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January 2008Issue 300

The Blues Foundation Announces29th Annual Blues Music Awards Nominees

Watermelon Slim Picked In Six Categories

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January 2008 Issue 300PAGE TWO

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ON THE COVERWatermelon Slim & The Workers were nomi-nated in 6 categories for the 2007 Blues Mu-sic Awards. See the story to the right and BluesWatch for more information. Photo courtesyof Northern Blues Records.

The Blues FoundationAnnounces 29th Blues

Music Awards Nominees

Memphis, TN The Blues Foundation will present the Blues Music Awardsfor the first time in their 29-year history in the Mississippi Delta, the birthplaceof the Blues. Performers, industry representatives and fans from around theglobe will celebrate the best in Blues recording and performance from the pre-vious year on May 8 at the Grand Casino Event Center in Tunica Resorts,Mississippi, just down the road from Memphis, the Awards home since their1980 inception.

Among those heading the list of the honorees is Mississippi favorite sonBobby Rush who garnered four nominations, including another historical firstnomination as Artist of the Year in both the Acoustic and Soul Blues catego-ries. This singular achievement stems from the nominators recognition of thetwo personas exhibited in his 2007 public performancessome shows featur-

ing his long-running soul revue while others found him alone with a guitar anda harmonica in support of his Acoustic Album of the Year nominee Raw.

Watermelon Slim & the Workers returned in force, securing six nomina-tions for the second consecutive year on the strength of their Album of Yearcandidate The Wheel Man. The Queen of the Blues Koko Taylor returns toform with four nominations, including one for her Album of the Year nomineeOld School. The other artists with Album of the Year selections rode them tothree nominations apiece, including On the Jimmy Reed Highway by OmaKent Dykes & Jimmie Vaughan; Bettye LaVettes The Scene of the CrimeNick Moss & the Flip Tops Play It Til Tomorrow; My Life, My Friends, MyMusic by Sugar Ray & the Bluetones; and James Blood Ulmers Bad Bloodin the City. Lurrie Bell also was honored with three nominations, including onehe shares with his late father Carey in the newly-created DVD category.

At this time of year, releasing the list of nominees is like letting a Blues fanopen a gift a little bit early, according to Jay Sieleman, The Blues FoundationsExecutive Director, and members are able to play with it right away by rushingout to purchase the nominated CDs, accessing the ballot to start marking theirchoices or purchasing tickets to get the best seats for the show. Looking intonext year, we are really excited about the opportunities the 2008 event wiloffer Blues fans worldwide, the chance to soak up the deep Blues history ofthe Delta both before and after the Awards show itself. As the State of Missis-sippi continues to develop its Blues Marker Trail, you know Mississippi will beready.

Online voting began December 13 for members and ends February 29Voting, ticket and host hotel information can be found at The Blues Foundationswebsitewww.blues.org.

The Blues Music Awards are universally recognized as the highest honogiven to Blues artists. The presenting sponsor will once again be The GibsonFoundation. In 2008, the State of Mississippi, the Tunica Convention and Visi-tors Bureau and the Grand Casino and Resort are also sponsoring the BluesMusic Awards. The Blues Music Awards are also sponsored by BMI, CaseyFamily Programs, Eagle Rock Entertainment, FedEx, and the Sierra NevadaBrewing Company.

The Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Charter Members Din-ner will be held the night before on Wednesday, May 7 at the Tunica RiverParkmuseum situated on the banks of the Mississippi River. The 2008 inducteeswill be announced early this year.

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January 2008 Issue 300 PAGE THREE

The Blues Music Awards are produced by The BluesFoundation, a non-profit organization established to pre-serve Blues history, celebrate Blues excellence, supportBlues education and ensure the future of this uniquelyAmerican art form. The Foundation consists of a world-wide network of 165 affiliated Blues societies and has indi-vidual memberships spanning the globe. In addition to theBlues Music Awards, the Foundation also produces theBlues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the InternationalBlues Challenge and the Keeping the Blues Alive Awards.

It fosters education through its Blues in the Schools pro-gramming and supports the medical needs of Blues musi-cians with its HART Fund. Throughout the year, the Foun-dation staff serves the worldwide Blues community withanswers, contact information and news.

For a complete list of the nominees, go towww.blues.org/bluesmusicawards/nominees.php4 or go towww.blues.org and navigate your way to the nominees andyou can read about the process.

Pianist/composer/bandleader OscarPeterson, one of themost popular jazz artistsin history, died on Sun-day, December 23,2007, at his home inMississauga, Ontario,outside Toronto. He was82.

Peterson recordedwith most of the jazzgreats over the years.

Oscar

Peterson1925-2007

He played alongside giants like Louis Armstrong, EllaFitzgerald, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie,Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Stan Getzand Nat King Cole.

Peterson was born on August 15, 1925, in Montreal.Norman Granz, his influential manager and producer,brought him to New York City in 1949 for the first Jazz atthe Philharmonic (JATP) tour. Peterson went on to leadtwo of the most popular jazz trios in the world, one withbassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis, the other withBrown and drummer Ed Thigpen.

Peterson had more than 200 recordings to his credit,along with eight Grammy Awards, the Glenn Gould Prizein 1993, and, in June of 1999, he received the prestigiousJapanese Praemium Imperiale Award. Despite having suf-fered a stroke, he continued to dazzle listeners around theworld.

Petersons first recording for Telarc, The LegendaryOscar Peterson Trio - Live at the Blue Note, was the re-cipient of the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Jazz GroupInstrumental Performance. Best known for his brilliant play-ing, he was equally accomplished as a composer. In 2000,

Peterson teamed up with Michel Legrand for The Trail oDreams: A Canadian Suite. Orchestrated and conductedby Legrand, The Trail of Dreams premiered in April 2000 aRoy Thomson Hall in Toronto. In 2001, Telarc releasedOscars Ballads, a compilation focused on the hauntinglybeautiful ballads written by Peterson over the past 10 yearsThe Legendary Oscar Peterson Trio - Live at the Blue Notea historic 4-CD collection of the pianists most treasuredlive recordings, was released in 2004. A 1998 recordingWhats Up? The Very Tall Band (with Peterson, Ray Brown

and Milt Jackson), was released in 2007.To have been able to work with Oscar was a life long

dream for us, says Bob Woods, Telarcs President. Thawe were able to make so many exceptional recordings withhim in the difficult latter years of his life was a sign of hisincredible strength and passion for his special kind of mu-sic making. Our highest thoughts go out to his family atthis time, and our sincerest appreciation to Oscar for beingable to be a part of his incredible journey.

Joel Dorn

1942-2007Joel Dorn, the pro-ducer behind many o Atlantic Records mossuccessful jazz releases, passed awaysuddenly December 17He was 65.

Joel Dorn, a multiple Grammy Award-winning record producewho first made a namefor himself while at At-

lantic Records in thelate 1960s and early70s, died from a heart attack in New York City at the ageof 65.

Dorn was the producer behind many of AtlanticRecords most successful jazz releases. His affiliation withAtlantic spanned decades, beginning as an independenproducer for the label in the early 1960s. He soon joinedthe companys legendary in-house production staff, andwith mentor Nesuhi Ertegun, recorded some of the greatest jazz artists of the era before branching out with equasuccess into pop, rock, and R&B. When Rhino began toreissue the Atlantic jazz catalog in 1993, Dorn spearheadedthe campaign, producing and annotating nearly two dozentitles. In addition to his work for Atlantic and Rhino, Dornreleased archival recordings on his own labels Night, Mand 32 Records (including the highly successful Jazz ForA Rainy Afternoon compilations).

Born on April 7, 1942, Joel Dorn grew up in Philadel-phia and took to music at an early age, working as a discjockey for local station WHAT-FM while still in his teensInspired by Ray Charles iconic recordings for Atlantic, Dornbegan corresponding with Nesuhi Ertegun, a relationshipthat eventually led to a job at the labels New York office inMay of 1967. It was an age of musical exploration, in jazz

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January 2008 Issue 300PAGE FOUR

as well as rock, and Dorns approach behind the boards fashioning a framework that would allow musicians maxi-mum freedom brought out the best in such artists asRahsaan Roland Kirk, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, YusefLateef, and Herbie Mann.

It was an approach that worked equally well in the popand R&B arenas. In 1972 and 1973, Dorn won consecutiveRecord Of The Year Grammys as producer of RobertaFlacks hits The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Kil l-ing Me Softly With His Song. Dorn was also at the helm for

seminal releases from the likes of Bette Midler (The DivineMiss M), The Allman Brothers (Idlewild South), Leon Red-bone (On The Track), The Neville Brothers (Fiyo On TheBayou), and many others.

Joel bridged the worlds of jazz and pop with enormousskill and grace, never compromising the integrity of his art-ists and their music, remarked Edgar Bronfman Jr., Chair-man and CEO of the Warner Music Group. A great charac-ter, he loved and understood the music, and he had therare gift of identifying genuine talent and drawing out theirbest work. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Joels entirefamily and many friends during this very difficult time.

2007 marked Joel Dorns 47th year in the record busi-

ness. In a great loss to both American culture and musicfans everywhere, it would be his last. Over the past de-cade, hed produced albums by Jane Monheit, Jacob FredJazz Odyssey, Leon Parker, Janice Siegel and The Frankand Joe Show (featuring guitarist Frank Vignola and per-cussionist Joe Ascione). In 2003, Dorn helped create Hy-ena Records. The independent label forged an identity withan intriguing mix of new and archival recordings, includingthose by Thelonious Monk, Dr. John and Joe Williams.

At the time of his death, Dorn was completing a five CDbox set for Rhino Handmade entitled Homage A Nesuhi,serving as a tribute to his mentor Nesuhi Ertegun and theiryears together at Atlantic Records. He was also the voiceof Sirius Satellite Radios Pure Jazz channel and was pro-ducing a series of music infomercials for Time Warner.

I dont know how to do anything else. Its like if I dontdo this what am I going to do? Sit in the park? I love doingstuff with music, with records. I enjoy it, Dorn once saidabout being a producer. I know that might not be the greatspiritual answer, but I really love making records.

The Blind Boys Of Alabama toSpread the Word on 2008 Tour

Four time Grammy Awards winners The Blind Boys ofAlabama are plotting a national tour in support of their new

album Down In New Orleans (Jan 29/Time Life - to be re-viewed in our February issue). To kick off the tour, the groupwill join an all-star lineup of Gospel music legends includ-ing The Dixie Hummingbirds, Chuck Campbell, and theMcIntosh County Shouters in the National Heritage Mas-ters: Gospel Caravan concert January 25. The tour alsosees the band sharing bills with Mavis Staples and TajMahal.

Blind Boys concerts are joyous celebrations. The Bos-ton Globe observed earlier this month, In concert, the BlindBoys of Alabama still raise up their bluesy hallelujahs torarefied soul-groove highs. In a recent concert review, The

Boston Herald said, [The] Blind Boys wow... the night wasas solid as a rock. The Philadelphia Inquirer agreed, Intheir own way, The Blind Boys have given black vernaculamusic a 21st century significance.

They may be from Alabama but theyve been spendingtime in the Crescent City. The Blind Boys new album DownIn New Orleans, their first in three years, will be releasedJanuary 29, 2008 on the Time Life Music label.

The Blind Boys of Alabama are Jimmy Carter, EricRicky McKinnie, Joey Williams, Caleb Bobby Butler, Tracy

Pierce, Billy Bowers and Ben Moore.THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA -2008 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

1/25 New York City Center New York, NY(w/ Gospel Caravan)1/26 Bearsville Theatre Woodstock, NY2/6 Attucks Theater Norfolk, VA2/8 Duke University Durham, NC (w/ Mavis Staples)2/10 Carnival Center Miami, FL (w/ Mavis Staples)2/12 Oberlin College Oberlin, OH2/13 The Kent Stage Kent, OH2/15 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI2/16 Mayo Civic Center Rochester, MN2/22 Jacoby Hall Jacksonville, FL2/23 Jacoby Hall Jacksonville, FL3/7 Knitting Factory Los Angeles, CA3/8 Coach House San Juan Capistrano, CA3/9 Belly Up Solana Beach, CA3/14 Humboldt State University Arcata, CA3/15 Stanford Lively Arts Stanford, CA3/16 Gallo Center for The Arts Modesto, CA3/20 Savannah Music Festival Savannah, GA(w/ Adolphus Bell)5/23 Burton Cummings Theatre Winnipeg, MB(w/ Taj Mahal)5/24 Esplanade Center Medicine Hat, ALB

(w/ Taj Mahal)5/25 Winspear Centre Edmonton, AB (w/ Taj Mahal)5/26 Jack Singer Concert Hall Calgary, AB(w/ Taj Mahal)5/28 Royal Theatre Victoria, BC (w/ Taj Mahal)5/29 Centre for Performing Arts Vancouver, BC(w/ Taj Mahal)5/30 Casino Regina Regina, SK

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January 2008 Issue 300 PAGE FIVE

Canadas Seventh Annual NationalJazz Awards set for April 8

at The Palais Royale, TorontoToronto, Ontario The National Jazz Awards, presented

by Galaxie, CBCs Continuous Music Network and gener-ously supported by FACTOR, salutes The Next Genera-tion. Executive Director Bill King has assembled an amaz-ing line up that will feature many of this countrys young

jazz artists who will share the stage in performance andcelebration.Hosted by two of Canadas highly regarded young art-

ists, Kellylee Evans and Michael Kaeshammer, the awardswill also feature performances from: The Mike Ruby Quar-tet, 13 year-old Nikki Yanofsky, Brandi Disterheft Quintet,Elizabeth Shepherd Trio, Laila Biali Trio, Alex Bellegarde,October Trio, and of course Evans and Kaeshammer.

Kellylee Evans has enjoyed a productive,groundbreaking year receiving nominations for a Geminiaward, a Juno award and Toronto Independent Music award.She also won the 2007 Canadian Smooth Jazz award forFemale Vocalist of the Year. Kellylees star is on the rise.Visit www.kellyleeevans.com

Michael Kaeshammer has just released Days LikeThese, his long awaited follow up to Strut, and is receiv-ing only positive reviews. He has melded his deep affec-tion for New Orleans and its music with his fast growingsongwriting and singing skill. Expect his droll humour toshine through as a co-host. Visit www.kaeshammer.com Also confirmed as Musical Director is Shuffle Demonsfounder Richard Underhill.

Founder and Executive Director of the awards, Bill King,says, We can all be proud of the artists who have pavedthe way and music programs that are now in place to sup-port and nurture this next generation. The success is obvi-ous with young artists from all regions of Canada advanc-

ing the art form. Its about new faces, new sounds and afresh take on the music we all hold dear.

National Jazz Awards (NJA) Executive Producer, PatrickTaylor added that, While the National Jazz Awards will con-tinue to recognize all of our Canadian jazz artists, this showpromises to be one for the history books, as we witnesssome of the brightest young stars on the scene today. Anevening not to be missed.

Tickets are $65 and are on sale through Ticketmaster416.870.8000 or www.ticketmaster.ca

Jazz composer/arranger DonSebesky & wife receive Grammy

nomination for childrens albumPhiladelphia, PA Its understandable that one of the

most highly respected composers and arrangers in jazzwould be honored with a Grammy nomination for his firstcomposition in childrens music, as it was written as a trib-ute to his family. Inspired by his wife, Janina Serdens nar-ration of Margery Williams The Velveteen Rabbit as sheread this favorite book to their (then) baby girls, Sebeskypackaged his love for them into one of his most beautifulcompositions, which was released in album format by BrownBarn Productions in 2007 and submitted for a Grammy.

With lyrics by award-winning lyricist Gloria Nissensonand narration by Serden, Tony and Grammy Award-winningSebesky released The Velveteen Rabbit Love Can MakeYou Real this year. Serden marvels at this nomination andis sentimental about its significance to their family. Its amini-miracle that it was nominated. After all, the album wasnot produced by a big label, as Don is accustomed to. But iwas born out of love, was a labor of love and is based on astory of love. Our music is very much like the main charac-ter of this book the Velveteen Rabbit who comes to life

through love.The Velveteen Rabbit Love Can Make You Real is

being presented in a childrens production with a nationatour that was launched in late November, 2007 and is run-ning through 2008. This unique production features life-sizepuppets, masked actors and magic and will be on tour inFebruary, during the time of the 50th Annual GrammyAwards, which is broadcast live from Los Angeles on Sun-day, February 10 on CBS TV. The new CD may also bepurchased at performances of Enchantment TheatreCompanys The Velveteen Rabbit and online, where moreinformation is available at: www.TheVelveteenRabbitCD.

Sebesky is one of the more talented and respected com-

poser-arrangers in music today. His sensitivity and versatil-ity have enabled him to produce an enormous body of workwide in scope ranging from jazz to symphonic to pop. As arecording artist, and through his collaborations with otherartists he has received 29 Grammy nominations (three timewinner), three Tony nominations (winner 2000), two DramaDesk Awards, three Emmy nominations, and four ClioAwards. He is the author of the best selling orchestrationtext book The Contemporary Arranger.

As a composer and arranger, he has worked with manyartists such as Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, Wes Montgom-ery, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, George Benson, Chris-tina Aguilera, Vanessa Williams, Britney Spears, BarryManilow, Bette Midler, Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper and KevinSpacey. As a composer, arranger and conductor, he hasworked with the London Symphony, Chicago SymphonyBoston Pops, Royal Philharmonic of London, New YorkPhilharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony. In televisionhe has received three Emmy nominations for his work onshows such as Allegras Window/ Nickelodeon, Edge oNight/ ABC and Guiding Light/ CBS.

Janina Serden has performed as a solo singer and pianist and as a featured artist with symphony orchestra inconcerts such as Symphonic Sondheim and Hope TakesFlight. Janina was music director for the Emmy-nominatedchildrens series Allegras Window on Nickelodeon. Shehas sung on many radio and television commercials such

as G.E., Kraft, Pepsi, and DHL (What the World NeedsNow is Love). Her CD of original songs about love, hopeand transformation called Small Inspirations is a tribute tomotherhood as well as the inspiration for a one-act playSmall Inspirations and Great Love. Songs from SmalInspirations are featured in a new greeting card line aWithaCardandaSong.com. She has also written music andlyrics for the new musical, Chick Soup: A Musical Recipefor Friendship.

For more information about The Velveteen Rabbit per-formances by Enchantment Theatre Company, visiwww.enchantmenttheatre.org.

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January 2008 Issue 300PAGE SIX

New Orleans Cultural Ambassador& Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield to tourwith New Orleans Jazz Orchestra

Irvin Mayfield, the consummate New Orleans musician,is a man on a mission. Although only 29 years old, the ver-satile trumpeter, bandleader, composer and arranger isdriven to spread the word about the rich history and cul-tural significance of jazz and the city that birthed it. Appointed

the Cultural Ambassador of the City of New Orleans in 2003by the United States Senate, Congress and other govern-mental agencies, his name has become synonymous withthe still-unfolding legacy of Americas only indigenous mu-sic.

Even after Katrinaespecially after Katrina, which tookthe life of his father, Irvin Mayfield, Sr.this tireless Re-naissance man considers jazz nothing less than the mani-festation of all that American democracy represents. Withinthe freedom that is so intrinsic to jazz, Mayfield sees thestory of America. In its myriad rhythms and personalities,he finds the oversized soul of New Orleans.

Mayfield, whose extensive discography stretches backnearly a decade, is rooted firmly in the present, but he hasbenefited enormously from studying that which came be-fore. He has absorbed the music of the giants; particularlythe trumpeters who have helped define the course of jazzover the decades and set Irvin on his own journey of explo-ration: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, andDizzy Gillespie. He considers Wynton Marsalisanotherpromoter of the great heritage of New Orleansa mentor.Irvin was only 9 years old when Wynton was at the heightof his career, but Irvins relationship with the Marsalis fam-ily goes way back. Ellis Marsalis performed on Irvins de-but album and now the pair has collaborated again, thistime on Irvins new exquisite solo album, to be released onApril 1, 2008, titled Love Songs, Ballads and Standards.

The recording, on Basin Street Records, features the Loui-siana Philharmonic Orchestra and spotlights Irvins inter-pretations of classic songs made famous by the Beatles,Thelonious Monk, Norah Jones, Stevie Wonder, DukeEllington and others.

In addition to his solo albums, Irvin performs with hisrenowned New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO), the spir-ited, swinging, 16 piece band steeped in the tradition ofNew Orleans jazz, blues, swing and spirituals. Irvin whofounded NOJO is also the Artistic Director. Ronald Markham,is President and CEO of the permanent organization whichis headquartered at NOLAs Tulane University, educatingthe public about the role of jazz, provides employment op-

portunities with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO).In 1998, along with percussionist Bill Summers, co-

founded Los Hombres Calientes, a Latin-jazz outfit that hasreleased five CDs and a DVD thus far. The groups debualbum won Billboards 2000 Contemporary Latin Jazz Al-bum of the Year, and their Vol. 3: New Congo Square CDwas nominated for a Grammy.

For Irvin, all of this activity has never simply been aboutmaking a living. Its all part of a greater picture that findshim carrying on the great traditions of New Orleans andelevating the musics profile. One might think that the dev-astation wrought by Hurricane Katrina would have changed

all of that, dampened Irvins spirit. But if anything, the di-saster has only strengthened his resolve and recharged him

Now, more than ever, Mayfield has renewed his dedi-cation, and toward that end, he has increased his presenceas a representative of his beloved city. Mayfield was amongthe artists featured at Lincoln Centers 2005 Higher Groundbenefit concert that aided victims of the hurricane, and herecently became the recipient of an immaculate hand-craftedtrumpet created by David Monette of Portland, OregonCalled the Elysian Trumpet, in honor of Irvins father, whosebody was found on Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleansmonths after the storm, the instrument is truly a thing ofbeauty. Inlayed with jewels and images of New Orleans and

the hurricane itself, the trumpet is insured for $1 millionThey did not make this trumpet for me. This is for my fa-ther, for all those who died in Katrina and the people ofNew Orleans, Irvin said at the trumpets unveiling. The in-strument has been blessed by representatives of three ofthe worlds largest religions, most recently by the Archbishopof Canterbury during his historic visit to New Orleans inSeptember.

Irvin is currently recording and touring with the NewOrleans Jazz Orchestra and performs on the Elysian Trumpet, a traveling emblem of the vibrancy of New Orleansand will serve to honor the lineage of jazz in America and oall who perished in Katrina.

Since he first picked up the trumpet as a child, IrvinMayfield has been New Orleans music personified. As JazzTimes Magazine once put it, Mayfield is holding the torchfor the port citys past trumpet kings. But now, as the Cres-cent City reawakens and redefines, Irvin is doing every-thing within his power not just to build awareness of NewOrleans past, but to help create New Orleans future.

Irvin Mayfield with NOJO 2008 US Concert Tour

1/26: Alys Stephens Center @ University of Alabama Birmingham, AL

1/27: Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta, GA2/20: Coronado Theatre - Rockford, IL2/21: Grand Theater Wausau, WI

2/22: Minnesota Orchestra Hall - Minneapolis, MN2/23: Holland Performing Arts Center - Omaha, NE2/26: Krannert Center - Urbana, IL2/28: Overture Center - Madison, WI3/16: Tulsa Performing Arts Center - Tulsa, OK4/11: Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall - Chicago, IL4/24: Max M. Fisher Music Center, Orchestra Hall -

Detroit, MI4/26: Indiana University Auditorium - Bloomington, IN7/3: Amphitheater at Stanford University - Palo Alto, CA

For updated information and more concert dates, visionline at www.thenojo.com.

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January 2008 Issue 300 PAGE SEVEN

7th Annual Ponderosa Stompconfirmed for April 29 & 30 atHouse of Blues in New Orleans

In its seven year history, The Ponderosa Stomp hasgrown from two nights of insane rock & roll into a revered,year-round institution and leading advocate for the greatunsung heroes of American Music. The 2008 Stomp will be

the biggest and best to date, promising an expertly curatedline-up of performers, daytime panel discussions (a Stompfirst), and surprises galore.

Bookended, as is tradition, by the two weekends of JazzFest, the 2008 Stomp will take place April 29 and 30, onthree stages at the House of Blues in New Orleans, withmarathon sets that in years past have run from sundown tosunup.

The New York Times has hailed the Ponderosa Stompas a dream that plunges into the obscure byways of rockspast. Next years line-up is the Stomps most eclectic andambitious to date, with performances ranging from pillarsof 60s female pop, Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes andMary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, to garage rock pioneersThe Green Fuz (reuniting for the first time in 40 years!);from soul deep R&B innovators The Mighty Hannibal, SylJohnson, and The Hi Rhythm Section, to children of theuniverse Roky Erickson and Question Mark & TheMysterians; plus many architects of the New Orleans groovelike Eddie Bo, Zigaboo Modeliste and Wardell Quezergue,and so much more. As in years past, the 2008 PonderosaStomp will be sponsored by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,The House of Blues, and New Orleans Fine Hotels.

New to the Ponderosa Stomp next year will be the firstPonderosa Stomp Music Conference, a full slate of day-time panel discussions and oral histories set for April 29and 30 at the historic Cabildo on New Orleans Jackson

Square. Featured speakers include Ponderosa Stomp-cer-tified performers Sonny Burgess, Barbara Lynn, Lazy Lester,Dale Hawkins and Roy Head, acclaimed authors PeterGuralnick, Holly George-Warren and Robert Gordon, andmusic biz legends Joe Bihari (founder of RPM and ModernRecords), and Bob Sullivan (original engineer for the Loui-siana Hayride) among others. The conference is presentedby the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation and will be co-spon-sored by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and LouisianaState Museum.

The Ponderosa Stomp Foundations primary mission isto celebrate the unsung heroes of American music. TheFoundations programs, including the now-famous Ponde-

rosa Stomp, illuminate the indelible cultural footprint left bysome of the pioneers of rock & roll, soul, country, blues, jazz, reggae, swamp pop and beyond. Many performershave seen their careers revitalized by the Stomp and itsever-expanding list of initiatives. In 2007 alone, the Ponde-rosa Stomp Foundation sponsored a showcase at the SouthBy Southwest music conference in Austin, drew nearly 5,000fans to a Stomp-curated show at Brooklyns McCarren ParkPool, launched a monthly concert series at the Ogden Mu-seum of southern Art in New Orleans, and created a music-in-the-schools program for children in under-served com-munities, starting with a partnership with New Orleans

groundbreaking Good Shepherd School.The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation is a project of MK

Charities Inc., a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational organiza-tion. All contributions are tax-deductible in accordance withIRS Code Section 170. MK Charities Inc., is supported by agrant from the Louisiana Arts Council through the Louisi-ana Division for the Arts and the National Endowment forthe Arts.

Tickets to the 2008 Ponderosa Stomp go on sale Janu-ary 19 through Ticketmasters website (http:/

www.ticketmaster.com) and the House of Blues box officein New Orleans (225 Decatur St., New Orleans, LA, 70130)Visit www.ponderosastomp for updates and more details.

The Montreal Guitar Showset for June 27 to 29

Montreal, Quebec - Renowned far and wide as the larg-est guitar show in Canada, the Montreal Guitar Show takesplace next year throughout the first weekend of the FestivaInternational de Jazz de Montral, from June 27 to 29, 2008Guitar lovers, come on down to admire, test-drive and evenpurchase beautiful guitars hand-made by true artisans ofthe instrument who often themselves become celebrities toplayers and collectors. The 2008 edition of the event wel-comes one hundred exceptional guitar luthiers hailing fromCanada, the United States and France-as well as moreconcerts, workshops, sound-proof studios and activities totempt every six-string fanatic. All this in a larger and moreaccommodating space at the Hyatt Regency Montreal. Itsthe must-see rendezvous for real fans of acoustic, classi-cal, archtop or gypsy guitars, and the worlds greatestluthiers.

The Montreal Guitar Show has become an internation-ally-renowned event thanks to the establishment of an ad-visory committee gathering some of the worlds finest

luthiers, whose passion for guitar rivals our own. This gui-tar nirvana would not exist without the support, ideas, judi-cious input and, simply, the combined expertise and devo-tion of luthiers Mario Beauregard, Bill Comins, Rick DavisSergei de Jonge, Charles Fox, Oskar Graf, MichaeGreenfield, Peter Hopkins, Michael Lewis, Linda ManzerJohn Monteleone, Tom Ribbecke, Ervin Somogyi and JefTraugott. Its a committee of major figures offering ampleindication of the exceptional craftsmen, artisans and artistsparticipating in the event.

Thanks to them, the MGS has been a runaway blockbuster success since its inception. That popularity, illustratedby the long lines of fans on hand to discover these musica

and artistic masterpieces, offered ample testimony of theneed for a show of this kind.The Montreal Guitar Show, presented in parallel with

the Festival International de Jazz de Montral, offers itsthanks for the support of its partners: the Government ofCanada, the Government of Qubec, Tourisme MontralAcoustic Guitar, Fingerstyle and Guitarist Acoustic magazines, as well as the Official Luthiers Forum (OLF), Acous-tic Voice (AV), laguitare.com and guitarscanada.com.

Make it a date-the first weekend of the Festival, fromJune 27 to 29, 2008. To whet your appetites, visit online awww.montrealguitarshow.com.

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The Rock and Roll Hall of FameAnnounces Its Inductees for 2008Little Walter honored in Sideman Category

Cleveland, OH- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foun-dation today announced its inductees for 2008. The induct-ees will be honored at a ceremony on March 10 at theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

The 2008 inductees are trailblazers - all unique and in-

fluential in their genres, said Rock and Roll Hall of FameFoundation President/CEO Joel Peresman. From poetry topop, these five acts demonstrate the rich diversity of rockand roll itself. We are proud to honor these artists and cel-ebrate their contribution to rock and rolls place in our culture.

The performer inductees are: Leonard Cohen The Dave Clark Five (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson,

Rick Huxley, Denny Payton and Mike Smith) Madonna John Mellencamp The Ventures (Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, GerryMcGee, Mel Taylor, Don Wilson)

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also announced theinduction of Little Walter in its sideman category, and thenewly named Ahmet Ertegun Award (formerly the non-performer category) will be presented to legendary produc-ers, Gamble & Huff.

The 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer in-ductees were chosen by the 600 voters of the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame Foundation. Artists are eligible for inclu-sion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twenty-five yearsafter their first recording is released.

In addition to being honored at the March ceremony,each inducted artist is commemorated at the Rock and RollHall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland Ohio, which servesas a monument to rock and rolls impact on our culture.

There, this years inductees will be honored - along withprevious years inductees and hundreds of other artists -with exhibits, video and interactive presentations and pro-grams that serve to tell the story of modern music. TheHall of Fame itself will include artifacts from this years in-ductees, a multi-media presentation with highlights fromeach artists career and their signatures permanently en-graved in the glass walls of the Hall of Fame.

Presenters and performers at the induction will be an-nounced at a later date. The induction ceremony will againair live on VH1 Classic on March 10.

Little Walter (May 1, 1930 - February 15, 1968) AlthoughLittle Walter might not have been the first person to amplify

the harmonica, his pioneering use of the microphone helpedestablish the modern blues harmonica. With a mike claspedto his harp, Little Walter created echoing, moaning, horn-like sounds that redefined the capabilities of the instrument.Walter Jacobs had fourteen top ten hits on the R&B chartsin the 1950s including two number #1 songs Juke andMy Babe. Little Walter toured and recorded extensivelywith blues great Muddy Waters in the 1950s. He also re-corded with Jimmy Rogers, Memphis Minnie, Otis Rush andBo Diddley. Little Walters influence was pervasive, espe-cially in England where the next generation of harp playerssuch as Mick Jagger listened to his records over and over.

BY MARK SMITH

New Release blues.... Heres a few new releases to burnup those music gift certificates: Roomful of Blues- Raisin ARuckus; Johnny Winter- Live Bootleg Series, Vol. 1; BettyHarris- Intuition; Various Artists- Live at the Boston BluesFestival, Volume II; John Mayall- Live from Austin, Texas; EddieCleanhead Vinson- Blues, Boogie & Bebop- Meats Too HighJohn Lee Hooker- Im John Lee Hooker; Catherine RussellSentimental Streak; Sean Costello- We Can Get TogetherTommy Castro, Deanna Bogart, Ronnie Baker Brooks &Magic Dick- Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue; Little ArthuDuncan- Love at Rosas Blues Lounge; Stevie Ray Vaughan& Friends- Solos, Sessions & Encores; Paul FilipowiczChickenwire Live; David Evans- Needy Time; Sugar BlueCode Blue; Mac Arnold & Plate Full O Blues- Backbone &

Gristle; Nick Gordon- Chronic Blues Party. Also keep a lookout forJaniva Magness debut on the Alligator Records Labewhich is slated for early in the year. ... Blues Cruise ChicagoStyle...Looking for something to do to shake of the doldrums ofthe deep winter? Look no further my friends. The City of Chicago and Blues University are hosting a blues pub crawl onJanuary 19, 2008. Running between the legendary Checkerboard Lounge, Lees Unleaded Blues, Lindas Place, Root Innand East of Ryan from 6:00 pm to 1:30 the event will featureVance Kelly & the Backstreet Band, Johnny Drummer &the Starlighters, Fantastic L-Roy & the Bulletproof BandSherman Moody Thomas and others. The cost is a mere$30 including transportation and admission to the clubs. De-tails at tours@chicagobluestours.com or at 866-548-3258...Award time blues.... The Blues Foundation has announced

that Alligator Records President, Bruce Iglauer will receive the2008 Keeping the Blues Alive award on February 2, 2008 at aceremony to be held in Memphis. Speaking of Awards, The Recording Academy has just announced this years Blues Grammynominees. In the Best Traditional Blues Album category thenominees were Pinetop Perkins for his disc Pinetop PerkinsOn The 88s - Live In Chicago, Otis Rush for the disc Live...AndIn Concert From San Francisco; Kenny Wayne Shepherd Featuring Various Artists for the disc 10 Days Out: Blues FromThe Backroads; Koko Taylorfor the disc Old Schooland HenryJames Townsend, Joe Willie Pinetop Perkins, RobertLockwood, Jr. & David Honeyboy Edwards for the discLast Of The Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas.In the Best Contemporary Blues Album category the nomi

nees were Joan Armatrading for the disc Into The Blues; DoyleBramhall for the disc Is It News; JJ Cale & Eric Clapton fothe disc The Road To Escondido; Robben Ford for the discTruth, and Bettye LaVette for the disc The Scene Of TheCrime. The Blues Foundation has also announced nomineesfor this years Blues Music Awards. Notably the Grammy nominees and the Blues Foundation nominees have only a minoroverlap with the Koko Taylorand Betty Lavette discs gettingnods from both groups. Speaking of multiple nods, the BluesFoundation honored James Blood Ulmerwith three nominations (Album of the Year, Contemporary Blues Album of the YearContemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year) Koko Taylorwithfournominations (Album of the Year, Blues Song of the Year

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SF Jazz announces artist Lineupfor Spring Jazz SeasonSan Francisco, CA Randall Kline, the Executive Di-

rector of SFJAZZthe leading non-profit jazz organizationon the West Coast and the presenter of the San FranciscoJazz Festival has announced the complete artist line-up forthe Ninth Annual SFJazz Spring Season.

The four-month-long curated concert series will beginon March 6 with an opening weekend that includes KeithJarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette, and The Dis-covery Series with double bills featuring Travis SullivansBjorkestra and Realistic Orchestra, Nik Bartschs Ronin andThe Frequency, 2 Foot Yard and Iron & The Albatross, and

Third World Live with the Yaron Herman Trio. The seasonwill continue through June 20 with will some of the mostillustrious names in jazz and related music including: WayneShorter, Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea & Jack DeJohnette,McCoy Tyner with Savion Glover, Taj Mahal, Charles Lloyd,Regina Carter, Joe Sample, Lee Konitz, Dianne Reeves,Mose Allison, Rosa Passos, Hiromi, Ron Carter, LennyWhite, Patricia Barber, Brad Mehldau, James Moody andmany more.

For full line-up and ticket information, visitwww.sfjazz.org

From the Editor:

Some of you have noticed that a number of the re-views from the past year are not in our searchable data-base. We were undergoing some problems, but havebeen in the process of replacing reviews that disap-peared. Indeed, it is taking some time, and will continueto do so. So please, bear with us!

Bill Wahl

Traditional Blues Album of the Year and Traditional Blues Fe-male Artist of the Year), Betty LaVette with three nominations(Album of the Year, Contemporary Blues Female Artist of theYear and B.B. King Entertainer of the Year), Nappy Brownwith two nominations (Traditional Blues Album of the Year, Tra-ditional Blues Artist of the Year), Omar Kent Dykes and JimmieVaughan with three nominations (Traditional Blues Album ofthe Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year), EugeneHideaway Bridges with two nominations (Soul Blues Male

Artist of the Year and Soul Blues Album of the Year), SugarRay Norcia with three nominations (Song of the Year, Album of

the Year and Blues Instrumentalist- Harmonica), Tommy Castrowith two nominations (B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Con-temporary Blues Album of the Year), Bobby Rush with fournominations (B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Soul Blues Male

Artist of the Year, Acoustic Artist of the Year and Acoustic Albumof the Year), Nick Moss with three nominations (Album of theYear, Band of the Year and Blues instrumentalist- guitar) and,finally Watermelon Slim with a whopping six nominations (Songof the Year, Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the year, Con-temporary Blues Album of the Year, Band of the Year, B.B. KingEntertainer of the Year and Album of the year....More on this inthis issues cover story...Whew!! Thats it for this month. Seeya!

We only bring you

the Cream of the Crop!

JERRY BUTLERTHE DELLS

THE STAPLE SINGERSJIMMY REED

The Best of the Vee-Jay YearsVEE-JAY/SHOUT FACTORY

Vee-Jay was one of the most celebrated of the Chi-cago labels of the fifties and sixties, although since itsdemise in the sixties, reissues from the label have beensporadic. It should be noted that while Vee-Jay is remem-bered for Jerry Butler and Jimmy Reed, the label had considerable popular success with the Four Seasons and thefirst American releases by the Beatles before financial is-sues led to the labels demise. Shout Factory has appar-ently acquired the rights to reissue some of the classicmaterial from the label. There is a four-disc box survey-ing the wide range of music from blues, classic R&B, gos-pel, and jazz. In addition there are several single artistCDs, all titled The Best of the Vee-Jay Years, that havebeen issued which is the subject of this brief overview.

Jerry Butler may be most familiar to some from hisinfomercial for classic soul collections and doo-wop spe-cials for public TV, but he made numerous recordings thahave become classics of rhythm and blues and pop bal-ladry. With the Impressions he sang For Your Precious Love

before making such marvelous tunes as He Will Break YouHeart, Make It Easy On Yourself, and I Stand Accusedde-livered with his warm mellow delivery. Then there is theclassic duet with Betty Everett, Let It be Me. This is thestuff that many of us l istened and danced to in our youthand the music is still timeless as is the Iceman who con-tinues to delight audiences.

Also timeless is the vocal group The Dells whose discalso features classic doo-wop and vocal harmony by agroup that remained active long after Vee-Jays demiseThe opening Tell the Worldis straight doo-wop, while ZingZing Zingis an uptempo doo-wop rocker with some punchyguitar and a booting sax solo. Oh What a Nite is one o

their most famous recordings of the period and a greatdate song. Its interesting to here the groups harmonyevolve and show a bit more gospel call and refrain feel onI Want to Go Homeand the rendition ofJeepers Creeperswhich is reminiscent of then contemporary Motown ef-forts at the pop song book. This writer is not a vocal groupenthusiast, but found this a marvelous introduction to agroup that continued to make many significant record-ings after these

The Staple Singers first emerged on Vee-Jay and therecordings collected are built on the stark evocative gui-tar of Roebuck Pops Staples with the passionate vocals

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of Mavis and the other family members. Whereas later onStax the production would be a bit more elaborate andthe songs would often be positive message songs, the fer-vent gospel performances are so compellingly delivered.Staples driving rhythmic guitar and the fervent vocals canbe entrancing to the listener in the same fashion of NorthCountry blues by the likes of Fred McDowell and JuniorKimbrough as on the powerful Swing Down Chariot (AKALet Me Ride), the powerfully delivered Im Coming Homewith its dirge-like tempo, or the moving Will the Circle Be

Unbroken, a song that they sang as a family long beforethe days of fame. This album collects some outstanding,compelling gospel performances.

Last but not least is Jimmy Reed. Perhaps the bluesartist most associated with Vee-Jay, this Shout Factoryrelease finally makes available what may be consideredthe essential Jimmy Reed collection. Some may quibbleabout omission or inclusion of a particular song or two,but this makes available such classic Reed songs as Highand Lonesome, I Aint Got You, You Dont Have to Go, BigBoss Man, Honest I Do, Take Out Some Insurance, HushHush, Going to New York, and Baby What You Want Me toDo. These are songs that crossed over, being performed

by blues, country and garage bands of all stripes. And inspite of Jimmy Reeds rather deceptively simple perfor-mances (and mention also needs to be made of the con-tributions of the late Eddie Taylor on guitar), these songshave been screwed up by others so often. The appeal ofthese simple shuffles and Reeds unvarnished vocals andharp still remain over four decades later. Jimmy Reedsmusic belongs in any decent blues collection and this issimply the best collection of his music available.

Ron Weinstock

CHAMPIAN FULTON WITH DAVIDBERGER & THE SULTANS OF SWING

ChampianSUCH SWEET THUNDER RECORDS

Born in Norman, Oklahoma in 1985, Champian Fultonwas influenced by her father, a renowned jazz trumpeter.Learning piano as a youth, she has been playing and sing-ing jazz since she was little and has been devoted to jazzpiano and vocals since 1998. In 2006 she met DavidFulton, leader of the Sultans of Swing at the New Yorkclub, Birdland, and she eventually joined Bergers band.Berger, a conductor and arranger for Jazz at Lincoln Cen-ter, is well-respected authority on the music of DukeEllington and the swing era (having transcribed 700 or soclassic works including 500 from Ellington and Strayhorn)

and the Sultans of Swing is a marvelous big band thatlives up to its name.

Such Sweet Thunder has just issued their collabora-tion, Champian, a marvelous journey through the Ameri-can Songbook on some classic standards such as I CantGive You Anything But Love, Get Out of Town, He AintGot Rhythm, Too Close For Comfort, and Just One of ThoseThingsalong with such intriguing choices as The Gypsy(a number I believe Dinah Washington recorded) Aint No-body Here But Us Chickens (a classic associated withLouis Jordan), and Lil Greens Romance in the Dark. Shereally projects the lyrics in a lively, natural fashion per-

haps suggesting the late Etta Jones with a touch of Ellathrown in. Her performances benefit from the superb Sul-tans of Swing and Bergers arrangements, with theirEllingtonian accents (particularly evident on the wonderful performances ofThe Gypsy and Romance In the Dark)Two of the performances feature her own piano, includingYou Turned the Tables on Me, with trio backing, and thesolo, Never-The-Less.

In summary, this is a marvelous debut by ChampianFulton with David Berger & the Sultans of Swing

Champian is a singer from whom we undoubtedly shalhear more from in the future. This is available fromcdbaby.com as well as from the Sultans of Swing websitewww.sultansofswing.com. Ron Weinstock

DOWNCHILDLive At The Palais Royale

LINUS

This 11 cut live disc of all original material revealsthat the blues dont stop at the border between the UnitedStates and Canada. A Canadian blues institution, theDownchild Blues Band has numerous discs to its crediand regularly performs to packed houses. A quick listen

reveals why: this band is versatile and performs with pas-sion.

While there are ample doses of Donnie MrDownchild Walshs guitar, vocalist/harmonica playerChuck Jackson, keyboardist Michael Fonfara, and the hornsection of Pat Carey on saxophone and Peter Jeffrey ontrumpet get equal billing and, equally important, push himto excel lest he be left in the dust by their well oiled chopsFeaturing everything from the rocking (I Got EverythingIn Need) Almost, which received international attentionby virtue of the Blues Brothers performance of the tuneto the slyly sarcastic spoken word blues of Ive Been AFoolto the jump blues ofWhen I Say Jumpthis disc neve

lets the energy wane.Theres not a weak track in the entire set. If you arelooking for a smoking blues party on a single disc throwthis one into the player, grab the beverage of your choiceand get ready for some fun. Mark Smith

JOSH NELSONLet It Go

NATIVE LANGUAGE

Los Angeles-based pianist/composer/arranger JoshNelson makes his official recording debut with this 10-tune studio set of mostly originals, performed in variousconfigurations with bassist Darek Oles, drummer Mat

Wilson, tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake and guitaristAnthony Wilson.Nelsons musical maturity is immediately evident and

particularly notable on one of three standards, Love Letters, which also features fine soloing from Blake. Equallyadept as performer and composer, Nelson delivers a finearray of tunes with his crew, including his personally re-flective ballad, Leaving Here, with lyrics sung by sweetvoiced Sara Gazarek and augmentation from the Super-nova String Quartet, which also performs on Colors, anangular piece Nelson says was inspired by Greg Osbysmusic. Tears in the Morning, a Beach Boys tune, is re-

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January 2008 Issue 300 PAGE ELEVEN

Even the most arid landscapes are home to Earths amazing species. The Nature

Conservancy is dedicated to protecting the variety of plant and animal life on Earth

even when found in the most unlikely places. The Nature Conservancy has protected

117 million acres in 28 countries. With your support, that number will keep growing.

Visit nature.org or call 1-888-2 JOIN TNC.

To a visitor, its barren desert.

To our supporters, its bustling with life.

San Rafael Desert, Utah David Muench

This message is made possible by the generous support of this publication.

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January 2008 Issue 300PAGE TWELVE

made as a lyrical, waltzing number and is soulfully en-hanced by Blake. A gorgeous piano-sax duo performanceof Nelsons Abandon Post has a sweeping, melodiousfeel.

Born in Long Beach and raised in Los Angeles, Nelson(age 28 at the time of this recording in early 2007) wasan award winner during his high school years and at sub-sequent music competitions. He attended Long BeachState University where he studied with pianist CecilaColeman and, while enrolled at the Berklee College of

Music in Boston, studied with Neil Olmstead, Tiger Okoshiand Kim Steiner. Nelson actively tours, performs andrecords. He plays regularly with his own group around L.A.and accompanies various vocalists.

This is an extraordinary debut not only for all-aroundmusicianship, but as a showcase for Nelsons composi-tional skills as well. For his wide-ranging interests, includ-ing performing and arranging film scores, he is an ex-pressive artist and certainly a talent to watch.

Nancy Ann Lee

VARIOUS ARTISTS:

NASHVILLE RHYTHM & BLUESBullet Records Rhythm & BluesThe Rogana Story: Hossmans Blues

The Champion Records Story:Volume 2 Rockin R&BThe Champions of R&B

SPV BLUE RECORDS

SPV Blue is continuing its releases of recordings thatdocument the rich rhythm and blues history of Nashville.The reissues of some classic, some rare, as well as somemore contemporary recordings show that Music City pro-duced more than simply country music.

Bullet Records Rhythm & Blues is the second reissue

of the important Nashville label, this one focusing moreon jump blues and blues shouters. In fact it opens withfour selections by one of the greatest shouters, WynonieHarris, and in addition to his vocals, these cuts includethe first recordings of pianist Herman Sonny Blount (bet-ter known as Sun Ra). Fred James speculates that itstenor saxophonist Buddy Tates band backing Max Bailey,whose tune includes an exhortation to the troops on

Drive Soldiers Drive. Alto saxophonist Sherman Will-iams selections feature pianist-shouter Skippy Brooks,who would later be a mainstay in Nashville for Excello,singing six strong tracks including Baby Dont You Wantto Go, a reworking ofKokomo Blues, a song that was the

model for Sweet Home Chicago. Two tracks by The BobbyPlater Orchestra feature members of Lionel HamptonsOrchestra backing a young Rufus Thomas, while DocWileys two tracks include a hot jump instrumental andthe more philosophical Play Your Handwith Wileys strongpiano and nice vocal. A few cuts are more in the vein ofMills Brothers styled harmony, and fill out what is a prettyexceptional reissue that will be of special interest to fansof blues shouters.

The Rogana Story: Hossmans Blues compiles a num-ber of blues tracks that legendary Nashville dee-jay andrecord producer, William Hoss Allen produced, mostly

which were licensed to other labels. The material here isvery blues-based and features both some Nashville re-cordings and Muscle Shoals sides. The Nashville sidesoften feature guitarist Johnny Jones, who leads The BeaBoys (tied into the legendary TV show that Allen producedand emceed, and also included bassist Billy Cox). Vocalists Sam Baker and Dottie Clark (terrific on All Woman)benefit from Jones stinging playing. The tracks by TheBeat Boys include not only Jones fiery fretwork but alsothe famed steel guitarist Pete Drake playing through a

Leslie cabinet. Finger Lickinis a particularly outstandingselection of deep in the alley blues guitar. Jimmy Stuarttrumpeter at the time with B.B. King, plays downhomeblues harp on a couple selections (Sit and Beg My Babyhas a nice soulful vocal) as well as on an instrumentaduet with Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore. Gatemouth Brownwas recorded by Allen (he was featured on Allens TheBeat TV show) and his Have You Ever Been Mistreatedisa fine blues. Also outstanding is Johnny Copelands AinNobodys Business. Several other selections feature vo-calist Art Grayson (singing in a deep soul vein) while thelast selection is Hoss Allens tribute to Martin Luther KingHe Went to the Mountain Top. A nice collection of blues

and southern soul that is quite entertaining.The Champion Records Story; Volume 2 Rockin R&Bperhaps brings together more pop and R&B flavored re-cordings than the other reissues here. Champion was onethe labels associated with the legendary Ted JarrettJimmy Beck opens things with three instrumentals, withthe opening Pipe Dreams suggesting perhaps a bit of aska groove. Little Ike comes across as a Little Richardcopycat on She Can Rock, while Larry Birdsongs some-what forgettable Scooter Poopin predates his Vee-Jaydays. Earl Gaines is still around and is heard on threerocking sides, while Chuck Harrod & the Anteaters have arockabilly flavor to them especially on They Wanna Fightand Crawdad Hole. Al Murfreesboro Garner handles thelead on Oh My Lovewith doo wop backing. Don Qs Bandwith Clenest Gant harken back to earlier jump blues witha rocking Hallelujah and Jump Jump Hi Ho. Joyce Paulstwo tracks are sort of minor league Ruth Brown styledrecordings, while Sandra Meade is a good singer with in anice rendition ofFever. This closes with Baker Knightsrocking Bring My Cadillac Back, as his baby ran off withhis Cadillac. There is a nice booting sax solo on this and asimple rock groove. An interesting slice of music perhapsbut the least interesting of these reissues.

The last of these discs is an excellent collection ofrecent recordings that Fred James has produced, TheChampions of R&B.

James produced recordings and tours by these artistsand the selections are leftovers I guess, but that shouldnot imply any musical shortcomings on any of the tracksissued here. The material is a nice mix of straight bluesand southern soul ballads. Roscoe Gordon opens with arocking Shes the Onewith some nice use of the whammybar on the guitar while guitarist James Nixons

One More Chance is strong deep soul, as is FreddieWaters rendition of the Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham It TearsMe Up. Johnny Jones is likely the guitarist on CharlesWalkers terri fic Monkey Blueswith Jones playing complementing Walkers gospel-tinged singing. I was unfamil iar

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January 2008 Issue 300 PAGE THIRTEEN

with Larry LaDon, but the terrific Living on BorrowedTimeis a great per formance on a song that evokes someof Albert Kings recordings. LaDon has a vocal stylecloser to Junior Parker than B.B. King and more goodguitar here. Johnny Jones Girlfriends Blueshas Johnnyin consternation after discovering his woman has anotherlover, my girlfriend has a girlfriend too. Earl Gaines AFool Advice is a solid ballad with a philosophical tonewhile Al Garners marvelous Gonna Stop Drinkinalsobenefits from some wonder ful T-Bone Walker styled gui-

tar. Altogether there are 18 tracks here that are at leastgood and mostly exceptional. With about 76 minutes ofmusic, this is also good value. While Roscoe Shelton andFreddie Waters are no longer with us, others still are andplans are in the works for organizing another touring re-vue by these acts. If they come to a town near you, Iwould suggest you catch these musical giants and in themeantime, do check this wonderful CD out.

Ron Weinstock

QUEEN LATIFATravlin Light

VERVE

Queen Latifahs latest release, and her first for the Vervelabel, Travlin Light, is, in a word, wonderful. This isQueen Latifah. She continues to spread her musical wings.Rapper, actress and gifted vocalist the Queen jumps overthe proverbial broom, marrying great pipes to an increas-ingly impressive professional life.

Travlin Light showcases the Queens versatility. Vet-eran producers Ron Fair, Tommy LiPuma and MarcShaiman underscore her sumptuous vocals with master-ful, production of jazz, pop, rock, swing and even gospel-esque selections.

The experience that is Ron Fair is evidenced by pro-duction that enhances the Queens delivery on seven out

of thirteen tracks. The first cut, a version of Poetry Manlikely to bring smiles to lips of even Phoebe Snow loyal-ists, is beautiful, rich and true and dusted with a touch ofsoul. Latifah covers the 10CC classic, Im Not in Love.She treats the ballad with respect while successfully mak-ing it her own. Also standing out are the catchy How Long(Betcha Got a Chick on the Side) and Dont Cry Baby.

Tommy LiPuma provides rich, luxurious orchestrationsfor five tracks. Breathtaking renditions of Georgia Rose,I Love Being Here With You, and Im Gonna Live Until IDie, with full strings and brass; underline, emphasize andshowcase Queen Latifahs increasing depth and innateability.

I Know Where Ive Been, is lucky thirteen on this

album. Inspirational and uplifting, this Marc Shaiman pro-duced tune smacks of religiosity. Its good, darned goodand leaves the listener feeling good.

All in all, Travlin Light, is a treat that provides a briefvacation ...away from all the earthly cares. This albumwill surprise and delight those unfamiliar with the breadthof Queen Latifahs musical talents and promises to growher already considerable fan base. Wanda Simpson

jazz-blues.com

THE INSOMNIACSLeft Coast Blues

DELTA GROOVE MUSIC

Oh great. A chance to review the new disc by a bunchof young hot shots touted as the next big thing to savethe blues scene. That, or watch paint dry. Hmmm, toughchoice but I watched paint dry last week so I guess thisdisc goes for a spin. Wow, hold the snarky judgment, itseat crow time. In a rare bit of truth in advertising, this disc

lives up to its billing and more.This four piece Portland, Oregon based band featur-ing Vyasa Dodsonvocals and guitar, Dean Mueller on bassAlex Shakerion keyboards andDave Melyan on drumshas crafted a disc that hits all the right notes from begin-ning to end. While the band has a decided retro sound, iperforms with the enthusiasm of discovery rather than thecaution of reverence. In other words, this baby smokesLeading the charge is Dodson who channels Stevie RayVaughan one moment, Im Not Sorry, and Hollywood Fatsor Alex Schultz the next, Stick Around, all the while sound-ing uncannily like Tommy Castro on vocals. Dodson clearlyknows his way around the guitar and makes his Telecastesing its brittle song most prominently on the Tex-Mex cha

cha groove ofI Got Money.The rest of the band deserves equal credit for the

strength of this release with Alex Shakeris work on pianoand keyboards adding greatly to the mix with everythingfrom the chill out grooves ofServes Me Rightto the rol-licking barrel house piano found on Ill Treat You Righand on one of the bonus live tracks, No Wine, No WomenWhile the band favors upbeat jump style blues, Be Quietit is equally adept at Chuck Berry rockers, as channeledby the Beatles, circa the Hamburg Club, Watch Your Mouth(which cribs a few licks from the Saber Dance) and evencheesy soundtrack instrumentals, Crime Scene.

While I doubt there is any band out there that can single

handedly change the popular perception of the blues asrepetitious and stuck in the baby done me wrong/lostmy job/the bottle bit me lyric trap, the widespread expo-sure that this disc deserves should at least start the dis-cussion. Mark Smith

MG3(MARTIN GASSELSBERGER TRIO)

Any Place But ThereATS Records

On the third release with his trio, mg3, Austrian pianist Martin Gasselsberger serves up 12 appealing origi-

nals with bassist Roland Kramer and drummer GeraldEnstrasser. Together, this threesome performs as a tightflawless unit.

One player that Gasselsberger has been compared tois Keith Jarrett. And youll hear those similarities in hiskeyboard style, his phrasing, his lyricism, his sense ofswing, his creativity in improvising and his compositionsAt the keys, Gasselsberger employs a painterly approachthat can occasionally stretch to the outside edgesuchas on My Blues, an upbeat modal number that demon-strates the pianists strong right-hand linear method. BothKramer and Enstrasser get some moments in the spot-

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light to display their talents but more often, they providesupport for Gasselsbergers abundant chops.

Tunes range from three to six minutes. The melodicHope, a cadent, slow-paced piece with a catchy melodylaunches the set. Other highlights include the percolatingLonging for Happiness, the sweet, airy ballad Until WeMeet Again, the bluesy, bouncy What Shalls. The soar-ing Dreamworld boasts another memorable melody, withKramer playing arco bass.

Attention-grabbing tunes and inspired presentations

make Mg3s third disc a satisfying album youll want toplay again and again. Nancy Ann Lee

DELMARK REISSUESSLEEPY JOHN ESTES

On the Chicago Blues Scene

ART HODESFriars inn Revisited

JIM ROBINSONEconomy Hall Breakdown

EDWARD PETERSENUpward Spiral

DELMARK RECORDS

Delmark has just reissued some gems from its cata-log that will be of interest to jazz and blues enthusiasts.

Sleepy John Estes was one of the great blues poetsand vocalists whose prewar recordings were highly influ-ential on the likes of John Lee Sonny Boy Williamsonand others. A creative lyricist who often spun songs fromhis own experiences, his crying vocals (and rudimentaryguitar playing) backed by the vocalized harmonica ofHammie Nixon and the mandolin of Yank Rachell producednumerous classic songs that became part of the blues rep-

ertoire, such Diving Duck Blues, Drop Down Mama, andEverybody Oughta Make a Change. Rediscovered in thesixties, Estes had a revived career recording and perform-ing worldwide, producing several excellent albums forDelmark. Delmarks reissue of On the Chicago BluesScene makes available for the first t ime on CD an albumoriginally released as Electric Sleep, a play on the psy-chedelic recordings of Muddy and Howling Wolf, althoughthis was simply presenting Estes in a Chicago blues set-ting with a backing band that included Sunnyland Slim onpiano, Jimmy Dawkins on guitar, Carey Bell on harp, OdiePayne on drums and various bassist including Earl Hooker.Koester recalls seeing Estes participate in a jam in Eu-

rope with Hubert Sumlin, Rice Sonny Boy WilliamsonMiller, Sunnyland Slim and others, and able to sing withsuch modernists and a few years later cut an album inthat vein, and with the sympathetic backing by a bandthat does a fine job in backing Estes who could some-times not be easy to follow. The vocals are marvelous ascan be expected and its a joy to hear familiar Estes songstake on a fresh sound and hear the music played with suchjoy and soulfulness. Recommended.

Chicago pianist Art Hodes bridged the worlds of bluesand traditional jazz, as well as wrote on jazz, which was asdelightful as his wonderful blues rooted playing. Among

his considerable discography were several albums foDelmark, which include the just reissued Friars inn Revisited.The title refers to a club that housed the New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK), generally regarded as thefinest of the white New Orleans Jazz Bands (they recordedwith Jelly Roll Morton on what was probably the first interracial recording session), and several of their record-ings became staples of the jazz repertoire. As a youthHodes first visited Friars inn before he started venturingto south-side Chicago to see King Oliver, Louis Armstrong

Jimmie Noone and others.For this session, Hodes leads a band that includes

NORK veterans, trombonist George Brunies and clarinet-ist Volly DeFaut (with Barney Bigard heard on two selections), along with trumpeter Nappy Trottier, bassist TruckParham and drummer Barrett Deems. It opens with Bruniesintroducing Angry, and then handling the vocal as the bandplays a nice medium tempo. This is followed by SobbinBlues, a nice remake of their classic recording with JellyRoll Morton, with Hodes sounding marvelous followed bya lovely woody clarinet solo by DeFaut. Thats a Plenty isoften taken at a breakneck pace, so the relaxed swinginggroove is a refreshing change, while Barney Bigard con-

tributes a lovely solo to Tin Roof Blues.Panama is another staple of the traditional repertoire and benefits frombeing taken at a peppy, but not too fast tempo. The previ-ously unissued The Real Thing is a lovely duet withParham, while the unissued alternates ofAfter Your Gone(with a nice, almost seamless tempo change) and I KnowThat You Know are quartet sides with clarinetist DeFautlikely from the sessions that produced another Hodes album, Up in Vollys Room. This writer has great affectionfor Hodes music and is quite pleased that this release isavailable again. Its a marvelous recording that those whoappreciate older jazz styles will enjoy immensely. Otherswith open ears might give a listen and be surprised howmuch they enjoy this.

Trombonist Jim Robinsons career dated back to WorldWar I and in the 1920s he played and later recorded withNew Orleans bandleader Sam Morgan. With the resurgencein interest in early New Orleans jazz he gained fame as amember of the bands of Bunk Johnson and George Lewisand was part of Preservation hall when that esteemedvenue opened in the sixties. Delmark has reissuedEconomy Hall Breakdown, which was recorded at Preser-vation Hall in 1965 with a band that included Johnny Wiggson cornet, Raymond Burke on clarinet, Bob Greene onpiano, Allan Jaffe on tuba and Yoichi Kimura on drumsthat showcased Robinsons big-toned robust tailgate styleof trombone along with the fine playing of Wiggs, Burke

and Greene. The title track is a lively mix of Joe AverysPieceand Dippermouth Blues, followed by a down-in-thealley 2:19 Blues with Wiggs muted wah wah trumpetcomplimented by Robinsons blustery tailgate playingWiggs peppy Right Now is the Right Time, Put On YouGrey Bonnet and the hymn Bye and Bye (on whichRobinson sings) are among other highpoints here.

The heart of the music is essentially the blues as shownon the fine rendition of W.C. Handys Atlanta Blues, andanother Wiggs composition, Postmans Lament. Listeningto the band play with trombone, trumpet and clarinet in-terweaving their lines together one gets such a joy tha

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January 2008 Issue 300 PAGE FIFTEEN

This photo of Dietra Farr captured by

Ron Weinstock at the 2007 Pocono Blues Festival

is just one of hundreds of Rons photos

you can view online

at www.flickr.com/photos/novaron

LIKE JAZZ & BLUES PHOTOS?

any rough edges are ignored. Robinson was extensivelyrecorded (especially with Bunk Johnson and GeorgeLewis), but only recorded a few times as a leader, includ-ing this ingratiating release.

The breadth of Delmarks jazz catalog can be seen bythe reissue of tenor saxophonist Edward Petersens firstCD to record his own compositions, Upward Spiral.Petersen had previously recorded with the likes of CedarWalton Ron Carter, Chet Baker, and Clark Terry. Shortlyafter this disc, Petersen was recruited by Ellis Marsalis to

the University of New Orleans where he teaches jazz anddirects the prestigious Louis Armstrong Quintet. On Up-ward Spiral he is joined by Fareed Haque on guitar, BradWilliams on piano, Rob Amster on bass and Jeff Stitelyon drums. Of these Haque is probably the best known,whether leading his own quartet or working with the popu-lar jam band Garaj Mahal. The first four numbers wererecorded live in June 1989 at the Chicago club The GreenMill, while the rest were studio recordings from a few weekslater. With the exception of the closing Richard Rogersnumber, I Didnt Know What Time It Was, Petersen wrotethe music here, opening with a hard bop ripper, Probably.Petersens full tone here is complemented by Haques fi-

ery, horn-like guitar lines. The title track has more of adreamy flavor reflecting its origin as an attempt to writemusic for people to consider world peace, and like Ob-

jects In The Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear, has asomewhat dreamy flavor evocative of some of WayneShorters compositions for Miles Davis. Among the studiotracks Opus Bis another number that has a similar flavorwith Williams taking a terrific solo before more fine play-ing by the leader. For Dan is a spicy samba styled tunewith a unusual three-beat cycle that has some robust so-loing from everybody but bassist Amster. The ballad sideof his playing is showcased on the fine interpretation ofthe Richard Rogers number that closes an exceptional datethat Delmark has made available again. Ron Weinstock

JIMMY AMADIE TRIOThe Philadelphia Story: The Gospel As We Know It

TPR RECORDINGS

The 70-year-old pianist Jimmy Amadie recorded this12-tune disc over a period of nine months, inviting spe-cial guests Benny Golson (tenor sax), Randy Brecker(trumpet, flugelhorn) and Lew Tabackin (tenor saxophone,flute) to augment his trio with bassist Steve Gilmore anddrummer Bill Goodwin.

Playing mostly tunes by Amadie, each guest performsfour tunes each. The fare ranges from uptempo numbers

to ballads and a bossa. Amadie admits the trio adjustedto each artist, rather than sticking to a familiar style orgrooves. Highlights abound. The title tune is a bouncy,swinging affair featuring Golson. Brecker delivers a mourn-ful tribute to his late brother in Michaels Lament,Tabackin sparkles with his gorgeous flute playing on theuptempo Samba For Lew T. Theres not a dull tune inthe bunch.

Amadie has a penchant for leading melodious ses-sions full of spirit and passion. This latest recording con-tinues that path as he triumphs over ongoing hand, wristand forearm maladies that have made playing the piano

so difficult hes had to rest, wrap, and brace his handsand wait (sometimes months) before he could record another tune. All the right elements were present for thisrecording and Amadies guests have risen to the occasionas if each song was a celebration. Nancy Ann Lee

RONNIE EARLAND THE BROADCASTERS

Hope RadioSTONY PLAIN

After a long career that has found him doing every-thing from replacing Duke Robillard in Roomful of Bluesto backing a rotating cast of lead singers including KimWilson, Sugar Ray Norciaand Darrel Nulisch in his ownband, The Broadcasters, to nearly losing it all to drugsand alcohol, guitar master Ronnie Earl has finally foundthat he communicates best by focusing solely on instru-mental tracks.

While the absence of words often means the presenceof instrumental indulgence, such is not the case with thistalented crew of Broadcasters including Dave LiminaonHammond B-3, Jim Mouradian and Michael Mudcat Ward

on bass and Lorne Entress on drums who have crafted adisc that is marked by restraint and a respect for all thathappens in the space between notes. In their sympathetichands, the 11 tracks of live and unedited blues and jazzfound here rise above the shackles of the verse/chorus/verse structure necessary when backing a singer and, infact, dont need a single syllable to communicate as muchas most songs with words. While the band is deserving o

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January 2008 Issue 300PAGE SIXTEEN

much credit for its t ight, intuitive interplay, at the end ofthe day it is Earls guitar that carries this disc to its oftenstellar heights.

Too many blues guitarists instrumental numbersquickly find their way into boogie or shuffle wonderlandor venture into the how many notes can I fit in a barwasteland. Earl, on the other hand, has both the skill andimpeccable taste to take his tracks to a much differentdestination: one where dreamy interludes share space withaggressive string work that is cathar tic instead of angry.

With more change ups in pace, tone and dynamics thanmost blues musicians use in an entire career, Earl en-gages your mind in the same way as the most adept jazzor classical music composers. You wont need words tofeel the despair that pervades Kartrina Blues or to feelthe joy ofBobbys Bop.

Likewise, no words are necessary to measure Earlslove for Otis Rush which is so plainly evident through thesearing string work on Blues for Otis Rush. Based on thestrength of this release, we can all be grateful that RonnieEarl has found that he speaks best through the six stringson his guitar. Mark Smith

THE PIZZARELLI BOYSSunday at Petes

CHALLENGE RECORDS

When the Pizzarellis perform, you can be assured itsgoing to be a tidy swing set and this CDtheir first re-cording ever as an unaccompanied quartet without anentire band behind themranks high among their best.

John Pizzarelli (guitar), John Bucky Pizzarelli(rhythm guitar), Martin Pizzarelli (bass) and Tony Tedesco(drums) perform 14 nostalgic tunes drawn from the fam-ily repertoire and Buckys uncles, Peter and BobbyDomenick. Gems such as Sweet Sue, Alabamy Bound,Whispering, When Youre Smiling, Bye Bye Blues,In the Good Old Summer Time, and others are cheeryrenditions that will have you tapping your foot. Most tuneslast around three to five minutes or so, except for the 12-minute finale, Night on Garrett Mountain, an upbeatblues original named after a favorite spot of Buckys inhis hometown of Paterson, NJ.

These musicians work as a tight unit delivering a flaw-less, perky session that keeps the listener engaged anddelighted. A 12-page liner booklet contains notes by JohnPizzarelli and black-and-white session photos.

Nancy Ann Lee

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WEST OF MEMPHISHoney Pie

WEST OF MEMPHIS

Comprised of vocalist-harmonica player Karl Cabbageand guitarist Tom Walpole, and various sidemen, West oMemphis is a blues band hailing from San Diego. Thebands name stems from the fact that when Cabbage wasstationed at a Naval base forty miles West of Memphishe hitchhiked to busk and play harp on Beale Street and

catch various blues heroes. The band was formed in 1999and has been holding down a weekend gig at San DiegosHouse of Blues since early 2006. Yes, imagine a Houseof Blues having a regular gig by a blues band.

They have just issued their second CD, Honey Pieproduced in Montreal by a superb Canadian harp playerBharath Rajakumar, and this recording certainly wilplease fans of jumping Chicago styled-blues. There is anice variety of material including solid remakes of songsfrom Jimmy Rogers (Back Door Friend and Thats AlRight), Little Walter (Whoand I Got to Go), Muddy Waters(Crosseyed Cat), and Johnny Young (Im Having a Ball)along with solid idiomatic originals like Canary in HeCage, the title track and Cell Phone Blues. One would be

hard-pressed to find any tracks that stand-out as every-thing is done so nicely.

They do a solid straight cover of Willie Dixons ImReady with, I assume, Walpole as the one ably handlingthe vocals, while Cabbage takes a solid chromatic soloCabbage handles the vocal mike on the Little Walter in-terpretations and Johnny Youngs exuberant Im Havinga Ballon which Bharath showcases his formidable harpplaying. One of the originals Cell Phone Bluesis precededby a call from the songs co-writer Geoff Starin, beforeCabbage opens the song with some blasting harp as hetells his woman to close her cell phone baby, becausehe dont love you like I do. There is some great guitar

from Walpole in a Junior Watson vein while the pianist,M. Gagnon, helps supply the bottom with his strong two-handed playing (as he does throughout this disc). Bharathtakes the vocal on Thats Alright, where Cabbage playssome nice harp in the vein of Sonny Boy Williamson II.Miss Sugarpuss Boogie is a crisp feature for Walpolesguitar that comes across as a fifties styled number.

The closing shuffle, Chupacabra, is a hot harmonicaduet by Bharath and Cabbage that ends a strongly ap-pealing disc. Ron Weinstock

STEVE ALLEE TRIO

ColorsOWL STUDIOSOn his fifth CD, pianist-composer-arranger Steve

Allee, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, leads a trio featuring Bill Moring on bass and Tim Horner on drums.

This 10-tune project draws somewhat from Alleesworld travels and he infuses his straight-ahead originalswith a variety of influences, delivering a Latin-laced titletune and expressing the tropical warmth of Grand BahamaIsland on Lucaya. The trio performs two standards: anuptempo, expansive version of Jerome Kerns Yester-days and an uncluttered, fresh take on Johnny Mercers

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Come Rain or Come Shine.Allee is a melodious, creative player whose improvi-

sations are full of ideas. Moring, who has performed withMulgrew Miller and Chris Potter, plays a solid support roleand shines especially when he has the rare chance toplay arco bass. Horner, who performs with MariaSchneider and the Village Vanguard Orchestra, adds muchto this session with his lively cymbals work, rim shotsand flashy timekeeping.

As composer, Allee contributes some appealing origi-

nal tunes for which a vocalist might want to write lyrics.An air of freshness to their warm outpourings draws thelistener inside the music. Nancy Ann Lee

NEW YORK VOICESA Day Like This

MANCHESTER CRAFTSMENS GUILD

Special guest instrumentalists Paquito DRivera (clari-net), Bob Mintzer (bass clarinet), Chuck Loeb (guitar)Dave Samuels (vibes), Gil Goldstein (accordion) and others join the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble, New

York Voices, for this splendid studio session, their firssolo album in nearly a decade.With tightly blended harmonies, the group refreshes

the 14 gems on this disc, including Darn That Dream,In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning, On A ClearDay, For All We Know, No Moon At All, Stone SouPicnic, and more. Most tunes last around 4-5 minutesOn the peppy finale, Jackie (music by Hampton Haweslyrics by Annie Ross, arrangement by Darmon Meader)with brassy instrumental accompaniment and scatting byKim Nazarian, they sound a lot like Manhattan Transfer

Vocalists Nazarian, Meader (who also capably playstenor saxophone) and Peter Eldridge have been with thegroup (originally a quintet) since its founding in 1987

while they were students at Ithaca College in New YorkLauren Kinhan replaced Sara Krieger in 1992 and NYVpermanently became a quartet when Caprice Fox left thegroup in 1994. The jazz vocal group performed for yearswith the Count Basie Orchestra, toured with the BostonPops and other symphony orchestras, and has embraceda repertoire that includes bop tunes in the vocalese tra-dition as well as music from pop and jazz worlds. Theyrecorded several albums for GRP in the 1990s and haveguested on numerous albums.

New York Voices injects familiar songs with surprisetwists, abundant energy and sentimental feeling. Theirindividual and blended voices are pleasing to the ear

Adding instrumentation enhances the fare. Nice albumMay be their best one yet. Nancy Ann Lee

ANDREW BROWNBig Browns Blues

BLACK MAGIC RECORDS

There have been so many examples of blues artistswho produced a small number of recordings whose re-cordings were highly prized by those who heard them butnever reach the more general acclaim that their musicdeserves. Its been over twenty years since singer-guitar-

ist Andrew Brown passed away after recording some ex-cellent 45s, several tracks for Alligators Living ChicagoBlues series and two superb albums for Dutch Labels thatI do not believe have been issued on CD. The Dutch BlackMagic label has made almost all of Browns recordingsavailable (the issued Alligator tracks excluded) on a won-derful limited edition reissue titled Big Brown Blues.

Packed in a book sized package, the contents of thetwo discs include his issued 45s for the U.S.A, 4 Brothersand Brave labels and a pair of unissued titles from Brave;two unissued songs from the sessions used for the LivingChicago Blues selections; the contents of his Black Magicand Double Trouble CDs and three demos recorded atAndrews basement. The booklet contains a bio from Bill

Dahl and producer Dick Shurmans recollections of An-drew and his music. As Shurman observes, Musically,Andrew was accomplished, powerful, soulful and versa-tile.

Influences on Brown include B.B. King, Lowell Fulsonand T-Bone Walker, but in listening to these his musicstruck me as very similar to that of the late Little Milton,which is evident in the wonderful treatment of MiltonsLosing Handthat is the first track on the second disc. Itis more a matter of similarities in the voices and com-mon influences. Like Milton, Brown was not only a fleetguitarist, but also a wonderful songwriter. Magic Samcovered Browns USA 45, You Better Stop, but there are

any number of strong modern urban blues with sophisti-cated lyrics, sung with so much heart with his guitar play-ing embellishing, not overwhelming, his vocals. He movesfrom a rocking shuffle like No More Talkingto the bluesballad Your Love is Important to Me, then taking up a funkgroove on Mary Jane. Dick Shurman had him cover somesongs on the two albums with Tin Pan Alley, including histerrific take on James Thunderbird Davis Blue Monday,Joe Texs I Want to Do (Everything For You), and a BobbyBland classic Lead Me On. A few numbers are a bit moredirected towards the straight soul market, but are deliv-ered here so well.

Having Browns two albums and even a 4 Brothers45, I am delighted to have this wonderful reissue avail-able by a person who should be much better known amonga broader range of blues fans. His mellow blues stylingis akin to such other neglected past blues masters MightyJoe Young and Fenton Robinson and is better than a lotof what is purported to be blues today.

This is a limited edition and I recommend checkingthe better mail order specialists like BlueBeat Music(www.bluebeatmusic.com from which I purchased this)

to get this gem while you can. It is also available directlyfrom Black Magic for $35 postpaid (http://home.tiscali.nl/blackmagicrecords.nl/). Ron Weinstock

Reviewed in our next issue:

The 2007 Riviera Maya

Jazz Festival

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

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January 2008 Issue 300PAGE EIGHTEEN

THE WAY THINGS GO is a fresh take on traditional Blues from the veteran

Bluesman. CLEVELAND FATS once again shows that he is a master singer, guitarist,

and songwriter highlighting his talents on nine originals and three covers. This recording

includes the re-teaming with his former boss and mentor ROBERT LOCKWOOD, JR.

and special guest BILLY BRANCH on harmonica.

CD NOW AVAILABLE DIRECT FROM HONEYBEE ENTERTAINMENT

Only $15 including shipping (outside US add $2). Send check or money order to

4786 Dressler RD NW #145, Canton, OH 44718. Or online at www.honeybeeblues.com

For booking information please contact BLUE SKUNK MUSIC at (847) 275-8378

HOMESICK JAMESShake Your Money Maker

SPV BLUE RECORDS

A cousin of the late Elmore James, the late Home-sick James Williamson, is perhaps described among thesecond-tier of slide guitarists performing in the mannerof his more famous broomdusting cousin. SPV Blue has just issued Shake Your Money Maker; some 1999 liverecordings in Switzerland produced by Fred James who

is on guitar on these tracks.Homesick James was one of the artists who recordedfor small Chicago labels like Chance, for whom he waxedLonesome Old Train and his signature song, HomesickJames. Later he recorded an album for Prestige, which Ifind hardly memorable although Fred James, in the linerbooklet, calls it Homesicks high water mark. He alsowas recorded by Sam Char ters for the classic anthology,Chicago The Blues Today, which this writer feels is hismost impressive work. In the ensuing years until his De-cember 2006 passing, he recorded a number of albumsfor a variety of labels including Trix, Ice House and Ap-paloosa. Some of the European recordings he made withthe late harp player Snooky Pryor perhaps are worth seek-

ing out the most.With respect to Shake Your Money Maker, it shows

that in his 80s Homesick James had lost little in terms ofhis playing and husky vocals. As Fred James ob