Jazz & Blues Florida November 2022 Issue

BRIDGET KELLY

Born and raised in Prescott, Wisconsin, at the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers, now residing in North Central Florida since the early 1990s, Bridget Kelly (Fik) has performed at music venues throughout the U.S. With two solo albums and six Top 10 Roots Music Report-charting CDs to her credit, her influences and performance experiences include folk, blues, rock and Americana.

With husband/guitarist/producer Tim Fik, the Bridget Kelly Band was formed in 2012 -- a blues-rock quartet that continues to explore their musical roots and grow their international fan base as they celebrate their 10th anniversary. BKB is all about creating connections with their audiences and fans through their incendiary live performances, with original compositions that mix elements of Texas and Memphis blues, with blues-rock and southern rock influences. The band’s music has been heard on radio shows around the globe, with great charting success. Their song “Texas Toast” enjoyed regular rotation on Tony Colter’s SiriusXM radio show B.B. King’s Bluesville with the release of their 2014 Forever in Blues CD.

In 2017, their highly-regarded Bone Rattler double CD on Alpha Sun Records stayed at No. 1 on the RMR Electric Blues Album chart for 24 weeks, and was their No. 2 Electric Blues Album of the Year. BKB’s follow-up, 2018’s Blues Warrior reached No. 3 on the RMR Blues-Rock Album chart and hit No. 1 in their home state of Florida. In 2020, the group released yet another Top 10 blues-rock charting album, with Dark Spaces earning excellent reviews and steady airplay from DJs in the U.K., Australia and elsewhere.

Drummer Curtis Lyons Jr. and bassist Greg Mullins comprise the Bridget Kelly Band’s vibrant and highlyacclaimed rhythm section. Their presence and contributions have helped take the group’s music and live performances to another level. The band performs regularly at clubs, festivals, concert halls and music venues across the nation –from Florida to Minnesota, and Maine to Colorado.

In addition to having performed at more than 70 top blues and music festivals across the country, BKB was recently lauded as the “Hardest Working Blues Band” in Florida

Two-time International Blues Challenge Semifinalists the Bridget Kelly Band just won the North Central Florida Blues Challenge, and will be heading back to Memphis in January to compete in the next IBC!

KELLY BAND

by Phoenix Radio. Tim Fik was honored as a 2018 recipient of a “Keeping the Blues Alive” award from the Blues Foundation (www.blues. org) for his tireless efforts at promoting blues music awareness through education.

With a captivating smile, sultry vocals and commanding stage presence, Bridget Kelly continues to gain fans and friends wherever she performs. The Bridget Kelly Band certainly knows how to rock the blues and fire up a crowd; and their live performances have become legendary. As an advocate for blueswomen everywhere, sponsoring Women in Blues showcases around the country, Kelly continues her mission to highlight the contributions of female artists, and level the playing field.

The band’s brand new alloriginal CD (their seventh), Winter’s Coming was released November 1 on Alpha Sun Records. This eclectic album is dedicated to Kelly’s father, Peter John Kelly, Sr., who passed in 2021. The work is a mix of songs influenced by blues, blues-rock, and American roots music. After a decade of musical expression and countless standing ovations, the Bridget Kelly Band continues to push the artistic envelope, while honoring the musical traditions of the past. The band’s latest release is a testimony to the enduring character of the Blues and the genre’s ability to continue extending its influence as a dynamic musical form. More at bridgetkellyband.com

Chuchito Valdés

A fiery and incredibly energetic piano master, Chuchito Valdés continues the legacy of great piano players from Cuba, following in the footsteps of his famed father, Chucho Valdés, and his grandfather, Bebo Valdés. But this maestro has made his own name, with his 2002 debut album Encantando (Enchanting), followed by La Timba and Herencia in 2004, and Keys of Latin Jazz in 2007. With influences of Caribbean rhythms and jazz, Valdés creates an exciting and invigorating blend of spicy music. In the mid-80s he was a member of the Cuban Jazz combo Sonido Contemporáneo, and he led the the world-renowned Cuban band Irakere, founded by his father, for two years. His exciting performances have taken him to festivals, clubs and concerts throughout the world, from Cuba and the Caribbean to the Americas and Europe. A master of Cuban music including Son, Danzon, Cuban Timba and Guaguan co, Valdés has also extensively studied classical music including harmony and composition. His original compositions and arrangements draw on classical harmonic and struc tural techniques. In his performances, Chuchito’s music draws on many styles including Afro-Cu ban Latin Jazz, Bebop, Danzon, Cha-Cha-Cha, Son Montuno and much more. With greater talent than ego, you will not find him on social media, rather on stage letting the music speak for him. For this Gold Coast Jazz Society, his quartet is presenting the program 88 Keys of Latin Jazz. More at goldcoastjazz.org.

Mike Zito

By the time he reached his late teens, Mike Zito was already a fixture on the St. Louis music scene. The title track of his second CD, 2009’s Pearl River, won Song of the Year at the Blues Music Awards and with whom he’d later work in the that group released two albums and winner of 2014’s BMA for Best DVD. albums for Samantha Fish, Albert Jimmy Carpenter, and others, with many album debuted on the Billboard Blues he was named 2018 Rock Blues Artist of the Year at the BMAs. 2018’s First Class Life also entered the charts at No. 1. His 2019 Chuck Berry tribute album featured an array of guest guitarists including Joe Bonamassa, Walter Trout, Eric Gales, Rock ’n Roll: A Tribute to Chuck Berry Billboard Blues Album Chart at No. 1, and won BMAs for Blues Rock Album of the year and Blues Rock Artist. 2020’s Quarantine Blues was followed , which won the BMA for the 2022 Blues Rock Album of the year. In 2022, he released the double Blues for the Southside, showcasing Zito and his stellar band in full fury. More at mikezito.com.

CRAFT

Kermit Ruffins

From playing himself in the HBO Series Treme, to barbe cuing outside his bar, Ker mit’s Treme Mother-in-Law Lounge (where he performs Sundays and Tuesdays), to sitting in with Jon Batiste and Stay Human on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, trumpeter/vocalist Kermit Ruffins continues making his imprint. While still in high school, he co-founded the Rebirth Brass Band – a group that revolu tionized the brass band community in New Orleans, and bolstered the rejuvenation of the New Orleans second-line culture that now flourishes. But after less than a de cade, Ruffins tired of the road and decided to go solo, at a time when very few young musicians were playing traditional jazz. Now, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers are a Big Easy institution. As he’d helped spur the formation of new brass bands in his 20s, he’s since influenced the city’s musical direction in the 21st century. Never content to remain musically static, Ruffins’ live show has included elements of hip-hop since his Rebirth days. He began rapping on albums long before it was commonplace for jazz musicians to have hip-hop influences. With more than 15 albums to his credit including two live albums, a collaboration with his Rebirth Brass Band brethren (2005’s Throw back), a 2009 holiday album, an homage to traditional New Orleans jazz (2010’s We Partyin’ Traditional Style!), the 2015 party-anthem packed #imsoneworleans, and his 2017 partnering with long-time label mate Irvin Mayfield in the centerpiece release for Basin Street’s 20th anniversary celebra tion A Beautiful World, the New Orleans trum peter shows no signs of slowing down. More at basinstreet records.com

Curtis Salgado

Vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter Curtis Salgado has three Blues Music Award

Song Of The Year nominations, with a win in 2018 for “Walk A Mile In My Blues” from The Beautiful Lowdown. So far, he has won nine BMAs, including B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. Now, after 40 years of record ing, performing, touring and songwriting, Salgado is back with his eleventh recording, Damage Control, his first full band album in four years. In his 20s, Salgado made a name for himself in Eugene, Oregon’s bar scene, first as vocalist/harmonica player of The Nighthawks, and later as co-leader of The Robert Cray Band. His friendship with, and ‘schooling’ of John Belushi contributed mightily to Belushi’s performance as “Joliet” Jake Blues in The Blues Brothers sketches on Saturday Night Live, the ensuing movie, and on an album dedicated to Salgado. After parting ways with Cray in 1982, Salgado went on to front Roomful Of Blues from 1984 through 1986. Returning to Oregon, Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos tore up the club scene before releasing his debut in 1991. Aside from performing at top blues festivals across the U.S., Salgado has toured internationally with stops in Canada, England, throughout Europe, Brazil, Chile, Panama, Thailand, The Philippines, and Hong Kong. During his career, Salgado has battled back from liver cancer, lung cancer and quadruple bypass surgery. He’s not only come back stronger, he’s become an even more prolific song writer, going from writing a few songs per album to writ ing full albums of original songs. More curtissalgado.com

CRAFT BEER & BLUES FEST CASSELBERRY JAZZBLUESFLORIDA.COM/LIVE FOR COMPLETE TOUR LISTINGS

FROM A PHOTO BY JESSICA KEAVENY

Ann Hampton Calloway

One America’s most gifted and prolific performance artists, Ann Hampton Callaway is a leading champion of the great American Songbook. She’s made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, TV host and producer. Best known for her Tony-nominated performance in the Broadway musical Swing! and for writing and singing the theme song to the TV series The Nanny, Callaway’s original songs appear on seven Barbra Streisand CDs. She is also the only composer to have collaborated with Cole Porter. Calla way’s live performances showcase her warmth, spontaneous wit and passionate delivery of standards, jazz classics and originals. She has received numerous theater, songwriting and other awards. Her latest CD, Jazz Goes to the Movies, featuring the Ted Rosenthal Trio with special guest Jimmy Greene, debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard Jazz Chart. Along with her own recordings, Callaway has also been a guest performer on more than forty CDs. She recently wrote songs for the upcoming movie musical The Man Who Saves Paris starring Stanley Tucci. As part of her mission to keep the American Songbook thriving, she produced and hosted two Singer’s Spotlight With Ann Hampton Callaway TV specials, with guests Liza Minnelli and Christine Ebersole, which dovetailed into her NPR radio series This is Cabaret. She is on the advisory board to Dick Robinson’s American Standards by the Sea, and is a frequent presence on Legends Radio out of Palm Beach. More at annhamptoncallaway.com

Charlie Morris

NOVEMBER 12

DUNEDIN WINES THE BLUES DUNEDIN

Inspired by the Peanuts character Schroeder, Charlie Morris took up classical piano at age six. He discov ered The Beatles at around 13, and switched to electric guitar. A firm foundation in the blues, provided by his older brother Bruce, led to spots in original progressive rock bands throughout high school and college. In Tennessee, Morris fell for bluegrass and singer-songwriter acoustic music; on cruise ships, he fell in love with jazz. In Europe, he learned about Flamenco, Celtic and African music. And don’t get him started on New Orleans. And don’t expect “authentic” blues, bluegrass or anything else. Morris describes his work as the product of all the great music he’s listened to in his life, and all the great musicians he’s met and played with along the way. Although he’s never had a Top 10 hit, Morris has gigged regularly for about 40 years, playing clubs, festivals and parties in 13 states and 13 coun tries. He’s also released 13 albums of original music while playing Florida’s clubs, hotels and festivals, plus stops in Switzerland, the U.K., France, Holland, Belgium, Germany and Norway. His debut was 1998’s Bluer Than Thou, and the ensuing releases include the DVD/CD set Live in Fribourg, and The Blues coast Sessions featuring collaborations with such top-notch blues performers as Lucky Peterson, TC Carr and Damon Fowler. His most recent release is 2022’s live CD/DVD At The Firehouse. All of his audio and video

The Lost Melody

One of the most in-demand bassists in South Florida since he moved to Miami in the fall of 1998 from his native home of Tennessee, Jamie Ousley (right) earned his doctorate from the University of Miami Frost School of Music in 2008. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Jazz Bass at Florida Interna tional University and continues to teach and perform worldwide, currently holding the position of Associate Professor and Coordi nator of Jazz Performance at FIU. Ousley’s dynamic contributions to the south Florida jazz community include the creation of the FIU Festival of Jazz Bands featuring South Florida high school musicians; founding Executive Director of the Jazz Archive, a nonprofit which creates video recordings of local jazz artists; Founder and Director of the Miami Jazz Cooperative, and appearances on numerous recordings, both his own and oth ers’. Ousley’s brand new CD with The Lost Melody is is a tribute to the trio’s mentor, the late Professor Vince Maggio. I’ll See You Again… A Tribute to Vince Maggio will be re leased on November 21 (Maggio’s Birthday).

The Lost Melody (with pianist Joe Davidian and drummer Austin McMahon), met at the University of Miami and studied in vari ous settings under Professor Maggio. After nearly 20 years of performing and recording together under their individual names, the trio renamed themselves The Lost Melody, reflecting their long-developed ap

Frankie’s Blues Mission

PAT RAMSEY BENEFIT BRADFORDVILLE BLUES CLUB TALLAHASSEE

These gentlemen are on a mission: to present blues, jazz, R&B and zydeco in the best of the African-American tradition with all the energy they can muster. Formed in 2000, the group has been providing down-home roots music for grateful listeners in the Southeast region and beyond. They’ve performed with or shared the stage with a long list of blues legends, and performed at numer ous festivals and special events, and are currently working on a followup to their 2010 debut, Sleepin’ Dog. Having expanded from a three-piece to a sextet just before COVID hit, the current lineup includes guitarist/vocalist Frank “Frankie Lee” Robinson, bassist/vocalist Kurt McManus, drummer Rod Breland, saxman Hayward Redd, trumpeter Christopher “Dry zdale” Williams and keyboard master Edward “Chief” Menifee. Native to South Georgia, band leader Robinson has more than 20 years’ experience playing the blues. As part of the Blues Mission, he held down second house band duties at Blind Willie’s in Atlanta for two years (where the Mission still plays regularly) and was also a founding member of the blues band Native Sons. His influences include guitarists Johnny Watson, Roy Lee Johnson, T-Bone Walker, and the three Kings (B.B., Freddie and Albert). Meanwhile, McManus boasts the ability to find the funk in anything that comes his way. Together with the other members, the band brings a big, rollicking, danceable sound, with a mix of covers and originals. More at frankiesbluesmission.com.