Blues Music Magazine

Taj MahalAndy T & Nick NixonNikki HillSelwyn Birchwood

JOE BONAMASSA DAVE & PHIL ALVIN&

US $7.99UK 6.99

Canada $9.99Australia A$15.95

NUMBER FIVEwww.bluesmusicmagazine.comUS $7.99UK 6.99

Canada $9.99Australia A$15.95

NUMBER FIVEwww.bluesmusicmagazine.com

JOE BONAMASSA DAVE & PHIL ALVIN

PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREA LUCERO courtesy ofSHORE FIRE MEDIA

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY ART TIPALDI NUMBER FIVE

RIFFS &GROOVESFrom The Editor-In-Chief

DELTA JOURNEYSJukin

AROUND THE WORLDALife InThe Music

Q&Awith Joe BonamassaQ&Awith DaveAlvin & PhilAlvinBLUES ALIVE!Sonny Landreth / Tommy CastroDennis Gruenling with Doug DemingThorbjrn Risager / Lazy Lester

SAMPLER 5REVIEWSNewReleases / Novel Reads

IN THE NEWS

5

24

26

283032

3738

64

KEBMOKeeping It Simpleby Art Tipaldi

TAJ MAHALAmerican Maestroby Phil Reser

NIKKI HILLAKnockout Performerby Tom Hyslop

ANDYT& NICK NIXONUnlikely Partnersby Michael Kinsman

SELWYN BIRCHWOODStuff Of Greatnessby Tim Parsons

6

11

14

17

20

PHONE TOLL-FREE 866-702-7778 E-MAIL [email protected] WEB bluesmusicmagazine.com

Blues Music Magazine 5

PUBLISHER: MojoWax Media, Inc.PRESIDENT: Jack Sullivan

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Art TipaldiCUSTOMER SERVICE: Kyle MorrisGRAPHIC DESIGN: Andrew Miller

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSDavid Barrett / Michael Cote / ?omas J. Cullen III

Bill Dahl / Hal Horowitz / Tom HyslopLarry Nager / Bill Wasserzieher / Don Wilcock

COLUMNISTSBob Margolin / Roger Stolle

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSVincent Abbate / Grant Britt / Michael CalaMark Caron / Tom Clarke / Kay Cordtz

Ted Drozdowski / Robert Feuer / Rev. Keith GordonBrian D. Holland / Stacy Je@ress / Chris KerslakeMichael Kinsman / Karen Nugent / Brian M.Owens

Tim Parsons / Tony Del Ray / Phil ReserNick DeRiso / Pete Sardon / Richard Skelly

Eric?om / Mark?ompsonM.E. Travaglini / Bill Vitka

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSScott Allen / Robert Barclay / Mark GoodmanLes Gruseck / Aigars Lapsa / Doug Richard

Joseph A. Rosen / Dusty Scott / Marilyn StringerJen Taylor / Susan ?orsen

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATIONPhone Toll-Free: 866-702-7778

Web: www.bluesmusicmagazine.comE-Mail: [email protected]

EDITORIAL QUERIESE-Mail: [email protected]

BUSINESS AND CIRCULATION QUESTIONSE-Mail: [email protected]

MEDIA SUBMISSIONSMail 2 copies to: Blues Music MagazineP.O. Box 1446, Bradenton, FL 34206

ADVERTISINGPhone Toll-Free: 888-565-0554

Web: www.bluesmusicmagazine.comE-Mail: [email protected]

BluesMusicMagazine welcomes articles, photographs, and anymaterial about the blues suitable for publication. Please directqueries to [email protected]. BluesMusicMagazine

assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts,photographs, or illustrations. Material may be edited at thediscretion of the editors. To be credited and reimbursed,

all submissions must be properly marked with name, address,telephone number, and e-mail of author/photographer/artist.

Payment for unsolicited material is at the discretion of the publisher.All material becomes the property of BluesMusicMagazine.

Blues MusicMagazine 2014 MojoWaxMedia, Inc.

BluesMusicMagazine is published bimonthly by MojoWaxMedia,Inc., 100111thAvenueWest, Bradenton, FL 34205. Periodicals postage is paidat Bradenton,FL and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates (for 6 issues) are: U.S. $35/year, Canada&Mexico $40/year, Overseas $50/year.

U.S. funds only, cash, check on a U.S.bank, or IMO,Visa/MC/AmEx/Discover accepted. Allow six to eight weeks for change of address and new subscriptions to begin.If you need help concerning your subscription, e-mail [email protected] or call 866-702-7778 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST,

or write to the business address BluesMusicMagazine, P.O.Box 1446, Bradenton,FL 34206.POSTMASTER: Send address changes toBluesMusicMagazine, P.O.Box 1446, Bradenton,FL 34206.

Last May, I attended the Blues Music Awards for the twentieth time. I began attending theW.C.Handy Awards in 1994 and attended through 2003. I missed 2004 to celebrate mydads 80th birthday and have now attended 2005 through 2014. Ive seen it grow from itsdays in the Orpheum Theater to its present location which turns the Convention Centerinto a dazzling juke joint setting. Todays event features an all-access pass to every ticketbuyer. There is no VIP pre-party; instead there is an hour cocktail party featuring selected

nominees playing for everyone. Beginning atseven, there is a sit-down dinner, award presenta-tions, and non-stop music from nominees untilafter midnight. The other biggest change is theeffort of the Blues Foundation to have as many ofthe nominees and winners present.This years highlights were the pure soul show-

stoppers of Ronnie Earl and Beth Hart. They werethe distilled essence of the blues. But there havebeen many other vivid moments.In 1996, after Luther Allison won his third

Handy Award, Ruth Brown warned, Luther, youbetter stay off my stage! After he copped hisfourth, Allison ran out of words of gratitude andannounced, Im gonna let my guitar talk!After his fifth, the guitar spoke Luthers heart-feltgratitude for over an hour.

In 1997, Luther gave me the finest picture Iever took. His leap is forever etched in the events of that night. An hour after I snappedthe shot, my camera broke and I have no pictures from the rest of the weekend.

There was also the standing ovation for Johnny Clyde Copeland who received anew heart on New Years Day. Copeland showed no ill effects as he tore through threesongs. Tragically, he and Luther passed away within three months of that night.

In 1998, it was all Bonnie Raitt. From her acoustic duet with KebMo, her fingerwaggin gotta move from this neighborhood with Ruth Brown, and her Walkin TheDog with Rufus Thomas. However, after the Orpheum cleared out for the jam, I foundMs. Raitt at the rear of the hall talking with her dear friend, the wheel chair boundJessie Mae Hemphill. Not many saw this simple act of kindness and respect.

Ill always remember the shivers from Ike Turners guitar in 2002. I rememberJohnny Adams in 1998 running from his sound check to the Peabody lobby to watchthe ducks leave the fountain. One of my favorite memories was the 2000 pairing ofGovt Mule with Little Milton. As Warren Haynes and Milton exchanged guitar jabs,I was stopped walking out of the auditorium by a large, tie-dyed shirt.

Whos the dude with the Mule?... Huh?Whos the dude with the Mule?... Which dude?The black dude with the guitar?... Little Milton. Hes pretty good up there with the Mule.

Let the music keep our spirits high.Art Tipaldi, Editor-In-Chief

Leave your ego, play the music,love the people. LutherAllison

LUTHER ALLISONMEMPHIS, 1997

PHOTOGRAPHY ART TIPALDI

6 Blues Music Magazine

opens hiscurrent album,

BLUESAmericana, with The Worst IsYet To Come. The opening lines on thisrecord, Woke up this morning, harkensback to the earliest blues verses. Thosearchetypal blues songs, recorded on 78sor shared in juke joints after weeks ofharsh labor supporting the sharecroppingsystem in the Mississippi Delta, offeredsome collective relief the sun is gonnashine on my backdoor someday.

Keb Mos song serves exactly thesame objective. He sings about concernslike Americans losing factory jobs and moreimmediate problems like cars needing workand ones mate taking everything. Even thedog shows no respect. But through it all,like the resolve in those 78s, there is thedetermination that if I can survive this,I will survive.

Though he will object to the notionthat BLUESAmericana is a blues album,the songs Keb Mo has written addressthe challenges of our modern world inthe same way that Charley Patton, SkipJames, or Bessie Smith sang about theissues in their world. These songs hit amodern nerve of where people are injobs, relationships, and economy in avery powerful way. Songs like More ForYour Money For Better Or Worse,The Worst Is Yet To Come, and Moveall tackle the heavy, dark themes ofmodern life.

At the same time, Keb Mo counterswith songs about the strength that love andcompanionship provides when one fightsthe battle with the outside world. ImGonna Be Your Man, The Old Me Better,and Somebody Hurt You all address thepower to fight against the world when loveis at the foundation.

The focus of the new record is thatevery song tells its own story, said KebMo, and the collective theme of all thosestories is about a feeling. I didnt have anythematic thing in mind. I just wanted to tellstories about my life right there. There aresome really heavy songs on it. Then Iwent back to record Thats Alrightbecause thats the equivalent of goingback to something real. Thats the blues.Thats making the mark.

Keb Mos last CD, The Reflection,was recorded in 2011 and was nominatedfor a Grammy for Blues Album of the Year.Recorded only months after he and hiswife Robbie Brooks Moore moved toNashville from L.A., Keb Mo is slowly

integrating himself into the local musicscene, especially its songwriting society.

We moved here four years ago toraise our son [Carter Mandela Moore] in abetter environment, said Keb Mo. Thekind of scene here certainly keeps me onmy toes. The biggest difference to me isthe songwriting community. Its just stel-lar. The people, the writers, and the spiritin which its done is just fantastic. The baris so high. If I go to any songwritersshowcases, I dont go to play, I go tolisten and learn.

Because of that, these ten songs werenot dashed out in the studio during therecording process. Rather Keb Mo craftedthem over an extensive period of time.

These songs were picked from overa year of different writing sessions. I likewords, so the words come first for me.I thought I ran out of musical ideas 15years ago [Laughs.] Lyrically, I feel Im justgetting started. I have an idea that I taketo a writing session and generally ask,How about this? then we proceed to doour best to craft a song in a way wherethat idea can be best relayed.

My first responsibility throughout theprocess is to be honest to myself and to thesong. Then I have to take that responsibilityand craft it to the best of my ability so thatpeople can really get the most out of it.

Once I have a song written and Ithink its finished, then, Im ready to go intothe studio. I dont want to waste any greatspontaneity on a demo. So the demo andrecord process is all the same. The mostimportant thing is to pick a tempo for thesong. If I get the tempo right, thats half thebattle. I can always change small things,but if I get the tempo wrong, the songgoes nowhere.

With little workshopping, these songsgo on tour ready to compete with Keb Mostaples like Henry, She Just Wants ToDance, Shave Yo Legs, Soon As I GetPaid, or Dangerous Mood.

Its hard because I have a history ofsongs that people have really latchedonto. I could play She Just Wants ToDance for days. I have a lot of songs thatreally work like that. So far, audienceshave been receptive. I have a feeling thatpeople are curious and open to this newrecord. This feels fresh and new peopleare paying attention. Instead of alwaysgoing back, it would be great to have thisas a fresh start where I can grab two orthree songs from the past that are crucialto what I do and move forward. K

EBMO

keeping

itsim

pleKebMo

Every since Kevin Moore rechristenedhimself Keb Mo over 20 years ago, he hasbeen speeding forward on the industrysfast track. In 1994, I met him during theBeale Street Music Festival where hehanded out cassettes and shared theAcoustic Porch with Piano Bob and theSnowman an hour performance, an houroff, all weekend.

He says, I put some songs togetherthen that worked. It was a little bit ofcalculation and some dumb luck. But itwas much more then that. He was born in1951 and grew up in Compton. My earlymusical experience was playing steeldrum in a steel band when I was 10.I played in that band all the way throughhigh school. At the same time, I wasplaying the French horn in the orchestra,and I was playing guitar in a cover bandat the school.

Yet a chance encounter with authenticblues sowed the seeds that would latermature. A little known singer, Taj Mahal,came to a high school in Compton in thelate-1960s. In the audience sat one KevinMoore. Ill always remember my draftingteacher in my senior year of high schoolbecause he had the foresight and wisdomto let me go see Taj twice. He singledme out because he knew I that I likedmusic. No one in the school,including me, had ever heard ofhim, but I was totally getting it.

Nobody knew whoKevin Moore was. I wasvirtually unknown. I mademy living in L.A. playinga combination clubs,sessions, theaters, andfilm work. I played withPapa John Creach forthree years on the road.After leaving Creach in1976, he began honing hissong writing skills. In the early1980s, he spent five years inwhat he terms, Song WritingCollege, working in a workshopsetting with other writers forCasablanca Records.

He came into 1994 with years ofexperience in the industry, working in avariety in L.A. bands, supervisingdemos for Alamo Music, and workingin some theater productions. Todaysdevelopmental standards suggest thatto achieve mastery of sport or music,10,000 hours of practice are necessarybefore an athlete or artist turns


byAr

tTipald

i

PHOTOGRAPHY DUSTY SCOTT


keeping blues music alive, singer,composer, and musicologist,

Taj Mahal has felt from the beginnings of hiscareer that he was preserving his Africanheritage. Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericksin Harlem, New York, on May 17, 1942, hewas, from the start, influenced musically byhis parents, his mother, a gospel-singingSouth Carolina schoolteacher, and hisstepfather, a piano-playing West Indianjazz arranger. He grew up hearing all kindsof music from his parents large recordcollection and over the familys short-waveradio.

Wandering around New York City asa young boy, he says, There were all thesestreet players who played tambourinesand sang, guitars and sang, harmonicas,accordions, and just singing on the street.A live person playing the music was what Iremember. I didnt have the distance ofhearing the music only through the recordedside of it or just on the airways. I heard it asa living thing.

Musicians from the Caribbean, Africa,and all over the U.S. frequently visited hisfamily home, and he became fascinated withthe origins of the various forms of music hewas hearing. So he threw himself into thestudy of older forms of African-Americanmusic, which the record companies of theday were largely ignoring.

When I was growing up, there wasno difference in breathing and music, it wasalways a part of my family. What I didntknow was it wasnt a part of every family outthere. My grandparents didnt speak with anAmerican accent; my mother spoke with aSouthern accent, and my fathers peoplespoke with a Caribbean accent, although myfather had a little bit more of an Americanaccent put into it.

Nonetheless, once they started talkingtogether, everybody sounded like theywere West Indians, and when I went to myother grandfathers house, it was all deepSoutherners. So, to me, all of it was a greattradition in front of me. Im just investigatingthe lines of the music, culture, and traditionsthat came in to me.

Hes an American treasure.

america

nmaestr

o TAJ

MAH

ALby

Phil Re

ser

hes all of it.Hes the root doctor,

KebMo

By

PHOTOGRAPHY JOSEPH A. ROSEN


was a Sunday afternoon in Duluth, Minnesota,in August 2013. Patrons at the 25th Bayfront Blues

Festival had already heard from such luminaries asRobert Cray, Mark Hummel with Anson Funderburgh andLittle Charlie, and Nick Moss, and titled artists ranging fromChief (Eddy Clearwater, of course) to Empress (in theperson of Irma Thomas) and were anticipating the appear-ance of the new Queen of the Blues, Shemekia Copeland,when Nikki Hill took the main stage and practically burnedit down.

With assurance and verve, Hill strutted and shimmied,played off her guitarist (who also happens to be herhusband, Matt Hill), and sang a tantalizing blend of wildroots rockers, simmering soul, and hard-edged vintage-styleR&B. The set encompassed much of her CD Heres NikkiHill, augmented by scorching covers of Little Richard,Etta James, and Bobby Blue Bland numbers.

Almost from the first notes of the Tarheel Slim andDale Hawkins classic #9 Train, much of the crowd was onits feet, where it remained,dancing and transfixed,for the next hour, exceptfor a brief interval when Hill,perhaps out of mercy, called for her stunning deep soulballad Dont Cry Anymore, a move that slowed the setstempo momentarily, but did nothing to relieve its intensity.She closed with AC/DCs Whole Lotta Rosie. The auda-cious choice seemed natural, an extension of what camebefore, and had the audience screaming its enthusiasmand surprise.

Mighty Mike Schermer, guitarist for Marcia Ball, whowas scheduled next, arrived backstage shortly after Hill tookcontrol. He listened approvingly to the R&B-singing fireballfor a few minutes before leaning over to say, I havent seenher before. Shes great. Shes like Lou Ann Barton! Thecomparison is apt vocally, as both singers have effortlesscontrol over that essential grind in their voices, and musi-cally, for both, steeped in tradition, lean on a repertoire thatleans on roots music from across the spectrum, with R&Bballads, soul, and rock n roll shading their blues.

The question remained: Was Hill unheralded royalty oran irresistible rebel leader? Just three years ago she was ayoung lady with a college degree and excellent, eclecticmusical taste, a music lover in a relationship with the BluesMusic Award-winning guitarist Matt Hill, and scarcely thinkingabout singing.

Today, everyone is talking about her, with good reason.In 2014 she will appear at about 30 festivals, includingAustralias internationally acclaimed Byron Bay Bluesfest

and the Main Stage at the Chicago Blues Festival. Herprecipitous rise is evolving as the natural result of tirelesshard work, a deep love of music, and talent and charisma(Don T-Bone Erickson flatly states, Best stage presenceanywhere).

Felix Reyes, who recorded albums for both Nikki andMatt Hill at his House of Tone studios, says: Shes poisedak

nockoutp

erfor

mer

NIKKIHILL

byTo

m H

yslop

It

THIS IS MUSIC FOR EVERYBODY.

PHOTOGRAPHY AIGARS LAPSA


something thats beyond human!) and Otis Redding, andcontinuing through Little Richard, The Faces, Phil Alvin, Link Wray,and Bukka White. Eddie Hinton and James Carr: Im a soulvocalist fan, big time. Thats good stuff.

Other touchstones are Booker T & the MGs and The Meters,Toots and the Maytals, A Tribe Called Quest, Billie Holiday, JerryLee Lewis, Ray Charles, Lazy Lester, and Otis Rush (Hell kickyou off with that good voice and then that fuckin slammin guitar!).Live records by James Brown, Sam Cooke, and B.B. King arespecial favorites. And obviouslyTina Turner, I think she could havefronted AC/DC easily. (It keepscoming back to AC/DC. Rock nroll and soul? Bon Scott nailed itbeyond nailed it.)

Hills musical awarenessmakes her at once a traditionalistand an iconoclast who firmlyrejects any categorization,although several cliques wouldclaim her. Her own attitude ismore inclusive. My bass player isgonna wear his Notorious B.I.G.shirt sometimes. Its not to beironic, its because he fuckinlistens to Notorious B.I.G.. Thosepeople that do like NotoriousB.I.G. see us bein ourselves andthink, OK, I dont have to feel likeif I dont know all this musictheyre playing, that I dont knowanything.

I want to reach those people,too. I want them to hear whatwere playing and for them to digit. You can be an Artist about itand say, Nobody label me. At thesame time, I dont want to be oneof those Were a rockin soul-blues-a-billy-honky-tonk band.For me its important to capture allmusic lovers. I think a lot of us in scenes get really caught up injust playing for each other. And that is zero of what this hasanything to do with. This is music for everybody.

As bandleader and boss lady, Hill is keenly aware of the hardwork that has gone into her success. Still, it seems sudden. Whata trip! My very first tour was at the very end of 2012 and thatswhen everything started. I quit my job while we were on that tour,and here we are a couple years later. Thats pretty much just howit kicked off. I gotta give it up to the power of YouTube. That reallygave me the boost of hearing people asking, Wheres the record?I wanna buy whatever shes got. I didnt have anything. I didnthave a thing.

Since then she has recorded an EP that was folded into2013s full-length Heres Nikki Hill CD, as well as a second EP,Soul Meets Country, a side project recorded in Memphis withDeke Dickerson and the Bo-Keys. Everybody really cametogether and did a great job. I did miss my band, but man! if youcant work with your own, I like to set the bar up there. A lot of mystuff has been written on the fly, not necessarily by choice. Its fun

now to be on the road, having time to write, and also having thechance to audience-test, too. The plan is to record again verysoon when a break comes up. There will be another album cominout, which is kinda where Im leaving it right now.

People ask why Im making certain decisions. A lot of timetheres not much thought to it. To me, the most important thing isto play. Getting in front of people is our goal, playing and pouringout what we pour out, and hoping the people like it. And its reallyjust as simple as that. Were out on the road, getting new faces

into the clubs every time. Its greatto see fan response and seepeople spreading the word withus and for us.

Hill is justifiably proud ofher band: drummer Joe Meyer,electric bassist Ed Strohsahl, andNikkis husband, guitarist Matt Hill,who has two solo albums to hiscredit. Dubbed The Pirate Crew,the trio is the engine that makestouring fun under any conditions(everyone in the group is agenuine hash tag wit andbon vivant).

I consider them the guys.I can focus on the numbers andthe press et cetera, and I can leanon those guys musically. I dontthink a lot of people are so lucky.I can put out an idea, I can tellem this is what were gonna do,and I know theyre gonna do itbeyond better than I predicted.I can just let myself fall into themusic, and I can really absorb itand put the passion into it.

The Pirate Crew and I reallydeliver something solid. I whole-heartedly believe in that. And all Ican ever support it with is, justcome see the show. Once they

see the show, theres not anybody that disagrees. And thats thecalling card, thats the business model, and it feels good that wereable to do that.

Im thankful Ive got a great team on my side. Its like I wokeup on January 1st, 2013, and it was Alright, Im a small businessowner, here we go! I cant really ever say that was on my goal list,and then boom! it happened, and that became the ultimatechallenge. And things are goin great.

Its good to work on the songs together, record themtogether, and listen to how theyre changing, and how tight theyare, and then all our focus can just go into the show. And ascheesy as it is, it feels good to be able to do something that I loveso much, and that my husband loves so much, and that we get todo it together.

We got together not knowing at all that this would be theresult, but to be able to work with him and play with him and hearhis music getting better, hear me getting better, it is all so cool.What more can you ask for than to be successful, just based onyou, based on how you give that to people?

PHOTOGRAPHY JOSEPH A.ROSEN


one could have known it at thetime, but Andy T and Nick Nixon

needed each other for a lot of years. Eventhey didnt have a clue.

But four years ago when journeymanguitarist Andy Talamantez first heard JamesNick Nixon sing at a Nashville blues jam,he realized he was listening to a blues voicehe needed and wanted. Hed already beenin the studio off and on working on his debutCD with Texas guitarist Anson Funderburgh,yet there were holes in the music and bothknew it. A couple of singers were called in,but neither proved to be a good match.

Finally, Funderburgh challengedTalamantez in 2010 at the King BiscuitBlues Festival in Helena, Ark. You live inNashville, he said. Theres a lot of goodsingers there, and Im sure you can find one.

Talamantez already had Nixon in mind,but he wasnt quite sure how to approachhim. I really didnt think he would say yes,Talamantez says. I knew he liked singingas a hobby and that held me back. Still,hed gotten goose bumps the first time heheard Nixon singing at a Nashville bluesjam and he trusted that first impression.

Nixon, who like Talamantez had setaside his music career years ago to raisea family, decided the time was right to give ita shot. The result was the surprising DrinkDrank Drunk debut CD that resonated withblues fans and promptly landed a spotamong the top blues CDs of 2013. It also ledto an ambitious touring schedule andanother date with Funderburgh at the studiocontrols. Their second CD Livin It Up wasreleased in June on Delta Groove and buildson the first CD, depending on more originalsongs and basking in the confidence of aband that knows where it is going.

The recent past has been period ofgrowth for the 58-year-old Talamantez andthe 73-year-old Nixon. They count them-selves fortunate that the blues isnt asage-sensitive as most forms of music today.Ive always wanted to do this, and I neverconsidered age to be a stumbling block,Talamantez says. If anything, I think myguitar playing is better than ever, and Ifind myself playing things that I neverhave before.

Part of that comes from Nick. Hes soinspirational. You hear his voice and yourown work to rise up with that. Its really beenamazing in how our relationship has devel-oped and how well we seem for each other.un

likely

partn

ers

byMich

ael K

insm

an

PHOTOGRAPHY MARILYN STRINGER

NoANDY

T&

NICK

NIXON


you have a passport?the old bluesman interrupted.

Teenaged Selwyn Birchwood hadwaited six months for the opportunity toplay guitar for Sonny Rhodes, who stoppedhim in the middle of his song to ask thequestion which doubled as a direct andsudden offer for a job and an invaluableapprenticeship. A year later, 19-year-oldBirchwood asked Rhodes why he hadhired him on the spot when there were somany accomplished guitarists from whomto choose.

He just laughed and said I remindedhim of himself when he was younger, saidBirchwood, now 29 and with his own bandand a new deal with Alligator Records.Birchwood heard that comparison againafter he assembled a veteran group, eacha jazz aficionado but with many years ofexperience with blues bands: Regi Oliver,a baritone sax player, Donald Huff Wright,a bassist, and drummer Curtis Nutall.

Ive watched him grow at a startlingrate, 50-year-old Oliver said. Hes veryserious about what hes doing. Hes notone of those shoot-yourself-in-the-foot,afraid-of-success musicians. That kind ofattentiveness and discipline reminds meof a younger version of myself.

We pride ourselves in pickingwinners and Selwyns definitely a winner,continued Oliver.

He has the hardware to prove it. Ayear after reaching the Blues Foundations2012 International Blues Challenge finals,the Selwyn Birchwood Band won the 2013IBC, and Birchwood, who plays electric andlap steel guitars, was given the Albert KingMost Promising Guitarist Award, whichdoubtless led to more comparisons. Bluesfans covet the exciting new, young gun-slinger, and the 6-foot-3-inch (not includingafro) tall Birchwood fills the bill.

I dont think he wants to be anotherStevie Ray Vaughan, Nuttall said. Hewants to be a game-changer more thanhe wants to take the place, or be in thepantheon, of those guys. I think he justwants to take the blues to what his per-spective is. Because when you look at thegenre, there are not too many people in hisage bracket that are into blues. I like hisconcepts and ideas because hes trying totake the blues to the next level.

I look at him with the perspective ofhim being more than just a blues guitar stu

ffofgreatnessSELW

YNBIRCHWOOD

byTim Parsons

PHOTOGRAPHY MARK GOODMAN

Do


know I write a lot about juke joints or atleast the music and musicians that call

jukes home. Jukes are the blues clubs house parties, really where the roots ofpopular music still live and breath, even ifthe breaths may not be as deep as theyonce were. The simple truth is that todaythere are very few juke joints left in theAmerican south and even fewer that stilloffer regular, live blues music.

For these reasons, you owe it to your-self to make a juke joint pilgrimage soonerrather than later. Tonight, you can still fallinto an authentic juke joint experience.I cant promise that tomorrow. Drop by myCat Head blues store any time you swingthrough Clarksdale, Mississippi, and wellhappily point you towards the real-deal.

WHERE THE JUKES ARE

Starting on the fringes of Mississippi, youmight try a weekend night at Wild Bills inMemphis, Tennessee, Teddys Juke Jointin Zachary, Louisiana, or Gips Place inBessemer, Alabama.

Wild Bill, himself, was an old dudewho used to hold the door (collect the

money) at his namesake juke in Memphis.Hes passed on, but his joint still rolls oneach weekend, which is a rarity sincemost jukes go the way of the dodo upontheir proprietors demise. Wild Bills offersa deeper Memphis juke experience thananything youre likely to find on better-known Beale Street.

Teddys is a bit down and out of theway in Louisiana, but well worth seekingout. The owner has made the trip toClarksdale several times is as colorful acharacter as youre likely to find. His placecomes highly recommended for bluestourists headed to Louisiana.

Then, theresGips. Mr. Gip is theOld Man in the game.Now in his nineties,he seems blissfullyunaware of the mathinvolved. Like a muchyounger man,he often plays the firstSaturday-night set awesome old bluesslide guitar numbers and is fond of dancing

with the ladies after the main act begins,always with a beer in hand. His place isunique among surviving jukes since itfeatures as much outdoor partying areaas indoor. Like other genuine jukes, it is,less up to code than perhaps a modernmusic venue might be. More on Gips ina moment.

MISSISSIPPIAINT NOTHIN BUT A JUKE

In Mississippi, there are three jukes leftthat get most of the headlines (whenoccasionally a headline finds them).

JukinI

by Roger Stolle

PHOTOGRAPHY ROGER STOLLE

RED PADEN AND GIP GIPSONGIPS PLACE


I joined Muddy Watersband in August 1973,

I met some of his friends. I remember thefirst time I loaded my amp into Muddysvan, double parked outside of Pauls Mallin Boston as the band left to drive back toChicago the day after my first gig withMuddy. Suddenly, BoDiddley pulled up to loadin for his own gig andgreeted and joked withhis friends in Muddysband. I realized Id bemeeting legendary musicicons through my newMuddy connection.I also met a young manwho was about my agebut had already beenfriends with Muddy for acouple of years: TerryAbrahamson.

Terry hung out withMuddys band often then.I shared his awe of thelegendary blues musi-cians we laughed with,and I enjoyed Terrysmusician-like sense ofhumor cynical, vulgar,and quick to laugh at lifeschallenges. He had acamera and used it often.In February 1974, when Ifirst recorded with Muddyat the last Chess studios in Chicago, Terryhad written some of the songs Muddyrecorded.

After 1980, Terry and I sent anoccasional hello through mutual friends,but I didnt see him much until the last fewyears when he showed me his new photobook, In The Belly Of The Blues. I wasdeeply impressed with how Terry had pre-sented his now historic photos, and hissoulful stories from a time we now callback in the day. This is not a review, I justwant to introduce you to Terry, who deeplyloves blues, other blues lovers, and themusicians, and shows you his memoriestoday in photos and recordings. Now Iinvite Terry to tell you in his own words.

BOB: Terry, your photos and thesongs youve written show how much youlove the spirit of blues music, and you hadso much access to it while the legendswere still with us. Tell us more.

TERRY: I had the luck of being ateenager in Chicago in the 60s, weaned

on The Stones, Yardbirds, and Cream. In1969, I went to see a band Id read in thenewspaper did The Stones Little RedRooster. That was Howlin Wolf, the firstreal Chicago blues singer Id ever heard:powerful, primitive, and totally rocking.And somehow familiar: he had a lot ofmoves Id seen from Mick Jagger. Heroared through Killing Floor, Spoonful,Sitting On Top Of The World, Back DoorMan, and the light went on and my lifewas changed.

I went home, checked my record col-lection and realized the music of thebands I loved originated with a bunch ofBlack guys who were all in Chicago. Istarted going every weekend to see

Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers.I met Muddy using the bands bathroom atAlices Revisited. He was regal and digni-fied, but tremendously generous of spirit. Itook his picture, talked about how I dugCreams version of Rollin And Tumblin.

But there was another level to theallure of the blues. Thesewere the Civil Rights years.My dad made sure I under-stood and valued all that.And here were all theseguys who had gotten out ofMississippi, and brought metheir music. It had weight,history.

The blues became myreligion. In college, I joineda group producing showswith Furry Lewis, JimmyDawkins, and Hound DogTaylor. In 73, I moved toBoston and brought JimBrewer out on tour. Andthe more guys I hadmissed Robert Johnson,Elmore James, Sonny BoyWilliamson the more Ivalued those who werestill around, and becameobsessed with not justseeing them, but knowingthem. I wrote songs withMuddy, fried chicken in amotel with Hound Dog,

sat in Homesick James Williamsonsbed with him and his sister passing themoonshine jar, sat in Willie Dixons frontroom just us two as he played thesession hed just done with ReverendBalenger; I still have the cassette. I cre-ated a Levis commercial for John LeeHooker and wrote the song he played.I even cast Willie Smith in a Bar Mitzvahvideo. And as Eddie Shaw sings in mysong All That Stuff,

I started out when I was young,And get ready baby, cause I aint done.

BOB: You told me at the Blues MusicAwards that its a thrill for you to get back

by Bob Margolin

ALife In The Music

When

FREDDIE KING AND MUDDY WATERS, RHODE ISLAND BLUES FESTIVAL, 1975

PHOTOGRAPHY TERRY ABRAHAM

SON


rarely takes a break. A lookat Joe Bonamassas recenttouring and recording

schedule confirms that this self-professedguitar geek thrives on a non-stop musicalcarousel. London, Vienna, Amsterdam,New York, his guitar cases could beplastered with hundreds of travel stickers.At the same time he was completing theexhaustive Tour de Force Live In Londonproject, Bonamassa was taking time tojet to Nashville to work with some of

Americas finest songwriters for his nextrecording, Different Shades Of Blue.Whenwe spoke, Bonamassa was preparing toplay another sold out experience, hisblues tribute at Red Rocks Amphitheater.

BluesMusicMagazine:What was theartistic aftermath after your Tour DeForce project?

JoeBonamassa:We had all this pressbooked in New York City after the gigs

and I was so exhausted from that weekof rehearsals and gigs. It was a reallyrewarding week, but it was very stressfuland work infused. I lost my voice so thatI couldnt do interviews.

Kevin Shirley, my manager RoyWeisman, and I were at the MontreuxJazz Festival eating Thai food next toTaj Mahal. On paper it seemed prettystraight-forward. I know all the tunes,I wrote some of the tunes, Ive playedthem all live before, so this shouldnt bethat hard.

By the time the first three piecegig at Londons Borderline was done,it was clear to me that this was goingto be more involved than I thought.That was an intense gig in front of 200people, and now I have to wake up thenext morning and do the horn band atShepherds Bush Empire. Then wakeup the next morning and do Hammer-smith Auditorium. Then, I get a dayoff and then do two sets, one of themwith the acoustic band, at the RoyalAlbert Hall. By the time it was over,I was spent.

&JOE

BONAMASSAPHOTOGRAPHY TONY KUTTER

PHOTOGRAPHY TONY KUTTER


1979, brothers Dave and PhilAlvin were founding membersof the Blasters which gained

international recognition playing withbands like X, Black Flagg, the Cramps,and Queen. The music was called L.A.punk roots and rockabilly, but the broth-ers learned music playing blues by men-tors Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, and LeeAllen. Phil was 12 when he started har-monica lessons with Sonny Terry. TheBlasters best known song was a cover ofLittle Willie Johns 1959 tune Im Shakin.Jack Whites recent version of the song isbasically a cover of the Blasters cover,which is highlighted by Phil Alvinsshouting blues vocals. Dave Alvin left theBlasters in 1986 to pursue a solo careerand other projects. After a Phil survived aserious health issue in 2012, the brothersdecided to make their first recordtogether in almost 30 years. On June 3,Yep Roc released Common Ground: DaveAlvin And Phil Alvin Play And Sing TheSongs Of Big Bill Broonzy.

BluesMusicMagazine: Is it true thisreunion was inspired by a close call withPhil?Phil: I had a close call, a brush withdeath, in Spain in June 2012. And I guessthat motivated David. I always liked play-ing with David, periodically, since theBlasters, and we did a song together onhis last record (in 2004), 4-11-44. But Ithink the imminent flat lining possibilityprobably motivated things a little bit.

BMM:How is your health, Phil?Phil: I am doing fine. I was doing fineafterward. But they gave me atracheostomy so I had to let that healbefore I could do anything.

BMM: Before the one song in 2004, whenwas the last time you two had recordedtogether?Dave: Phil and I hadnt made a fullstudio record together since the BlastersHardline in 1985. Over the last few yearsboth of us have lost family members andvery close friends. It just seemed liketime. Wed never done a full albumtogether, just the two of us. It was alwaysin relation to the Blasters in a bandconcept. I just thought the sooner wecan get this done, the better because noone knows how much longer werehanging around.

So I called Phil andasked if he wanted to dosome Big Bill Broonzysongs and he said, Yeah.We did four songs andthat sounded really good(then decided to make a)whole album. He[Broonzy] had not onlygreat material, but mater-ial that will stand all sortsof styles from ragtime,finger-picking blues toChicago blues to urbanblues to jump blues.There was a lot to choosefrom.

BMM: One of the songswas Youve Changed.How did your workingrelationship change?Phil:Of course onYouve Changed,I dont sing, so thatchanged. And wedidnt have anything tofight about.

Dave:We hold Big Bill in such highregard, there was really nothing to fightabout. I think the only heated discussionthat we got in over anything was overan F sharp note that I wasnt playing.Then he showed me, and I said, Oh,youre right.

BMM: You used to fight?Phil: The whole band fought.Dave:We all grew up together. Phil wasalready playing with Big Joe Turner andLee Allen when he was 16 years old.Guys like that were part of our child-hood Lee Allen, the great tenor saxplayer from New Orleans who was on allthe Fats Domino, Little Richard andProfessor Longhair records we grew upwith them. The Blasters, its a hackneyedphrase now but we were a family bandand we would fight.

BMM: I hear Big Joe Turner in Phil, andboth of your singing styles has the cadenceand delivery that you hear with blues.Phil: I never distinguished betweenrhythm and blues. The first time I sawBig Joe Turner it was just magic. I have aloud voice and I used to imitate JoeTurner. He gave me a piece of advice

&DAVE ALVINPHIL ALVIN

PHOTOGRAPHY MARILYN STRINGER

THE BLASTERS,ITS AHACKNEYEDPHRASE NOWBUT WE WEREA FAMILY BANDAND WE WOULD FIGHT.


Sonny Landreth has, long ago, surpassed what is expected ofa guitarist, having reinvented many of the rules and playingtechniques through his endless exploration of the instrument.He is one of Louisianas most explicit exports, creating originalcompositions which reflect a heady, distinctive sense of placemore accurately than any travel campaign could. His praisesare shouted from the mountaintops by the biggest names inthe industry lauding him for his jaw-dropping accomplish-ments and serious inroads into the musical process itself. Theopportunity to witness Landreth live satisfies the need to hear

the music youve grown so attached to. Its also a chance towatch it unfold a magic show unlike any other devoid ofdeception, tricks or pretense.

Some of these custom techniques already have names many do not. He creates new ones as he searches for justthe right note, the ideal tone while his accomplished band-mates (Dave Ranson, bass; Brian Brignac, drums) set thestage, maximizing his creative space through touch andfeel fueling Landreths inner flame as they respond to eachunconventional cue. Each composition is alive an evolution-ary process benefiting from ever-refined skills and the subtlenuances of live performance. Theres always something differ-ent to watch or listen for. Each song gets fresh girth under thewatchful care of a perfectionist who seems unable to acceptpersonal limitations in his quest to take things further,constantly raising his personal bar.

Z. Rider was the entry point into this 13-song, two-hourset, replete with a scorching encore. Native Stepsoncontinued his fluid assault with a dizzying display of artistry,

whether adding whole chords or fragments behind his slideas he played, his right hand hammering, tapping or pickingthe strings for effect. Deep in concentration, the occasionalsmile will appear as he succeeds in achieving somethingparticularly pleasing, otherwise impossible. The PromiseLand, with a tip of the hat to hero Sonny Boy Williamson(the d dropped intentionally), lost a little steam in its pursuitof paradise, Landreths usually strong vocals weak in themix. Biting into Skip James Cherry Ball Blues, vocalsstronger, Landreth steered his styling back into the straight

blues of his youth whileThe Milky Way Homeunderlined an absolutefleetness-of-fingers,Brignac lending atasteful, tonal approachon drums.

Song after song, areordering of traditionalcompositional designcommitted to the satis-fying journey that onlyLandreths otherworldly,slide-driven approachand driving, Delta-bornrhythms can offer. Yet,as stand-out as coverslike Elmore JamesIt Hurts Me Too andRobert JohnsonsWalking Blues were,buttressed against hisown raucously slinkyA World Away and thestorm-warning knownas Blue Tarp Blues,

it was the gentle touch of Elemental Journeys Brave NewGirl, segueing into the head-spinning, grinding groove ofa hyper-blasted Uberesso that proved the true game-changer. The molasses-thick power shuffle of All About Youmerged with a gentler Back To Bayou Teche, uniting thevoices of all three players, deeply steeped in Cajun soul.A compulsory encore brought on the near-feral, alwaysferocious Pedal To The Metal which, when it comes rightdown to it, is core Landreth his high-energy assault a life-long tribute to the rich musical influences of his upbringing.To have reinvented the very nature of his instrument andthe way music is played is suitable legacy but only thebeginning.

To meet the man after a show deserving of a full-bore,Saffir-Simpson hurricane rating is a surprise. This unassumingmusical giant remains completely ego-free and a soft-spoken,Southern gentleman his generous persona reinforced by apersonal elegance. Eric Thom

SONNY LANDRETHHughs RoomToronto, Ontario, Canada

PHOTOGRAPHY ERIC THOM

Jim Liban with The Joel Paterson Trio I Say What I Mean from the album I Say What I Mean onVentrella Records.Singer, songwriter, and harmonica player Jim Liban joins forces with Chicagos Joel Paterson,

who has distinguished himself as a talented guitarist who is expert in all forms of American music.www.americanbluesband.com

Jim Byrnes Somebody Lied from the album St.Louis Times on Black Hen Music.Byrnes takes listeners on an intimate journey through St. Louis place in American music.

This song is Byrnes homage to the musical legacy of Jimmy Reed and features John Hammond on harmonica.www.blackhenmusic.com

Lisa Biales Graveyard Dead Blues from the album Belle Of The Blues on Big Song Music.On this offering Biales is, as advertised, the Belle of the Blues. Graveyard Dead Blues is a deadly love song.With the help of some mighty fine Dobro work from Tommy Talton, Biales belts it out Bonnie Raitt-style.

www.lisabiales.com

John Mayall World Gone Crazy from the album A Special Life on Forty Below Records.In 2014, John Mayall celebrated his 80th birthday with the release of his first studio album in five years. Joined by guest C.J. Chenier

and Mayalls touring band, Mayall has recorded classic songs on this album by Jimmy Rogers, Albert King, Eddie Taylor, and Jimmy McCracklin.www.johnmayall.com

The Nighthawks Youre Gone from the album 444 on EllerSoul Records.Now in their fifth decade of recording, Mark Wenner and The Nighthawks continue to follow the bands unique blueprint to reinvent blues and rock n roll.

Led by founding member Mark Wenner, 444 is a jam-packed record of blues, soul, roadhouse country music,and rock n roll performed through the trademark Nighthawks sound.

www.thenighthawks.com

Jimmy Carpenter Walk Away from the albumWalk Away onVizzTone.For over 25 years, Jimmy Carpenter has lived in the music. His tenor has been a constant part of the bands of Walter Wolfman Washington,

Jimmy Thackery, Mike Zito, the Honey Island Swamp band and many, many others.www.jimmycarpenter.net

Raoul and The Big Time High Roller from the albumHollywood Blvd on Big Time Records.Canadian harmonica player and singer, Raoul Bhaneja thrives in recreating the harmonica-driven styles from the 1950s Chess catalogue.

This record features guests Curtis Salgado, Rick Holmstrom, Junior Watson, Rusty Zinn, and others.www.raoulandthebigtime.com

Jimmy DuckHolmes and Terry HarmonicaBean Lonesome Church Bell from the album Twice As Hardon Broke & Hungry Records.

Together guitarist Jimmy Duck Holmes and harmonica Terry Harmonica Bean continue the Delta guitar/harp legacyas they recreate the blues of Jack Owens and Bud Spires.

www.brokeandhungryrecords.com

Trudy Lynn featuring Steve Krase Every Side Of Lonely from the album Royal Oaks Blues Caf on Connor Ray Music.On the heels of her 14th record, Trudy Lynn was nominated for her fifth Blues Music Award.

On this cut, Steve Krase adds harmonica and Jonn Del Toro Richardson brings guitar behind Lynns expressive vocals.www.trudylynnblues.com

DavidVest That Happened To Me from the album Roadhouse Revelation on Cordova Bay Records.Recorded live at a house concert just outside Edmonton, Canada, this cut is a gritty blues shuffle that gets its depth from Vests dynamic piano.

www.davidvest.ca

Madison Slim Close But No Cigar from the album Close But No Cigar on All About Blues, Inc.Madison Slim bought his first harmonica after hearing Little Walter. He has toured with the Legendary Blues Band,

Sam Lay, Jimmy Rogers, and many others. This is Slims first recording under his name.

Bad Brad & The Fat Cats Leghound from the album Take AWalk With Me on Fat Cats Entertainment.Bad Brad represented the Colorado Blues Society at the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis as its Youth showcase entrant.

www.fatcatsofficial.com

If you are not already a subscriber,you can join the Blues Music Magazine

community by either going to the websitewww.bluesmusicmagazine.com

or calling toll-free 866-702-7778.

Blues Music Magazine is featuring a Digital Sampler for download in every issue.Please go to www.bluesmusicmagazine.com/BMM5 to download this Digital Samplerand visit the artists websites. Enjoy!5

DOWNLOAD!


THE NIGHTHAWKS444EllerSoul

The first time you hear it, youll thinksomebodys put the wrong record inthe sleeve. Until Mark Wenner jumpsin on harp, Walk That Walk, soundslike a rockabilly band doing doo-wop.The cut is from the 50s gospel-turned-R&B group the Du Droppers,and is way out of line from The Nighthawksusual fare. But as soon as Wenner jumps in withhis Little Walter-style harp contribution, he puts itfirmly back in their sack of blues.

The group quickly gets back into recognizableNighthawk territory with Livin The Blues, an aptdescription of the bands five decades on the roadpromoting that genre. The current lineup of tenyear alumni Paul Bell on guitar and bassist JohnnyCastle with five year vet Mark Stutso on drums isone of the tightest units the group has ever had.As an extra-added attraction they all sing, makingfor smooth four-part harmony on several cuts.

Castle penned the title track, a twangyrockabilly number glazed with a thick coat ofWenners bluesy harp varnish. Stutso contributesYoure Gone, a bluegrass number written by hisbrother-in-law that Stutso vocalizes on and Bellrenovates with some shimmery Jimmie Vaughanguitar. Wenners Honky Tonk Queen sounds likea Dr. Hook translation of the Stones country honkstyle. There are a couple of Elvis tributes. Got ALot Of Livin is from Elviss second film, 1957sLovin You, capturing Elvis in his rockabilly years.The Hawks replicate it perfectly from theJordanaires backing vocals to Scotty Moorestwangy guitar licks. The Hawks version ofCrawfish is a bit different than the version Presleyperformed in 58s King Creole. His was a duet witha female street vendor taking the high parts on thechorus, while the Hawks harmonize smoothly onthe chorus and clone Presley moaning like HankWilliams on the swampy verses.

As is customary on any Nighthawks project,Muddy Waters gets a turn on Louisiana Blues,done here in lockstep with Waters 59 version. Asusual, The Nighthawks are still dead on, preservingthe blues tradition in a way that never gets old. Grant Britt

Now in their fifth decade, The Nighthawks, led by harmonica master and vocalist Mark Wenner,continue to hang close to the music that initially inspired this iconic band.


JOHN NMETHMemphis GreaseBlue Corn

John Nmeths 2007 Blind Pig debutMagic Touch and his four subsequentalbums were prologues to this scintillatingset of soul-blues that includes ten origi-nals and three choice covers. Now livingin Memphis, Nmeth recorded his dream-come-true album at producer/bassistScott Bomars Electraphonic Studios withthe Bo-Keys (drummer Howard Grimesof the legendary Hi Rhythm Section, gui-tarist Joe Restivo, keyboardist Al Gamble,trumpeter Marc Franklin, tenor saxophon-ist Kirk Smothers, baritone saxophonistArt Edmaiston, and veteran vocalistPercy Wiggins).

The predominant sound is a seam-less mix of muscular funk and Southernsoul testifying with a touch of the blues(provided by Nmeths raucous andslashing harmonica). Each song is a gemand Nmeth sings with passion andpoise throughout. One important indica-tor of a soul singers fervor is the deepballad and there are three magnificent,transcendent ballads that lay bareNmeths soul: the lilting I Wish I WasHome, the gospel-tinged Testify MyLove, and Roy Orbisons ethereallyplaintive Cry. These last two tunes weregripping showstoppers during Nmethsrecent Philadelphia performance. Theother covers are the Howard Tate pleaderStop, also a showstopper live, and OtisRushs Three Times A Fool, which isgiven a funky arrangement so unlike theoriginal. A few other favorites are HerGood Lovin, a slinky slab of percolatingfunk, Sooner Or Later, a Southern soulstroller, and Song of the Year contender,Elbows On The Wheel, an infectiousboogaloo twister about life on the road.

Ive had the opportunity to talk withNmeth on several occasions about thelong history of Southern soul musicrecorded by the famous and the obscure.He is a devoted and knowledgeable fanwho cant learn enough, and it is reflectedin his music. Nmeth fans, as well as fansof harp-slinging soul singers like TadRobinson and Curtis Salgado, will wantMemphis Grease. So will fans of South-ern soul. It is among the years very best. Thomas J. Cullen III

KENNYWAYNESHEPHERDGoin HomeConcord

It must be tough having been a childprodigy. Get a few years on you andpeople start sayin stuff like, Yeah, hesgood, but you should have seen himwhen he was 15. But with Kenny WayneShepherd, thats not a problem. As hislatest on Concord demonstrates, at 36,Shepherd still blazes as hard as he didas a prodigious teen.

On Goin Home, Shepherd covers awide spectrum of guitar heroes. The threeKings, B.B., Albert, and Freddie, areincluded as well as Buddy Guy and JuniorWells, Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, StevieRay Vaughan, Bo Diddley, and JohnnyGuitar Watson.

The selections are impressiveenough, but the guests Shepherd assem-bled to help him really take it over the top.Warren Haynes steps in for Al JacksonJr.s Breaking Up Somebodys Home,recorded by Albert King. Shepherd hadplayed the tune with Govt Mule in a cou-ple of their shows, and their blistering ren-dition here mixes the best of the AllmanBrothers, Mule, and King for an electrify-ing performance. Shepherd follows thatwith B.B.s You Done Lost Your GoodThing Now. Shepherd says King hasmentored him since he was 15, becominga father figure for him. Theres as muchpiano here as guitar from Shepherdskeyboardist Riley Osbourn, but Shepherdmanages to get in enough King-styleguitar to firmly establish B.B.s personalitybefore tossing in a fistful of fiery chunks ofhis own design.

Joe Walsh steps in on for an inter-pretation of Muddy Waters version of

Willie Dixons I Love The Life I Live.Shepherd says Waters vocals intimidatedhim so much he didnt sing for yearsbecause he wanted to sound like Muddyand couldnt. But here, his Muddy Watersvocal impression is spot on. Walsh flaysthe flesh off the melody with Kim Wilsonsharp Little Walter-ing off the walls.Shepherd brings in Robert Randolph foranother Waters tune, the hill countrydrone of Still A Fool broken up byRandolphs frenzied string manipulations.Shepherds cover of Stevie Ray VaughansWhen The House Is Rockin soundslike its about to fly off the rails. DoubleTrouble pianist Reese Wynans electrify-ing boogie-woogie piano is capturedperfectly by Osbourn, with Shepherdpaying homage to Vaughans fiery,twangy glory with some of his ownpyrotechnics.

Shepherd says he felt like he wasretracing his steps here, going back andlistening to artists and songs that inspiredhim to master the guitar as a child. Obvi-ously hes learned his lessons so well thatthis could be a tutorial for the next genera-tion: keeping the tradition alive whileinserting your own interpretations withoutcompromising the integrity of the originals. Grant Britt

RONNIE EARLGood NewsStony Plain

Hot on the heels of his triumphant returnto Memphis as the 2014 Blues MusicAward Guitarist of the Year, Ronnie Earlhas given his world of fans anotherstunning reflection of his deep soul.Though hes been nominated 18 timesas Guitarist of the Year, Earl has onlywon three times, 1997, 1998, and 2014.That record speaks of the critical acclaim


Earls playing generates. His mostlyinstrumental outings feature Earls sharpphrasing and tight, compact lines crest-ing to emotional crescendos that ebband flow into fresh musical vistas. Thiseffort continues to deepen Earls journeyinto the connection between spiritualityand artistic output.

Though he rarely tours outside of hisNew England base, he is prolific in thestudio, recorded nine records since 2000,keeping his legions of fans around theworld enthralled. As on his past six StonyPlain recordings, Earls emotional medita-tions are supported by his veteran Broad-casters band, Dave Limina (piano andB-3), Lorne Entress (drums), and JimMouradian (bass). His guests includeDiane Blue (vocals), Nicholas Tabarias(guitar), and Zach Zunis (guitar).

Each song explores human passions.His opening I Met Her On That Trainfeatures the heavy thumb picks on theE-string augmented by a twangy, countrymarching drum beat. Here Zunis handlesthe first guitar solo Tabarias the second,and Earl the third. On Junior Wells In TheWee Hours, Earl, Zunis, and Blue delivera slow blues knockout performance. Bluesings of the darkest hour while Zunis han-dles the first solo until Earls guitar playingbends, dives, and soars through his owndark meditations. Liminas after hourspiano oozes a similar sensibility. For morethen ten minutes, these musicians havetransformed the deepest emotions intonotes on a canvas. By following that withthe swinging title cut, Earl provides theartistic euphoria of tension and release.Blue and Earl take Sam Cookes AChange Is Gonna Come into rarified airwith their stirring voice and string give andtake. Marjes Melody has Earl exploringwithin a jazzy trance for over six minutes.With the church-like B-3 of Limina, thereis almost a gospel quality to every note,bend, or run. And Earls Blues For Henry,a song originally recorded on 1995s

Blues And Forgiveness Live In Europe,provides seven minutes of Earls instru-mental testimonial for this friend.

The CD ends with Liminas torrid B-3as the support, Earls Puddin Pie whichagain eradicates the blues-jazz bound-aries followed by Ilana Katz Katzs verymoving Runnin In Peace which is dedi-cated to the Boston Marathon bombingsand vividly captures the emotions of thathorrific day.

Earl spent most of his days inMemphis sharing his inner joy throughhis peerless playing; Good Newsannounces that joy to the world. Art Tipaldi

RICK ESTRINAND THE NIGHTCATSYouAsked For It...Live!Alligator

Sporting Clark Kent-style glasses, apencil thin moustache, custom madethreads, and a combination smile andsneer, Rick Estrin leads his Nightcats ina memorable live concert on his Octoberbirthday in 2013 from San FranciscosBiscuits and Blues Club.

Estrins Nightcats address the audi-ence with a sound that would be the envyof any blues artist. Enough cant be saidfor the guitar talents of Kid Andersen,who also mixed and co-produced the CD.The night showcases with clarity his facileability to coax virtuosic sounds from hisEpiphone guitar that can replicate jump,swing, and traditional blues. The 13-songset list includes all of Estrins most popularsongs like Clothes Line, Thats Big, andSmart Like Einstein. Finally, near the endof the set, the audience yells out in unisonfor a rendition of Dump That Chump.

Opening the set with the shufflingHandle With Care, Estrin produces afull sound via a chromatic harp and thenallows each of his fellow musicians toshowcase their chops. Throughout theset, Lorenzo Farrell switches from organ,piano, and synthesizer and also providesthe bass via a standup instrument. Anddrummer/vocalist J. Hansen gives Estrina break as he handles the vocals on hisBaker Mans Blues.

Estrins commentary and slick lyricsare worth the price of this CD alone andthe recording invites the listener to be part

of the fraternity that binds the band withthe audience that night. There is a bit of atheme to some of his songs with titles suchas My New Old Lady, My Next Ex-Wife,and Never Trust A Woman. After bringingthe music to a fever pitch, Estrin wiselychooses his final song to be a more tradi-tional and softer blues rendering SonnyBoy Williamsons Too Close Togetherthat has Andersen jettisoning his versatileelectric guitar for Lorenzo Farrells standup bass a perfect way to dismiss theriled up audience without incident. Pete Sardon

TORONZO CANNONJohnThe Conquer RootDelmark

Despite Toronzo Cannons fine songwrit-ing and excellent musicianship circa2013, theres something retro about him,too. Like many of everybodys favoriteblues heroes past and present, Cannonhas a day job as a city bus driver.

In addition, like Robert Johnson,Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, and a hostof other bluesmen, he uses the world ofvoodoo and magic as a leitmotif. In thiscase, the opening track with reprise is drenched in old school blues hoodoo.Then, he pays superb, creative tribute tohis forbears from Texas and Mississippiall the way to Chicago, marking nearly acenturys progression in rich and inven-tive guitar licks, in your face vocals,superb arrangements, and a percussionand horn section the envy of any Southside blues band. Cannon praises bluesmusical history from early electricChicago to New Orleans and down tooffering up props to blues fusionists likeStevie Ray Vaughan.

This is definitely not all straightChicago by way of the Delta.


On Cold World, for example, we getmore of a taste of mid-20th centuryR&B (a riff on Sam Cookes Mean OldWorld), with stellar horn work fromDudley Owens (sax), Kenny Anderson(trumpet), Jerry Di Muzio (sax), andNorman Palm (trombone). Listen to theexcellent backing vocals by Kay Reed,Theresa Davis, and Vanessa Holmesthat add additional texture and depth.On the other hand, Gentle Reminder ismore blues-rock, offering up a nod andwink to Texas blues-rock icon Vaughan,especially when it comes to the guitarriffs on this catchy track.

Some standout tracks include aswing-style tribute to Big Ray Bop andthe Latin-tinged Shame. For a nicechange-up, Been Better To You openswith a big horn blast in New Orleans-stylefunk that has us easily convinced thatCannon knows much about a lot of bluesand jazz musical idioms and has thechops to write and perform an album thateven jaded Chicago fans are going to like. Michael Cala

DAVE SPECTERMessage In BlueDelmark

Like his mentor Ronnie Earl, DaveSpecter is an expressive guitarist who is

equally adept at wringing the deepestblues or exacting the hippest jazz fromhis strings. Specter has long understoodthat his talent is fingers on strings, thus,like Earl, Specter has always called uponthe finest Windy City vocalists like TadRobinson, Lenny Lynn, Jimmy Johnson,Barkin Bill Smith, and many others toaugment his musical messages.

On Message In Blue, his tenthalbum on Delmark, Specter enlistsChicago soul icon Otis Clay to deliverthe emotional essence on three soulblues classics. The massive ChicagoHorns coupled with Specters Cropper-like guitar riffs provide a Stax feel toClays leathery Got To Find A Way.Clay and Specter next pay tribute toBobby Blue Bland on his timelessclassic This Time Im Gone For Good.Clays tour de force voicing of the WilsonPickett classic I Found A Love is amasterful blend of Specters succinctguitar jabs with Clays pleading vocals.Keyboardist Brother John Kattke han-dles the vocals on three other tunes,Don Nixs Same Old Blues, LonnieBrooks Watchdog, and Spectersname checking tribute to his hometown,Chicago Style.

The other seven songs are Specteroriginals featuring guitar and keyboardsvocalizing the emotional colors. NewWest Side Stroll, a remake of his 1995West Side Stroll, opens the record witha healthy dose of the Chicago blueschampioned by Magic Sam, Otis Rush,and others that has always been at thecenter of Specters music. Adding BobCorritores harmonica to JeffersonStomp, a vivid Chess-styled blues, andOpus De Swamp, a slow blues medita-tion, Specter further establishes his placeamong the finest guitarists in the genre.But, like Earl, Specter can also coax avariety of stringed approaches. With itsfunky underpinnings, Specter erases thelines that separate jazz and blues onFunkified Outta Space. Ditto the tenorsax guitar jazz featured on The Specti-fyin Samba. While the title cut has faintphrasing references to Jimi Hendrixinstrumentals.

Dave Specter knows his place is toallow his strings a freedom of expressionthat, like the finest vocalists, can captureevery human emotion from the fervor ofa gospel sermon to quiet contemplationsof love. Art Tipaldi

WALTER TROUTThe Blues Came CallinProvogue

This isnt an album surrounded by thelight-filled redemptive power that it mighthave had today. After all, when WalterTrout was in sessions for The Blues CameCallin last year, the bluesmans healthwas failing as he desperately awaited aliver transplant that seemed like it wouldnever come. Then, less than month beforethe scheduled June 2014 release of thisalready completed, scorching new projecton Provogue, that miracle happened.Trout is recovering his health, even asfans await what at one point looked like itmight be his final musical testament.

The Blues Came Callin, then, is apeek inside the roiling emotions of some-one facing dark prospects, a certain doom,and it plays like that. Dont come lookingfor messages of happy uplift on songs likeWastin Away, The World Is Goin Crazy(And So Am I), or Hard Time, momentsthat push back against that sad fate with aferocious tenacity. Trout, who was in factwasting away, was determined to go downswinging, and The Blues Came Callin isthat kind of record. There are times whendoubt creeps in, as on The Bottom Of TheRiver when Trout becomes entangled inan inexorable current, one thats dragginghim ever deeper. Later, he ends up in thebelly of The Whale. More often, though,Trout lands blow after blow after blow withhis suddenly fraying voice, with his stillmuscular guitar upon the forces workingagainst him. By the time Trout settles intothe impassioned groove of NobodyMoves Me Like You Do, a furiously con-nective assertion of life-long love, its easyto see how Trout made it through theseunimaginably difficult times. Hes a fighter. Nick DeRiso


the top 10 at the 2009 InternationalBlues Challenge in Memphis. They havesteadfastly improved and matured to awell-honed, talented group. Karen Nugent

DOWNCHILDCan You Hear The MusicLinus

The Downchild Blues Band changed itsname simply to Downchild many yearsback to avoid the stigma and perceivedlimited appeal of the genre. But this leop-ard hasnt changed its spots. Its still yourutilitarian Canadian blues band foundedmore than four decades ago by guitaristand harp player Don Walsh, who wassmitten at age 16 when he first heardJimmy Reed in the mid-60s. They are toCanada what The Nighthawks are to theUnited Sates blues scene, stalwart meatand potatoes electric blues based on post-war Chicago blues but, with double themanpower six strong, theres some jumpblues thrown in. Walsh runs the show. Heproduces, writes most of the songs, andplays guitar, slide guitar, and harmonica,but doesnt sing. Hes had the same engi-neer for 30 years, and the current lineupsolidified 15 years ago. This is a goodband. To be a great band, theyd needmore soul than I hear, although vocalistChuck Jackson does rise to the occasion,particularly on the slower, simpler num-bers like This Road and Dont Wait UpFor Me with its fundamental ElmoreJames-styled slide with piano filigree.

Walsh calls One In A Million aguitar melody different from anything heswritten with a juicy slide guitar sound andalmost gospel feel: My crutch when Imlimping. My compass when Im lost.One in a million is what you are. Don Wilcock

Anyone looking for proof that the blues is alive and well and living in Europeneed look no further than this years European Blues Challenge, organized bythe European Blues Union and held in Riga, Latvia, on the second weekendin April. There, 18 acts each of them a winner of their respective nationalcompetition showcased their talents on two consecutive nights of 20-minutelive performances. The event felt less like a contest than a celebration: Anenthusiastic crowd made up of locals, visiting fans, and participating musicianscheered each band in a spirit of community and fair play. On the surface atleast, no one seemed to care much about winning.

In the end, a panel of industry insiders gave Spains ACONTRABLUEStop honors. The abundant talents of this five-piece outfit from Barcelona areapparent on their 2013 CD release Chances. The opening two numbers,A Hole In My Pocket and Just Arrived the former rooted in rockabilly, thelatter in Elmore James-style blues show off the key double-barreled weaponin their arsenal: Hctor Martn Daz and Alberto Noel Calvillo Mendiola, twoequally gifted guitarists who create an exciting and playful tension. In contrastto the bands previous album, which relied heavily on classic covers, Chancesshows off impressive songwriting chops. Barkin Dog, for example, is a tenseand gripping acoustic track immediately followed by an exhilarating swingworkout, Dont Do That City, recalling Brian Setzers finest moments.The singing of Jonathan Herrero Herrera is rather heavily accented, but hisphrasing, tone, and feel for rhythm make him a riveting front man.

Dark-haired, tattooed Finnish singer INA FORSMAN was surely a visualhighlight of the weekend in Riga, and what she lacked in vocal finesse, shemore than made up for with her undeniable spirit and energy. As she did atthe EBC, Forsman teams up with harmonica veteran Helge Tallqvist onIna Forsman With Helge Tallqvist Band, an entertaining collection of coversrecorded in the summer of 2013. The material here paints a pretty clearstylistic picture: Several cuts by Magic Sam, Slim Harpo, and some populartunes made famous by Etta James. The cheeky video clip to What Have IDone, easily located online, provides a glimpse of what these Finns have tooffer both the eyes and the ears.

The EBCs strongest country blues entry came from Denmark by way of Brazil,Marc Rune aka BIG CREEK SLIM. The Danish singer and guitarist isinspired by the first generation or two of recorded bluesmen Charley Patton,Son House, Muddy Waters and has a voice rough and tough enough to pullit off. Ninety-Nine And A Half, recorded in 2012, is a solo effort showcasingSlims unique feel for the old-school blues. And hes not just copying, either:Biggest Leggest Woman and Should I Chase The Wind are excellentexamples of a young inhabitant of the 21st century tapping into a well ofmusical history 100 years old.

Overlooked somewhat and thus deserving of a very honorable mention here:DAVID MIGDEN & THE TWISTED ROOTS, the hard-to-categorizerepresentatives of the U.K. in Riga. Voodoo blues? Jazz-inflected soul?Whatever you call it, the quintets current release Animal & Man is a gem.Every tune is laced with compelling imagery and chock full of atmosphere.The playing is top-notch without once going over-the-top and the productionlets it all shine through above all, Migdens soulful voice, which is almost toopretty for the blues. This brilliantly executed album belongs in the hands ofanyone for whom music is the ultimate medicine. Vincent Abbate

THE BEST OF THEEUROPEAN BLUES CHALLENGE 2014

Opening with Corinna, Corinna,the duo demonstrates a synthesis oftalent that spanned half a century at thatpoint. With Nixon alternating with SleepyJohn on vocals, and accompanying himon blues harp, jug, and kazoo, this tunehas a call-and-response quality thatsurprises those of us used to the BlindLemon or Mississippi Sheiks versions.This symbiotic playing is evidentthroughout, punctuated numerous timesby spontaneous audience applause.

Also contained on this 21-trackrecording are reprisals of tunes the duohad performed at the peak of theircareers, including The Girl I Love,Broke And Hungry, Divin Duck, andStop That Thing, [all Delmark] and RatsIn My Kitchen, which Estes had recordedfor Sun Records in 1952.

Given their long history together,the men play seamlessly, with Nixoneffortlessly accompanying Estesacoustic guitar and vocals on every tune,alternating among blues harp, kazoo,and deep-down vocals that complementEstes lighter voice. Other tunes reprisedby the duo include When The Saints GoMarching In, Holy Spirit, Dont YouLeave Me, and Nixons version of FoxChase. The last four tracks SleepyJohns Twist, Love Grows In YourHeart, Brownsville Blues, and Jesus IsOn The Mainline feature the Japaneseblues band Yukadan backing Estes andNixon with taste and reserve. Michael Cala

GILES COREYGiles Coreys Stoned SoulDelmark

Guitarist-singer and bandleader GilesCorey is a Chicago-based musician whojust happens to also be the guitarist forMississippi Heat. Upon graduating fromthe University of Chicago in 1997, Coreyjoined Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues.This was his first exposure to nationaland international touring. In addition,Corey played shows and recorded withSyl Johnson and Buddy Miles around thattime. In 2001 Corey was hired by hislong-time guitar hero, Otis Rush, to playin his band. Corey toured with Otis Rushuntil the elder guitarists 2004 stroke sadlymade live performances impossible.


The Blues Foundation officially began construction on the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis, Tennessee. Led by sledge hammer-wieldingHall of Famers Bobby Rush and Eddie Shaw, the assembled crowd of Board members, former Board members, musicians, and fansfrom around the world cheered as Rush and Shaw took the ceremonial first swings.

The Blues Foundation, founded in 1980, inaugurated its Blues Hall of Fame induction program that same year. In the intervening34 years, 143 performers, 51 non-performers who played behind-the-scenes roles in the continuing saga of the blues, 83 iconic bluessingles (or album tracks), 76 blues albums, and 40 Classics of Blues Literature, have been enshrined into the Hall of Fame.

The Blues Hall of Fame will occupy a 12,000 square foot site located at 421 South Main Street, directly across from the NationalCivil Rights Museum, and is scheduled to open on May 8, 2015 during the Blues Music Awards.

Blues FoundationHall Of Fame Construction

AWARDSUPDATE

PHOTOGRAPHY DONOVAN ALLEN

BOBBY RUSH AND EDDIE SHAW BLUES HALL OF FAME CEREMONY

In 1920, Mamie Smith, a polished cabaret performer anderstwhile blues singer, broke the race barrier by recordingCrazy Blues, the first release by an African-American. That songis reported to have sold over a million copies in its first six monthsand paved the way for a major talent search and the ascent ofAmericas first blues stars, the classic blues women of the 20s.

Sadly, Smith has been buried in an unmarked grave inFrederick Douglass Memorial Park on Staten Island, NewYork,and has been without a headstone or grave marker since herdeath in 1946.

That has all changed thanks to the efforts of BluesMusicMagazinewriter Michael Cala. Through his first Inddiegogointernet fundraising campaign, Cala raised just enough to place adown payment on the headstone, which is to feature an etchedlikeness of Mamie Smith in addition to the following epitaph:

BY RECORDING CRAZY BLUES IN 1920, SHE INTRODUCEDAMERICA TO VOCAL BLUES AND OPENED THE RECORDINGINDUSTRY TO THOUSANDS OF HER AFRICAN-AMERICAN

BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

So far, the Inddiegogo campaign has attained 70 percent ofits goal. All funds raised beyond what is needed for the stoneand its installation are being donated to the Frederick DouglassMemorial Park, one of the first all-black cemeteries in theUnited States.

MAC ARNOLDVocalist, bass player, and gas can guitarist Mac Arnoldreceived an honorary degree of Doctorate in Music fromthe University of South Carolina. In addition, Dr. Arnoldopened his Plate Full O Blues Restaurant on PendletonStreet in West Greenville, South Carolina.

CYRIL NEVILLECyril Neville was awarded OffBeatmagazines LifetimeAchievement Award. Neville has made his fame as amember of the Neville Brothers, the Meters, the Voice ofthe Wetlands Allstars, the Uptown Allstars, and Tribe13.Currently he combines his solo career with his integralpart of the Royal Southern Brotherhood band.

ROBERT HUGHESGuitarist Robert Hughes from Teeny Tuckers band is alsoan internationally recognized photographer. This year, forthe seventh year, Hughes earned the title of Photographerof the Year of Ohio. He won the Kubiac Award for themost outstanding and creative image, the juried LexJetSunset Award for the highest scoring print, as well as theKodak ASP State Elite Award.

Mamie Smith Headstone Project

BluesMusicMagazine005 1BluesMusicMagazine005 2BluesMusicMagazine005 3BluesMusicMagazine005 4BluesMusicMagazine005 6BluesMusicMagazine005 7BluesMusicMagazine005 8BluesMusicMagazine005 9BluesMusicMagazine005 12BluesMusicMagazine005 13BluesMusicMagazine005 16BluesMusicMagazine005 18BluesMusicMagazine005 19BluesMusicMagazine005 22BluesMusicMagazine005 26BluesMusicMagazine005 28BluesMusicMagazine005 30BluesMusicMagazine005 32BluesMusicMagazine005 34BluesMusicMagazine005 39BluesMusicMagazine005 40BluesMusicMagazine005 42BluesMusicMagazine005 43BluesMusicMagazine005 44BluesMusicMagazine005 49BluesMusicMagazine005 56BluesMusicMagazine005 59BluesMusicMagazine005 64BluesMusicMagazine005 66BluesMusicMagazine005 68

Documents

Blues Music Magazine