T-Bone Shuffle - Skunk Jive

Original liner notes for "Scratch It" album by Ken Chang who has written for Allmusic.com and Blues Revue magazine. --- It was just another small footnote in blues history, but allow me a few lines here and I’ll give you the full story. The sky was overcast, the heat sweltering. Guitarist Harry Manx was halfway through his set at the 2004 Chicago Blues Festival when he decided to throw the audience a curveball. Enter stage right: Kelvin “Smokey” Ng. As Smokey took a seat by the microphone, there was some halfhearted applause, along with a couple of groans. Just a day earlier, a Japanese samisen troupe in full kimono garb had played on this same stage, resulting in a muddled attempt at an “East meets West” blues jam. And now here was Manx introducing a Chinese harp player whom he had met in Singapore. I could almost hear the crowd sigh, “Yes, globalization is nice and all, but we would like to hear some blues, please.” True, I could have pointed out to these folks that thanks to globalization, you can indeed buy a Marine Band in Singapore. But I held my tongue; I knew Smokey would give them what they deserved: a rude and bluesy awakening. What followed was a hoodoo-drenched acoustic version of “The Thrill Is Gone,” with Smokey blowing some of the fattest harp licks heard at the festival. He took his first chorus, and passers-by were stopping in their tracks. I had seen Smokey hypnotize an audience countless times, albeit on smaller stages that were literally on the other side of the world. Now the stage was Chicago. Whispers rose from the crowd: “Who is this guy?” Manx was happy to oblige an answer. “That’s Kelvin Ng,” he said. “All the way from...Singapore.” And that, my friends, is how Smokey was introduced to the city of Chicago. * The album you’re holding is one that I’ve been waiting for since 1997, when I first heard Kelvin play harmonica. I had been living in Singapore for about a year, and Kelvin had just finished his army service. Before you could say the words “skunk jive,” I was getting my crash course on how to back up a blues harp player on guitar. I can still remember our first gigs together, and my studied but desperate attempts to “be” Eddie Taylor (to Kelvin’s Jimmy Reed) or Robert Lockwood (to his Sonny Boy Williamson). When I returned to New York in 2000, I came back with an electric guitar, a firm grasp of blues history, and pages of notes for articles that I wanted to write -- thanks mainly to Kelvin. What I still didn’t have, though, was his album. The wait is now over. Prepare yourself for Scratch It, the debut album by Kelvin’s band, Skunk Jive. It’s an ambitious 42 minutes of original music, and the range of styles -- from Chicago blues to swamp boogie to soulful funk -- will surprise even longtime Smokey fans. Back in the ’90s, Kelvin stuck pretty close to the usual Windy City sources: Sonny Boy, Howlin’ Wolf, Big Walter, Jimmy Reed. But he’s tinkered a lot with his sound since then, trying out funkier rhythms and a jazzier approach on harp. Backing him up is crack team of groove mechanics in guitarist Thomas Wong, bassist Louis Lam, and drummer Gopalakrishnan. You can hear the band hit “fully funk-tional” mode on the title track and on the instrumental “Skanky Girl.” The band’s rougher, gutbucket side turns up on a pair of up-tempo blues. In the snarling “Don’t Be So Quick,” Kelvin takes aim at the drunk, disruptive customer who always crawls out from under his rock on the night of a blues gig. On “Tom’s Stomp,” axeman Wong hammers out a stop-time theme (gotta love that grungy chromatic turnaround) before launching into a Texas-style shuffle. “Run, Wally, Run” and “Chill Pill” offer an unexpected twist: the harp player on lead guitar. Kelvin has long been a fan of the capo-styles of guitarists Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Albert Collins, and Jimmie Vaughan. But few of us knew how much he was practicing them. Vaughan’s influence is all over both of these tunes, especially “Chill Pill,” with its tube-melting Fender tone. The closing track, “Letting Go‚” is “one for the harp-heads,” as Kelvin puts it. A tribute to both Little Walter and Big Walter, it takes me right back to the day I first heard Kelvin, and thinking to myself, “Somebody had better record this guy.”
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Moose Walker

Jimmy Johnson on bass, Louisiana Red on guitar & Ben Sandmel on drums.
Johnny Walker--Big Moose, Busy Head, Moose John, J. W. Walker--by whatever name he was called him, he was Chicago’s irrepressible wild man of blues piano. He wore a splendid smile and long, wavy hair; in his briefcase he carried a gorilla mask and a “Big Moose” jersey. Just as musicians and audiences enjoyed Moose’s antics, they also admired the exuberant, two-fisted blues he played. He’s worked alongside the best in the business and rambled from coast to coast.

John Mayon Walker’s story was colorful from the start. He was born June 27, 1927, in Stoneville, Mississippi, but the way Moose told it, “I was really born in a graveyard, playing with the tombstones.” Indian blood and long flowing hair ran in the family. He picked up the nickname Moose as a youngster hanging around the pool hall in Greenville, Mississippi. “I wore my hair so long maybe I looked like a moose, I don’t know. I asked the guys, ‘Why you call me Moose?’ They said, ‘Well, that’s the only thing that fit for you.’”

Moose made his first music on an old church organ. He played guitar in the cotton fields, took tuba lessons and once had visions of becoming a famous blues vibes player. During the ‘50s he became known as a pianist and bass player as he roamed through the Delta and beyond. He played with many local Greenville bluesmen, joined Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm in Clarksdale and sat in with the King Biscuit Boys in Helena, Arkansas. He worked the Mississippi juke joints with Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson. He switched to guitar for gigs with Boyd Gilmore in Arkansas and with pianist Eddie Snow in Cairo, Illinois. He lived with bandleader Tuff Green in Memphis and with pianist Pinetop Perkins in East St. Louis. He got to do some shows with Lowell Fulson when Fulson’s bandleader, Choker Campbell, hired Moose to drive the group around the country. He traveled even more extensively with the

roadmaster of the blues, Earl Hooker. During the drunken party in St. Louis, he won a $50 dollar bet with Ike Turner by jumping off the third floor of a building. (It was just enough to cover the hospital bill.) And he joined the army and went to Korea.

He did some recording in the ‘50s too. His first studio date was with Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson, for Trumpet Records in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1955 Ike Turner taped Moose in a Greenville club; two of those sides, credited to J.W Walker, appeared years later on the Kent Label. He appeared with Earl Hooker on Johnny Otis talent show in Los Angeles and cut his first 45, as Moose John, for Otis’ Ultra label, also in 1955.

Moose recorded even more after Sunnyland Slim brought him to Chicago. He backed Earl Hooker, Ricky Allen, Lorenzo Smith and others on local sessions. Willie Dixon took Moose to New York in 1960 to do some studio work for Prestige/Bluesville. Moose rejoined Elmore James at Silvio’s on the West Side and went to New Orleans with Elmore to record for Bobby Robinson’s Fire label. At another session for Robinson, Moose sang a few himself. Those tracks ended up being credited only to “the mysterious Bushy Head” on an Elmore James LP release in England. Two Chicago labels, The Blues and Age released Big Moose singles during the ‘60s. Moose’s first album came in 1969 when he and Earl Hooker went to Los Angeles to record for ABC Bluesway.

The guitar wizard Earl Hooker was Moose’s closest partner, on Chicago gigs and chaotic road trips. After Hooker’s death in 1970, Moose played in several other Chicago bands, including those of Jimmy Dawkins, Mighty Joe Young and Louis Myers. When Moose had his own gigs, he usually worked solo, or with just his drummer, Chris Moss. The duo once played bump-and-grind organ music for go-go dancers at sleazy Near North Side Joints. Moose also appeared at the Soul Queen restaurant on the South Side and played between band sets at Kingston Mines on the North Side.

In the late ‘70s, Moose joined Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang, just in time for their session for Alligator’s Living Chicago Blues series. Alligator president Bruce Iglauer was so impressed by Moose’s two-fisted piano that he offered him a session of his own for the series. Moose responded with four intense songs on a session that included his pal Louis Myers on guitar. Bass guitar was almost unnecessary, as Walker carried the bottom end with his pounding left hand.

Moose went on to record a handful of albums for various small labels, mostly in Europe, and to tour whenever anyone called him. In 1982 he made a memorable trip to New Zealand where he ended up living in a native Maori village, venerated as a member of the tribe!

Johnny “Big Moose” Walker suffered a serious stroke in the late 1980s and lived for a number of years in a Chicago nursing home before his death in 1999. No piano player of such sheer power and strength has arisen in Chicago to replace him.

Source: James Nadal
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SP Leary, Jimmy Rogers & Big Walter

S.P. Leary, (June 6, 1930 - January 26, 1998) blues drummer for such stars as Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. Born in Carthage, Texas, Leary began playing drums when he was 14. He toured with T-Bone Walker in the mid-1940s before moving on to the Chicago blues scene. He performed on many of Howlin' Wolf's most famous recordings with Chicago-based Chess Records, including "Howling for My Darling," "I've Been Abused" and "I'm Leaving You." He backed Muddy Waters on "The Same Thing" and "You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had." Leary was inducted into Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
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Listen Girl - Bill Magee Blues Band

Born in Collins, the back woods of Mississippi in 1943, Willie (Bill) Magee grew up loving music, listening to Muddy Waters, Elmore James, and B.B. King on his Father's small radio. Life was difficult and Willie experienced many hard knocks. His mother died when he was four years old and his father followed when he was just thirteen. Taken from his parentless home, his older brother Deloy moved him to his tiny one room flat in Ithaca, New York. Determined to finish high school, Willie concentrated on his studies while Deloy worked hard to support him. At the Community Center Willie met guitarist Butch Rosenberg and his focus turned to music. As the friendship grew, they spent many hours listening to R&B and Rock and Roll, especially the blues guitars of B.B. King and Muddy Waters. With a part time job at a Department store Willie managed to save for his first guitar...a $29.99 Montgomery Ward special, much to the chagrin of his brother. Willie promised Deloy that some day he would play the Apollo Theater. A year of solid practice brought Willie to join his first local band and at age fourteen music became his life. Working with various local bands he soon was earning money, and also managed to graduate from High School...the first in his family to do so. His ambition is to become the best guitarist in the country!!! In 1967 Jimmy James(Hendrix) left for England and Willie toured Russia, Japan, Europe and England with his band. Professional play kept him touring on the Chittlin' Circuit and on the New York scene when he was home. It was during this time Bill Magee played with B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding, John Lee Hooker, Bobby 'Blue' Bland, Wilson Pickett, and Bo Diddley among others in venues like The Regal and McCormick Place in Chicago, The Royal in D.C., Madison Square Garden, The Filmore East, The Baby Grand as well as Yankee and Shea Stadium in New York City. With the birth of his fourth child, Willie finally gave up the relentless touring and the music business for a 9 to 5 and fatherhood. Relocating to San Diego in 1987, he continued his hiatus from music until 1993. With music in his blood, Bill had to return and is now burning up the San Diego Music scene with his guitar virtuosos and those New York/Chicago Blues. Bill Magee is THE REAL DEAL. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

J & R Adventures artist: Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards The Daylight - New Release Review and Free Download

Well, Joe's done it again! Joe Bonamassa has a new release, Driving Toward The Daylight, coming out on May 22 and it is really consistently good. Although I have enjoyed Bonamassa's work since I first heard it, many of the releases has really strong tracks mixed with a few lesser tracks which were carried by the strength of his mastery of the guitar. This release,with only 4 original tracks is very consistent with the addition of Aerosmith's Brad Whitford on guitar, Blondie Chapman on guitar, Anton Fig on drums and percussion, Arlan Schierbaum on keys, Michael Rhodes on bass Carmine Rojas on bass, Jeff Bova and the Bova Brass, Pat Thrall on guitar and Whitford's son Harrison on guitar. This album has a more 60/70's rock/blues/r&b sound due to each players influence... but it's still Joe. The cd opens with Dislocated Boy, a blues rocker with a cool back beat. This song is constructed more along the lines of classic rock design (Lez Zep) where it's a great tune but you never lose track that's it's really about the guitar with a few blistering guitar solos. Next up is Robert Johnson's Stones In My Passway which is given given an update which sound quite modern but follows the footsteps laid by the British blues rockers of the earlier days. I really like it. The composition shows it's definite roots in the early blues and only tipping of the hat to the sons who brought the fathers of the blues to light... with a fresh approach. The title track, Driving Toward Daylight, is a ballad crafted to fit into airplay formatting again with a strong guitar interlude. Howlin' Wolf's Who's Been Talking? is well done with shimmery Peter Green like chords. It's delivered in a Wolf no messing around style and has a solo that compliments the track very well. Destined to be a crowd pleaser, Willie Dixon's I Got All You Need takes the format of a number of Bonamassa tracks from the past with the contemporary swing. A Place In My Heart written by Bernie Marsden, is a soul style blues track with a "singing guitar" solo like you might expect from Steve Hunter, Ronnie Montrose or David Gilmore but it's Joe behind the wheel and he has his own sound ....very nice. Bonamassa interprets Bill Withers' Lonely Town Lonely Street in a very cool fashion with alternating shredding and ripping guitar solos trading with the drums over a strong driving rhythm. Bonamassa's Heavenly Soul has clues to an old country western song by Stan Jones but done by over 50 artists through the years. Tom Wait's New Coat Of Paint is transformed into one of Bonamassa's great guitar showcase songs with some really cool guitar riffs played under the music as well as the strong lead guitar component. Certainly one of the strongest tunes on the recording. Bonamassa's Somewhere Trouble Don't Go turns on a straight up blues rock style track. There are some really nice guitar riffs on this track that may get past you if you're only looking for the extended solos. Slide work is nice and clean with some chicken pickin added in. Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes sings lead vocals on this last track, Too Much Ain't Enough, a 1987 hit by Barnes. This gets back to the R&B sound. Barnes has a great voice and gives Bonamassa a solid vehicle to play his guitar at will. Overall this may be Bonamassa's best complete release to date. I can't say that there is any one song that carry's the load like in previous releases as much as the cd is well balanced and enjoyable.
Get your FREE Download of Joe Bonamassa's single
"Slow Train"
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Back From The Edge - New Release from Mark Anderson

SoCal Singer-Songwriter Mark Anderson Releases Back From The Edge

(Los Angeles, Calif) - Mark Anderson began his career at the age of 17, singing in the night clubs of his home town Dayton, Ohio. Opening for many national acts including The Stray Cats, Steppenwolf, Jeff Healey, The Producers, and BadFinger to name a few. After winning a local radio contest at WTUE-FM, Mark had a regional hit with "Marginal Man" and toured extensively through out the MidWest and South before moving to Los Angeles.

Once in Los Angeles Mark met producer/trumpet player Gary Grant. Grant produced Anderson's first CD "No Easy Way Out". for independent label KMA Records. Mark gained a large following with his songs "Hey Mister,", "So Hard to Find" and "Torn Flag'" In 2002 Mark stopped touring but continued to write and record. In 2010, he joined forces with producer/guitarist Bob Boykin to record his new CD "Back From The Edge." They assembled a team of top musicians from Los Angeles and Nashville, among them Mark Jordan, Joel Taylor, Jimmy Z, Lee Thornburg, Bernie Dresel, Tom Walsh, Bob Birch, Johnny Griparic, Jimmy Earl, Christina Vierra, and Randy Crenshaw. Anderson's musical influences include Howlin' Wolf, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Tom Waits, The Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Ramones, and many more.

The media has taken notice of Mark Anderson and Back From The Edge. "From big band blues like w/ "Cat House Blues" to the hot rocker "The Truth Is," I like the lyrical writing on this well produced album," writes reviewer Scott Thomas in Guitarz Forever. "Mark has a way with words that he weaves within his music to create blanket of solidarity within each song... I highly recommend this CD for those who were top 40 listeners of the late 70's. I know these songs will give you sweet memories of yesteryear and good vibes of today," concludes Thomas. Rockwired Radio's Brian Lush opined, "singer/songwriter Mark Anderson is just the sort of troubadour that we need right now...in a world that seems to be collapsing before our eyes, Anderson's message of remaining true to one's self is one that can be heard loud and clear on Back From The Edge." David Mobley, host of Songwriters Webcast, had this to say: "It is rare indeed to have a solo artist of this caliber wondering the haloed halls of the underground music scene searching for an ever greater offering than he has already created to this point. One listen and you will find yourself lost in the labyrinth of all things possible."

"I started singing at the age of four in the church behind my parent's house," recalls Anderson in a recent interview. "My first band was called the Electric Chords, which I played with in front of my whole school in seventh grade. "I won my high school talent contest," Anderson continues, singing "Takin' Care of Business" (by Bachman Turner Overdrive). I then entered a radio contest at WTUE-FM in Dayton, Ohio and won the top spot on a compilation album of the best local artists." Regarding his influences, Anderson cites trumpeter Gary Grant (who worked with the late Michael Jackson) and David Haley, Anderson's first songwriting partner and band mate in the Beat Boys. As for his influences? "Whatever inspires the most in this world I'm traveling through. Heart breakers and soul shakers." Asked whether he prefers the studio or playing live, Mark replies "playing live, because of the energy of the crowd." Where does he hope to be five years from now in his career? "Working, working, working" was his reply.

Catch a live performance and interview by Mark Anderson on Actors E Chat Thursday, August 18 (www.actorsentertainment.com to watch live) at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Anderson will also be the Spotlight Artist on American Veterans Radio the week of September 18.

Mississippi Heat

On the back of Mississippi Heat's CD Footprints On The Ceiling, there is a photograph of a man with his eyes closed, playing the harmonica with such passion, that one is almost stunned by the actual silence of that frozen moment. Yet when he is heard live or on record on his harmonica, the listener is caught up by its fervent, inspiring presence. The man behind the harmonica is Pierre Lacocque, Mississippi Heat's band leader and song writer. Pierre was born on October 13, 1952 in Israel of Christian-Belgian parenthood. However, shortly after his birth, Pierre's family moved to Germany and France before going back to Belgium in 1957. By the age of 6, Pierre had already lived in three countries. A preview to his future musical career on the road. Pierre's childhood in Brussels resonated with the intense and impassioned Scriptural upbringing of his father, a Protestant minister, now living in Chicago, who became a worldfamous Old Testament scholar. Pierre, his brother Michel (Mississippi Heat's General Manager) and his sister Elisabeth (who did the artwork design on the Heat's first three CD's) went to a Jewish Orthodox School in Brussels. After the Holocaust, Pierre's parents and paternal grandfather (also a minister) felt that their children and grandchildren should learn about the suffering and plight of the Jews, as well as about Judaism in general and its philosophical and theological depths. At the Athenee Maimonides (Brussels) they were the only non-Jews ever (and since) to attend. At the Athenee Maimonides they learned old and modern Hebrew, all the religious rites and prayers, as well as studied the rabbinical commentaries on the books of the Old Testament. With the devotion to his studies, there was little time or room for much else. The family culture and priority was on intellectual pursuits, not on play such as soccer or music (two old interests of his). Serious studying, the reading of existential philosophers and theologians, were the only worthwhile activities condoned and encouraged by Pierre's parents, his father in particular. But thanks to the radio in young Pierre's room, there was just enough opportunity to unravel the subtle auditory endowments of Destiny. From the radio he heard and was moved by such soulful singers as Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and Aretha Franklin. Pierre was careful to keep the volume down. This is where he began to appreciate African- American music. ... The sound of the harmonica was first introduced to him when he lived in Alsace, France. His father was then a minister in a small village called Neuviller (1955-1957), not far from Albert Schweitzer's birthplace in Gunsbach. Pierre's father had bought him a green plastic harmonica toy. He was about three years old at the time. He remembers blowing in and out of it and feeling a surge of sadness that felt so familiar. As he experimented with the toy he often cried listening to its plaintive sounds. It was not until he came to Chicago in 1969, however, that he finally detected his destiny: playing the blues on the harmonica. He had never heard the blues saxophone-like amplified harmonica sound until then. In 1969 Pierre's father received a full-time Old Testament professorship at the Chicago Theological Seminary, located on the University of Chicago's campus. The family decided to move permanently to the Windy City and leave Belgium for good. Pierre was sixteen years old. The golden era of the 1950's electric Chicago sound was still having a vibrant impact on local bands. Luminaries such as Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Little Walter, Junior Wells, Elmore James, James Cotton, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy Reed, and so many others, were still dynamic forces to reckon with in the late 1960's. Unfortunately some had died by the time Pierre arrived in Chicago. Little Walter, Pierre's mentor and main influence, died in 1968 following a head wound he acquired during a fight. ... Otis Spann, Muddy Waters' long-time band member and perhaps the best blues piano player ever, had also recently died of cancer. On a Saturday night in the early Fall of 1969, Pierre decided to go to a concert being held at the University of Chicago's Ida Noyes. He had no exposure to Chicago Blues before then, and had no expectations as to what he was about to hear. As he listened to the band playing, he became overwhelmed with emotion and excitement at a sound he never heard before: A saxophone-sounding amplified harmonica! In his own words, " I was absolutely stunned and in awe by the sounds I heard coming from that harmonica player and his amplifier ... It sounded like a horn, yet distinct and unique". The harmonica player went by the name of Big Walter Horton, a name he had never heard before but who changed his life forever. What he heard that night, the music, the mood, the style and sounds, moved his soul. From that moment on, Blues music, and blues harmonica in particular, became an obsession. Two days later, on a Monday morning, Pierre bought himself his first harmonica (or "harp" as it is called in blues circles). Next he was buying records, instruction books, anything to do with the blues harp. He was talking to people, picking up new knowledge wherever he could. Obsession led to passion and intense dedication, and Pierre was practicing the harp six, seven hours a day, notpaying attention to the clock (although he is known to check the clock now to remind him when he needs to get off the stage, because if it was up to him he would keep on playing beyond the scheduled sets! His band members tease him about that). Pierre eventually finished High School (like Paul Butterfield, Pierre graduated from the University of Chicago's High School, better known as "The Lab School". The two never met, however, as Butterfield had left the school before 1969). Pierre then left Chicago to go to College in Montreal, Canada. He played harp through his College years, making a few dollars here and there. While at Stanislas College and later, at McGill University, both located in Montreal, Pierre got his first live experience with a local blues group named the ALBERT FAILEY BLUES BAND. About a year later, Pierre joined another band: OVEN. That was in the early 1970's when he lived for six years in that French-Canadian city (1970-1976). OVEN gigged regularly, and eventually won the Montreal Battle of The Bands contest in the summer of 1976. Unfortunately, the promoter who promised the winner $1,000 Canadian dollars and a record contract skipped town, and was never seen or heard from again. The news of the winand of the shady promoter did make the Montreal newspapers though... Not having the ill-fated Canadian blues career anymore, Pierre, 24 at the time, and disillusioned, came back to Chicago. Although playing the blues on the harp could never be more fitting as it was at this point, it couldn't pay the bills. And it was at this point (1976) that Pierre described his life as going "the intellectual route". Pierre decided to further his education in Clinical Psychology. It was during this period that Pierre met his Social Worker wife Vickie, and began working as a clinician at a Mental Health center in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. For the next decade, Pierre was involved with his psychological work and research, finishing a doctorate at Northwestern University and publishing professional articles and a book, until a major insight took place in 1988. Pierre, an accomplished 36 years-old man, who had been studying Existentialism, Theology, History of Religions, etc. began to feel a void in his life. He began to re-evaluate his life and look into his own heart. Eventually he heard the answer loud and clear: He missed playing the blues. The awareness struck him like a beautiful horn, coming from an amp, distinct and unique, and yet a sound he had heard before, hidden all these years, but definitely not lost. And this is where Pierre's passion revived, his fire and "joie de vivre" rekindled, his ability to take what was lost inside of him all these years and turn it into the raw, powerful heat that it is today. 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”

Jimmy Byron - Transition - New release review

I just received the newest release (April 15, 2016), Transition, from Jimmy Byron and it's quite good. Opening with a classic drum riff tied to The Shangri-Las of the early 60's but with takes a hard turn with traces of the Who, Zappa and Lou Reed. Chris Staig on lead guitar lays out some really outrageous riffs joined by Mitchell Thompson on bass and Josh Hicks on drums. Excellent! It's Sad has a very cool early 60's British rock sound with Byron on vocals and with the addition of David Poulin on strings and Staig's guitar riffs in an almost Mick Ronson style sets a nice tone. Can't Get Ahead has a Buddy Holly/Bo Diddley rockin feel and Byron gets things hopping. Jack Breakfast on piano and Byron on lead vocal and harp give this track a real vintage feel. Title track, Transition, is a good urban rocker with a punky, cocky attitude. With a lot of swagger and Reed style vocals, this track kicks! The Job has a folkier sound with an early Bob Dylan delivery and rural fiddle and guitar instrumentation. Very cool! (You Don't Do) What You Used To is a driving rocker with a slightly off beat rhythm. Again Staig sets up the guitar lines, Dennis Mohammed drives the bass, Breakfast on piano and Hicks carries the drums. Very cool. Lucy is a beautiful ballad with simple lines but strongly reminding me of one of today's best songwriters, Frank Black. Definitely one of my favorites on this release with a lot of good tracks to choose from! Don't Reckon has a cool rock blues feel with an early Jorma/Hot Tuna feel. Cool off beat piano lines, sax riffs by Jim Bish and clever guitar riffs gives this track a different kind of heat. Wrapping the release is Big Bad Wolf, a simple country style rocker with solid vocals and really nice slide work from Burke Carroll . Rhythmic acoustic guitar strumming and light honky tonk piano styling carry this track through to the end of a very fine, versatile release.



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Nadine - Buddy Reed

To long time blues fans throughout the Southwest, Buddy Reed remains one of the area's most fluid and powerful practioners of the blues guitar, a man in confident possession of the blues "mojo", fronting a band that keeps the dance floors in a state of manic rhythmic chaos. Reed is no late comer to the most original of all American music. Growing up in Rialto, CA, he picked up a guitar in the early sixties when the blues revival of that era began. He started his professional career with Bacon Fat, one of the landmark blues bands of the 60's and 70's. Featuring harmonica great George Smith and a young Rod Piazza, with Buddy on lead guitar and vocals, the band quickly became one of the hottest blues acts in the Los Angeles area. Bacon Fat eventually came under the tutelage of producer Mike Vernon, who at the time was making records with Fleetwood Mac, Otis Spann, Johnny Young, and Eddie Boyd. After embarking on a successful tour of England, Vernon and the band entered the studio and cut material for five LP's on the British labels Blue Horizon and London. From 1969 to 1972, Buddy and the band toured the U.S. with George Smith and Big Mama Thornton. When not on the road, the band worked regularly throughout Southern California playing with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, J B Hutto, John Mayall, Jimmy Reed, John Hammond Jr., Jimmy Rogers, Margie Evans, Howlin Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, and Johnny Otis. Buddy left Bacon Fat in the early seventies to join Little Richard's touring band. From the seventies onward, Buddy began creating his ideal sound; the singeing hot blues trio. One of the rarest of ensembles, Reed's trio evokes a solid, guitar based sound that fills the room with a powerful and heartfelt sound. It's blues the way it's taught in the old school: straight to the heart, deep into the soul. 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”

I ain't Drunk - Alex Jenkins & The Bombers

Alex Jenkins & the bombers is a rythym & blues based blues band. If you had to label this band the best way to describe their music is that it has elements of R&B, blues, jazz, rockabilly, roots and Americana with having an uptown, Westside Chicago sound. From the first song until the last song the band will have the audience jumping to their feet to tapping their toes. The bands current release “Creepin After Midnight” showcases the many influences in the playing and vocals. The Cd was on the Illinois Roots Airplay Radio chart for September 2012. The cd also made the top 25 airplay for the month of July 2012 at WEFT radio Champaign Illinois. The song she wants to rock made the top 50 songs for 2011 plays on WKCC radio Kankakee Illinois friends of the blues show. The band is currently working on material for their second release. They are currently performing many venues including festivals and state fairs. The band has appeared on the same bill with blues artists Royal Southern Brotherhood, Tinsley Ellis, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Nick Moss, Lil Ed at the Champaign Illinois blues, brews and bar b que festival on June 29th 2012. Also July 21st at the It Aint Nothing But The Blues festival in Bloomington IL. appearing on the bill with Anna Popovich, Sam Lay, Teeny Tucker and others. The Band Consists of Veteran Guitar Player/Vocalist Alex "Wayne" Jenkins, Brother Tim Jenkins on Drums/Vocals, Mike Crisp/Bass Guitar. Alex grew up on Chicago’s south west side within walking distance of the famous Maxwell St. It is there that he got his first exposure to blues music peering through windows of the blues clubs watching Muddy Waters, Howling wolf, Buddy Guy and others playing the blues. At age 13 is when he started playing guitar in local bands all throughout the 60’s in what was called oldtown. After moving out to Los Angeles for a few years Alex came back to the Midwest and spent the next several years playing and touring all throughout theUS And Canada performing in roadhouses, theatre’s and festivals. Alex then moved to Nashville where he lived from 1996-2002. While there, he played in blues bands and also hosted a pro blues jam in downtown Nashville. Alex decided to return to the Midwest to his roots and to form Alex Jenkins & The Bombers. Tim was born in Harvey Il. a south suburb of Chicago in 1961. He grew up listening to WLS & WVON radio where he was first exposed to motown and blues. He has played many styles of music in several bands throughout his career, but his true roots is with blues and R & B music. Tim currently plays vintage Rogers drums. Some of his influences include Charlie Watts, Frank Beard, Louie Bellson, Buddy Rich, Ginger Baker and others. Both Alex and brother Tim have many years combined playing experience. Alex and Tim have toured on the road for many years including playing venues in Memphis and Nashville. They competed in the international blues competition challenge in Memphis in 1989. Current members of the prairie crossroads blues society Champaign Il. and the Bloomington blowtorch blues society out of Bloomington Il. Their influences are many including artists such as Albert King, BB King, Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Johnny Guitar Watson , Bobby Blue Bland , Robert Cray, Little Milton ,Jimmy Liggins, Roy Brown. Jazz artists George Benson, John Coltrane, Charlie Bird, Cab Calloway, Boz Skaggs and others, Rockabilly artists such as Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran, Rick Nelson, and of course Motown, and Stax. Member bassist Mike Crisp played 4 years in the high school jazz band then attended Illinois State University in Bloomington Il. Where he played for four years in the Il. State University Jazz combo. Some if his influences include Stanley Clarke, Charles Mingus, Victor Wooten, Maynard Ferguson, Miles Davis, Dave Matthews, and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

 If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Hideaway - Left Hand Frank Craig

Southpaw guitarist Frank Craig (like many of his peers, he played an axe strung for a right-hander, strapping it on upside down) never really transcended his reputation as a trusty sideman instead of a leader -- and that was just fine with him. But he stepped into the spotlight long enough to sing four fine tunes for Alligator's Living Chicago Blues anthologies in 1978. Craig was already conversant with the guitar when he moved to Chicago at age 14. Too young to play inside the Club Zanzibar (where Muddy Waters, Little Walter, and Wolf held forth), Frank and his teenaged pals, guitarist Eddie King and bassist Willie Black, played outside the joint for tips instead. Legit gigs with harpist Willie Cobbs, guitarist James Scott, Jr., Jimmy Dawkins, Junior Wells, Good Rockin' Charles, Jimmy Rogers, and Hound Dog Taylor kept Frank increasingly active on the Chicago circuit from the mid-'50s to the late '70s. He moved to Los Angeles not too long after the Alligator session, eventually hanging up his guitar altogether due to health problems. 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” Video

Hideaway / Linda Lu - Left Hand Frank

Southpaw guitarist Frank Craig died January 14, 1987) andlike many of his peers, he played an axe strung for a right-hander, strapping it on upside down, never really transcended his reputation as a trusty sideman instead of a leader -- and that was just fine with him. But he stepped into the spotlight long enough to sing four fine tunes for Alligator's Living Chicago Blues anthologies in 1978.

Craig was already conversant with the guitar when he moved to Chicago at age 14. Too young to play inside the Club Zanzibar (where Muddy Waters, Little Walter, and Wolf held forth), Frank and his teenaged pals, guitarist Eddie King and bassist Willie Black, played outside the joint for tips instead. Legit gigs with harpist Willie Cobbs, guitarist James Scott, Jr., Jimmy Dawkins, Junior Wells, Good Rockin' Charles, Jimmy Rogers, and Hound Dog Taylor kept Frank increasingly active on the Chicago circuit from the mid-'50s to the late '70s. He moved to Los Angeles not too long after the Alligator session, eventually hanging up his guitar altogether due to health problems
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There's a video but I can't show : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGs3B-81uCQ

Blues Legend Jody Williams: February 3, 1935 -- December 1, 2018

  JODY WILLIAMS: FEBRUARY 3, 1935 - DECEMBER 1, 2018

photo by Dan Machnik

Famed Chicago blues guitarist/vocalist and Blues Hall Of Fame member Jody Williams, who recorded with legends including Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Spann and his childhood friend Bo Diddley, as well as under his own name, died of cancer at the Munster Med Inn in Munster, Indiana on December 1, 2018. He lived in nearby St. John, Indiana. He was 83.

One of the last and most accomplished practitioners of the golden 1950s era of Chicago blues, Williams was well-known for his instantly recognizable stinging guitar tone, a keen vibrato and a sensibility that straddled the turf between gutbucket blues, sophisticated jazzy West Coast stylings and even vintage rockabilly, along with solid vocals and thoughtful songwriting. His often-replicated guitar parts were crucial to some of the most iconic songs of the genre, including on Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love and I’m Bad, Howlin’ Wolf’s Evil and Forty Four, Billy Boy Arnold’s I Wish You Would and I Ain’t Got You, and Sonny Boy Williamson’s Don’t Start Me Talking.

Joseph Leon (Jody) Williams was born in Mobile, Alabama on February 3, 1935 and moved to Chicago around age five. After he began exploring music on harmonica and jaw harp, he met Ellas McDaniel (the future Bo Diddley) at a talent show. Bo taught him an open guitar tuning and they began working the streets together in 1951. Williams began playing clubs at age 17 and went on to record under his own name (including his influential instrumental anthem Lucky Lou). Williams was the first Chicago blues guitarist to master B.B. King’s stringbending-based approach and influenced the young modernists of the day such as Otis Rush and Buddy Guy. He served for years as the house guitarist at Chess Records and backed a varied list of artists including Jimmy Witherspoon, Floyd Dixon, Dale Hawkins and Bobby Charles. He played on Buddy Morrow’s big band version of Rib Joint, and dueled with B.B. King on an Otis Spann 45 for the Checker label. He also played on multiple rock ‘n’ roll package tours. In 1958 he was called to the army, serving his tour of duty in Germany. Returning to Chicago, Williams studied computers and engineering. He left the music business in the 1960s.

Williams returned to public performance in 2000. Focusing on being a band leader and songwriter, Williams recorded two very well-received CDs of predominantly original material, 2002’s Return Of A Legend and 2004's You Left Me In the Dark, both for Evidence Records. Living Blues said, "Williams is a modern-day standard bearer for a still-vital style that continues to impress, exhilarate and inspire fifty years after he first helped create it." The success of the CDs led him to play festivals all over the country in addition to dates overseas. He was inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame in Memphis in 2013 and into the Chicago Blues Hall Of Fame in 2015.

Williams is survived by his wife Jeanne Hadenfelt, his daughters Marilyn Murphy and Sissy Williams, sons Anthony and Jason Williams, grandchildren Justin, Noel, Joseph, Joshua, River and Ethan Williams and Gerold Murphy, and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Sunday, December 9
Leak & Sons Funeral Home, 7838 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, Chicago, IL

2:00PM - Wake

3:00PM - Service

Stormy Monday - Lefty Bates

Leroy Clyde Bates
Born: May 7 , 1924
Died: March 2, 1991
Leroy was a session bass player for Chess and Vee Jay records in Chicago. He worked for many of the great Blues players of the day.
Biography
Leroy Clyde Bates was a session bass player in Chicago for Vee Jay records and the Chess label. He played the guitar also. Most of the recordings that Lefty played on list the bass player as "unknown". He worked with Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Pinetop Perkins, Eddie Taylor, and his personal favorite and good friend, Sunny Land Slim. You can hear him on "Big Boss Man" and "Bright Lights, Big City" by Jimmy Reed. He moved to Indianapolis in the 1950's to work as a truck driver as a better means for supporting his family. He continued through out the 1960's to do session work and helped lead the Ink Spots in the early 1970's.
Leroy is buried at Washington Park North Cemetery located on the north side of Indianapolis. Sadly, he has no grave marker. It is our hope that enough funds will be raised to purchase a proper monument befitting to his memory. Lefty was not only a superb bassist and guitarist, but was also a friend and mentor to a countless number of young musicians in the Chicago and Indianapolis areas.
Please note: There are actually 2 (two) Lefty Bates' of the same era. The "other" Lefty Bates is William Bates. He was also a musician and incredibly he also played guitar (not bass) with Jimmy Reed. It is difficult at times when researching Lefty Bates because of the similarities in not only nickname but also style of music and the fact that both men lived in Chicago at the same time. Leroy was all too aware of these strange coincidences but he never seemed bitter that he was not as well recognized as is the "other" Lefty Bates.
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You Didn't Have To G0 -- Johnny B. Moore

Johnny B. Moore (born Johnny Belle Moore, January 24, 1950, Clarksdale, Mississippi) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of Koko Taylor's backing band in the mid 1970s, but has recorded nine solo albums since 1987. Moore's music retains a link to the earlier Chicago blues of Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters, who also travelled to the Windy City from the Mississippi delta.

"If Johnny B. Moore isn't a star in the making," stated Allmusic's Bill Dahl, "there's no justice in the world." The European blues historian Gérard Herzhaft commented that "[Moore's] albums reflect a strong Delta flavor that is refreshing in the present blues scene, dominated by rock or funk overtones."However, the blues historian, Tony Russell, noted in 1997 that Moore "was still one of Chicago's interesting secrets"
Moore's Baptist minister father, Floyd Moore, taught his son to play the guitar from the age of seven. John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen'," was the first piece Moore mastered, but he was influenced by the style of Magic Sam. In his early days Moore performed gospel music in his hometown of Clarksdale, and later in Chicago with the Gospel Keys group.

In 1964, the teenage Moore relocated to Chicago with his father. In high school Moore learned to read music, and his education was enhanced listening to blues records with Letha Jones, Little Johnny Jones' widow. By the late 1960s Moore was working in a lamp factory, but after work continued to play. He was further tutored by Jimmy Reed, whom he first met in his childhood, and then with the Charles Spiers band.

By 1975, Moore found a further musical outlet by joining Koko Taylor's backing band, the Blues Machine, as lead guitarist. His lead guitar work appeared on Taylor's album The Earthshaker (1978).

He toured separately with Taylor and Willie Dixon, undertaking European jaunts with both, and worked in Dixon's band until the latter's death in 1992. He also augmented his income by appearing more often under his own name. Moore appeared on the bill on June 10, 1984, at the inaugural Chicago Blues Festival.

His debut album, Hard Times, was released in 1987 on the B.L.U.E.S. label. In the 1990s Moore recorded six more efforts of his own, and started the new millennium with Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi (2001) for the Austrian based Wolf record label. His Live at Blue Chicago (1996), was recorded in that club's basement, and featured Ken Saydak on keyboards. The 1999 live album, Acoustic Blue Chicago featured Willie Kent, Lester Davenport and Bonnie Lee. Moore more often used a bottleneck on his guitar solos.


Moore appeared again at the Chicago Blues Festival in 2002. In addition, he has made several guest appearances on other blues musicians albums. These included Willie Kent's Too Hurt to Cry (1994).
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Delmark Records artist: Tail Dragger - Live at Rooster's Lounge

The concert begins with Wolf's Louise and Dragger and the band are tearing it up. This is an authentic Chicago blues club with an authentic Chicago blues band playing! Louise shows great guitar solos by Rockin' Johnny Burgin and Kevin Shanahan as well as well as great harp work by Martin Lang. Next up is Big Joe Williams's Baby Please Don't Go. Dragger works the crowd as the band stays tight. Shanahan plays a cool older looking worn red 335 and Johnny what looks to be a tobacco burst Epi Emperor. Johnny plays particularly articulate licks and Lang's harp riffs are right on target. The video and sound quality is strong and you can almost smell the inside of this club (if you've ever been in a club like this). There's a dart board behind the drummer and stains on the ceiling tiles. The walls have the 4x8 luan mahogany paneling that was popular in the 60's running both horizontal and vertical. The walls are painted red elsewhere and you can see the inside of the toilet from the stage. This is the real deal. She's Worryin' Me, a Dragger original, finds Dragger crawlin on the floor and some nice raw slide riffs from Shanahan. Johnny takes a nice soulful solo and pulls some particularly cool vibrato bends out of his bag of guitar tricks. Stop Lying, another Dragger original, gives Lang the opportunity to lay down some nice harp riffs and Shanahan again some cool slide riffs. The entire band including Todd Fackler on Bass and Rob Lorenz on drums are tight. Keep It To Yourself, an old Sonny Boy Williamson tune, puts Dragger right in the crowd and gives Lang the opportunity to shine again. Johnny squeezes out some fluid runs that are brief but tasty. Be Careful, another Dragger original, gives the band another opportunity to play a slow number and again Shanahan steps up with some beefy playing. His style isn't scorching fast... it's deep and telling. I love his use of trem bends in contrast to Johnny's articulate blues run solos. Wander, another Dragger original, finds Jimmy Dawkins replacing Shanahan onstage. On Bought Me A New Home, another Dragger original, Johnny takes an extended solo and so does Shanahan. The style difference between these two men parallel Bloomfield and Bishop in Butterfield's band of a few decades ago. Each has his unique style and they are complimentary to each other behind a traditional Chicago blues band. Ooh Baby Hold Me, an old Wolf song, finds the crowd dancing and Dragger charming the women. John Lee Hooker's I'm In The Mood is next up and Johnny pulls out some old Hooker riffs on his guitar. Dragger even changes the timing on the song a few times as Hooker was know to do often when not overproduced. I like the authentic feel of this song in particular especially in Dragger and Johnny's presentations. Everything Gonna Be Alright, a Little Walter tune, is next up. Johnny uses a trill stroke to play the basic melody throughout and it gives the song a real great feel. Last Up Is Little Walter's Blues With A Feeling. Lang gets his harp talking right off of the bat. Dragger shows some of his best vocals on this last song and the band is tight.
There is also some story telling by Dragger as a bonus track which gives you some insight into his life and history.
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”

James Cotton has passed - My thoughts are with his family

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — James Cotton, a Grammy Award-winning blues harmonica master whose full-throated sound backed such blues legends as Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Howlin' Wolf, has died at age 81.

A statement from Alligator Records, Cotton's label, says he died Thursday of pneumonia at St. David's Medical Center in Austin.

The Mississippi Delta native performed professionally since age 9. Cotton backed Muddy Waters in his landmark album "At Newport" on Chess Records.

After going solo in the 1960s, Cotton released almost 30 albums, including his 1996 Grammy Award-winning Verve album, "Deep In The Blues." His most recent album, "Cotton Mouth Man" for Alligator Records in 2013, was nominated for a Grammy.

James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time and with his own band. He played drums early in his career but is famous for his harmonica playing.
Cotton began his professional career playing the blues harp in Howlin' Wolf's band in the early 1950s. He made his first recordings in Memphis for Sun Records, under the direction of Sam Phillips. In 1955, he was recruited by Muddy Waters to come to Chicago and join his band. Cotton became Waters's bandleader and stayed with the group until 1965. In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, with Otis Spann on piano, to record between gigs with Waters's band. He eventually left Waters to form his own full-time touring group. His first full album, on Verve Records, was produced by guitarist Mike Bloomfield and vocalist and songwriter Nick Gravenites, who later were members of the band Electric Flag.
In the 1970s, Cotton played harmonica on Waters's Grammy Award–winning 1977 album Hard Again, produced by Johnny Winter.

I'm King Bee - Johnny B. Moore

Johnny B. Moore (born Johnny Belle Moore, January 24, 1950, Clarksdale, Mississippi) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of Koko Taylor's backing band in the mid 1970s, but has recorded nine solo albums since 1987. Moore's music retains a link to the earlier Chicago blues of Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters, who also travelled to the Windy City from the Mississippi delta. "If Johnny B. Moore isn't a star in the making," stated Allmusic's Bill Dahl, "there's no justice in the world."The European blues historian Gérard Herzhaft commented that "[Moore's] albums reflect a strong Delta flavor that is refreshing in the present blues scene, dominated by rock or funk overtones."However, the blues historian, Tony Russell, noted in 1997 that Moore "was still one of Chicago's interesting secrets" Moore's Baptist minister father, Floyd Moore, taught his son to play the guitar from the age of seven. John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen'," was the first piece Moore mastered, but he was influenced by the style of Magic Sam. In his early days Moore performed gospel music in his hometown of Clarksdale, and later in Chicago with the Gospel Keys group. In 1964, the teenage Moore relocated to Chicago with his father. In high school Moore learned to read music, and his education was enhanced listening to blues records with Letha Jones, Little Johnny Jones' widow.By the late 1960s Moore was working in a lamp factory, but after work continued to play. He was further tutored by Jimmy Reed, whom he first met in his childhood, and then with the Charles Spiers band. By 1975, Moore found a further musical outlet by joining Koko Taylor's backing band, the Blues Machine, as lead guitarist. His lead guitar work appeared on Taylor's album The Earthshaker (1978). He toured separately with Taylor and Willie Dixon, undertaking European jaunts with both, and worked in Dixon's band until the latter's death in 1992. He also augmented his income by appearing more often under his own name Moore appeared on the bill on June 10, 1984, at the inaugural Chicago Blues Festival. His debut album, Hard Times, was released in 1987 on the B.L.U.E.S. label. In the 1990s Moore recorded six more efforts of his own, and started the new millennium with Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi (2001) for the Austrian based Wolf record label. His Live at Blue Chicago (1996), was recorded in that club's basement, and featured Ken Saydak on keyboards. The 1999 live album, Acoustic Blue Chicago featured Willie Kent, Lester Davenport and Bonnie Lee. Moore more often used a bottleneck on his guitar solos. Moore appeared again at the Chicago Blues Festival in 2002. In addition, he has made several guest appearances on other blues musicians albums. These included Willie Kent's Too Hurt to Cry (1994). His most recent album, Rockin' in the Same Old Boat (2003), was described by Allmusic's journalist, Matt Collar, as "Moore's hard-driving lead guitar lines are well intact as is his off-hand, sometimes slurred vocal delivery" If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Hoochie Coochie Man - Vinir Dóra And Chicago Beau

CHICAGO BEAU Bandleader, Vocal, Harmonica, Percussion, Author

Chicago Beau (L Beauchamp), was born on the south-side of Chicago on 13 February 1949, into a house of music. The recordings of Dinah Washington, Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis, Billy Holiday, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and others inundated his senses from the beginning. From the age of 10 until 15, Beau studied tap-dancing with the great Afro-Cuban dancer and choreographer, Jimmy Payne. He participated in many Cabaret-type shows that were popular during that era. A show could consist of performances by Afro-Cuban dancers, magicians, tap dancers, Jazz and Blues performers, and drill teams. These shows gave young people the opportunity to participate with professionals in a community setting. There was little distinction in the taste of the audience, people of all ages appreciated the same talent. Beau was becoming quite a tap-dancer (sometimes still used in his shows), but it was the Blues and Jazz elements of these shows that really held his interest. He became so interested in Blues that he began sneaking around to Blues clubs after school to listen to Blues bands rehearse. On famous 47th street, he would slip into the 708 Club which sizzled at night with artists like Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Mama Thornton, Little Walter, and Billy Boy Arnold. Up the street from there was the Sutherland Lounge which featured Jazz and Blues acts as Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Williams, Esther Philips, Von Freeman, E Parker McDougal, Louis Armstrong, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillispie, Chico Hamilton, Philly Joe Jones, and nearly everyone that had a name. Little did Beau know at the time that some of these performers he watched and listened would have a permanent impact on his life: Billy Boy Arnold gave him harmonica lessons (they later recorded together), and Muddy Waters gave him his name, ‘Chicago Beau.’ After spending three years from the age of 17 playing harmonica and singing in small clubs, mining and logging camps, and on street corners from Chicago, to Boston, to Nova Scotia, to Amsterdam, he moved to Paris where he met, performed and recorded with Archie Shepp in August, 1969, at age 20. Beau considers the first recording with Shepp to be the beginning of his professional career. For over 30 years Chicago Beau has recorded and performed with some of the most respected names in music including Memphis Slim, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Cal Massey, Anthony Braxton, Sunny Maurry, Pinetop Perkins, Anthony Braxton, Jimmy Dawkins, Johnny Shines, Billy Boy Arnold, Fontella Bass, Habib Koite, James Carter, Lester Bowie, Philly Joe Jones, Famoudou Don Moye, Jeanne Lee, Willie Kent, E. Parker McDougal, Amina Claudine Meyers, Zulu Chorus of Soweto, Frank Zappa, Sunnyland Slim, and others. Chicago Beau has received the CLIO award, the American advertising industry’s highest honor, for his music which was used in the 1991-92 National Basketball Association Champions, Chicago Bulls, cable television campaign. Chicago Beau is committed to the literary side culture. In 1988 he founded Literati Internazionale, a publishing company dedicated to multi-culturalism. To date his company has published over ten journals, books, and magazines. As a writer, Chicago Beau has written numerous articles and two books, Great Black Music-The Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Blues Stories. He was working with trumpeter Lester Bowie on his Autobiography at the time of his death. Excerpts from this work will be published soon. Chicago Beau also lectures in Universities, Schools, and music festivals on the topics: The Evolution of Blues as Language and Literature,’ and ‘History of Music Along the Mississippi River.’ Beau is currently touring with his BLUZ-MULTI-GROOVE BAND: CHICAGO BEAU AND HIS WONDERFUL TIME BAND If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Living Blues Comeback Artist of the Year is....

Ironing Board Sam named Living Blues Comeback Artist of the Year! Living Blues has given Ironing Board Sam the honor of "Comeback Artist of the Year" in their Critic's Poll. We are so proud that the magazine has recognized Sam for his hard work this past year - with the assistance of Music Maker he was able to record and release his album, "Going Up," secured regular gigs in the Chapel Hill, NC area, where he now lives, and performed at festivals nationwide. But it was Sam's amazing return to a packed Blues Tent at Jazzfest in April 2012 that caught eyes of music lovers all across the nation. Sam is definitely "back," with gigs in Switzerland and the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise coming up. He has come a long way since 2010, when he told Tim Duffy he had given up on music. Tonight, Sam begins a weekly gig at "The Crunkleton" in Chapel Hill. Gary Crunkleton is a great supporter of MM, and when he found out Sam was in the area he knew he wanted Sam to play regularly at his bar. If you're in Chapel Hill check Sam out tonight and every Thursday from 7:30 - 10pm at The Crunkleton! Neal Pattman, Cootie Stark and Beverly "Guitar" Watkins by Pam Francis Quick Links: Website Merch Music Captain Luke's car returned! Earlier this summer Captain Luke's car was stolen from outside his home in Winston-Salem, NC. Music Maker ensured that the Captain had rides to gigs and appointments, as we awaited news of his car from the police. In July, when we had almost given up hope, Captain Luke called and told us the police had recovered his car in Salisbury, NC. Interns Mike and Jeremy went to help Captain Luke retrieve his car - when asked how it felt to get his ride back, the Captain said "feels like a new car!" Captain Luke's car was driveable, aside from some minor damages, and the perpetrators of the crime have been charged. We are so happy the Captain is back in action! Listen: Alabama Slim - Children Go Where I Send Thee Diggin': "Going Upstairs" photo by Gregg Roth Alabama Slim is goin' upstairs to bring down all his clothes. If anybody asks about him, just tell 'em that he walked outdoors. Slim issues a proclamation to his lady in "Going Upstairs" in that characteristically smooth, cool style of his: If you don't want me anymore, then I'm leaving. With only the rhythmic pulse of his electric guitar to back him, Slim delivers a few determined verses and doesn't look back. He begins and ends the tune with a haunting, high-pitched moan, reminiscent of Howlin' Wolf's. Slim occasionally lets himself slip back into an emotionally vulnerable falsetto, speaking directly to the woman who is driving him out and bringing the listener a little closer to his pain. By the tune's last howl, we're all well aware that Slim is down the road and gone. Listen to "Going Upstairs" above; it can be found on The Mighty Flood, Slim's 2005 collaboration with Little Freddie King. --- Matt Matt Dailey is a Music Maker intern assisting with the audio archive while completing his Masters in Library Science at UNC Chapel Hill.

Upcoming Shows: Click here for more info on upcoming events 8/11-8/12 - Tulali - La Casita, Lincoln Center Out of Doors New York, NY 8/12 - Pura Fé Trio - Lincoln Center Out of Doors New York, NY 8/13 - Ironing Board Sam - The Depot, Hillsborough, NC 8/15 - Boo Hanks and Dom Flemons - World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA 8/16 - Boo Hanks and Dom Flemons - Joe's Pub, New York, NY 8/18 - Boo Hanks and Dom Flemons - Blue Ridge Music Center, Galax, VA 8/19 - Boo Hanks and Dom Flemons - The Hamilton, Washington, DC 8/25 - Ironing Board Sam - The Whiskey, Durham, NC 8/31 - 9/2 - Ironing Board Sam - Blues To Bop in Lugano, Switzerland 10/13 - Ironing Board Sam, L.C. Ulmer, Ben Peyton, Drew Young Band - Music Maker Stage, Southern Mississippi Roots Festival, Hattiesburg, MS Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. helps the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day to day needs. We present these musical traditions to the world so American culture will flourish and be preserved for future generations.