Join the Lovelights and be lifted off the killing floor and into the arms of Oakland's New Blues sound.:
Say it loud and say it proud. Dee Washington brings the roughest toughest bluesman stuffest vibe to the forefront of the best New Blues band in Oakland. This imposing frontman walks the walk and preaches the talk with the raw power that comes straight outta Richmond.
Saxman Al Choir Lazard, whose soaring harmonies raise the spectre of New Orleans above the Bay waters, rips the levers off his sax solos with the ruthless rhythm of a boiling kettle of black cat bone.
Axeman Brent Stewart's searing strings both serenade and scream with tube driven groove. This masterblaster flashes the powder and unleashes a torrent of East Bay anarchy on the Lovelights New Oakland Sound.
The Great Bearded One, Paul's counterpoints on bass mystify and drive the funk of this relentless mojo groove. This deep smokey bluesman's sound will put a haze in your gaze and the devil in your pocket.
Jersey's own Scotty Wild crashes through the sound barrier with the steady roll of a man born at the crossroads of rock and gumbo. Wildman's heavy foot and trance-inducing monkeyfunk explore and explode the true religions of the Second Line and the Old School.
Get Ready for the scorched-earth No Prisoners howl of harpman Hurricane Jimmy. East Coast Juke-Joint jives with the howling whirlwinds of the Gulf when 'Cane blows the back off his steelplated horn, and raises the Good of the Blues over the evils of everyday.
Free the mind, free the soul, free the whiskey and jelly roll.
(219) 926-6211 or https://www.facebook.com/leroyshotstuff?fref=ts. 
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and vocalist.
Baker earned much attention and critical praise through the 1950s, particularly for albums featuring his vocals (Chet Baker Sings, It Could Happen to You). Jazz historian David Gelly described the promise of Baker's early career as "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one." His "well-publicized drug habit" also drove his notoriety and fame; Baker was in and out of jail regularly before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and '80s.
Baker was born and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma; his father was a professional guitar player. Baker began his musical career singing in a church choir. His father introduced him to brass instruments with a trombone, which was replaced with a trumpet when the trombone proved too large.
Baker received some musical education at Glendale Junior High School, but left school at age 16 in 1946 to join the United States Army. He was posted to Berlin where he joined the 298th Army band. Leaving the army in 1948, he studied theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles. He dropped out in his second year, however, re-enlisting in the army in 1950. Baker became a member of the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio in San Francisco, but was soon spending time in San Francisco jazz clubs such as Bop City and the Black Hawk. Baker once again obtained a discharge from the army to pursue a career as a professional musician.
Baker's earliest notable professional gigs were with saxophonist Vido Musso's band, and also with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, though he earned much more renown in 1951 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements.
In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. Several things made the Mulligan/Baker group special, the most prominent being the interplay between Mulligan's baritone sax and Baker's trumpet. Rather than playing identical melody lines in unison like bebop giants Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the two would complement each other's playing with contrapuntal touches, and it often seemed as if they had telepathy in anticipating what the other was going to play next. The Quartet's version of "My Funny Valentine", featuring a memorable Baker solo, was a major hit, and became a tune with which Baker was intimately associated.
The Quartet found success quickly, but lasted less than a year because of Mulligan's arrest and imprisonment on drug charges. In 1956, Pacific Jazz released Chet Baker Sings, a record that increased his profile but alienated traditional jazz fans; he would continue to sing throughout his career. Baker formed quartets with pianist Russ Freeman in 1953–54 with bassists Carson Smith, Joe Mondragon, and Jimmy Bond and drummers Shelly Manne, Larry Bunker, and Bob Neel. The quartet was successful in their three live sets in 1954. In that year, Baker won the Downbeat Jazz Poll. Because of his chiseled features, Hollywood studios approached Baker and he made his acting debut in the film Hell's Horizon, released in the fall of 1955. He declined an offer of a studio contract, preferring life on the road as a musician. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combos, including a 1955 quintet featuring Francy Boland, where Baker combined playing trumpet and singing. He became an icon of the West Coast "cool school" of jazz, helped by his good looks and singing talent. Baker's 1956 recording, released for the first time in its entirety in 1989 as The Route, with Art Pepper helped further the West Coast jazz sound and became a staple of cool jazz.
Baker began using heroin in the 1950s, resulting in an addiction that stayed for the remainder of his life. At times, Baker pawned his instruments for money to maintain his drug habit. In the early 1960s, he served more than a year in prison in Italy on drug charges; he was later expelled from both West Germany and the UK for drug-related offenses. Baker was eventually deported from West Germany to the United States after running afoul of the law there a second time. He settled in Milpitas in northern California where he played in San Jose and San Francisco between short jail terms served for prescription fraud.
In 1968, Baker was savagely beaten (allegedly while attempting to buy drugs) after a gig in San Francisco, sustaining severe cuts on the lips and broken front teeth, which ruined his embouchure. He stated in the film Let's Get Lost that an acquaintance attempted to rob him one night but backed off, only to return the next night with a group of several men who chased him. He landed finally in a car where he was surrounded. Instead of rescuing him, the people inside the car pushed him back out onto the street where the chase by his attackers continued, and subsequently, he was beaten to the point that his teeth, never in good condition to begin with, were knocked out, leaving him without the ability to play his horn. He took odd jobs, among them pumping gas. Meanwhile he was fitted for dentures and worked on his embouchure. Three months later he got a gig in New York.
Between 1966 and 1974, Baker mostly played flugelhorn and recorded music that could mostly be classified as West Coast jazz.
After developing a new embouchure resulting from dentures, Baker returned to the straight-ahead jazz that began his career, relocating to New York City and began performing and recording again, notably with guitarist Jim Hall. Later in the seventies, Baker returned to Europe where he was assisted by his friend Diane Vavra, who took care of his personal needs and otherwise helped him during his recording and performance dates.
From 1978 until his death in 1988, Baker resided and played almost exclusively in Europe, returning to the USA roughly once per year for a few performance dates. This was Baker's most prolific era as a recording artist. However, as his extensive output is strewn across numerous, mostly small European labels, none of these recordings ever reached a wider audience, even though many of them were well received by critics, who maintain that the period was one of Baker's most mature and rewarding. Of particular importance are Baker's quartet featuring the pianist Phil Markowitz (1978–80) and his trio with guitarist Philip Catherine and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (1983–85). He also toured with saxophonist Stan Getz during this period.
In 1983, British singer Elvis Costello, a longtime fan of Baker, hired the trumpeter to play a solo on his song "Shipbuilding", from the album Punch the Clock. The song exposed Baker's music to a new audience. Later, Baker often featured Costello's song "Almost Blue" (inspired by Baker's version of "The Thrill Is Gone") in his live sets, and recorded the song on Let's Get Lost, a documentary film about his life.
The video material recorded by Japanese television during Baker's 1987 tour in Japan showed a man whose face looked much older than he was; but his trumpet playing was alert, lively and inspired. Fans and critics alike agree that the live album Chet Baker in Tokyo, recorded less than a year before his death and released posthumously, ranks among Baker's very best. "Silent Nights", another critically acclaimed release, and Baker's only recording of Christmas music, was recorded with Christopher Mason in New Orleans in 1986 and released in 1987.
Chet Baker's compositions included "Chetty's Lullaby", "Freeway", "Early Morning Mood", "Two a Day", "So Che Ti Perderò" ("I Know I Will Lose You"), "Il Mio Domani" ("My Tomorrow"), "Motivo Su Raggio Di Luna" ("Tune on a Moon Beam"), "The Route", "Skidadidlin'", "New Morning Blues", "Blue Gilles", "Dessert", and "Anticipated Blues".
At about 3 am on May 13, 1988, Baker was found dead on the Prins Hendrikkade, near the Zeedijk, the street below his second-story room (Room 210) of Hotel Prins Hendrik in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with serious wounds to his head. Heroin and cocaine were found in his hotel room, and an autopsy also found these drugs in his body. There was no evidence of a struggle, and the death was ruled an accident.
Baker's body was brought home for interment in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California, USA. A plaque outside the Hotel Prins Hendrik now memorializes him.
Acclaimed L.A. Guitarist Brings His "New-School Blues" To
The Piano Bar In Hollywood - Saturday, May 11
(Hollywood, CA) - Solomon King, talented purveyor of "New-School
Blues" and no stranger to the Southern California music landscape, performs in
concert at The Piano Bar, 6429 Selma Ave., Hollywood,
Saturday, May 11. 9 p.m. No cover. Info: (323)
466-2750 or logo onto https://www.facebook.com/Pianobarhollywood?fref=ts.
King - a 2009 Grammy Awards entrant nominee in the Contemporary Blues category for his Under The Sun release - was recently in the news for "The Phil Spector Incident," his movie remake of the high-profile Phil Spector trial that also includes a ten-song companion soundtrack ("Live On") with a stripped-down, sensuous version of Spector's Wall of Sound classic, "Be My Baby." "With King, the blues are in good hands," writes Ashley Jude Collie of The Huffington Post. "His New-School Blues' includes some modern riffs on traditional blues, and beyond." BMans Blues Report states, "King's track 'Suicide' features hot guitar riffs that will blow your hair back." In a review of King's forthcoming release, Train, John Vermilyea of Blues Underground opines, "after listening to Train I must once again put his music into a category for which the term brilliant is first and foremost...packed with truly great tunes from beginning to end. A really great album from one of the better singers, songwriters, and guitarists performing nowadays. Highly recommended and thoroughly enjoyed." Check out a live version of "Be My Baby" performed by Solomon King: www.solomonkingmusic.com https://www.facebook.com/solomon.king.73?fref=ts Huffington Post - Feature Blues Underground - Train CD Review |
I just received the new release, Haunted, from Matt Baxter and Jake Sampson and it really hits the spot! Opening with Someday, an old delta blues track written now. Baxter wastes no time at all demonstrating his ability to play beautiful delta riffs and Sampson has on of those voices that are made to sing the delta blues. Dusty Mule is an exceptional track with Sampson clearly demonstrating a pure love for early JL Hooker music. Rarely do I hear anyone even trying to emulate the master on vocals and Sampson has a clear command of what it takes to make it his own. Baxter know exactly what to do with his guitar and with authenticity. Jaime Lynn has a bit more of a country blues sound with sliding accent notes and melody lines. This is really Baxter's turn to shine and he does a nice job. Same Old Pain is another cool delta track sung in a story telling manner and with odd Hooker timing. I love it! Don't It Make You Feel Good, takes an entirely different turn with a Latin rhythm and with the addition of Tony Coleman on drums and Dave Pellicciaro on B3. This is a very strong track with the warmth of a smooth jazz track and Baxter plays lush electric guitar riffs to compliment Sampson's voice. Little Girl Gone is a very bold electric blues track and possibly the best track on the release. I love both the vocal and guitar treatment of this track. Excellent! Take Me Back Home, another track that has strong Hooker influences stirs some really slick guitar riffs against Sampson's vocals and is complimented nicely by Simon Russell on Piano. The release is completed by Highway 54, a broke down blues track with earthy vocals and warm guitar riffs.
This is a real nice mostly acoustic blues release with some really great tracks. There are some clear influences by the blues fathers and that is really strongly handled. I actually prefer modern interpretations of older players to some of the work done trying to modernize the real players in a crafty fashion. This is a release that is deserving of a good long listen.
I just received the newest release, Live On, by Solomon King and it has an interesting flair. This is a soundtrack and companion cd relating to Phil Spector and his demise. The movie is really a bonus to the cd which is the primary part of the package. It reruns a possible scenario at Phil Spector's place with a young wanna be singer working Phil for a break and exploring Spector's lust for younger women and strange sexual fetishes. Let's just say it's visually interesting.
The cd opens with a classic Spector tune, Be My Baby, with King on vocal and guitar and our old buddy Don Heffington on drums. It was a great track when it was written and here it is stripped down to it's basics. Next up is Shakedown, a dance track featuring mostly programmed music and King on vocals. Not bad. Baby Does Me Good has a real Bo Diddley sound with a real muffled distorted guitar sound and Heffington again on drums. Real cool track. Trouble has a period sound and is primarily King on vocals and Heffington on drums. This track is mostly atmospheric and sound a bit like Lou Reed in his moodiness. Don't You Love Me No More? is a loose blues along the lines of dust my broom. King uses a simple guitar and vocal style and Heffington is a pro just keeping things tight and in line. This track does have a cool whacked out blues solo on it that I liked. My Father's Watch is a cool track and is a pretty strong composition maybe reminiscent of Leonard Cohen. Looking For You is a fuller band production brushiing rock with horns and keys. Make You Mine is a cool boogie track again, just King and Heffington. Keeping it really stripped down and loose this is the best track on the release. Suicide is a full blown rocker with slide guitar and vocal distortion. Hotter guitar riffs are let out on this track and could blow your hair back in the right situation. Under The Sun is a slower blues boogie with strong bass support from Reggie McBride, harp by Jimmy Powers and drums by Ollie Brown. The release is wrapped by Medicine, a slow blues ballad again only Heffington and King. This is a cool track keeping it solemn and quiet. Very effective for the ending of the release.
I just received the newest release, Live On, by Solomon King and it has an interesting flair. This is a soundtrack and companion cd relating to Phil Spector and his demise. The movie is really a bonus to the cd which is the primary part of the package. Let's just say it's visually interesting.
The cd opens with a classic Spector tune, Be My Baby, with King on vocal and guitar and our old buddy Don Heffington on drums. It was a great track when it was written and here it is stripped down to it's basics. Next up is Shakedown, a dance track featuring mostly programmed music and King on vocals. Not bad. Baby Does Me Good has a real Bo Diddley sound with a real muffled distorted guitar sound and Heffington again on drums. Real cool track. Trouble has a period sound and is primarily King on vocals and Heffington on drums. This track is mostly atmospheric and sound a bit like Lou Reed in his moodiness. Don't You Love Me No More? is a loose blues along the lines of dust my broom. King uses a simple guitar and vocal style and Heffington is a pro just keeping things tight and in line. This track does have a cool whacked out blues solo on it that I liked. My Father's Watch is a cool track and is a pretty strong composition maybe reminiscent of Leonard Cohen. Looking For You is a fuller band production brushiing rock with horns and keys. Make You Mine is a cool boogie track again, just King and Heffington. Keeping it really stripped down and loose this is the best track on the release. Suicide is a full blown rocker with slide guitar and vocal distortion. Hotter guitar riffs are let out on this track and could blow your hair back in the right situation. Under The Sun is a slower blues boogie with strong bass support from Reggie McBride, harp by Jimmy Powers and drums by Ollie Brown. The release is wrapped by Medicine, a slow blues ballad again only Heffington and King. This is a cool track keeping it solemn and quiet. Very effective for the ending of the release.
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