Jazz & Blues Florida October 2022

BLUES

ROCKER

OCTOBER 9

CENTER BAR

BONITA SPRINGS

OCTOBER 10 solo

FUNKY BISCUIT BOCA RATON

OCTOBER 14

BARREL ROOM FORT MYERS

OCTOBER 15

SKIPPERS SMOKEHOUSE TAMPA

OCTOBER 16

BIG TOP BREWING SARASOTA

OCTOBER 21

ARTS GARAGE DELRAY BEACH

OCTOBER 23

EARL’ S HIDEAWAY SEBASTIAN

OCTOBER 2

ENGLEWOOD’S ON DEARBORN ENGLEWOOD

OCTOBER 28

COTTONMOUTH

SOUL KITCHEN BRADENTON

OCTOBER 29

LITTLE BAR GOODLAND

NOVEMBER 4

MARTINIS

PORT CHARLOTTE

NOVEMBER 5

RED STAR

TAMPA

ELIZA

She always honors the gut-wrenching, soul splitting intent the American roots of contemporary blues represents with inspired songwriting, live performances, and… well… magic. Original compositions have garnered Neals a 2018 Detroit Black Music Award for “Blues Artist of the Year,” and five Detroit Music Awards.

She also boasts a total of 17 Independent Blues Awards nomination, along with Get Ready To Rock UK’s glowing Best Artist awards in five categories.

Neals started out singing and performing with her sisters, but after being told “you have to get a degree to live under this roof,” she chose Opera studies and graduated from Detroit’s Wayne State University (WSU) with a Bachelor of Arts degree, minor in piano. Touring with WSU concert chorale in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium and UK’s Glastonbury as a mezzo soprano opera singer was thrilling, but it wasn’t enough. Back in Detroit sitting in and performing at clubs, Neals honed her voice, signature style and piano chops. A chance meeting with Motown Legend Barrett Strong Jr. (architect of standards including “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” and others) led him signing her to his record label, where she learned to produce and arrange in his multi-million dollar studio. The two have become close longtime friends, and Neals is credited as co-songwriter and co-producer on Strong’s latest album, Stronghold II.

A 2008 relocation to New York City led an invigorated Neals to conceive No Frogs for Snakes while regularly selling out her live shows. She claims the Big Apple honed her unique sound with new energy, honesty, integrity and passion.

SIRIUS radio’s B.B. King’s Bluesville has had Eliza Neals in rotation since she literally broke onto the national blues scene with her incendiary 2015 release Breaking and Entering

After starting 2017 at No. 2 on the Roots Music Report Blues-Rock radio chart and No. 6 on Rack-O-Blues/B.B. King’s Bluesville, 10,000 Feet Below landed on many year-end best-of lists, finishing the year at No. 14 on the Blues-Rock chart and No. 41 on the Blues chart.

Her last album, Black Crow Moan reached No. 9 on the program’s Rack-of-Blues in 2020. The song “Sugar Daddy” reached No. 5, remained on the chart for 12 weeks, and finished at No. 12 in the Top 15 Blues Songs of 2021 on their

With an unconditional passion to give the blues everything she’s got, Detroit-born Eliza Neals is a blues-rock star on the rise.

ELIZA NEALS

year-end list. For the album, she enlisted friends and legends in their own right, like Joe Louis Walker on two tracks, and Derek St. Holmes providing guitar work on three.

Now, after a two-year hiatus, Neals is back with Badder to the Bone. Featuring Texas Hot Sauce guitarist Lance Lopez and Detroit Hall of Fame guitarist Billy ‘JC’ Davis, the album delivers another tasty serving of Neals signature modern blues-rock. The single “Queen of the Nile” reached No. 5, with more to come. She tours extensively and brings her full force of energy to the stage whether at a huge festival or small club. She always draws top-level guests to her stage and invitations for her to join others at their shows, performing or opening for such legendary musicians as

George Clinton, The Four Tops, Mike Zito, Walter Trout, Albert Castiglia, Victor Wainwright, and Blues Foundation HOF bluesman Joe Louis Walker, among many others. Over years of playing the “A” list of festivals and venues across the U.S., Caribbean and Europe, Neals has become a respected voice for the current movement for increased awareness, respect and equality of women’s contribution to the blues scene. Her participation in Women in Blues Showcases establishes the rock-edge boundary of the various styles presented.

While her radio charting and press are phe nomenal, the real evidence can only be expe rienced by seeing Neals perform live, with an energy matched in its impressiveness only by her keyboard mastery and four-octave vocal range. More at elizaneals.com.

w/THE

OCTOBER

Cheryl Bentyne

While much of the world knows Cheryl Bentyne as one-quarter of the multi-Grammy-winning Manhattan Transfer, this compelling vocalist has a story all her own - one that includes a solo career that encompasses a variety of musical styles. After high school, she joined a regional group called The New Deal Rhythm Band, combining campy comedy numbers with improvisation and “theatrical” swing, and within months she moved to Los Angeles and was booked regularly at clubs. In 1979, The Manhattan Transfer was looking to replace the departing Lauren Masse, and Bentyne landed the job. Her vocal contribution that was immediate and decisive: The Manhattan Transfer won its first Grammy, for “Birdland” from the 1979 album Extensions (Best Jazz Fusion Performance). Since then, the Transfer has scored ten more Grammys, and celebrates its 50th anniver sary this year. Bentyne also won a Grammy (which she shares with Bobby McFerrin) for her arrangement of “Another Night In Tunisia” (on Vocalese). She wrote and co-wrote tracks for the Transfer’s 1992 release, The Offbeat of Avenues, including the Grammy winning “Sassy.” But Bentyne has main tained a solid solo career separate and apart from her work with the world-fa mous vocal quartet. Her 1992 solo debut album, Something Cool, is a tribute to June Christy and other jazz singers of the 1950s. It’s been followed by numerous other releases, leading to her most recent, 2018’s Eastern Stan dard Time with Mark Winkler. This year she developed her own show that ran at The Purple Room in Palm Springs, CA. Find her on Facebook.

LYRIC

OCTOBER 2

CROS

OCTOBER

Former bassist for Lucky Peterson and Grammy winner James Cotton, Charles ‘Cros’ Mack has shared the stage with a long list of accomplished blues artists –Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, James Brown, B.B. King, Mavis Staples, Bernard Allison, Johnny Winter, Jimmy Johnson, Kenny Neal, Mark Hummel – along with alt-rock group Inflatable Soule and rap group Cypress Hill. Growing up in Chicago in a family of blues musicians, Mack be came interested in music at age three. He started with the piano, then moved on to the acoustic guitar in elementa ry school. After playing the tuba in his high school and college marching bands, Mack sang and played the bass, tuba, euphonium, trombone, bugle and guitar in Navy and the Army National Guard bands. The stage name “Cros” refers to his father’s name and the crossroads in his life following the deaths of his mother, niece and brother. “I hit the lowest of the low in my life,” he explains. “I was at that crossroads. I ended up taking the higher of the two and kept pushing.” With the hard work of four albums behind him, Mack recently took second place in the 2022 International Blues Challenge, after winning the Phoenix Blues Society’s Blues Challenge in 2018, 2019 and 2021. His latest single, “Touch” was released in April, and he’s working on a new blues collection, with plans to follow it with mixed-genre release. More at cros.rocks

OCTOBER

CLUB

GILL DAWG

RICHEY

FORGOTTEN

MUSIC FESTIVAL

PORT ST JOE

Curtis Lundy

An accomplished bassist dedicated to carry ing on the jazz tradition, Curtis Lundy began his musical career in the All Miami Youth Jazz Band. At the University of Miami, he was classically trained under the tutelage of renowned bassist Dr. Lucas Drew, and also studied privately with Cecil McBee, Linda McKnight, Rufus Reid, Jaco Pastorius and Ron Carter. Over the course of his career, Lundy has performed with an impressive list of musical wizards including Art Blakey, Pharoah Sanders, and Dizzy Gillespie. Numerous well-received musical engage ments have taken Lundy on tours throughout Europe, South America, Japan, the West Indies, Africa, and every major city in North America. Notable pairings include six albums with Betty Carter, seven with his sister Carmen Lundy, and 11 with Bobby Watson. The Lundy-Watson connection goes back decades, and continues to this day on 2020’s Keepin’ It Real. Lundy’s most recent release is 2022’s It’s About Time with Ralph Peterson and Orrin Evans. Lundy has performed in three plays by Sam Sheppard, and the Fats Waller musical Ain’t Misbehavin’. Highly regarded for his robust, lyrical, ‘lead from the front’ approach to the acoustic bass, Lundy is one of the most sought-after bassists on the modern jazz scene. He is also currently working with the internationallyknown acapella ARC Gospel Choir, as Business Manager and Choir Director. This appearance is part of the 12th An nual South Florida Jazz Hall of Fame event, of which he is a current-year inductee. More at curtislundy.net

SANDRELL RIVERS THEATER MIAMI

Johnny Sansone

Though a young Johnny Sansone had already picked up the harmonica, sax and guitar by age ten, he had a life-changing experience at 12 when he saw a Howlin’ Wolf show. Now destined to play the blues as his lifetime vocation, Sansone learned from the likes of Honeyboy Edwards, James Cotton and Jr. Wells. In the 1980s he toured with Ronnie Earl, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Rodgers. As leader of Jumpin’ Johnny & the Blues Party, Sansone played harmonica and guitar in the fierce Mississippi delta blues style heard on his 1987 debut Where Y’at?. Living in New Orleans brought a swamp rock tinge, and Sansone added accordion to his repertoire, showcased on 1996’s award-winning Crescent City Moon Forced from his home by Katrina, Sansone went on tour with the Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, developing a strong friendship with fellow VOW member Anders Osborne, who produced Sansone’s 2007 release Poor Man’s Paradise. The title track of his next album, The Lord Is Waiting and the Devil is Too, was named Song of the Year at the 2012 Blues Music Awards. Sansone’s 2018 release Hopeland was the top-selling record at Louisiana Music Factory during 2018 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. His latest CD, the newly released Into Your Blues, features 11 original blues songs, representing Dallas guitar with Mike Morgan, Chicago guitar with

Zachary Bartholomew

Award-winning jazz pianist, composer and music educator Dr. Zachary Bartholomew maintains an active performance career as one of the most highly sought-after pianists, accompanists, and sidemen in South Florida. In both 2016 and 2017, he placed as one of the top three finalists in the highly acclaimed Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition and has since been featured as a performer, composer and bandleader at national and international jazz festivals. Bartholomew’s original music and unique arrange ments are inspired by the jazz tradition, but also draw heavily from Afro-Cuban rhythms and modern influences. He performs regularly with the Sarasota Pops Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, the Gulf Coast Symphony Jazz Collective, and the Lake Wales Jazz Connection, among others. In addition to his active performance career, Zach has taught at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, Broward College, Miami-Dade College, Tiffin University, and is currently a full-time faculty member at Florida Memorial University. Additionally, he has presented and per formed at national and regional music conferences, such as the JEN Conference, the FSMTA Conference, and the NYSMTA 2020 Virtual Symposium. As a band leader, Bartholomew has completed numerous national tours, headlining at some of the top jazz venues in the country, and has performed with an impressive list of artists. He is currently involved in projects as both a leader and a sideman, including his state-funded Florida “Jazz Access Tour,” an outreach program that aims to provide under served communities and schools in Florida with world-class public performances and educational programs. More at zbtrio.com

OCTOBER 22

WATERWORKS

ST AUGUSTINE

OCTOBER 23

CAMPING WITH THE BLUES

FESTIVAL

BROOKSVILLE

OCTOBER 25

BLUE TAVERN TALLAHASSEE

OCTOBER 28

TROLL MUSIC

VENICE

OCTOBER 29

WINTER PARK

LIBRARY

WINTER PARK

Ruth Wyand

Being diversified is Ruth Wyand’s specialty. With virtuoso fingerpicking, bottleneck slide and a warm alto voice, Ruth plays a mix of Americana, jazz, blues, folk, and country with a portion of Piedmont picking and bluegrass clawhammer thrown in. Her songwriting is universal, using a melting pot of styles with lyrics that are timeless, relatable, emotionally resonant, sometimes witty, and sometimes serious but always human and genuine. She can generate the power of a full band or the in timacy of a living room concert. While Wyand and her music don’t fit neatly into a specific category, she classifies it as “defiantly blues Americana, roots, singer/song writer, blue jazz, contemporary folk with a little Hendrix.” She presents a mixture of originals and well-crafted instrumental arrangements of classics from Doc Wat son, Etta Baker, Thelonious Monk, Nina Simone and others. It’s that strong blues bent that led to Wyand’s placement as a 2017 finalist and a 2018 semifinalist in the International Blues Challenge. Her 2018 CD Tribe of One clearly demonstrates her instrumental prow ess, emotive vocals and poignant songwriting on 11 originals and three covers. When Wyand was about ten years old, her Atlantic City, NJ neighborhood went from 100% white to 99% black; hers was the only family that refused to relocate. One new neighbor’s blues collection ranged from Big Mama Thornton and Hound Dog Taylor to Hank Williams, the Allman Brothers, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. “I was intrigued, hooked and scared at the same time,” Wyand explains, “and I still am.” More at ruthwyand.com.

Les DeMerle

OCTOBER 2-9

AMELIA ISLAND

JAZZ FESTIVAL

AMELIA ISLAND

After starting on the drums at age ten, Les DeMerle went on to study drums and percussion in New York with Bob Livingstone from 1960 to 1965. DeMerle jammed with Lionel Hampton and Gene Krupa at 15, and played at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. He was a busy free lancer in the late 1960s, working with Alan Dawson, Lee Castle, and the Jimmy Dorsey Band. In 1967 DeMerle formed his own group, Sound 67, with Randy Brecker, Arnie Lawrence, Bill Takus and Norman Simmons. DeMerle’s 1969 debut album Spectrum also featured Lawrence and Simmons. He joined the Harry James Big Band in 1970, and worked with James until 1982, including at the 1974 Newport Jazz Festival and on James’s Grammy-winning King James Ver sion. A 1971 move to Los Angeles led to the formation of DeMerle’s group Transfusion, and he also worked throughout the 1970s with the likes of Michael Brecker, David Benoit and Eric Marienthal. He has accom panied the likes of Tony Bennett, Wayne Newton, Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé and Sarah Vaughan. DeMerle has worked with his wife, singer Bonnie Eisele, in a big band since 1986. They moved to Fernandina Beach, Florida, where DeMerle established the Amelia Island Jazz Festival. Together they have shared the

Diana Krall, George Benson and Tito Puente. The pair perform in various config urations ranging from a trio to a 17-piece big band. His discography numbers 18 to date, culminating in

Mr. Sipp

OCTOBER 2

OCTOBER 8

Castro Coleman aka Mr. Sipp, “The Mississippi Blues Child” has more than 125 re cording credits to his name. After spending more than 25 years in the gospel music business as a recording artist and producer, he moved into blues and won the 2014 International Blues Challenge and the 2014 Gibson Best Guitarist Award. Due in part to his debut release, It’s My Guitar, Castro received the Bobby Rush Entertainer of the Year Award by the Jus’ Blues Foundation that same year. He was the 2016 BMA Best New Artist Album winner, and was the first blues artist to have his handprint inducted into the Wall of Fame in Fredrikshavn, Denmark. For the 25th Annual Living Blues Awards, he won the Best Blues Album of 2017 New Recordings award (Contemporary Blues) with Knock a Hole In It, and in 2018 he won the National Blues Artist of The Year award at 44th Annual Jackson (MS) Music Awards. Castro played a young B.B. King on three episodes of the CMT series Sun Records and a blues musician in the 2021 movie Texas Red performing one of his original songs from his fourth and latest album

Sippnotized. He returned to gospel with his old band The True Believers for the 2019 album

Back to the before releasing multiple sin gles this year that take his signature blues style in a more soulful direc tion. More at mrsipp.net.

BRADFORDVILLE BLUES CLUB

FORGOTTEN BLUES FESTIVAL PORT ST. JOE