Old Judge Jones - Les Dudek

Les Dudek was born in a Naval air station hospital on the coast of Quonset Point, just north of Wickford, Rhode Island. His father Harold, from Campbell, Nebraska, was a radioman in the Navy who served on the U.S.S. Wright and the U.S.S. UTAH before it was laid to rest at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Harold also flew missions in PBY5A's Navy seaplanes while stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iceland and Port Lyautey, French Morocco, North Africa during World War II. Les' mother Alma, from Brooklyn, New York, was a PBX operator and also danced for the world famous "Rockettes" at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, New York. Les has one older sister, Sandi, who was also born in Brooklyn, New York.

When Les' dad retired from the Navy in 1959, he moved the family to Florida to start a new life. Les became interested in music by listening to his sister's new records through their adjacent bedroom wall. She played stuff like; Elvis, Ricky Nelson, Fabian, Connie Francis and The Beach Boys, to name a few. That was cool for a while, but then one night..that all changed. In a word, they were called...The Beatles. And Sandi played them all night long. By the end of the night - Les was "hooked". After constant pleas, Alma and Harold gave in and ordered Les' first guitar, an acoustic silver-tone from Sears and Roebuck. They gave it to Les for Christmas in 1964.

Sister Sandi didn't realize it at the time, but she had created a "guitar bandito". For the next few years all she could hear through the adjacent wall was Les practicing his guitar. It nearly drove her crazy. Les had caught the guitar bug and was determined to master it. By the age of "14" Les was already playing in bands all over Florida. Bands like; The Steppin' Stones, The United Sounds, Blue Truth and Power. With the latter two, he went to Nashville, Tennessee and Richmond, Virginia to record demos with hopes of a record deal. Then, on October 29th, 1971, the unthinkable occurred - a fellow Florida musician, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident. At the time, Les was playing with bandmate Peter Schless, a keyboard player from Venice, Florida in their band Power. Peter knew Dickey Betts and had heard he was looking for players. So Les and Peter drove to Macon, Georgia to jam with Dickey. A few weeks after returning to Florida, Les was called back to Georgia. As a result, Les was invited to record with The Allman Brothers Band. That's Les you hear playing guitar harmonies with Dickey Betts on "Ramblin' Man" and the intro acoustic guitar on "Jessica", their two biggest hits from the Brothers and Sisters album (Capricorn Records).

The news spread quickly about this young guitar talent. Dudek was offered a guitar spot with Boz Scaggs. He accepted. Les commuted back and forth from Macon, Georgia to San Francisco, California, touring with Boz and later appeared on the Silk Degrees album (Columbia Records). Les also appeared in Boz's "Low Down" and "Lido Shuffle" videos made for television. In 1974, Boz, with Les, special guested the Joker Tour with The Steve Miller Band. Also on the bill was James Cotton. At the end of Miller's set, Steve would invite Boz, James Cotton and Les out on stage to finish the show. At the end of this tour, Miller invited Les up to Seattle, Washington to record some tunes that turned into classic hits on Steve Miller's Fly Like An Eagle and Book Of Dreams (Capital Records), from which Les co-wrote "Sacrifice". Living In The 20th Century (Capital Records), Les appears on the record and in the movie of the same title and Wide River (PolyGram Label Group), Les co-wrote "Blue Eyes". Another memorable show Les did with Miller was the second Knebworth Park outside of London, England with Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart and members from Monty Python.

Miller invited Les to join his band, so Les moved to California. After which, Les formed a band in the San Francisco area from members of Scaggs and Miller. They called it Polar Bear. The members were; Les, Gerald Johnson, Joachiem Young and Billy Meeker. Polar Bear recorded demos for Warner Brothers, who declined. Then Les was asked to record a demo for Columbia Records. At the same time, a manager called Les and asked him to come to a rehearsal hall in San Francisco to hear this new band he was nurturing. He wanted "the two guitar heroes" of the Bay area to be in the same band, "..and we're going to call it Journey". The same day Les was invited to the first Journey rehearsal, he was offered a solo recording deal from Columbia records. Les decided to be a solo artist for Columbia Records.

During the next six years Les released four critically acclaimed solo albums, (Les Dudek debut, Say No More, Ghost Town Parade and Gypsy Ride) scoring two FM radio hits - "City Magic" and "Old Judge Jones". He then collaborated with two other Columbia artists, Mike Finnigan, who played organ on "Rainy Day", a song from Jimi Hendrix's Electric LadyLand album (Reprise Records) and Jim Krueger, who wrote "We Just Disagree" for Dave Mason. DFK (Dudek, Finnigan & Krueger) released one album on Columbia Records and toured most of 1978 with Kansas.

After a hiatus from DFK, Cher asked Dudek to participate on a recording project, which became the Black Rose album (Casablanca Records). After a few appearances, such as a concert with Hall & Oates in New York's Central Park, "The Merv Griffin Show" and "The Midnight Special" hosted by Wolfman Jack, the Rose wilted.

In 1984, Dudek made an appearance and authored a few songs in Peter Bogdanovich's Universal Studios movie "Mask" which starred Cher, Sam Elliott, Eric Stoltz and Laura Dern. Les also appeared in Christopher Crowe's "Streets of Justice", a Movie Of The Week from Universal Studios in 1985.

Dudek teamed up with Stevie Nicks and co-wrote two songs; "Sister Honey", a collaboration which appears on her Rock A Little album (Modern/Atlantic Records) and "Freestyle", the title track to Les' "Freestyle" cd (E Flat Productions). Les also toured with Stevie on her 1991 Whole Lotta Trouble tour.

Throughout the '90's Dudek toured the U.S. and Europe. Les also released a rock 'n blues album titled Deeper Shades Of Blues and Freestyle 2002 (E Flat Productions). Additionally, Les wrote and performed instrumental library music for television. This music can be heard on NBC, ABC, ESPN, FOX SPORTS and E channel. These instrumentals are featured on such programs as "Friends", "Extra", "Wild On", "Search Party", and "Access Hollywood".
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Robert Cray streams new single "(Won't Be) Coming Home"

Pre-order the album from the Robert Cray Shop

Five-time Grammy award winning legend and Blues Hall of Fame Inductee Robert Cray is pleased to announce that his brand new studio album Nothin But Love will be released in the UK by Provogue Records on Monday August 27th.

Produced by Kevin Shirley (Joe Bonamassa, Aerosmith, The Black Crowes), the ten-song album includes material written by all four Robert Cray Band members; Robert Cray (vocals/guitar), Jim Pugh (keyboards), Cray Band co-founder Richard Cousins (bass) and Tony Braunagel (drums). The new album blends blues, rock, soul and jazz, with a lyric-sheet that examines the triumphs, fallouts and follies of love.

Nothin But Love is Cray’s sixteenth studio album and marks the latest milestone in a career that has produced 15 Grammy award nominations (5 wins), over 12 million record sales worldwide, thousands of sold out concerts across the globe, and even his own signature line of Fender guitars.

Produced with what Shirley refers to as “the dirt under the fingernails,” Nothin But Lovewas recorded live over two-weeks at the Revolver Studios in LA. The album features the soaring break-up blues of Won’t Be Coming Home, the jazz chops of I’ll Always Remember You, the soul-drenched ode to repossession that is Great Big Old House and the frantic ’50s-flavoured rocker Side Dish.

Since the release of his 1986 break-out album Strong Persuader, Cray has been Blues rock royalty. He has performed and recorded alongside the best in the business - from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughn, from Bonnie Raitt to John Lee Hooker. Cray was recently inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at the age of 57; making him the youngest living legend to receive the prestigious honour.

ROBERT CRAY - BIOGRAPHY

With 5 Grammy Awards, 15 nominations, over 12 million of records sold worldwide, and thousands of sold out performances, rock blues icon Robert Cray is considered “one of the greatest guitarists of his generation.” Rolling Stone Magazinein their April 2011 issue credits Cray with reinventing the blues with his “distinct razor sharp guitar playing” that “introduced a new generation of mainstream rock fans to the language and form of the blues” with the release of his Strong Persuader album in 1986.

Since then, Cray has gone on to record fifteen Billboard charting studio albums and has written or performed with everyone from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan, from Bonnie Raitt to John Lee Hooker. Recently inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at the age of 57, he is the youngest living legend to receive the prestigious honor. And while he can look back over an astonishing three-decade career punctuated by his trademark sound and distinct playing style, Robert Cray is too busy moving forward on an amazing journey that has him releasing his sixteenth studio album and embarking on yet another world tour.

Nothin But Lovewill be released on August 27, 2012 and will be both his first collaboration with the Provogue Records label and super-producer Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, The Black Crowes, Joe Bonamassa). This ten-song stand includes material from all four Robert Cray Band members; Cray (vocals/guitar), Jim Pugh (keyboards), Richard Cousins (bass) and Tony Braunagel (drums) that blends blues, rock, soul and jazz with a lyric-sheet that examines the triumphs, fallouts and follies of love.

“Kevin did an amazing job producing this album and I’m really happy with the outcome,” says Cray, “he captured the real essence of the Robert Cray Band, that live energy we deliver on the road that is usually so difficult to nail down in the studio. I think it’s one of the strongest records that we’ve done.”

And he’s right. In terms of production, long-time fans will be thrilled with a recording featuring what Shirley calls “the dirt under the fingernails.” Recorded live over a two-week burst at the Revolver Studios in LA, Nothin But Love features the soaring breakup blues of “Won’t Be Coming Home”, the jazz chops of “I’ll Always Remember You”, the soul-drenched ode to repossession that is “Great Big Old House” to the frantic ’50s-flavoured rocker “Side Dish.”

Cray still remembers the first love that led him here. “My dad was in the army, so we moved around quite a bit,” he explains. “I had a lot of time and the guitar became my friend. Also, when I first picked up a guitar, The Beatles were just out, and that’s why I got one. That’s why a lot of kids got guitars. The whole atmosphere of that time was, ‘Hey, I learnt this’. ‘Well, let me show you this…’ So that’s what sparked my interest, and it never really went away.”

Cray cites Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy and B.B. King as formative guitar influences, alongside singers like Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, but just as pivotal for the aspiring bluesman was witnessing Albert Collins play a set at his high-school dance.

It was that Collins performance that led to the formation of the Robert Cray Band in 1974, a four piece touring band featuring Cray on lead vocals and guitar and longtime friend Richard Cousins on bass, whose thrillingly modern take on the blues was the talk of the circuit, even if the singer was a bit of an introvert on stage. “I just couldn’t speak to the audience,” says Robert with a smile, “so Richard would do all the introductions. These days I think I’m better at it.” In 1976 after two years of touring and in the first of many pinch-yourself moments the band was invited to be the house band for Albert Collins; a stellar musical apprenticeship and schoolboy fantasy that lasted over 18 months.

Opening their account with 1980’s Who’s Been Talkin’, the Robert Cray Band fired off three albums in quick succession, and although 1985’s False Accusations hijacked the charts and won an industry blues award, it was the following year’s Strong Persuader that achieved lift-off, hitting a US#13 chart position that was unprecedented for a blues record in the synthesizer age. “I guess Strong Persuader just captured a good spirit and energy,” Cray reflects. “People are still calling out for some of those songs at shows. It gave us a good springboard. I guess it was the songs, but it was also the era, because radio and MTV gave us a foothold, and we had videos out too.”

Cray had arrived in the big league. As singles like “Smoking Gun” scaled the singles charts across the planet and word spread of his incendiary live shows, his name began to be mentioned in the same breath as the blues heavyweights, and he was regularly to be found working alongside them. He spent the years that followed guesting on Eric Clapton’s Journeyman album, jamming live with Keith Richards, appearing in Tina Turner’s TV special Break Every Rule, posthumously inducting Howlin’ Wolf into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and supplying solos for the late John Lee Hooker. “We became good friends,” says Cray of this latter hero. “We were with the same agency, so we did a lot of shows together. I went to Japan with John Lee and watched as the Japanese fans mobbed him. It was fantastic. He was a real one-off.”

The oft-quoted line reads ‘bluesmen improve with age’, and Cray’s evolving output through the next two decades gives weight to the theory. “In the ’90s, we had the I Was Warned album (1992), and then Sweet Potato Pie (1997), which was a Memphis kind of thing that got into the soul bag,” he recalls. “I really liked those two records: there was some good songwriting.”

In 2000 he took home a Grammy for the album Take Your Shoes Off and went on to release two additional Grammy nominated albums Twenty (2005) featuring the poignant anti-Iraq war song of the same name, and This Time (2009) featuring the soul drenched favorite “I Can’t Fail.” The following year, the Robert Cray Band release the live album Cookin’ In Mobile (2010) and once again toured worldwide to sellout crowds.

“We have been very lucky,” says Cray, “with music becoming mostly digital in recent years and artists not selling the same number of physical records, we’re afforded the luxury of having a great loyal and amazing fan base around the world, allowing a band like ours to continue to work.”

It’s quite a humble and unassuming statement, given his illustrious career – but that’s always been Cray’s style. He doesn’t take anything for granted, doesn’t rest on his laurels. So on this sixteenth studio release, Robert Cray is once again laying down his cards, testing his talent, fusing that dazzling voice to some of the most powerful material in his three-decade back catalogue and offering his fans Nothin But Love.

Nothin’ But Love is not the kind of album you have a casual fling with. It’s the kind of album you fall for.

Listen to “(Won’t Be) Coming Home” Here

Red House - Gyan Dookie & The Dookie Knights

Gyan Dookie is a multitalented singer, songwriter, musician and martial artist. He was born in London, but moved to Finland at the age of five. In Gyan's music you can hear his main influences: blues, funk, rock, jazz, 60's hippie psychedelia and eastern spirituality.

As a master of many styles and instruments he has also taught the magic of music to others. Many of his music students are today nationally or even internationally succesful recording artists: These include Jori Hulkkonen (guitar) and Kari Hulkkonen (bass) who play in Jukka Poika (number 1 in the Finnish charts in the spring of 2012), Raappana and Paukkumaissi (award winning children's music band), Soma Manuchar, a new exiting female singer & signed Universal Music record company artist, Samu Haber (guitar) from Sunrise Avenue (extremely popular in Germany), the rapper Seremoniamestari and the troubadour Karri Salo (guitar), to mention a few.
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Sugar Man - Doug Finnell

Douglas Finnell was born in Dallas, TX. in 1903. In the late 1920's he worked with T-Bone Walker as his pianist. Finnell recorded two sides in November of 1929 in Dallas with his group The Royal Stompers, featuring his brother Eddie on Vocals, Sam Price on piano, Bert Johnson on trombone and he himself blowing cornet. These recordings were issued on the 1930 single (Brunswick 7123). Famed Chicago blues drummer S.P. Leary was born in Texas and remembered working with Finnell in Dallas in the 1940's, with Finnell playing piano. Whether or not that Finnell remained a constant on the Dallas performing scene is unknown, but in 1954 he traveled to Houston and recorded four numbers for Peacock, with only two being released. Finnell passed away in Dallas on August 1, 1988.
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MARTY STOKES & THE CAPTIVA BAND

Marty Stokes was originally raised on Sanibel & Captiva Islands, Florida and has been playing different variations of Blues Music since he was a kid. Raw and melodic, original, and reaching to the emotional core, Stokes will not disappoint the rocker who digs Blues grooves on top of it all. The Captiva Band is named after the Island in the Sub-Tropics, and home to his family since the 1800's. A group of long-time friends, the band delivers the goods with tasteful grooves over Stokes' originals, alongside creative arrangements of covers. Todd Haut, Jennifer Mazziotti, and Carv Clauson make up the 'core' of this group of musical crazies.

Having just released his first CD entitled 'HEAR YOU CALLIN', Stokes encourages Blues lovers to listen to the sound bites / samples, which can be found under the CD Link tab. Another link on that page will take you to CD BABY if you'd like a copy. Reviews are great on the compositions and engineering. Check it out.

The Captiva Band is also performing in clubs around SW Floridia, in places like the Crows Nest, Jacaranda, Berts Bar at Matlacha, Doc Fords at the Beach, Freddie Rebels in Naples and other eclectic spots that tourists and locals love. They have also played local Blues Fests such as Matlacha in 2006, Bonita in 2008, and Buckingham in 2008 and 2009. The band also performed at the 2011 Bonita Blues Festival and recieved the popular vote for 'Favorite Act of 2011'.
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Billie's Blues - the Bel-Airs

Laura-May Gibson - Vocal
Lovat Fraser - Slide
Richard Young - Piano
Rod Philip - Guitar
Pete Rabjohns - Drums
Ian Holmes-Lewis - Percussion
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Cali Bee Music artist: Brad Wilson - Blues Magic - New Release Review

I just received the new recording, Blues Magic, by Brad Wilson. Wilson has assembled 11 original tracks with strong airplay appeal. Blues Magic is a smooth rocker with light latin Rhythms not unlike contemporary Santana. Raining In My Heart has a R&B feel along the lines of Boz Scaggs. Roll With Me continues with Wilson's own flavor in this case maybe sounding a little like Steve Miller. Hot Stuff has a slick blues rock sound and cool guitar riffs are scattered throughout. My One Desire is a soul style blues track featuring solid vocals from Wilson and of course featuring strong guitar work. Cryin' Lonely Teardrops has a R&B feel and On A Summer Day continues a smooth rock feel. Nobody But You starts with a classic Elmore James riff and keeps the drive going for a cool blues rocker. Wilson brings the tempo down for I'm Still Breathin', a bluesy ballad. The Road Back To You is a straight up rocker which could easily see strong airplay. Wintergreen, a quiet ballad, finishes the set. Overall a solid musical set which could appeal to the general population.
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Whammy in the Gizmo - Piano Slim

Born Robert T. Smith, a resident of St. Louis where he is known as Piano Slim. He paid his dues way back in the '40s and '50s in Houston, Texas working among such first rate bluesman as Gatemouth Brown, Little Willie Littlefield, and Henry Hayes. It was there that he made his first record for a small label that also starred Smokey Hogg.

In 1959 he moved to St. Louis and recorded '"Workin' Again" for the local Bobbin label, released along with the works of Albert King and Little Milton. In St. Louis Slim played in about any club or bar worth mentioning and today there are no signs of him slowing down.

His first album for the Swingmaster label, "Mean Woman Blues", was recorded in August of 1981. Other recordings and singles followed, such as the 1983 album, "Gateway To The Blues". This led to six European tours featuring Piano Slim as either a headliner, supporting act, or sideman. When home in St. Louis, he continued to play the local clubs and work with some of the areas notable bluesmen, such as Tommy Bankhead and J.R. Reed. In 1991, Slim was featured on a compilation of St. Louis' blues artists on the Wolf Records label, called "St. Louis Blues Today". Besides Piano Slim, this album included songs and performances by Tommy Bankhead, Doc Terry, J.R. Reed, Oliver Sam and Johnny Johnson.

During this period, Slim began using a popular local St. Louis band, Blues Inquisition, as his backup band. They performed together at regular engagements and special events through the mid nineties. In 1993 they recorded an album together, "Minnie Skirt", his best produced album to date. Shortly after that album was finished, Slim took another "real job" driving a cab, to help raise his grandson.
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I'm Feeling Good - Deitra Farr

Deitra Farr is considered one of Chicago ’s top vocalists, according to Living Blues Magazine (May 1997). Fiery, energetic, and soul-stirring describes this woman, who has over the years been nominated for Traditional Female Blues artist of the year by the W.C. Handy Awards, Female Blues Artist of the year by the Living Blues Critics Awards, the British Blues Connection Awards, and the Les Trophees France Blues awards.

This Chicago native began her career in 1975, singing with local soul bands, before starting her blues career in the early 1980’s. When Deitra was 18 years old, she recorded the lead vocals on Mill Street Depo’s record ” You Won’t Support Me “. That record was a Cashbox Top 100 R&B hit in 1976. Over thirty years later, that recording has been rereleased and is popular again worldwide.

In 1983, Deitra began her blues career working at the major Chicago blues clubs, such as The Kingston Mines, The Wise Fool’s Pub and Blue Chicago. She also toured the US and Canada with the Sam Lay Blues Band.

From 1993 to 1996, Deitra was the lead singer with Mississippi Heat, recording two CD’s with this all-star group.

In 1997, Deitra resumed her own solo career, continuing to sing blues, while reaching back to her soul music roots. After recording on eight previous CD projects with others, she recorded her first solo CD, “The Search is Over”, for the London-based JSP records. In 2005, Deitra released her second JSP CD “Let it Go!”

The multi-talented Deitra Farr is also a published writer, poet, songwriter, and painter. A graduate of Columbia College (Bachelor of Arts in Journalism), Deitra has recorded many of her own compositions and has written articles for the Chicago Daily Defender, The Chicago Blues Annual, and the Italian blues magazine il Blues. Currently she has a column “Artist to Artist” in Living Blues Magazine.

In 1990, Deitra represented the Chicago Tourism Bureau in Düsseldorf, Germany and has toured England, Wales, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Canada, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Israel, Austria, Latvia, Portugal, Sweden, Mexico, Guadeloupe, Lebanon ,Spain, Denmark, United Arab Emirates ( Abu Dhabi and Dubai ), Qatar, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Scotland.

Deitra toured Europe with the 2000 Chicago Blues Festival with Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials. In 2003, Deitra completed a six week British tour with Otis Grand and Bobby Parker, as the American Festival of the Blues II. She did the 2004 Chicago Blues Festival European tour with Jody Williams and Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones. From 2006-2010 Deitra has toured with The Women of Chicago Blues project with Zora Young and Grana Louise.
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Anytime - The Robert Cray Band

The five-time Grammy Award winner summarized 35 years of mastery on the debut Nozzle release Live From Across the Pond (2006), an electrifying two-CD concert set drawn from a series of shows (opening for Eric Clapton) at London’s Royal Albert Hall. When the time came to follow up that widely praised collection with a studio recording, Cray viewed it as an opportunity to move his sound in other directions.

He found exactly what he was looking for by turning to one of his oldest friends and colleagues: bassist Richard Cousins, whose tenure with the Robert Cray Band began with its barnstorming regional origins in Eugene, Oregon, in 1974 and extended through 1991, encompassing such early high-water marks as Strong Persuader (1986) and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1988), both winners of the best contemporary blues performance Grammy.

I’ve known Richard for 40 years,” Cray says. “We go back to 1969, and we grew up in the same area together. We’ve always had a really good rapport together stage-wise. Richard and I have remained the best of friends ever since he departed way back in ’91. I’d still see Richard, whether it was in the States or in Europe – where he still lives. He’d always come to see us at the gigs. We always remained close. We talked on the telephone all the time.

“It just so happened that last year, I wanted to make personnel changes in the band. So I asked Richard to come back.

”

Cousins’ return to the Cray fold bonds him once again with keyboardist Jim Pugh, a cornerstone of the guitarist’s group since 1989.

In the hunt for a new drummer, Cray – with encouragement from Cousins—struck on a musician whose style and experience perfectly complemented his own: the road-tested Tony Braunagel, whose résumé includes work with Bonnie Raitt (including her Grammy-winning Nick of Time and Luck of the Draw), Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’, and B.B. King.

Cray recalls, “I’d seen Tony work in a lot of different situations before. My first real opportunity to play with him was three years ago, when we did a benefit up in Portland, Oregon, for our friend Curtis Salgado. Tony was playing drums there, and Richard was there, too – they were the rhythm section. Richard was working really well with Tony, and they were kind of fronting the whole jam. It was great. I was talking to Richard after he’d rejoined the group, and I said, ‘We need to find a drummer.’ He just went, ‘Tony!’”

The refreshed lineup of Cray, Cousins, Pugh, and Braunagel came together at Santa Barbara Sound Design in Santa Barbara, California, to record what became This Time. Cray produced (though he notes, “Every time I produce, it’s like a communal effort”), with Don Smith engineering.

Cray says of the sessions, “I really looked forward to it—to how Richard and I were going to gel together after having not played together for a long time, and to bringing Richard back to work with Jim, because we did all get a chance to work together for two years, before Richard left—and then having Tony come in.

“Richard and Jim and myself have all known each other for a while, but when we added Tony to the mix, it was like, ‘Hey, where you been?’ We all get along really, really well. It was fun, and everybody brought something to the table. Tony’s interpretation of what we were doing was just spot-on, and of course, with his background, all the music that he’d listened to and played coincided with the music we’ve listened to and played over the years. It was like the perfect hand in the glove.”

All of the band members contributed fresh material to This Time. Cray brought in the title track, “Chicken in the Kitchen,” “I Can’t Fail,” and “Trouble and Pain,” and co-wrote “Forever Goodbye” with his wife Sue Turner-Cray. Pugh authored “Love 2009” and “To Be True.” Cousins and the Swiss soul/blues musician Hendrix Ackle collaborated on “Truce.” And Braunagel and guitarist Johnnie Lee Schell co-authored “That’s What Keeps Me Rockin’.”

As ever with Robert Cray’s undefinable sound, the music on This Time remains stubbornly beyond category. He has been internationally admired as a stylist whose innovations have brought new life to the blues, and such punchy outings as “Chicken in the Kitchen” and “That’s What Keeps Me Rockin’” should satisfy the most demanding blues fans. But the new album’s barrier-busting material – whether it’s the soulful “Love 2009” or the profound balladry of “This Time” and “Forever Goodbye” – demonstrate once again that attempting to slot Cray in a single genre is an exercise in futility.

Blues is one of the foundations of our music, but it’s not all that we play,” Cray says. “When I first started playing guitar, I wanted to be George Harrison – that is, until I heard Jimi Hendrix. After that, I wanted to be Albert Collins and Buddy Guy and B.B. King. And then there are singers like O.V. Wright and Bobby Blue Bland. It’s all mixed up in there.”

He continues, “Every time somebody asks me about where my music comes from, I give them five or six different directions – a little rock, soul, jazz, blues, a little gospel feel. Then there are some other things that maybe fall in there every once in a while, like a little Caribbean flavor or something. You just never know. I always attribute it to the music we grew up listening to, and the radio back in the ‘60s. It’s pretty wide open. It’s hard to put a tag on it.”

Cray, who began 2009 with concert appearances in Brazil and Japan, will support This Time with shows around the country with his reconfigured band.
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Mailman Blues - Sleepy John Estes

John Adam Estes (January 25, 1899 – June 5, 1977), best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was a American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee
In 1915, Estes' father, a sharecropper who also played some guitar, moved the family to Brownsville, Tennessee. Not long after, Estes lost the sight of his right eye when a friend threw a rock at him during a baseball game. At the age of 19, while working as a field hand, he began to perform professionally. The venues were mostly local parties and picnics, with the accompaniment of Hammie Nixon, a harmonica player, and James "Yank" Rachell, a guitarist and mandolin player. He would continue to work on and off with both musicians for more than fifty years.

Estes made his debut as a recording artist in Memphis, Tennessee in 1929, at a session organized by Ralph Peer for Victor Records. His partnership with Nixon was first documented on songs such as "Drop Down Mama" and "Someday Baby Blues" in 1935; later sides replaced the harmonica player with the guitarists Son Bonds or Charlie Pickett. He later recorded for the Decca and Bluebird labels, with his last pre-war recording session taking place in 1941. He made a brief return to recording at Sun Studio in Memphis in 1952, recording "Runnin' Around" and "Rats in My Kitchen", but otherwise was largely out of the public eye for two decades.

Estes was a fine singer, with a distinctive "crying" vocal style. He frequently teamed with more capable musicians, like "Yank" Rachell, Hammie Nixon, and the piano player Jab Jones. Estes sounded so much like an old man, even on his early records, that blues revivalists reportedly delayed looking for him because they assumed he would have to be long dead, and because fellow musician Big Bill Broonzy had written that Estes had died. By the time he was tracked down, by Bob Koester and Samuel Charters in 1962, he had become completely blind and was living in poverty. He resumed touring and recording, reunited with Nixon and toured Europe several times and Japan, with a clutch of albums released on the Delmark Records label. His later records are generally considered less interesting than his pre-war output. Nevertheless, Estes, Nixon and Rachell also made a successful appearance at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival.

Bob Dylan mentions Estes in the sleevenotes to Bringing It All Back Home (1965).

Many of Estes' original songs were based on events in his own life or on people he knew from his home town of Brownsville, Tennessee, such as the local lawyer ("Lawyer Clark Blues"), local auto mechanic ("Vassie Williams' Blues"), or an amorously inclined teenage girl ("Little Laura Blues"). "Lawyer Clark Blues" referenced the lawyer, and later judge and senator, Hugh L. Clarke. Clarke and his family lived in Brownsville, and according to the song let Estes 'off the hook' for an offense.

He also dispensed advice on agricultural matters ("Working Man Blues") and chronicled his own attempt to reach a recording studio for a session by hopping a freight train ("Special Agent (Railroad Police Blues)"). His lyrics combined keen observation with an ability to turn an effective phrase.

Some accounts attribute his nickname "Sleepy" to a blood pressure disorder and/or narcolepsy. Others, such as blues historian Bob Koester, claim he simply had a "tendency to withdraw from his surroundings into drowsiness whenever life was too cruel or too boring to warrant full attention"
Estes suffered a stroke while preparing for a European tour, and died on June 5, 1977, at his home of 17 years in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee.Estes is buried at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.
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Love of Mine - Luther Trammell

Whether rockin out with the band or as a solo act, Luther Trammell brings the blues home. Luther has played with The Blues Imperials, Shirley King (Daughter of BB King). Luther and his band performed as House Band for the House of Blues in 2007. Placed third in the 2007 River City Blues Challenge and as a solo act, Luther commands a sound from his acoustic guitar like none other. Luther's strong voice gives his songs a depth of feeling and experience. Luther’s CD L.T. and the Blues Express is available now and his new CD “Luther Trammell Acoustic Blues Solo” will be out at the end of January 2012.

Cd Baby for Luther
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Red House - Pass Over Blues and Peter Schmidt

Aktuelle Meldung: +++ Wir sind nominiert für die Blues Challenge 2o12 (baltic blues e.V.) +++
Der Endausscheid für die "German Blues Challenge 2012" findet am 29.o9.2o12 in Eutin statt.

Wie genau wir nun in diese "Lage" gekommen sind, wissen wir auch nicht. Es verhält sich so, dass, im ersten "Wahlgang", eine Jury von 150 Journalisten, Veranstaltern, Moderatoren u.ä. zehn Bluesbands aus Deutschland erwählt hat, man kann sich hierfür nicht bewerben.
Um sich für das Finale zu "qualifizieren" bedarf es eines zweiten "Wahlganges" und dieser läuft dann ab dem o1.o7.2o12 über die Internetseite des Baltic Blues e.V..

Hier seid IHR dann alle gefragt und gefordert
weil: nur IHR entscheidet ob wir zum Finale fahren werden.
Wir werden hier Anfang Juli einen Link zur Abstimmungsseite einrichten, dort kann ein jeder einmal
* hoffentlich ganz viele für uns, das "Pass Over Blues Quartett" :-) *
seine Stimme abgeben.
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Terry Quiett Band - A Night At The Orpheum - New Release Review

I remember a while back on one of my late night new blues band searches and coming across this cool band - Terry Quiett and thinking, wow... these guys are hot. I just received a copy of A Night At The Orpheum, a new release from the Terry Quiett Band. The release opens with Getting Through To Me, an Otis Rush like track. This is a great opening track and Quiett on vocals and guitar set a high bar for the rest of the show. He's a strong singer and wrings the neck of the guitar till it cry's out for Mama. Judgement Day is up next with Quiett demonstrating his ability on slide. Now I don't know what kind of axe he pulls out for this (typically a strat player) but it has a resonator fat sound and has a swampy sound. Quiett has an interesting vocal style that is very natural along the lines of Warren Haynes or Ronnie Van Zandt. He doesn't sound like he's trying to copy anyone...it's a special quality some people are just born with. next the band kicks out Big Man Boogie and the joint is hopping. The band continues to cut their own path playing original tunes and sounding terrific. Quiett gets some pretty nice sound out of his strat on this track. Wheelhouse gets down in the funk. Quiett plays a really cool intro riff to get the track started. When a band plays a track like this it highlights the rhythm section and they are tight. Rodney Baker kicks the drums and Aaron Underwood holds up the bottom on bass. Again Quiett demonstrated that he's not just a guitar player but has a great voice for a band like this. Caroline, a really nice ballad based strongly on the blues give Quiett a wide open space to lay down some great blues riffs. Long Saturday Night is a real slow track that fuses R&B with country and Blues. This is the perfect opportunity for Quiett to grab the audience with solid singing and flat lay the guitar out and he does. Very nice. The Horizon again finds Quiett on what sounds like a resonator playing some pretty stripped down blues. Bruce Springsteen's Cover Me gets a funky pop treatment. Never been a "Boss" fan (don't throw rocks) but Quiett does a nice job on this track and continues to demonstrate his able capabilities on guitar as well as vocals. On Gimme Some Quiett takes a faster tempo with a more airplay rock style song. Hear My Train Comin' is a great track of course written by J Hendrix but with an updated sound and loads of slide guitar. Very nice mastery of the dynamic range. Just Friends, another R&B style track should garner strong airplay following with the hook, vocals and nice guitar riffs. Short Dress has a great bounce to it, talking deep funk bass and drum track and Quiett taking lead with strong slide work and continued great vocals.

There have only been a few concerts in town in the past year that I have missed that I should have seen and this is one of them. Terry Quiet Band puts on a good show that this recording amply demonstrates that.
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New Sena Ehrhardt music video

NEW SENA EHRHARDT MUSIC VIDEO Singer Sena Ehrhardt has just finished a new music video with her band. To watch "On The Clock," one of the ten original songs from her Blind Pig debut album, Leave The Light On, please click HERE. You can also see the video on Blind Pig's Facebook page. To like us on Facebook, please click HERE. One of the freshest and most dynamic young voices on the blues scene today, Sena's been generating a buzz with her new release and her powerful live performances with the Sena Ehrhardt Band, which Blues Revue called "one of the hottest new blues outfits in the country." Ehrhardt forges her own personal and intelligent take on the blues, soulfully informed by her drive and intensity. Her songs are fresh and incisive, delivered in a style that moves effortlessly from sultry to declarative to passionately forceful. Fans and critics alike have taken notice. Living Blues said, "Sena Ehrhardt has a bright, soulful sound, and she doesn't hold back - she can go from sultry and coaxing to gritty and gusty in an instant," while Blues Revue added, "she is capable of crooning softly or wailing with the best of them." And, the Blues Foundation has nominated Leave The Light On for the prestigious Blues Music Award in the "Best New Artist Debut" category. Sena is also currently nominated for two Blues Blast Music Awards. She's up for the "Sean Costello Rising Star Award" while Leave the Light On is on the nomination list for best "New Artist Debut Recording." The awards are given by Blues Blast magazine and the winners are chosen by blues fans. Voting is open to anyone who is a Blues Blast magazine subscriber. Subscriptions are FREE and an automatic part of the voting process on the website. Voting is open to the public until August 31st. To vote for Sena, please click HERE.

Bright Eyes - Big Bill Broonzy and Washboard Sam with Big Crawford

Standing 6'5" and weighing 300-plus, Ernest "Big" Crawford loomed large in Chicago's explosive postwar blues scene. Crawford's slapped upright lines pushed recordings by the likes of Little Walter, Big Bill Broonzy, and Memphis Slim, but his work with former plantation hand Muddy Waters carved Crawford's name for all time in the blues bass hall of fame.

In April 1948, fellow South Side denizens Waters and Crawford recorded "I Can't Be Satisfied" for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label. (Seven years earlier in Mississippi, Waters had recorded the song as "I Be's Troubled" for musicologist Alan Lomax.) On the'48 track, Crawford's slap-bass accompaniment begins with a simple root-5 pattern that hangs on the I chord's G and D notes even when Waters goes to the IV. On the turnaround, Crawford pedals an A under the V chord (and tosses in a non-chord E), and on the IV he introduces a chromatic lick with a syncopation that returns on the next bar's tonic G. Crawford plays the pattern on the intro and first verse, but then on the second verse he shifts the syncopated figure to the first two bars . It's all a buildup to the guitar solo, where Crawford lays into wildly syncopated riffs that fully match the virtuosic intensity of Waters's slide lines . Throughout the tune, Crawford keeps his rhythms crisp as his slapped acoustic drives the track in the twin roles of bass and percussion.

Spurred by the local success of "I Can't Be Satisfied" and its straight-from-the-Delta sound, Phil and Leonard Chess paired Waters and Crawford on classics like "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and "Rollin' Stone" before Waters began filling out his studio band with local aces like harp man Little Walter and guitarist Jimmy Rogers. Then, in the early '50s, Waters teamed with the musician who would create blues history as a bassist, songwriter, and producer: Willie Dixon.

March 7, 1956. Big Crawford died in Memphis, TN, USA. Age: 64
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Big Dave & the Backbones with Alex Schultz

Big Dave Reniers (born 1969) began playing harmonica at the age of 14. A few years later he got in touch with blues music listening to harmonica-players such as William Clarke, Kim Wilson, James Harman, etc..

He formed “the Dizzy Dave Band” when he was seventeen and they played steadily for about eight years.

Learning more and more about the old-school blues he wanted to play forties and fifties style and so co-started “the Electric Kings” in 1994. This band knew a lot of recognition in Europe with their mixture of Swing, Jump and Chicago-blues.

The last few years you could also hear Big Dave play as a sideman in “the Elmore D. band” (pre-war blues with a 21st century approach).

Influenced by all the great harp-players (both Walters, both Sonny Boys, G. Smith,...) Big Dave plays a fat-toned, straightforward harp while singing with a strong relaxed voice.
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That's Allright - Johnnie Bassett

Johnnie Bassett (born October 9, 1935, Marianna, Florida, United States) is an American electric blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Working for decades primarily as a session musician, by the 1990s Bassett had his own backing band and has since released six albums. He has cited Billy Butler, Tiny Grimes, Albert King, B.B. King and especially T-Bone Walker as major influences.
Born in Florida, Bassett relocated with his family in 1944 to Detroit. As a guitarist in his local group, Joe Weaver and the Bluenotes, they won talent contests, and locally backed Big Joe Turner, and Ruth Brown. In 1958 Bassett enrolled into the United States Army, but on his return to Detroit worked with the Bluenotes as session musicians for Fortune Records. During this time he provided accompaniment to Nolan Strong & The Diablos and Andre Williams. He later backed The Miracles in a short tenure at Chess Records, working on their debut single, "Got a Job" (1958). In concerts while in Detroit, Bassett played on stage alongside John Lee Hooker, Alberta Adams, Lowell Fulson and Dinah Washington.

Basset spent most of the next decade doing gigs in Seattle, also backing Tina Turner and Little Willie John.

The Detroit Blues Society recognized Bassett's contribution to the blues with a lifetime achievement award in 1994. He released the album I Gave My Life to the Blues on the Dutch label Black Magic in 1996, before recording and touring in North America and Europe with his own backing band, the Blues Insurgents. Their 1998 album Cadillac Blues was nominated for five W.C. Handy Awards. His then record label, Cannonball Records ceased to trade, but Mack Avenue Records signed him to a new recording contract, after its owner saw Bassett and his band play in concert in Detroit's suburb of Grosse Pointe.

At the 2003 Great Lakes Folk Festival, Bassett performed as part of the Detroit Blues Revue with Alberta Adams and Joe Weaver. At the 2006 Detroit Music Awards, Bassett won the 'Outstanding Blues/R&B Instrumentalist' title. In both 2010 and 2011, he was awarded the 'Outstanding Blues Artist/Group' title.

Bassett's album, The Gentleman is Back was released in June 2009. In 2010, it won a Detroit Music Award for 'Outstanding National Small/Independent Label Recording'.

Bassett and his band (Chris Codish – keyboards, Keith Kaminski – saxophone, and Skeeto Valdez – drums) currently jam every Thursday at the Northern Lights Lounge in Detroit.
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709 Blues - Tubie and the Touchtones

Tubie is a Texas native, Texas blues songwriter and BMI artist from Navasota....the 'Official' Blues capital of Texas. In fact, Tubie and The Touchtones played in the state capitol rotunda in Austin on April 5th, 2007 for the reading of the resolution in the Texas state legislature that named Navasota as the official blues capital. Tubie was nominated for Musician of the Year at the Texas Music Awards in 2009, and the Touchtones were the opening band for the awards ceremony in the civic auditorium in Palestine, Texas. Tubie was also nominated for Blues Artist of the Year in the Upstate Indie Awards in Syracuse, New York. They have been the signature band for the Navasota Blues Fest Organization for 6 years!!! AND played for the state of Texas at the Washington on the Brazos State Park for the 4th of July celebrations in 2008 and 2009. Recognized for years as a premier a blues and classic rock band, their 3rd CD Blue With Envy and their 2nd CD The Lonestar Blues, both produced by Granger Smith, have been hailed as impressive follow-ups to the debut CD Just Can't Believe It, all for sale at major online music vendors. Each features all new music written by Tubie--distinctive blues and rock and more, all with a Texas flavor. Get yours today!
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Field Of Roses artist: Dave Fields - Detonation - New Release Review

I just received the newest cd, Detonation, from Dave Fields. Fields has assembled 12 strong blues rock oriented tracks, all with a different twist from Reggae to straight Blues. The cd opens with Addicted To Your Fire, a a rocker with somewhat of an arena style. In The Night takes it to the next step with a funky beat and some pretty tasty guitar riffs. Doin' Hard Times opens with some fiery riffs and features Joe Louis Walker. This track has some more contemporary blues lines and features some real sweet guitar soloing. Bad Hair Day gets a real serious reggae beat and Fields really digs in for some hot riffs on this track. The Alter, again a more contemporary use of music with blues roots features some fiery guitar riffs. Better Be Good takes the blues from a swing jazz direction for a pretty cool track. Fields again shows he has the chops and can make is guitar talk big time. Pocket Full Of Dust hits dead center with an Albert King/Otis Rush/Big Mamma Thornton style blues track.This is my favorite track on the cd...and yeah... I caught that timing change not unlike BB King does on The Thrill Is Gone...very nice. Dr. Ron takes more of an Eric Gales / Trower/ Hendrix attack on a track and it's pretty cool. No question this guy can play. Lydia is an interesting track with guitar subtones and more of an interpretive progressive approach to music without losing it's rock edge. Actually very cool. The recording completes with You Will Remember Me, a Ryan Adams like ballad with crisp guitar riffs.

Overall Fields has put together a pretty interesting recording for those looking for guitar rock music with a bluesy edge.
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