

WE SAY A FOND FAREWELL TO LONG-TIME BM WRITER WHO PASSED RECENTLY BEHIND THE SCENES WITH A US BLUES MOVER

WHAT WE HEARD FROM A TRUE BLUES LEGEND

SKEGNESS 2020 ROUND-UP

THE GREAT BRITISH ROCK & BLUES FESTIVAL

Welcome to Skegness...

Another year, another chance to catch the power and passion of Skegness Rock & Blues Festival.

This year, 2020, marked a milestone in Blues Matters! involvement here; our twentieth year at the festival which has now become a firm favourite with the country’s blues fans looking for some winter blues warmth.

After a couple of decades hosting the Blues Matters! Stage at Jaks, 2020 saw us move to a more central arena, at the intimate Hotshots bar area slap-bang in the middle of the Butlins indoor resort, an unmissable venue where the blues hotshots could fire off with enthusuasm, desire and a display of unrivalled pyrotechnics each day.

“We’ve had an amazing array of artists appear for us, all by invitation, and many have moved on in their careers following their appearances. It makes me so proud to have been a portal for them in their musical journeys.”

- Alan (BM)

WORDS: Adrian Blacklee PICTURES: Erik Damian

With Fifty-Five acts performing across five stages over the three days it was a challenge to get to see as many acts as I could, I failed miserably in respect to the numbers but I did see some excellent individual performances across the musical spectre, the highlights for me were;

SAVOY BROWN

Savoy Brown are British Blues Legends having just released their 40th album called City Night, their first album was released in 1967 and throughout this period the one constant has been Kim Simmonds who plays scintillating guitar and now handles all the vocals confidently. The three-piece band kicked off their set with a thundering version of Why Did You Hoodoo Me which was released on their previous album Witchy Feeling, Kim highlighted it had reached the highest chart position for any of Savoy Brown’s albums, this was quickly followed by a couple of tracks from their new album the highlight being Conjure Rhythm which had some sweet fluid guitar breaks, a very catchy song that has a good vocal from Kim, the rhythm section of Pat Desalvo and Garnet Grimm came to the fore with the three “old” songs; Train To Nowhere, I’m Tired and The Boogie, Pat’s bass solo was superb getting sounds from a Bass guitar that I would never have imagined, his “slapping” the body of the instrument was unique. The final song was the crowd favourite “Savoy Brown Boogie” which was a thundering version with limited vocals but created a real frenetic beat, when called out for an encore Kim decided to continue with the Boogie as he was enjoying it so much, rather than play another song which left the audience on a real high when they finally completed their set.

CLIMAX BLUES BAND

Climax Blues Band are lacking any original band members although keyboardist George Glover and guitarist Lester Hunt have been with the band since the 1980’s, they stick to the original bands principles of playing catchy soulful rock with that certain groove, their two biggest attributes are vocalist Graham Dee and saxophonist Chris Aldridge who are superb musicians who really take control of the bands’ sound. Their most recent album is the thirteen track Hands Of Time, this set probably covered at least ten of these tracks which was fine as they are all very strong songs. The crowd were ecstatic when the band played Couldn’t

Get It

Right, although the introduction with a spoken vocal was a bit of a tease. What pleased me most about the band’s music was that it was never over amplified; you could hear every word and syllable that Graham Dee sung and I would say he was easily the most impressive vocalist on show over the whole weekend.

Our name says it all!

GERRY QUIGLEY’S MYSTIC BLUES BAND

Gerry Quigley’s Mystic Blues Band were a real treat mixing an assortment of styles but firmly driven by a progressive Blues vein. Gerry’s guitar playing is up there with the best and he certainly made his instrument talk during several lengthy instrumental songs; not to be outdone, bassist Frank McNally delivers some superb vocals, with strong diction and full of emotion. The remaining band members are Sharon Quigley on Keyboards and drummer Jimmy Howlett who support the two main players well, the highlight of the set was Gerry’s masterful playing of a Double Necked Mandolin style instrument which he affectingly calls Sharon & Sheila, when the instrument came out I thought we were due a Folky interlude. How wrong was I, the amp was plugged into the instrument body and what followed can only be described as guitar frenzy as his hands ran up and down the fret board at incredible speed, a must see guitar player.

JO CARLEY & THE OLD DRY SKULLS

Jo Carley & The Old Dry Skulls were a joy to behold. The London based three-piece band play a variety of instruments between them with the main focus on vocalist Jo Carley who makes some wicked facial expression and mannerisms which help create a Vaudeville theatre feel, compounded by the musical content which is a mix of various musical styles including Ska, Blues, Folk and Punk, but rooted firmly in a bygone era when Voodoo and Black Magic were rife. It is performed with the tongue firmly in the cheek by these three musicians; who besides Jo Carley are Tim Carley on guitar/foot tambourine and James Le Huray on banjo and double bass. The focus of the band though is Jo who besides being a superb vocalist is a fantastic storyteller, her natural London accent gives a “Dickens” feel to the talking interludes, where she weaves her tales with the help of a washboard and Violin. The band were very well received by the audience who were all spellbound by the performance and its originality.

Our name says it all!

IMAGES BY ERIK DAMIAN

BLUES MATTERS STAGE - HOTSHOTS

COMPILED BY: Rowland Jones PICTURES: Erik Damian

So, the year starts with a new venue for The Blues Matters Stage at The Great British Rock & Blues Festival 2020 – Hotshots. With Hotshots being inside the main structure, it seemed to me to feel more a part of the total event, and it was full to capacity after only a few numbers into the first set!

Friday Catfish

Catfish hit the stage with ‘Up In Smoke’ a ‘foot-to-thefloor’ stomper, then before the audience could get their breath back we were into ‘Leading Me On’ a rocky shuffle. Fortunately for everybody’s blood pressure, things slowed a little for ‘Ghosts’ with Paul’s haunting vocal leading into a classy ballad groove with a ‘gonad-grabbing’ solo from Matt Long. Then back in overdrive for ‘The root of all evil’ with Paul’s organ swirling ominously (oh, er missus) and so the set progressed. Excellent stuff.

The band clearly enjoy every minute on stage. The rhythm section of Adam Pike on bass, (reminiscent of the great Andy Fraser), and Kev Hickman on drums gave it their all - living the music with body and soul. Paul Long‘s tasteful contribution on keyboards, provided a superb platform for Matt to launch into ‘guitarland’

where he was deliriously happy as soulful Bluesman or howling guitar fiend. Vocally, Matt is also very strong and confident with deft supporting harmonies from Paul.

The set ended with ‘Make it rain’ a soulful slow blues which climaxed with a soaring guitar solo, before a well-deserved encore, Freddie King’s ‘Going down’ - the ideal crowd-pleaser ending.

Howlin’ Mojo Bones

These were a new band to me, a London based four piece of veteran performers lead by ‘Howlin’ George Witter. Jamaican born and the sufferer of polio from an early age, it’s clear that George is a strong character who has come through his share of troubles and ‘paid his dues’. Ably supported by tasteful guitarist Steve Crane, and a solid rhythm section, John Baker (drums)

Our name says it all!

Rowland Jones

and Gus Denton (bass) the band produced a set blending urban blues with 60’s influenced British beat boom rhythm’n’blues. ‘Livin’ The Dream’ got things off to an energetic start and captured the audience’s attention instantly. George isn’t the worlds greatest singer but his often conversational delivery and at times gruff vocal is engaging. Highlights of the set included ‘Whose Been Talkin’, ‘Ready Eddie’ and the punchy ‘Voodoo She Do’. As the band headed for the finish line with their signature ‘Howlin’ Mojo Bones’, and then Chicago Bound culminating with ‘My Liver Don’t Love Me No More’ they had the large crowd dancing and singing along with them. Following the popular and high energy Catfish on the opening night was a big ask and maybe a 90 minute set lead to some overly pedestrian moments at the mid-point but overall an impressive showing and I’d love to see them in an intimate venue with a leaner, tighter set list.

Gerry Quigley Band

Taking the last slot on the Friday night was Gerry Quigley and The Mystic Band. Gerry is relatively unknown in the UK, having spent many years in Australia and now being based in Ireland, but hopefully, Gerry will soon burst out of relative obscurity. Like a lot of the audience, I went along not knowing what to expect and was treated to an amazing set; an amazing display of guitar virtuosity. Gerry seemed to channel the spirit of three all-time great guitarists, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore and Roy Buchanan. The track ‘Weeping Willow’ was

Gerry’s standout number, combining hints of Parisian Walkways with the haunting harmonics that made Roy Buchanan so well respected. The Mystic Band, Frank McNally on vocals and bass, Jimmy (Seamus) Howlett on drums and Sharon Quigley on keyboards were more than up to supporting the varied playing of Mr Quigley, who showed his versatility playing numerous stringed instruments, including a unique double-necked mandolin, which Gerry affectionately calls Sean & Sheila. Finishing their set with a high energy version of the 1963 instrumental ‘Misirlou’, by Dick Dale, the band left happy and smiling, as did the audience! A fantastic set!

Steve Banks

Saturday

Roadhouse Jam

Organised by lead guitarist Gary Boner from Roadhouse band, this was a real treat and brought up some interesting surprises. Gary and his band opened up with a couple of their own rocky numbers then the Jam got into full swing. There were all kinds of reinterpretations of old blues standards, there was Chicago blues and pure rhythm and blues, especially noted during members from Deptford blues musicians who got gritty with ‘The House Is Rocking’ being a particular crowd favourite and ‘Sweet Little Rock And Roller’. There were two other highlights, one being a young lad called Leon who joined in on drums, even playing with the rest of the Roadhouse band at one point, he kept good tone through Proud Mary and certainly his mother was

THE GREAT BRITISH ROCK & BLUES FESTIVAL

Steve Yourglivch

proud. There were harmonica players, guitarists and good singers but the surprise of the day was a Scottish band, Crash who come to the blues festival yearly but this time wanted to play. Well what a sound, they played hands up and for second song even brought on a famous bagpiper just a sight and sound to behold. Hopefully this will spur them on to keep together as they only had two songs despite crowd wanting more. Roy Mette also shone on ‘Rocking In The Free World.’

Colin Campbell

Jo Carley and the Old Dry Skulls

Jo Carley & The Old Dry Skulls were a joy to behold. The London based three-piece band play a variety of instruments between them with the main focus on vocalist Jo Carley whose wicked facial expressions and mannerisms helped create a ‘Vaudeville theatre’ feel. This is compounded by the musical content which is a mix of various musical styles including Ska, Blues, Folk and Punk but rooted firmly in a bygone era when Voodoo and Black Magic were rife, performed with the tongue firmly in the cheek by these three excellent musicians. Besides Jo Carley are Tim Carley on guitar & foot tambourine and James Le Huray on Banjo and Double Bass. The focus of the band though is Jo who besides being a superb vocalist is a fantastic storyteller, her London accent gives a “Dickensian” feel as she weaves her tales with the help of a washboard and Violin. The band were very well received by the audience who were all spellbound by the performance and its originality.

Adrian Blacklee

Dana Gillespie

Now this was pure class, Dana and a slightly strippeddown version of her London Blues Band oozed quality from the get go. Having been a recording artist since the 60’s and still releasing new original material, and an impressive musical and acting CV we should expect nothing less. Her voice is still strong, hitting notes effortlessly, giving each song the emotion and believability required and holding the audience spellbound with her warmth and beguiling personality. Kicking off with ‘Big Mouth’ it was immediately obvious that the band were highly professional, Jake Zaitz on guitar and the amazing Dino Baptiste on keys taking their solos when the time was right but perfectly supporting Dana throughout. Drummer Evan Jenkins was the best of the weekend to me too. ‘Old School’ was a highlight among many. The cheeky ‘FCK, All That’s Missing Is You’, ‘Tongue In Cheek’ and ‘Funk Me’ were great fun. ‘Couldn’t Wouldn’t’ and ‘High Cost’ had the crowd swinging and swaying. As Dana told us that she had recently recorded the 70th album of her career it should come as no surprise that unlike some newer bands there was no let-up in consistency or quality and this 90 minute set seemed to reach it’s conclusion far too soon.

Steve Yourglivch

Dawson Smith and the Dissenters

Taking the stage at half past midnight and playing through to 2.00am isn’t a task any old performer could handle but it seemed to be tailor made for Leicester based Dawson Smith and his band of Dissenters. Dawson is a ferocious guitarist and the blend of high energy Texan style Rock ’n’ Americana and Blues Rock was how it’s meant to be - lean, switch-blade tight with no frills. This was the perfect finale to Saturday night. Opening with the Georgia Satellites ‘Hands To Yourself’ gave notice of what was to come, and before we had reached the half way point we had already been treated to ‘Born With The Blues’, ‘La Grange’ and ‘Going Down’. Special mention for Martin Burch added some wonderful slide guitar playing. I loved hearing ‘Back To Memphis’ and ‘Agent Of The State’ back to back, both from the new EP which I highly recommend. ‘The Mileage’ leading into ‘Attention To The Blues’ brought a relentless masterclass to a close, but then the encore

Our name says it all!

THE GREAT BRITISH ROCK & BLUES FESTIVAL

‘Can’t Let Go’ left the late night revellers buzzing and going home feeling fully rocked out and happy. Job done!

Steve Yourglivch

Sunday Trevor ‘Babajack’ Steiger

The Sunday afternoon acoustic sessions are always very satisfying and intimate affairs. The popular Trevor Steiger started this years off with cigar box guitar and the rather lovely ‘Sawdust Man’, a kind of autobiographical tale from his last album of the same name. ‘Can’t Get Along With You’ followed - I loved it’s John Lee Hookeresque feel. Switching to acoustic we got ‘Big River Blues’ and ‘I’m Up and I’m Down’ with some tasty harmonica for added flavour. Little Willie Johnson’s ‘In My Time Of Dying’ is always a show stopper and Trevor’s version is no exception. Then we had ‘The Devil Inside Me’ and ‘Black Dog’, Trevor giving them both his personal spin. There’s a new album in the early stages of development and we got a taster with ‘I’ve Got Something That You Want’, an observation on consumerism. The work song styled ‘Went Out Walking’ was the opportunity for some classy harp playing before the set reached its frenetic powerful climax with a great version of Sleepy John Estes ‘Brownsville’. All glorious stuff.

Steve Yourglivch

Rowland Jones

No pressure here then, reviewing a fellow Blues Matters contributor’s performance! Rowland had previously played in the Jam Session, but this saw him take to the stage for a strictly solo event. Starting with, ‘I Just Go’, a great Boz Scaggs tune, he then moved into ‘True True Blues’ a slow burner showing his fretboard skills. His songs contain touches of roots music, Americana and Country blues - ‘Don’t Play With Fire’ was perfect for a Sunday afternoon. The up-tempo ‘Climbing Up Snakes’ was balanced with his quirky Leon Redbone inspired ‘Am I Feelin’ Blue’. A particular favourite was his wonderful take on John Hiatt’s ‘Feels Like Rain’. Returning to his own material, ‘Never Met Someone Like You’ dripped with emotion, and ‘Never Been To Memphis’ again featured Rowland’s rhythmic guitar work. A great set by an accomplished singer songwriter was finished with an encore, ‘How It Is’.

Rowland kept the audience wrapt in his music adding nice asides - some self-referential - at one point talking about a festival where the artists “were all grey bearded men with hats”! Rowland has a sweet lilting voice that makes you want to listen to the lyrics. He knows how to keep the audience engaged and was very entertaining: a very accomplished set by a great musician!

Colin Campbell

When Rivers Meet

Heard big things about this band and there was an expectant hush before they came on stage. Grace and Aaron Bond are a ‘do-it-yourself’ rootsy blues type duo hailing from the Essex Delta. They came on stage Grace with her fiddle and Aaron on guitar, but it was other musical instruments they used on their first song, their voices. They did a brilliant stripped back ‘a capella’ version of ‘Come Home In My Kitchen’, you could hear a pin drop in the very attentive crowd, what an opener and it just got better and better. They mix their own blend to interpreting their slant on the blues genre. ‘No Heaven, No Hell’ was a foot stomper and Grace’s fiddle playing throughout was provocative and melodic. ‘Freeman’, self-penned had a dirty slide guitar opening and full of biting lyrics. They appeared happy throughout despite Grace having a cold, brandy seemed to help this and give gruffness to some vocal parts! ‘My Babe’ was catchy and will be their next disc. ‘In My Time Of Dying’ had great harmonies. ‘Like What You See’ had sinister undertones. ‘Downtown Tonight’ had Grace thrashing her resonator electric mandolin. The chemistry between this duo is electric especially on ‘Kill for Your Love’, lots of twists there. Audience participation on ‘I Want Your Love’ had everything. A great set by a confident young duo which set Hot Shots alive - style, glamour and pose by the bucketful!

Colin Campbell

RoadHouse

First band on Hot Shots stage on Sunday night were the perennial blues rhythm and rock group Roadhouse. They supplied a great set mixing it up in front of a full house that got into the groove from the beginning. Now in their twenty sixth year having had many changes of personnel, it seems that this current five piece is the best way forward with one leading female vocalist, Mandy G who can be a blues shouter or ballad singer, whatever, she has the voice and looks to be a rock chick with chic. Despite complaining of wearing a tight corset and having a cold she nailed it, even at one point having a walkout into the crowd! Here were guitar riffs a plenty and there was style and pace to all the numbers they played. Gary Boner on lead guitar and vocals fitted well with Danny Gwilym exchanging guitar styles, with Bill Hobley underscoring on bass guitar. ‘Hell On Wheels’

started things off with a strong percussion from Roger Hunt who later did an excellent drum solo. They mixed old material with new ones, such as ‘The Steamboat Song’ full of funk. ‘Slip Away’ slowed the mood, “a song for the ones we’ve lost”, very mellow. ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ was a highlight, with a twist at the end. ‘Dark Angel’ had hypnotic melodies a real crowd pleaser. A really tight set, raucous and rocky, a real tonic, which left the crowd wanting more, and that’s how it should be!

Chris Bevington Organisation

It was great to see a BIG band on stage - two guitarists both singers, two female backing vocalists, keys, bass,

Colin Campbell

drums and a two-piece horn section – and all of them raring to go.

The sound was BIG! There were elements of Steely Dan (no bad thing as far as I’m concerned) in their original songs and arrangements – I particularly enjoyed ‘She Ran Away To The City’ where the backing vocals really came into their own and ‘It Ain’t Easy’ where four voices repeated the refrain. All very accomplished musicians, they were given a chance to ‘show their wares’ - but overall the feel was more about being a band, than simply a group of individuals, with solos being the ‘sauce on a very tasty dish’, rather than being virtuosity for its own sake. The songs were beautifully arranged cleverly combining the various elements of the band - slide guitar with voice, horns with backing vocals, and stabs of brass and keys punctuating the music. The majority of the material was their own though I thoroughly enjoyed listening to their performance of the Scofield arrangement of ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor’. For me, the band had everything, they sounded very classy, and the music was eminently danceable, too! Well done, guys!

The Achievers

Having the honour of closing a weekend festival, which had seen so much music and so many great acts condensed into a hectic few days, could have been an issue for some bands; particularly since they were not due on stage until 12:30 am on the Monday morning. However, true professionals that they are, The Achievers took this gig in their stride and rose to the occasion. They opened with ‘Ever Loving Mess’, which set the pace and the atmosphere for things to come. They played a fantastic set of 20 tracks from their two albums and other unreleased material, with their own brand of “dance hall gospel “ music and came across with remarkable clarity, a feat which not every band elsewhere over the weekend had managed. The patter from frontman, Steve Ferbrache is one of the elements of the band, which helps to establish a great rapport with the audience. (He even managed to tame a “tired and emotional” member of the crowd with panache and good humour!) The crowd was with them all the way until 2am, when they played their aptly named encore ‘Just Keep Going On’ I had a feeling that they could have done just that!

And that was that for another! A great weekend, with great music -what more could you want? A ticket for next year maybe...

Rowland Jones

Steve Banks

Rowland Jones

ANN ARBOR BLUES FESTIVAL

We in America called the “British Invasion” a wakeup call from our friends across the sea reminding us that our blues heritage was the seed that planted rock and roll. The 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival supplied the fertilizer that nurtured that seed.

Now 41 years later, The Ann Arbor Blues Festival 1969, a copiously annotated four record box set released by Third Man Records, proves what many blues fans have long felt, that the festival was as important as the Woodstock Festival Music and Art Fair held two weeks later in the development of 20th century popular music.

Held at The University of Michigan, it was the event that introduced a mostly young, white academic American audience to the African American originators of the genre. Young postwar electric artists including Muddy Waters, B. B. King, Luther Allison, Otis Rush, Big Mama Thornton, Jr. Wells, and James Cotton performed alongside acoustic Delta blues masters Mississippi Fred McDowell, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Joe Williams, and the seminal Son House. All are represented on these four vinyl disks.

The folk boom that blossomed in the early ’60s in Harvard Square, Cambridge outside of Boston and in Greenwich Village in New York whetted young American academics’ appetite for blues. But to many of my contemporaries at that time, the plugged-in urban version of blues that inspired those folk singers was not just ignored, but many didn’t even know that music existed.

White American folk music fans in the ’60s were introduced to ‘authentic’ rural blues of artists like the late Robert Johnson, Skip James, and Leadbelly. If we knew about electric blues at all it was by way of the Rolling Stones, The Animals, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and other ‘British Invasion’ bands. The Ann Arbor Blues Festival was a revelation. For the first time, we realized how segregation had colored (pun intended) our perspective on the egalitarianism of our American legacy.

This infectious sound was being pumped out at top volume in the black bars of the Windy City’s South and West Sides, on Beale St. in Memphis and in other urban centers like Houston, East Nashville, The Fillmore District of San Francisco, and the Roxbury District of Boston. It also was inspiring the British rockers who were taking over the American Top 40 charts with covers of this music. The Ann Arbor Blues Festival broke

through the American segregation barrier and introduced 20,000 mostly white youngsters to an almost entirely black roster of blues artists who were being covered by the flood of British rockers covering their songs.

At the same time, the acoustic artists who mostly still lived in Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana were holding down menial day jobs to survive. They weren’t touring, and weren’t even on the radar of the potential market of northern college students prepped for their sound by popular folk singers like Bob Dylan; Peter, Paul and Mary; Pete Seeger; Phil Ochs; and The Kingston Trio.

There are twenty-six cuts on four blues and red colored vinyl records. These are not professional sound board recordings. The cuts must have been recorded on portable tape recorders in the audience, and the quality varies from good on Muddy Waters’ Long Distance Call to barely listenable on J.B. Hutto’s Too Much Alcohol. That they exist at all is a miracle.

Magic Sam’s I Feel So Good (I Wanna Boogie) recorded five months before his untimely death at 32 begs the question of how iconic this under recognized West Side soul artist might have become. Son House doing Death Letter Blues is nothing short of primal. Mississippi Fred McDowell’s John Henry is a masterpiece of acoustic guitar dexterity.

Hard as it to imagine today, B.B. King was yet to break out to a mass audience when he appeared at this festival shortly before recording The Thrill Is Gone. Performing with a band called Sonny Freeman and The Unusuals, I’ve Got My Mind to Give Up Living is not one of B.B.’s finer moments. Both Otis Rush and Howlin’ Wolf, however, turn in best of festival performances on So Many Roads, So Many Trains and Hard Luck respectively. Other notable performances include Roosevelt Sykes playing to his audience on a more than suggestive version of Dirty Mother For You and Junior Wells complete with vocals clicks on Help Me, a tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson. Pinetop Perkins does a fast and vibrant piano instrumental of Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie. Luther Allison’s big bad band unfortunately suffers in sound quality with Everybody Must Suffer/Stone Crazy whereas Muddy Waters’ Long Distance Call comes across as crisp and vibrant. Charlie Musselwhite’s Movin’ and Groovin’ is a standout featuring a band that includes Freddie Roulette on lap steel, Louie Myers’

guitar, Skip Rose on piano, bass player Dave Myers, and Fred Below on drums. T. Bone Walker, already an elder statement of the genre with his jazzy guitar playing, is the smoothest performer on these recordings, while Big Mama Thornton comes across as ragged on Ball and Chain, the song that became a Big Brother and the Holding Company hit earlier in the decade.

At a time when liner notes of any kind have become an anomaly, special credit needs to be given here for the plethora of information offered in the artist biographies, photographs, and articles included here. The sumptuous 58-page four-color book with transparent vellum inserts

alone is a collector’s dream.

Add to that a reprint of the original program, and articles from the era including a preview of the festival from Atlanta’s alternative newspaper The Great Speckled Bird that described in its listings the upcoming Ann Arbor festival before its preview of Woodstock as follows: “BEST – AND LEAST EXPENSIVE OF The SEASON: Would you believe a BLACK blues festival? The Ann Arbor Blues Festival, August 1-3 at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Tickets $5 for a single concert, $14 for all four performances, $2 for workshops.”

- DON WILCOCK

‘Mr. Bo’

CARLSSON

IT’S HARVEST TIME!

WORDS: Brian Kramer PICTURES: Supplied

Mr. Bo Carlsson has a stature and authority with his Blues that commands the legacy of some familiar, greater known legends. In Sweden the mere utterance of the name “Mr. Bo” in proximity to any Blues lover will get you a confident nod of understanding that he is the real deal.

He was amongst the first I’d heard live at a Blues festival almost 25 years ago and that was the moment I realised there was indeed much, much more to the profound nature of the relationship with American Blues and a Swedish passion to pursue it.

Bo Carlsson, can you tell me a bit about yourself, where you are from and what got you into the Blues?

I’m from the west of Sweden. When I grew up, I was always interested in music – I loved when we sung in school and so on. And as a young teenager I was into the rock and pop I could hear on the radio. I was born in 1957 so I was 13 in 1970, right after that I heard blues music on the radio. I remember hearing Muddy Waters and it just stopped me. I had to try to understand what happened to me and what this music used to make someone feel like that. I wanted to be able to perform music with that kind of spirit. But I was a total beginner then, living on an island off the west coast of Sweden. No YouTube, at first hardly any records and no one who really played or knew about blues music the way I wanted. But I went straight to the source, mainly blues performed by Afro American artists. The English wave of blues bands was already over then, so they did nothing for me at the time.

I first heard you, I believe, in 1997, at the Monsterås Blues Festival and I was just starting to get a handle on Swedish Blues artists. Starting to understand that there was a great appreciation and history here. You really blew me away as

well as Sven Zetterberg! Tell me a bit about the budding Blues scene in your learning years, which you’ve been a part of cultivating and some of the artists you were exposed to who came through Sweden?

In 1997, I think we had just started Mr Bo & The Voodooers and I had about 20 years behind me performing. We had a great scene for live blues including many guests from the USA during my most formative years. I saw the formidable Peps Persson early on and bought his records. He recorded on Sonet Records and was produced by Sam Charters. In 1974 I saw my first concert by an American artist, Son Seals had just recorded his first album for Alligator, and Johnny Mars, who already lived in London then. Both backed by Peps band. I also got information about the Scandinavian Blues Association and started to read the Jefferson Blues Magazine.

That whet my appetite a lot and since I already played some guitar, I really got into that. The year after, I convinced some friends to travel to the town of Örebro and see the great lineup of Sonny Rhodes, LC “Good Rockin’” Robinson and Floyd Dixon. I think this was the first time in Europe for all these artists. The group Telge Blues provided the backing and that was the first time I met them. I got signatures of Sven Zetterberg, Stefan Sundlöf and Anders Gutke on the album I bought.

There was a lot of blues societies and clubs then, so when I started to play with some other guys, we were able to get quite a few gigs from the very start.

The following years I had the opportunity to see many blues musicians live; Lightnin’ Hopkins, Otis Rush, Fenton Robinson, Nappy Brown, Albert Collins, Koko Taylor, Professor Longhair, Clifton Chenier, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Eddie “The Chief” Clearwater, and many others.

It was a great inspiration. That short list is just the tip of the iceberg. Another one was Lefty Dizz who me and my band (Mr. Bo Blues Band) invited back for a tour in 1982. He was a great showman and a fun-loving person. I learned a lot from him when it comes to performing and interacting with the audience.

That’s just incredible! A Blues paradise right here in Sweden. I think the appreciation and interest was even deeper than what was going

Our name says it all!

on in the US back then. You definitely have a style of your own and your own voice in the Blues, however I distinctly noticed from the start an extra appreciation for the great Albert King, who I fortunately got to see live in the States a few times. Tell me about your soft spot for Albert and why he speaks to you?

I kind of have some different bags to dig into depending on the song and my mood. I’ve never been able to copy a solo – it somehow feels like stealing someone’s fingerprints. To me it’s easier to copy, say a T-Bone lick from another guitarist copying T-Bone.

About Albert King – what really knocked me out was when I bought Live Wire-Blues Power. His tone and his precision in the bending’s was mind blowing to me. His total conviction. He has his absolute own bag, no one played like him before him, I can even hear traces of slide guitar players like Robert Nighthawk. And he plays straight and bluesy and makes it fit in whatever song they throw at him. From the swing of Natural Ball, the funk of I Wanna Get Funky or something from his Elvis tribute. He doesn’t have the slickness with jazzy lines of B.B. or the melodic, almost country sounding, licks of Freddy. I love all those cats who’ve got a personal style very much. Albert is one with a great style and I do some of his numbers now and then. And on our new album I kind of got into his bag on an original song I wrote - ‘Help Desk Man.’

Brilliant! The few times I’ve seen Albert were indeed eye-opening experiences. He had a way of being a bit strict with some of his band mates in real time. The last time I saw him was at the Beacon Theater in NY. You and your band just backed up the great Chris Cain for a series of shows here in Sweden. Tell me a bit about that.

I have been a fan of Chris Cain’s since his first albums. From the early ‘90s I think. He is a fantastic guitar player and singer, so inspirational and writes great songs too! And plays piano and alto like Ray Charles little brother. He has a power cord plugged right into his soul it seems. I’m so happy that we got to do this, and Chris turned out to be a beautiful person to be around and travel with too. He made us and audiences everywhere fall in love with him. And right now, we got a handful of gigs already booked for his return in October/November. There is an Albert King connection right there too. Albert and Chris were personal friends and

Albert really dug Chris’s band. He saw how hard they all worked together. I think that was what Albert wanted to see in his band too, and from the crew. A very high degree of commitment. He was 100% tapped into his feelings. To play with Chris is like having a connection to the great masters – like B.B. or Albert. He got his own thing going but he never forgets those giants and he pays tribute to them. I try to do that too.

The Swedish Blues scene has seen a bit of a resurgence in the past years, a renewed interest by many young folks, so many Blues Jams and venues featuring Blues. More festivals popping up. You’ve been a witness to the Blues boom in Sweden practically from the beginning, what’s that like for you now? And lastly, what’s next for Mr. Bo and the Voodooers?

What I see is that the audience was mainly my age in 1980 and it’s mainly my age in 2020. I think it’s lovely to meet old friends and kind of have followers over all these years. There are always younger people drawn to blues music and I see a trend of new artists taking that influence and doing very personal things with it. Sometimes it worries me a bit that Blues is becoming a tag just for promotion. Something used to signal honesty and roots, no matter how the music sounds. It might be hard rock or country to me. But there is beautiful stuff coming out of that too. On the other hand, on the album we did last year, ‘Going up North’ we mostly have original songs and hardly any of the material is in a typical blues form, the way many look at it. Some is more soul music and I guess that can be hard to swallow for some. And it’s not focused on heavy guitar solos either, so that might turn someone off.

But we seem to win new fans by being original too, so I will absolutely keep writing more. I work with the great Kjell Jansson on bass too, in a more acoustic setting and for some gigs we add Gunnar Pettersson on drums. This is a more experimental and in-the-moment thing.

Coming up, Mr Bo & The Voodooers will be recorded live and filmed at a gig by our labelPama Records. Looking forward to that and our upcoming tour when Chris Cain returns in the fall. We do quite a few gigs with Lollo Gardtman - a marvelous singer and entertainer. It’s such a joy to work with her. All in all, I think I am in a really good place right now and I have a feeling that it’s kind of a harvest time for us.

Khaira Arby and Desert Blues

Khaira Arby, known as the ‘Nightingale of Timbuktu’ is a Desert Blues artist who led the way for Malian Female Musicians, and used her voice to stand up for Women’s Rights and Human Rights as her homeland was seized by Jihadi extremists.

WORDS: Dani Wilde

So what is ‘Desert Blues’?

Desert blues is the African folk music of the Mandinka and related nomad groups of the Sahara, who perform a genre of music that is considered the root of American Blues. African-American Blues originated in the late 1800’s, after the abolition of slavery. Of course, the blues as we know it was born out of slavery; a development of field hollers, spirituals and work songs sung on the plantations - but many of the key elements of the blues were already being played in West Africa before Africans were enslaved and uprooted. These musical elements include call and response, blue notes, pentatonic scales and use of vocal melisma (vocal runs).

Historian Sylviane Diouf, identified African Islamic music as a key influence on blues music. She points out the strong resemblance between the Islamic call to prayer (originating from Bilal ibn Rabah, a celebrated African Muslim in the early 7th-century) and 19th-century field holler music. Diouf recognised that both have similar god-praising lyrics, a similar note choices in the melody, as well as “words that seem to quiver and shake” in the vocal vibrato. Both use melisma, and have a nasal intonation. Diouf argues that the origins of field holler music came from African Muslim slaves who made up an estimated 30% of African slaves in America.

Desert Blues was first popularized in the West by Grammy Award Winning Malian Ali Farka

Touré, and has more recently been carried by a new wave of artists such as Tinariwen not to mention Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, who fell in love with West African Music having attended Mali’s Festival of The Desert. Plant now heavily incorporates the influence into his own sound. Plant explained:

“I’m not an anthropologist, but I just have to say that what was going down musically and the mood of it all sounded like some kind of primeval connection with what you would call the blues”.

Malian Musician Ali Farke Touré, who was often described as the ‘African John Lee Hooker’ introduced the world to Desert Blues. Touré grew up in Mali, listening to American music on the radio; and in his own music, the Blues had come full circle. Martin Scorsese summed up Touré’s music as “the DNA of the blues”.

A lesser known, but equally as intriguing an artist, is Ali Farke Touré’s female cousin Khaira Arby – and I’d like to share her story with you all today.

Khaira Arby

Khaira Arby was born in Abaradjou, a village in the Sahara Desert, to a Muslim Songhai and Tuareg family. From a young age, Arby showed a passion for music. She made her performing debut at 11 having joined a musical troupe from the city of Timbuktu. Arby was not a singer by family trade (Most Malian musicians are born into Griot families) despite being related, through marriage, to one of Africa’s biggest stars Ali Farka Touré. Though Arby loved singing, her family did all they could to stop her from chasing her dream, including insisting that she married at 16 years old. She would later tell journalists that her marriage broke up because she just loved singing too much! Her husband reluctantly agreed to the divorce.

In 1992, Arby started a musical career under her own name – and she was the first Malian woman to do so. In male dominated Malian society, Arby overcame the traditional gender roles imposed upon her, and launched her solo career. She was helped by her cousin Ali Farke Touré who would invite her to perform with him as a guest artist (there is a great video of them performing together on youtube) and who supported her in sourcing the money to buy equipment for her band. Later in her life she would recall “All the young women want to become musicians. I can say that I had a role in that. So that people could understand that women can become musicians. You can be a Muslim and a musician. It doesn’t hurt anything.”

Arby had hypnotic quality to her voice with virtuosic vocal chops. She fused the Saharan music of multicultural Timbuktu with influences such as funk, reggae and blues. Her band used African Instruments such as n’goni, njarka and drums alongside electric guitars.

“In Timbuktu, there are the black Tuareg, there are the white Tuareg,” she said. “There the white Arabs, there are the black Arabs. There are the Sonrhai. There are the Peul. There are the fishermen. There are the masons. There are the minors, and those who go to seek salt in Taoudeni. There is all of that in Timbuktu. This is why in my music, all the ethnic groups of Timbuktu find themselves. They all find themselves in my music, and I sing to them one by one.”

In 2010, Arby released her most popular album Timbuktu Tarab, and began to gain international recognition. She toured in the USA making a memorable impact with her appearances at Pop Montreal and in the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2011.

As a singer Arby is unmistakably West African - This is not the blues as we know it, but Arby’s voice has the emotional integrity of an Etta James. Arby’s vocal delivery on La Liberte, from her album Gossip has a desperate, pleading quality. This integrity comes from the hardships that Arby had faced. Her whole life had been a struggle, from her fight for independence as a female musician, to her fight for human rights as she was forced into a life in exile.

During the presidency of Moussa Traoré, cultural policy safeguarded and developed traditional Malian culture. However, in 2012, Timbuktu was seized by Islamic terrorists. Women were beaten in the streets for not covering their hair. All suggestions of Western Culture were banned. Desert Blues music was considered ‘satantic’ by Tuareg rebels backed by al-Qaeda, and any music other than the sung verses of the Koran was forbidden. One day, religious extremists broke into Arby’s house whilst she was away. Arby had long spoken out about Women’s Rights in her songs – her track ‘Waidio’ calls out against the practice of Female Genital Mutilation - and the extremists deemed her voice a threat to Islam, even though Arby was a proud Muslim and one of her most popular songs praised Allah.

“They told my neighbours that if they ever caught me, they would cut my tongue out”, Arby would later recall to journalists. Jihadists destroyed her musical instruments and threatened Arby and her family. Arby, like most musicians, fled from Timbuktu, and relocated in Southern Mali’s Capital Bamako. Northern Mali, which had been a hub of musical heritage and creativity, was culturally

destroyed. In 2015, Arby would explain “Cutting music is like keeping us from breathing.” Of course, it was not just musicians who were affected – more than 400,000 Malians fled from Jihadi oppression and civil war.

Despite living in fear, Arby used her platform as a respected musical artist to speak out about the atrocities she and her country faced. In 2013, she appeared as part of a Malian super-group. Mali’s finest musicians, representing each of Mali’s ethnic communities from all over the country came together to stand up to terrorism. The group recorded a song called Mali-Ko, which translates as Peace. The lyrics, translated below, tell the tragic truth of what was happening in Mali, and call for Malians of all backgrounds to come together to make a stand:

“Men and women of Mali, let’s stand together” Arby sings. “I’ve never seen such a shocking, catastrophic situation. They want to take what doesn’t belong to them. Go tell them that Mali is indivisible, unchangeable!” the powerful protest song continues.

In 2015, Arby appeared in a documentary about the struggle of Malian musicians under the Islamist occupation entitled “They Will Have To Kill Us First”. It took courage to speak out, and sadly, her bravery was met with death threats. During the years she spent in exile, Khaira Arby dreamed of returning home to Timbuktu. In December 2017 she briefly returned to make an appearance at a series of concerts called Timbuktu Renaissance. Her appearances were seen as potentially dangerous and so she was guarded by high security. She lived in hope that one day it would be safe enough for to return to Timbuktu on a more permanent basis, and dreamed of building a recording studio there. It was a dream that was never to be. Mali remains in violent unrest. Arby died on August 2018, aged just 58, of heart failure. Having been married twice, she is survived by her 6 children and 14 grandchildren (her second husband died before her).

“Our religion has never banned music!” Khaira Arby had spoken with strength and influence. “The Prophet was greeted with songs when he arrived in Mecca - we keep fighting!”

In Mali and around the world, this Desert Blues Diva’s musical impact and fighting spirit shall not be forgotten.

Our name says it all!

THE GREAT BRITISH COLNE TOWN COUNCIL PRESENTS...

RHYTHM & BLUES FESTIVAL

COLNE, LANCASHIRE, UK

28TH - 30TH AUGUST 2020

Featuring:

Band Of Friends (IRE)

Davy Knowles

Kyla Brox

Layla Zoe (CND)

Mike Farris & His Band (USA)

Xander & the Peace Pirates

150+ GIGS

130+ ACTS

3 DAYS

1 GREAT FESTIVAL

TICKETS ON SALE

BLUES

Checking out the local charts and finding some gems

WORDS: Matty T. Wall

Welcome back to another instalment of Blues Down Under. I have to say, I am really enjoying writing in this magazine and sharing stories and artists with you. We might be on the other side of the planet, but the more we share our music with each other, the more interesting it is for all us music lovers and blues lovers.

This month I wanted to share with you the Australian Blues and Roots Airplay charts for the year 2019, highlighting the albums that made the top of the charts throughout the year. This list is compiled by the wonderful Anthony Mulé and takes playlists from around the country, very similar to the IBBA charts or the RMR charts.

So, the year that was 2019 – plenty of cracker releases, so let’s start at January:

JANUARY 2019 #1 ALBUM

Nathan Beretta - Where I Belong

Vibe: Blues and soul swagger and stang. Clean but dirty twanging geetar. Lots of fun.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Nathan Beretta play a few times over the last 12 months, he is a great singer and guitar player and happily produces fretboard fireworks on both Gretches and Strats, he puts on a killer show. This album burst onto the scene in 2019 and cemented him as one of the players to go and see at the local blues festivals in Melbourne, definitely one to watch.

FEB AND MARCH 2019 #1 ALBUM

Blues Arcadia – Carnival of Fools

Vibe: Funky, swinging party blues, great vocals, tones and arrangements and killer, killer groove.

Blues Arcadia have really hit the ground running in 2019 with a great album to back them up as they have performed at some of the biggest blues festivals in the country. Two months straight at #1, this album has served them very well indeed. From Brisbane, featuring Alan Boyle, Chris Harvey, Jeremy Klysz, Paula Girvan and Casper Hall, this band is on fire in a live environment and if you get a chance to see them live – do it!

MAY AND JUNE 2019 #1 ALBUM

The Kate Lush Band – Headline

Vibe: Big production, perfect soul style tunes, feels like a warm blanket. Just right.

Kate Lush is a soul singing powerhouse. The Kate Lush Band has been kicking butt at festivals around the country for some time now and also breaking into the US markets, hitting #11 on the RMR charts over there. I think this band is looking to hit the big time in the US and I really hope they do – plenty of energy and soul, great music for feeling good.

JULY 2019 #1 ALBUM

Holler & The Bones – (self-titled)

Vibe: Mate! Great stories, gritty, dark and dripping with dirty blues. Total atmosphere.

Holler & The Bones are a South Australian band, their music is from the outback and the city, really throwing an Australian twist on the blues and giving that familiar feeling that we all love in our blues music. This album really sets a scene when you listen as you’re transported into the storytelling and sounds.

AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2019 #1 ALBUM

Lloyd Speigel – Cut And Run

Vibe: Tight, groovin, both contemporary and old school simultaneously.

Well, I have written about Lloyd Speigel a bunch of times in this magazine, and this is his latest effort –Cut And Run. It is the third and final album (and his tenth overall) of a more personal and introspective view on his life, starting with the albums ‘Backroads’ and ‘This Time Tomorrow’. This trilogy has shown some of his best songwriting to date and has brought him to further international shores where his music is loved. Touring recently on the West Coast of Canada and many other places thousands of kilometres from his home of Melbourne. I believe this won Album of The Year at the Australian Blues Music Awards. Definitely check it out.

NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2019 #1 ALBUM

Matty T Wall – Transpacific Blues Vol.1

Vibe: Blues guitar all-star jam on the classics. For all the guitarists out there, check this out.

A quick rundown on this album: I recorded this at the local Rada studios in Perth with my band, sent the tracks off to my favourite players in the US and locally and had them add their own spice. Featuring Walter Trout on ‘She’s Into Something’, Eric Gales on ‘Hi Heel Sneakers’, Kirk Fletcher on ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’, Kid Ramos on ‘Quicksand’ and Dave Hole on ‘Boom Boom’ – this has got to be the most fun I’ve ever had on analogue tape. I threw some other covers on there too, and if you like slow blues, go and check out my version of ‘Stormy Monday’. My favourite version is actually Eva Cassidy’s’ rendition – I love that version – so this album has inspiration from unexpected sources. I tend to enjoy re-inventing blues covers when I play them (inspired by Clapton and Gary Moore), so this is not 100% traditional, but a new take on traditional. They are loving this album in the US and I was very grateful to have these guys on board. In fact, with my newfound friendship with Walter Trout, he has invited me on tour in April, which I should be able to tell you about in the next instalment. Looking forward to that!

So, seven albums topped the blues radio charts in Australia in 2019, with 4 albums stretching across multiple months. Go and check these albums out, there are some absolutely amazing songs and performances all over this list. In these days of having new music at your fingertips, you need to really dig for yourself to find your own gold, I can’t tell you what that is, as we are all different and deeply personal in our love of music styles, but hopefully I can point you towards some artists that have been picked by discerning radio DJs to be on the top of the pile.

So, again, enjoy the blues, and I’ll catch you round next time! See Ya!

Matty T. Wall

No o Ne shOuld face c A ncer aloNe

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Text TOGETHER to 70550 and donate £5 so we can be there for everyone who needs us.

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Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604).

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VINCENT FLATTS FINAL DRIVE BLUE BLOODS

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WORDS & PICTURES: Supplied

Frontman Steve “Bertie” Burton tried to put this Birmingham powerhouse to bed in 2016, after 24-years on the road. But two years later, a new, younger group of musicians asked him to bring it back to life. Two years on, “The Flatts” are a reenergised, exciting beast. With its 30-year anniversary in sight, you’d be forgiven for assuming that, by now, this band would be going through the motions. But you’d be wrong. Bertie (often referred to as Vincent) with his powerful, raspy voice and infectious energy, is once again a driving force for the band, taking it to new audiences across the UK, Europe and Scandinavia.

Throughout its three-decade history, numerous genre labels have been slapped on the Flatts –country blues; blues rock; southern blues; country rock – but one thing has been consistent: good time music. Bertie, likes to refer to the band’s sound as “Wholesale boogie”. And, essentially, that is what it is. It’s simple, heartfelt, good time rock and roll, with blues coursing through its veins.

The blues has always been Bertie’s true musical north. If you ask him, he’ll tell you a key turning point in life was hearing Taj Mahal’s ‘Statesboro Blues’ – a song he has taken to performing in the reinvented VFFD. If you look at his first band, Cryer, or his second venture, Starfighters – featuring Stevie Young on guitar, cousin of Angus and Malcolm of AC/DC – they were both underpinned by it.

Starfighters is probably a highlight in Bertie’s musical career, as the band achieved a record deal before touring with AC/DC on the Back in Black

tour and Bertie’s old friend Ozzy Osbourne on the Diary of a Madman tour. Both huge stadium tours across the USA – a place with a cultural output that has fascinated Bertie from a very young age.

Despite the successes of previous outfits, it’s the Flatts that is Bertie’s real baby. Ask around and you’ll find the band is synonymous with him and his huge personality. His love of country-infused rock and southern blues has been at its core throughout and now, with a trio of musicians behind him who are over 25 years his junior, he has revived his biggest love.

Gigs across the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and Sweden are all in the pipeline for 2020 – along with a jaunt to Ibiza for some shows in May – but this year is all about new music, with two big studio projects underway:

The first is an album of songs that currently feature in The Flatts’ setlist – think everything from swampy, delta blues to upbeat blues rock. That is set to be released by the spring and will be aptly titled Back in the Saddle. Then, later this year, the band will release an album of all-new original material. Again, the blues will be at the core of the new songs, but Bertie’s passion for southern rock and good-time boogie will be more present than ever, throughout.

So, while the Flatts nears the big 3-0, it’s doing anything but settling down. In fact, it has the energy of an excitable, naughty teenager, with an insatiable thirst to get out there and try a bit of everything. So, watch out. They’re coming.

Our name says it all!

MOJO PREACHERS BLUE BLOODS

WORDS & PICTURES: Supplied

The Mojo Preachers are a five-piece, female fronted, boundary-pushing outfit, delivering hard-hitting original tunes; conjuring up a melodiously intricate, authentic, yet unconventional sound. The term ‘Progressive and Psychedelic Blues’ being used liberally.

Formed from a collective of Norwich based musicians, they released their debut album ‘Confessions’ in 2016. Over the next two years they established themselves on the blues circuit as a slightly more than unconventional blues band, until the guitarists chair became vacant once more. Original member Andy Walker returned to the fold and the current material being written dictated that the line-up was in need of a refresh, being amended with a brand-new rhythm section. Since 2018 drummer Matt Furness and bass player Trev Turley have gone on to provide the perfect foil to the song writing team of keys/synth player Carleton Van Selman, vocalist/lyricist Sophie Lindsay and guitarist Andy.

Each of this collective provide a unique palette of song writing skills and musical textures, which drives the rather challenging task of attempting to pigeon hole this band. Carleton’s often symphonic based material, with a liberal helping of classic sounding synth on top make for a large slice of the so-called progressive element. Blend in Andy’s more subtle soulful blues and occasional touch of rock, and the not so much technical bluster many seem to think they have to execute to impress, then we start to reach something hard to pin a genre on. Add in the personal stories, the experience and lyrics of Sophie, then the ‘uniquely ploughed furrow’ by this band becomes apparent,

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but with one foot still dangling, entrenched in the blues.

The new line up began work immediately on an album’s worth of new material, releasing ‘Man Made Monster’ in mid-2019. By the year end it had reached number fifteen in the most played releases of the year, (source IBBA). The thirteen tracks on ‘Monster’ are individual in their own right, ‘cerebral and immersive’ as one review remarked. Put this next to their debut ‘Confessions’ and then there’s a marked difference in style, a progression no less. What will the next album in this series gestate? The Mojo’s studio recordings are compared to being a ‘Calling Card’, as when let loose live, they are the perennial ‘Hot Date’.

2020’s remit for the Mojo’s is to build on the success of MMM, delving deeper into a wealth of new music, thus defying and instigating an even larger clash of genre styles, moulding and melding to suit. Surely blues was never this complex? Only the Mojo Preachers know.

To find out more: www.mojopreachers.com

NICK STEED 5 BLUE BLOODS

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THE UNDISCOVERED

WORDS & PICTURES: Supplied

Nick formed the Nick Steed Five back in 2013, The band covers a wide spectrum of blues with influences from Robben Ford, Keb Mo, Cream, JJ Cale, Freddie King, Allen Toussaint. Nick Steed is a freelance keyboard player and vocalist based in Stockport, South Manchester UK. As well as his touring band work, he also performs as a solo piano vocalist.

The band managed a live recording at a Manchester Blues Festival in 2013 before having to take a back seat due to Nick’s hugely busy European tour schedule with Blues artists such as Norman Beaker Band, Larry Garner, Chris Farlowe to name a few.

mates Peter Mason-Guitar, John Sandham-Bass, Steve Gibson-Drums and Kim Nishikawara-Sax to which they had glowing reviews throughout Europe, also reaching the IBBA Blues Radio charts at Number One, album of the month and most played album of 2018! The album also featured guest appearances from Norman Beaker & Larry Garner.

This pushed Nick into promoting the band across UK & Europe, spawning a well-received and exciting European tour performing big festivals and venues in Czech Republic, Belgium and Holland, as well as recently being asked to take part in UK Gigs/Festivals such as Colne R&B & Carlisle Blues/Rock also upcoming gigs at Poynton Bluefunk Club this December & York Festival April 2020.

Next year promises to be a busy year as a new album is currently being written by Nick and the band which should be ready around Spring and also pursuing more UK gigs. Two major tours across Europe have been booked starting with performing at Hook Rock Diepenbeek Festival, Belgium in the summer and then returning to do a 3-week tour of Czech, Germany, Holland & Belgium in autumn.

Fast forward to 2018 and Nick decided it was time to get his band working and a new studio album out. It took 3 months to write the 12 track original album mixing most styles of blues from New Orleans, Tulsa, Chicago, Texas, Americana, Gospel, Funk and Rock with full time members and best

The band have built up a great reputation through self-promotion alone which has been hard work but it has been paying off in the short time they have been working and hope to carry on pushing to some more great gigs in the future.

For further information see website: www.nicksteed5.co.uk

Our name says it all!

ROBBIE REAY BLUE BLOODS DISCOVER

WORDS: Robbie Reay PICTURES: Colin Campbell

Established Blues Musician Robbie Reay performs in the UK and international venues. He plays original contemporary blues with slide guitar, cigar box guitar, and a Mississippi stomp box, mixed with incredible vocals. Robbie is concentrating on his solo act, although continues to play with his band The Killer Cats, and as a duo accompanied by harmonica player Willie Cran. Robbie’s repertoire is intertwined with acoustic and electric delta blues, sincere balladry, and occasional innuendo in a virtuoso style that’s hard to beat. He lives the blues, he breathes it and said, “once you’ve experienced the blues it stays with you, it’s not something you get rid of.” “The blues is simply life, when I play for you I do it with soul, conviction, emotion, truth and feeling, I’m selling my soul to you for those few moments of time.”

At the age of 10, Robbie received his first guitar as a gift. Initially taught by a talented folk musician in the North East of England, Robbie continued his musical journey honing his skills as a rhythm guitarist playing the Working Man Club circuit in 50’s Rock n Roll bands.

For years Robbie was in turmoil with songs in his head, bursting to come out. Without the means to record or any real direction, he remained frustrated with a longing and yearning to create but wondered which way to go. He was at the crossroads in life. With the help of friends and mentors, Robbie finally realised his true calling - Blues. Folk Blues, Piedmont, Acoustic or Electric, whatever, he’d found the answer.

THE UNDISCOVERED

Fired up and hungry like a pea vine train, he embarked on a musical pilgrimage to Mississippi in search of answers. Where did the music he used to play come from? He found himself standing at the devil’s crossroads, south of Dockery just before midnight, waiting for the man. Nothing happened. Disappointed and walking back along the dirt track, an old man came out of the shadows and said “Ha, I see you’ve been to them crossroads”. Almost speechless, Robbie said, “how do you

know?” “Well that’s easy” said the man. “Looks like ole Papa Legba took your souls!” Looking down at his feet, Robbie realised he had nothing on them! So, there it was, the start of an amazing musical journey, the start of Barefoot Blues, the album and the book. The rest they say is history!

Website: www.robbiereay.co.uk

BLUE BLOODS DISCOVER

THE UNDISCOVERED

CHASIN’ THE TRAIN

They describe their music as, ‘blues with cojones’. The band was put together by harp player, Bob Clements, the name being inspired by a painting of an old steam train that hung on his brother’s wall. The five members have all played a wide variety of musical styles in different bands over their long careers, but have been working together since early 2014, and are united by their love of out-of-the-ordinary blues tunes. Their individual influences – rock, punk, blues, metal, prog, and folk – blend to make a unique sound that is still firmly anchored in the blues.

Their covers album, Off The Rails, rapidly sold out at their shows. Following this, they began writing and demoing original tunes, coming up with Whisky Bottle and Exit Wounds in fairly short order. The two songs were road-tested as part of their live set, and quickly became firm favourites with their audiences. “There’s something satisfying about having people singing your songs back to you.” says guitar player Rory Nelson. When they decided to move to the next stage of their career and release some music on a commercial basis, these two tunes were the natural choice, and were released as a 2-track digital only single.

Another of the band’s original songs, Temporary Man, is featured on the Jock’s Juke Joint Volume 4, and they’re currently putting the finishing touches to their debut album, Dead Man’s Handle.

The band is based in Dumfries, (Scotland) and have acquired a loyal fan base following a number of appearances at local festivals, as well as the Maryport Blues Festival and Maryport Live. They regularly gig in Dumfries, Ayr, Kilmarnock, the Central Belt and Cumbria.

Their enthusiastic, high-energy performance features outstanding blues and blues rock tunes with raucous harmonica, raw, powerful vocals, supercharged guitar, funky bass and rock-solid drums - what’s not to like? They’re a band that loves to play live, and engage with their audiences at gigs and via social media. If you like your blues raw, with power and energy then you need to catch the Train! Do yourself a favour and check out the best band you never heard of, before everyone else catches on!

Find them on Facebook at: http://tinyurl.com/o6ow5jj

Our name says it all! ISSUE

WORDS: Peter Jamieson PICTURES: Colin Campbell

THE KENDALL CONNECTION BLUE BLOODS

WORDS & PICTURES: Supplied

DISCOVER THE UNDISCOVERED

The Kendall Connection is a blues/rock band from London, UK, spearheaded by frontman guitarist, singer/songwriter Nick Kendall.

Kendall, along with band members Steve Holness (keyboards), Greg Hagger (bass), and Tom Clare (drums), are some of the UK’s finest session musicians who have, over the last decade, performed with some of the biggest names in music, such as; 10cc, Adele, Tony Hadley, Paul Weller, Brian May and Alice Cooper to name a few. They have also held chairs on numerous shows in London’s West End and worked on TV shows the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.

The four joined forces in late 2016 to write, record, and perform the music they are most passionate about. The band released their self-titled debut album in January 2020 to positive reviews.

Kendall’s song writing is grounded in blues/rock, with country and jazz ingredients thrown in. His songs connect with the emotions of the everyday-man while being a vehicle for the musicians in the band to express their musicianship through improvised solos.

South African born, Nick grew up honing his craft on the blues stages of Johannesburg, and by the age of 11 was performing as a guest artist with South African blues/rock legends Julian Laxton, Larry Amos, and Dan Patlansky. Nick says, “It was an amazing time to be able to spend my Friday

night’s, watching three hours of smoking hot, live blues/rock playing at such a young age, and just soak it all up. And to then be able to get up and jam a couple of tunes at the end of the night was such a thrill and a brilliant experience at such a young age! I owe those guys a lot, for the opportunity they gave me back then. And my folks for taking me every week for a whole year or so!”

Nick left school early to study music in South Africa, and then later as a scholarship student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA.

At age 16 Nick was chosen to be the guitarist in the South African production of Queen’s We Will Rock You, which kicked off his career as a successful session musician, both in Johannesburg and then in the London, which has been his home since 2008.

“I put The Kendall Connection together as an outlet for my creative side. I write, and there is a whole side to my playing which doesn’t always get a chance to run wild when working for others. We recorded, produced, and mixed the album ourselves, which has given us real creative freedom. That’s the beauty of today’s music world. No rules!”

Check out the band here...

Website: www.thekendallconnection.co.uk

Facebook: thekendallconnectionband

Twitter: @KendallConnect

Instagram: @thekendallconnection

DISCUSSING BLUES ........ the

WORDS: Colin Campbell PICTURES: As Credited

Image: Erik Damian

with &

BRANCH ROBSON BILLY GILES

It’s not every day you get to talk to two award winning blues harmonica players, but it’s not every day that there is the Great British Rock and Blues Festival on with exciting and differing acts at Skegness. Honoured to get time to speak with these performers backstage for Blues Matters, just before Billy Branch was returning to the stage with his Sons of Blues band. It went something like this….

How do you prepare for a concert, before going on stage?

BB: I have a little sip of Courvoisier Cognac and sometimes I do some vocal warm ups and sometimes I do a little prayer, to the great man upstairs to have a good show!

And this works?

(Laughing) Most the time yes!

What about you Giles?

GR: I warm up the old vocal cords with some vocal rolling of the tongue exercises, play a bit of harmonica, and listen to a bit of music, just getting into the zone. Sometimes if I’m on tour with Billy will have Courvoisier too!

Is your persona the same onstage as it is off stage?

BB: I’m not entirely sure what you mean by that. Off stage I’m not going to be singing and playing the harp. I mean when you’re on stage you gotta fulfil the audience you’ve gotta please that audience and get them engaged with what you’re playing.

How do you get an audience involved?

BB: Hopefully by playing good music and playing songs they can relate to and sometimes songs they can sing along to.

How did the Little Walter tribute come together?

GR: Billy and his wife Rosa became friends with Marion Diaz (Little Walter’s daughter). Together they went to work on The Little Walter Foundation in Chicago and I thought this was an incredible project. They went on to record The Alligator Records release Roots And Branches, which has done tremendously well, had rave reviews, number one across the world in the Living Blues chart. It is a fitting tribute to Little Walter. It’s not a slavish copy, it’s Billy Branch paying tribute. You can hear Little Walter’s riffs played exactly note for note but filtered through the style of Billy Branch. That’s the fantastic thing; it’s not boring or a museum piece. Watching Billy play these tracks live is an incredible thing. You hear little Walter being channelled through Billy Branch and that’s ultimate artistry, the ultimate way to pay tribute to a master. There have been so many tributes to Little Walter...

BB: Yes, there are so many. In matter of fact, I was reluctant at first. My wife and Marion insisted this be done. We did a tribute to Little Walter show featuring five Chicago players at the Chicago blues Festival on the fortieth anniversary of his passing in 2018. So, it was only fitting, Marion wanted it and my wife thought it

would be a great idea. I was reluctant as you say because there have been so many and I never want to repeat and duplicate what everyone else does. I’ve never been that kind of artist but as the band started practicing and rehearsing these songs started developing and morphing, so we were able to put our Sons Of Blues stamp on it, and I was able to put my own personal stamp on it as Giles said. It was challenging, because the greatest harmonica player that ever lived, to do a fitting tribute and do justice without copying him but emulating his style, I believe we were successful in that effort.

Talk about head cutting, what is that about and does it still go on?

BB: The guys I learned from in Chicago used to cut my head, and I tell that story on my album “Harp Attack”, with myself, Junior Welles and Carey Bell. In addition to those who cut my head was Big Walter Horton. Head cutting just means you’re going to get bested and blown off the stage and in my earlier years that came to me a lot! But at least I can say my head was cut by the best that were alive! Come on man, musicians have egos not just with harmonicas. You see this when guitarists go at it. Sure, it goes on; nobody likes to get shown up on stage!

GR: Yeah, I had a pitched battle with a Rumanian harmonica player and that was an interesting experience, I won! I don’t like head cutting it’s better discussing things, you’re like a jazz ensemble but yes you get vicious performers you have to hold your own.

Do you think it gets easier to hold your own?

BB: After fifty years you’d better be able to or you’re in the wrong business! (Laughs)

Why did you choose the harmonica as an instrument to play?

BB: It was only destiny that led me. I picked it up and not having heard anyone play one, I just happened to buy one at a Department store. I could immediately play it, folk tunes and Christmas carols things of that nature. It was a few

years later I discovered the blues and that set me on the path. Chicago, was filled with great musicians overall, but some of the great harmonica players I have mentioned. There were a lot more who did not make the noteriety of those I mentioned such as Good Rocking Charles, Big Leon Brooks.

Were these players similar influences on you?

GR: Billy had first-hand experience with these great musicians and got taught by them and was in that milieu. I came from the island of Jersey. I was very lucky; we had an Arts Centre and this shows you the power of Government funded Arts Centres. Within a week of buying my first harmonica we had Cephas and Wiggins they came over to Jersey from the States and I saw the real thing live and that set me on the path to play. But Billy has sat at the feet of these people, he knew them, he has helped them out at some point and absorbed it all. So really, he is the last of the great Chicago Masters.

What kind of music did you listen to when you were younger, did you have any favourite bands?

BB: On the radio there was Motown and The Beatles, Stones, Hendrix. Folk music in the Sixties, Peter, Paul and Mary. I was growing up in Los Angeles, there was The Beach Boys, I absorbed everything! Favourites, there was The Temptations, Stevie wonder, The Four Tops, Jimi Hendrix. I liked everything.

You are involved with the Blues In The Schools Project, how did that come about?

BB: There was a grant available through the Illinois Arts Council and I applied and received the grant. I always wanted to work with children, so that was a great opportunity. I have been the longest proponent of Blues In the Schools. My band actually flies to different countries which means the children learn guitar and bass and drums as well as harmonica. They write songs and perform; it’s been a beautiful thing. I still have children from 1978 who come to the clubs. I have a handful who went on to have professional careers.

“To me the blues is the most powerful music on this planet because it’s the music that speaks most directly to the human condition.”

Image: Erik Damian

What advice would you give to an up and coming harmonica player?

BB: To listen! Number one is to practice. When you get the opportunity to hear professional harmonica players go and immerse yourself in that experience. Now we have You Tube you can look at performances from all the greats. Just present yourself when there are times to perform and play. At the beginning, like anything it’s a bumpy road you’re not just going to start to be good, you have to persevere!

What’s the best advice musically you have had in your career?

BB: That’s a wide-open question, you have to stay the course because it’s not an easy life. You don’t start out making a lot of money. In most cases you don’t make a lot of money. But if you become adept and

become a master of your craft you have a better opportunity to be successful.

GR: I’ve had a lot of advice from Billy and Joe Louis Walker, they have lived the life and are committed to it. I use the same words as Joe Louis Walker “Stay the Course”. You do it for the love of the music and Billy is touring round the world spreading the love to a younger generation.

What is the driving force that keeps you playing music and touring?

BB: The love of playing the music and the experience! Even though it can be challenging in some aspects in others it can be very rewarding. To be able

Image: Colin Campbell

Image: Colin Campbell

to perform in front of thousands of people who express the love for what you are doing. Knowing you are bringing joy to a lot of people who are going through life’s daily changes. The music gives them some relief from that!

For me blues music has a “feeling” that is hard to describe, what is your philosophy and take on it?

BB: Blues is a feeling yes and an art form. It’s African American folk music. Willie Dixon described it as “The facts of life” because anything you can experience can be sung in a blues song, whether happy or sad. To me the blues is the most powerful music on this planet because it’s the music that speaks most directly to the human condition. A lot of people cannot relate to Classical music it’s to highbrow for them or Country music takes a particular cross section. But the blues resonates with people who don’t even understand the English language. I’ve seen it happen thousands of times all over the world.

GR: It’s exactly as Billy says. It’s a feeling and incredibly precise art form musically. It can describe emotions and portray emotions in an abstract manner relating to human emotions. It’s not an intellectual music form although it takes a lot of skill and technique to play it, it’s music of the people, designed to move people! It’s something for the gut and the heart. When I first started playing, I was fourteen. I stuck at it, as you go through some of the disasters in life as everyone does when they reach their forties, like losses of parents, split ups and realities of life sink in, and it’s something that grows with you. It’s a very valuable music indeed.

Do you think blues music will continue?

BB: Sure, as long as humanity continues there will be the blues!

What are the demographics of your audiences?

GR: Although people say blues audiences are older. We have seen in recent years the gap widening again. There’s everyone from twenty to seventy there. When you tour and talk to promoters and things, you get a feeling it is something you get into when you are older because it talks about people who have lived longer. Although musically, young people get it, it’s only when you get older you understand.

BB: Again, I go back to Willie Dixon’s “Facts of life”. Sixteen-year olds get the blues. Say they have an abusive father that’s beating their mother. Or they are eight years old and homeless or three or four-year-old and their parents are drug addicted. Everyone has the blues!!

And with that, it was a wrap, discussion finished and Billy met up with the band and went on stage to do what he does best, give an honest and entertaining set to an eager and anticipative audience. Thank you, Billy and Giles, for your time.

For further information see websites:

www.billybranch.com www.gilesrobson.com

DISCOGRAPHY

Billy Branch & The Sons Of Blues

• Roots And Branches: The songs Of Little Walter 2019

• Blues Shock 2014

• Live & Kicking At Rosa’s Lounge 2014

• Chicago’s Young Blues Generation (Featuring Lurrie Bell) 2001

• Billy Branch& The Sons Of Blues (Featuring Carlos Johnson) 2000

• Sweet Home Chicago (Featuring Fenton Robinson) 2000

• Live’82 American Folk Blues Fest 1994

Giles Robson

With Giles Robson Band-

• Don’t Give Up On the Blues 2019

• For Those Who Need The Blues 2016 With The Dirty Aces

• Crooked Heart Of Mine 2012

• The Mighty Incinerator 2010

• Mud Morganfield Live 2008

Compilations

• Roller Coaster (Wth Chris Corcoran) 2018

• Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues (With Joe Louis Walker and Bruce Katz) 2018

FANTASTIC NEGRITO

WORDS: Iain Patience PICTURES: DeAndre Forks

Bluesmen have often lived the life, they bring an insight, honesty and integrity to their music that few can equal. Grammy-winning, US bluesman Fantastic Negrito does it all in spades with a remarkable history that may surprise many.

Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz is a bit of a mouthful, not the easiest name to master or recognize in reality. However, this is the guy known as Fantastic Negrito, a US bluesman, guitarist, singer-songwriter with an extraordinary back-story that could easily grace the pages of gripping fiction. When we talk of fighting against the odds and recovering from adversity, Negrito is the guy who has been there and done that – repeatedly.

Known for his music that spans genres between blues, soul and R&B, Negrito has picked up a few Grammys so far with his albums The Last Days of Oakland followed by Please Don’t Be Dead winning in consecutive years respectively. Both hold elements of autobiographical thinking which is reflected in the lyrics and album titles. Catching up with the guy at home in California is the easy part. Pinning down his evident enthusiasm for his work and music proves decidedly more tricky for this is a man who wants to engage, to talk vividly and expansively about where he’s been, where he came from and how he managed to overcome daunting, near-overwhelming odds and become a highly regarded musician not just once in a lifetime but twice in a matter of a few years.

Born in Massachusetts, Negrito moved with his family to Oakland, California when a young

kid. Before long he found himself involved in a variety of dangerous, at times criminal, activities. Still a teenager, Negrito was deeply involved in what he now calls “that street shit,” and was attacked, shot by a masked gunman and seriously wounded.

His salvation, however, came through a natural love of music which truly grew and evolved after hearing Prince’s album, Dirty Mind, and learning that Prince was a self-taught musician. Eager to extend his musical knowledge, Negrito began sneaking into music classes held at the nearby Berkeley music school, part of the University of California. Before much longer, he was on the road, playing and performing and securing his first recording contract, a million-dollar deal, with Interscope Records and under the management of, ironically perhaps, Prince’s manager. Three years later, he released his debut offering, The X Factor, under his true name of Xavier. But success initially eluded him.

Finding himself tied to contract with Interscope, Negrito struggled musically for another few years before, in 1999, being involved in a serious car crash which left him immobilised and hospitalised for many months during which time, Interscope basically dumped him and his contract, a move that could easily have crushed lesser men but which Negrito himself viewed as a blessed “creative release,” giving him the freedom to resume his musical career when he regained the use of his hands and could again play guitar.

Our name says it all!

By 2007, he had quit music and remained outside the business till his spectacular return in 2014 with music he described as being “black roots music for everyone.” A few short years later, he was picking up his first Grammy Award and life was again looking rosy. For the second time Negrito defied the odds in a harsh, notoriously unforgiving music world, not only on the verge of success but having resurfaced as a Grammy contender.

Negrito runs through this astonishing background history with a down-to-earth acceptance of events and a near dismissive shrug before turning to his first Grammy nomination in 2017: “That was great. Totally unexpected. It’s great to be recognized by peers – it’s a great thing. I’m grateful, of course. But you don’t really think about it too much. Ya just sort of chill it. Put it this way, I’ve been working with Quincy Jones and you don’t drill down thinking or with the intention for awards or hit records. I do it because it’s just something I love to do, making a contribution. That’s cool, maybe something memorable and creative,” he says with a grin.

What about influences, I ask: “Well there’s always a kind of perpetual hustle in the music business, so much going down all the time. I gotta say Prince was huge, enormous influence. And Bob Marley. These guys were maybe like role models. We all have them somewhere. Then I can go back a whiles to say Skip James, Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf. These guys shaped so much of it all. Lots of those guys were just fighting to be recognized as being men back then, as blacks. Greats like Son House, Charley Patton, crazy stuff, just fighting to be men,” Negrito explains.

“I remember moving from a village in the North east, Massachusetts, to a funkadelic town in

West Coast California. I grew up real quick in Oakland. There was so much stuff going down all the time. Drugs and all that street shit. It was hard to resist, to not be involved. But there was also loads of music everywhere there. So, I got connected to that gospel and spiritual music stuff. It’s all connected, blues, soul, gospel. All connected, man.”

Asked about his personal approach to writing and performing, he is quick to add: “I think of my music as being my own homage to my musical ancestors and to roots musicians around the world. Then my own old people, my ancestors, my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. All had a connection with that black roots music. That’s where it all came from originally. It’s all in the DNA, I guess.”

And Negrito is quick to turn his eye on the shape of the music business itself, needing neither prompt nor pursuit: “Nowadays it’s becoming all bullshit, bullshit turned into music,” he laughs at the very thought. “I keep going, I won’t quit. It’s important to always keep on moving.”

But Negrito is possibly most excited when he opens up and talks about blues music generally: “Blues music has to always develop. It’s not dead music. It’s not just the old black guys who own it. It’s all ours. We have to connect with it, enjoy it, move it on. We all know it came from black people, so it’s okay to be black blues music and musicians. We can all reconnect. It’s soulful wherever it comes from whether it’s the Delta or anyplace else. All blues is a feeling. I know a lot about feeling not a lot about music. With blues you can try but there ain’t no place to hide. I wanted to learn so I didn’t just ‘try.’ I wanted to ‘do it.’ I was, I am in the zone. “

Negrito also recognizes that there are always changes and differences within the genre that in

“Blues music has to always develop. It’s not dead music. It’s not just the old black guys who own it. It’s all ours. We have to connect with it, enjoy it, move it on.”

effect ensure its true importance in the modern music world: “I know everybody’s different. We all have different experience in life behind us. For me, I think I’ve a job to do. And musicians, artistes are really ambassadors. We have to shoulder that, a burden at times, and carry it forward,” he believes.

“I’ve done it all really. I’ve worked in the streets, that’s where I started. I love playing, recording, performing, getting out there with my music. The writing’s always important and in the studio, I like to keep it all under control. The last thing I done is always the best till the next one.” Negrito smiles and suggests he’s already working on his next album. “You gotta create an ambience too. That’s real important. You gotta take the people with you. Music lets that happen. I’ve been lucky, I guess. Lots of years now behind me. I know what I want, what I need and maybe how to get it sometimes. I get an idea, a concept. I go full-tilt at the truth. It’s great to just have that opportunity.”

As I express my admiration for his thinking, he turns back and throws in a final thought: “I’m reborn each time I play, record, whatever. I’m never thinking maybe I’ve been reborn once before, or even twice. It’s time to maybe be reborn again, say, life number three,” Negrito laughs with an unsettling sense of déjà vu and a knowing nod to an unforeseeable future.

www.fantasticnegrito.com

“I’m reborn each time I play”

R�A� W�R�I�R

TINSLEY ELLIS

WORDS: Don Wilcock PICTURES: Arnie Goodman

After a particularly fine and intimate performance in New York’s Capital Region, I had the great privilege to sit down with Tinsley Ellis to discuss the release of his latest album, Ice Cream In Hell.

In his own words, “Blues is music of desperation, and the kiss of death for blues is to have a hit song, and then they gotta have another one. That’ll take an act down. When I go see a group, I want to witness a struggle. I want to be Don Quixote. The best shows I ever heard were in an audience at a little club and the performer is up there pouring his heart out.” Tinsley speaks from experience. He’s been a blues warrior for 40 years, and his latest offering, by his own admission, the rawest one yet.

It’s clear to me that you’re really excited for the release of Ice Cream In Hell.

Tinsley Ellis: Right now, I feel like I’m nine months pregnant because the album is about to come out. This is actually the first interview I’ve done for the new album. The tour (with Tommy Castro) has wound down for the last album. The Tommy shows ended in a really nice way in Cincinnati with over 1000 people there. It was kinda like a winter blues festival type thing in a casino. We worked some of the songs from the album, but now I’m just waiting for the delivery of the baby.

Ice Cream in Hell is classic Tinsley. 11 cuts that are always on the edge of mayhem, barely controlled Electric guitar with a capital E, on originals that reflect the angst of a guy who’s on the road constantly and lives for that hour and then some that you’re on stage each night. In your live performance art becomes life, and you’re living it right in front of our eyes and ears. Would you say that’s true?

Tinsley Ellis: Well, I try to. I definitely try to.

There’s a lot of faking calm up there, but there’s a lot of angst going on and stuff like that.

Would you say that you live your life in front of your audience?

Tinsley Ellis: Yes, and it’s the other 23 hours in a day that really blow. There’s a lot of hanging around, and a lot of times being out on the road and waiting around reminds me of the old days where you’re trying to make a drug deal or something, and they don’t show up at the right time, and you chase them around. There’s a lot of chasing people around to find out what, where, who and when, you know. So, it’s not an exact science. So, it has to be really flexible.

I remember feeling really good about that show (at The Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes, New York). The room sounded so good. The acoustics in there. I remember feeling really good about that particular show. We got a really good sound check. I can’t remember where we came from, but we must have gotten a nap that day or something. Oh, and we stayed down in Albany that night at the motel that had a number in its name, if you know what I mean. The number was less than 8. But yes, there was a sense of desperation in the evening all around I would say.

Every show that I’ve ever seen that blew my mind was either in a small place or not a large place but a small place, and the crowd was kind of thin. I can think of the time seeing Robert Cray that way years ago. Certainly, Stevie Ray Vaughan played for like 17 people where they made $30 a night for the whole band, and things like that.

I really want everything to be as close to the vibe, the feel, richness and emotions of Buddy Guy’s Stone Crazy album. There are no rules when he plays like that. So, I’m way past thinking

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I’m going to have a hit song on the radio. I don’t care if a song is eight minutes long as long as it’s got some fiery guitar playing on it, and some lyrics that are emotional as well.

Your fans are going to love Ice Cream in Hell, and I think it’s safe to say that if someone is new to your work, this is a great place to start. Personally, I love the album.

Tinsley Ellis: That’s the first response I’m getting for it. So, loving the album is a good response.

On the title cut, you sing, “When they serve ice cream in hell, I’m gonna take you there.” And most of the songs are about failed relationships. Is being on the road all the time what inspires such songs?

Tinsley Ellis: I think that is a theme everybody can relate to, and that’s an angry song. “I’m gonna take you back when they serve ice cream in hell.” I had a friend who used to say, “People in hell want ice water. I want this and I want that.’”

Was Kevin McKendree’s organ run on “Your Love’s Like Heroin” inspired by Roy Buchanan’s “The Messiah Will Come Again?”

Tinsley Ellis: Absolutely! I’m thrilled that you noticed that.

That’s my favourite song of all time.

Tinsley Ellis: It’s a great song. Roy’s guitar is the musical interpretation of his earlier vocal delivery. Kevin’s from Washington D.C., (the late Roy Buchanan’s home turf) and he knows Roy’s music. When I told him, I said, “I know where you’re coming from with that organ intro.” He said, “Yeah, that song I just keep coming back to it.” That’s why he’s a traditionalist organist on this album, and every album we did since the one we did with Tom Dowd in 1986. He’s played on every studio album.

Did he ever meet or did you ever meet Roy?

Tinsley Ellis: I saw him once perform, but I never met him.

You’re emulating Hound Dog Taylor on “Sit Tight Mama.”

Tinsley Ellis: Yeah, that’s a tribute to Hound Dog, and also, I wanted to do that for Bruce (Iglauer,

CEO of Alligator Records). It’s his 50th anniversary because this album will be out when his label is 50 years old. When Kevin was mixing that, Bruce really jumped in and gave us a lot of input. Hound Dog Taylor music has got to be really lo fi, you know. So, he really helped us. We had a nice performance of it. We couldn’t figure out the mix. We couldn’t get fancy with it. Bruce said, “No, you gotta take all that stuff out. It’s gotta sound like it’s in a little room with microphones plugging into other microphones,” and he really stepped up to the plate on the mix on that particular song so that we could try to get the same kind of feel, and then it was well, where do we put a song like that on an album? It doesn’t have any bass guitar on it ’cause Hound Dog didn’t have any bass guitarist. So, we found a nice place to tuck it into the album because it doesn’t sound like anything else on the record. I’ve always loved that music, and you’ve gotta turn off the brain when you play that. It comes from a much lower part of the body.

For me, you represent the ultimate road warrior up there in the same category as The Nighthawks, John Hammond, Johnny Sansone and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Tinsley Ellis: I think at this point I’ve got ’em, although the Thunderbirds have certainly been around longer, but they tend to go out, do a festival and fly back home where I just stay out there and purr like a teenager.

www.tinsleyellis.com

LIGHT FUSE THE AND STAND WELL BACK

a discussion with DAVE ARCARI

PICTURES: As Credited

Described as alternative blues virtuoso, the multi-talented Dave Arcari is a true journeyman and dedicated musician. He had just finished a sold-out concert at his local Village Hall the night before. There are so many aspects to this man that topics ranged from his early days as a Bank Teller, current physical health investigations, “Am getting the arse camera sometime soon”, to an in depth discussion on the merits of advertising whisky and his passion for guitar

Described as alternative blues virtuoso, the multi-talented Dave Arcari is a true journeyman and dedicated musician. He had just finished a sold-out concert at his local Village Hall the night before. There are so many aspects to this man that topics ranged from his early days as a Bank Teller, current physical health investigations, “Am getting the arse camera sometime soon”, to an in depth discussion on the merits of advertising whisky and his passion for guitar

playing, particularly when in 2019, National Reso-Phonic Guitars launched the Dave Arcari signature model. He is the first musician outside United States to be honoured by this guitar company. Full of West Coast Scottish humour and mostly off subject, hopefully fans of Dave and Blues Matters which he once wrote for will glean at least a glimpse into his psyche.

playing, particularly when in 2019, National Reso-Phonic Guitars launched the Dave Arcari signature model. He is the first musician outside United States to be honoured by this guitar company. Full of West Coast Scottish humour and mostly off subject, hopefully fans of Dave and Blues Matters which he once wrote for will glean at least a glimpse into his psyche.

WORDS: Colin Campbell

Image by Peter Lee

What is the difference between playing for US and European audiences?

If you’d asked me that five years ago, I would have said it was easier playing Europe than America, but I don’t know. When I started doing all this, by in large the blues crowd saw me as the antichrist; they all thought I was taking the piss! I was only doing it the way I knew how! I don’t know if I’ve started to behave myself more, but the regular blues people have slowly been coming around. So, I’ve got this really mixed audience of metallers, punks, moshers and Americana folkies and blues folk are joining that throng. The audience age used to be between 35-60 years old, now this is a wider spectrum. Locally on the East side of Loch Lomond there are only about twenty folks in the village and the local Hall is down the road at Milton of Buchanan. Been here for ten years and when we first came, I asked folk what music they liked, mostly it was Scottish Country dancing for fucks sake! Nothing wrong with that but I can’t do that! I thought, we’re going to put this gig on and find a burning cross in the garden and be run out

does pre-war Delta Blues. It’s not all slide guitars! There’s some banjo creeping in, regular guitar picking, not all bottleneck stuff. When I started, I couldn’t see past playing bottleneck, it all had to be fast and furious and mental. It’s evolved a bit; I don’t feel I have to hide behind being radge! (Definition for non-Scottish people: anyone who has gone beyond the bounds of regular behaviour. Source: www.urbandictionary.com) One of my first loves as a kid before I even knew what it was, was fifties rock and roll, Gene Vincent and Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochrane. That led to listening to Johnny Cash, especially the Sun Years. Bukka White, Sun House, Blind Willie Johnson are also influences.

How did you start out?

of the village, but it was sold out and everyone was very enthusiastic about it! Last night’s gig was a combination of a big community event and private party, a great mix of folk. Did it with this one microphone out front, it was a transparent gig, not much space between you and the audience. It was like playing unplugged. When there are new people there and you don’t know how it’ll go you can get a bit worried!

For those people not acquainted with your music style how would YOU describe it?

It owes as much to, trash, punk and rockabilly as it

I left School on a Friday and started in a Bank on the Monday. I worked for four or five years and hated it. I was told to file cheques but put them down the back of the filing cabinet! Left the Bank at twenty-one and got a job at a Finance Company, supposed to be Assistant Manager, just another name for a debt collector. Worst thing that happened I was hit on the back with a hammer, not been hit by anything playing music, managed to dodge things though! Bought my first guitar when I worked in the Bank, then went to College in Kirkcaldy, Fife, was President of the Student’s Association, then got a job in PR in London. Next, I formed Summerfield Blues. That’s where I started playing slide, was never good at doing the wibbly wobbly things! I had a band called Midnight Blues, they had Matt Monroe’s piano player in it, I had to be the singer sometimes as well, that was the London years! I came back to Scotland and opened a recording studio as side line to working for another PR agency. Then I was internal Communications Manager for General Accident, still working in a lot of bands then as well.

I formed The Radiotones, but had not started a solo career and was still writing for music papers; probably Blues Matters with the blue photocopy magazine. In 2004 I moved back to Glasgow and looked after the Scottish and Irish Musicians Union. Then I met my partner Margaret who was a teacher. Didn’t want the: I go to work, you

“For me, music was always number one, it’s the most important thing, you know give or take!”

go to work thing and discuss work, so started to play solo then. I started playing stripped down versions of Radiotones songs. The support mechanism of the band was not there. You’re standing there on your tod and if something goes wrong like, breaking strings, there’s no one to cover for you, that’s quite daunting at first. I didn’t know if the solo thing was feasible. I got a couple of pals from Glasgow and Edinburgh put together something called Acoustic Mayhem, it was a success. I recorded an EP in Glasgow.

For me, music was always number one, it’s the most important thing, you know give or take! My very early expeditions going solo were in Estonia. Among all the gigs there was a festival called Augustibluus. I played main Festival stage. I said to Andres Roots, who put me on, “I’ve only got over an hour’s stuff, what will people expect?” He said “As an International headliner, you can do what you want!” That gave me some false confidence! What I found was more folk were seeing me solo than as a band gig. Promoters were paying me more as a solo artist than when I was in a band”.

Talk about the Dave Arcari signature model National Reso-Phonic guitar, how did this come to be?

I’ve had an artist’s deal with National guitars since I went solo, they’ve been very good to me. I had a California tour in January 2019 and did the NAMM show (National Association of Music Merchants). Doug MacLeod was there jamming with me and others just hanging out. I had my first West Coast gig in America at House Of Blues at Anaheim. A versatile guitar for me means I plug it in; I need true acoustic tone and humbucker pick-ups for getting overdrive. They had a new Pioneer guitar but the sound wasn’t as good as a Reso-Electric. I was in shock when they said they had to make a signature model for me! The blueprint for the guitar was made after a show at Morro Bay. At concerts, I usually take a banjo, Reso-Electric Junior and two other custom-made guitars. Always thought when push came to shove, I would like to just play on stage with one instrument. We took some photos of the guitar; the paint job was inspired by my beard! I love it. This made setting up and touring easy! The guitar has its’ own Facebook page through January I did a song a day live stream, as publicity. It’s in their interests if I flog a few!

What’s the best musical advice you have had and from whom and what’s the best advice you would give to up and coming musicians?

Done a lot of stuff with Seasick Steve, after the first show we did together, he said, “Just keep doing what you’re doing, don’t change it for anyone, keep doing it through thick and thin.” That would be my mantra anyway but hearing it coming from him reinforced a feeling that is the right thing to do! My advice would be, take inspiration, but write your own music. That’s where your pension’s going to come and from a business point of view it’s crucial. Also try developing your own style. I would go to parties as a twenty-twoyear-old and got asked to play Hendrix and folk would say nah that’s not it, because it wasn’t note for note, I got sick of that. I don’t even know if I play the blues, just because I play slide and stick to a blues format. I’ve always been crap at learning lyrics and playing guitar riffs and runs. It was always easier for me to play my own shit, then I can make an arse of it and no one would know!

People at my gigs know the lyrics better than I do! It seems Stick to Your Guns, a song he is presently writing, is his philosophy.

What about the Scottish blues scene in general?

It’s very healthy not got much of a chance of seeing many acts, really only when I’m at Festivals. Like to get to as many as possible, as feel if you can’t get musicians to go then how can you start to get normal people in! If I’m not doing a gig, I’m watching one. I take an interest in the whole Scottish music scene. I feel Glasgow has a better scene than Edinburgh, controversial! People like Gus Munro, The Nimmos, Greig Taylor doing stuff, yes, all good blues. The blues artists coming out of Scotland are sufficiently eclectic and different! Also, Orkney Blues festival what a great event that is.

The last two releases Brexit Blues and Whisky Trail were brought out digitally; do you think that’s the future in selling music as a product?

I’m lucky; I still sell lots of CD’s and vinyl at shows. Mail order has slowed down. People want keepsakes. I stream songs now; this is convenient for me. The live album was the last thing specifically I would do. The songs have evolved and doing them live well in a studio no one sweats and spits on you! No overdubs on the live album. My aim was to put a song out every couple of months,

“I love the idea that some tone-deaf guy can make a living out of music”

Image by Valentina Abrazey

very difficult when you’re independent. I’ll probably do more digital singles in the future. When they are done, record songs that haven’t been released yet and songs not recorded in studio. These would only be sold at my shows. Whisky Trail was written for World Music Day for Glengoyne whisky Distillery. They loved my song “Whisky In My Blood” but it didn’t exactly promote responsible drinking! So, I wrote a song that reflected their blend. Brexit Blues, I got frustrated with Politics especially Independence for Scotland, but it is politic centric! Might rearrange it sometime to suit. I don’t know what will happen with Europe. Keen on a musician’s passport but there’s a lot of scaremongering. If you’re serious about your business you pay your taxes whether you agree or not!

Lastly, anything about Dave Arcari that people don’t know about?

A couple of years ago I met my musical hero… Alvin Stardust! He was my hero when I was six or seven. I took three of my vinyls, he signed them and we hung out and chatted. Told him he was responsible for what I do! The beard came off for charity. I’m tone deaf, that’s probably no surprise to anyone. At School I was allowed to be in the choir if I only moved my lips. I love the idea that some tone-deaf guy can make a living out of music. Get it right up you!

For more information see website: www.davearcari.com

Image by Jeff Bisti

Image by Thomas Brown

THE MUSIC OF

KING SOLOMON HICKS RELEASES HIS DEBUT ALBUM TO THE WORLD AND SERVES UP A BIG SLICE OF THE HARLEM BLUES

A staple of the NY Blues scene for nearly 12 years, King Solomon Hicks is releasing his debut album, Harlem, via Provogue / Mascot Label Group on the 13th of March 2020.

A native of Harlem, KSH grew up in a veritable melting pot of music, and it is evident in the DNA of his song-writing. KSH first picked up the guitar at age 6 and never looked back. By 13 he was well on his way to a professional career.

He enrolled to the Harlem School of Arts and the prestigious educational program Jazzmobile, and while performing on his home turf, he also expanded to venues such as the Iridium, the Red Rooster, Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar, Terra Blues and more.

After high school Hicks began playing in Europe, opening for Jeff Beck and Ringo Starr, playing festivals in Spain and France, as well as at the Cotton Club in Tokyo, and being booked on KISS Kruise V in 2017 and on this year’s Joe Bonamassa Blues Alive at Sea Cruise.

He’s shared stages with the likes of Tony Bennett, Beth Hart, George Thorogood & the Destroyers, Mavis Staples, Paul Shaffer and others. He has also performed at the United Nations in New York City, for former Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, former Governor of New York David Paterson and during a New York Knicks game.

However, despite all the different stages, and players he has

worked with, Harlem is very much at the core KSH and his sound, following in the footsteps of the great Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, and Bessie Smith, among others. Even Harlem itself seems to breed creativity, with the likes of Al Pacino, the Marx Brothers, James Reese Europe, George and Ira Gershwin, Arthur Miller, Sammy Davis Jr., Sonny Rollins, and more coming from this vibrant and constantly evolving district of the city.

Thank you for taking the time to speak to Blues Matters today, it’s a pleasure to have a talented, up-and-coming musician like yourself to introduce to our readers.

Thank you for having me! The magazine keeps me updated on all the different blues artist and I’m happy to be a part of it.

Harlem is a rich and varied album, which really seems to tap into the NY Blues sound, but particularly your home turf. Having grown up in Philadelphia myself, I understand very well the rich tapestry that the North East has when it comes to the genre, which encompasses blues, jazz, soul, gospel, and even a bit of funk. What was it like growing up in that mix of musical influences?

I remember growing up hearing the Rhythm and Blues tracks my mom played in the car. The jump blues and swing dance music from the Cotton Club. and the heavy blues and rock & roll I was getting into myself at home. I Liked soulful guitar riffs, heavy bass & drums beat loops and 808’s.

You’ve shared the stage with some major names over the years, what bands or artists would you attribute to having had the greatest impact on you as a result?

One memorable moment I have is sharing the stage with my Label mates on the Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea cruise (Joe Bonamassa,

WORDS: Erik Damian PICTURES: Arnie Goodman

Eric Gales, Walter Trout). To be amongst the top guitar players of our time was an honor for me. When you’re around good musicians, it gives you that spark. You watch them and think, “I want to do what you do. I want to hold my own.” But being around those types of musicians also taught me to NOT be the fastest guitar player. I wanted to be the one who knew the most riffs and drew on a lot of knowledge so I could play anything, and with anyone.

As someone who has been performing for nearly half their life now, has toured extensively, and really grown into a man on the road, it must have been and still feel a bit surreal for you at times. How are you finding the journey now that you’re truly coming into your own?

I do have those moments sometimes while touring where I look out at the crowd in front of me and think about all the time and work it took to get to that single moment. Now that I’m older, I feel I interpret the stories people tell me with more meaning. When I was young, I played to play. Growing up and living life I find new feeling to put into my music as I go along.

guitarist hearing the driving force of the rhythm section gave me my concept of how to play in a band. Seeing how the singers got the crowds up and dancing was an art by itself. seeing the acts at the Apollo theatre, the shows at the Lenox Lounge & St. Nicks pub (now closed) all contributed to my musical foundation.

You were lucky enough to have Kirk Yano on production duties, and it shows. Harlem has such a plush, live sound, that you can really hear every nuance as it takes you on a musical journey. What kind of process did you use for going about recording the album?

While Harlem is your debut album for many, some of us remember your first offering at the age of 14 with Embryonic, where you were simply known as Solomon Hicks. Would you say your time in the Cotton Club All Stars gave you the foundation you needed to get to where you are today?

It was the singers along with the Cotton Club all-star band that gave me my view in music. As a

It started as a live session, and I’m really happy with the sound and the way everybody played. After that, I recorded my vocals and guitars as overdubs. We used many pre amps from the 70’s into ProTools &1963 Neumann U67 microphone and Supro amps! It was about getting my own sound together. I didn’t want it to be traditional. I wanted people to fee like they’re in a juke joint, listening to what the blues sounds like in 2019, with my own spin on it. This music is where I come from. It’s really special to be able to record these songs; and really important to get ‘em right.

Now you have a collection of eleven tight, well written, and meticulously crafted and performed songs, with Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know, Riverside Drive, and It’s Alright being just BLUES

Our name says it all!

“being around those types of musicians also taught me to NOT be the fastest guitar player”

a few of the stand-out tracks for me. What is your creative process for song-writing?

Sometimes I’ll get the idea I want to sing or play right away. I’ll hear the music and I’ll know what Ill want to reach for. The hard part is the execution. Other times I’ll have to sit and really internalize the music to come up with part that fit the music.

Music is a cyclical thing, with trends coming and going, but the Blues always steers a steady course, peaking every ten – twenty years. We seem to be in another one of those peaks at the moment, with more blues and blues-rock bands around than there have been in a very long time. What do you think is contributing to this current surge in popularity for the genre?

There’s no feeling like some down-home blues. As Holwin’ Wolf said “Everybody has had the blues at one point or another”. If you’re a new listener you can relate to the stories. If you’re a play any instrument who doesn’t like to play a few blues licks? There are current day guitar players that are doing some cool things with the genre and when people hear, they are made aware of the great blues artist of the past.

I’m looking forward to the release of Harlem on the 13th of March, and I wish you every success. I genuinely believe people will connect with your songs, and this will become one of the best break-through blues albums of 2020. What comes next for you? Are there plans to tour the UK & Europe? Beyond?

I’m touring Europe for the month of March promoting the album. My last show in NYC is march 5th at the Iridium. Also, March 7th I’m opening up for Robert Cray at the Ridgefield playhouse. Hope to see you down the road!

Excellent! We here at Blues Matters look forward to catching you on the road! Good luck with the album release and subsequent tour! No, thank you!

www.kingsolomonhicks.com

An interview with Nicholas David

Recently signed to Samantha Fish’s new record label Wild Heart records, Nicholas David’s new release Yesterday’s Gone is garnering acclaim. He is a multi-talented pianist, top class singer and a songwriter. His music seems genre defying but is rootsy and full of Deep South influences and lots of passion. Here he discusses topics such as being on The Voice - USA, touring, and influences on his career.

The interview went something like this…

Hi Nicholas, how are things going, thanks for chatting to Blues Matters, where are you today?

In Minnesota, it’s snowing dude! Looking forward to coming over the Ocean to play in the UK. I’m presently having some time with the family.

For those not acquainted with your music how would you describe your style? There is blues in there but a whole lot of other genres; you like to mix things up?

I feel my music is music from the heart, to the heart. I listen to the rhythms and melodies that are already there, and I play what I feel. I paint the walls with my spirit, if you will! I look at music as all music. We put costumes on it. We call it, blues or rhythm and blues, jazz. There are different forms of music, but I feel it’s just one breath of music. So, I try to play what I feel and sometimes it has what some people would call a blues riff or jazz timing and feeling, to me it’s all just music. Rhythm, sound and vibration, mix that with the human spirit and away we go!

What music did you listen to when you were growing up and did you grow up in a musical family?

My grandfather, on my dad’s side played the accordion and the piano. We had huge family parties; there was music on that side. Then I started playing music and my other grandfather was a visual artist, he drew, he became very ill and the piano I played in the basement became medicine for him. So, my grandfathers were great influences on me. I grew up listening to a lot of Sixties Motown with my mom. My dad listened to Earth, Wind and Fire; Bread; and Blood Sweat and Tears, Moody Blues. I listened to orchestral music, like Beethoven, Mozart and Debussy, and folk rock. Also, music from Disney movies! There’s always been a soundtrack going on!

What made you choose the keyboards as your instrument of choice to play?

I think it’s in my DNA, my grandfather again. He couldn’t read music, but he heard it and played it. I read music but I’ve also got my grandfather’s gift of hearing and playing.

Did you always want to be a musician?

Originally, I wanted to be a Zookeeper then I wanted to work in movies; I still want to do something for Disney. I was a three-sport athlete, American Football, soccer and basketball. I could always play the piano but discovered I could also sing this was when I was in tenth grade in High School. I turned down a music scholarship at Roosevelt University in Chicago. It was a regret to be honest, but it didn’t feel right at the time. I went to live in the mountains in Colorado, I got my heart broken a few times. I learned a lot about love and loss! I came back to Minnesota, met my wife, we had a kid, then I started playing music. We had all these months booked for shows except one week in March and I got a call to ask me if I wanted to try out for a TV show called The Voice. They wanted me to audition for them because

WORDS: Colin Campbell PICTURES: Devon Williams

they had seen a video of me playing guitar in the snow. I said where is it? I was told Chicago! It was super cosmic to return to Chicago after ten years regretting the scholarship, it felt like I got another chance, I was able to come full circle.

What was it like to be judged on your singing on The Voice?

To be honest Colin, I never looked at it that way. I was just having fun. I never thought I was competing with anyone, I just thought I was on this awesome show, singing a bunch of cool music. If I stayed another week, cool, but if I didn’t, I got to see my family, it’s a win, win! It was the coolest feeling ever being on the show. I like monster movies and where the recording was, was where Bella Lugosi’s staircase was, Frankenstein’s laboratory! I got to meet Smokey Robinson and Bill Withers. It was probably the best musical school I could have gone to! It took what I was doing in the Mid-West and expanded it around the world, people recognise me from the TV, it’s unbelievable.

Who would you say your musical influences are?

My grandfather, Motown music, punk, blues. I loved Metallica in my teenage years. It’s all music. Even if it’s pop music, that’s another way of life but I can still hear that spark, because it came from someone, regardless if the point of it was to

make money.

You toured in The Devon Allman Project what was that like?

It was wild! You grow up listening to some of this music then you start interacting with pieces of it, it’s where dreams and reality mix. I was playing keys for Devon and we jammed and had a musical conversation. It was refreshing after so many years in this business and coming off the TV it was nice being part of a project where I didn’t need to be steering the ship! It was a nice break; we played two hundred plus shows, went on cruises, played on the same bill as Buddy Guy and Roger Daltrey, it was awesome! It was pretty un-freaking-believable!

Your newest album Yesterday’s Gone was produced by Samantha Fish how did this come about, can you talk about the process of making the album?

To continue the cosmic scene... I’m on the road with Devon and I meet Samantha. We were playing the Fillmore at San Francisco. One of her songs we played made me cry it was so familiar to me; it was called “Need You More”. We made a dialogue, and midway through touring with Devon; I got a call from Reuben Williams. Samantha had loved my music and wanted to produce an album, so I had to get myself to New Orleans! I told her I eat, breathe and sleep music. I sent her tunes and we met there! With God’s grace this gave me an opportunity to trust and have faith in that moment, not necessarily in the religious sense but to have faith in people’s abilities. It was cool meeting the dudes on the record. We’d sit out on the porch and go over the music. It was emotional, like almost teaching the message of my songs. We played thirteen songs and eleven made the record.” Hole In The Bottom” is one of the new tunes; “I’m Interested” has been kicking about for years. “Little By Little” is a newer one; it was good to do reinterpretations. It’s a glimpse and perspective. I have no specific writing formula. I can go three months without writing and then ideas come along. Songs will come out

Be brave be bold be true! There’s only one you!

like a full-grown baby, hair and all! Yesterday, I heard a chorus and then a verse. I carry a pen and paper, I like to feel it, it’s in my blood. I have a piano in the kitchen it’s my work bench. I break bread with my family and now my three boys are growing up and they also play piano.

You went on tour as support for Samantha Fish in the US and you are in her band coming over to UK, is that right and how do you feel about that?

Really excited. We have a cool chemistry. Fans responded to the videos we played, and I didn’t think twice about being asked to do a European tour with her. My wife encouraged me, it’s such a blessing to be doing this!

Have you got the mix right, between family life and touring?

You have that momentum of being on the road, then that momentum changes when you get home. It’s a wild transition. Every time I leave home it breaks me. It’s about the balance of playing and using the gifts we are given. It’s an ever-changing dance. Who would I be as a parent?

If I say, follow your dreams and then I’m not… We all got to work to provide. Wild crazy beautiful things happen when you take risks and be adaptable.

What’s the best advice musically you have had and by whom?

I go to my grandfather, asking if you’re having fun. Cee Lo Green on the voice said, “we’re trying to be ourselves”. Tab Benoit said I reminded him a bit of Dr John,” because it’s you, being you” Part of me is concerned about the future of music. If you take risks and original music is not being supported, who’s going to write the new songs? Are people just going to look at doing tribute acts? I went out with a buddy of mine, I’m thirty-nine, and he’s forty-two. We were sitting at the back of the club; there were probably twelve people there. It was sad because I can remember how that felt. That’s one night in one town, one street in one city, on planet earth. It crushed me to see this band play original material and covers. Then you see tribute shows being sold out. Another way of looking at it is at least these people are going to see music!

Similarly, what advice would you give to some-

one wanting to be a musician?

One thing I wish someone had told me would be that touring is not as glamourous as it looks like! It’s killer fun but the road needs to be respected. Be brave, be bold and be true! There’s only one you! On, The Voice I was asked who are you trying to sound like? I said ME! People are trying to be the next thing, if it ain’t fun, it’s done. Be who you came here to be! I lived in a love bubble and people saw some vulnerability there, I questioned is this really what I came to do? What did I want to be when I was a kid, did I check everything off the list? Deceitfulness and lies, I have no time or patience for that at all.

You post photos on social media of the venues you play, and you call them offices, why?

I consider my piano to be my desk. I thought it was interesting. Here’s my office and what I’m looking out onto. We played a castle once. People say I love your office photos.

Do you have any favourite venues to play?

Got to play Epcot at Disney, Florida, I really enjoyed that. I am happy to play anywhere. Red Rocks, Beacon Theatre, they were super cool places to play. In Minnesota there’s some blues but it gets a funky tinge, but there’s no shortage of music here. In downtown St Paul where I live there’s a place with a pipe organ, there are Classical Concerts on every Tuesday, I just found that out!

Any plans for the future, more tours, another album, where do you see yourself in say five years?

Keep taking the music to the people. I still feel blessed to be doing this. In five years, hopefully I’ll play a song on a Disney film. Watch my boys grow up and continue to make music from the heart, for the heart!

It’s been a blast talking to you, thanks for that. Good luck with the new album and tour.

Thank you, Colin, back at ya!!

For further information see website: www.thefeelin.com

Our name says it all!

LARKIN POE chemistry it’s in the

Image by Bree Marie Fish

An interview with Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe

WORDS: Colin Campbell PICTURES: As Credited

Larkin Poe are consummate singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, who create their own distinctive brand of roots-tinged music with a distinct blues guitar slide. Their music is steeped in a Down South American tradition. Garnering accolades for their recent release ‘Venom & Faith.’ Here they talk about their newest release ‘Self Made Man’ amongst other topics; it went something like this...

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to Blues Matters, where are you today?

R - We’re home for Valentine’s Day, in Nashville, Tennessee.

You just played The Mahindra Festival in Mumbai, what was that like?

R - It was really cool! It was a sold-out festival, there were a lot of blues lovers in the audience and just beautiful people. They were so kind. We had such an energetic show and the crowd was very diverse. That was my favourite part of the festival, seeing the love for the blues being embraced globally by people who have never been to the American South, everyone was in it together.

Are the concert goers to your concerts all similar in age?

R - In the last couple of years, we’ve seen younger people at our shows. We feel there is resurgence in roots music and younger generations are starting to get into that! We like seeing young girls coming to our shows. We come back to the same cities and hear they are picking up guitars and that’s really a fulfilling thing to hear, and that we are inspiring a younger generation. Globally as a species, consumed music has really changed. There has been less of a focus placed upon music that is, ”left of centre”. Pop music is king. To be some

of the torch bearers for traditional music and serving as a jump off point for male or females to pick up an instrument and to creatively express themselves, that is one of our bigger goals. We were fourteen or fifteen years old when we were falling in love with bluegrass music. Even in the time we have matured into adults, the access that younger people have to roots music has diminished. We have a younger brother who is seventeen and I gave him an acoustic guitar for his birthday. It’s been so exciting to see him become inspired to make music of his own and listen to jazz records or traditional blues records, where before he was only listening to Rap or Pop music.

How do you enjoy touring, talk about this?

R - We’ve been touring for nearly fifteen years. We still love it! But it can be gruelling like travelling to India for one show, that took twenty-five hours of travelling! We adhere to the adage that, we are paid to travel and make the music for free!

How do you fill in time between concerts?

R - Lately we have been recording our new album. That’s consumed us for a few months. We toured constantly for a year and a half after releasing Venom & Faith. It was a welcome break to work on new music.

The new album is called Self Made Man; did you get the title from the Stealers Wheel song Stuck In The Middle?

R - We are HUGE Stealers Wheel fans. We covered that song for our Tip of the Hat series. We liked the idea of Self Made Man, because it’s empowering. We live in a time when we can define ourselves; we don’t have to adhere to any existing labels. Each of us as individuals is allowed to pave our own way. That’s definitely what this album feels like for Megan and me,

BLUES MATTERS! ISSUE 113 Our name says it all!

being able to produce the records ourselves and have our own record label to release this album on, just feels like the window is open. You feel this at our shows, it’s a beautiful thing we have such a great fan base! They have been willing to journey with us over the last ten years as Larkin Poe. The spirit that we all feel together at a show is parallel to none. This next record will be a joy to tour.

Listening to the album, there appears to be a few tracks that have that sing-along vibe?

R - We thought that during the song writing process for this album. We think when you’re in your teens to twenties songwriting is a very personal affair. Things like, how do I feel is my story? As you get older, I feel my approach to song writing has changed, I think of songs more in a group perspective. We live for the human connection. I think that’s the main reason Megan and I have withstood so many years of touring. The more we travel round the world the more there are similarities than differences in sharing music. That keeps you going even when times get hard. These songs translate that change. I want people to sing together, that’s when it feels the best when we’re sharing!

Yes, the song, Easy Street has that vibe to it. Is there a theme going through the new album?

R - Megan wrote that one! It’s one of my favourites on the record. The theme would be “acceptance”. That to me is the beauty of the blues! It’s the way the music can help you understand your life. The blues has been

“we trust Megan’s gut above all things!”

Image by Robby Klein

“The spirit that we all feel together at a show is parallel to none”

Image by Bree Marie Fish

around for so long and has served as a companion for people in times of struggle. When I listen to songs by Skip James or Sun House, these are songs that help me feel better in my life. There are so many uncertainties in life that music can help. This album, Self Made Man, meant coming to terms with Megan and myself being in our late twenties. You continue to go through changes that feel like the only constant in life. The songs serve a purpose in support of letting things be; relax, sing a song, and pick up your guitar. Let yourself feel good, go out and see a live show with your friends!

You have an amazing chemistry on stage together, is this natural or something you have developed through the years?

R - It’s pretty natural, we were inseparable as children. We’ve been a package deal all our lives! The chemistry thing is, Megan looks at me and I can tell exactly what she’s thinking most the time. On stage, it’s fun to have that moment where we are speaking without words!

M - I consider my lap-steel to be my voice. I love the sibling harmonies, but when I feel most at home is when we’re riffing back and forth, it’s great fun!

Growing up, what kind of music did you listen to?

M - My mother listened to vocal music, like The Carpenters and polite Classical music! Our dad is a Classic Rock head! Anything from Black Sabbath to Queen! He dug into the Allman Brothers. We never realised these rock bands borrowed so heavily from the blues and the significance especially of playing slide guitar on Southern Rock. You know the down-home system of writing lyrics, we never thought of putting the pieces together to understand that it was our Southern Heritage that would help us represent ourselves as people!

You were very young when you first toured, that was as the Lovell Sisters and years of playing bluegrass music, talk about that and the progression to Larkin Poe?

R - Way back in 2005 was the first heavy touring we did. It gave us quite an introduction to the touring lifestyle. We toured five years as the Lovell Sisters. Larkin Poe kicked off in 2010. As a traditional bluegrass band there were no amps or electrified instruments. So, incorporating our Fender amps when we became Larkin Poe and having listened to Southern Rock, we then wanted that screaming bitching guitar sound. Over time when Megan progressed from using Dobro to Lap Steel, that was an explosive moment. Our first albums are singer acoustic. The more we toured the more we liked rocking out on stage, more than we anticipated! It’s been such an organic thing between us.

M - We like to move people in a live performance. We want our albums to match a live show, which is more of a rock sound.

Who are your musical influences at present and when you were growing up?

R - For this record, I was thinking Band of Skulls and early Black Crowes were an influence. We borrowed the Blind Willie Johnston tune, “God Move”. We listened to his back catalogue. I listen to PJ Harvey, she’s raw and cool. We give credit to the Allman and Doobie Brothers and of course Bonnie Raitt. Oh, and The Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac!

You have a very do-it-yourself nature when it comes to making recent albums, what’s the process involved?

R - When we made “Peach” that was a real turning point for us. Megan was insistent that we try our hand at self-producing the record, I felt nervous about taking all the creative control, but we trust Megan’s gut above all things! Our recent records, they express us in the truest form thus far. We try to be more crafting in the sounds we incorporate. This can be heard more on Venom & Faith which has even some hip-hop beats.

Megan, you use a lap steel guitar on stage, but you never seem to sit down to play it.

When I first played, I did sit down. I got help making a holder for the guitar, so I could stand and play. The Rickenbacker guitars are heavy, so it was difficult at first. Now I just love being able to run around on stage! I would choose Rickenbacker over Dobro now. I bought it on a whim! Man, it was the perfect fit for me. I love the tone, they are beautiful.

Rebecca, you’re the Fender operator, you’ve played other guitars but is this one your favourite?

When we started Larkin Poe, I bought a Jazz Master as it looked so cool and Elvis Costello had one. It’s harder to play as I’m not super tall and when I run around, I end up knocking my knees against the side of the guitar, so it slows me down. I found playing the Fender Strat a better sound for me at this point. Being stripped back to a four-piece band and having a Strat gives the guitar a lot of beef. So, I can cover a lot of sonic ground. I stole my husband’s set up for the guitar (Tyler Bryant). We play together on Back Down South on the new album.

What made you start playing guitar?

R - I started playing rhythm guitar, I didn’t think of soloing or making the guitar my main instrument, until being in Larkin Poe for about three years actually! I’m aware I’m the lead singer of the band first. Your attention is split on stage, I consider myself, Jack of all trades, master of none.

How do you keep the blues genre fresh for a new generation?

R - Staying true to our art perspective has been a strong pillar in Larkin Poe. We are outliers with being female. We’re from the American South so there’s a tie that binds. We’re certainly not trying to be a time capsule of blues music, you can’t be! The pioneers of the blues paid their dues to create blues music. Being a female fronted band in the twenty first

century is different. We are being more unique, but we have been open, to marrying genres and treating the blues with reverence and respect. But we can also toy with pop song structure. We also want to channel the stories of people around us; you can’t help but keep it fresh! Playing big stages and arenas is exciting and fresh, especially when we supported Bob Seger on tour!

Any favourite venues you like to play?

R - There’s a venue in Atlanta where we grew up, Eddies Attic. It’s like a listening room.

What’s the best musical advice you have had?

R - From Elvis Costello, “Don’t feel the need to put yourself in anybody’s box”. Be who you are and make the music you want to. It comes down to your vision and what you want to do.

Keep on rocking and good luck with the new album.

R & M - Thank you, bye now!

For further information see website: www.larkinpoe.com

Our name says it all!

CLARE FREE an interview with

WORDS: Stephen Harrison PICTURES: Mike Glasson

“I really want people to connect in a very free and easy way”

Clare Free is a British singer/songwriter and guitarist. She plays solo gigs as well as performing with her own band. Last year Clare released her latest album, Where Are You Now? which I was lucky enough to review for Blues Matters Magazine. We recently caught up and chatted about all things musical and the upcoming release of her new album ‘Where Are You Now?’.

Hi Clare, how long did it take to make the album, Where Are You Now?

Well, it was a very long time in the writing, probably about 4 or 5 years. It was a slow burner. The actual recording process, we started recording in September and I had to record it in bits and pieces because Richard (Producer) had to keep nipping back and forth to America. So, we managed to get it finished in January 2019 but its taken a long time to get it out.

How much input did you have on the album? Did you write all the songs yourself?

Yeah, I wrote all the songs myself but I didn’t pick all the songs to go on the album. I recorded sample tracks for all of them. I think I recorded about 67 tracks in all and then Richard chose the ones that he thought should go onto the album which was quite interesting because he chose some of the tracks that I didn’t think would fit the album and vice-versa. And he was like, yeah that has to go on, that ones a goer and so on.

Where was the album recorded?

It was recorded in a studio quite close to where I live actually. It started off as a private studio, this guy is an avid guitar collector as well as every other type of musical instrument under the sun. It’s an absolutely amazing place. It stated life as a barn and he actually had it moved from its original location to where it is now. It has a vast collection of beautiful guitars and amplifiers in mint condition but they are all extremely vintage pieces. I’d taken my own amplifier and a beautiful American Strat with me and was told immediately to put them back in my car. And then he produced a couple of guitars and amps from his own collection and said, these will work much better so that’s how it was recorded really. So, each day we went in, there would be a line of vintage guitars all set up and ready to go, with a load of vintage amplifiers in a circle. It was an amazing experience.

Are there any plans for another album anytime soon?

No. I’ve got a couple of singles to come out later on in the year. What I’m going to do is some writing because I want to revisit the acoustic album because I really want to do some more acoustic work before I do some more electric work. What I’ve got in my mind at the moment

Our name says it all!

is I’d like to involve more people with the song writing process. I’ve recently purchased a memory card so what I’d like to do next is a series of videos so people can watch the song writing process and be engaged with it and see the song come out and then release them as a single later on. I really want people to connect in a very free and easy way. I’m not massively into huge mass production and huge tours so I just want to bring music home and make it more real and more personal.

What was the first record that you bought with your own money?

I think it was Nick Kershaw The Riddle. I think that’s the first one that I bought myself which was about the end of my primary school years, then in my teenage years I got more and more into hard rock. I was a huge Guns N Roses fan and loved The Cult and those sorts of bands. But it was definitely Nick Kershaw. I bought a poster that said. Taste Better Don’t Smoke and Nick Kershaw was on the poster. I was probably about 11 years old at the time. Neil Diamond has been a huge influence on my writing because he’s such a great song writer and I tend to get a lot of inspiration from him. My journey into the blues is a bit of a strange one really because I wasn’t into the blues at that stage because I was so into the rock thing. I picked up a guitar and started to want to learn to play it because my mum said I couldn’t have one. I’d already had lessons on the piano and saxophone, which I’d given up at about level 5 so she said if you want to play the guitar, you’ll have to buy it yourself and pay for the lessons yourself. So, off I went and did exactly that. I was sent by my teacher to join in a blues jam, so off I went and I thought I was awful but they asked me back again, so I went home and just practiced playing blues until the next jam session. And that’s how I started really. I sort of fell into it by chance.

Do you have a favourite blues artist or blues song?

I do, and its changed gradually over the years actually. When I first started playing, I’d have said without any hesitation that it would be Albert Collins and a lot of people over the years have told me that I sound rather like him. I love him and I love B.B. King and also Buddy Guy. There is a reason that those people are so well known and its because they are so bloody good. Another favourite of mine is a guy that I used to play with in the jam sessions back in the day. He’s been a huge influence on me. And he’s a guy called Pete Catlin, who is a wonderful player. Almost a jazz player as well so I used to watch

him and then go home and work it out. I find jazz quite scary so when I go to a jazz club, I feel like I’m the biggest beginner in the world. But they always tell me I sound great so I’ll take that.

During my research I watched a YouTube video of you performing The Thrill Is Gone. Did you feel nervous about playing such an iconic song?

No, not really, for a number of reasons. One being that I’ve been playing that song for such a long time, I play it substantially differently from the original and its been a fairly organic growth. When I cover a song, I never set out to replicate it and I see it as an opportunity to do it my own way within a framework that people will recognise. And sometimes I’ll change some chords which is quite naughty really and I shouldn’t do that. So, I put my own take on it because he is an artist in his own right and I’m an artist in my own right, to a lesser degree I suppose, so I know that it sounds good to me. One song I’d love to do is, I Can’t Stand The Rain, because that’s a brilliant song.

If you could play any famous venue, which would it be?

Oh, that’s a good question. Solo or with the band? Because it would be different answers.

Both.

Ok, solo would be The Royal Albert Hall, Id love to do that totally solo. With the band I’d love to do a big stadium gig actually, a really big one. Possibly Wembley Arena. That would be a great place to play with the band. I’d love to go big and do it properly big. I’d love to have the pull that gave me the opportunity to play either of those two places. But I also love doing small intimate gigs as well so a mixture of the two would be awesome.

Well thank you so much for taking the time to speak to Blues Matters magazine, it’s been an absolute pleasure talking to you.

It was great to speak to you too. Bye.

PETE SAR

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Passed peacefully: and with his constant companions of a spare set of strings and a plectrum.

One of his bands was called My Blue Heaven. That now sounds more apt than he could have imagined, play on Pete!

Pete has been my friend, colleague, ally, supporter, and contributor to Blues Matters! since day one. We met via my first scribblings on Savoy Brown when I launched The International Savoy Brown Journal back in 1996ish. Our mutual support for the ‘phenominal’ UK Blues band was pretty total (and still is).

We both had such knowledge in music then which only expanded.

A chat with Pete was so comfortable and easy as many artists found to their, and our readers’, pleasure. We could explore and expand each other on a subject so well while discovering information we had stored away yet had forgotten we knew and end up refreshed after the verbal journeys each time.

He did the same with his subjects when talking to them. As a fine musician himself he understood them, read into them in so many ways and could discuss ideas, sounds, spaces and rhythms. You name it, he was on their level and they knew it so his pieces were always forthcoming and interesting.

He had many artists sit with him including Bill Wyman, Peter Green (he visited his home and they played acoustically on PGs

WORDS: Alan Pearce PICTURES: John Bull Rockpix

GEANT

20TH DECEMBER 1949 – 7TH FEBRUARY 2020

guitars, a very rare occasion), Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, to name just a few. He told me he had two interviews in the can done for us that he was so proud of and thought they were in amongst his best but he never got to transcribe to submit before his hospitalisation. He told me while there that he was so proud of them he really wanted them out there. His son, Glenn, has subsequently found them and will work on those and we shall publish in due course in tribute to him and fulfil his wishes.

There are so many stories in his experiences to raise a smile that some of us know and others to still come out as he shared with many of us but one that Glenn reminded me of that Pete had told me years ago when he was to interview Seasick Steve who was showing him some of his guitars when he was called away momentarily and Pete spotted one with only two strings so being thoughtful he took his constant companion strings out and began to re-string when Steve spotted him and cut that operation short!

We miss you Pete but you will never be forgotten, may you continue your music in your Blue Heaven.

Thank you for being my friend.

Thanks to John Bull for the images

Passion & Power

Miki Mulvehill Interview

WORDS: Iain Patience PICTURES: Supplied

Speaking to US blues music manager and general go-to person, Miki Mulvehill, astonishing names drip off the tongue: Etta James; BB King; Otis Clay; Robert Junior Lockwood; Luther Allison; Buddy Guy; Doug MacLeod; Keb Mo; Jonny Lang; Kenny Wayne Shepherd; Charlie Musselwhite; Syl Johnson; Beverley McClellan; John Lee Hooker; Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks; Steve Vai; Double Trouble; Johnny Rawls; Willie Dixon. The list seems endless, all guys and gals Miki has worked with over the past thirty-five years or so. But this is no name-dropping exercise. No way, this is just how it is, what it is, what happened and how it happened.

So, I ask, how did you become involved in management? Miki shrugs and says “It just sort of happened. It started when I was still a teenager, working in bars – under-age at the time – in Minnesota. It was one of those things. I was working in the Stillwater area, a lumber town, at the Saint Croix Boom Company Bar, a place with a bar and a band venue. I was still at high school really. But music became more important to me. There was live music seven days a week. Music was booming at the time in the 1970s,” she explains with a laugh.

“The manager asked me if I would take over booking the bands. I thought, wait, I don’t know anything about that! But from there it all began to happen. In around 1981, I was running Dick’s bar and also began working Saturday evenings at Wilebski’s Blue Saloon. I found myself working flat-out but we didn’t have the money to pay the bands. The bar was having problems with the IRS and everything else.” Then with bankruptcy threatening, Miki took it over, between 1982 and 86, rebranded as the Blues Saloon in Saint Paul. Rolling Stone magazine called it one of the country’s best blues venues. No mean accolade.

“The Professor, Otis Clay, Syl Johnson and an entire bus full of Chicago Blues Legends came to St Paul and played a fabulous week end for free to save the bar. Sadly, it no longer exists,” she explains with more than a hint of tristesse.

From this, Miki moved on and up, working parttime in Chicago: “About 1991, I started managing Luther Allison, Syl Johnson and Jimmy Thackery while at The Blues Saloon then left and started Blue Sky Artists Worldwide and took on Jonny Lang, GB Leighton, Susan Tedeschi, Double Trouble, Tommy Castro, Renee Austin, our offices were

Our name says it all!

MIKI M & BUDDY GUY MIKI M & DOUG MacLEOD

MIKI M & SUSAN TEDESCHI

above Bunkers Bar in Minneapolis, while there I started Under The Radar music group to help musicians put out their own music.”

“UTR did label services for independent artistswe put out Tommy Castro’s, Gratitude, Junior Watson’s, If I Had A Genie, Harper’s, Way Down Deep Inside , Estaire Godinez’s, Live From The Dakota, Chris Barnes’ 90 Proof Truth, and many more as well as doing press and radio promotion for Ruf Records and The BoDeans. Heart & Soul artist management grew out of that. Heart & Soul managed Season One The Voice finalists: Beverly McClellan until her death last fall (UTR put out her record, Fear Nothing), Vicki Martinez until she landed a main role on Orange Is The New Black as well as Daniel Slick Ballinger, Annika Chambers (UTR put out her Wild & Free album) and Janiva Magness.”

Next step was the blues capital, Chicago, where she again worked her butt off for the music and her people working the Cabooze: “I’d bring in a band and they’d stay at my place, I’d cook for them, feed them. They’d do the gig and maybe have the door money and it started to take off. I never slept with them or anything like that, it was all good, clean fun.”

For some time she’d been trying to book Buddy Guy but it was proving tricky as a nearby venue could hold 1,000 while she could take maybe only 100, so financially it was hard to balance. Miki took matters into her own hands and phoned Buddy Guy to explain the situation: “I called Buddy at home, told him I wanted to book him but couldn’t afford it. He agreed to play and help out. Blues music always ebbs and flows, but everybody came and played the club.”

In the midst of this, Luther Allison, then resident

in France, confirmed he’d return to touring in USA if she would manage him. Jimmy Thackray also suggested she manage him, then Syl Johnson, a guy who’d virtually retired from the scene, did the same. Miki found herself learning a whole new ball-game, promoting and pushing her friends as manager, always with an eye open to their needs and hopes: “Syl said, ‘get me a band together and I’ll play again, I’ll do shows, and you can be my manager!”

From there it was a step more to take on management for the young turk on the blues block, Jonny Lang: “Jonny was only about twelve at the time. He needed guidance and protection. Nobody knew he was going to go platinum with his debut album! I had a time when I was working with Jonny, Luther and Susan Tedeschi, an amazing highpoint. They were all selling well. Merchandising was a big, important part of it and touring was essential. Looking back, Luther Allison was the one who truly got me into management though. He was such a lovely man. Absolutely passionate about the music. He’d do a gig and just keep playing, he loved it all so much. He did a six-hour set without a break! He was like that. The money was never the thing with Luther, it was always the music that came first. He’d ask me what was best for his career and let me choose the best option. He had absolutely no ego!”

“Luther never wanted to be the closing act at a festival. He’d always prefer second last. It means you sell more merchandise. By the last act, the crowd is thinning, thinking about getting their cars out before others and heading home. They might a bit drunker too. Second last, they might be more sober, have a bit more time to stop and check out

MIKI M & OTIS CLAY

MIKI M & JONNY LANG

the stuff, buy an album or a T-shirt. It works well that way. Luther knew that. I enjoy working the merchandising. You get to hear fans being honest about the artists. The feed-back is great. You can learn so much.”

Of course, Allison was also heavily involved with Thomas Ruf as German label Ruf Records developed, as indeed was Miki: “I always think that Luther, Thomas and I are like siblings! And Luther really did help Thomas set up the label.”

I recall speaking to Susan Tedeschi recently and mention to Miki that Susan reckons Miki really helped enormously, kick-starting her career in many ways. “I love Susan and Derek (Trucks), they’re both such lovely people. And their kids look uncannily like them! And it was amazing when they just merged both their bands together. A great band,” she adds.

We turn again to her time with Jonny Lang: “Jonny was still a young guy, around 15 or 16, when we got him onto the tour with Aerosmith. He was

“I used to have Lil Ed play a lot, he’s a Chicago artist. I’d prop him up on my shoulders and walk around. He was so thin and small then and I was bigger. Great fun, great times. And Willie Dixon was so good to me too. I had a jacket with a peacock on the back. Willie signed it for me and back home one weekend my mom put it through the wash and the signature was gone. I couldn’t believe it!” she laughs at the memory. As we talk of autographs, she offers to have her old friend Buddy Guy sign an album for me, yippee!

Now after around 35 years in the business, Miki still works with Syl Jonson, though sadly Luther Allison, Otis Clay and Beverley McClellan have all passed on. But Miki recalls the fun driving through Chicago with Otis Clay: “Otis was so warm, such a lovely guy. If he saw a homeless person on the street he’d stop, jump out and give them whatever money he had on him. That’s just how Otis was.”

Others she currently works with include Kenny Wayne Shepherd and acoustic, slide wizard, Doug MacLeod, a guy who picks up awards on a regular basis. When I ask Doug about Miki he tells me: “She’s much more than a manager. She’s a great friend to me and my family. Our relationship is based on trust. We have no paper-don’t need it. And on top of that she is the most positive person I have ever met in my life. I feel blessed that we are together.”

young and unsure and asked if I would go out on the road with them. It was great and Jonny was a success. His debut album has now gone platinum three times! We did tours with B.B. King, the Rolling Stones and Mellancamp. I was there to help out, to keep things stable, a weekend warrior!”

We chat about my recently talking to Robert Cray and, it comes as no surprise to learn, Miki knows the guy: “I’ve known Robert since around 1980 when he first played in my bar. We had Robert on-stage with Jonny and Luther back then. Amazing music. Back then, running the bar and club if I had Etta James on the bill maybe twice a year the place would be a sell-out, absolutely packed, and the take would be good. But if I booked Etta, say, three times a year then the take could go down because the fans think they can catch her easily, so can go to another gig, another day.”

I’ve had the absolute pleasure and privilege to know Miki for many years now and, like Dubbs, count her as a family friend. But even I was astonished by her story and her deep connections to the music we all love. Before ending our chat I mention the sad fact that one of Blues Matters! finest and longest serving writers, Pete Sargeant, had just passed: “Pete Sargeant! Oh no! I knew Pete, a lovely guy. He interviewed and knew Kenny Wayne Shepherd. That’s so sad to learn,” she says.

In an industry notoriously difficult and often historically peppered with unscrupulous and at times downright dishonest charlatans, Miki Mulvehill is that increasingly rare thing, a totally charming, honest, trustworthy manager with integrity and a passion for the music she loves, always prepared to go the extra mile for her artists and always prepared to put their needs before her own. Long may she continue.

“She’s much more than a manager. She’s a great friend to me and my family”

“I remember going through a stage-door once and finding Mick Jagger waiting behind it”

Last Minute Man

For around four decades, Robert Cray has been an explosive, hugely admired bluesman. With Clapton, Jagger and Richards paid-up fans, he has worked with many of the greats of blues music from John Lee Hooker and B.B. King to Stevie Ray. Five Grammys under his belt, and with a new album just out, Blues Matters! caught up with the man out on the road in the USA but ready to hit the UK in April.

Robert Cray is waiting to take the stage at a small venue in New Hampshire when we finally connect: “It’s real intimate. About two hundred people. They serve dinner before the gig. We’ve played it maybe ten times before, it’s always great. I love it. You can see the beer, almost smell it, and hear the glasses clang against each other. It’s what it’s all about,” he laughs with evident pleasure and satisfaction.

With a new album, ‘That’s What I Heard,’ about to drop towards the end of March, Cray is out working, promoting the new release on his own label, Nozzle Records, with help from Nashville label Thirty Tigers. His first album in a few years, Cray is optimistic and ready for the road. The album launched in USA a few days before we hook-up and he confirms he’s had a few months downtime as he prepares to hit the international blues highway: “We had a couple of months off. That’s real unusual for us. We’re usually out there, working, but we had been in the studio recording and so had some time set aside. It’s always good to have time to sit back a bit and reflect on what you’ve done in the studio,” he says.

Working again with his clear favourite producer, Steve Jordan, Cray laughs when I ask if he prefers studio work to touring:”I love it all. It’s a different

kinda thing. We got in the studio and it all came together real easy. Steve’s great, he knows how I work. A good producer creates the vibe, makes it work for everyone. We’d been touring as a band and came pretty much straight off the road, maybe a three-day break, then into the studio to record. So we were working well together. We didn’t do any real rehearsal because of that. We had eight days in the studio and it just came together. It was great fun. Steve always says, ‘Don’t overdo it!’ And he’s right. We came off the road and my voice was right, it was warm, so it all worked great. When you go into a studio there can be times when your voice just seems cold. Steve knows all that. He’s great and he can do it!”

The latest album is full of funky get-down grooves and blues that in many ways is reminiscent of when this guy first exploded onto the scene many years ago. I mention this to him and ask how it feels to have been out there, gaining global plaudits for almost half-a-century now: “It’s weird, maybe. You just don’t think of it like that. You don’t think you’re that old, or aged,” Cray bellows with laughter, and adds: “It’s like, we get kids come up to us after a gig and they’ll say ‘My dad loves your music and he introduced me to it.’ And we sort of think to ourselves, ‘What!’ We’re no older than you.’ How did that happen, how has it happened. We’ve been doing it for so long now, it just slips past in a flash and it’s hard to believe the time has gone so quickly and we’re another generation.”

Cray is looking forward to hitting the UK in April and May with the band and the new release. He readily acknowledges and appreciates the hugely loyal fan-base the UK offers and recalls his early gigs in Britain when the likes of Eric Clapton would

WORDS: Iain Patience PICTURES: Jeff Katz

turn up to watch: “It was amazing really. Eric Clapton was a big-star that seemed to love what we were doing. He’d come to gigs and sometimes ask if he could sit-in with the band. Well, what can you say to that?! It was just so unexpected and a really amazing time.”

I gently suggest that these days, Cray is himself something of a blues legend, and again that roaring, easy and warm laughter erupts: “You just don’t see yourself like that. It’s hard to see oneself in that way, though it’s hard at times to come to terms with what seems to have just happened. I remember going through a stage-door once and finding Mick Jagger waiting behind it, waiting just to say hello. A personal hero. Crazy sort of thing. And Keith Richards, love him, another hero!”

And Cray is a guy who has worked with some of the greatest names in the business, an aspect of his lengthy career that he still finds hard to fathom and which brings yet more genuine laughter and near-disbelief: “I remember we were doing the album, ‘Blues Summit.’ In the studio with B.B. King, Albert Cummings and John Lee Hooker – Gods of blues music - my heroes. I looked over to Richard (Cousins) our bassist and a real old friend, and thought, ‘Wow. We must get these smiles off our faces! We were still only kids.” When I suggest that must have been an extraordinary experience, he agrees and adds: “It was unbelievable. These were the guys I’d been listening to, the guys that shaped the music I loved. To be working with them in the studio was incredible.” The memory clearly still resonates, as he goes on to add: “John Lee was a great guy to be around. As a teenager I was deep into his music then this opportunity came along to play with him and it was that couldn’t keep the smile of my face thing.”

I ask if he has a personal favourite release and Cray shrugs and pauses before considering the question: “No, not really. Each album is different. They are all of their time. They all have a feeling and an importance at the time. Then you must move on to the next one. They all have their place.” And so was the preparation leading up to the new album, ‘That’s What I Heard,’ lengthy or did it need much thought before putting it all together?: “No, we just poured into the studio with Steve and it came together. I’m a last-minute man!” Again that laughter echoes as he considers the thought. “I’ve worried some producers in the past over the years because of that way of working.”

“I’ve been doing this now for almost fifty years. Hard

to believe, but as a younger person it was what I dreamed of, of being a musician. I’m fortunate to be doing what I do, making the music that I love.”

What about the awards circus, I ask: “It’s all good but you don’t set out for that. If it happens, that’s all great. I haven’t had a Grammy since about 1999, I think. So, it’s not central to our way of working,” he confirms. I quickly refer to one great gospel song included on the new album and Cray recalls his childhood: “Every Sunday my father, a serviceman, would play those gospel records, so it has always been part of my life. I said to Steve maybe we could try one on the new album and he agreed. So I looked through my collection and found ‘Burying Ground’ by the Sensational Nightingales. So we added that. It’s a great song, takes me back.”

As our time draws to a close, I suggest that one track, ‘You’re The One,’ comes from an all too often overlooked blues great, and Cray nods in agreement: “Yea, I love that song and Bobby Blue Bland is just too overlooked these days. He was another of those real blues greats, a giant.”

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“SHE’S THE FUTURE”

CARLOS SANTANA

RANKED #14

’30 BEST BLUES GUITARISTS IN THE WORLD TODAY’ POLL GUITAR WORLD

Albums,REVIEWS DVD’s & Book Reviews

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PHANTOM BLUES BAND STILL COOKIN’

Vizztone

Reading the bumph that came with this CD, and doing a little bit of my own research I came to realize that this is no ordinary band that were releasing an album. Having been the main backing band at live gigs for Taj Mahal and also having studio links with Buddy Guy B.B. King and Otis Rush, I understood that these guys were good before I heard a single note. The first track on the album, Don’t Fight It also happened to be penned by Steve Cropper and Wilson Pickett, no less. So, no pressure then. Their version of the opening track was as I guessed it would be, simply wonderful. An easy going entre’ into the album. Stop Runnin’ continued the theme of laid-back vocals and musicianship that seems to coarse right through the entire CD. What I do like about this band and how the album materializes is the use of different vocalists swapping and changing on each song. This band are

really tight and well-oiled which oozes out at every opportunity. Just In Case has the perfect blend of Keys and Saxophone alongside sweet silky vocals that will have you toe-tapping and feet shuffling right the way through. This album has no peaks and troughs, just a nice level delivery continuing on its merry way. Blues How They Linger goes deep down to the blues. This is a pure blues tune as opposed to the more up-beat offerings before but still retains the core structure this band have at their disposal. Sweet sultry Saxophone and sublime vocals are a joy to the ears. Shine On comes across with more soul and a smattering of reggae just for good measure. Better But Not Good brings to the fore the wonderful Sax and Trumpet helping to combine the elements of Jazz that are sprinkled over it and helping the blues overtone that wraps itself around this jim-dandy of a tune. I Was Blind ends this superb album. Gospel inclinations merging effortlessly with piano. This could be one of the best blues albums of the year.

STEPHEN HARRISON

CLARK SISTERS AND ELBERNITA “TWINKIE” CLARK

YOU BROUGHT THE SUNSHINE: THE SOUND OF GOSPEL RECORDINGS 1976-1981

Westbound Records

Even I’ve heard of the Clark Sisters and the world of gospel music is many worlds removed from mine. That’s largely because at their peak, unless you listened carefully, you wouldn’t know they were a gospel group. Something that caused some controversy back in the seventies. Because what they offered up during the era documented here was some incredibly stirring soul and funk influenced gospel music. The five sisters, led by songwriter Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark looked around the world they were growing up in and used the musical sounds of the day to bring the message to the masses with some tremendous harmonies helping things along. And if you could stop yourself dancing long enough to hear the words it might well have worked. This

Our name says it all!

compilation brings the best from four of their Sound of Gospel releases along with a brace of each of two Elbernita solo albums. Although as her sisters are present and correct on those you won’t be able to tell the difference. By using the best musicians available via the parent Westbound Records and with some great songs, all from the pen of Elbernita, this was music that crossed over to the clubs at the time and you’ll have a hard job standing still while You Brought The Sunshine (Into My Life) and Jesus, I’ll Never Forget are pumping from your stereo. If seventies soul and funk is your thing and you’ve never heard anything from the Clark Sisters then do yourself a favour and give this a spin.

STUART A HAMILTON

MISTER DODO BONES & THE ONE-EYED JACKS

TAKING NAMES

Independent

bass. Not your usual set-up yet I immediately had a liking for the acoustic material I was hearing. Firstly, these are not to be mixed up with the Hertfordshire band DodoBones because I believe Mister Bones hails from Yorkshire, but information on the individuals is difficult to find. What is not debatable is the quality of output. From what I hear, there are no original songs, with the exception of three very short offerings from Dave Foster, who appears on the Echo Super Vamper harmonica on two tracks. The other tracks range between the Blues as in Intro-Walter’s Walk or Sober by Dan Welch and the Folk and Country styled songs such as Rowland Salley’s Killing The Blues or Terry Allen’s Give Me A Ride To Heaven, Boy. There are three outstanding tracks on this CD however. Link Wray’s Fire & Brimstone is a song that could have been written purely to suit Mister Bones gravelly and well lived in vocals, with the interaction between the guitars particularly appealing. Merle Haggard’s The Bottle Let Me Down, a fast paced Country tune has a story behind it that I suspect could almost be autobiographical for the singer. The third track is the well travelled Blues of Rice Miller’s Nine Below Zero. The band are almost in a haunting mood and the strains of the harmonica that float in and out give the whole a sense of authenticity. Overall I enjoyed this album and believe I would enjoy seeing the band live.

ALEX DIXON THE REAL McCoy Dixon Landing Music

This is a completely new name to me so I checked them out on YouTube. Bones is an interesting character. Sat alongside Mark Edwards on guitar and with Harry Hamer, percussion tenor guitar and mandolin behind him and Richard Bostock on double

MERV OSBORNE

Alex Dixon is the grandson of the late great Chess master Willie Dixon and plays electric and upright bass plus piano. The album fires into life with Nothing New Under The Sun a hard-hitting rocker with fierce vocals from Lewis Powell, wailing harp from Steve Bell (son of Carey) and stinging guitar from Joey Delgado. Great start! Granddaddy’s classic slow blues Spider In My Stew is a hot spicy gumbo that simmers nicely with Rico McFarland’s tasty guitar fills and Sugar Blue’s acoustic harp proving irresistible ingredients behind “Big Lew’s” hot vocals. Title track The Real McCoy is an original rocking blues with a hefty backbeat. This is followed by the slow burning blues My Greatest Desire with everyone taking the chance to stretch out a little. A lively cover of Howlin’ For My Darlin’ will please all fans of the Wolf and Groanin’ The Blues features fine soulful vocals from Powell. The funky 10,000 Miles Away will keep the dancers happy and Chi-Town Boogie is an absolute stomper with the whole band racing to a climax. The Willie Dixon/ Muddy Waters classic I Want To

HALF & HALF

DENNIS SIGGERY & NEIL SADLER

SOUTHSIDE MUSIC UK

DENNIS SIGGERY & NEIL SADLER

HALF & HALF

Dennis Siggery (vocals) and Neil Sadler (Guitar) are UK based musicians who have played in a number of Blues Rock bands over the years including the Eric Street Band. On this album the pair are joined by Bassist Ed Sterling and Drummer Matt Edwards to create a full band sound, the opening self written track Don’t Want Your Tears is a real tour de force.

It starts with a quiet guitar sound that grows in strength sounding very similar to the Clapton work on the Edge of Darkness TV Theme, before Dennis cuts in with a restrained emotional vocal. Towards the end of the song Neil Sadler lays down some tasty lead guitar leaving you with nine minutes of

pure joy…. yes, I liked this track!

There are four covers on the album which I presume is reference to the album title, of these Dylan’s Knocking On Heavens Door is the pick of the bunch which benefits from Dennis adding an additional verse to the original, while this is essentially a Blues Rock album there is no excessive volume highlighting the exceptional musicianship on show.

The band do tackle a variety of styles on the album from out and out rockers on tracks Voodoo Woman and Rock and Roll Band to more pastoral sounds on songs Unchain My Heart and the aforementioned Knocking On Heavens Door, either style suits Dennis’s vocals perfectly as he has a unique surly huskiness to his voice that transcends these styles, while Neil’s lead guitar tone is sublime throughout.

A very enjoyable album by two creative artists who would probably struggle in their own right but together they are a dynamic pairing who make excellent music

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

Be Loved is given a good seeing to and closes this fine album. Alex Dixon has a lot to live up to but he has put together a hot band who have created their own updated version of Willie Dixon’s wonderful electric Chicago blues sound and that suits me fine. Sometimes it’s not necessary to reinvent the wheel just reinvigorate it. This one is a keeper.

DAVE DRURY

THE ANDY TAYLOR GROUP DRIFTING DAYS

Independent

Wow. Just listen to that opener (which is also the title track), to the crisp drum sound, pumping bass, the vibrant guitar work and the attitude laden but still relaxed vocals. If The Jimi Hendrix Experience circa 1967/8 does not come to mind, it can only be because you’re unfamiliar with JHE circa 1967/8. The way the guitar solo comes in is pure Hendrix and there is even a reference in the lyrics to a “red house”. I should state though that the song never strikes the listener as a copy, a homage maybe, but there is still originality here. The same goes for the remainder

Our name says it all!

of the album, as this Orcadian three-piece, under the leadership of singer and guitarist Andy, show that their roots are certainly in the blues-rock sound of the late 60s, though they are not averse to including other, more modern sounds. Try the churning New Orleans intro on the instrumental Milk & Cookies, though the harmonica playing of guest Fraser Retson adds an almost early 60s feel, and towards the end there’s just more than a hint maybe of the pre-psychedelic sound of freakbeat. It is followed by the funk and rock inflected Stepping Stone, You & I has a wah-wah funk guitar interlude, Cruel Cruel Woman nods towards Santana, and there is also the acoustic Led Zeppelin tinged Bu Road. For the most part, though, expect this debut album to offer wonderful blues sounds like the glorious, loud Loose Cannon, and those mentioned just previously tend to be strongly blues based, whatever the elements. As debut albums go, this is certainly impressive!

NORMAN DARWEN

SWAMP DOGG SORRY YOU COULDN’T MAKE IT

JOYFUL NOISE RECORDINGS

The accompanying press information with this album informs me that Jerry Williams, aka Swamp Dogg, is actually a country artist, at least by his own interpretation of the music he makes. A little further exploration reveals that Mr Williams wanted an alter-ego to try and extract appropriate financial remuneration for his efforts, hopefully he is more successful with that now. However, the proof of any music is what you hear, not what someone else, even if it is the creator of the music, tells you it is. On that basis, I would pin down this collection as country blues, not that categorisation ever really does anyone any favours. But the heart-breaking vocals on Don’t Take Her (She’s All I Got) are pure blues, no escaping that fact. The combined piano and organ backing come from gospel, and the slide guitars are pure country music, but the gentle understatement of everything musical allows the plaintive blues vocal to shine right on through. Similarly, the throw-away “Let me hear the thing …” ushering in a delightfully played fuzz guitar solo is pure blues. The song it’s from is Family Pain, a salutary tale about the evils of drug consumption. The jaunty loping beat is absolutely at odds with the song’s message, a feat it’s hard to pull off well, unless you are experienced, as this band very clearly is. I Lay Awake is another slow cut, but Memories is a mid-paced, if a little bland, but that’s a minor criticism of an excellent album. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel a lump in your throat when you listen to Billy, a hymn to a departed wife, played and sung with all the emotion that senior musicians can bring to the table.

Just to finish off the listener, and leave him or her in bits, Please Let Me Go Round Again is a re-visit of a song written in his forties by Williams, and now given an additional emotion edge with another thirty-plus years of writing. A wonderful album for reflection and being in touch with the blues.

ANDY HUGHES

CARNES AND SHEW PORTHOLE Independent

With only three musicians, and a hand full of instruments Porthole’s seven songs are packed full of drama, and strong narratives. With Mark Carnes on guitar, harmonica and vocals, Jeff Shew on double bass and vocals and drummer Dane Clark the seven originals on the album show a debt to the blues, but there are also traces of bluegrass, and swing jazz, with the double bass adding a lot to the sonic acoustic mix. Starting off with the slow Raised Near Chicago, with is harmonica motif throughout, this is a strangely life affirming song, taking the chords to Feeling Good and adding them to a song about growing up poor. Dwight Carnes is another Harmonica

JUSTIFY JAN JAMES

BLUE PALACE RECORDS

led song with a tragic, true life story. One Night in Louisville is an upbeat jump blues song with sanctified wailing harmonica and Passed out Once Again takes the central riff to Spoonful, adds a different beat and some fine singing. Although the genesis of their songs can be very easily traced back, they add enough character to the songs to make them distinctive. All in all, this is a fine release, showcasing the talents of the three musicians as players, writers, and as a cohesive whole.

We often wonder quietly what some departed artist might be doing if they’d survived. Such is the case of Janis Joplin. Well, Jan James gives us a good idea. After all she successfully starred as Janis Joplin in the play based on her life at Chicago’s Royal George Theatre. She has the voice and the power. On this her seventh album, she’s on fine form with her guitarist partner, the talented Craig Calvert and eight other skilled players and vocalists. The 12 songs, with the exception of a sturdy rendition of the Jagger and Richards’ Honky Tonk Woman, are big, bluesy and soulful and written

by Jan and Craig Calvert. Take for instance the rolling Lucky U R, with its moody harp payed by David Seman, and the contrasting smooth passion of Where You Gonna Run To. You Were Never in The Game is one of those torch songs you could imagine Peggy Lee singing. And this is Jan James’s secret of success. her vocal shading, her versatility between full-on blues and soulful balladeering. Great songs, well delivered and performed by a superb artist. Hopefully, we’ll hear much more of Jan James.

ROY BAINTON

MACNAIR REVEREND FREAKCHILD ROAD DOG DHARMA

BEN

Treated And Released Records

The Reverend has a new release. This is an American road trip through various radio interviews. These stand out on their own so it will be the music that will be dealt with here. Roadtrance is a seven minute mash of psychedelic rootsy funk. Reverend Freakchild has a great band here, including Chris Parker drumming and Hugh Poole adding harmonica, National steel guitar and vocals. Dial It In, is solo acoustic with backing harmonica and a good chorus. JJ Cale’s, Call

Our name says it all!

Me The Breeze, with added vocals by Patrick Coleman is very melodic. Inferno Avenue with Chris on drums has a dark message. All Across America, is another up-tempo romp with great musicianship. Reprise of Dial It In is next, done in a different style. Jesus Just Left Chicago is another a highlight. Townes Van Zandt’s, White Freightliner Blues has a country tinge and the echo is brilliant, it even segues into The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows, an astounding interpretation. Reverend Guy Davis’ You Gotta Move is stripped back blues. Muddy Waters’ Rollin’ And Tumblin’ has fantastic steel guitar. Hippie Bluesman Blues is dedicated to when he got his equipment, money and laundry robbed. Keep On Trucking, has slide guitar melting with firm drumming. The Finish Line is an apt finishing tune with a folky tinge. An eclectic mix of tunes and a real insight into the world of the Reverend whose vocals and guitar work are excellent.

COLIN CAMPBELL

TOMISLAV GOLUBAN MEMPHIS LIGHT

Blind Raccoon

his twelfth studio album and it could be the one to get their name known to a wider audience, Tomislav and his band the Little Pigeons are in splendid form here, going through a 10 track collection of original material with only one track being a cover version of House of the Rising Sun, Oh not another one I hear you groan, but be patient and listen to the bands own take, albeit a little bit shorter than my own version. Tomislav is a master of the Blues harmonica, having come 4th at the Worlds Harmonica Championships in Germany in 2005, is a Hohner endorsee and has won awards all over the shop, so you can expect top quality harp and that is just what you get, but not to the exclusion of the rest of the band who all acquit themselves superbly. Tomislav even sounds like BB King on a couple of numbers. I don’t normally pick out individual tracks, but I have to say that the title track Memphis Light is a superb piece of Blues and is almost a slow gospel number and I particularly liked Disappear for good. Will we see them over here? I would like to think so, but as they are often playing in the States, we may have already missed the boat.

DAVE STONE

FRANK BEY ALL MY DUES ARE PAID Nola Blue Records

Here we have one of Croatia’s top Blues recording stars on

Talk about eclectic. Seventy something industry survivor Frank Bey pops into Norwegian wunderkind Kid Andersen’s Greaseland studio, cuts a bunch of tracks with whichever blues glitterati are hanging out, and gives them all a severe makeover, irrespective of the genre in they originated. Let me give you some idea of the breadth of what’s on offer. Bey’s superlative take on the George Jones standard He Stopped Loving Her Today is an object lesson on how to do that country-soul thing right, the strings putting the maudlin C&W sentiment centre stage, while Lou Reed’s Perfect Day is made to sound like it always was a soul song and always will be. Most striking of the lot is a complete reimagination of utopian communist anthem Imagine, with John Lennon’s plink-plonk piano riff ditched in favour of late evening supper club jazz stylings, culminating in a big finale. Most of the other songs are covers, too, albeit of the lesser known variety. Howard Schermer’s One Thing Every Day bears a certain resemblance to the Cee Lo Green ditty politely known as Forget You, but remains a foot-tapper for all that. Most of

GOOD GONE BAD

CHRIS SHUTTERS WITH JIMMY BURNS

THIRD STREET CIGAR RECORDS

the musicians on the session are names in the orbit of Andersen’s main employer, Rick Estrin, with personnel including Grammy winners Jim Pugh on keyboards and Jerry Jemmott on bass. Estrin, who co-produces, even contributes backing vocals to his own composition Calling All Fools. It’s all good fun, and compulsively listenable.

DAVID OSLER

KING BISCUIT BOYS

ORGANIC & NATURAL

King Biscuit Boys

This record almost never happened, but the origins of the story go back over a decade when a younger Chris Shutters had put his name down to play one song at Buddy Guys Open mike night, hosted by Blues guitarist from the early years, Jimmy Burns. Chris played two songs and Jimmy was so impressed that he had Chris stay up on stage with him for the rest of the evening, and afterwards they swapped memories and stories and of course phone numbers and they parted ways thinking that was a great night. And that’s where it almost ended until Chris was thinking back to that night and how could he recreate it, and on a whim he

contacted Jimmy, to cut a long story short, they got together and agreed to record some Blues and here is what they came up with; 10 original blues tracks, seven by Chris and 3 by Jimmy, and each sang their own vocals on their own songs, only joining together to sing Good Gone bad, the title song. Well let me tell you that is nothing gone bad on this album, its great Blues in several styles from the Delta to a touch of Hendrix, some Philly style soul and even a tip of the hat towards country, in other words something for everyone, so all I can say is don’t wait another ten years.!

DAVE STONE

The recording of this album was not planned, The King Biscuit Boys were performing at the 2019 Gloucester Rhythm & Blues Festival in the Courtyard of Peppers Café. Proprietors, Toby and Ann, who are no strangers to live recording, asked if they could record the set and the band’s first live album Organic & Natural, the tagline for the café, was born. The sound quality is excellent for an unplanned live recording. Craig Stocker’s excellent harmonica playing as well as the band name pays homage to the original King Biscuit Boy himself, the late great Richard Newell. However, their musical styles are quite different.

Our name says it all!

The humorous tone of this album leans towards Rag and it is extremely enjoyable. The sounds that these musicians make are testament to the fact that all you need is dedication and passion for your craft. They use instruments not found too often on a modern Blues stage, such as washboard, spoons and I am fairly certain I also heard a bicycle bell. They have a well-blended list of songs driven forward by the gravelly vocals of Jonathan Townsend on guitar. Harmonica and unusual percussion are provided by Craig Stocker. On What Is It Tastes Like Gravy? Craig does an exceptionally long harmonica note which I am sure would knock the wind out of most other players. Most of the songs are sympathetic covers, but we are treated to some originals like She Scares Me which really made me smile. The duo is not currently playing live, but if they ever choose to come back to the stage, I will be the first in line to see them.

BLACKBIRD & CROW AILM

M.I.G. Music

review but I guess my editor demands more so here I go. Rarely does any body of work come along which really does take your breath away and this album is just such an example. Truly I am not sure exactly where I would place it. Is it Blues in the excepted meaning of the word? No it is not. It has some elements included but it is all mixed up with Celtic images, Indian input, Gothic, Grunge, Rock, Folk and oh hell just about everything else. It is a stunning album. Starkly recorded, starkly sung and played with an intensity bordering on the disturbing. Not exactly what you need on a night out or a night in the house but absolutely mesmeric aurally. Out of Ireland’s Co Donegal this is a duo consisting of Stephen Doohan guitar, foot board, percussion etc and the hypnotic vocals come from Maghread Ni Ghrasta. The album title is descriptive “lettering” from an ancient Irish alphabet meaning the conifer tree. So musically we open with Harlot On Holy Hill / The Witch That Could Not Be Burned so not your typical Blues fayre for sure. Following on in no particular order you’ll find A Pox On You, Margaret The Martyr, Princess Of The Ditch etc. Some are more deeply disturbing than others but trust me when I say that they completely captivate you. Try to remember what you felt like the first time you heard The White Stripes or Seasick Steve and you’ll kind of get the idea. This is a real boundary crushing aural experience. Try it out once and it’ll burrow its way into your soul for ever. Absolutely outstanding!

GRAEME SCOTT

TINSLEY ELLIS ICE CREAM IN HELL Alligator

Wow! Wow! Wow! I think that would be simply enough for this

With a voice and sound reminiscent of BB King, according to my silent partners who knows all things blues, the overall sound of this album is confident, mature, punchy and rocky. Tinsley Ellis is a famed bluesman having spent decades honing his style on the road and in the studio. Ice Cream In Hell, great title, is a rocking powerhouse of musicality and depth with Tinsley lending his raw vocals and superb guitar playing to an album that is forceful and soulful. Originally from Atlanta Tinsley has been touring the world for over three decades and this is his 18th Album. Blues with a rocker attack the sound is clear and ungelded. Tinsley wrote every track on the album and the delivery is passionate with the guitar playing feeding the energy of each song. The album was released January 31st and is being played on a four-month tour by the man and his band, I can only imagine the energy the audience will feed off. If his presence is as strong as the songs, a gig with these guys would be a great night out. The production on the album is great, the musicality profes-

DIANNE DODSWORTH

TESTIFY RON ADDISON INDEPENDENT

sional and tight with a soul sound running through. Raw and passionate with the guitar playing sometimes reminiscent of Santana in depth and adeptness Hole In My Heart, No Stroll In The Park, Evil Till Sunrise and Everything and Everyone are stand out with Unlock My Heart so sexy. If you like your blues rocky and your vocals raw and sexy, this is one for you.

JEAN KNAPPITT

Samantha Grayson on a ballad that has more of a Country feel to it. The title track Testify is the real standout song though, besides its story it really rocks aided by some screaming lead guitar from Billy Crawford.

ROBERT CRAY BAND THAT’S WHAT I HEARD

Nozzle Records/Thirty Tigers

This is a debut album by retired Military Helicopter pilot Ron Addison who abides in Abingdon, Virgina, USA. It has been his life time aspiration to release a Blues album, this short ten track album is the result with all tracks self written by Ron or his family.

He has assembled some talented local musicians to help him out and the results are excellent, Ok it may not be overly polished but it does have a certain charisma and Ron proves he is a more than a capable Blues vocalist, with a rich tone to his voice.

The pick of the tracks are; No Damn Good which is a solid slow Blues track that benefits from some stylish Hammond Organ from Don Eanes and a strong emotional vocal from Ron, Long Ago Another Time where Ron shares vocals with

There is a good mixture of styles throughout this album ranging from Blues shuffles to solid Rocking Blues workouts all held together by Ron’s commanding vocal and as previously mentioned some excellent musicians, worthy of special mention is Mary Munsey on Saxophone.

While she only plays on three tracks she certainly makes her mark on them. There is something really satisfying about this album whether it is the fact that all the material sits together so well or the realisation that Ron Addison has now fulfilled his life time goal with the release of his debut Blues album, he should not rest on his laurels though, as the promise shown here is sufficient for him to start planning his follow up album.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

I was in the car playing this new CD from Robert Cray, who has now released over 20 studio albums in just over 40 years, and I sort of did a double-take and asked myself if this actually was a new release. It sounded like a blast from the past and took me straight back to the early 70’s, Northern Soul, Sam Cooke and The Temptations at their soulful best. Later I was surprised to learn that this was indeed a 2020 release, but also very relieved (and a bit smug!) to read producer ,Steve Jordan, on the accompanying notes saying that “I thought if we could get this thing that Sam Cooke used to have, the kind

Our name says it all!

of sound that early Sam Cooke records had, that we could pull this off,”. To be honest, Messrs Cray & Jordan, if that was your target, you’ve hit the bullseye, dead centre. That’s What I Heard contains 12 tracks in various styles, but all with that genuine soulful sound, where Robert Cray’s great guitaring is matched only by his soulful singing. Robert’s band sound like they’d had a blast recreating the atmosphere of the late 60’s/early 70’s soul and an original R&B sound. The opening track Anything You Want is typical of the whole album with clarity of vocals, staccato guitar picking, subdued organ in the background, but I think it’s the drumming, simple and uncomplicated but nevertheless very effective, that transports the listener back to the days of soul music at its peak. Burying Ground is a gospel song (and, apparently, I have this in common with Robert Cray!) which his parents used to play on the stereo on Sundays. You’re the One is straight out of Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland’s songbook. This Man, written by Robert Cray, could have been a cover of a classic from the era, but is actually a fresh creation. Hot, also a Cray original, could be the soundtrack from an early seventies film. The album is full of such tracks. As Robert describes the album, it’s “Funky, cool and bad”. I could not agree more.

STEVE BANKS

DAVE ELLIS BLUES BAND STRAIGHT UP Road Dog Records

pure British Blues driving hard as with Honey Pot, tasty stuff. Appropriately for a band Travelin’ Man gets things underway and immediately you know what follows will not disappoint. So it proves to be the case as Nothing To Lose and Set Me Free continue along the tracks. The latter being a slow Blues before the tempo picks up again on Sky Blues Today and Rattlesnake Hide. So whilst there is nothing honestly new here what you get is very good indeed.

GRAEME SCOTT

I think if we were all to be honest then most folk would say there is just something rather special about the “power trio” set up. Whether you are seeing those wowing thousands in stadiums throughout the world or strutting their stuff in some small club the simplicity of three musicians working their collective butts off really stirs the emotions. So it is with the DEBB. For sure, as yet, there will be many out there, including myself, to whom this band is completely unknown. I don’t know whether Straight Up will change that but it should as this is a damn fine, straight-ahead, rocking album. Ten cuts, all originals, come at you relentlessly. Dave on guitar/vocals, Jerzy Janik bass and keeping the whole thing solid at the back Slawek Puka drums. I am not exactly sure where the band are based, Dave is English, but I suspect Poland as that was where these tunes were recorded for digital only release back in 2014 but available now for the first time in a physical format. The music is a fine mix of Delta influence and resonator backed Prayer For A Friend, to

JEREMIAH JOHNSON HEAVENS TO BETSY

Ruf Records

Jeremiah Johnson’s previous CD Straitjacket was well received and garnered a nomination in the Blues-Rock album of the year category at the Blues Blast awards. His latest is more melodic with several songs in almost Americana mode, one good example being Long Way From Home which was influenced by his grandmother’s dementia and recalls the last time she was able to recognise him. Leo Stone is an outstanding song which welcomes Jeremiah’s son to the world with a lilting chorus that really gets

CHECK SHIRT WIZARD- LIVE 77

RORY GALLAGHER

CHESS/ UMC

The live tour, from which this two-disc set was recorded was in support of his album Calling Card. 43 years later this live recording still sounds as fresh and as vibrant as it ever was. Do You Read Me is the opening track and from the off its easy to see why so many people labelled him the greatest blues player of his time. Such an understanding of the blues that oozes through every pore of his being. Mixing rock and blues was as easy as 123 to Rory and nowhere is it more visible than on Moonlight. Leaning more towards the rock side this is a powerful full-on track. He could play both with consummate ease and switch from one to the other and integrate them at will. Calling Card dives straight back into the blues. Here, he approaches the blues with reverence and confidence of equal measure. The eloquent tone of his guitar is renowned the music world over and this live performance personifies that. Tattoo’d Lady reminds me slightly of Hendrix

but don’t let that sway you into thinking it’s a parody of the man himself. Rory stamps his own authority on this tune that would have Hendrix drooling. As Hendrix was an innovator in the 60s so Rory was just as much in the 70s. A Million Miles is my personal favourite Rory Gallagher tune and this version only reinforces that sentiment. Superbly played and sung with the blues v vocals that are legendary in all his songs. If you only listen to one song to try and understand what makes Rory tick then make it this one. Disc two starts off with 6 acoustic based tracks starting with Out On The Western Plain, which regals stories of people such as Jesse James. Barley And Grape Rag morphs into a rag-time blues that is simply magnificent. Pistol Slapper Blues, Too Much Alcohol and Going To My Hometown continue along the same path with the latter highlighting his brilliance on the slide guitar. Bullfrog Blues is probably the first song people think of when you mention Rory. At just under ten minutes long its easy to see why. Simply wonderful. Nothing else needs to be said. So, if you want a brilliant live album by on of the finest blues people to ever pick up a guitar then make sure its this one. Someone once asked Hendrix what it feels like to be the best guitarist in the world. He said, I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher.

STEPHEN HARRISON

into your head and a guitar solo that could have come from Dickey Betts on an Allmans album. Also excellent is the ballad Ecstasy, about a greatly loved partner with some fine guitar and sax embellishments. If you are looking for a rockier sound check out Tornado (about a wild lover, not the weather phenomenon), Soul Crush with its wah-wah guitar or chugging rocker American Steel, inevitably about cars. The album closes on a piece of rock and roll entitled Preacher’s Daughter and opening track White Lightning has a Southern Rock approach with ringing guitars and great sax. Indeed, Frank Bauer’s sax work is a key element in the band, whether he is playing a solo or duelling with Jeremiah’s guitar. Jeremiah wrote eleven songs for the album and the only surprise is why he chose to cover Born Under A Bad Sign, a song that is frequently covered by many a bar band; this version is OK, rockier than Albert King, but does not add a lot to the album. Jeremiah Johnson will be one third of the 2020 edition of The Blues Caravan with Ryan Rerry and Whitney Shay and, on the evidence of this album, will bring an element of Southern Rock to the shows alongside Ryan’s Mississippi blues and Whitney’s soulful Rn’B, should be a good combination!

LIAM WARD & MALCOLM THORNE YOU ARE MY MEDICINE Green Bullet Records

Liam & Malcolm comprise a new duo which offers a very attractive blend of acoustic Blues and British eccentricity. You Are My Medicine is their debut EP, with five self penned tracks in an acoustic arrangement, and very enjoyable they are. Liam Ward is the harmonica player and lead vocalist, with Malcolm on guitar and backing vocals. One major aspect of this recording is how the three elements of their music blend so well, accentuating both their musical prowess with their sweet vocal harmonies. Malcolm’s guitar work reflects his respect for tradition whilst driving the song and providing a wealth of melody. This attribute has led to him earning a reputation as a respected studio and session musician. Liam is an extremely able harmonica player, and his work with the Rumblestrutters, Jake Leg Jug Band and his own electric outfit has defined his position on the instrument. The EP opens with the title track, You Are My Medicine, a very chirpy and clean guitar riff before the vocals kick in. Throughout, the vocals are very clear and easy to understand, and it would be easy to say that the songs have a simplicity that is very endearing, yet would not do justice to what is really happening in the songs. Liam’s harmonica, when it kicks in, is

both empathetic to the melody whilst also a demonstration of his ability. Down Home Blues is much more rooted in a Delta styled blues, with an almost menacing guitar riff, held down by a rasping harp. My favourite track is Crescent City Blues, a very upbeat snappy song about New Orleans. It is delivered in a very happy British style that made me think of a gentle Folk festival in an English field being uprooted and set alongside the mighty Mississippi river. The vocal harmony on this song is delightful. Back to the Blues for Bulldoze Blues, a swinging song tracing childhood and growing up, reflecting on a persons’ past as he bulldozes his family home. An excellent debut release which is very enjoyable.

MERV OSBORNE

WAYLON

THIBODEAUX

HERE WE GO AGAIN Rabadash

and, as here, the blues – in all its forms. This album is quite simply a joy from start to finish. Although he can sing in French, this set is in English throughout. The gloriously rocking opener Here We Go Again sets the scene to perfection, with its untrammelled vocal, fine instrumental breaks and a powerhouse, irresistible rhythm for the dancers. Waylon calls up some excellent musicians in support for the album, with guests including harmonica ace Johnny Sansone and on bass, the legendary Benny Turner. Don’t get the idea Waylon is a hidebound traditionalist, listen to the wah-wah fiddle on Fail Fail Fail, or the country-tinged rocker When Love Comes Back, but he then shows his roots run very deep with the fiddle intro to I’m Stuck With The Blues Again. Our Life’s Another Old Blues Song is pure Louisiana swamp pop with a huge Fats Domino influence, River Boat Song has a jaunty Crescent City sound, and Way Down South is another wonderful rocker. Don’t You Make Me Put My Fiddle Down is a very convincing slow-ish blues with an astonishing fiddle solo; Smoke Signals is a strutter with Native American touches and this lovely set finishes with a very fine and bluesy cover of Willie Nelson’s Funny How Time Slips Away. And when that finishes, you’ll just want to press “play” straightaway!

Many years ago, there was an album by swamp-pop legend Johnnie Allan entitled Good Timin’ Man, I had forgotten it until I heard this album and thought, “that title would certainly suit Waylon too”. Waylon is a rocking Louisiana fiddler, he’ll play Cajun music, zydeco, country, New Orleans sounds, vintage rock and roll

NORMAN DARWEN

BLUES IN A BUCKET THE FORREST MCDONALD BAND

WORLD TALENT RECORDS

Acrobat Music

Forrest McDonald might not be a household name but the 70-year-old has 15 albums to his name and shows no sign of letting up. McDonald has written or co-written all eleven tracks here and is a guitarist of some note. Lead vocals are provided by the most part by Andrew Black with the exception of two tracks where Becky Wright takes centre stage. Two tracks here were inspired by the death of Forrest’s brother Steve last year, the first Good Morning Blues, tells the story of receiving the sad news whilst out on road. Great vocals by Black on what must have been a tough call. The other, Go To The Light is uplifting with positivity and gospel spirituality. The album opens with Boogie Me Till I Drop and is a big fat sound with horn section and boogie piano. Blues In The Basement is a heartfelt slow blues with some excellent keys adding texture provided by

guest Tony Carey whose CV includes Rainbow, Pat Travers and many more. Blues In A Bucket, the title track is a more traditional Chicago blues, as is Windy City Blues with its Pinetop-esque piano and understated brass. Forrest plays wonderful guitar throughout, always giving the songs just what they need. Never any flash or pyrotechnics for the sake of it, every note treated like a thing of beauty. This is especially true on Misery And Blues, the solo towards the end perfectly in keeping with the song. Powerhouse features Becky Wright on vocals and is a slow burner, as the vocals build Forrest is providing the kind of guitar playing dished out at the crossroads. Going Back To Memphis is funky, upbeat and full of good vibes with Tony Carey again guesting and taking it to another level. Closer Let The Love In Your Heart is another upbeat optimistic song with a great harp intro and features both Becky and Andrew providing vocals. Forrest covers lots of styles of blues on this and all with aplomb. He’s a seasoned performer whose has gathered a great set of musicians around him and produced a top-class album.

As exciting as new music is, it’s always a real treat to be able to step back into blues history and hear the earliest exponents of our favourite music creating templates of sound and atmosphere that have far outlived them. Such a pioneer is Otis Hicks, or as we know him, Lightnin’ Slim, who was the main originator, and major recording artist, thus bringing the style to a wider audience, of Swamp Blues. Categorised by shuffle beats, tremolo guitars, and searing harmonica, its roots (everything has roots, even blues roots music) are in Cajun music from the southern area, which leant its strong rhythms to Slim and others. This double CD set, a generous forty-seven cuts, thanks to the brevity of early blues songs, encompasses all his sides for the Feature, Ace, and Excello labels. Thanks to Slim joining the recording scene a little later in life, he started in his early forties, and his work here is taken from the 1950’s and ‘60’s, the recording quality is excellent. The autobiographical songs, Slim wrote most of these songs, tell of his difficult life and especially his love life,

as typified on I Can’t Live Happy. The lively Bugger Bugger Boy (pronounced ‘booger’ and referring to rhythm rather than anything else) contains Slim’s regular encouragement to his harmonica player Lazy Lester, who obeys each and every request to “Play that harmonica, with technique as full of emotion as it is sparse in execution. Strange Letter Blues is the virtual blueprint for the sixties British Blues boom that was so influenced by Slim and his contemporaries, the plaintive voice, the basic percussion, and the ever-present harmonic wailing and hooting away in the breaks. It must have sounded like music from another world back then, which let’s be honest, it absolutely was. The second CD features later material, with a commensurate increase in sound quality. Hearing his one and only ‘hit’ Rooster Blues, you can imagine a nascent Rolling Stones, or an embryonic Spencer Davis Group rehearsing this jaunty outing for their weekend’s club set for likeminded fans. Living history is here.

ANDY HUGHES

SON LITTLE ALOHA ANTI Records

Aaron Earl Little Livingston hails from Los Angeles and performs under the name Son Little. His Grammy-winning work was described by the New York Times thus: “bluesy distorted guitar chords. a distant echo of the Zombies’ Time of the Season”. They have finely tuned ears in the Big Apple. This is deeply introspective and philosophical work but in my aged simplicity I’d not call it a blues album. The instrumentation is exquisite. Just enjoy the moving guitar on the sad Suffer, and the poignant yet positive Never Give Up with the lyric “though I’m battered and blue/feel like I’m born to lose … never will I give up, the production includes some background vox pops and the ambience of a cruel, busy city. These are songs about faith, mental illness, hope and despair. All subjects running through the blues. And the final track, the moving After All (I Must be Wrong) really draws you into playing the whole record again. I heard a bit of everything here; a touch of Bob Marley, for instance. The music of Son Little is above trends or fashion, but it rides splendidly on the rails of passion and poetry.

ROY BAINTON

EDDIE MARTIN THIRST Independent

Thirst is the 12th studio album to be released by Eddie Martin. On the album Martin takes care of the vocals, lead guitar and harmonica. One Man Band is the opening track, and as soon as I heard it, it reminded me of something else that I can’t quite put my finger on. But I digress, it’s a really good R&B in your face tune that provides a great introduction to the rest of the album. Free Man Blues has a more dark and melancholy side to it, while still retaining the blues as it’s very core. The recurring image that I’m getting is that of a gun-slinger guitar style that Martin has. The lyrics gave me a sense of foreboding, that is perfectly acceptable within the frame of a blues song. When I heard Searching For Home, the immediate thought I got was Superstition by Stevie Wonder. The backing vocals of Audra Nishita fit really well on this tune. As well as being a fine player and singer/songwriter Martin comes across as a bonafida band leader as well. Like Water is more of a slow ballad with guitars gently providing the groove alongside subtle keys and even more subtle lyrics. At eight minutes long this song slowly

evolves from a slow ballad into a heavier lament that steadily climbs upwards to a thundering crescendo. Louisiana Woman is a dead giveaway to the lyrics. From the title alone, you know exactly what this song is going to sound like. And It doesn’t disappoint. A real delta feel to this song that pleases me no-end. And a harmonica burst right at the end, just for good measure. Silver Spoon is a mixture of genres and structures it seems. On the one hand it has a funk/jazz vibe then has a sort of 1920s traditional Jazz backing vocal with a hint of blues guitar to help it on its way. Frozen Lake finishes the album with a sinister dark tale within its lyrics. This is a very good album, from start to finish. I’m going to delve into the back catalogue of this guy. It’ll be worth it.

STEPHEN HARRISON

WATERMELON SLIM TRAVELING MAN

Northern Blues Music

I’ve followed the career of Watermelon Slim for several years through various changes, with the wonderful The Workers band line up, as country truck driving musician, collabo-

rating with Super Chikan, solo and with great musicians around him like his last award-winning Church Of The Blues album. On this double live CD, he is solo in front of appreciative audiences at two small intimate venues, The Blue Door and The Depot in 2016. Side one kicks off in truck driving mode with stripped back versions of Blue Freightliner, Truck Driving Song and Northern Blues. Slim is a superb live performer, a master story teller whose humble demeanour but larger than life personality always entrances. The Last Blues and Scalemaster Blues are up next, more memories from Slims truck driving days, delivered with wonderful slide guitar playing. He is also a top-class harp player as can heard on Jimmy Bell. Highway Song and Frisco Song are more travelling songs, obviously something close to Slim’s heart. He is also a great blues interpreter, just listen to his take on Smokestack Lightning. Disc Two is the Depot recordings and start off with Let It Be In Memphis, a song about facing death but upbeat and humorous. Into The Sunset, a song about retirement, follows leading us into a memorable rendition of John Henry, an old traditional blues probably nowadays best known by the Joe Bonamassa version. As you might imagine Slim is much closer to early variations of the song. Archetypal Blues is another slide guitar showcase. Oklahoma Blues is a long-time live favourite at Slim shows, a typical back porch blues song. Devils Cadillac is from the Workers era and revisits Robert Johnsons crossroads story. Dark Genius, the story of John F Kennedy brings things to a close. In all we get over 100 minutes of Watermelon Slim

performing as only he can. It’s a tough call but he might just be the most authentic true white bluesman of the last fifty years. If you’re not familiar with his recordings buy this and Church Of The Blues to get the full picture.

STEVE YOURGLIVCH

THORBJØRN RISAGER AND THE BLACK TORNADO COME ON IN Ruf Records

Come On In is the 10th offering from Thorbjørn Risager and The Black Tornado, a band which has by now performed over a thousand concerts in 21 different countries. In Thorbjørn’s words ““Some people think the blues is sad because it’s named after the colour of the melancholy and has its roots in music played by the slaves in the United States. But you have to remember that this was music that people gathered around when they were trying to relax from their hardships”. This philosophy pervades his music and is very evident on this new release from the powerhouse that this Danish combo is. The title track grabs the listener with hints of JJ Cale vocals and the

Roots Music Report’s Blues Rock album chart

spirit of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s House Is Rockin’, backed by some lovely subdued brass work from the 3-piece brass section. It confirms Thorbjørn’s affirmation that the blues can be danceable. (The video that accompanies the track on the band’s website is well worth a look and looks like the band had a lot of fun putting it together.) Last Train opens with some crystal-clear acoustic slide to accompany TR’s bluesy vocals, before breaking into a heavier number, which has the full force of The Black Tornado behind it. Nobody But The Moon is a much lighter number with shades of a Chris Rea ballad. Two Lovers slows the pace right down in a blues lament. Never Givin’ In also opens in acoustic style, before being accompanied by a very heavy drum beat. Sin City also follows in a similar vein. Over The Hill picks up the pace considerably and is a very lively, bouncy number, a good time boogie woogie number, which raises the mood considerably. Love So Fine is a rockier number and allows the band to demonstrate its full force and do what it’s best at, playing a heavy full-bodied blues sound. If you’ve seen the band, you’ll know this. If you haven’t, this new CD is a great appetizer prior to experiencing a great live performance.

STEVE BANKS

TAS CRU DRIVE ON Subcat Records

favourite track. Shookie Shake is a joyous stomper that will get the joint jumpin’ and In This Moment is a smoky instrumental ballad for the wee hours. The swampy Memphis Blue features a Cru/Casale duet, slinky slide guitar and great piano work. The eerie, atmospheric closing track Devil In Your Heart features Cru on resonator and again sharing vocals with Casale who also co-wrote this haunting epic. An excellent album of modern blues that will appeal to many.

DAVE DRURY

New York bluesman with his 9th album of all original and eclectic material that covers all the bases. That Lovin’ Thang is a bluesy, rockin’ shuffle featuring soulful lead and backing vocals, infectious rhythm guitar from Cru and wailing organ from Anthony Geraci. Wow! Gabe Stillman’s smooth slide guitar and Anthony Terry’s honking sax light up the humorous Money Talks as Cru bemoans the “pay to play” ethos in the music industry. The lengthy title track Drive On is a real tour-de-force which starts off atmospherically and then builds a funky groove with a catchy guitar hook, expressive vocals and great sax and organ. Three things to mention here are the excellent band, the fine production and the fact that Geraci’s keys are all over this album to good effect. Save Me is a tasty up-tempo shuffle with a message of hope and Cry No More is a heartfelt ballad featuring Mary Ann Casale sharing the vocals. Kinda Mess is a crashing Hooker style boogie featuring a battle between Cru’s lead guitar and Stillman’s slide guitar aided and abetted by Terry’s sax and Geraci’s organ. This belter is probably my

MARIE MARTENS & THE MESSAROUNDS TRAVELLED Independent

This debut release has a mix of blues and a touch of rock and roll. Thirteen tracks differing in styles peppered with covers and original tunes, but all connected. Marie Martens was born in Sweden and first played bass, here she plays slide guitar on a lot of tracks and crafts her own style, mixing riffs and melodies with smoky lived in vocals, most impressive. Change My Ways is the opener and first original song by Marie. This has heavy drumming by Tom Selear blending with powerful slide technique.

MOANIN’ AT MIDNIGHT THE HOWLIN’ WOLF PROJECT TOMÁS DONCKER

TRUE GROOVE

Tomás Doncker cut his teeth as a guitarist with New York New Wave acts including James Chance & The Contortions, Defunkt and J Walter Nego & The Loose Jointz. Going on to work with a list of who’s who he is the CEO of True Groove Records and in 2011 CNN credited him with creating a new genre, Global Soul. In 2014 Doncker with his band released The Howlin’ Wolf Project Moanin’’ At Midnight. Now Re-Released as a deluxe edition changing one track and putting a few live versions on the album, backed by his impressive band The True Groove All-Stars Doncker has given the Chester A. Burnett classics a modernday twist while still keeping the essence of the original recordings. The album opens with Evil, deep funky baselines drives the rhythm along with menacing guitar riffs replacing the original

piano beat. Slowing the pace with Killing Floor Tomás delivers emotional soulful vocals that is matched by the guitar and harmonica. Back Door Man maintains the shuffle riff with some good interplay between guitar and harmonica. On Moanin’ At Midnight Tomás delivers some excellent anguished vocals over a modern funky soulful vibe, lifting the tempo up with Spoonful, this is given a rock feel with some Hendrix sounding guitar riffs, gritty vocals and blistering harmonica. Not on the original release, Red Rooster with its laidback shuffle pretty much keeps to the original. With a rock and roll vibe the infectious rendition of I Ain’t Superstitious will have you up dancing. On Smokestack Lightning Tomás gives more emphasis to the Wolf’s trademark Howlin’, a modern version with a jazz middle. Next is a dub mix of Moanin’ At Midnight. The original album had Shook Down as a studio track, here it’s one of three live tracks on the album not a Wolf song but it is an enjoyable Chicago style blues shuffle. The other two live tracks are good renditions of Back Door Man and Smokestack Lightening. Very well played throughout but will divide listeners.

SHIRL

Keep On Loving Me, the Otis Rush number is upbeat a total change in tempo. Martens own, Mama Won’t Allow Me, has a driving boogie feel and she plays keyboard on this. Eddie Turner’s, Bad Boy is given some funky riffs and grinding bassline by Ronnie “Two Times” Cacioppo. Another original, Movin’ On is a slow grinder of a tune, sassy vocals. Punchy riff opens Fred McDowell’s Kokomo Blues then it gets rocky. Mose Allison’s Parchman Farm is a light interval. Later Baby the last original track has an easy going feel. The Ruth Brown cover, Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean rolls on to BB King’s Walkin’ And Crying, which has good tone and rhythm. Jimi Hendrix is given the treatment on his Room Of Mirrors. Hound Dog Taylor’s, Give Me Back My Wig sees the band rocking out again. Last tune is a cover of The Rolling Stones’ Ventilator Blues is a slow driving blues number, a real crowd pleaser, showing of an undoubted talented band.

COLIN CAMPBELL

MARK HUMMEL WAYBACK MACHINE

Electro.Fi

Renowned Harmonica player Mark Hummel has released this album in which he has

gone back to the 1930/40’s Chicago Blues for his inspiration, aiming to replicate the Bluebird electric Blues sounds of that era, ably assisted by the recording skills of Kid Andersen at the Greaseland Studios in San Jose, California. While the focus of the material is on the Harmonica, Mark also handles the majority of the vocal duties which is not really his strong point as they lack intensity although in replicating the period covered they probably are reasonably authentic. Mark is supported by several musicians on the album, notably guitarist Billy Flynn, Washboard player Dave Eagle and vocalist Joe Beard, who takes lead vocals on the last three tracks on the album which include a superb cover of Eddie Boyd’s Five Long Years. I found the instrumental Breathtaking Blues the most enjoyable track on the album as it showcases Mark at his best playing an acoustic harmonica that ebbs and flows in pitch throughout the song, mixing nicely with both Aaron Hammerman’s Piano and Dave Eagle’s Washboard to create a rag time type sound. While there are a generous sixteen tracks on the album Mark sticks firmly to his objective of creating the “Bluebird” sound so there is not a lot of variety within the material even though the song credits are shared by several notable artists including; Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk and Tampa Red. This is a really enjoyable album performed by one of today’s top Harmonica players, who has certainly met his objective in re-creating the Bluebird sound which was recognised as a major influence for Rhythm and Blues and early Rock N Roll. This is a real master class of Harmonica playing and

highlights the skill involved in playing it as a lead instrument.

ADRIAN BLACKLEE

ÖZGÜR HAZAR SAD AND BLUE

Independent

Özgür Hazar was born in Istanbul in 1976, a singer songwriter and guitarist who has been influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and other blues legends. Özgür lived in Philadelphia between 2004 and 2006 cutting his teeth playing the clubs with several bands. Having played many clubs and concerts with his band in Istanbul, Özgür moved to Leuven Belgium in 2018. Özgür has put together a fine cast of musicians to help make this debut album consisting of eight original tracks and one cover. The album begins with I Am On Fire with Raye Cole on vocals, and Yavuz Daridere on Hammond, Rhodes and bass. This has a soulful feel with some horns adding a jazzy vibe to the proceedings. My highlight is the title track Sad And Blue where Özgür pours out heartfelt emotional vocals to a tale of underachieving while playing scorching mournful electric guitar solos over the main driving acoustic guitar beat to great effect. Jason M the

only other constant musician drives Let Me Be with a strong drum rhythm while the guitar and swirling organ feed off each other. Konstantin Tomov adds some deep soulful vocals to the shuffle Baby Blue while Sweet Angel is a toe tapping rock and roll number with Sitki Sencer Ozbay playing deep base lines and Julia Driessen stomping the boogie woogie piano keys to compliment the rocking guitar riffs. Slowing the pace right down with another highlight is the laid-back bluesy ballad Can’t Stop Missing You, where Özgür’s melancholic guitar pleads alongside the sultry rich tones of Nikki N on Vocals. Gorkem Bolaca delivers strong vocals on the rockier blues cover of the Josh Smith number That Ain’t Me. Next up is Fuzz Funk where Murat Bolat plays a meaty funk bass line on a funky blues beat while Özgür has a bit of fun laying down a vocal rap. Ending the album with Fade Away an enjoyable emotional instrumental piece that finishes the album off in fine style. An impressive debut that I really enjoyed.

SHIRL BILL BLUE KING OF CRAZY TOWN Conch Town Music

LIGHTER SIDE OF THE BLUES

VAL STARR & THE BLUES ROCKET INDEPENDENT

It would appear that this lady has been making music for a very long time and has released this, her fifth album, with an appropriate title. There is nothing here that is very dark or heavy but that is not to say that this is not Blues. In fact it most certainly is Blues but showing that you don’t have to be deeply heartbroken or depressed to convey feelings. So whilst Val and her rather excellent band sing songs covering the full range of social mores with all the usual stories of love gone wrong, or indeed well, these tunes are presented with a twinkle in her eyes and voice. Sure there is passion in there, heartbreak etc but I think Val has perhaps realised that her own vocal range and tonal qualities are not in the same ball park to say Janis Joplin, Maggie Bell or a

current contemporary Sari Schorr. We should not dismiss or expect every vocalist to rip their throats out or to sound like they have smoke a hundred cigarettes in the last couple of days so respect Val for the lightness and just enjoy. Thirteen originals include the humorous If She Can Get A Man (Anyone Can) and Lift A Finger a tongue in cheek dig a useless men, the uplifting Can’t Get Sad Tonight and the very current Big Boss Man (#Me Too). The latter with a sound counterpoint right out of the swinging sixties. The album is self produced with her husband, who also plays bass throughout and has smoothness to it as befits a band out of Sacramento California. So welcome and embrace Val on the Lighter Side of the force that is the Blues.

GRAEME SCOTT

The first thing I notice about this album is Bill Blue sounds younger than he looks on the front cover and when you know Bills history, he’s been around since the seventies, it just amazes me how good his voice still sounds. Boom, it opens with Do What I Do , an upbeat tune that gets the juices flowing and flows back and forth from up tempo to bluesy storytelling, there’s even a Ska feeling on I Want It All which is just Jamaican blues anyway and I’d say that the amount of musicians involved in the making of this album(22) has a lot to do with the different influences you can hear throughout. Four different guitar players, three drummers, three bass players, two harmonicas, one piano, percussion, five backing vocalists and a brass section, phew! It sounds like every one of them is involved on King Of Crazy Town and all I can say is they gel well together. The mix from Indianola a wonderful gospel/bluesy number to You Ain’t Fun No More is just divine, songbook story telling at its best, with Bills vocals growling like a wounded mountain lion. Eleven, mighty fine, tracks sown together like grandmas embroidered tablecloth, only brought out of the cupboard when company comes around for dinner and you want to impress them. Impressed I was.

DAVEY WATSON WITH THE ULSTER ORCHESTRA

LIVE AT THE ULSTER HALL

Beech Grove Records

and the forward-looking Ulster Orchestra. The DVD is equally good, showing musicians at the top of their game, with very little in the way of flashy video film-making.

BEN MCNAIR

NICO & THE FRESHTONES

NICO & THE FRESHTONES

Electric George Records

With the full might of the Ulster Orchestra behind him, the acoustic singer songwriter and musician Davy Watson is able to find new sonic colours for his songs on this surprisingly intimate recording, recorded live. His gruff voice, and filigree acoustic guitar has elements of all of the finest blues singers, particularly on the opening track Only Love, which at times sounds like mid period Pink Floyd, with pageant Acoustic guitar. You Take My Blues Away makes excellent use of the Orchestra, with brass parts keeping the rhythm, and the strings adding a new dimension. One World? Is a slower piece, that makes much use of the woodwind section, and a stirring rendition of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by The Eurythmics features the electric guitar of Paul Sherry. Just the Way You Are starts with a pleasing Orchestral flourish, and some heartfelt singing, while Coming Home is dedicated to anyone who finds themselves far from home. The House of Love is a light funk piece, that even quotes from Paul Rodgers A Little Bit Of Love. This is a fine document of an evening that showcases the talents of Davy Watson as a writer, performer and singer,

Rock, blues, roots music it’s all here on a powerful eleven track debut by this Lyon based four-piece band. Led by the empirical Nico Chona on vocals and lead guitar, he is joined on bass by Dan Nambotin, guitarist Joris Perrin and drummer Nicholas Gamet.They play lots of music styles and have their roots firmly in the blues rock of say Cream and early ZZ Top, but very creative also. One cover is the distorted Hambone Willie Newbern’s Rolling And Tumbling. The opener, Wheels Of Obsession ebbs and flows with boogie riffs and a great rhythm section. Run, has a blistering guitar riff by Nico, with a Delta groove. Screen Boy, keeps up the tempo, a warning to kids who would rather look at computers than join in the fun outside. Again And Again is a slower acoustic number that

verges towards folky influences, very different pace. This feeling continues on The Heat with a strong harmonious chorus, then rockier take at the end. Black Sky Man starts with a car having difficulty revving, the song gathers apace to a Texan boogie beat. Hello, takes us back to acoustic Delta blues. The Winning Wind is a real grower of a ballad. Goldtop Sunday Blues has driving tones a true highlight. Last track is Catalin Crest, another slow ballad that comes to a driving crescendo. Well-crafted songs, good harmonies and a tight band, this is music that is familiar but with a distinct twist, very distinctive.

COLIN CAMPBELL

CHRIS SHUTTERS with JIMMY BURNS

GOOD GONE BAD

Third Street Cigar Records

This record almost never happened, but the origins of the story go back over a decade when a younger Chris Shutters had put his name down to play one song at Buddy Guys Open mike night, hosted by Blues guitarist from the early years, Jimmy Burns. Chris played two songs and Jimmy was so impressed that he had Chris stay up on stage with

CHAMELEON

ZOE SCHWARZ BLUE COMMOTION

33 RECORDS

This sixth studio album comprising 12 original and diverse tracks continues the band’s inexorable rise to the top after nearly a decade of building a loyal fan base, touring extensively and writing and recording songs of increasingly sublime, melodic and technical virtuosity. Life Goes On is a jaunty, catchy opener, Zoe’s voice sounding like no one other than Zoe Schwarz such is her unique formula of classical, jazz, blues and every other genre she has absorbed into her heart and creative imagination. The brass section is unleashed on Better Days, the chameleon’s now husky voice leading its crescendos. The jazz infused guitar and Hammond solos on If Only I Could Be With You complement the impeccable vocal range, phrasing and timing. Starting with a whisper, Zoe stretches her vocal chords to the limit as the mood changes dramatically during Hello My Old Friend. By contrast, the up tempo Give Me

The Key to Your Heart bounces along nicely courtesy of Rob Koral’s dazzling guitar work. Zoe’s voice soars gracefully above the intricate, tasteful guitar and keys on the balladic I’ll Be Here For You. The deep well of blues tradition is never far from the surface so When The Blues Come A Knocking, Rob’s searing guitar shares centre stage with Zoe’s edgy lyrical delivery. Amazon Woman is the ultimate road warrior song for the ‘super hero’ at the centre of this apocalyptic maelstrom, Pete Whittaker’s swirling Hammond, Rob’s slash and burn axe and Paul Robinson’s pulsating percussion generating the pyrotechnics. I Cry Just To Think Of It is a tribute to the magnificent arrangements which permeate the CD, Patrick Hayes’ trombone and the tenor sax of Ian Ellis in perfect synchronization with the rest of the band driving towards its climactic finale. Chameleon is the best word to describe Tell Me, Zoe’s voice now possessing an almost child like quality before changing to the coolly sensual tones of Come And Lay With Me, its calming, atmospheric keys enhancing the vibe. A breathtaking end to a ground breaking album.

THE BISHOP

him for the rest of the evening, and afterwards they swapped memories and stories and of course phone numbers and they parted ways thinking that was a great night. And that’s where it almost ended until Chris was thinking back to that night and how could he recreate it, and on a whim he contacted Jimmy, to cut a long story short, they got together and agreed to record some Blues and here is what they came up with; 10 original blues tracks, seven by Chris and 3 by Jimmy, and each sang their own vocals on their own songs, only joining together to sing Good Gone bad, the title song. Well let me tell you that is nothing gone bad on this album, its great Blues in several styles from the Delta to a touch of Hendrix, some Philly style soul and even a tip of the hat towards country, in other words something for everyone, so all I can say is don’t wait another ten years.!

DAVE STONE

BROOKS WILLIAMS WORK MY CLAIM

Red Guitar Blue Music

Statesboro born, Cambridge based folk, Americana and country blues singer, songwriter and guitarist Brooks Williams

Our name says it all!

celebrates 30 years as a musician with his 29th album. One of the hardest working troubadours in the business, Brooks has re-recorded12 tracks from his extensive back catalogue with his favourite musicians and given them fresh interpretations. A bracing scene is set with Inland Sailor the title of the 1994 album which kick started his career. The expressive, poetic lyrics of his original songs would in time become a trademark. Brooks paints a picture in words of the dramatic movement of the wind, the turbulent waves beneath his feet and the haunting cry of the gulls. It was Dave Alvin who penned the timeless classic, King Of California but by the time Brooks recorded it in 2013 he was able to make it his own, this latest version taking the song to a new level with the ethereal backing of Jim Henry’s mandolin and the fiddles of Aaron Catlow and John McCusker. Williams has gained a considerable reputation as a consummate storyteller, none more so than on Frank Delandry the New Orleans guitarist who died in mysterious circumstances. The contrasting light and shade of Brooks’ voice and guitar maximizes the suspense of this engaging tale. Williams was still establishing his blues credentials in 1995 when Knife Edge was released featuring the old Doc Watson track, You Don’t Know My Mind with Ralf Grottian’s harmonica interludes adding style and authenticity. Brooks proves he can write contemporary blues songs such as Here Comes The Blues enhanced by the exquisite vocal harmonies of Christine Collister and Phil Richardson’s inspired piano contributions. Jump That Train is a fine addition to the

repertoire of memorable train songs in blues history thanks to Brooks’ brilliant slide guitar and powerful vocal duet with Christine. Whatever It Takes is transformed from a tear-jerking ballad on the 2018 Lucky Star to a ragtime infused emphatic love song, such is Williams’ skill in writing several different melodies to the same set. Work My Claim is so much more than an album; it is a career-defining statement, an important legacy and a lifetime achievement.

THE BISHOP

DOMINIC SCHOEMAKER & BOB STROGER THE SOUNDFARM SESSION

Independent

lick-based lead work and the walking bass lines of Chicago’s Bob Stroger, propped up by some respectable slide on three tunes from guest sideman Eddie Neese. You’d have thought it impossible to inject freshness to such shop-worn material as Magic Sam’s I Just Want A Little Bit, Big Bill Broonzy’s I Feel So Good, Memphis Slim’s Everyday I Have The Blues and Count Basie’s Goin’ To Chicago Blues, but somehow these guys did it. Stroger claims writing credits for Talk To Me Mama, a modernised Jimmy Reed 12-bar boogie, as well Blind Man Blues, which is a knock-off of Albert King’s Oh Pretty Woman, featuring a Manzarek-style keys solo from Chris Heule. But hey, you like Reed, King and the Doors, or you wouldn’t be reading this magazine, would you? The CD is also notable for cross-cultural collaboration, result from the friendship young and white Schoemaker struck up with old and black Stroger in a Lucerne blues bar some years back, despite a seven-decade age difference. One to check out.

At first sight, it all looks decidedly unpromising. A six-track Swiss self-release put out by two buddies, featuring four covers of songs that will already number in the collections of most hardened blues fans in several versions, and two so closely modelled on classics that they might as well do. And all done in a single day in the studio. But the day is 100% saved by guitarist Dominic Schoemaker’s fine old school

DAVID OSLER MR

Mr H is a Welsh singer/songwriter who has produced eight albums since he returned to music in 2008, following a period of disillusionment with the music industry. Prior to that he performed both in London and his native Wales and states that Tom Waits is his musical hero. Not being familiar with his previous albums I can only comment on this release, a melodic disc, very much in Americana rock style, the obvious reference point is Dire Straits and H sings in the same sort of gruff style as Mark Knopfler. All the songs here are originals with H on guitar and vocals and the splendidly named Basher Jarret on drums. Bass and keyboards are added by John David or Chris Tew who plays on the two tracks on which H’s daughter Layla sings. The title track comes from a birthday card from Layla that read “It’s never too late to be a Rock n’ Roll star” and it’s a bouncing piece of feel-good music that casts a self-deprecating look at the ageing process but it is not the only catchy tune here ,check out rousing opener Come Back Annie or Ride The Wind which builds nicely to deliver a good chorus. Layla takes the lead on War Game which adds sweeping synth strings to the chorus of a moody tune and sings backing vocals on Leather Jacket, another commentary on H’s music career. Several tracks are more acoustically based before the album closes with a good pair of songs: a jaunty piece of folk-rock, Homeless describes preferring living on the streets to living with someone you no longer care for and H closes the album in fine style with an anthemic tribute to his native country, “I will fight to see the dragon raised for this land we call Wales”. Not much that could

be described as ‘blues’ here but some very attractive tunes to enjoy.

JOHN MITCHELL

AL GOLD AL GOLD’S PARADISE

Independent

Whilst Al Gold says this is not a Blues album, it would be difficult to argue that it isn’t, with an extremely heavily influenced content. The opening track That’s My Baby is inspired by his wife Mary, with Otis Spann and Danny Kirwan as musical inspirations. Interesting because I can hear plenty of the early Fleetwood Mac throughout this release. Al is a resident of Asbury Park (Paradise), New Jersey I believe, and wrote some tunes that he decided to record with “a few friends”, incorporating keyboards, sax and harmonica as well as the standard group instrumentation. He plays guitars, mandolin and sings, and his vocal possesses a rasp of its’ own that makes it sound like an authentic Blues voice, portraying a history of its own. All ten songs are originals and have a story to tell. Tramps Take Linden is a story of how a group of tramps took the train to Linden and terrorised the town through the night,

disappearing before dawn. This happened in 1893. Rambling Pony Blues is a short autobiography with a borrowed slide solo from Peter Green. The song Paradise appears twice, one as a Downhome version, the second labelled Uptown. The difference being the tempo and overall style of the song. Downhome is a slow, melancholy version with double bass and harmonica accompaniment whereas the Uptown version is a much more jazzed up style. Al’s guitar sounds very much like BB King’s and with two renowned jazz musicians, Jared Gold on the Hammond B3 and Dave Stryker on guitar, this track probably reflects Paradise as it is today. To quote Al, “...it’s where we live, Paradise, New Jersey”. Personal favourite here is Won’t Sleep Tonight which has a haunting, muted guitar intro to a slow Blues. Al hits both the highs and lows of this tune through his guitar, making his playing very emotive and enjoyable, allowing the listener to feel the sentiment that this song embodies.

MERV OSBORNE

FIERCE FLOWERS MIRADOR Celebration Days

I confess that I was not even aware that there is an old-timey music scene in Paris (France, just

Our name says it all!

to clarify), but I am now assured that there is, and what’s more, that’s where this female threepiece group made its reputation. They do their own take on the Americana sound so well that it has been championed on the other side of the Atlantic, those blinkers have well and truly disappeared. Then again, having listened to this set several times, that comes as no great surprise. Fierce Flowers have a sound honed in the Appalachians, based on the deep well of American folksong and with bluegrass touches, with archaic banjo lines, and fine fiddle (sometimes tending to a gipsyjazz approach). These are both supplied by Julia Zech, complementing the guitar work of Léo Divary and with the upright bass playing of Shushan Kerovpyan underpinning everything, all three sing. Given that success in the States, it is perhaps even more surprising to learn that some songs are sung in French, but the ensemble vocals sometimes recall the approach of Bill Monroe et al, at other times the gospel quartet style – try Tell Me Lies for a classic southern sound, or the acapella Deux Pierres Noires for a good example of the latter, with its melody related to Rock Of Ages. Then there is Belle Paresse that sounds like a French chanson but with a rootsy accompaniment and there’s a Spanish tinge in the guitar work too. For a strictly traditional sound, try the hoedown-ish Scène De Danse. Not blues as such then, but as with the rest of this very pleasing album, strong and deeply-rooted Americana, certain to appeal to plenty of readers.

NORMAN DARWEN

FILLMORE SLIM SON OF THE SEVEN SISTERS

Reverbnation

some true blues authenticity and a well-produced album to boot, Son of The Seven Sister is it. Highly enjoyable.

ROY BAINTON

WILDMEN BLUESBAND WILDLIFE

Indieplant

New Orleans. Voodoo. The mysterious Seven Sisters who lived in bamboo huts across in Algiers. It’s all here. Clarence Sims was born in Baton Rouge in 1934, and as Fillmore Slim he purveys a product steeped in eight decades of swampy blues mystery. This is a lively, kicking album with a fine band backing a man who, among other plaudits, has become known as the Godfather of Hip Hop. And he’s in the Black Music Hall of Fame. The track I’m Broke is a classic rolling blues with Slim taking time off the singing to tell us the problems he has with his woman who goes shopping too much. I’m a Playboy is a real journey into southern funk “I’m a heart breaker, I’m a money taker, I’m a playboy. You’d better believe it. The slow Last Night, with its rumbling piano and serious harmonica, is as solid gold urban blues as you could wish for and Fast Gun Annie is infused with New Orleans honey and humour. Just to remind you what a consummate bluesman he is, he rounds off this collection with Little Bluebird with those amazingly strong vocals and tasty guitar. If you’re in need of

The Wildmen Bluesband is a quintet from the small town of Boxtel, just north of Eindhoven, Holland. They comprise of Saskia de Nijs on vocals, Jos de Wilde on Guitars, Ruud Vuijk on keyboards, Mark van Lieshout on Bass and Rob Meijran on Drums. This is their third offering and in CD form comes with a very pretty watercolour of the band on the disc itself. Their previous CD It’s Freezing In My Heart contained only one original song, but this one contains just the one cover and nine originals. The cover is a version of Leon Russell and Chuck Blackwell’s Boogie Man, originally released in 1973 by Freddie King. (Just how well the song transfers from the first person to the third person is open to question.) The remaining nine self-penned numbers cover a range of blues styles. The opener, Good Friend, is a Statesboro’ Blues style song with

some nice electric slide. Cryin’ is a slow blues number with a minimalist piano accompaniment. Devil begins with swirling organ and a slow descending bass line and has some fiery guitar work to punctuate the pleading vocals. Make The Best Of It is an attempt to go funky with the inclusion of clavinet style keyboards (à la Stevie Wonder, Superstition) and is probably more suited to a slow waltz rather than funky gettingon-down. One Forever heads off down a jazzy road, which is particularly emphasised by the style and clarity of the vocals. Texas Rumble has an Indian drumbeat intro and a fretless bass accompaniment and has the unfortunate sound of a guitar backing track, even when the vocals appear in a “Diving Duck” style song. At 9 minutes, it certainly has a certain hypnotic quality. Tinderman is a broken relationship/suspicious minds type number based around something called Tinder, whatever that may be. Complications arise when we learn that the lady singer finds lipstick on her husband’s “blouse”. I was definitely confused. The whole CD is very competent, but would benefit from The Wildmen living up to their name and really letting their wild side out.

STEVE BANKS

JAKE CURTIS BLUES BAND TALES FROM THE SOUTH SIDE

Blue Lotus Records

Jake Curtis was a new name to me and it’s difficult to find out much information on line except that the band hail from St Louis and Jake was hooked on blues from the age of 7 after hearing John Mayall. This is a very good album of hard-edged urban blues. Basically, the band are a three piece with Jake joined by Dylan Roussal (bass) and Juan Abair (drums) with some Hammond added by Paul Niehaus IV who also produced the record with Jake. It’s all pretty straight-ahead Chicago blues but done with true feeling and some aplomb. Let Me Whisper In Your Ear and I Need Love are super original compositions and start the album either side of the Slim Harpo song Kingbee. It really works well; you could easily be in a late-night

bar on the South Side drinking in the atmosphere. We get a lovely slow-paced shuffle then, the almost 7 minute What Am I Supposed To Do. The perfect follow up comes next Iodine And Antifreeze, an updated version of Iodine In My Coffee. All slide and boogie with more than a hint of John Lee Hooker in the vocals, wonderful stuff. Another change of pace for Leaving In The Morning, ethereal guitar playing wrapped around the plaintive vocal, never rushed but leaving enough time and space for some sublime soloing. Three covers bring the album to a close, starting with a keys lead version of Jumping Jack Flash, slightly slowed down tempo and almost spoken lyrics making this different enough from the Stones to draw you in. Then it’s If The River Was Whiskey, sounds like a resonator guitar on this and vocally reminding me of George Thorogood on One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer. The grand finale is All Along The Watchtower, staying a fairly faithful to the Hendrix version with lots of great controlled guitar shredding going on. All in all, this is a very enjoyable album that won’t change the world but recorded by guys who understand and are passionate about blues music. It’s one that I’ll be playing more and is recommended.

BOOK REVIEW 50 WOMEN IN THE BLUES

Authors: Jennifer Noble (Chicago Blues Hall of Fame Inductee and Music Photographer) and Zoe Howe (Writer, Artist and Musician).

I found this book to be an empowering read. From the founding women of blues, to present day blues women, 50 Women In The Blues explores not only the fantastic music these women have made, but also the obstacles they have overcome. Each woman in this book inspired me in their own way.

The opening section of the book pays homage to women in blues history. Co-author Zoe Howe educates the reader on how Sister Rosetta was the first musician to use heavy distortion on her guitar, how Big Mama Thornton played with gender stereotypes, as well as sharing heart-breaking facts such as how Etta James’ vocal coach “subjected her to physical abuse to strengthen and deepen her vocals.” The main bulk of the book however is a collection of interviews conducted by Jennifer Noble, giving the reader a delightful insight into the lives of blues women today. What sets 50 Woman

Of The Blues apart are Noble’s well-chosen questions and the gems of wisdom shared by the artists.

When asked about the importance of understanding the business side of the industry for example, Irma Thomas replies “Yes, I have a two-year degree in business – I now know how

to negotiate my contracts to my benefit.”

British Blues Lady Kyla Brox discusses the challenge of “balancing motherhood with performing” – and has made it work!

Texan blues artist Ruthie Foster explains how “any situation concerning ageism, sexism, or racism” becomes “an opportunity to educate. You teach people how to treat you.”

And so, we - the reader, become inspired not just by the musical talent of the blues ladies, but also their resilience, emotional strength, wisdom, intelligence, and ability to break free of the traditional stereotypes of what a woman should be.

With Jennifer Noble’s music photography accompanying each interview, I’d recommend this well-crafted book for any blues lover.

- Dani Wilde

TAKE IT OFF

SHOWTIME! THE BM! ROUND-UP OF LIVE BLUES

RUBY TURNER

Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London

January 28th 2020

When Ruby announced her arrival on the UK music scene in 1986 with her first solo album, which included a sensational version of the Etta James classic, I’d Rather Go Blind, it looked as if a career in the blues beckoned. Indeed, Turner joined the blues-jazz Indigo Recording label in the 90s, and released two blues albums. However, most of her career since then has focused on soul, gospel and R&B until she launched her 20th album Love Was Here and revisited her blues roots.

Turner and her four-piece band opened with the mid-tempo, jazz-infused, coolly sensuous On The Defence from her Responsible album, providing an early opportunity for the musicians to show their versatility. The jaunty Got To Be Done was the first song from the highly acclaimed Love Was Here, tumultuous applause reflecting the appreciation for this special album. Anger and frustration were evident in Turner’s voice on A Better Way as she warned about history repeating itself. Also from the new album, the equally powerful Won’t Give You My Heart To

Break continued the defiant mood before Ruby introduced the title track, Love Was Here, a masterpiece destined to achieve even greater recognition than Ruby’s other many revered songs because of its poignant lyrics and outpouring of emotions culminating in a heart wrenching, a cappella finale which reduced many fans to tears. Stay With Me Baby had a quiet introduction preceding increasingly piercing

vocals as Ruby reached full throttle in a spectacular cadenza of raw despair and exhilaration.

Al MacSween opened the second set with a virtuosic piano introduction to a reworking of That’s My Desire, 19 years after Ruby had recorded the song for A Streetcar Named Desire in which she starred as an actress; her vocals captured perfectly the retro feel of the 1940s. Blow Top Blues brought the blues to the forefront although that genre was never too far from the surface tonight especially with a guitarist of Nick Marland’s stature, his bluesy licks and nimble fingers reminiscent of Jeff Beck’s playing style. It was back to the latest album with the compelling harmonies and infectious rhythms of Runaway, the nostalgic yearning for the Caribbean on Under Your Sky and the hard driving, rocking Time Of Your Life. The tour de force was the emotive beauty of I’d Rather Go Blind, the muffled sound of audience sobs again rising above the otherwise eerie silence. It was extraordinary to witness a performer who lives and breathes each song, never loses the pure joy of singing and, above all, serves the music she loves.

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND

Wembley Arena

Sat 1st February

Words: Stephen Harrison

Pictures: Erik Damian

The Wembley SSE is the second largest indoor arena in London after the O2. Its capacity is 12,500. It was first built in 1933 to host The British Empire Games the following year. The original name was The Empire Pool but that finished in 1978. A great many bands have performed in this iconic arena over the years including, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Genesis, and The Eagles to name but a few. Tonight’s musical delight featured Blackberry Smoke, and the awesome Tedeschi Trucks Band. I’ve not seen either of these bands before so I was eagerly awaiting the gig to start. Blackberry Smoke took

to the stage to a very receptive audience treating us to a few songs from their 2018 album Find A Light. This band have walked through the door that was kicked open years ago by The Eagles, Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. But don’t think they are just going through the motions, far from it. These guys bring their own drinks to the table. The set was concluded with a blistering rendition of When The Levee Breaks. The it was the turn of Tedeschi Trucks Band to continue the evening’s musical delight. Opening the set with the title track of their latest release, Signs which came out in 2019. Tedeschi Trucks, for those of you that are not familiar with them are a band made up of lead singer/ songwriter Susan Tedeschi and her guitar playing husband Derek Trucks. Along with these two mainstays of the band there is also a six-piece horn section as well as five other top-class musicians that simple enthuse gospel/funk/soul and blues as good as anyone on the planet right now. Every song that this band delivered was just

so sweet and pure that at times during the performance it was like sitting in a place of worship. Continuing through the set with songs such as The Letter and Life Is Crazy before treating us to another couple of tunes from Signs, Hard Case and Shame. In between these though was a stunning version of Bell Bottom Blues that literally had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up for what seemed like an eternity. Towards the end of the show the band gave us probably their signature tune in shape of Midnight In Harlem. All through the show the vocal talents of Susan Tedeschi, and slide guitar talents of Derek Trucks, shone through so brightly but this was the cherry on top the cake. Simply superb musicianship from the whole ensemble. But we were treated to one final piece of blues magic and craftsmanship in the shape of Key To The Highway. What a stunning rendition. One encore saw the band leave the stage for the final time. I felt blessed to be in the company of such awesome blues musicians.

THE THRILL IS NOT GONE!!

B.B. King was a legend and so, before I talk about this amazing tribute concert honoring The King of the Blues, I want to give a quick history of the man himself.

Words: Bruce Alexander

Pictures: Arnie Goodman

B.B. King was born Riley B. King on a plantation in Itta Bena, Mississippi, near Indianola, on September 16, 1925, and passed away in his sleep on May 14, 2015. He was considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. He was inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and into The Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2008. B.B. was inducted into The Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and had earned a Grammy in 1970 for the never to be overlooked song The Thrill Is Gone. He opened up a few highly

regarded B.B. King Blues Clubs, including one in Times Square, New York, in 2000.

He won sixteen awards during his career and recorded over fortyfour studio albums. His long and notable recording career started in the 1940’s. In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at number six on the list of the 100 greatest guitarists. B.B. was also an opening act for The Rolling Stones in 1969. His first break came in 1948 when he performed on The Sonny Boy Williamson radio show program on KWEW. He worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey and was given the nickname Beale Street Blues Boy, which was shortened to Blues Boy and finally B.B. as he was part of the blues scene on Beale St. And, lastly, his famous guitar Lucille was named after an incident in which two men got into a fight in a dance hall in Arkansas and knocked over a stove, setting

the dance hall on fire, and B.B. ran back in to retrieve his guitar, only just escaping death. He later found out that these men were fighting over a girl named Lucille.

The Thrill Is Gone concert was produced by Keith Wortman of Blackbird Presents in partnership with The B.B. King Estate and Peter Shapiro, owner of The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY.

“This was a once in a lifetime event, celebrating my good friend B.B. King,” said drummer and event co-producer Tony TC Colman.

To see these amazing musicians performing hits from The King is a dream come true. The event was created with the help of The Blackbird Foundation to benefit The Seva Foundation, a global non-profit eye care organization that transforms and restores sight and prevents blindness. The Seva Foundation was co-founded by

Wavy Gravy, a close friend of B.B. for over 40 years.

It was fitting that Wavy Gravy came out to make the introductions and announced some of the performers, including MC Tony Coleman and his band. Tony is not only B.B.’s drummer, but also a master stomper.

The set started with BB’s Theme followed by You Upset Me Baby, the latter being what B.B. said to the ladies at his concerts, according to Coleman. Some highlights came as Bobby Rush, in his shining white suit and with his soulful voice and funky dance moves, belted out Chicken Heads. For an ‘older’ man, he still has that mojo going and just keeps on proving it.

B.B.’s granddaughter came out to sing Hummingbird with an intense, gripping voice that wowed the crowd. Next up was Little Steven, who’s no stranger to being, an expert on music, with his syndicated radio show Underground Garage being the most diverse radio show around. He came out dressed in multi-colored threads and sang a killer version of, Let The Good Times Roll. He was followed by another New Jersey legend, Southside Johnny, who did a cool take on Beautician Blues. Then we were treated to the dynamic duo of Ivan Neville on vocals and keys, and blues guitar master John Scofield performing Never Make Your Move Too Soon.

Then out came this young brother Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram who blew me away as he tore up the guitar on Why I Sing The Blues. This kid is the next big thing to watch out for in the blues world. The incredible Jimmy Vaughn did a rip roaring take on Please Love Me and I Woke Up This Morning while the legendary Soul singer and songwriter William Bell

came on next, lending his smooth vocals to Blue Shadows and Ain’t Nobody Home.

The first part of the set ended with Shemekia Copeland performing Pay The Cost To Be The Boss and Stormy Monday.

The second half of the tribute kicked off with guitar master Jamey Johnson shredding takes on The Night Life and Riding With The King.

We were then very lucky to get the superb duo of married couple Derek and Susan Tedeschi of The Tedeschi Trucks Band. They mixed up 3 O’Clock Blues and You Don’t Know into a rambling, electrifying showdown. If that wasn’t enough, Warren Haynes ripped up his intense soaring guitar riffs to How Blue Can You Get.

Well, he got that going for sure! Robert Randolph, a fairly new guitarist on the scene, was out there proving he can cut it with the best of them as he tore through Don’t Cry No More and Ghetto Woman.

bluesy voice and hard-rocking screaming tone. She brought down the house as people danced away the night.

But it was Buddy Guy that everyone was waiting to see. He is the last of the line of the old-time blues musicians keeping the torch burning strongly and, at over 80 years old, there’s no slowing him down. He took his guitar and wailed into a fierce version of It’s My Fault.

All too soon it was time for the final two encores. Everyone came out to perform with Buddy leading the way to B.B. King’s most famous song, The Thrill Is Gone, and Every Day I Have The Blues.

The five-hour long show was great, it could have gone on with the emotional tributes flowing through his music. The thrill is certainly not gone.

Thank you, Riley B. King, your work, your songs and memory will live on and on!

didn’t

Robert Cray is keeping the blues scene alive and tours regularly. He didn’t disappoint as he played some mean hitting riffs to, I like To Live The Love, and Troubles, Troubles, Troubles as only he does.

Ann Wilson, lead singer of the band Heart, was next. She came out dressed in wild clothes and took the songs You Shook Me and When Love Came To Town and made them her own with her amazing

GUITAR KING MICHAEL LIFEBLOOMFIELD’S IN THE BLUES DAVID DANN

Guitar King Michael Bloomfield’s Life in the Blues

BY DAVID DANN

This first comprehensive biography of the late, great Michael Bloomfield brings to life a dazzling electric-guitar virtuoso who transformed rock ’n’ roll in the 1960s and made a lasting impact on the blues genre.

Hardcover $39.95