Steve Miller Band (1968-1970) - First 5 Albums Reissued

Edsel is proud to announce its reissue programme of the legendary first five albums by the Steve Miller Band, originally released between 1968 and 1970, and now issued in Special Digipak Editions. The albums will be released on Monday 8th October 2012.

After the success of his European tour in 2010, Steve Miller is returning for a 10-date European tour in October 2012, including a prestigious concert at London’s Roundhouse on 22nd October. More info: http://bit.ly/NeAKxr.

The CD booklets included in the Special Digipak Edition releases contain all the lyrics, exclusive booklet notes written by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Joel Selvin based on new 2012 interviews with Steve Miller, plus rare photos from Steve’s personal archives.

One of rock music's all-time greats, the Steve Miller Band has sold more than 30 million records in a career spanning more than 40 years. Miller’s trademark blues-rock sound made him one of the key artists on classic rock radio. The Steve Miller Band is brand name rock that millions have come to trust. The new digitally re-mastered digipak reissues are no exception.

CHILDREN OF THE FUTURE (1968)
[Special Digipak Edition, EDSA 5003]

The first album “Children Of The Future” was produced by Glyn Johns at Olympic Studios in London, and released in April, 1968. The original five-man line-up featured Steve Miller (guitar, vocals), Boz Scaggs (guitar, vocals), Lonnie Turner (bass), Tim Davis (drums) and Jim Peterman (keyboards).

Side 1 of the album features a suite of linked psychedelic songs, while Side 2 starts with two Boz Scaggs’ originals before culminating in a selection of blues cover versions.

Bonus track is the non-album single side Sittin’ In Circles.

SAILOR (1968)
[Special Digipak Edition, EDSA 5004]

Second album “Sailor” was produced by Glyn Johns at Wally Heider’s Studio in Los Angeles, and released in October, 1968.

The album features the last recordings of the original five-man line-up, as Boz Scaggs and Jim Peterman left soon after.

The album includes the classic opening instrumental Song For Our Ancestors, perennial concert favourite Living In The U.S.A. and three Boz Scaggs songs.

BRAVE NEW WORLD (1969)
[Special Digipak Edition, EDSA 5005]

Third album “Brave New World” was produced by Glyn Johns at Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California, and released in June 1969.

The album was the first by the three-man line-up featuring Steve Miller, bassist Lonnie Turner and drummer Tim Davis, and featured guests Ben Sidran, Nicky Hopkins, and Paul McCartney on drums and vocals on My Dark Hour, credited as Paul Ramon.

Also featured is the classic “Seasons”, still a staple in Steve’s set-list today.

YOUR SAVING GRACE (1969)
[Special Digipak Edition, EDSA 5006]

Fourth album “Your Saving Grace” was produced by Glyn Johns at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California, and released in November 1969.

The album was the second by the three-man line-up featuring Steve Miller, bassist Lonnie Turner and drummer Tim Davis.

The album includes guest performances from Ben Sidran, and Nicky Hopkins in a tour-de-force on the epic Baby’s House.

NUMBER 5 (1970)
[Special Digipak Edition, EDSA 5007]

Fifth album “Number 5” was recorded at Area Code 615’s studios in Nashville and released in July 1970.

The band for this album featured Steve Miller, drummer Tim Davis, and new bassist Bobby Winkelman (from Frumious Bandersnatch).

Special guests included Ben Sidran and Nicky Hopkins and Buddy Spicher, Wayne Moss and Charlie McCoy of Area Code 615.

Steve Miller Band - Biography

The Steve Miller Band was formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of (mainly) mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.

In 1965, Steve Miller and keyboardist Barry Goldberg founded the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band along with bassist Shawn Yoder, rhythm guitarist Craymore Stevens, and drummer Lance Haas after moving to Chicago to play the blues. The band was contracted to Epic Records after playing many Chicago clubs. They also appeared on Hullabaloo with the Four Tops and the Supremes.

Miller left the group to go to San Francisco where the psychedelic scene was flourishing. He then formed the Steve Miller Blues Band. When they signed with Capitol Records in 1967, they shortened the name to the Steve Miller Band.

The band, consisting of Miller, guitarist James Cooke, bassist Lonnie Turner, and drummer Tim Davis (who replaced the departing Lance Haas on drums), backed Chuck Berry at a gig at the Filmore West that was released as the live album, Live at Fillmore Auditorium. Guitarist and vocalist Boz Scaggs joined the band soon after and the group performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in June.

In May 1968 while in England, they recorded their debut album Children Of The Future. The album did not feature a hit single and did not score on the Top 100 album chart, but standout tracks were the acoustic tune Baby's Calling Me Home and funky blues number Steppin' Stone. Closing the album is a slow version of the blues standard Key To The Highway.

The Steve Miller Band's second album Sailor appeared in October, and climbed the Billboard chart to # 24, and included the singles Living In The U.S.A., Lucky Man, and Boz Scaggs’ Overdrive and Dime-A-Dance Romance.

Miller's audience expanded with each album: Brave New World (# 22, 1969), which featured the song Space Cowboy and the track My Dark Hour (co-written by and featuring Paul McCartney on drums and vocals), followed by Your Saving Grace (# 38, 1969) and Number 5 (# 23, 1970).

In 1971, Miller suffered a broken neck after a car accident, and Capitol Records released the album Rock Love. The album featured unreleased live performances and studio material. It was followed in 1972 by Recall The Beginning...A Journey From Eden and the double album compilation Anthology, featuring 16 songs from the band's first five albums. The Joker (# 2) was released in 1973. The title track became a # 1 single and was certified platinum for reaching over one million sales.

Three years later, the Steve Miller Band returned with the album Fly Like An Eagle, which charted at # 3. Three singles were released from the album: Take The Money And Run, Fly Like an Eagle and their second Number One success, Rock’n Me. Book Of Dreams (# 2, 1977) also included three successes: Jet Airliner, Jungle Love, and Swingtown. 1982's Abracadabra album gave Steve Miller his third Number One success with the title track.

Released in 1978, The Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits 1974-1978 has sold over 13 million copies and Miller continues to perform successful sold-out concert performances. Bingo!, a new album of blues and R&B covers, was released in June 2010. Let Your Hair Down, a companion release to Bingo!, was released 10 months later, in April 2011. On November 10, 2011 the band played inside the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington to celebrate the successful delivery milestones of the 747-8 program. They opened the set with Jet Airliner.

Steve Miller Band – Official Website

Champagne And Reefer - Ian Moore

Ian Moore (born August 8, 1968 in Berkeley, California, USA) is a guitarist and singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas. He studied fiddle as a child, but switched to guitar when wrist problems interfered. His music contains elements of folk, rock and roll, world music, and blues. After playing guitar in Joe Ely's touring band and appearing on one studio album, he spent time in Austin with his own group, first Ian Moore and Moment's Notice, then The Ian Moore Band. Prior to Luminaria's release, he moved to Vashon Island, located in Puget Sound near Seattle in the State of Washington, where portions of "To Be Loved" were recorded in his home studio.

Covers from "Green Grass", which was his first non-Capricorn based album, include Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross", the Beatles' "Hey Bulldog," and Bob Dylan's "You're a Big Girl Now." He has played with such musicians as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and ZZ Top, and appeared in Billy Bob Thornton's movie Sling Blade.

Ian recently announced that he is now playing guitar with Jason Mraz on his upcoming 2010 fall tour.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Deak Harp One Man Band

Actually, Deak has been playing the blues harp since the early age of 12...inspired by a school classmate. The 1980's found Deak learning from - and eventually doing shows with the great harmonica master James Cotton, who played with the legendary Muddy Waters and became an important blues artist of today in his own right. Deak also struck an ongoing correspondence and friendship with the late, great West Coast Harmonica King, William Clarke around that time.

The concept of the Deak Harp Blues Band have their beginnings that go back from the early lineup in the 1990's to just a short while ago, to the summer of 2007, when Deak himself was given the red carpet treatment at the Pocono Blues Fest, along with David Beardsley of STLBlues.net. Deak sat in with many of the artists there, including Eddie Van Shaw...son of Howlin' Wolf sideman and sax legend Eddie Shaw. A climactic moment of the festival occurred when Deak fronted the band, singing and blowing harp at the end-of-festival party...and Deak, with the encouragement of festival promoter Michael Cloren, began to think of how it might be a great idea, and a great time to reform his old band again.

Another event that helped inspire this turn of mind happened later in October of 2007, where Deak Harp showed up at the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival (formerly the King Biscuit Blues Festival) playing on Cherry Street in front of the KFFA Radio Station, and later sitting in with Mississippi one-man-band artist Bill Abel at the Houston Stackhouse Stage. A cool clip of this performance can easily be seen on Deaks video page

If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Little Esther Phillips with Johnny Otis Orch.

Esther Phillips (December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer. Phillips was known for her R&B vocals, but she was a versatile singer, also performing pop, country, jazz, blues and soul music.
Born Esther Mae Jones in Galveston, Texas. When she was an adolescent, her parents divorced, and she was forced to divide her time between her father in Houston and her mother in the Watts area of Los Angeles. Because she was brought up singing in church, she was hesitant to enter a talent contest at a local blues club, but her sister insisted and she complied. A mature singer at age fourteen, she won the amateur talent contest in 1949 at the Barrelhouse Club owned by Johnny Otis. Otis was so impressed that he recorded her for Modern Records and added her to his traveling revue, the California Rhythm and Blues Caravan, billed as 'Little Esther Phillips' (she reportedly took the surname from a gas station sign).
Her first hit record was "Double Crossing Blues", recorded in 1950 for Savoy Records. After several hit records with Savoy, including her duet with Mel Walker on "Mistrusting Blues", which went to number one that year, as did "Cupid Boogie". Other Phillips records that made it onto the U.S. Billboard R&B chart in 1950 include "Misery" (number 9), "Deceivin' Blues" (number 4), "Wedding Boogie" (number 6), and "Faraway Blues" (number 6). Few female artists, R&B or otherwise, had ever enjoyed such success in their debut year. Phillips left Otis and the Savoy label at the end of 1950 and signed with Federal Records.

But just as quickly as the hits had started, they stopped. Although she recorded more than thirty sides for Federal, only one, "Ring-a-Ding-Doo", charted; the song made it to number 8 in 1952. Not working with Otis was part of her problem; the other part was her drug usage. By the middle of the decade Phillips was chronically addicted to drugs.

In 1954, she returned to Houston to live with her father to recuperate. Short on money, she worked in small nightclubs around the South, punctuated by periodic hospital stays in Lexington, Kentucky, stemming from her addiction. In 1962, Kenny Rogers re-discovered her while singing at a Houston club and got her signed to his brother Lelan’s Lenox label.
Phillips ultimately got well enough to launch a comeback in 1962. Now billed as Esther Phillips instead of Little Esther, she recorded a country tune, "Release Me," with producer Bob Gans. This went to number 1 R&B and number 8 on the pop listings. After several other minor R&B hits on Lenox, she was signed by Atlantic Records. Her cover of The Beatles' song "And I Love Him" nearly made the R&B Top Ten in 1965 and the Beatles flew her to the UK for her first overseas performances.

She had other hits in the 1960s on the label like the critically acclaimed Jimmy Radcliffe song "Try Me" that featured the saxophone work of King Curtis and is often mistakenly credited as the James Brown song of the same title, but no more chart toppers, and she waged a battle with heroin dependency. With her addiction worsening, Phillips checked into a rehab facility where she met fellow vocalist Sam Fletcher. While undergoing treatment, she cut some sides for Roulette in 1969, mostly produced by Leland Rogers. On her release, she moved back to Los Angeles and re-signed with the Atlantic label. Her friendship with Sam Fletcher resulted in a late 1969 gig at Freddie Jett's Pied Piper club produced the album Burnin'. She performed with the Johnny Otis Show at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1970.
One of her biggest post-1950s triumphs was in 1972 with her first album for Kudu Records. The song penned by Gil Scott-Heron, "Home Is Where the Hatred Is," - an account of drug use — was lead track on From a Whisper to a Scream which went on to be nominated for a Grammy Award. When Phillips lost to Aretha Franklin, the latter presented the trophy to Phillips, saying she should have won it instead.

Taylor continued to cut albums with her until in 1975, she scored her biggest hit single since "Release Me" with a disco-style update of Dinah Washington's "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes". It reached a high of a Top 20 chart appearance in the U.S., and Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. On November 8, 1975 she performed the song on an episode of NBC's Saturday Night hosted by Candice Bergen. The accompanying album of the same name became her biggest seller yet, with arranger Joe Beck on guitar, Michael Brecker on tenor sax, David Sanborn on alto sax, and Randy Brecker on trumpet to Steve Khan on guitar and Don Grolnick on keyboards.

She continued to record and perform throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, completing a total of seven albums on Kudu and four with Mercury Records, for whom she signed in 1977. In 1983, she charted for the final time on a tiny independent label, Winning with "Turn Me Out," which reached No. 85 R&B. She completed recording her final album a few months before her death, but it was not until 1986 that the label (Muse) released the record.
Phillips died at UCLA Medical Center in Carson, California in 1984, at the age of 48 from liver and kidney failure due to drug use. Her funeral services were conducted by Johnny Otis
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Blues medley - HARMONICA FRANK FLOYD

Harmonica Frank (October 11, 1908, Toccopola, Mississippi - August 7, 1984, Blanchester, Ohio) was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonicist.
Frank Floyd was the son of itinerant parents who separated without giving him a name. He was raised by his sharecropping grandparents, who died while he was a teenager. He taught himself to play harmonica when he was 10 years old, and he eventually learned guitar. He gave himself the name Frank Floyd, and began performing in the 1920s for traveling carnivals and medicine shows.

He learned many types of folk music and became a mimic, effortlessly switching from humorous hillbilly ballads to deep country blues.

With his self-taught harmonica technique, he was a one-man band, able to play the instrument without his hands or the need for a neck brace. While also playing guitar, he perfected a technique of manipulating the harmonica with his mouth while he sang out of the other side. He could also play harmonica with his nose and thus play two harmonicas at once, a skill he shared with blues harp players Walter Horton and Gus Cannon's partner Noah Lewis.
After years of performing on the medicine-show circuit, Harmonica Frank began working in radio in 1932. His first records were made in 1951, engineered by Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee. The songs, "Swamp Root", "Goin’ Away Walkin'", "Step It Up and Go", "Howlin’ Tomcat", and "She Done Moved", were licensed to Chess Records. Phillips put out another single on Sun Records, "Rockin Chair Daddy"/"The Great Medical Menagerist" in 1954. Harmonica Frank thus became the first white musician to record at that studio. Floyd and Larry Kennon released a shared single, "Rock-A-Little Baby"/"Monkey Love" in 1958, on their own record label, F&L.
Harmonica Frank's songs appeared on many all-black blues compilations in the 1960s and 1970s, collectors being unable to distinguish his race.

In 1972 he was "rediscovered" by Stephen C. LaVere and in the following years recorded two albums for the Adelphi and Barrelhouse labels, including a compilation of the early material. Additional full albums were recorded before his death in 1984, many of which have become available on CD, though his vintage recordings (1951–59) remain mostly out of print and unavailable aside from occasional tracks on compilations.

In his 1975 book Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music, author Greil Marcus presented a unique vision of America and music, and how they relate by using (as metaphors) six musicians, one of whom was Harmonica Frank.

Frank Floyd died in Blanchester, Ohio on August 7, 1984, due to complications from Type II diabetes (which had previously cost him his leg) and lung cancer. He was survived by his late-life spouse, Frances Kincaide-Pierce-Floyd (she died in June 2008, in Georgetown, Ohio, from natural causes).
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Aaron Moore/ Marcus Gibbons

Chicago-based blues pianist, singer and songwriter Aaron Moore is locally famous, but still rather obscure on the national blues scene. Moore spent most of the last 40 years in Chicago, backing up a long list of musicians including Little Walter, Lonnie Brooks, Hound Dog Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and B.B. King. Born and raised in Greenwood, Mississippi, Moore was encouraged in his piano playing by his mother, who was a music teacher and church piano player; early on, he was influenced by Curtis Jones, and later Memphis Slim. Later on, after moving to Chicago, he learned from boogie-woogie paragon Roosevelt Sykes, and the two would often team up in blues clubs around Chicago. Moore worked for the city of Chicago for 36 years and played blues strictly on a freelance basis on weekends, backing up local bluesmen in club shows. After retiring from the Chicago Sanitation Department, Moore relocated to Milwaukee in 1990 and has been poised to make blues his full-time vocation in his retirement years. On Hello World, his 1996 Delmark release, Moore is accompanied by James Wheeler, guitar, Willie Black, bass and Huckleberry Hound, drums.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Its My Own Fault - Jake Green & Bleu Lane

Jake Green - vocals/guitar
Bleu Lane - guitar
Steve Klotz - slide
Jeff - bass
Mark - drums
Larry - keys
Jake Green Band is one of the most promising names on the danish blues scene. In a music genre that is both strongly traditional and a bit hide-bound in style sometimes, this band shows there's still a kick to blues rock. They aim to break the boundaries without smashing them.

The Jake Green Band style is a mix of powerful blues rock, heavy shuffles and heart-wrenching slow-blues you can feel deep in your soul.

These are skillful, experienced people who are passionate about what they do. It has power from that passion, and they work hard, sweat more, and draw the audience into the feel of the music. This dedication has landed the Jake Green Band some very high-profile gigs such as steady monthly weekend gigs at Mojo Blues Bar in Copenhagen, and repeated invitations to play the blues tent at the Malmo Festival in Sweden. Both are highly sought after, and not something you land unless you bring something special to the table.

Now it's time to turn it up a notch with their new album recorded live at the Malmo Festival this past summer, it is time to get out on the road again and do what they do best; make the audience feel the blues deep down.

It is no secret that Jake Green Band are looking to play abroad more in the near future, expanding on their existing international goodwill on the blues circuits.

The guitarist and singer Jake Green has played with just about everyone on the danish blues scene, not least because he's been a steady host at the legendary, 17 year old, thursday night blues jam at Mojos for the past years. Jake has also taken several trips to places around the world to get some "milage" and road experience on the foreign stages of Austin, NY, London, Thailand and Spain. He has reaped nothing but positive experiences, and has returned with more finely honed skills every time.

The bassplayer Thomas Birck has lived Chicago, cutting his teeth in the southside blues caverns of legend, developing a solid feel for groove, and an uncanny habbit of always being right in the pocket.

Drummer Hans Rosenberg has recorded over 140 albums, and played all over the world with countless big name acts including Nanook, Poul Dissing, Ole Frimer, Uffe Steen and Rasmus Lyberth Band.

The combination of this rock steady backing is the brick wall upon which Jake Green gets to shine.

The journey has only just begun. Be a part of it.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Debbie Charts & More Tour Dates!

Debbie Davies After The Fall Charts On Roots Music Report Playing 14 States Coast-To-Coast & Canada Through October Contact: Mark Carpentieri Phone: 631-754-8725 E-Mail: mc@mc-records.com web: www.mc-records.com http://debbiedavies.com/ Northport NY- Radio has been very friendly to Debbie Davies. M.C. Records is proud to announce that her After The Fall is No. 9 this week on the Roots Music Report Blues Chart. You can check out the entire chart here; http://www.rootsmusicreport.com/index.php?page=charts&name=blues Debbie Davies just finished a pair of radio interviews that you listen to on-line. Debbie talks about the new CD and her career on “The Guitar Show With Andy Ellis.” Click to listen! Debbie Davies is interviewed by Ian McKenzie on Phonic FM. It starts at 47 minutes into the show. Please get in touch for interviews, photos, bio, etc... Check out these great reviews! With vocal and guitar chops to spare, and the intelligence and taste to use them in service of the song, Debbie Davies makes blues as pure and delightful as anybody in the biz these days. About.com “After The Fall” has a depth to it that is all to rare in today’s music. It speaks truthfully of, as Ms. Etta James said, Life, Love and the Blues, and if you have a soul you will enjoy this release. Blues411.com Davies has put together a versatile recording of blues influenced music and there is certainly something for everyone. Bman's Blues Report Debbie's guitar and voice are natural extensions of each other and each note has a purpose - that's what we're all striving for. She just keeps getting better. Keith Wyatt A trendsetter of a set, contemporary blues has to be glad to have Davies as a leading light as this set really shows the way. Midwest Records What I really like was the variety on this album. Each track has its own mood and - unlike some blues albums - it's not the "same old, same old" Anything Phonographic Certainly anyone who has been a fan of Debbie Davies will not be disappointed by this release. After the Fall will be welcome by blues lovers of a diverse range of tastes. Recommended. In A Blue Mood After The Fall (MC-0069) is Debbie Davies' 11th solo recording and is an all-original affair with Debbie writing or co-writing six of the 11 songs. In 2010, Debbie lost her dear friend, blues musician Robin Rogers and later that year Debbie broke her arm. As she began to heal, she started writing and putting many of her experiences and feelings into songs. The result is 2012's, After The Fall. In her amazing career Debbie has received 10 nominations for Blues Music Awards, and in 1997 and 2010 won the award for Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist. Debbie has recorded and performed with such blues luminaries as John Mayall, Albert Collins, Tab Benoit, Kenny Neal, Ike Turner, James Cotton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Coco Montoya, Duke Robillard, Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton and Charlie Musselwhite. Photo by Steve Spoulos The Debbie Davies Band is booked by Piedmont Talent www.piedmonttalent.com 8/10/2012 PAWLING NY - TOWN CRIER CAFÉ 8/11/2012 NORTHAMPTON MA - IRON HORSE 8/18/2012 THROUGH 08-19-2012 VISBY SWEDEN - SUDERBLUES FESTIVAL 8/24/2012 NEW HAVEN CT - CAFÉ NINE 8/25/2012 WOONSOCKET RI - CHAN'S 9/6/2012 ROCKFORD IL - ADRIATIC CAFÉ & LIVE MUSIC BAR 9/8/2012 SAINT PETER MN - ROCK BEND FOLK FESTIVAL 9/10/2012 LINCOLN NE - THE ZOO BAR 9/11/2012 SIOUX FALLS SD - OLD SKOOLZ 9/13/2012 EVANSTON IL - SPACE 9/14/2012 DES MOINES IA - HOUSE OF BRICKS 9/15/2012 KANSAS CITY MO - KNUCKLEHEAD SALOON 9/25/2012 CHICO CA - SIERRA NEVADA BREWERY 9/28/2012 FOLSOM CA - THREE STAGES AT FOLSOM LAKE COLLEGE 9/29/2012 STATLINE NV - HARRAH'S LAKE TAHOE 10/11/2012 HALIFAX, NS CANADA - ALLEGRO ROOM 10/12/2012 LITTLE BROOK, NS CANADA - LE CLUB SOCIAL DE CLARE 10/13/2012 SACKVILLE, NB CANADA - GEORGE'S ROADHOUSE 10/17/2012 NEW YORK CITY - B.B. KINGS BLUES CLUB 10/25/2012 WEST SENECA NY - RHINO'S UNION PUB #### Like M.C. Records on Facebook!

JC Brooks & the Uptown Soung release 7" + new tour dates

JC BROOKS & THE UPTOWN SOUND RELEASE 7”

featuring “I GOT HIGH” b/w “RIVER”

NEW TOUR DATES UPDATED INTO OCTOBER

Following the release of their Bloodshot Records debut full-length Want More last fall and an amazing performance at Lollapalooza, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound has released a limited-run 7” record (only 500 copies), which will highlight a stretch of tour dates extending through September and feature a Brooklyn Soul Shakedown at the Brooklyn Bowl in New York.

7” LINK: http://bloodshotrecords.com/album/i-want-more-7-single

The vinyl-only release features crowd favorite, “I Got High” – a song that NPR Music recently praised in saying, “Words are laced with honesty, as a burgeoning band brings a joyous song to life while singing about the everyday”. Side B is “River”, a newly written ballad that showcases the band’s flourishing songwriting (a la some Otis Redding slow-burning gospel fervor), where inspirational wordplay intertwines with a prowling yet dynamic waltzing melody.

The band explains the story behind the two tunes and the motivation to release a 7” record at this time:

“Despite being an uptempo dance number, I Got High, was written in that post-break up period where you're just in a haze. It’s about making a decision to party instead of feeling bad. I think it makes for a good dancing because it’s a dance song that is aware that sometimes you hit the town to celebrate life and other times to escape it. Both are valid in my eyes. Last year while in such a haze, I spent a lot of time out on the town mostly winding up where Soul DJs were spinning vinyl so I thought it would be fitting to get a vinyl release of this song about those days.

”The B Side, River, is special stripped down version of a song that will be on our next album. It’s very autobiographical. It’s a Gospel tune, but it’s a little more contemplative than other Gospel tunes. It’s about questioning whether or not you are alone in the wilderness.”

Both songs were recorded and mixed by Alex Hall at Hi Style, with special, original artwork designed by Scott Williams.

JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound just added new tour dates. A complete itinerary is listed below.

8/11 Turin, NY at Snow Ridge Ski Resort

8/12 Burlington, VT at Higher Ground Showcase Lounge

8/15 Rehoboth Beach, DE at Dogfish Head Brewing & Eats

8/16 Asbury Park, NJ at Asbury Lanes

8/17 Brooklyn, NY at Brooklyn Bowl

8/18 Cockeysville, MD at Hot August Blues

8/19 Cleveland, OH at Beachland Tavern

8/24 Springfield, IL at Old Capitol Blues & BBQ

8/25 Bloomington, IL at Bloomington Center for Performing Arts

8/31 Portland, OR at Mississippi Studios

9/1 Seattle, WA at Bumbershoot

9/4-8 Las Vegas, NV at Book & Stage at Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

9/9 Los Angeles, CA at The Satellite

10/10 Denver, CI at Larimer Lounge

http://bloodshotrecords.com/artist/jc-brooks-and-uptown-sound

http://jcbrooksandtheuptownsound.com/

Bootleggin' The Blues - Leo Hull - New release Review

I just received a new release, Bootleggin' The Blues from Leo Hull. This is a 9 track all original track release.The recording opens with the title track, Bootleggin' The Blues. This song has a real traditional honky tonk/ JJW/ HWJ sound. Road Hard is another two steppin' country type song with some pretty tasty guitar riffs. Blowtorch Baby has more of a swing to it but sticks to the back roads roots . Whiskey and Women takes the next step toward rock with some pretty cool slide work. The Road, another 2 steppin' track may be the best track on the release. It has solid airplay hooks and country guitar pickin. Pistol #69 has the blues structure but really doesn't venture far off of the path set by earlier tracks. Hull doesn't try to sound like anyone else...he sounds like himself and that's good. Running Away Again is a pretty cool track following the straight early country / rock path set by his predecessors. Between You And Me is the biggest departure from the mainline set by the balance of the recording. It follows a standard blues format and has some pretty tasty blues riffs traded with organ. I would not suggest that this is a blues recording for everyone, but it is an interesting transitional cd for fans of JJW and Hank Jr. who want a little blues mixed in.
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THE NIGHTHAWKS JOIN FORCES WITH THE FORTY FOURS ON A SERIES OF SPECIAL EAST COAST TOUR DATES

THE NIGHTHAWKS JOIN FORCES WITH

THE FORTY FOURS ON A SERIES OF SPECIAL

EAST COAST TOUR DATES TO CELEBRATE THE BAND’S NEW CD, DAMN GOOD TIME, THEIR DEBUT RELEASE FOR

SEVERN RECORDS

WASHINGTON, DC – Severn Records artists The Nighthawks, whose label debut CD, Damn Good Time, is generating rave reviews and extensive radio airplay, are joining forces with their good friends and musical compadres, the Forty Fours, for a series of special East Coast shows in September. Damn Good Time is the follow-up to The Nighthawks’ Last Train to Bluesville, which garnered the band its first-ever Blues Music Award from the Blues Foundation as Acoustic Blues Album of the Year in May 2011.

The Nighthawks and the Forty Fours were born on opposite coasts 35 years apart but both bands ultimately share the same goals: to breathe new life into the deep roots of American music and perform it with an exciting vitality in today’s world. Both bands take the essential quartet format, harp, guitar, bass and drums that evolved in Chicago in the 1950s and spread to both coasts. Now, both bands come together for a five day East Coast run that should shake the walls and rattle the halls. Kicking off at one of The Nighthawks’ home venues, the State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia, on Wednesday September 5; the show will set the Forty Fours up for a visit to XM/Sirius studios in nearby Washington, DC, for a live recording session with Bluesville’s Bill Wax on Thursday. That night, the entourage will move up to the Baltimore area for a WTMD-FM- sponsored outdoor event in West Mt. Vernon Park. Friday the 7th will find both bands at the Sellersville Theater in Upper Bucks County Pennsylvania, midway between Philly and the Allentown area. Saturday’s show will be part of the Niagara Falls Blues Festival, Toby Rotella’s annual Imperial Garage Reunion concert. The Forty Fours will precede John Primer and The Nighthawks will also back up blues legend James Cotton. Sunday, September 9, will close the grand event at Sticky Lips BBQ near Rochester, New York. The Nighthawks will then head back to the DC area for some regional dates before embarking on a three-week European tour and the Forty Fours head into the Midwest working their way back towards California.

“There are many connections between these two bands besides their mutual love for the music,” says Nighthawks founder and singer/harpist Mark Wenner. “I first met Forty Fours harp player Tex Nakamura in 1983 in Tokyo, during The Nighthawks first venture into the far east with Japan’s bluesmaster Toru Oki. We have kept in close touch and when Tex moved to LA and began travelling with the band WAR we were able to spend a lot more time together. Both bands have collaborated with the great west coast guitar slinger Kid Ramos. Kid not only played on the current Forty Fours’ release, Americana, but produced it as well. During Kid’s stint with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, he and I met and discovered a mutual interest in older American motorcycles that led to some non-music related projects; but The Nighthawks were able to host several dates for Los Fabulocos during Kid’s tenure with them, as well as bringing Kid himself east for some special guest performances. On the last west coast run for The Nighthawks, the Forty Fours and Los Fabulocos hosted the ‘Hawks for an incredible triple bill at Nick’s Taste of Texas in Covina, California. As of last week, both bands’ current CDs were flying high on XM/Sirius Bluesville's charts.”

For a hi-res photo and bio on The Nighthawks, or to arrange an interview with Mark Wenner, contact Jill Kettles at jill@markpuccimedia.com.

For more on the Forty Fours, visit www.the44sband.com

THE NIGHTHAWKS/FORTY FOURS TOUR DATES

Sept.5: State Theatre - Falls Church, VA
Sept 6: WTMD-FM Outdoor Event – Timonium, MD (Baltimore)
Sept.7: Sellersville Theater – Sellersville, PA
Sept.8: Niagara Falls Blues Festival – Niagara Falls, NY
Sept.9: Sticky Lips BBQ – Henrietta, NY (Rochester)

Bettye LaVette celebrates 50 years with new album 'Thankful N' Thoughtful'

Celebrates 50 Years in Music

New Album: "Thankful N' Thoughtful"
UK Release Date: Monday 1st October 2012

December 2012 European Tour Announced

R&B legend Bettye LaVette is set to mark her 50th anniversary in the music world with the upcoming release of her new album, Thankful N’ Thoughtful, released by ANTI-Records in the UK on Monday 1st October.

Produced by Craig Street (Norah Jones, Joe Henry, k.d. lang, Meshell Ndegeocello, John Legend, Charlie Sexton, etc.), Thankful N’ Thoughtful features a selection of contemporary tracks written and previously recorded by Bob Dylan, The Black Keys, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Patty Griffin, Gnarls Barkley and others.

Bettye consumes the songs in their entirety, rearranges them deep within her soul and exorcises them as her own, through her voice filled with longing, rage, desire, despair, survival and victory.

Bettye’s voice is rough, tender, and sensuous. Her voice is her instrument of inspiration; her dynamic power seethes throughout each song, wringing out the pathos, sharing her hard earned wisdom and story throughout these tales of her reinvention.

Bettye will support the European release of the album with a string of concerts in the UK and Europe during December 2012. She will perform one date in the UK only at the London’s JazzCafe.

JazzCafe, London
Tuesday 11th December 2012
Tickets from: £22.50 / Doors 19:00
Table Reservations: 0207 688 8899
Ticketmaster: 0844 847 2514, See Tickets: 0870 0603 777
HMV Tickets: 0843 221 0100, JazzCafe Box Office: 0207 485 6834
Email: boxoffice@jazzcafe.co.uk / www.jazzcafe.co.uk
JazzCafe, 5, Parkway, Camden Town, London, NW1 7PG

Thankful N’ Thoughtful opens with the funk injected Bob Dylan cut Everything Is Broken and when Bettye moans and howls the title refrain you have no doubt as to the trouble she’s seen.

On Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, she slows it down just a bit, then wrings every drop of sweat and blood from each and every syllable till your spine tingles, with Dirty Old Town (The Pogues/Rod Stewart), Bettye reworks the lyrical setting to Detroit - singing about her first love at Northern High and the Detroit race riots.

When she takes on The Black Keys’ I’m Not The One, the sensual grit of the song sizzles with her all-knowing rasp. “I’m Not the One” is now available at all digital outlets and the video can be seen below.

Bettye LaVette sings The Black Keys' "I'm Not The One"

Every song here is a testament to her life and her unrivaled skill for interpretation. By the time Bettye’s finished recording a track, she has fully inhabited the body and soul of the song. From Neil Young’s Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, to Savoy Brown’s I’m Tired to the title track Thankful N’ Thoughtful, a lesser known gem by Sly & The Family Stone, Bettye expels every word with such visceral passion, you can feel her in the present moment.

From my ankle to the top of my head
I’ve taken many chances, Lord
And I could have been dead
I started climbing from the bottom
All the way to the top
Before I knew it I was up there
Ya’ll can believe it or not
And that’s why I’m so thankful
Lord and I’m thoughtful
I think about it all the time
I’m trying to tell ya that I’m thankful
And I’m thoughtful”

Bettye LaVette - Thankful N' Thoughtful

Track Listing

1. Everything is Broken (Bob Dylan)
2. I’m Not the One (Daniel Auerbach/Patrick Carney)
3. Dirty Old Town (Ewan MacColl)
4. The More I Search (The More I Die) (Kim McLean)
5. I’m Tired (Chris Youlden)
6. Crazy (Brian Burton/Thomas Callaway/Gian Piero Reverberi/Gian Franco Reverberi)
7. Yesterday Is Here (Tom Waits)
8. Thankful N’ Thoughtful (Sly & The Family Stone)
9. Fair Enough (Beth Nielsen Chapman)
10. Time Will Do the Talking (Patty Griffin)
11. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (Neil Young)
12. Dirty Old Town (slow version)

Musicians

Bettye LaVette – vocals
Chris Bruce - guitars
Jonathan Wilson - guitars, banjo
Glenn Patscha - piano, keys, backing vocals on "Crazy"
Jennifer Condos - bass
JJ Johnson - drums, percussion
Steven Bernstein - brass on "Yesterday Is Here"
Douglas Wieselman - reeds on "Yesterday Is Here"

Bettye LaVette - UK/European Tour Dates 2012

05 Dec – Paris (FR) - The Alhambra
07 Dec – Bordeaux (FR) - Casino de Bordeaux
08 Dec - Conflans-Saint-Honorine (FR) - Theatre Simone Signoret
09 Dec – Lille (FR) - Casino de Lille
11 Dec – London (UK) – London JazzCafe
14 Dec – Leuven (BE) - Depot
16 Dec – Amsterdam (NL) – MC Theater
17 Dec – Utrecht, (NL) – Tivoli Oudegracht

Bettye LaVette Web Links

Betty LaVette - Official Website
www.bettyelavette.com

Betty LaVette - Official Facebook
www.facebook.com/bettyelavette

Betty LaVette - Official Twitter
https://twitter.com/BettyeLaVette

Betty LaVette - ANTI-Records Page
www.anti.com

Bettye’s explosive autobiography, A Woman Like Me, will be available from Amazon and iBooks on 27th September 2012

Good Morning Memphis./ Blues Jump a Rabbit - Mose Vinson

Mose Vinson (1917 – November 2002) was an American boogie-woogie, blues and jazz pianist and singer. His best known recordings were "Blues With A Feeling" and "Sweet Root Man". Over his lengthy career, Vinson worked with various musicians including Booker T. Laury and James Cotton.
Vinson was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He taught himself how to play the piano as a child. In his teenage years, Vinson started playing his own style of barrelhouse boogie-woogie in local juke joints in Mississippi and Tennessee, incorporating both blues and jazz in his repertoire. In 1932, following a chance meeting with Sunnyland Slim, Vinson relocated from Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Vinson continued to play at local juke house and rural community parties.[3] By the early 1950s, Vinson found employment as a custodian at the Taylor Boarding Home, where artists often stayed whilst recording next door at Sun Records studios.[5] In the studios, Sam Phillips occasionally requested that Vinson accompany musicians.[2] These included James Cotton on "Cotton Crop Blues" (1954), and Jimmy DeBerry on the latter's "Take a Little Chance". Phillips also allowed Vinson to record some tracks of his own, although these were not released until the 1980s.[2] Vinson recorded two versions of "Forty-Four", one retitled "Worry You Off My Mind", and the other as "My Love Has Gone" (also known as "Come See Me"). Session musicians on these recordings included Walter Horton, Joe Hill Louis and Joe Willie Wilkins.

After a period of lesser musical activity, by the early 1980s, the Center for Southern Folklore had enlisted Vinson to perform at various cultural events, and at local schools. He became a regular at the Center, where he played and taught for twenty years. In 1990, his contribution towards the album, Memphis Piano Blues Today, was recorded at his home.

In 1997, his first full-length CD compilation album was released via the Center. Declining health, however, stopped him playing not long before his death.

Mose Vinson died of diabetes, in November 2002 in Memphis, at the age of 85.

In 2007, the Memphis Music and Heritage Festival was dedicated to his memory.
There is some confusion over both the birth and death dates for Vinson. Allmusic quotes August 7, 1917 and November 30, 2002; whilst the Encyclopedia of Popular Music cites August 7, 1917 and November 16, 2002;[6] yet another on-line source specialising in death details quotes June 2, 1917 and November 23, 2002
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Railroad Blues - Luckey Roberts

Charles Luckeyeth Roberts, better known as Luckey Roberts (August 7, 1887 – February 5, 1968) was an American composer and stride pianist who worked in the jazz, ragtime, and blues styles.
Luckey Roberts was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was playing piano and acting professionally with traveling Negro minstrel shows in his childhood. He settled in New York City about 1910 and became one of the leading pianists in Harlem, and started publishing some of his original rags.

Roberts toured France and the UK with James Reese Europe during World War I, then returned to New York where he wrote music for various shows and recorded piano rolls.

With James P. Johnson, Roberts developed the stride piano style of playing about 1919.

Robert's reach on the keyboard was unusually large (he could reach a fourteenth), leading to a rumor that he had the webbing between his fingers surgically cut, which those who knew him and saw him play live denounce as false; Roberts simply had naturally large hands with wide finger spread.

Luckey Roberts noted compositions include "Junk Man Rag", "Moonlight Cocktail", "Pork and Beans", and "Railroad Blues". "Moonlight Cocktail" was recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and was the best selling record in the United States for ten weeks in 1942.

An astute businessman, Roberts became a millionaire twice through real estate dealings. He died in New York.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”