Relief Foundationwww.musicmaker.org

B.B. KingBonnie RaittLevon HelmDickey Betts

Jimmy HerringDerek TrucksSusan TedeschiTom RankinSue Foley

Colonel Bruce Hampton

Pura FéKen Shepherd

Kenny Wayne ShepherdJerry Harrison

Pete TownshendLightnin’ Wells

John PriceDavid Thurber, Jr. MD

Bill KrasilovskyRick Savitt

Eno Valley StationPO Box 72222Durham, NC 27722-2222

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Music Maker Relief Foundation helps the truepioneers and forgotten heroes of Southernmusic gain recognition and meet their day today needs.We present these musical tradi-tions to the world so American culture willflourish and be preserved for future genera-tions.

Board of DirectorsTimothy Duffy - President

Denise Duffy Taj Mahal

Ryan CostelloDaniel “Mudcat” Dudeck

Bill PuckettHenry SlykerBlane Wright

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Newsletter Credits: Written by Timothy & Denise Duffy, Amy Nolan and Joanna Johnson, Design by Amy Nolan The Music Maker Rag is published by Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. email: info@musicmaker.org © 2006 MMRF. All Rights Reserved.

Music Maker ProgramsMusician Sustenance - grants to meet basiclife needs and emergency relief.Musical Development - grants and servicesfor recipient artist professional development andcareer advancement.Cultural Access - supports the preservationand proliferation of American musical traditions.New Orleans Musician’s Fund - assis-tance to musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Advisory Board

T H E M U S I C M A K E R R E L I E F F O U N D A T I O N

Cool John Ferguson's Winding RoadYou Can Groove or You Can Slide Cool John Ferguson is one ofthe five greatest guitar playersI've heard in my career. He's upthere with Jimi Hendrix,WesMontgomery, and DjangoReinhardt. -Taj Mahal

Cool John Ferguson is a quietman who usually lets his upside-down left-handed guitar wizardrydo his talking.That guitar talks toa wider audience these days, asFerguson enjoys steady workthrough the Music Maker ReliefFoundation, a non-profit organiza-tion established in Durham, NorthCarolina, by Tim Duffy to providefinancial aid and bring wider expo-sure to lesser-known blues andtraditional musicians all over theUnited States.Ferguson and Duffy met in 1995in Beaufort, South Carolina, andFerguson joined Music Maker afew years later. Since then he'sgarnered national and internation-al attention as a guitarist. He hasreleased three albums with MusicMaker: a self-titled debut of livesongs (2001), a studio album,Guitar Heaven (2003) with TajMahal's band, and a Christmasalbum, Cool Yule (2003). He hasalso played on many of MusicMaker's studio album releases,with a guitar style flexible enoughto complement sounds rangingfrom urban blues to country bluesto country and western fingerpicking. He also backs MusicMaker musicians on stage at clubsand festivals around the country.Ferguson's own musical style is dif-ficult to describe. He blurs the boundaries between blues, gospel,rock, soul, jazz, country, and funk, challenging listeners-from partyanimals to academics-to rethink their systems of labels, categories,and subcategories. During the course of his solo live shows, hemay start country-picking in the middle of a Hendrix cover orlaunch into an extended surf-rock jam towards the end of aChuck Berry tribute-but Cool John Ferguson is not just anotherrock 'n' roll knock off. He owes just as much to musicians GeorgeBenson, Roy Clark, and B.B. King as he does to Hendrix.Cool John Ferguson draws much from the traditions of musicianslike Taj Mahal and Gatemouth Brown. He chooses to blend manymusical styles into a unique, personal sound.I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Ferguson onechilly January morning inside Duffy's old Winnebago at the MusicMaker Relief Foundation's headquarters just outside of Durham.Duffy, Cool John, and another local legend, Captain Luke Mayer,were packing for a trip to Washington, D.C., for a gig.

Cool John was born in 1953 on Saint Helena Island just off theSouth Carolina coast. His upbringing, while influenced by hismother's Gullah roots, was principally guided by the strict reli-gious beliefs of both parents. He remembers the first time he sawa guitar.“I was right around three or four years old. My mom used to dodomestic housework over on Parris Island, South Carolina. Mydad used to work too.There's a couple that she was working forthat was gonna get transferred to Okinawa.And they had a wholebunch of stuff they couldn't take…they had a guitar. She broughtall this stuff home, along with the guitar.And when I saw her comeout of the car with it…I smiled like you couldn't believe it.Yousee, this is my first time really seeing a guitar.“So, she came in the house and put all the stuff up. She put theguitar up in the closet.And I asked her, I said, 'What's that?' “She said, 'It's a guitar' “So after that, when she'd go to work I'd, you know, stack up abunch of chairs and go and bring it down.You know, I'd just startstrumming it and it was something magical about it.“A couple evenings she came home from work before I was ableto put it back up and I got my tail tore up! That was two timesand on the third time she caught me, I was sitting on the frontsteps. It had got hot, you know, because the summers used to behot back then in '57. So it was too late and I had just started play-ing a song, you know.Always used to leave the radio station ongospel. First song I played was Just A Closer Walk With Thee.Andwhen my mom came home I said well I'm just gonna get spankedanyways, so I might as well finish playing, you know.And I kept onplaying, and she said, 'Wow…' and at the same time my dad, he

came home early…they bothhad kinda converged on thatscene and instead of gettingspanked my dad said, 'I believethat boy can play that thing. Let

him have it.' And then my momsaid, 'Well…okay.'“But check this out: my mom, see I was like playing one-noters,but my mom tuned, after she saw my interest in the guitar, she satdown beside and she said, 'Let me hold it.' And she picked up myguitar and tuned it in a perfect open E, and she had never playedguitar in her life but her brother played…her oldest brotherplayed, my uncle.That was about '59 or '60 when I was allowed tosee him.”“By about the age of five I was playing in churches. My folks wasreal religious. So I started playing in church and from that is whenI started going to school. I started playing at the school after thekids kept after me to play…some of the kids went to the samechurch to hear me.“I just kept playing through junior high school and joined the [highschool] band and learned how to play trumpet and stuff like that.But guitar was my first love.“I was like a regular in the church.A couple of old guys used toplay there but when I came, it was like, 'move over,' you know.”Ferguson appeared on Low Country Sing, a locally produced tele-vision show in Charleston, with his three sisters, the FergusonSisters, who were popular on the South Carolina gospel scene inthe early-to-mid 1960s. Ferguson also played every morning at hiselementary school at his principal's behest, and his interest inmusic deepened as he reached high school.“I formed a band back in about tenth or eleventh grade, a threepiece.And we played like for the prom and we played little showsall over town.And my music instructor teacher, Earl Davis, heused to play at clubs.And started getting me to play guitar…itwas him and his wife, Pauline.And he taught me a lot of stuffabout jazz and jazz theory. But I always had the blues and gospel, Ialready had that…but as far as the jazz theory, I didn't know howto recognize.“My love for music, a lotta times, was coming up through highschool.You know I played football, stuff like that, most of my timeI spent in the band room hanging out with the band director.”It was also around this time that Reverend “You can't lose withthe stuff I use” Ike rolled into Beaufort. He and Ferguson hap-pened to meet and instantly clicked. Reverend Ike hired Fergusonfor a two-week gig with his tent revival service, which was grow-ing in popularity by the day, attracting large crowds of gospelseekers and music fans alike. Ike took Ferguson on the road withhim to larger venues around the South, including ones in Georgiaand as far west as Texas.Gospel wasn't all that Ferguson was listening to on the radio.When his parents weren't around, he stayed hip to what was pop-ular.“[I listened to] WAPE, the Big Ape in Jacksonville.And theyplayed a little of everything.That's when I learned The Twist,Hound Dog by Elvis, Midnight Hour, Johnny B. Goode.

“I learned a lot of speed from watching cats like on Hee Haw likewhat's the guy's name? Roy Clark! I said how do you guys get sofast?! I learned how they got so fast…they were with the instru-ment and they learned it. If you wanna get there, you can getthere. But see it used to put me off because I thought back in theday, I was about top dog in the southeast…you know Beaufort,Savannah, Charleston, Jacksonville stuff like that.And then I startedwatching like Roy Clark and those guys, how they got that speed, Ikept listening to it until it stuck.And then I'd watch them everychance I'd got.You keep watching something and hearing some-thing you learn how to do it.“That guy ain't doing nothing! One little spot, I found out how towiggle them fingers like he was doing it.“I picked that up [country].We was allowed to listen to countrymusic because it was kinda close to gospel…the lyrics weren'tthat bad, weren't rock 'n' roll. So you could get by with that. So Istarted listening to the chord structures and the lead-ins and thechords that they actually use…just coming up through the years, Igot a chance to hear all kinds of music. I got to the point where Icould just hear a song once and could play it in the next five min-utes.” After Ferguson graduated high school in the early 1970s he andhis mentor formed the Earl Davis Trio with Earl on saxophone,Earl's wife, Pauline, on organ, and Ferguson on guitar, playing jazz.This group launched an active period for Ferguson as he took ongigs in clubs, churches, weddings, and funerals.Shortly after, Ferguson moved to New York City to try to breakinto the music scene up north. He played gigs at his sister'schurch and discovered some important new influences.“George [Benson] is one of my favorite guitar players, you know,on the cool side.Then Hendrix…when I got into Hendrix, he wasalready dead when I really got into him. But when I started listen-ing to Hendrix…I filtered him…you know, like his soul justabsorbed into my body. I love his music. I understood his…I finallyunderstood his lyrics.You know I don't know all his songs but theones that I liked I learned.”Other influences on Ferguson include B.B. King, Chet Atkins, EricClapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ernie Isley, Eddie Van Halen, andAlbert King.As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, Ferguson found himself backaround his old stomping grounds in coastal South Carolina, whichis where he remained until the mid-1990s when Tim Duffyentered the picture. Duffy heard Ferguson in South Carolinasometime around 1995, toward the end of his “wild days.” Duringthis time Ferguson was also making trips to Atlanta to visit andcollaborate with his niece, who worked at LaFace Records.Duffy and Ferguson kept in touch for the next few years andshortly after Duffy's friend and musical partner Guitar Gabrieldied, Duffy proposed that Ferguson come to work at Music MakerRelief Foundation. Ferguson agreed immediately.“What inspired me-or should I say what led me to hang aroundthis area this long-you know like I said earlier, a man's gotta makea living. In them old days it was always work.And wherever they'swork is where a man got to be. I mean I like to travel but I don't

Music Maker Rag 1Cool John Article cont. on page 3

By Mark ColtrainOriginally published in Living Blues, Issue #188,Volume 37 #2

Cool John Ferguson performing at the Byron Bay Festival in Australia, ©Kate Belle

Taj Mahal on Cool John Ferguson“I met him around with Tim [Duffy] and I heard about him a long time before I heard him play.Timtalked about him, told me what he was doing. So it was interesting to hear a cat from down in SouthCarolina where half my family's from. My mama and them's from down there. Bennettsville andCheraw, South Carolina, is where all my family lives on my mother's side. So it was nice to hearanother kind of guitar player from Beaufort or from off the islands off the coast there, got that kind ofenergy.And he played in and around Atlanta, was in the studios and worked with a lot of stuff but stillreally had this deep feel for the music down there.“It's real nice to hear somebody that can play across the spectrum of the music and be viable and vitalin any particular direction and is a monster guitar player, you know. John is really fantastic.You can puthim in any musical situation and the guy will shine playing and always come with something.“Oftentimes guitar players who have the kind of prowess that he does on the instrument can't con-nect with what's happening at the moment with the artist that they're playing with or the musicianthat they're jamming with because they got a style.You can play in their style or they can step onyours, you know what I mean? You can't create any middle ground with them.You can always createmiddle ground with him! It's really great. I really enjoy it with him. It's like the music's standing up, justlike you can hear.The guy's playing totally improvisatorially but he's got chops to be able to pull thestuff off.Well it isn't like, 'it's really great but it's about a 76,' you know, it's like, 'it's great and it's at 150on a scale of 1 to 100!' The guy can play! He's really all over the music.I realized was that he just nevergot the shot to go out there because the business is not built on how good you are, you know, thebusiness is built on what kinda business people are doing for you and all that kinda stuff. Fortunatelysome people are getting to hear him and they're always amazed with it when he gets out there.“The guy's [also] got a great sense of humor. He's got some old, way downhome country jokes. Stuffthat really cracks you up. It's genius the stuff he comes up with sometimes.“[Over the years] with my ear, he seems to have come out of himself a lot more. He tends to be veryintrospective, very quiet, you know, unassuming type of guy but when you put the guitar in his hand,it's that same kind of thing that Hendrix had: real quiet, real soft, understated but put that guitar in hishand he's a monster…whatever instrument you put in his hand.…Musically, the guy's still on fire. Everytime I hear him he's great!…I love what he's playing, I just hope more people get to hear him and thathe gets a great break to get out there because the guy's just fantastic.”

Music Maker NewsAdvisory board members John Price & KennyWayne Shepherd have been quite active. J.P.helpedus purchase Captain Luke a car, secure work forartists,helps with recording projects and is brainstorm-ing on fundraising events.KennyWayne was a guest at ourCongressional Blues Festival and is busyputting the finishing touches on his bluesfilm that features many MM artists.

Precious Bryant of Waverly Hall,GAcalled up and had a sore spot on hertongue from using the wrong brand ofSnuff; she also had a sour stomach.AmyNolan sent her some Tums and a fewboxes of her CDs.Precious called upand thanked us for the help.She doesnot like to travel too much,but is stillperforming at local shows.We were alsoable to send her a grant so she couldbuy a cane.

Many thanks to David Bleckley andJoAnn Clark who both have volun-teered their time as grant writers toMusic Maker! If you are interested involunteering with MM email volunteer@musicmaker.org.

We thank Eric Clapton for writingMM a letter of support for a GrammyFoundation Grant to archive Tim Duffy’sfield recordings at the Southern FolklifeCollection at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Pura Fé has released a CD on the French Dixie Froglabel.During our last trip to Paris she conducted 15interviews in 5 days with journalists from newspapers,television and radio.Everyone involved in the projectbelieves that Pura Fé will be greatly received.She goeson her first solo show in Germany this August.And shereceived Female Artist of the Year from the NAMMYS(Native American Music Awards) where she was nomi-nated in three categories.

We wish to thank the local Carolina Friends Schoolfor their continued support and volunteering for MMRF.

Alabama Slim is patiently waiting for the release ofhis debut CD,“The Mighty Flood.” We hope this will be

our December Record Club offering.

Albert White, a tremendous guitarist and singer,began his career with Beverly “Guitar” Watkins as amember of the original “Dr.Feelgood and the Interns,”lead by the infamous Piano Red from Atlanta.Alberthas been a key man in our recent tours to Europe,both backing artists and doing his own set.We are

thrilled to learn that Ardie Dean has begun work onAlbert's first solo CD.

MM took a trip to Pittsville,VA and met an extraordi-nary blues artist by the name of Pete Witcher.Heintroduced us to his 22-year old cousin Gale Ceasar.We spent the afternoon on a front porch playing tunes.The Witchers have been a musical family in this tinycommunity going back as far as they can remember.Young Gale is a very talented guitarist knowing bothold-time country and blues music.Pete is a great gui-tarist and singer,very much in the Virginia Piedmontblues style of playing.Pete knows literally hundreds ofsongs.What is exciting is that there are several elderfamily members and friends in there 70s and 80s thatare still active.We look forward to meeting many ofthese artists in the near future.

Lee Gates is so happy with his two new CDs that hehas already headed back in Huntsville,AL to workwith producer Ardie Dean on his next release.

Essie Mae Brooks is patiently waiting for us to gether new CD issued.

Drink Small is suffering from some health issues but isstill performing.He could really use all the help he canget. If anybody has interest, just contact us.

We have so many CDs we want to issue that it isridiculous.We have repackaged our first recording,”Guitar Gabriel,Toot Blues” and put it into nationaldistribution.We hope to get out CDs by Etta Baker,Samuel Turner Stevens,Bishop DreadyManning,Pete Witcher,Drink Small and otherssoon.This requires a great deal of time and resources,so please purchase as many CDs as you can.

On June 20th at the Avalon Theater in Washington,D.C.Chris Johnstone andAnna Ferrarie held avery successful premier featuring films that are includedin our upcoming “Drink House to Church House”DVD series.

Many thanks to John Laird for helping us completeour Strategic Plan! We are presently seeking an enabling

grant to hire aDirector ofDevelopment. If any-one wishes to helpraise or donate for thiseffort,please contactTim or Denise Duffy.

Beverly “Guitar”Watkins has movedto a new apartmentand we were proud tobe able to help herwith moving expenses.

Roy Ventura of PlayaZancudo,Costa Ricacalled and checked inwith us and is lookingforward to the 5thAnnual Taj MahalFishin' BluesTournament.He hasretiled his pool and gotsome new chairs andlounges.His fishinglodge is truly unique,right on the beach andabsolutely gorgeous.We hope donors who

have been on the fencemake sure they come this year to our 5th AnniversaryTournament.

Blues artist David Butler of Sanford,FL is doing welland has recently gotten great press.He is a recipient ofthe Angel Food program and of late has been workinghard on finishing his first solo CD with the great help ofSteven Morris and Doc Williamson.

Give to Music Maker, One Search at a TimeCheck out www.goodsearch.com, a new searchengine powered by Yahoo! that donates about 1 centper internet search to the charity of your choice.Simplyselect Music Maker as your charity and each time yousearch the web you'll be making a donation to MMRF!

As GoodSearch says, "The pennies add upquickly ...A charity with 1000 supporterssearching the internet just twice a day canearn more than $7000 each year."

Our Feed An Artist for a Year program isreally taking off! Donor Leslye Wood, whois sponsoring John Dee Holeman,wroteto us about this new program:

“One of the things I love most about MusicMaker is the personal touch you guys are so

faithful to...not only with the musicians,but withyour donors. I loved getting the card from/aboutJohn in the mail and immediately looked him up

online. I feel honored to be able to help.”

Barbara Friedman also wrote to us:“I am thrilled to be able to provide my support.

There are so many programs that I could choosefrom,but this one really touched my heart.”

Many thanks to all our donors who haveresponded to this need:Russ Comer,TylerHaskell,Mike Kramer,Leslye Wood,Chuck Snider,Neal Pattison,GaleJohnson,Niel and Aletha Prankus,Barbara Friedman,Rich Cox,CarlWaddell,Henry & Shelly Slyker andJenny Eggleston's art class! These donorshave made it possible for us to feed artistsCaptain Luke & Whistlin' Britches,Macavine Hayes,John Dee Holeman,Adolphus Bell,Jessie Mae Hemphill,Skeeter Brandon,Etta Baker,GeorgeHiggs,Cora Mae Bryant,PreciousBryant,and Essie Mae Brooks. And weare in the process of setting up EddieTigner,Beverly “Guitar” Watkins,and

Algia Mae Hinton.

Thank you for your donations! They have allowed us tocontinue making grants to artists in need.We haverecently been able to help Drink Small when his girl-friend’s house burned down;sponsor the FreedomCreek Festival for Willie King;, Washboard Chazfrom New Orleans the funding to produce a newrecord;help Precious Bryant pay her phone bill; givea grant to our newest recipient artist Pete Witcherfrom Pittsville,VA,and many more needed emergencygrants needed for day-to-day needs.

We are having such a fun time at our WarehouseBlues Series.Many thanks to the City of Durham,Parks and Recreation Department for sponsoring thisevent.Every Friday in June, July and August Music Makerwill be presenting top notch blues at the West VillageApartments, See our listing below for the completeline up!

Dear Friends,Music Maker is on the move! This July we embark on our most epic tour of Europe to date.Artists Adolphus Bell, Pura Fé, Eddie Tigner, Sol, Slewfoot, Cary B, Macavine Hayes, Essie MaeBrooks,Albert White, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins and Captain Luke will be displaying theirgreat talents and letting the world know of our mission.Adolphus Bell, who struggles to get agig in the states, is traveling back to France again in the fall and a MM revue is planned forApril and May of 2007.These are truly special times and adventures for us.

Back home we are delighted that the Parks and Recreation Department of Durham, NorthCarolina is sponsoring our 3rd Warehouse Blues Series. MM artists will perform every Fridaynight during the months of June, July and August.These shows are held at the West VillageApartments’ courtyard on Morgan Street.The events are from 6-8pm and are free and opento the public. Please come and enjoy these performances.We have some of our country’smost authentic blues artists playing, on the same streets in which blues legends such as BlindBoy Fuller plied their trade in the 30s.

We continue with our mission to help the many artists that cannot perform.We are glad toreport that George Higgs is recovering from some serious health concerns and Etta Baker isdoing ok at 92. Presently we are struggling to keep up with 200 recipient artists and we aredoing our utmost to build our organization so we can serve these artists.

Music Maker artists John Dee Holeman, Cool John Ferguson, Macavine Hayes,Whistlin'Brtiches, Captain Luke and our board of directors were all thrilled to meet the CarolinaChocolate Drops at a recent get together at our headquarters.This group is issuing theirnew CD on the Music Maker series and is busily forging friendships with many MM artists.We look forward to watching their popularity grow and thank them for embracing our mis-sion.

We applaud Music Maker director Ryan Costello for his tremendous efforts organizing thehighly successful 3rd Annual Congressional Blues Festival.This is a gigantic undertaking andwe thank Taj Mahal and all the artists and sponsors that helped make this event a success.

MMRF exists through the generosity of spirited individuals.Your generosity truly impacts thelives of the artists we serve. Please join our effort by making a donation to Music Makertoday. If you have not renewed your support this year, please do so today, so we can keepsending you this rag.We need your help, and we thank-you for it.

With warm regards,

Timothy & Denise Duffy

musicmaker.org 2

Pete Whicher and Gale Cesar, Pittsville,VA ©Duffy

John Dee Holeman ©Duffy

Warehouse Blues SeriesJoin us this Summer every Friday in June,July and August for the Warehouse BluesCity sponsored by the City of Durham andshowcasing Music Maker talent. This will be

at the West Village Courtyard, 604 WestMorgan Street (near Main) in Durham, NC.

June 2 - Cool John, Electric Blues

June 9 - Bishop Manning & Essie MaeBrooks, Gospel

June 16 - Captain Luke, MacavineHayes, Whistlin' Britches, Winston-

Salem Blues

June 23 - Joe Thompson & CarolinaChocolate Drops, Old Time /

Bluegrass Music

June 30 - Adolphus Bell, One ManBand

July 7 - Terry Bean (One Man Band) &John Dee Holeman (Piedmont Blues)

July 14 - Sol, Electric Blues

July 21 - Benton Flippen (Bluegrass) &Lightnin' Wells (Acoustic Blues)

July 28 - Skeeter Brandon, R&B

August 4 - Mosadi (Spoken word, HipHop) & Tad Walters (Blues)

August 11 - The Tim Smith Band, WorldFusion/Rock Band

August 18 - Abe Reid, Electric Blues

August 25 - Cool John, Electric Blues

like to be like every night in a differentcity like that, I mean, but if I got a lucra-tive offer to get on the road then I'dprobably look at it you know.”Not long after Ferguson moved to NorthCarolina to work with Duffy at MusicMaker, he began playing regular weekendgigs at a greasy spoon called the AllPeople Grill, located right next toFerguson's one-time residence on GuessRoad, a few miles outside of Durham. Heattracted a weekly crowd that rangedfrom college students to locals to yup-pies. Branford Marsalis even stopped in atime or two. But as his work with MusicMaker has become more and more timeconsuming, Ferguson plays less often atAll People.

These days Ferguson is on theroad with some combination of MusicMaker musicians throughout much of theyear, in addition to playing on many oftheir studio albums. He says of his workat Music Maker:“I like to play with anyother guitar player, you know, to see wherethey're coming from. I like to collaborate withanyone…to exchange licks and stuff like that.”Recent pairings have found him with CaptainLuke Mayer on Outsider Lounge Music,WestVirginia folk and country singer Carl Rutherfordon Turn Off The Fear, and Black Lucy's Deucewith Milwaukee's Lee Gates.As far as a new solo album goes, in between allthe traveling and studio gigs, Ferguson is reticentto make any concrete claims:“It's been dis-cussed…been mentioned. Maybe this year. I don'tknow which wayit's gonna go. Ihave so manygroove tracks inmy head that Ihaven't even pub-licly displayed yet.More than likelyit'll be a variety.”Throughout all hisyears of playing,back and forthfrom South toNorth, Fergusonhas never forgot-ten his roots inchurch music.“I tell you whathappened to me. Iwas born andraised up in thegospel arena…Atmy shows, I mean Iplay the blues andI play jazz, contem-porary, whatev-er…but at somepoint at everyshow it turns reli-gious where I justget that feeling andthe people feel itwith me. It's like areligious experi-ence you know?That's when Igather morespeed.When the

spirit hits you and you think you can play goodnormally but when you focus, when the spirithits you, you gonna move.”As the end of our conversation draws near I askhim a final question about his opinion on con-temporary music.“Man I'm gonna tell you. I ain't gonna lie to you.No. I mean I can't get into it. It's too far gone,too way out there for me. Personally I don't lis-ten to it. It doesn't suit my musical fancy. I'mgonna be honest…I can't see, I can't feel anything

in it. I can't get intoit. Especially with thenew gospel that'sout, I don't get intoit. I don't wanna lis-ten to it.When I turnon my radio, it's like,you know varietystations, '80s, '90s…Imean the stuff I justcan't help hearing. Imean some of thenew stuff, the newtalent, is kinda goldenlike Mariah Carey,she's, you know, I gotinto her cause I kepthearing her, I felt hersoul and I felt whereshe's coming from.“What really dis-courages me withthe hip hop musicscene is the simplefact that my musicalintuit…There's not amusical form youknow. It's a drumbeat and a stupidbass line or a stupidchorus you know it'sof no musical valueto me.You know, thewhole thing, I don'tlisten to it becauseall that I'veheard…maybethere's messages

inside what they'redoing but the presenta-tion…I ain't with it.“It's the way of theworld. Like the Biblesays, there'll be the daywhen people'll believe alie rather than thetruth. I mean that'sabout as good anexample as that. Stuffthat's of no value isbeing raved after. I'mstill kinda Biblicalbecause everything thatit mentions you knowis coming to pass. It'sthe true thing. You cangroove or you canslide.”

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For a current listing of all events visit musicmaker.org

Music Maker Rag 3

EVENTS

CC oo oo ll JJ oo hh nn DD ii ss cc oo gg rr aa pp hh yy (all recorded on the Music Maker label Except Kenny Wayne Film):

Essie Mae Brooks - Rain In Your Life - 2000Cool John Ferguson - Cool John Ferguson - 2001 Captain Luke and Cool John - OutsiderLounge Music - 2001Carl Rutherford - Turn off The Fear -2002Sol - volume blues - 2002Lightnin' Wells - Ragged But Right - 2002Little Pink Anderson - Carolina Bluesman - 2002Dave McGrew - Fruit Tramp Ballads Of The GreatNorthwest - 2003Cootie Stark - Raw Sugar - 2003Cool John Ferguson - Cool Yule - 2003Cool John Ferguson - Guitar Heaven - 2003Mr. Frank Edwards - Chicken Raid - 2004Music Maker with Taj Mahal - 2005Pura Fé - Follow Your Hearts Desire- 2005Macavine Hayes - Drinkhouse - 2005Music Maker Treasure Box - 2005Lee Gates - Black Lucy's Deuce - 2006Larry Shores - Songs from T-Town2006Kenny Wayne Shepherd - 10 DaysOut, Blues From The Backroads -late 2006

Cool John Ferguson and Captain Luke, Pinnacle, NC ©Duffy

Cool John at the Byron Bay Festival, in Australia. 2006 ©Kate Belle Cool John, Pinnacle, NC ©Duffy

Cool John Article

musicmaker.org 4

CD ReviewFollow Your Heart'sDesireMusic Maker MMCD48Hailing from NorthCarolina's TuscaroraNation is Pura Fé, a giftedsinger, activist, educator,mother, guitarist,actress, seamstress andtraditional dancer.Many know Pura Féfrom her work withthe internationallyacclaimed NativeAmerican women'sa capella trio Ulaliand the Deer Clansingers, a traditional long-house group celebrating Tuscaroranmusic and dance. On “Follow YourHeart's Desire” she lays bare the deepconnections between indigenous andAfrican-American cultures of the

Southeast and their equal roles in thebirth of the blues. Indeed, from herwork as a teacher and mentor of Nativeyouth in communities in the U.S. andCanada to her long musical career intraditional Tuscaroran music and dance,blues and jazz. Pura Fé is a culturalemissary, testifying to the shared historyof Southern blacks and Native

Americans.Pura Fé's father hails

from PuertoRico (her name

means “purefaith” in Puerto

Rican Spanish),her mother is a

Tuscaroran womanof mixed African

and Native roots.Although Pura Fé

was born and raisedin New York, her con-

nection to NorthCarolina, the original

homeland of the nowdispersed Tuscarora

Nation was ever present in the musichanded down to her from her mother.In this collection of original and tradi-

tional songs, Pura Fé's guitar, piano, andvoice take center stage.The title trackfeatures Pura Fé's simple, elegant pianoplaying accompanying her soulful, liftingvoice. On other tracks, such as “WaitTill You Come Back Again”, thissongstress plays lap-style slide guitar toaccompany her down home vocals.Thealbum's lyrics resonate with Nativepride, love, resistance, and celebrationand protest. Simply stated and effectivelyrecorded, the songs are all earthy androotsy in flavor.“Rise Up Tuscarora Nation” tells of thetortured but proud history of theTuscarora people, who have yet to berecognized by the Untied States govern-ment.“Authorities, holy men, missionar-ies take control/send Christ their onlysavior/to wash away the Native soul.”Like the greatest speakers, activists andsingers, Pura Fé speaks truth to power,all the more when she is singing herdeep blues from red heart of America,Indian Country.

-Corey Harris

Originally published in Living Blues, Issue#188,Vol. 37#2

CCOONNGGRRAATTUULLAATTIIOONNSS

Pura Fé with her NammyFFEEMMAALLEE AARRTTIISSTT

OO FF TTHHEE YYEEAARR

FEATURE ARTISTS

LarryShores

Pura Fé

Larry Shores was born in 1948 inElkin, Surry County, North

Carolina, the sixth child to theteen bride of a man just backfrom World War II. Hard times

saw young Larry a seasoned farm-hand by the time he was on his

own at 14. At 22, he headed westand made his career with the

migrantorchard

workers ofCalifornia,

Oregon,Washington,

BritishColumbia

andMontana.

Retired fromlabor, but

still on theroad, he is playing more music

than ever in the grange halls andtaverns of enduring America.

Larry Shores, Hillsborough, NC ©Duffy

Larry has a new album “Songs fromT-Town” now available!

5th Annual Taj Mahal Fishin’ BluesTournament

February 4th-10th 2007Playa Zancudo, Costa Rica

Billfishing and Blues to benefit Music Maker ReliefFoundation

The week-long trip features 3 days of amazing sailfish and marlin angling competition.The billfish-

ing is all catch and release with round hooks to keep the fishhappy and healthy.We usually catch some very tasty dorado

(mahi-mahi), yellow fin tuna and wahoo.

" I've fished in marlin tourna-ments up and down the EastCoast, andthroughout theCaribbean and CentralAmerica. I can honestly saythat I've never had as muchfun as I did fishing the TajMahal Fishin' BluesTournament."

Charlie Levine Marlin MagazineManaging Editor

Hang out with Taj Mahal and other musiciansduring this week long event!

Do reserve your spot early, as we are limited to 30 fishermen.The entrance fee forthe 2007 tournament (our 5th Anniversary!)is $5,500.This fee includes your airfare fromAtlanta or Miami*, transfers, fishing, accom-

modations** meals, and drinks. For moreinformation call Denise or Tim Duffy at 919-

643-2456 anytime or email fishin@music-maker.org.

Sol, Macavine,Ardie Dean, Cool John,Tim Duffy and Adolphus Bell at the Byron Bay Festival in Australia. ©Kate Belle Whistlin’ Britches, Captain Luke,William Maxwell and Macavine Hayes pose in Winston-Salem, NC ©Duffy

Music Maker Rag 5

Bill Krasilovsky is among the world'smost eminent music business lawyers.Introduced to us by the folksinger PatSky, Bill has been representing MusicMaker and Tim Duffy since 1991, andactually filed the Music Maker ReliefFoundations’ articles of incorporationpro bono in 1994. Bill is among MusicMakers most important advisors and hashelped the Foundation and its artistsconstantly over the years.

Bill is co-author of the books, "ThisBusiness of Music" and "More About ThisBusiness of Music" published byBillboard, the leading trade paper of themusic industry. These books have bothbeen referred to as the "Bible" of themusic business by working musicians andlawyers in the industry.

Bill represents the estates of LorenzHart, Rachmaninoff, Duke Ellington,Buddy De Sylva, Ray Henderson and FatsWaller. He also represents or hasrepresented classic industry figures suchas Johnny Cash, Crystal Gale,

Chuck Berry, Mary Wilson of TheSupremes, Billy Taylor, Gian CarloMenotti, Harry Connick Jr., BarryEastmond and Dick Hyman as well asnumerous other composers, publishers,recording artists, producers, studios andrecord companies. Mr. Krasilovsky hasrepresented Warner Brothers music pub-lishing companies and the AmericanGuild of Authors and Composers (nowSongwriter's Guild of America), and hasserved as officer and/or director of anumber of music publishing companies.

Music MakerSalutes

Carl Hodges and Donna of Saluda,VA checks in with us frequently. Carl has been very sick and had to have a legamputated. He has been in and out of the hospital. He remains optimistic and always looks forward to our nextvisit. Here he is pictured in our throne painted by “Sam the dot man” in Pinnacle, NC. ©Austin

8 year old Marquis Manning plays drums with his grandfather Bishop Dready Manning at the Warehouse BluesFestival. Marquis is an amazing drummer, and is on Bishop Manning’s soon to be released CD. ©Duffy

Bishop Dready Manning has brought his full-voiced singing, his fluent guitar picking, and his exuberant harmonica playing toAfrican American church audiences in Halifax and Northampton counties for 39 years.We were pleased to have him per-form with Essie Mae Brooks June 10th at the Warehouse Blues Festival in Durham, NC. ©Duffy

Essie Mae Brooks, from Perry, GA, is a troubadour. She has traveled all around the world, singing gospel. Essie Maesang,“God Save the Chldren” during her performance at the Warehouse Blues Series that she wrote that reallytouched the crowd. It was an amazing show with Cool John Ferguson playing back up. Cool John was brought up inthe church and played a few gospel numbers himself. ©Duffy

Guitar Gabrieland the Brothers in the Kitchen

amazing sound, new artwork, same classicdownhome blues! Get yours today!

order form on page 7, call 919-643-2456, visit musicmaker.org, email donations@musicmaker.org

Toot BluesBill Krasilovsky in his office, New York, NY ©Duffy

Little Pink Anderson •Carolina Bluesmanshowcases a masterful country blues playerdisplaying some exceptional guitar chops andsoulful vocals. Little Pink evokes the relaxedcharm of his father tackling songs he obvi-ously played with the old man.

Etta Baker •Railroad Bill “One of the signaturechords of my guitar vocabulary comes from herversion of Railroad Bill. Enjoy this beautifulalbum of guitar instrumentals.” -Taj Mahal

Etta Baker with Taj Mahal A set of timelessbeauty, spanning almost half a century, froma great lady of American vernacular music.Etta Bker is credited with helping spark thefolk music revival in the 60s- no small featfor someone who didn't become a profession-al musician until she was in her 60s. This setincludes duets with Taj Mahal plus all of herclassic 1956 recordings.

Etta Baker & Cora Phillips •CarolinaBreakdown This set was recorded in the late80s when Etta Baker was in her prime. Herolder sister Cora Phillips backs her up on gui-tar while Etta plays the banjo. Etta sings twosongs on the release!

Adolphus Bell • One Man Band House Rockin’Foot Stompin’ authentic Alabama One ManBand! This high energy release is guaranteedto give you a good time!

Sweet Betty: Live and Let Live. Betty grew upsinging gospel, blues and popular songs of theday. In the mid 1380’s, she met saxophonist,Grady “Fats” Jackson. Jackson was soimpressed with Betty’s voice that he beganfeaturing her on his shows throughoutGeorgia. Sweet Betty has since traveledthroughout the United States and Europe andis considered the finest blues singer inAtlanta.

Essie Mae Brooks •Rain in Your Life Essie Mae rais-es her voice and expresses her faith in her orig-inal collection of gospel songs. Cool JohnFerguson accompanies her on most of the albumwith his light and masterful improvisations onguitar and piano.

Cora Mae Bryant • Born with the Blues Cora MaeBryant is the daughter of Georgia guitar legendCurley Weaver. The combination of her father'sand her own songs, accompanied by expertGeorgia blues guitarist Joshua Jacobson, makethis a very entertaining set.

Cora Mae Bryant •Born in Newton County "is astunning record featuring exceptional guitar play-ing that owes a strong debt to her father butalso to his frequent partner Blind Willie McTell.

Precious Bryant • My Name is Precious In thisCD we did not hold back, we went through hoursof recordings and have presented 26 songs show-casing Precious’ unique voice and infectiouslycharming style. The recording quality is absolute-ly stellar, among the finest audiophile recordingquality one will ever stumble across.

Mr. Frank Edwards • Chicken Raid A careerthat spanned nine decades, Edwards sawblues music evolve. This CD captures his lastrecording session the day of his death. Thatday he played the strongest of his career.

Pura Fé •Follow Your Hearts Desire Nativechanteuse Pura Fé didn't just chance upon themyriad music styles you hear on her debut.They flow in her blood…Robbie Robertsonrecently said Pura Fé has 'the voice of anangel.' Believe the hype! -Toronto Sun

Cool John Ferguson Here is Cool JohnFerguson, a previously uncelebrated musician,laying down tracks that led Grammy winnerTaj Mahal to proclaim him one of the world’sfinest guitarists.

Cool John Ferguson • Cool Yule Cool John’sincredibly innovative arrangements make thisalbum of Christmas instrumentals so wonder-ful you will play this disc all year long!

Cool John Ferguson • Guitar Heaven Taj Mahaltells, "He’s up there with Hendrix, WesMontgomery, Django Reinhart, people likethat, he’s an incredible player!”

Preston Fulp • Sawmill Worker Preston Fulp,born in 1915, was a sawmill worker, a tobac-co sharecropper, moonshiner, and blues and

old-time guitarist. He made these recordingsat the age of 78. Preston weaves stories ofhis life through both secular and sacredsongs.

Lee Gates and the Alabama Cotton Kings Onemust rejoice in the "happening" of this CD,especially the glorious tone of Lee’s guitar.After performing for 52 years I have a feelingthat Lee is just beginning his recording career.

Lee Gates • Black Lucy’s Deuce The follow upalbum to his debut record. “he sounds like thekind of party-mad juker who’d shoot or stabyou - and then go home with your woman -as readily as he’d smile in your face.

Guitar Gabriel • Volume One "Guitar Gabrielventures well beyond drink houses into his ownprivate Birdland, an improvisational crossroadswhere the starkly pre-modern meets the star-tlingly postmodern and the Devil's "got hishair tied up in a ponytail/ to keep all thedrunks confused." -Cree McCree

Guitar Gabriel • Deep in the South Guitar Gabriel boogies and cries heart-feltcountry blues in this set. He knew Blind BoyFuller in his youth, traveled with medicineshows.

Guitar Gabriel • Toot Blues “This CD is not for the faint of heart. It is raw,unembellished, and drenched with feeling-liableto elicit whoops, hollers, and spontaneous bang-ing on whatever furniture is handy.” -DavidNelson

Macavine Hayes • DrinkhouseA powerful, raw release after 50 years of play-ing the blues. Cool John Ferguson, Ardie Dean,Michael Parrish and Tim Duffy create a tightcombo that perfectly matches Macavine Hayes'pure juke-joint blues.

Big Boy Henry • Beaufort Blues He is one of the sweetest, most gentle men ever tosing the blues. A patriarch of the Carolina Blues, BigBoy has recorded a collection of timeless songs,respectfully backed by a group of friends.

George Higgs • Tarboro Blues Acoustic Piedmont blues by George Higgs, aNorth Carolinian, who was inspired to take upthe harmonica as a child after hearing DefordBailey on the radio and seeing Peg Leg Samat medicine shows and then learned to playguitar as a teenager. Voted the best bluesalbum of 2001 by Living Blues.

Algia Mae Hinton • Honey Babe “Algia Mae is agreat example of what is called in andthroughout the African Diaspora, "OriginalJoe." This is an innovative character that sur-vives and creates anew under all circum-stances. Algia Mae Hinton is someone not tobe missed!” -Taj Mahal

John Dee Holman • Bull Durham Blues “John DeeHoleman is a wonderful carrier of the south-east blues tradition.” -Taj Mahal

Clyde Langford • High Steppin’ Momma Everyoneneeds an dose of his East Texas Blues!

Capt. Luke & Cool John • Outsider Lounge MusicHere is Captain Luke, singing like a disen-franchised Dean Martin, rumbling low andwise enough to make Barry White soundpre-adolescent. Features a beautiful 20 pg.Booklet.

Jerry "Boogie" McCain • This Stuff Just KillsMe No one plays a harp or sings the bluesquite like Jerry "Boogie" McCain. Backed by astellar rhythm section, Jerry's accompanied by alineup of guest musicians including JohnnieJohnson, Anson Funderburgh and JimmieVaughn.

Jerry "Boogie" McCain • Unplugged Jerry"Boogie" McCain is the greatest post warharp player alive today. This is Jerry's oneand only acoustic album. Jerry shines withhis brilliant song writing in this intimate setof down home blues.

Jerry "Boogie" McCain • My Name is Boogie McCainis the last true master of the amplified bluesharp, a good singer, and a crackerjack songwriter.Dave McGrew • Fruit Tramp Ballads of theGreat Northwest tells the stories of the fruittramps. Day jobbers during the fruit harvesting

season. A beautiful yet uneasy folk album.

Mudcat • I’ll Be Young Once Too a tremendousslide guitarist, and most of all a god-gifted enter-tainer. I have witnessed him light up packed hous-es at the Great American Music Hall in SanFrancisco, at the Irving Plaza in New York, to openair concerts in front of 10,000 folks in Lugano,Switzerland, to sitting on a curb in San Jose, CostaRica entertaining dozens of young kids. Mud isborn to make people smileand enjoy life

Mudcat • Kickin’ Chicken Guaranteed to makeyou want to get up and dance!

Mudcat • The Mess is On The new release fromMudcat. Featuring new band member Little Jo,Mudcat tears it up!

Neal Pattman • Prison Blues FeaturingTaj Mahal & Lee Konitz Neals harpplaying ad vocals have that classic sound thatcan only come from someone who has beensteeped in the blues all of his life. He plays joy-ous, animated harp that recalls the whoopin'sound of Sonny Terry and an equal amount ofcountry thrown in for good measure.

Carl Rutherford • Turn Off the Fear Here is grandfatherly Carl Rutherford’s devastat-ing take on “The Old Rugged Cross” and otherjewels that showcase his unique blend of BuckOwens-styled twang, old time gospel numbersand harrowing mining songs making him atrue American original.

Larry Shores• Songs from T-Town Larry Shores, a seasoned framhand by thetime he was 14, plays folk music from theNorthwest. This is a treat!

Slewfoot and the Angels • Grasshopper PieSlewfoot's debut release for MM showcases hisincredibly diverse and original song writing.With vocal partner Cary B, "Grasshopper Pie"features a stellar array of New Orleans' finest.New Orleans second-line, the blues and evenHawaiian slack-key combine to bring a freshnew flavor to the Music Maker lineup.

Slewfoot and Carrie B • Rainin’ in New OrleansSlew and Carrie rainin' in new Orleans: In thissecond release Slewfoot is joined by his museCarrie B. These are real songs from the streetsof New Orleans. Slewfoot is a great poet, bothare wonderful singers and musicians, a musthave.

Sol • volume blue While many young, whitemusicians attempt to replicate the blues mas-ters' art, sol steers clear of imitation in favorof excavation and transport. Sounds carrybeyond genre, beyond origin and often beyondthe grave. Ancient truths of the blues arrivein some new place, through some new voice,through some kid who is sol.

Cootie Stark • Sugar Man Featuring TajMahal & Lee Konitz Sugar Man does-n’t merely proclaim "Cootie Stark was here."It is evidence that Stark was, and is, an idio-syncratic, tremendously talented musician. It’sa sonic monument, and a mirror that imme-diately blurs the textbook pages dedicated toPiedmont Blues. It’s a big deal.

Cootie Stark • Raw Sugar Cootie is one of thelast great bluesmen from the PiedmontTradition. Taj Mahal joins Cootie on hambone,piano, bass, harp, banjo and guitar. 72-min-utes of the best blues and old-time music.Tremendous recording, a masterpiece, buy thisCD!

Eddie Tigner • Route 66Eddie Tigner performedas an Ink Spot for over 30 years. In thisalbum Eddie and his band exuberantly nail aset of timeless standards.

Beverly "Guitar" Watkins • Back in Business Hereis Beverly "Guitar" Watkins, previously heardfrom as one of Dr. Feelgood’s interns,decreeing herself "Back in Business." This isa highly charged record by this powerful performer.

The Feelings of Beverly “Guitar” WatkinsBeverly is the leading woman guitar player ofher generation. Beverly is a pyrotechnic gui-tar player whose searing, ballistic attacks onthe guitar have become allegorical tales with-in the blues community.

Lightnin' Wells • Ragged but Right Lightnin'' Wells has been performing hisPiedmont-tinged variety of American rootsmusic for 35 years. His vibrant, good-naturedvocals and melody-rich guitar playing recallthe sounds of 1930's and '40's string bandsand barrelhouse bluesmen. Producer TimDuffy, Cool John Ferguson and Taj Mahal andArdie Dean sit in on a few tracks.

A Living Past This was the first album in theMusic Maker series and has been heralded asa classic recording by reviewers throughoutthe world. This album is a superb sampler ofthe traditional blues scene in North Carolina.

Blues Came to Georgia Music Maker's TimDuffy has assembled this collection of 15songs to illustrate the continuing vitality ofgrassroots blues in Georgia at the turn ofthe century.

Came So Far This CD presents eighteen selec-tions by twelve astonishing blues and gospelartists. This album was made in the field, inold trailers, kitchens, living rooms and nurs-ing homes.

Expressin' the Blues This collection features 21songs by 21 of the most talented and unsungheroes of the blues. Here is a collection ofsome of the most emotional, gut-level musicavailable on disc, the feelings intensified bythe immediacy of the recordings.

Music Maker with Taj Mahal Blues legend TajMahal backs up Music Maker artists onupright bass, hambone, banjo, piano and gui-tar. Plus two wonderful solo acoustic tracks bythe great man himself.

Sisters of the South The music covers a widespectrum, from gospel and country blues inthe Piedmont style, to the modern blues ofBeverly "Guitar" Watkins. Original record-ings. Women, too, do have the blues…

Songs from the Roots of America IIA companion to the book "Music Makers:Portraits & Songs from the Roots of America"this CD presents 21 songs by 21 artists, themajority of which are otherwise unreleasedrecordings.

Collector’s Item • Dixiefrog Presents MusicMaker We have a limited supply of thiscompilation that was released in France, this2 CD box set features Music Maker artists.Sells for $30. Limited supplies.

all CDs $$1100 • shipping $$ 55 per addressm u s i c m a k e r . o r g 9 1 9 • 6 4 3 • 2 4 5 6

musicmaker.org 6

Music Maker Book with CD $30The story of Music Maker comes tolife in this beautiful collection ofphotos and writings. The 70 musi-cians profiled in this book take youon a soulful ride you’ll never forget.Includes a 23-track CD and a for-ward by B.B. King.208 pages, 11" x8", 160 b&w photographs, hardcov-er.

Music Maker Book with 2 CDs $40 Get the Book plus CD AND Songsfrom the Roots of America II, an additional 21 track CD includingTaj Mahal's version of "Creole Belle"...all but two tracks previous-ly unreleased.

Givin’ it Back Record Club: Jointhe Givin’ it Back RecordClub and you will receive anew Music Maker CD everythree months for one year.The CDs are mailed out inDecember, March, June andSeptember. You will be thefirst to receive a brand newrelease prior to us issue onour website or retail stores.George Higg’s new release,Rainy Day is our next selec-tion.

Want it all? Get the WHOLE NINE YARDS: For $595 plus shipping getevery CD and our Book! It’s a deal!!! And even makes a great gift.

Feed an Artist for a year: Sponsor Food from Angel Food Ministries foran entire year for a musician in need. Sponsor with a monthly $25donation or a one time donation of $300!

MM Treasure Box $35Thisis an anthology of the great-est hidden purveyors of rootsmusic in the south featuringblues from the early years oflast century, electric blues,R&B, Indian music, old-timecountry, singer-song writer,folk, jazz and spoken poetry.Nearly four hours of music inthree CDs presenting 38Artists, 53 tracks, 41 of the

songs never before issued! 3 CDs, 36 pg booklet, poster and guitarpick in a cool bag. Supplies are limited on the picks, bag and poster.

!Payment to:Music Maker PO Box 72222•Durham, NC 27722 919-643-2456 • musicmaker.org •info@musicmaker.org

! Check enclosed

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Donation to the New Orleans Musicians’ FundCool John, “Guitar Heaven” SIGNED CD, for $15

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Music Maker Rag 7

I notice that Macavine Hayes is a realcharmer with the ladies. I’ve seen him danc-ing with two women at a time, always havingfun. How does he do it?

!- Albert Kessel, Rome, NY

Dear Albert, Macavine is quite the charmer. Hesure uses his good looks and he is not shy in talk-ing to anyone. He also has some great lines. Suchas,“If you see a woman in water, ask her to get outand get baptized.” Or upon meeting a woman ask,“Is your husband married?” He is also fond to askthe ladies “Do you roll your biscuits or beatthem?”

Amy. How is Jessie Mae Hemphill doing?

-Alice White New York, NY

Thanks for asking. Jessie Mae is a real Mississippiblues woman.As you know she had a stroke sever-al years back and she cannot play guitar anymore.In recent times she was evicted from her trailerand relocated to Senatobia, MS. Our good friendMark Coltrain has been checking on her and shehas been in some rough situations. Occasionallyshe falls from her electric wheel chair and is stuckon the ground for some time before someonefinds her. Mark is looking into getting her somebetter care.Though out all of this Jessie remains ingood spirits and is very thankful for the supportwe are able to help her with.With help from aMusic Maker Donor we were able to set her upwith our Feed an Artist for a year program, whichhas been a big help for her.With Mark’s help weare going to try to help her with her quality of life,and see about help programs we can set her upon.Thanks for your concern!

I read in your last newsletter George Higgswas not well; how is he doing now?

-Phillipe Langlois, Paris, France

Thankfully George Higgs has rallied and has recov-ered quite well. He still must be on dialysis butbesides that he is responding well to therapy and islooking forward to get back to performing this fall.He is very happy about his new CD, which is trulyhis greatest set of recordings.This CD is entitledRainy Day and will be our next Record Clubrelease.

You can help issue CDs for our recipient artists. Most of thesemen and women have spent a lifetime performing their musicand have never been recorded.

Join the “Givin’ It Back Record Club” for $100, and you willreceive a new Music Maker CD every three months for oneyear.The CDs are mailed out in December, March, June andSeptember.You will be the first to receive a brand new releaseprior to us offering it to our website and mailings.We thank youfor your support and we hope you join with us in trying toissue as many in this series as we can.

George Higgs’ new release Rainy Day is an incredible CD andour June selection for Record Club.

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JOIN THE

RECORD CLUBAutographedCool John Ferguson

Guitar Heaven CD

Sweet Betty has been receiv ing won-derful reviews and has hit #5 on theLiv ing Blues Record Charts !

Sweet Bet ty :: Live and Let LiveMusic Makers MMCD59

Sweet Betty is BettyEchols Journey, a native ofDuluth, Georgia, who wasmentored by the late saxo-phonist Grady “Fats”Jackson and later estab-lished an association withguitarist Bob Margolin.Margolin featured her onhis 1997 Alligator release“Up & In”. Betty was agospel singer in her younger days; herrange is limited, but her coarse-edged alto

is imbued with deep feeling and she'scapable of conveying fervid emotion withlo-key, almost conversational ease.

Music Maker, despite their dedication to“tradition”, is no purist's outfit. HereBetty is provided with a brawny horn sec-

tion equally capable of K.C.-likeswing and fatback funk, and hermaterial ranges from doo-wop-style balladry (Joe South's UntieMe through sanctified housewreckers (the venerable standardWeary Land, James Cleveland'swracked, yearning Walk AroundHeaven) to modernist, pop-stylemélanges (a reggae-tinged,molten-hot Damn Your Eyes). She

negotiates complex runs and extendedphrases with sureness; at times her vibra-

to widens to a point where it almost swal-lows the melody, but in general sheremains in both melodic and timbral con-trol.And the album is anchored by herobvious emotional commitment to every-thing she sings.

Betty is in her early '50s - still prettyyoung by blues standards - and it soundsas if she's till honing her style (she didn'tbecome a professional entertainer untilJackson took her on the road in the mid-'80s). She's a talented and versatile vocal-ist; this strong outing should help herreach and expanded audience, both in theU.S. and worldwide.

-David WhiteisOriginally published in Living Blues, Issue #188,Volume 37 #2

CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS

WELCOMED BYNATIONAL TREASURESJOHN DEE HOLEMAN &

ETTA BAKERWhen legendary Carolina

bluesman and National Folk Artist Award winnerJohn Dee Holeman first heard the band sing, awide smile spread across the 70-year-old's face.They reminded him of his youth, he said, of ageneration that's fading away.“It's up to theCarolina Chocolate Drops to keep the traditionalive”, said John Dee.

“The Carolina Chocolate Drops breathenew life into old traditions,” said Wyatt Marshellof Old Hat Recrods.“Informed by broad culturalknowledge and a ceaseless curiosity, these youngmusicians extend the rich musical legacy of theNorth Carolina Piedmont, with all the tech-nique, vitality and depth of character needed toput it across.”

Led by up-and-coming old-time fiddler andbanjo player and vocalist Rhiannon Giddens,“The Drops” are doing just that. Rhiannon is 29.

Justin Robins (fiddle, voice) and Dom Flemons(guitar, banjo, jug, harmonica, snare and voice)are both 24.

Their sound and their style are comparedwith such musicians as Taj Mahal, Keb Mo, CoreyHarris and Pura Fé - contemporary artists forg-

ing new territory by reclaiming their mixed eth-nicity and musical identity.

Apprenticing under 87-year-old AfricanAmerican fiddler Joe Thompson,Rhiannon is learning Etta Baker's banjostyle and soaking up the musical tradi-tions of her elders, like Holeman.

When Rhiannon Giddens first metfamed old-time Carolina banjo-player,Etta Baker, she had to hold back tears.Etta looks just like Rhiannon's grand-mother in a photograph she keeps; theresemblance in uncanny.

Rhiannon's fiddling style, too, remindsone of a young Etta Baker who playedthe fiddle before turning to banjo andguitar.

Born and raised in Mebane, NC,Rhiannon, like Etta Baker, is of white,Native American, and African-Americanancestry. She is musically curious andtrained in opera and Celtic music. She

says her rich musical education is in part a recla-mation of her mixed-race heritage, long deniedor reduced to one word: black.

The CD DONA GOT A RAMBLIN MINDwill be released nationally September 2006.

NEW RELEASECAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS:

Dona Got a Rambl in ’ Mind

For a limited time AUTOGRAPHED Cool John’s“Guitar Heaven” CDs for $15

(plus the $5 shipping fee). Just fill out the Quantity and we’ll ship this out for you!

George Higgs’ newrelease Rainy Daywas made possible

by a grant from theNorth Carolina Arts

Council.

You can always gi ft with Music Maker!Give a donation in someones’ name, a CD for a special occasion,or the Book or Treasure Box to someone you’d like to introduce

to Music Maker. Each gift is sent directly to the recepient and sent with your personal message. Plus the recipient

gets the MM rag for a year! Contact Joanna at donations@musicmaker.org for more information or suggestions!

Carolina Chocolate Drops with Joe Thompson ©Lissa Gotwals

To gift, please include a separate sheet of paper with gift item/donation you’d like togive, address, and gift message. Remember $5 shipping per address.

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